Grandma Clark's Dinner Rolls

Bill's Grandma Clark (may she rest in peace) made these amazing dinner rolls, before she passed away, I had the honor of putting together a cookbook of her recipes for the family. It was an amazing experience. The family has this recipe, but it should be shared with the world. These are by far the BEST rolls ever made. Of course, my rolls using this recipe and my father-in-laws rolls using the same recipe come out differently. I don't know how or why... they just do. But the way I make them... They are HEAVENLY! So hopefully yours will turn out as heavenly as mine. :) Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

2 pkg yeast

1/2 c luke warm water

1 1/2 cup luke warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

7-7 1/2 c flour

1/2 c soft butter

2 whole eggs

YEAST:

Combine the yeast and warm water with a sprinkling of sugar and let rise.

Separately:

Combine in a mixing bowl with dough hook, milk, sugar, salt, soft butter, and eggs. Then add the risen yeast mixture.

Begin mixing in flour - 1/2 c at a time (up to 7 1/2 cups if necessary) mix by hand

Place mixed dough into a buttered bowl, cover and let rise in warm area - 1 1/2 hours or double in size

Punch down, turn dough over in bowl and let rise another 1 1/2 hours or double in size.

Punch down, form into rolls, let rise on cookie sheet, brush with melted butter.

Bake in a 400F oven for 10-12 min or until brown.

Verdict...

HEAVENLY Rolls... I make these for all special occasions and when we want yummy rolls. I warm the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan on the stove just until the butter starts to melt. To help the milk be the proper temperature for the yeast to keep growing. :)

I also, brush them with more melted butter once they have been removed from the oven for added yumminess!

Sausage, Bacon, Apple Stuffing

Since I was going all out this thanksgiving with 9 pies, turkey, homemade rolls, creamed peas with pearl onions, green been casserole, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed potatoes... That I would not just do a box mix stuffing, but a "fancy" stuffing. One with yumminess in it to make it over the top! I wanted to stuff my turkey with flavor. So here is the stuffing I used. It as good. :)

Ingredients:

1 - 16oz bag of cubed stuffing - white and wheat blend

1 box cornbread stuffing

3 cans chicken broth

2 granny smith apples - cored, peeled, and diced

1 lb bulk ground sausage

3/4 lb chopped bacon

1/2 onion diced

1 cup celery diced

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Brown and drain the sausage, set aside. Brown and remove the bacon - keeping the bacon grease. cook the chopped onion and celery til translucent in the bacon grease. In a large bowl, put the stuffing mixes in, the drained sausage, the browned bacon, mushrooms, apples, cumin, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add the onions and celery and mix well. Add the cans of chicken broth one at a time, once the stuffing is as moist as you want, then stuff the turkey, or place in a 13X9 prepared baking dish. If using the baking dish, bake in a 350F oven for 30-35 min.

The turkey stuffed will help cook the stuffing further.

This is a delicious stuffing mix. My husband said he could tell the added flavor helped the turkey taste even better. With the aroma of bacon and sausage, and the sweetness from the apples. MMM so yummy. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think of this stuffing mix. :)

AMAZING Thanksgiving Turkey

I decided to make my first thanksgiving turkey this year. I have never in my life ever made a turkey. I have been so very intimidated by making a turkey. My husband doesn't really like turkey's either, so I usually make ham for thanksgiving. I decided it was time to stop being so intimidated by such things. I talked myself into cooking the bird. I asked my husband to forgive me if it wasn't good and if it was dry. I did my research and read a few things on how it is best to cook a turkey and if I needed to brine it. I decided to brine my turkey. I put it in the brine by noon the day before I wanted to cook it. For instructions on what I did with my brine. Check my post on Turkey Brine. For cooking it... I did a few things...

Ingredients:

1 12-14 lb turkey - brined

softened seasoned butter - your choice of seasoning

1 large roasting pan with rack

paper towels

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure to dry it well. Place the dried turkey in the roasting pan. Stuff with stuffing (optional).

Spread the softened seasoned butter all over the turkey with your hands.

Once the oven is preheated and the turkey is smothered all over with the seasoned butter. It is ready to be placed in the oven. Make sure the oven rack is on the second to last rung. Remove the turkey when the breast temp internally is 165F, Approx 3 hours. Periodically baste the turkey with drippings from the turkey to help it have a more uniformed brown skin. Let the turkey rest for 20 min before carving (this will help the turkey remain moisture).

Verdict...

My husband who doesn't like turkey, said it was the BEST turkey he has ever had. So flavorful and delicious. He couldn't stop eating it as he was carving it. I stuffed my turkey with a Sausage, Bacon, Apple stuffing which I will be posting the recipe in a separate post. This was by far the best turkey I have ever had. My kids LOVED it, too! This was the most delectable turkey, so moist, and flavorful! It tasted heavenly... I will be making this again!!! :) I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and if you try this Turkey recipe... it is AMAZING!

Turkey Brine

This year is my first year to EVER make a turkey... I know shocker... Well, since we are not really having family over for Thanksgiving this year as we are in Utah and they are in other parts of the country. We are going to try our hand at a traditional Thanksgiving. I have made hams in the past as my husband isn't a turkey fan. So, this year, I got a turkey and decided it was time I try to make a yummy turkey. I had been reading about the best way to prepare a turkey. The census was to brine the turkey. Monday I started thawing my turkey in the sink with cold water. Rotating my turkey every few hours to evenly thaw. Today is Wednesday, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I decided that since my bird is thawed I should start brining it. I watched a video of how to brine a turkey, and they said it should brine for 3 days! UGH!!! I don't have three days to brine a turkey. I had my mini heart attack and then read further brining methods and realized it was anywhere between 12 hours and 3 days depending on how long you wanted to brine it. Luckily, my sister called and helped calmed me down... So I stopped stressing and got to work on my brine. This is a compilation of things I read that sounded good and what I had in the house. So, I will post how it turned out. Also, stay tuned for the final turkey preparations in a future blog posting.

Ingredients:

1 12-14 lb turkey, thawed and at room temperature (Not a Kosher or prebrined turkey)

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 gallon water

6 cups of ice

1 turkey bag

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup diced onions

3 Tbsp Rosemary and Garlic seasoning

1 tsp old bay seasoning

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp course ground black pepper

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Ingredients in my Brine

In a large pot, bring to boil the 1 gallon of water. Once the water has a rolling boil, stir in the sugar and salt. Once dissolved turn off the stove and add in all ingredients EXCEPT the turkey bag and the ice. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Once all other ingredients are incorporated add the ice and stir until dissolved. This will help bring the mixture to room temperature, so that you can start brining your Turkey. In a large 5 gallon bucket. (One I had on hand from Food Storage). I lined with the turkey bag pulling sides up and over the outside of the bucket. Then pored the brine mixture in the bag. Made sure it was room temperature.

Turkey Brine in the Turkey bag inside the 5 Gallon Bucket

Then placed the prepared bird in the brining mixture. Making sure it was completely covered.

Turkey Brining in the Turkey Bag in the Garage

Closed the bag over the turkey and placed in the garage. (We have below freezing temperatures today and tomorrow,) so I am using my garage as the refrigerator today. My refrigerator does not have enough room for the bucket. The other option if you do not use the bucket is to place the bird in the bag with the brine and keep it in your meat drawer turning the bird over half way through the brining process. To ensure even brining. Brine for 12 hours to 3 days, depending on your time and preference.

Once you are ready to cook the bird, remove from brine. Throw away brine (pour down the sink or toilet). Pat turkey dry and then either cover with seasoned butter or canola oil, for a nice brown crisp skin. :) Cook per package directions. Enjoy!

I am hoping this turns out yummy. It sounds good. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow. I am looking forward to a delicious turkey dinner. :)

Buttery, Cheddar, Bacon, Garlic Biscuits

Our family was invited to a friends house for dinner tonight. I asked if I could bring anything, they said no. But I asked if I could bring some rolls or biscuits to share. They said I'm not obligated to but if I felt so inclined by all means. So, I thought it would be a nice gesture and a way of saying thanks for the free meal, that I decided to make some buttery, cheddar, bacon, garlic biscuits. We are having BBQ chicken. This would be a nice side. :) Here is the recipe I used. The base mix is from the Better Homes and Garden's cookbook, Biscuits supreme. I then doctored the base recipe to have this yumminess in it. :) mmm smelling good.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup milk

ADDITIVES:

1/3 pack of bacon chopped and browned

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

TOPPING:

1/2 stick of butter - melted

1 tsp powdered garlic - to taste

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Once stirred together cut in 1/2 cup of butter until it resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the middle and add the milk all at once, then add in the bacon, cheddar and garlic. Mix well incorporating all of the cheese, bacon, flour mixture and everything.

Drop by spoonful 1 inch apart on to a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). Bake in a 450F oven for 10-12 minutes.

While baking biscuits melt the butter in the microwave and mix in the powdered garlic. with a pastry brush, brush the mixture on the biscuits once the biscuits are removed from the oven. Remove from pan and enjoy warm.

Potato Pancakes

My grandma lived in Germany for several years as an adult while my grandfather was in the Army. She is also from North Dakota where there is a huge European influence. When I was a little girl, she used to make these potato pancakes that would make your eyes roll back in your head. That's how good they were. Well, unfortunately the concensus in the family is that the recipe died with her. :( how sad. I remember they were creamy and crunchy and had a nice oniony flavor that with maple syrup was just so heavenly. I can't quite explain it. Yes, you read right, she used to serve it with maple syrup, not sour cream or cottage cheese, but maple syrup. And on rare occasion with sweetened applesauce. This was a typical breakfast. I am assuming that she made these with leftover mashed potatoes but that is so fuzzy in my memory right now. Well, last night I had this huge craving to have potato pancakes. I searched online for a recipe... little did I know, that there are so many recipes for potato pancakes. I thought it was something that she made up. Well, obviously not. I read several that used shredded potatoes. I thought I'd try it with my red potatoes, I have about 10 lbs. Here is what I made....

Ingredients:

8-10 large red potatoes peeled and shredded

1 small/medium onion diced

3 eggs

1 tsp minced garlic

3 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

reserved bacon grease

Peel and shred potatoes into a medium bowl, mix in diced onion, eggs, garlic, flour and salt and pepper. Once this is all incorporated.

In a skillet on the stove heat oil of choice, I used Bacon Grease, but vegetable oil or olive oil will work fine. Heat til sizzling, then add by large spoonful into the oil, flatten as best you can.

Then when browned on bottom flip and brown on the opposite side, when browned it's done.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm. This made about 15 good sized potato pancakes.

VERDICT!

These were pretty good. They are not my grandmothers. I will try these again with mashed potatoes to see how they taste. I found this a fairly easy recipe. The hardest thing was hand shredding those potatoes. I'm hoping for a kitchenaid shredding attachment for christmas. Which would make it really easy to do this again in the future. My husband and kids didn't try them. They are hooked on plain pancakes. But I had some leftovers for lunch today, they were tasty. I will make these again, the next time I am craving potato cakes. Enjoy!

Easy Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos are a favorite at my house for breakfast. I like to serve them to my family because they get a nice little package with protein and they can run out the door with it in one hand. I used to serve breakfast burritos on cool flour tortillas, then I had a friend who added a different step to hers, which made them even better. She fried hers in butter/margarine. I know I know, fattening. but oh so yummy... I believe it gives a plain burrito a step up on the delish factor O'Meter... And oh yea it does. So ever since my dear friend (Helen) - you know who you are... got me hooked on it. I thought I'd share it with you. I do sometimes still serve breakfast burritos on non fried tortillas... but they definitely are heated... in the microwave wrapped in wet paper towels... to help them get flimsy and get yummier... (microwave 3-4 tortillas for 30 seconds wrapped in a paper towel).

This recipe will be one for a family of 5. But can easily be reduced to a single or multiplied higher.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground sausage, browned and drained

8 eggs - scrambled

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 tsp salsa per tortilla

5-10 flour tortillas depending on size

salt and pepper

Brown the sausage, leave in pan add the scrambled egg mixture to the sausage, stirring over high-medium heat. sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Once the scrambled eggs are done, remove from pan, in the same pan, melt some butter/margarine.

Assemble the burrito add about 1/2 a cup of sausage/egg mixture to the center of the tortilla, add cheese and salsa to each tortilla.

Fold the tortilla edges to meet in the middle around the meat mixture, then turn sideways and repeat. you should have a nice box looking tortilla. (getting the proper egg mixture to folding ratio will take a few tries.)

Once the butter is melted, add the folded burrito seam side down in the butter, over medium heat. brown on both sides, remove and enjoy. This is a delicious addition to your quick out the door breakfast, these can also be made ahead of time, placed in a ziploc bag and heated at work. So a great make ahead meal, for pennies on the dollar. Who needs to stop by McDonalds when you can enjoy this great breakfast?

Another good addition is to cut up some bell peppers and onions and cook along with the sausage, and eggs. I have even done lunchmeat and bacon instead of the sausage. A Must Try! :)

Verdict,

DELISH! So tasty and crispy... mmmm so good.