World's Best Dinner Rolls

from Our Best Bites
I have never been able to make good rolls and with this recipe, and probably practice from making bread, I can! My friend asked for the recipe so don't be afraid and just try them!

Ingredients:
2 c. whole milk (if you're in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don't use 1% or skim)
½ c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water
8-9 c. all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Preparation
Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. It's salty. It's sweet. Yum.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn't bubbled, you'll need to repeat this step--moving on with yeast that hasn't been activated properly will only end in heartache for you and hate mail for us.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
Add beaten eggs. Why should you beat your eggs first? Same reason you should combine your dry ingredients before adding them to moist ingredients when making cookies and cakes--it ensures everything is well-mixed and can be evenly-distributed through your dough or batter. If you add the whole eggs, your dough may not be as consistent.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft--it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don't worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they're so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

Spray 2 9x13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. You must now eat one. Now. While it's hot.

Smooth Drinker

This is silly but I've been asked several times about my smoothies. I drink them a lot in the summer and so I thought I'd post a few that I thought were good. Try them-you won't be sorry. Although there isn't a lot of fat in these-there is a lot of sugar from the fruit and yogurt, so I drink them as a post-workout boost. I hope you like them!




The Green Monster
Proceed with Caution
Serves: 1
1/2 cup skim milk
1 banana (frozen works great!)
1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
handful of spinach, well rinsed (about 2 ounces)
3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Pour into tall glass and enjoy.

Razzle Frazzle
Lisa Esplin
Serves: 1
1/4 cup skim milk
1 banana
1/4 cup rasberries
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 vanilla yogurt
3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Pour into tall glass and enjoy.

Orange Banana Smoothie
Barefoot Contessa

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (4 oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup strawberries, tops removed, and cut in 1/2
1 to 1 1/2 ripe bananas

Combine the orange juice, lime juice, strawberries, and banana in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until cold.

Orange You Glad You Drank This? :)

Guacamole and Mango Salsa

Guacamole (thanks Allrecipes)
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste


Mango Salsa
1 Mango, chopped
1 Jalapeno, finely chopped (remove seeds)
Lime juice
Chopped Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

I had a craving for this pasta today and went to find the recipe in my book. Imagine my dismay when it wasn't there!! So I looked on here and it wasn't there either. Always in search of ways to avoid using your oven, here's another delicious way from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. You could also easily omit chicken and it becomes vegetarian.

Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

*Note: this pasta is best served immediately as it tends to get less creamy as it sits at room temperature – so serve warm right as it finishes cooking! (Incidentally, it heated up just fine the next day in the microwave on low power.)

*Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 average-sized chicken breasts (about 1 to 1 ½ pounds), cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, cut into ½-inch pieces
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pound orzo pasta
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (can use 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook according to package directions until tender. When the orzo is ready, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water (ladling it into a small bowl is my method) and then drain the orzo and set aside.

While the orzo cooks, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot oil and brown on all sides. When nicely browned (but not all the way cooked through), add the peppers, mushrooms and thyme. Stir and let cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms and peppers have softened and browned and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In the skillet over medium heat, add the softened cream cheese (if you forgot to let the cream cheese soften at room temperature, no worries! Pop it in the microwave for one minute on 40% power) in bite sized chunks and stir so that the cream cheese melts and coats the chicken and vegetables. Add the reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir. Add the orzo, Parmesan, lemon juice and fresh parsley. Stir to combine and heat through. Garnish with additional Parmesan and parsley.

Prize Winning Potato Salad

From the lovely Kaye Briggs. This is my momma's potato salad. I don't know that it has really won any awards, but it has been my summer go-to potluck side and I have been receiving compliments like crazy on it. I find this amusing considering the ingredients are super simple. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. new potatoes - cooked, peeled & cubed. (I like to chop my potatoes as tiny as possible for the salad).
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 Tbs. horseradish
• 2 Tbs. chopped parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 bunch of green onions sliced thin
• 8 hard cooked eggs 6-8 slices of bacon

You can top with sliced hard cooked eggs and paprika for presentation.

**I usually just cook however many potatoes I think I need to feed the number of people and add bacon, eggs, and onions accordingly. Also, lately I have been substituting or adding in Greek yogurt to the light mayo and light sour cream. So I do 1 part mayo, 1 part sour cream, 1 part greek yogurt and I eyeball the horseradish.

Smoky Potato Salad

I must confess I am definitely not one for making up recipes. I do add things into recipes, but never making it up. This one I "adapted" from Rachael Ray. She had it as a warm potato salad, which you just poured the the dressing over, but I made into the potato salad and added bacon and eggs like my mom's.

Ingredients

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs. large red potatoes, scrubbed, chopped in cubes, and cooked (or just for however many people you are feeding again)
• 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped
• 4 strips of bacon, chopped
• 2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• 1/2 can corn
• 1/4 cup plain or Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 canned chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and minced to a paste, plus 1/2-1 tsp adobo sauce
• 2 Tbs. chopped cilantro

Preparation

Rub pepper with oil and grill until charred. Toss potatoes with 1 Tbs. oil and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together: yogurt, mayo, chipotle, adobo sauce, and salt.

Chop egg, bacon, cilatnro and red pepper. Add everything together and mix and toss.

**May also char corn in oil in pan over the stove to add more smoky flavor.

Guacamole

I LOVE chips and guacamole!! Yum!! My friend shared with me this super easy recipe and now I make it all the time (which I probably shouldn't! It's the good kind of fat, right?!!). Everyone that I've made it for LOVES it!

3 avocados
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
1 tsp minced garlic
about 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Mix the above ingredients together until desired consistency. You can also add chopped tomatoes if you want.

Bow Tie Chicken Pasta

This is a such a yummy summer salad. It's a great salad to serve at like a luncheon, reception, or shower. It does make a lot, so you can half it and be fine.

4 chicken breasts, boiled and cubed
1-2 cups grapes, cut in half
2 cups celery, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 1-lb pkg bow tie pasta
1 head romaine lettuce
1/2 can cashews
16-oz bottle coleslaw dressing
1 cup mayonnaise

Mix ingredients together reserving lettuce and cashews until just before serving (they get soggy). Best if served cold. (I did the pasta and chicken the night before and then refrigerated it so it would be cold for the salad the next day).

German Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup

I went for a run this morning and then made the girls some yummy German Pancakes with Leigh's buttermilk syrup. I love Saturdays. I don't have a cast iron skillet like most of the recipes called for so I thought that this recipe worked great for me because it uses 9 inch pie tins. I only cooked them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and then 5 minutes at 350. My oven is a little temperamental. This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. BTW Leigh-that buttermilk syrup is to die for! XO-Lisa





Buttermilk Syrup (Leigh Hansen)

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Melt buttermilk and butter together, add sugar, bring to a boil. TAKE OFF HEAT, add vanilla.

German Pancakes (Smitten Kitchen)

Yield 2 9-inch pancakes.

4 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup flour, sifted
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons soft butter

Heat oven to 400°F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans well. Put eggs in blender container, cover and process at “stir” until light yellow in color. Push “mix” button, remove cover and add remaining ingredients; process until smooth. Pour into prepared pans and bake 20 minutes; then reduce heat to 350°F and bake 10 minutes. Slide onto hot plates. Serve with lemon slices, powdered sugar and butter if you follow recipes to the letter, raspberry syrup if you’re my mom or maple syrup and fresh berries if you’re us.

My Big Fat Greek Dinner

So my hubby and I LOVE Greek food. We made souvlaki for the first time. The chicken and zucchini was awesome however; I've yet to find a Greek Yogurt Sauce that I like. (I like it thick.) So if anyone knows one please post. This recipe was easy and delish! One quick tip. Soak the skewers in water for 2 minutes before loading the kababs. It works well. :) Enjoy!


Chicken Souvlaki features the fresh-tasting combination of lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil that is so prevalent in Greek cuisine. Serve it alongside a Greek salad of chunked tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and feta cheese. Tzatziki is a traditional Greek yogurt-based sauce flavored with lemon, garlic, and crisp cucumbers.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 2 skewers and about 1/4 cup tzatziki sauce)
Ingredients
SOUVLAKI:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into (1/2-inch-thick) slices
Cooking spray

TZATZIKI SAUCE:
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
Preparation
To prepare souvlaki, combine the first 5 ingredients in a zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake to combine. Add chicken to bag; seal and shake to coat. Marinate chicken in refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning once.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Thread the chicken and zucchini, alternately onto each of 4 (8-inch) skewers.

Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add skewers; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, turning once.

To prepare tzatziki sauce, combine cucumber, yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 garlic clove, stirring well. Serve the tzatziki sauce with souvlaki.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
219 (19% from fat)
Fat:
4.7g (sat 1.3g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.6g)
Protein:
30.9g
Carbohydrate:
12.3g
Fiber:
2.4g
Cholesterol:
69mg
Iron:
1.4mg
Sodium:
705mg
Calcium:
161mg

Grilled Potatoes and Onions

For Fathers' Day, the father of my child wanted steak and everything grilled along with it. He underestimated how much work would be involved for him, but I enjoyed the day off from cooking! We have grilled everything under the sun when it comes to vegetables. My favorites are mushrooms with a little olive oil and zucchini.

As for the zucchini, you slice it in half and then in thin planks. Then I mix fresh lemon juice and olive oil together and coat the zucchini with it. Then just before they are done, top with a little fresh parmesan. My kiddo loves it. We tried this recipe from Our Best Bites that day. It's similar to a tinfoil dinner or where I grew up a "hobo" dinner. So delicious & easy. They were even tastier than they looked -

1 potato per person (any kind of potatoes work; for the sake of sentimentality, I'm partial to Russetts, although red and Yukon Gold potatoes are so smooth and delicious)
1/2 small onion per person (the one pictured is a little large because I used some onions in the corn)
1 Tbsp. butter per person, cut into pieces
1/4 tsp. salt per person
Freshly-ground black pepper
Smoked paprika
Aluminum foil
Preparation:

Tear sheets (1 per person) of aluminum foil into about 16" pieces. Fold each in half into a sqaure-ish and set aside.

Preheat grill. Slice potatoes into pieces about 1/8-1/4" thick. Slice onions about 1/8" thick.

Place 1 potato in the middle of each foil square and dot with butter pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then sprinkle generously with smoked paprika. Remember, paprika is super mild, so it's hard to add too much.

Top each pile with onions. Fold edges in and secure tightly. It's important to get a good seal because the moisture will cook the potatoes and onions and you want all those yummy juices, so if it seems like there's not quite enough foil, wrap packet in another layer.

Turn heat on grill to low. Place each packet on the grill. Close lid for 15 minutes. Turn and allow to cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully open each packet.

These can also be cooked in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes (just check on them to see how they're doing) or in a panini press for about the same amount of time.

I watched Rachael make these and it looked complicated what with the broiler being on and everything. There is a butcher shop called Snider's Meat Market down the street and everything there is wonderful, but they have these chili rellenos that are absolute cream cheese, fattening heaven. These are a GREAT vegetarian, low-fat version. The red onion makes the whole dish so sweet and yummy. I love it! The rice was also wonderful, but makes quite a bit. I did not want my oven on so I actually used the grill completely by myself :) and just charred the peppers. Then, when I filled the peppers and topped with cheese (which can be omitted if you want to cut even more calories because there is so much flavor), I actually put them in a 9x13 and just put the pan straight on the grill to melt the cheese. Enjoy!

Charred Chili Relleno with Green Rice

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007

Show: 30 Minute MealsEpisode: Craving Buster

• Level: Easy

• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups white rice
• 4 large poblano peppers
• 6 ears corn on the cob or 3 cups frozen corn kernels
• 3 tablespoons corn, peanut or vegetable oil, divided
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained well
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, eyeball it in your palm
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 pound spinach leaves, deveined and coarsely chopped
• 4 scallions, coarsely chopped
• 2 limes, zested, juiced
• 1 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese, Asadero or Monterey Jack

Directions

Preheat broiler or grill pan to high.

Heat about 3 1/2 cups stock in a sauce pot with a bay leaf to boiling. Add rice, cover pot reduce heat to low and simmer 18 minutes until tender.

Place poblanos under broiler or on hot grill and char evenly all over, 15 minutes.

While peppers and rice are working, scrape the corn off the cobs or defrost frozen corn and dry by spreading out on clean kitchen towel. Heat 2 tablespoons light oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil smokes or ripples add corn, onion, jalapenos and toss until the vegetables char at edges and onions are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high and add in garlic, fire roasted tomatoes and season with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another minute or 2 then turn pan off.

Place the cilantro, spinach, scallions, lime zest, half a cup of stock and a tablespoon of oil in food processor and process into coarse green paste. Stir into your rice pot in the last 3 to 4 minutes of its cooking time.

Sprinkle the lime juice over the corn mixture.

Split the charred peppers open but not in half with small sharp knife then scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and stuff each split pepper with lots of the corn mix, top each pepper with 1/4 cup cheese and place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese.

Serve peppers on beds of green rice. Yum-o!

Chicken Mole

Ah yes - a challenge has been set before me, and no better time for it with all those babies out there coming soon. I don't know about you - but everyone I know is pregnant! I had a friend ask for freezer meal ideas and this one is one of my favorites. I used to really hate mole, but decided to try this and love it now.

Ingredients

3.5-4-lb. frying chicken, cut into serving pieces (I usually just through in frozen cooked chicken or slightly thaw 2 chicken breasts)
5 Tbs. olive oil, divided
4 Tbs. chili powder, divided
salt & cayenne to taste
2 onions, peeled & chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups chicken stock
1-14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped raisins
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350, and line a baking sheet wiht aluminum foil.

Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper twoels. Combine 3 Tbs. oil, 2 garlic cloves, and 2 Tbs. chili powder in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and cayenne. Mix well, and rub mixture on chicken. Arrange chicken on the prepared pan, skin side down.

Bake chicken for 20 minutes, then turn with tongs, and bake skin side up for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.

While chicken baeks, make sauce. Heat remaining 2 Tbs. oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and remaining garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Stir in remaining chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Add peanut butter, raisins, sugar, and cocoa powder. Stir well and bring to a boil. Then turn to low and simmer sauce for 15 minutes, or until lightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and cayeene. Serve sauce on top of chicken.

Note: The sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. Reheat over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Note: Can double recipe and freeze in heavy resealable plastic bags. (I often don't even need to double it to freeze it for my small family of 3)

Source: $3 Meals

Granola Tip

Oh world, are you out there?? I know I am the only one who posts quite frequently on this, but sometimes I wonder if I am merely talking to myself. :)

So I have been making Lisa's (my loving sister, who mainly we started this blog to share our recipes together several states apart instead of emailing) Maple Granola with white chocolate chips and cranberries and it is super addicting!! I was watching the Food Network & Sunny from Cooking For Real made granola and added 2 whipped egg whites. So I did a little research online and came to discover that you can substitute the oil or butter for egg whites to help it clump together more. My hubby loves granola for breakfast cereal. He took a big bag of this granola to work, but left it in his car accidentally. He came out to find the chocolate chips melted it together in clumps and said it was absolutely heavenly. I have yet to try it that way, but have been adding the egg whites after I stir in the maple syrup. You have to whip them quite a bit with a whisk to get the desired effect. I have tried it 3 times thus far and this last time, I whipped them for quite a while and finally got it clump really well.

Linguine and Quinoa Meatballs

Recent Costco purchases: 20 lb. bag of organic brown rice, 10 lb. bag of organic quinoa & 10 lbs. of organic whole wheat spaghetti. Must put all to use and here is one way I did.

Typically, meatballs are made with bread crumbs, but this adds quinoa instead to add more protein. I also revamped my spaghetti sauce from the Risotto Cakes recipe 2 more times! I put it in a food processor and added a little water. Then we had mini english muffin pizzas. Then instead of making this sauce, I just added a little more water and used my sauce. I am looking forward to trying this sauce, though, because I pretty much love anything with balsamic vinegar!

Ingredients

SAUCE

¼ cup olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 large carrot, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1 28-oz. can tomatoes, chopped, with juices

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

MEATBALLS

3 Tbs canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 ½ cups cooked quinoa

½ cup finely grated Parmesan

1 egg

3 Tbs. fresh parsley leaves, very finely chopped

½ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. linguine

1 large handful fresh basil leaves

Preparation

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and red pepper flakes and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and vinegar and simmer for 20 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to keep warm.

To make the meatballs, preheat the oven to 425. Heat the canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, partially covered, until very soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, quinoa, Parmesan, egg, parsley, salt, pepper, and cooled onions. Stir until a smooth, homogenous mixture has formed.

Roll the meat mixture into 2-inch balls and set them on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet in neat rows. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely browned but still soft to the touch.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the linguine al dente. Serve the pasta with some meatballs and the sauce and top with a sprinkling of torn basil leaves.

Source: the 10 things you need to eat and more than 100 ways to prepare them