French Bread

This is the best homemade french bread recipe, it is just like you buy in the deli at the supermarket. Light, airy, and fluffy. Perfect sliced up with some garlic butter spread on it for all those Italian dishes.

Ingredients:
recipe adapted from Deals to Meals
This recipe makes 2 large loaves:

2 1/2 c. warm water ( between 105-115 degrees)
2 Tbs. yeast
3 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. white vinegar -Add these ingredients together and let sit until bubbly, about 4 minutes
1 Tbs. salt
1/3 c. oil
6-7 c. all purpose flour

Making the dough:

Add first four ingredients together and let sit until bubbly, about 4 minutes. Then add salt, oil and flour. Add flour 1 cup at a time until incorporated. May need to add a little extra flour is dough is too moist, add just enough flour when dough pulls away from side of bowl.

 Knead for 3-5 mintues and then put in the oven with a small pot of boiling water. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl, as long as you have time to babysit it (2-5 times). Put the dough on a greased countertop and divide into 2 equal sections.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into rectangle/long French bread shapes. Place on cookie sheet.

Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg.

Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled) on the counter, or you can put them in your oven at 170 and wait until they are the size you want to cook them at. Once they are to the right size, turn up your stove to 375 (without opening the door!) and let them bake until done. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until tops are golden  brown.

     Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Roll

So I have been trying to make the perfect peanut butter roll, have tried several recipes and finally found the perfect recipe that my Mother in law gave me. It had to be moist, fluffy, creamy. I've had some that tasted dried and hard. The roll made with potato just can not get sodt and fluffy so I totally threw that recipe away. I think you'll love this one as good as I do.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites
4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. warm water
3/4 c. white corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 + c. peanut butter

Directions:

In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites very stiff and set aside. Be sure you have very carefully separated the eggs so there is no sign of any yellow in the whites. Mixing bowl should be very dry. In a saucepan, mix sugar, water and syrup. Cook on medium high heat and at first use a spoon to remove sugar crystals from side of pan. After mixture starts to boil rapidly, place the lid on the pan only 30 seconds, then quickly take the lid off. ( This melts all crystals). Do not stir anymore while sugar boils. Place candy thermometer on side of pan and watch carefully for temperature to reach hard ball stage.

Immediately take pan off of burner at exactly hard ball stage. Remove candy thermometer. Again re-beat you egg whites to stiff and while using beater, gradually add hot cooked syrup mixture ( about 1/3 of it at a time) beating in between until most all syrup is used.

 Do not take a spoon and rake syrup out of pan ( as you do not want crystals).

Add vanilla: keep beating, then later use large spoon beating until you can spoon white mixture out on theree sheets of waxed paper placed lapping over each one.

First of all this waxed paper should be well greased with butter, then butter you hands and wait until white candy is cool enough for you to work with your hands, patting it out like bread dough.

Spread peanut butter over entire area and start rolling it up lik a jelly roll.

When candy roll is completly cooled, slice and place in airtight container.

                                                                   Enjoy!!

Perfect Pie Crust

I was getting ready to bake and freeze some pecan pies for Christmas. I'm using a recipe that I have hung onto for 25 years since I was in home economics class in high school. Showing my age here, I know. It truly does make the perfect pie crust.

Ingredients:
makes (3) 9 inch shells

1-½ c. cold crisco
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 Egg
5 Tbs. ice cold water
1 Tbs. white vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

 To make the crust:

Put flour into a large bowl and add Crisco. Using a pastry cutter,  cut the Crisco into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal.

 In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/Crisco mixture.

 Add  cold water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are mixed well..

Dough should be slightly moist and well mixed.

Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 equal sized balls of dough and place each dough into a  piece of platic wrap. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½-1 inch thick) to make rolling easier later.

Place them in the freezer until you need them, make sure to thaw out 15 minutes prior to using from frozen state. Can be frozen for up to 4 months.
If you will be using it immediately, put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.
Put the dough on  a floured surface , gently start rolling  the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. Continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

Using the rolling pin, carefully roll your crust over the roller and place on top of pie plate.

Gently press the dough against the bottom and sides of the pan. Cut excess dough off 1/2 inch around top of pie plate.

 Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

                                                               Happy Pie Making!!

Leftover Lion House Sloppy Joe Buns and Recipe

We had some leftover rolls that start to get hard in a day or two if not eaten, usually there all gone by the next day. But today my sons wanted sloppy joes, so I steamed the buns over the pan while fixing the sloppy joes and they were perfectly soft again.

These rolls are great to use as buns for all types of dishes, we've had tuna salad, chicken salad, spam, ham and cheese, just to name a few so don't discard them just because they have gone a little stale.

Recipe for sloppy joes:

2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 chopped onions

2 ½ pounds ground beef
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2/3 c. of your favorite BBQ sauce

½ c. ketchup
¼ c. Worcestershire sauce
¼ c. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the grease off the meat and onions. Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Cut your rolls in half and spoon sloppy joe mixture on.  Enjoy!

Lion House Rolls

Ingredients:

2 c. warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. butter

2 1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. dry milk powder

5 1/2-6 c. all purpose flour

2 eggs

2 Tbs. yeast

To make the rolls:

Mix the water, sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, and 5 c. flour together until combined. Make sure to tap the flour down in the cup until it is settled giving you a full 1 cup measurement. After this has been sufficiently mixed, add the eggs and yeast. Mix together again until combined. Add the last 1/2-1 c. of flour to the dough, if dough is to sticky. Mix on high for 5 minutes until the dough becomes slightly stiff and stretchy. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Put onto lightly floured surface.
                                    
Pull off a piece of dough and roll into balls and place thirty rolls on a cookie sheet.

To shape to rolls, hold in one hand and push through your thumb and first finger while pushing up through the hole with your other hand, pinch the ends closed to form a smooth ball.

 Let them rise on a cookie sheet until the balls begin to touch, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Butter tops after roll are out of the oven.

                                                               So soft and fluffy, Enjoy!

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

A family favorite of ours is cheesy hashbrown casserole. There are many variations you can do with the recipe to have different outcomes. We like the southwest flavor best. But any combination of spices taste great in this casserole.

Ingredients:

2 lbs frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed  ( I used 1 pd. southwestern flavor and 1 pd. plain cubes)
1/2 c. margarine or butter, melted
1 can Cream Of Chicken Soup
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Chop onion and place in large bowl. Add melted butter, cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper and mix together well.

Next add cheese and mix again.

Then add hashbrowns, mixing well to coat all potatos well.

Then pour  into a greased 9×13 pan and bake in oven at 350 for thirty minutes, or until bubbly.

These are very similar to Cracker Barrells Hashbrown Casserole.

                                                         Enjoy!!!!

Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Copy Cat

Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Copy cat
Copy of the Pizza Hut Pan Pizza – (adapted from Minh via CDKitchen)

Dough :

1 1/3 c. Warm water (between 100-110 degrees)
1/4 c. Non-fat dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
4 c. flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 package instant dry yeast
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 oz vegetable oil for each pan

Sauce :

1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp dry marjoram
1 Tbs. garlic powder

Making the Dough:

Using your dough hook. Add yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes or until the mixture starts to bubble. Add oil and stir again.
Gently add the flour and stir until dough forms. Then knead the dough with the dough hook on medium speed  for 5 mintues.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide dough into three balls.
Pour 2 oz of oil into three 9″ cake pans making sure it coats evenly.
Roll out each dough ball into an approximate 9 inch circle. Then place into the cake pans.
Turn oven on 350 degrees for 15 seconds and turn off. This is to ONLY warm the oven. Next put pizza dough in oven and let them rise for approx. 2 hours. (You can skip the warming the oven step in the summer).

Making the Sauce:

While your dough is rising, mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium size sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until the sauce starts to boil, then lower the heat to low. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes before using.

Making the pizza:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
After the dough has risen, spoon 1/3 rd.  of sauce on the dough.  Add your favorite ingredients, then cover with cheese.

Bake for 10-15 minute or until the crust is brown and cheese is melted.

My Kids like cheese.

And Me and Hubby like pepperoni.

Either way it is delicious and tastes like Pizza Hut's Personal Pan pizza. Enjoy!!