Cheesy bread from French bread loaf

We are having Italian dishes for supper tonight. The French bread recipe makes two loaves and normally I freeze the second loaf but I decided to make some cheesy bread for my two teenage sons as a midnight snack. There on break from college right now so they stay up late. The extra french loaf was perfect. I cut in half and added 3 types of cheese, italian spices, garlic and butter.  Baked it until the cheese melted and slightly golden brown. It was delicious. So if you have some leftover french bread, try it, makes for an awesome snack and easy to, just add your favorite toppings.

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 Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is our family's favorite pie, there perfect for any holiday, birthday, any occasion. Told you it was our favorite. I got this recipe many years ago and have never strayed, it is so good.

Ingredients:
Makes 3 pies
Goes perfectly with my homemade pie shell recipe, makes 3 http://onespecialway.blogspot.com/2011/12/perfect-pie-crust.html

2 sticks margarine or butter
16 oz. chopped pecans
1 lb. light brown sugar
1 heaping Tbs.self-rising flour (serving tablespoon, not measuring spoon)
16 oz. bottle light corn syrup
1 Tbs. imitation vanilla
6 eggs
3 regular size pie crusts

 Melt butter until melted and set aside. Chop pecans or if you prefer whole, that's fine, set aside.
 In a large bowl add brown sugar. Using a fork, whisk brown sugar around to break down any lumps. Next add a heaping serving tablespoon of self-rising flour and stir until the flour disappears into the brown sugar.

 Add whole bottle of Karo syrup.

Then add 1 serving tablespoon of vanilla and stir until thoroughly combined. Add melted butter. Slowly add into the mixture so it doesn’t splatter until mixed well.

 In a small bowl, crack open six eggs and beat with a fork, fold the eggs into the pie mixture until they disappear.

Add pecans and stir until completely coated. Pour the mixture evenly into the three shells.

Be sure there is the same amount in each pie. Using a spoon, redistribute pecans  to make equal in each pie. I forgot to get a picture before I put on oven so I took a quick one in the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. Cook pies until they swell and then fall. At that point they are done.
Remove and cool for about four hours. Pies can be stored on the counter or in the refrigerator.

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!

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!!

Braided Calzone Pizza Loaf

 This is our familys favorite calzone, pepperoni!  We fix this at least once a week. It is unbelievably good.
This recipe makes 2 large loaves, eat one now and freeze one for later. (They never make it to the freezer at my house, though)

Dough:
1 Tbs. shortening
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. salt
1 c. boiling water
1 c. cold water
1/3 c. lukewarm water
1 Tbs. yeast
5 1/2-6 c. flour
1 egg

Filling:
1 package of pepperoni or salomi
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Topping:
powdered Parmesan cheese
oregano
garlic
anything that sounds good to you

Make the dough:

 In a small bowl dissolve 1 Tbs. yeast in 1/3 c. warm water, set aside. In your mixer bowl: add sugar, salt, and shortening together and mix together. While still blending, pour the boiling water over the sugar mixture. Next add the cold water into the sugar mixture. Lastly pour the yeast and water into the sugar mixture.
Add the flour 1 C at a time while mixing. You know you have enough flour when the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Once you have enough flour mix on high for 6 minutes. Let the dough rest in the mixer bowl for about 5  minutes.

Divide the dough into two equal parts and let them rest on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray for about 5 minutes.

Lightly coat your counter with oil. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Using a scraper or pizza cutter, cut one inch wide strips along both long sides of the rectangle. Be sure to leave about 5 inches down the center uncut, leaving a space in the middle for your toppings.

Next fold over each strip to center of loaf on each side and fold ends together, now move the dough to your baking sheet and unfold. (It is alot easier to move it now than after you have your toppings on)

Place pepperoni, cheese and in my case, mushrooms down the center of the dough.

Next fold the end edge over and start pulling the dough strips across the loaf, criss-crossing as you go, when you get to the end stop at he third strip in and start at the end edge and fold over and then finish criss-crossing.

Beat the egg until bubbly. Brush over the entire top of the loaf.

Add your desired toppings (We used parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, oregano today, but usually we just use parmesan cheese and italian seasoning)

Repeat these steps with the other piece of dough.  Turn oven on 170 degrees and let rise for 20 minutes. Then turn your oven up to 400 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes, until loaves are golden brown. (Leave the dough inside while the temperature rises)

Let the loaves rest for about 5 minutes, then cut into slices.

                                                                    Enjoy!!!!