Holiday Rolls

1. Put in a bowl & set aside (don't stir):

• 1/2 C warm water
• Sprinkle 2 TBSP yeast on the water
• Sprinkle 2 TBSP sugar on top

2. In a large bowl, add the following mix:

• 2 C hot water
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C corn oil {or vegetable}
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs

3. Add 4 C of flour and yeast mixture
4. Add 4 C more flour, 1 C at a time. Mix thoroughly
5. Cover bowl with towel and let double in size {at least one hour}
6. Don't punch out when ready to roll. Dump dough on floured surface {or spray Pam on surface}, sprinkle flour on top and roll to about 1/2 in. thick. Cut into triangle shapes, roll, and place on greased baking sheet.
7. Let rise at least 1 hour
8. Bake at 400 for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown. Brush hot rolls with melted butter and transfer from baking sheet to cooling rack.

Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins

1 C rolled oats
1 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 C milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
4 TBS butter or coconut oil, melted
1/3 C sugar
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C dried cranberries/raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aswide.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt (and berries if using). Make a well in the center and pout in the applesauce mixture. Stire until just combined (don't overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different (wetter?) than other m uffin batters but no fear, carry on!

Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothipick unserted in the cneter comes out clean. Don't overbake or the muffins will be dry.

Remove the muffins to a rack and cool completely. Once cool, I place 6-9 muffins in a large freezer Ziploc bag, suck all the air out, and seal the bag, and freeze. 

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite sized pieces
4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 TBS fresh parsley
1 tsp dried basil (or 1 TBS fresh)
 2 TBS butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cuts low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp lemon juice
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 C frozen or fresh corn
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add zucchini, basil, parsley, and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper, and stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn.

Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium0low. Cover the soup and summer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving. 

Thai Chicken Wraps with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

For the Veggie Saute:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely minced

To Wrap:

• 6 12-inch tortillas
• 3 cups warm, cooked Jasmine rice
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• Chopped roasted, salted peanuts

For the Peanut Sauce:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Combine garlic, pepper, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the mixture onto both sides of the chicken. Preheat the broiler to high (or use a gas or charcoal grill) and broil (or grill) the chicken about 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove to a plate and tent with foil. Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
2. Combine all the peanut sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend/process until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion, cabbage, carrots, ginger and garlic. Sauté the mixture, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp tender. Place a scoop of warm rice on a tortilla. Top with sliced chicken, sauteed vegetables and sprinkle the roasted peanuts and green onions on top. Drizzle peanut sauce over the top. Roll up tightly and serve immediately.

Easy Sweet and Sour Catalina Chicken

Easy Catalina Chicken
Adapted by Our Best Bites
1 cup Apricot or Apricot-Pineapple Jam (Peach is yummy too)
1 cup Catalina Salad Dressing (Russian works too)
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 envelope dry onion soup mix (like Lipton)
3-5 lbs chicken (breasts, bone-in/boneless, thighs, tenders, whatever)*
olive oil


*The amount of chicken you use is very flexible.  If you use less, you’ll just have lots of sauce, and if you use more- you’ll have less sauce to spoon over rice, but there’s plenty to cook that much chicken.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a large oven proof skillet or dutch oven to medium-high heat on the stove top.  If you don’t have an oven proof one, you can use any skillet and just transfer your chicken to a baking dish after searing.
While pan is heating, place jam, Catalina dressing, cider vinegar, and 1/2 of the onion soup packet (just eyeball it) in a bowl and stir to combine.  Set sauce aside.  Sprinkle remaining onion soup mix onto chicken pieces and pat on all sides with clean hands.
Drizzle olive oil into hot pan to coat bottom of pan.  Place chicken pieces in and cook without moving for 2 minutes.  Flip chicken to other side and cook for 2 more minutes.  Pour sauce over chicken and spread out evenly over chicken pieces.
Place pan in oven, uncovered and cook until chicken registers 165 on a meat thermometer.  Different parts of the chicken will vary in time so gauge according to what you are using.  boneless skinless breasts usually take about 20-30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool at least 10 minutes.  Serve chicken and sauce over hot white rice.  Serving size varies according to how much chicken you make, but serves a bunch!

Rich Cream Scones

• 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling and cutting
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract   

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers. (The largest pieces should be the size of small peas.) With your fingertips, flatten butter pieces into small disks. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until butter is very firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Combine cream and vanilla in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture with a wooden spoon until almost absorbed and dough just comes together. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface; roll out into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle. With a short side facing you, fold rectangle into thirds, as you would a letter. Rotate dough a quarter turn clockwise. Repeat rolling out, folding, and rotating dough 2 more times. With floured hands, pat out dough to a 1 1/4-inch thickness, and cut out as many rounds as possible with a floured 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter. Gather scraps, reroll once, and cut out more rounds (you should have a total of 12).
3. Place scones 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rolls -- 13x9

Serves 24

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)
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
• 2/3 cup warm (105-115-degree) water
• 8-9 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 beaten eggs

Instructions

1. Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. 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.
2. While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.
7. Spray 2 9×13 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.
8. 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.
9. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.
10. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls.
11. Then pop the rest into a bowl and no one will ever know that you cheated.

One Pot Creamy White Bean Tortellini Soup

Instructions

1. Melt butter in olive oil in Dutch oven/large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add carrots and celery and cook, while stirring, for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour then cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes (it will be thick).
2. Turn heat to low and gradually stir in 5 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth and add to soup. Stir in ham, beans, Dijon mustard, bay leaves, bouillon and all remaining herbs and spices.
3. Bring to a boil; cover, and reduce to a gentle simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Add tortellini and boil for 1-2 minutes or until cooked al dente.
5. Stir in half and half, adding additional half and half or broth if desired for a less “chunky” soup and warm through.
6. Garnish individual servings with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Ingredients 3 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 large onion, chopped 2 carrots, thinly sliced 2 stalks celery, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup flour 6 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 cups cooked and cubed ham 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and rained 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon 1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 tablespoon fresh) 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano, dried thyme, ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 4 cups (1 pound) uncooked refrigerated cheese tortellini 2-3 cups half and half * Garnish (optional) fresh parsley Parmesan cheese

Apple Banana Muffins

2 large eggs - lightly beaten
1 C mashed banana (about 2 large bananas)
1 TBS butter - melted
1 1/2 C almond flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
dash of sea salt
1/2 C chopped apple

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 muffin tins.

Mix eggs, banana and butter well in a medium bowl.
Mix flour, baking soda and salt well in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients to wet until just blended.
Stir in chopped apple. 
Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. 
Cool for a few minutes in muffin pan; transfer to cooling rack.

Microwave Caramel Corn

Ingredients:

4 bags of microwave popcorn popped with uncooked hulls removed. Put hulled popcorn in brown paper sack (like from Braums)

1 stick of butter--melted (in a medium dish)

Add to melted butter and stir the following:

1/2 C white corn syrup
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

Once blended; microwave 3 minutes. While still hot add 1/2 tsp baking soda and beat. The mixture will become foamy--beat until you see this. Pour mixture over microwave popcorn in paper bag and stir. Fold up bag top and put in microwave for 45 seconds. Take out and shake. Put in microwave second time for 45 seconds. Take out and shake. Put in microwave for 45 seconds. When you take out, mix well, then pour out on foil and let cool. When I made this, I will pop 12-16 bags so I have plenty to share.
 

Banana Bars

Ingredients:

1 C sour cream
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 C bananas (3)
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Directions:

Cream sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs for one minute. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Slowly beat in flour, salt, and baking soda. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes in a 13x9 baking dish. Cool. 

Frosting:

1/4 C melted butter
2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 TBS milk

Meringue Kisses

Ingredients

3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Red or green food coloring (optional)
44 milk chocolate kisses

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle with cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peak form. Gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating until still peaks form, about 5-8 minutes. If desired, divide batter in half and fold in red and green food coloring.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 1-1/2in apart onto lightly greased baking sheet. Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie and cover it with meringue using a knife. Bake at 275 degrees F for 35 minutes or until firm to the touch. Immediately remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Baked Oven "Fried" Chicken

Ingredients:

10 chicken tenderloins
1 C buttermilk
1 C flour
1 C panko
1/4 cornmeal
3 TBS butter

1 TBS salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder


Instructions:

Mix spices in a small sealable bag. Add 1 TBS spices, 1 C buttermilk, and chicken to a large freezer bag and marinate 6-12 hours. Store remaining spices.

Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper (foil will NOT work, chicken will stick to it!) Add butter to baking tray and melt in oven while it pre-heats. Remove baking tray once butter is melted.

Mix together flour, panko, cornmeal, and remaining spices to a large bowl. Add half of this breading mixture to a large freezer bag.

Remove chicken tenders from buttermilk and dab off excess marinade with paper towels. 

Add half of the chicken to the breadcrumb bag and shake until well coated, pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken with your fingers through the bag. Lay breaded chicken in butter on baking tray. Add remaining breadcrumb mixture to bag along with remaining chicken and repeat. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown then carefully flip chicken and bake another 5 minutes then broil to desired crispiness.

Serve with favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!