Basic Dough Recipe (for pizza, rolls, etc.)

This is a basic recipe for cinnamon rolls, pizza dough, scones, rolls, and garlic bread sticks.

In a medium bowl, combine and heat up to about 120-125 degrees:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter (or shortening), melted

In a large bowl (Kitchenaid mixer bowl), combine:
4 cups flour
1 T yeast (or 1 packet)
1/4 cup sugar (for pizza dough or bread sticks, use 3 T)
1 t. salt

Add warm liquid to flour mixture. Mix together, then knead the dough using dough hook (if by hand, knead hard for about 5 minutes). Add flour when it gets too sticky. Try not to add too much.

Place in a greased bowl and let rise about 20 minutes or so.

Note: Makes two regular crust pizzas.

Cinnamon rolls

1. Punch the dough down. Roll into a rectangle shape that is about 3/4 inch thick. 

2. Spread softened butter over the whole rectangle. Be liberal with the butter.

3. Sprinkle cinnamon over the butter.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar over the cinnamon. Be liberal with the sugar.
5. Roll up so you have a long log.

6. Cut into segments about 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick and place in a greased 9 x 13 pan, cookie sheet or cake pan

7. Let rise about 20+ minutes.

8. Cook in a preheated oven at 350 degrees about 20 minutes. (Don't over-cook)

9. Let cool a little.

Cinnamon Roll Glaze
Mix until smooth:
2-3 cups powdered sugar
a little bit of milk (not too much)
1 t vanilla. 

Cinnamon Roll Frosting
Mix until smooth:
3+ cups of powdered sugar, 
a little less milk than for glaze (about 4-6 T?) 
1 t vanilla, 1/3 cup shortening. 
(The glaze and frosting measurements are estimates as I never measure. Each time you make them, write it down so you have exact measurements for yourself.)

Rolls
-After the first rising, shape them, let rise about 20 minutes
-Bake at 350 degrees in the oven.

Scones
-Let dough rest while you warm up oil in a pot. 
-Pull pieces of the dough off, then shape into a flat frisbee type shape.

-Drop into medium-hot oil and cook on both sides. Make sure the center is cooked. 
-Take out, drain. Put butter and honey on. YUM!

Garlic bread sticks
-After the first rising and you shape into a rectangle, cover with butter, sprinkle with garlic powder, then sprinkle with parsley flakes, then parmesan cheese, then a little salt. -Let rise about 20 minutes. 
-Cook in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan

1/3 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup (.75 ounce) Shredded Parmesan Cheese
4 (about 1 1/4 pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package (9 ounces) Linguine
2 containers (15 ounces each) Marinara Sauce
Fresh basil sprigs (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Lightly grease 8-inch-square (2-quart) baking dish.

COMBINE bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in shallow dish. Dip chicken in eggs, then cover with bread crumb mixture. Arrange chicken in prepared baking dish. Drizzle with oil.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink in center. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

PREPARE pasta according to package directions; warm sauce according to package directions. Toss pasta with sauce; divide among plates. Top with chicken. Garnish with basil.

The Ultimate Cheesecake

Crust:

2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (about 30 squares)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
dash of vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon zest

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine crust ingredients together with a fork until evenly moistened. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.

Pour crumbs into the pan, and using the bottom of a measuring cup or smooth bottom of a glass cup, press crumbs into the bottom and 1-inch up along sides. Refrigerate crust while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on low speed for one minute, or until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat slowly just until combined. Do not overmix! Gradually, add in sugar and beat until creamy. (About 1 minute)

Add sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Periodically, scrape down sides of bowl and beaters. The batter should be well-mixed, but not overbeaten. Pour the filling into the crust-filled pan and smooth top with a spatula.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. (Be careful not to over bake!) The center will still be slightly jiggly. (It will firm up while it chills) Let cool for 30 minutes, and then loosely cover with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours. Carefully loosen the sides of the cheesecake from the pan with a thin spatula or knife, and then carefully remove sides of pan.

Serve with Strawberry Topping, if desired.

Strawberry Topping:
1 (10 ounce) bag of frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
or 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
3-4 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour sliced strawberries and vanilla in a medium bowl. Sprinkle sugar over the top. Mix together and slightly smash the strawberries with a fork. Cover and store in refrigerator for atleast 1-2 hours. Serve over cheesecake!

Recipe Credit: Life as a Lofthouse

Bean and Corn Salsa (or Nachos)

Wow, this is super simple but super yummy. Jeff introduced me to this because he had it all growing up. We love this.

1 bag tortilla chips

1 (16 oz.) can black beans, drained

1 (12 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (16 oz.) tub or jar of salsa

bunch green onions, sliced

bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

chopped tomatoes (optional)

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Mix the corn, beans, onions, and cilantro, then add however much salsa to balance out the colors.  From here, dip the chips, or spread teh chips on a baking sheet, topping each chip with 2 Tbsp. of the bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese.  Heat @ 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes or until cheese melts.  Garnish with tomatoes and serve immediately.  Makes about 5 cups of salsa.

Recipe Credit: Jenna Steed’s blog

Broccoli Salad (Souplantation)

This is one of our all-time favorite things at Souplantation (or Sweet Tomatoes). I was introduced to this restaurant when I met Jeff and learned that that was his family's favorite place to eat. Let me tell you, that was a happy day when I discovered this yummy salad. We love it!

3 bunches uncooked broccoli*
3/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
3/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped red onions

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1. Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl.

2. In a second bowl, beat dressing ingredients together gently until smooth.

3. Toss the salad with the dressing approximately 10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld. Serve on chilled salad dishes.

Serves 6-8.

*The broccoli is a loose guideline: often people have to make it a few times before they get it just the way they like it.

Recipe Credit: Fresh Ideas Blog

Cornbread and Honey Butter

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup oil

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Honey Butter

2 sticks REAL butter, (close to room temperature works best when slightly chilled still)

2/3 cup honey

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Be sure to use ONLY real butter (no margarine). (If your butter is too soft, you'll end up with a gooey mess, so just leave it out on the counter for about 20 minutes or so before beating and it turns out nice and fluffy.) Just place it all in a bowl and beat with an electric hand-mixer for about 30 seconds. Serve at room temperature with warm rolls, scones, breadsticks, corn bread, waffles, toast, etc.

Recipe Credit: Jenna Steed’s blog

Chicken Salad Wraps

Got this one from a Relief Society recipe exchange activity. Enjoy!

4-6 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. cashews
1/2 c. craisins
1 c. grapes, halved
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Tortillas or bread

1. Combine shredded chicken, grapes, craisins, and celery.

2. Add mayonnaise to the dry mixture and combine until mixture is creamy.

3. Mix in cashews.

4. Spread chicken salad onto tortilla to make wraps, or serve on bread.

Serves 6-8

Roasted Broccoli

Pre-roast:
4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (two large bunches)
5 T olive oil
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

Post-roast:
1 lemon (zest and juice)
1 1/2 T olive oil
1/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 T toasted

Authentic Mexican Guacamole

1 small white onion

1 clove garlic

2-3 avocados

5-9 dried red peppers (depending on the size of the pepper and how much "kick" you want)

Mash the onion and garlic until minced and flavorful. Add the guacamole. Add the dried peppers until it is spicy enough.

Tip: Add a small amount of lemon/lime juice if you don't want the guacamole to turn brown.

Puffed French Toast (Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom, Disney World)

Oh wow, this was yummy. Jeff and I ate this while at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. This one was a character buffet, so we also got to meet most of the characters from Winnie the Pooh! And one of the best parts was that we got a reservation at this place before the park even opened, so we got to walk down main street when it was empty! So awesome. This french toast was actually on the kids menu, but we loved it so much so I decided to post it. Enjoy.

Serving Size 6

4 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 each eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 slices bread (Texas Toast)
oil -- for frying

Method:

1. Combine 3/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and set aside.
2. Mix egg, 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, salt, vanilla and milk until well blended.

3. Slowly add flour and baking powder and mix until smooth.

4. Cut bread diagonally into triangles.

5. Dip bread triangles in batter, allowing excess to drip off. Fry in hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper towel. While toast is still warm, roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Recipe Credit: allears.net 

Hour Rolls

1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. milk
3 T sugar
1 t salt
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 T yeast
5 c. flour

1. *Microwave first five ingredients until warm.
2. Add yeast and flour.
3. Knead.
4. Set in warm place 15 minutes.
5. Form rolls.
6. Let rise 15 minutes.
7. Bake 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

*This also makes great cinnamon roll dough and fry bread and pizza.

Recipe Credit: Kara Black