Banana Bread

Banana Bread
1 cup butter, margarine or shortening
2 cups sugar
4 well beaten eggs
5 bananas (liquified in blender)
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add well beaten eggs.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and soda.  In a blender add bananas and blend until they are liquified.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the bananas to the creamed mixture.  Pour the batter into 4 small loaf pans or 2 larger pans.

Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes approximately for smaller loaf pans, and 50 minutes for larger loaf pans.

Zucchini Bread (high altitude recipe)

When we moved to Utah from California, I was devastated when most of my baking recipes didn't turn out right - especially my breads!  It took me a bit to figure out the high altitude challenges, make the adjustments & get back to baking zucchini, banana & pumpkin breads again.

This recipe has been my most-successful for zucchini bread.  I made 5 loaves yesterday from ONE zucchini my neighbor brought over - wow!  One and one-half of the loaves are already gone.  Happy, happy family!

I especially like that the outside crust gets slightly crisp.  You can substitute mini-chocolate chips for the raisins in this recipe if you're like me & don't like raisins!

Zucchini Bread - High Altitude Recipe

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute unsweetened applesauce for this but it makes the bread heavier & the crust doesn't crisp up as well)

1 Tblsp vanilla

2 cups shredded or ground zucchini (squeeze out excess liquid before using, but don't worry too much)

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour (I sometimes use 1 cup whole wheat & 2 cups all-purpose)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp double-acting baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease 2  9x5x3" loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, blend eggs, sugars, oil & vanilla.  Add zucchini.  Mix well.
3. Mix and sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg together.  (I usually don't sift anything - I just plunk it all in a bowl & stir it well with a wire whisk.)
4. Combine dry ingredients with liquid mixture.  Mix just until moistened.  Add walnuts & raisins, stirring only until blended.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake about 50-60mins (depending upon your oven), or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool in pans for 10-15 mins, then remove loaves to a cooling rack.

These loaves freeze really well!  Make a few, wrap extras in wax paper & place in ziplock bag.  They defrost moist & delicious, but without the slight crisp on the crust.  They keep well up to 3 months.

You can substitute mini-chocolate chips or the raisins, if you like.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Pizza Appetizer

**I had to come up with some kind of vegetable dish to take to a funeral yesterday.  I decided to do this recipe since it has so many fresh cut vegetables.  This was a recipe I remember from a Pampered Chef party years ago, but they always use dill to make theirs.  I'm not a lover of dill, so I use ranch.  I made  a second one for our family also, but added some grilled chicken as well.  It was DE-Lish!**




Vegetable Pizza Appetizer
1 Pkg.  Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 8oz cream cheese
1 packet Ranch Dressing powder
3 cups of your favorite vegetables chopped up  (I use broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and red peppers)
**As an option, I had some grilled chicken in the freezer that I heated up, cut into cubes and added to the vegetables as well**

Press the pkg of crescent rolls into the botton of a 9x13 baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Let cool.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and ranch packet.  Stir until it is all mixed in well.  Spread this over top of the cooked and cooled crescent rolls.

Chop your vegetables up into small pieces.  Put them all into a bowl to mix them together well.  If you are adding chicken, do so at this point too, so it is all evenly mixed together.

Pour this vegetable mixture over top of the cream cheese.  You can then serve immediately just like this, OR I added about 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese that was evenly distributed over top of the vegetables, and then I baked it in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.  I only did this because I thought it would help keep it all together better.

It really was DELISH.  Enjoy.

Cinnamon Roll Loaf

Doesn't this look YUMMMMY?!?  It literally took 5 minutes to make, 40 minutes to bake & about 10 seconds to drizzle.  Then I ran it over to a neighbor as a thank you gift.

My kids were not happy it wasn't staying home.

This couldn't be easier so get baking & ENJOY!!  :)

Cinnamon Roll Loaf

2 canisters of cinnamon rolls - choose your favorite or make your own recipe from scratch

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Butter the inside of a standard loaf pan.

Place the cinnamon rolls, one by one, in the dish vertically (standing on their side).  Overlap the rolls slightly at the middle and continue until the loaf pan is filled.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown & cooked through.  (Make sure it's not still gooey/uncooked inside!)

Drizzle with included frosting.

Serve warm or let cool and enjoy later.

Garlic Pull Apart Bread Recipe

**This is the 2nd recipe like this I have added. This one is cooked differently than the other one here on the blog. You can use regular roll dough, or you can use the refrigerated biscuits from the store.

Garlic Pull Apart Bread

1 16oz can buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup melted butter

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp garlic salt

In a small bowl, melt butter. Add garlic, parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Pour into a round cake pan or an 8x8 baking dish.

Open the biscuits and cut each one into quarters. Place them in the pan over the butter mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. ( I wish I would have baked the ones in the picture a little longer or used a dark dish verses a clear one)

When you take them out of the oven, flip the biscuits onto a large plate and serve.

**I used my dinner roll recipe, found here, and put then in the dish during the last 15 minutes of rising. I also used the refrigerator biscuits. They were popular both ways.

Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits

I could easily eat an entire batch of these - YUMMM!!! They were perfect paired with our Grilled Steak Salad last night (recipe below). I got this recipe from a magazine at least 10 years ago. I think it was Family Circle??....

A quick stir, bake for 10 minutes, and they're ready to go.

Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits
Makes 10 biscuits

2 cups baking mix (I used Heart Healthy Bisquick)
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 Tbsps melted butter or margarine
1/8 tsp garlic powder

• Preheat oven to 450*F.


• Stir baking mix, milk & cheese until soft dough forms. (I had to add about 2 Tbsps more milk to my dough.)


• Drop by 10 spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet.


• Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.


• Stir together melted butter/margarine & garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

I dare you to eat just one...

Parmesan-Garlic Pull Apart Bread

**Sorry, I know the picture doesn't look that appetizing. I should have watched it better while in the oven. We had Spaghetti for dinner tonight, and I have been wanting to attempt these using the same dough I use for our 60 minute rolls. My family loved them.***

Parmesan-Garlic Pull Apart Bread
1 recipe of 60 minute rolls (below)

Dry Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour --divided (2 1/2 cups 1 cup)
*This is how I did the flour, my friend said she started with 3 1/2 cups flour and added up to 1 more cup, but you may not use the whole 1 cup.
1/4 cup sugar
2 TB yeast
2 TB dry milk powder
1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Hottest tap water
1/4 cup oil

Add all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl (minus the 1 cup flour). Add wet ingredients to a measuring cup. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat by hand or by mixer for 1 minute. I did mine in my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Now, gradually add the extra 1 cup of flour and knead for 4 true minutes.

Cover and let rise for 15 true minutes.

While this rises...Add all the below ingredients into a medium sized measuring cup.

1/4 cup butter
1 TB minced garlic
3 TB parmesan cheese
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt

Punch down the dough, and roll into smaller than golfball size balls. I did 2o balls for my bread, and then I was still able to make 11 rolls that are rolled about the size of golfballs or larger to just make regular rolls.

After you roll the bread balls, roll them in to the butter mixture and place in a greased round casserole dish. If there is extra butter mix, just pour evenly over the top.

For the extra dough that you are using just for rolls, place them in an 8x8 greased casserole dish.
Cover and let rise again for 15 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. It's SO yummy & comes out perfectly every single time. Perfect for a cold Fall & Winter day snack - and your house will smell DELISH! Wrap it beautifully & it makes a great gift too.

Pumpkin Bread
from allrecipes.com - submitted by Shirley Sober

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9"x 5"x 3" loaf pans & set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs; mix well.
Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture, just until moistened.
Stir in pumpkin.
Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

In my oven, it only needed 50 minutes to bake.

ENJOY!!

60 Minute Dinner Rolls

**SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS ROLLS---This recipe was given to me by my friend El. I promise you will love these rolls AND they are super duper easy. My oven always cooks hot, and I should have been careful and watched these, but aside from being a little brown on the top, they are absolutely delicious. They have the perfect amount of yeast and next time, I will try these using wheat flour since we love whole wheat.**

This dough can also be used to make cinnamon rolls, and I think it would be great to make dinner calzones in. You could use ham and cheese or pepperoni, spaghetti sauce and cheese, etc..

UPDATE-- I just made a second batch with whole wheat flour. I was not crazy about them. I think the wheat was too strong. Maybe doing a half white/half wheat would be better. I did use regular yeast though this time instead of quick rising and they still worked.

Dinner Rolls

Dry Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour --divided (2 1/2 cups 1 cup)
*This is how I did the flour, my friend said she started with 3 1/2 cups flour and added up to 1 more cup, but you may not use the whole 1 cup.
1/4 cup sugar
2 TB yeast
2 TB dry milk powder
1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Hottest tap water
1/4 cup oil

Add all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl (minus the 1 cup flour). Add wet ingredients to a measuring cup. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat by hand or by mixer for 1 minute. I did mine in my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Now, gradually add the extra 1 cup of flour and knead for 4 true minutes.

Cover and let rise for 15 true minutes.

Punch down and pinch off balls about the size of golf balls. Place in a greased 9x13 pan.
**I personally liked them better when I cooked them in a 9x13 and an 8x8. They expanded a bit more and I just liked them better than squishing them all into a 9x13.

Cover and let rise for 15 true minutes.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
Makes 24 rolls.

Sticky Buns

**This is a real real family favorite. The Rhodes rolls are the best with this recipe, but if your grocery store does not carry them, they will still be yummy with whatever other brand you can find.**

Sticky Buns

18 "Rhodes" frozen dinner rolls
1/2 cup butter (not margarine)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 small pkg Butterscotch COOK N SERVE pudding (DO NOT USE INSTANT)

Lay frozen dinner rolls in a greased bundt pan. Melt butter in a medium sized measuring cup, then add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour this mixture over the frozen rolls evenly. Then open the pudding package and sprinkle entire contents evenly over the top.

Let rise overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, turn it upside down on to a large plate.

Bruschetta Appetizer

**Here are pictures of the ingredients we used, a plate of them made just fresh, and a plate where we added avocado to them (Yum), and some that were cooked under the broiler.**

This was a yummy lunch on a hot day. Above is a picture of the ingredients you need. The only thing we did was add a layer of regular salsa that has more liquid first.

So, get out your piece of bread. Spread a think layer of salsa. Then put a spoonful of the chunky salsa on top of that. Then top with some parmesan cheese.

We ate them cold, just like this. You can put them under the broiler if you want and they will be yummy that way too, but why heat up your house.

Homemade Croutons

**If you have a special event coming up, homemade croutons would make a great addition to a wonderful salad. I made these, and my husband said, "Why are you cutting all that bread?" I said, "I'm making homemade croutons." He said, "What a waste, just go buy some." Then the next day when I cooked them to take to the baby shower, he said, "Do you have to take all of them?"**


**This crouton recipe came from my friend Angela who is a wonderful cook. She told me to cook them about an hour before serving and I wished I would have listened. I was afraid because I had never made these before, so I wanted them made way in advance so if something went wrong, I had time to prepare. WELL, right when they come out of the oven you put them on some wax paper or foil to cool, and they are light and crunchy and yummy! I found that by time I got to the shower, they were not so crunchy and more chewy. The flavor was still ok, but for sure these are best to use within an hour or so of taking out of the oven. **

Homemade Croutons
1 loaf of day old french bread in the deli section (buy 1-2 days in advance to get it day old)
1 cup olive oil - divided
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - divided
2 TB minced garlic - divided
**These ingredients are as close to what I used without measuring. I just kind of take stuff and dump it in**

Cut up the french bread into cubes. I ended up using an electric knife. If you are cutting them up a day ahead, just put them in a ziploc. About an hour before you are going to make the croutons, pour them out onto a jelly roll pan and let them sit out. It will make it so they are not so soft. Take half of the cubes and put them in a large zip loc baggie. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese into bag, and about 1 TB minced garlic. Then drizzle 1/2 cup of olive oil over bread. Seal bag and shake really well. Spread out onto a jelly roll sheet or cookie sheet. Do the same thing again with the second half of bread cubes, and spread those on baking sheet too.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then lay out on foil or wax paper to cool.

Zucchini Bread

**This recipe was handed down from my mom. It is the only zuchini bread recipe I have ever made. I think next time I will make it without beating the eggs until they are light and foamy and see what happens with the texture if anything. **

Zuchini Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zuchini
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3-5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

In a mixer, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, sugar, vanilla and zuchini. Mix lightly but well. In a seperate bowl mix flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnmon. Stir to combine ingredients. Slowly add to zuchini mixture and mix until all ingredients are mixed in. If you are using nuts, hand stir them in now.

Evenly distribute mixture between 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on your oven.

Remove from pans immediately to cool.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

** This is a recipe from "The New High Altitude Cookbook" **

When we moved from California to Utah, none of my baked goods recipes worked. Everything was flat, raw in the middle, cookies spread wide on the baking sheet, and my quick breads were a total disaster. I was devastated!

This cookbook saved me. :) YAY! For those of you living at high altitudes (I'm at 3800 ft), this recipe is perfect. It doesn't rise in the middle like my bread did in California, but it still tastes wonderful, cooks through & stays moist. I also love that it's made partly with whole wheat flour or wheat germ.

This bread freezes extremely well. I like to bake up quite a few throughout the cooler months so we can pull them out during the summer. It also makes a great gift. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

1 cup shortening
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3 large bananas, mashed
1/3 cup water
2 cups whole-wheat flour and 1 cup + 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
OR 1 1/4 cups wheat germ and 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp double-acting baking powder (make sure it's "double-acting")
1 cup chopped nutmeats (like walnuts)

1. Preheat oven to 325* - 350*F. (In my oven, it's better at 325* and I bake it for 15 minutes longer)
2. Grease two 9x5x3" loaf pans.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening & brown sugar until light & fluffy. Add eggs, bananas & water. Mix well.
4. Combine dry ingredients & stir lightly with whisk to totally combine.
5. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture, stirring only until blended. Stir in nutmeats.
6. Pour batter into prepared pans.
7. Bake 1 hour at 350*F, 1 hour 15 mins at 325*F, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan.
   

YUMMY pizza on the BBQ

Okay, I'll start with the yummy dough recipe (sorry my lack of photography skills really does this no justice).

Herb Pizza Dough
½ cup warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast

Combine first three ingredients and set aside for 5 minutes.

3 ½ cups flour (white, wheat or combination of both)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon oregano

3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup cold water
1 ½ Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine dry ingredients then add yeast mixture and mix well. You can let it rise if you want but you don't have to. You can also let it rise a few times and it won't be a problem. Spread on cookie sheet add toppings and cook at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes 1 cookie sheet pizza.

Now if you want to bake the dough in the oven, fine. However, I just discovered how to grill it on the barbecue and oh my is it tasty...Click here for directions.

Meat Sauce over French Bread (which is a title I had to make up since it's a recipe I made up)

I posted a recipe for freezable meat sauce awhile ago & mentioned (as another dinner option) you could serve this meat sauce over french bread & topped with mozzarella cheese. We made it tonight & I wanted to share the results! :)

Paired with a salad it's a yummy, super-quick meal.



Defrost meat sauce. (I used 2 cups for 1/2 french loaf above.)

Heat meat sauce through in microwave or stovetop while hollowing out french loaf.

This is where I went wrong tonight! I cut the loaf in half before hollowing it out. Bad idea - it totally fell apart when we tried to cut it.

Use a whole loaf, just cut off the top third & then hollow out about an inch down. Leave at least half the french bread loaf intact at the bottom for stability.

Partially hollow out loaf of french bread.

Spoon meat sauce into hollowed-out bread & mound it up a bit.




Top with slices of mozzarella cheese (or grated).

Bake 15 minutes at 400*. Serve immediately.

(FYI - Above you see 1/2 french bread with just pizza sauce & cheese for my picky eaters)

Here's the original meat sauce recipe:


I have this meat sauce in my freezer all the time. When I make it, I make 1-2 extra batches & freeze them flat in Ziploc bags. Just pull one out of the freezer in the morning & serve that night for dinner. Love the convenience! Love the taste too! :)

FREEZABLE MEAT SAUCE
1 pound ground turkey (I've never tried ground beef)
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion (for a mild onion, use 1/2 cup - for a stronger onion, use 1/4 cup)
1 T fresh minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste
1 can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained & rinsed
4 cups spaghetti sauce (your favorite)
1/4 cup water

Brown ground turkey in a large skillet. Halfway through browning, add chopped onion. Cook until turkey is thoroughly browned & onion is translucent.

Stir in garlic & beans. Add salt & pepper sparingly. (just a few shakes is plenty - or none at all)

Pour in spaghetti sauce & stir to mix well. Only add water if sauce looks too thick - never more than 1/4 cup. Bring to soft boil.

Cover & reduce heat.
Simmer for 15 minutes and serve!


TO FREEZE:
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Spoon into gallon-size Ziploc bag. Push out all the air, seal & lay flat in freezer. On a cookie sheet is great, but on top of something flat like a pizza or pie box is good too.
Once frozen, you can stand it upright & it takes up less than an inch of space.

FOR VEGGIE OPTION:I've used portabella mushrooms, sliced or roughly chopped, instead of the ground turkey. I'm not a mushroom fan, but it was really good!

OH SO YUMMY Cornbread

Cornbread

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup melted margarine

1 1/4 cups milk

*mix ingredients together and set aside*

2 1/2 cups bisquick

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn meal

1 tsp brown sugar (I actually use a TB)

*mix dry ingredients, then stir in to wet mixture.

Pour in to a jelly roll pan and Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with honey butter. Yum!

*You could probably bake this in a 9x13, but I have never done this, so I don't know how long it would cook for.

Amazing French Bread

This bread is so yummy and it's super easy to make!

Dissolve 1 Tablespoon yeast in ¼ cup warm water for 5 minutes
Dissolve 1 ½ Tablespoon sugar and ½ Tablespoon salt in 1 cup hot water

Add: ¼ cup olive oil (extra virgin is best)
Yeast mixture
2 1/2-4 cups flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl but still stick, just so you're barely able to handle the dough with light oiled hands.

Oil a bowl and transfer dough to it and cover with oil sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Punch down and roll out as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Roll up, pinch end and tuck under ends. Brush with egg (yolk makes the bread really pretty) and cut three slits on top. Let rise again until doubled. Cook at 400° for 20 minutes. Let bread cool before cutting. This recipe makes one very large loaf.

If you happen to have to worry about an egg allergy, omit the egg and you can brush with melted butter after baking to give it the pretty color.

Recipe courtesy of my sister Mindy and beautiful picture courtesy of Rachel.

The Beauty of Bread

Some of you may remember Laura B. I found this on her blog and it looked great. So I'm stealing it from her for my entry.

A year or so ago a friend, who just happens to be a former "National Mother of the Year", taught me how to make a simple bread recipe and shared with me the beauty of bread.


I can see your eyes rolling. A year ago if someone had told me making home made bread was a secret to three simple meals- I would have laughed and scoffed in disbelief. Not to mention it was a next to near impossible task for the novice baker I am. I mean, homemade bread!?! My past attempts to homemade breads and rolls always turned out things that looked more like bricks or hockey pucks than something you could or would eat. It doesn't sound easy OR fun. But it's true- this recipe is so easy! And the beauty about it is with one batch you can make a pan of cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a pan of bread sticks for lunch AND make a braided (use a left-over) dish for dinner! Beauty eh? An hour or so of baking and you're done cooking for the DAY!

So yesterday, my son wanted to make "Cinnamon melts". I thought that would be a great Sunday morning treat so I pulled out the flour and yeast.


Here's the magical recipe-


Mix together
2 cups warm water- just from the tap
2 Tb. Yeast
1/2 cup sugar

Let this sit for a minute and "proof" the yeast. (Make certain the yeast is still good before you go on to the next step. How you can tell- it starts to bubble and get thick. If it doesn't- start over with a new batch of yeast.)



Add
2 1/2 tsp. Salt
3 cups flour
Mix well with a spoon




Add
1 egg
1/4 cup oil

3 more cups of flour- added one at a time.




At this point, I take my ring off, pour some veg. oil on my hands and go at it. After all the flour is mixed in- I put more veg oil on my counter and knead it up. I then scrape my bowl clean spray some Pam in it and place my dough ball back into the bowl to rise for 1/2 hour.






My friend, the former Mother of the Year, who is the real bread expert says "the oil adds flavor, richness and tenderness to the bread and helps the bread stay moist longer"- so don't be shy! (I use to use flour to knead my dough and no wonder my loaves were dry and hard.)






Now if you just wanted to make rolls after the first RISE you would make your rolls and let them rise another 1/2 hour then bake at 375 for 12-20 min.

But we are making the magical trio. So you've got 1/2 hour to wait.



Perfect time to clean up the counter and get ingredients ready for the next step...
I usually have to clear off a counter space to roll out the dough,
scrape up some dried peanut butter
sort the mail and random papers on the counter
do some dishes- or just throw them in sink full of suds
and jump in the shower

Okay- Now my dough has doubled.

Split the dough. Normally- I just make a few cinnamon rolls and more bread sticks. ( I mean, really? How many cinnamon rolls does one family need? We just eat them ALL- even with the best of intentions to give some to neighbors we can't resist. Just one more....)




Yesterday though- I had some leftovers I wanted to use. (Piggy back meals! I love this! I get such a thrill from using up my leftovers!). Two nights ago I made a chicken/cream of chicken soup with frozen vegetables & cheese casserole served with rice. I had maybe three serving left of the chicken casserole. So I divided my dough into THREE portions.



Preheat your oven at 375 degrees


FIRST- pull out the cinnamon roll portion.
Pour oil on your counter and roll out the dough into a rectangle.





So simple - a child can do it!



Spread with soft margarine






It probably won't take you as much concentration as my 5 year old.
He wanted "Cinnamon melts" but you'll notice he's not in any future pictures- his interest was quickly lost in "helping me".
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Sprinkle with brown sugar




roll it up like a jelly-roll


Cut into 1 1/2 inch portions





(Okay- who ever said using floss was the best way to cut cinnamon rolls out? Have you ever heard of that? Don't bother getting the floss. That will cut out a huge headache- just cut them. This is one of my favorite pamper chef tools.)
Place on a baking sheet and let rise until double. (Bake at 375 for 12-20 min.)


While the cinnamon rolls are rising.... Pull your next portion out for your bread sticks.
Roll dough into a rectangle

melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle in McCormicks Salad Supreme seasoning.





Then you cut your dough into 1/2 inch strips. Dip into the butter & seasoning on the cookie sheet. Twist and lay flat on same cookie sheet. Don't let the bread sticks raise a second time. Once the pan is full place in oven and bake for 12-30 minutes. I cut them in half. Then they are cooked and ready to warm up for lunch.



We eat these by dipping into pizza sauce. They make a great snack or as a side with spaghetti or lasagna OR my kids just fill up on them for lunch. (You can use different seasoning- garlic powder, basil, oregano and Parmesan for a more Italian twist.)

This is the best part.

LASTLY- While your bread sticks are baking, cinnamon rolls are rising...pat yourself on the back two down- one to go! Roll out your last rectangle of dough. Cut slits up the sides- but leave a center portion uncut for your filling.









Sorry the picture has my shadow in front of it... ( I really should learn some photography tips.)


Like I said before- I had some leftover chicken casserole. I wanted to spruce it up a bit- so I added some cream cheese.






By this time- your cinnamon rolls and braided bread are ready to bake. Where I live it is HOT HOT HOT- (Hawaii and NO air conditioning). So if I've got the oven on, I'm cooking everything at once, then we'll reheat in the microwave later. (But you could wrap up your braided bread and put it in the refrigerator until your ready to cook dinner.)
Both the cinnamon rolls and braided bread cook at 375. The cinnamon rolls will be done in 12-20 minutes and the braided bread in 20-25 minutes.


I wait to make this trio-combo when I have left-overs that would make tasty fillings. I mean, if I'm doing all the work of making bread... I don't want to have to cook chicken too! But some of you might like cooking more than me... so knock yourself out! You could fill it with cooked taco meat, cheddar cheese and garlic with onion- served with diced tomatoes, sour cream and shredded lettuce. Another filler my friend (former Mother of the Year)recommends is
Chicken a Broccoli:
1 cup chopped broccoli
2 cups cooked and chopped chicken
1 can cream chicken soup
1 cup mayo or sour cream
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 tsp curry powder.
(This makes enough for two loaves.)


And there you go!
Laura