Salami Bread – Fourteen Inches of Delicious Pizza-Related Serendipity

What started out as a frustrating attempt to test some pizza dough, turned into what we’re calling salami bread. This 14-inch long loaf of delicious serendipity was a revelation, and I didn’t even get to use it for it’s most obvious purpose…to make the world’s greatest Italian submarine sandwich.

As I mention in the video, I’m not even sure I’d do a meat sub with this, but instead may just load it up with lots of Italian cheeses, as well as fresh and pickled vegetables. Then I’d find a picnic, where I could sit back to soak in the sun, and the compliments.

There are hundreds of possible variations, so that’s going to be your homework. Why wait until the unlikely scenario of having pizza dough, but no toppings? Let’s be proactive. But no matter how you roll, and I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one salami bread:

12 to 16 ounce ball of pre-made pizza dough

8-10 slices salami or other similar meat

1/4 cup tomato sauce, or other crushed tomato product

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to cover

scattering of freshly chopped herbs, to taste

olive oil, as needed

- Bake at 400 F. for 25 to 30 minutes until browned and cooked through.

Sandwich Rolls – Because Size and Shape Matter

As promised, here is our method for making your own sandwich rolls at home, and while “shocked” may be a bit strong, I think many people will be surprised at just how simple these are. Like, four ingredient simple. Sure you have to wait a few hours while it rises, but that gives you time to decide what sandwich to make.

Besides the super obvious reasons why these are better than the ones from the supermarket, you can make them the exact size and shape you want. We’ve all been there…you find the perfect sausage at the store, but the rolls in the bakery dept. are either too short, or too long, leaving you angry and disillusioned. 

Like I said in the video, you can pretty much use this technique with any yeast dough, and it just depends on what you’re going for. Speaking of which, a viewer who couldn’t wait for this recipe to make banh mi, used our no-knead beer bread dough, and reported they had great success.

This recipe is based on our French baguette, but if you happen to have luck using another one of our recipes, please let us know! I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 6 Sandwich Rolls:

1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 1/2 cups warm water (100 F.)

1 1/2 tsp fine salt

19 ounces (by weight) bread flour (about 4 1/4 cups)

Sweet Potato Muffins – The Sweet Potato Pie of Muffins

Sometimes you don’t have a good reason for not loving a certain recipe, and that’s how it is for me with sweet potato pie. It just does not do it for me, and I don’t even know what “it” is. However, I thought the same flavors could work for a holiday-inspired sweet potato muffin, and I was thrilled with the results.

These are perfect if you have leftover sweet potatoes during the holidays, but if not, totally worth cooking a few just for this easy recipe. I microwaved mine for about 6 or 7 minutes, until they were very soft, but roasting, or boiling will also work.

By the way, we’re not using sweet potatoes for our sweet potato muffin; we’re using yams, which are actually just incorrectly named orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.  So, I guess never mind.

As I mention in the video, these muffins are just a little bit of frosting away from being cupcakes. I’ve never understood the allure of mini marshmallows on a sweet potato casserole, but something tells me some “fluff” would work well on these, as well. I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 24 Sweet Potato Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups mashed sweet potato or “yams”
1 cup chopped pecans, plus more for the top
demerara sugar for the tops

- Bake for 25 minutes at 350 F. or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Easy English Muffins – A Model of Buttery Deliciousness

I don’t watch a lot of food television, but every once and a while I’ll catch a show where celebrity chefs sit around describing the best things they ever ate, and this English muffin was inspired by one served at the Model Bakery, in Napa, CA.

These muffins were fried in clarified butter, and looked (and sounded) absolutely amazing. I didn’t actually use their recipe, since I wanted to experiment with a simpler, faster method; but if it makes you feel any better, I did cook them in clarified butter.

Speaking of which, I’ve never done a video for clarified butter, but you don’t need one, since all we do is melt some unsalted butter (the only kind I ever use), and once it’s melted, take a spoon and skim off the white, foamy milk solids from the top. That’s it. Once clarified, you can use it without fear of the butter burning from high temps, or long cooking times.

If you want, you could just briefly brown each side and finish these in an oven until cooked through, but I did mine all the way in the pan, a la Model Bakery, and it worked out fine. They took about 7 to 8 minutes per side, and really took on a great buttery flavor.

Over the years, I’ve tried several different methods, including the traditional batter cooked in ring molds system, but I think this technique is much easier, and produces something very close to a classic English muffin. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 6 English Muffins (recipe can easily be doubled):

- First mix:

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup warm water

- Wait 15 minutes to see if yeast is alive, then add:

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg white

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup warm water

- Mix dough and let double

- Form 6 seamless balls of dough, press on to a lined baking pan, coating both sides  with non-hipster corn meal.

- Allow to double in size and fry in clarified butter for about 7-8 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Let cool before splitting!

Sweet Potato Buns – Great for Burgers, and Learning How to Bake Without Fear

Not only does adding sweet potatoes to a burger bun make it more nutritious, delicious, and significantly more beautiful, but it also presents the perfect opportunity to get pass your flour amount phobia, and finally be able to make dough by feel.

Every once in a while, I’ll get an email from someone whose dough was way too wet, or dry, and I always think the same thing; why would you stop? Some actually tell me they had to throw out the whole batch, which is insane. Your dough’s too wet? Add some flour. Too dry? Add some water.

No matter how exact a recipe is written, you simply can’t go by measurements, volume or weight, and expect perfection. There are too many variables that effect how much flour is needed – like a cup of mashed sweet potatoes, for example.

The best strategy is to not add all the flour at once, and only add enough to achieve the soft, slightly tacky dough seen herein. One of the great advantages of video is being able to see what the dough should look and feel like.

Once you get comfortable with not worrying about exact amounts, but rather exact results, the world of bread opens up to you and your new-found powers. Now, you just need to practice, so with that in mind, I really hope you give these amazing sweet potato buns a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 large, 16 medium, or 32 slider-sized rolls:

For sponge:

1 package (2 1/2 tsp) dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's “RapidRise” Yeast)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup AP flour

Then add:

1 cup mashed orange sweet potato (also sold as yams)

2 tsp honey

1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt

1 large egg

3 tablespoons melted butter

3 to 3 1/2 cups flour AP flour, as needed to form the right texture dough (see blog post)

- Bake at 400 F. for 15 minutes, or until browned. Large buns may take an extra few minutes, and the sliders-sized may take a minute or two less.

Butter Puff Biscuit Dough – Faster, Easier, and Not Great for Shortcake

As promised, this is the puff pastry-like dough I used in the apple roses video, and while not exactly “ quick and easy,” this was definitely quicker and easier. Just don’t try and make strawberry shortcake with this stuff.

I wanted to use this dough as the centerpiece of our strawberry shortcake video, but unfortunately the cold pastry was way too hard to cut with a spoon, and so I ended up using a much more traditional, and user-friendly biscuit.   

That aside, as a puff pastry substitute, I think this was a huge success. Hopefully, you saw this in action in the apple roses video, which, by the way, was done with scraps. Besides fruit tarts, I’d love to try this for things like ham and cheese turnovers, and chocolate croissants.

With that in mind, I hope any and all successful experiments with this dough will be shared on social media; mostly so I can copy your ideas. By the way, there seems to a little controversy on YouTube as to the exact number of layers we got, so what say you? I hope you give this butter puff biscuit dough a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour (You can make you own by sifting together 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon fine salt)

3/4 cup cold water (add enough water to make a soft, but not sticky dough)

*7 tablespoons frozen unsalted butter (a stick is 8 tablespoons)

*I grated on about 4 tablespoons for the first application, and about 3 tablespoons for the second.

- I generally bake this stuff at 400 F.  Time will depend on what it’s being used for.

Toddler Approved Sweet Veggie Muffins

Sweet muffins loaded with carrots, zucchini and squash!

 Moist Sweet Veggie Muffins

Squash and zucchini is everywhere!! I've been taking full advantage by making recipes like this and this oh and this one too, to name a few.

Yummy! Can you see those specks of cinnamon...

So I might as well add these sweet, moist vegetable muffins to the list. My toddler asked me to make these muffins for him last week. I don't know why I just light up when he asks me to make him things. I love cooking for my lil mook mook.

Anyway, I use to make these vegetable muffins for him in mini-form all the time when he was one. I couldn't believe he still remembered them. I guess seeing all the squash and zucchini piled up on the counter jogged his memory.

Summer is so colorful!
This muffin recipe is great for using up all that extra produce
from the garden and it freezes beautifully!

These muffins are loaded with sweet carrots, zucchini, and squash with a sweet, cinnamon taste. If you like quick breads like banana bread, zucchini bread, apple bread and things like that, then you will love these muffins!

These veggie muffins make the house smell so good!

If you're a veggie hater, don't worry about tasting any veggies in this recipe. My son says "it just tastes like cake" : )


INGREDIENTS ( makes roughly 24 muffins)
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1 cup zucchini, finely shredded
1/2-1 cup squash, finely shredded

Preheat oven to 325. Bake for 18-20 minutes

Watch me make these moist, sweet veggie muffins from start to finish just for you!

*note* Feel free to reduce or substitute the sugar if desired. Shredded apples or applesauce makes a great natural sweetener as do honey.

Three Cheese Garden Pizza Recipe (Pampered Chef)

Three Cheese Garden Pizza

My sister hosted a pampered chef party a couple of weeks ago and I totally was not expecting to walk away with a fabulous recipe.

To demonstrate the products, we made this quick, easy and delicious three cheese garden pizza! (I hear they make these pizzas a lot at pampered chef parties )Just by looking at the ingredients I knew I was gonna love it but I was surprised that my toddler loved it as well.

It doesn't have any sauce but I think next time I might add a tad bit, as well as use my own pizza dough recipe. I love the fact that it's loaded with some of my fav. fresh veggies like onions, tomatoes, and zucchini.

I made this for lunch and I served it with oven roasted corn on the cob and a garden salad. We invited the in-laws over and they all agreed it was a fabulous lunch. My hubby said he had energy all day after eating a lunch full of veghgies.

This three cheese garden pizza will be going into the recipe stash!!

*Note* Using a baking stone makes all the difference in the world!!! The crust is so crisp on the bottom as opposed to being soft when using a regular pan. I'm making this using my new Pampered Chef Bar Baking Stone! I'm in love with this thing!!!!

Three Cheese Garden Pizza (adapted from Pampered Chef)

INGREDIENTS
1 refrigerated pizza crust
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
Cornmeal (optional)
2 cloves garlic
Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
2-3 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

Watch me make this Three Cheese Garden Pizza from start to finish!

Let's Make Homemade Frozen Pizzas!!!

Summer is coming!!! Quick stock the freezer with homemade frozen pizza!!!

Homemade Frozen Pizza

We use to purchase frozen pizzas every week. It was just one of those items that was a must have on the list like eggs, milk and bread. I finally came to my senses and realized how much money I'd save by just making up a few batches of pizzas and freezing them myself.

Not to mention, homemade frozen pizza is healthier than the kind we use to buy from the store, taste better and I LOVE that I can add whatever fresh toppings I want on them.

This pizza starts with a homemade pizza dough

Cutting them up in individual slices makes it so easy to have for lunch. I just grab four  two slices out of the freezer, throw into the toaster oven, add a side salad and a homemade lunch is ready in no time.

I also like that we don't have to all eat the same kind of pizza. My toddler likes extra cheese and sausage, hubby prefers chicken, caramelized onions and pineapples and me... well this recipe is how I like mine!

Ready to freeze after being loaded with fresh toppings

Frozen Pizza Crust (makes 2 round pizza crusts)
1 pack rapid rise highly active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon parsely
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups of flour (plus more for kneading. I usually use about 3/4 cup extra when kneading)


Toppings (add whatever you like! Here's what I used for two pizzas. Sorry I don't really measure toppings. I just load it on baby!!)
8 oz pizza sauce
2 (8 oz bags) Mozzarella Cheese
Spinach
Tomatoes, seeded & diced
Turkey dinner sausage, diced (this came fully cooked)
black olives, sliced

Watch me make these homemade frozen pizzas from start to finish!!

*Notes*

Be sure to cook any meats and allow to cool before you place it on the pizza.


The water MUST be between 120-130 degrees before adding it to the yeast. If the water is too cool, nothing will happen and if the water is too hot it will kill the yeast, both resulting in flat bread that will not rise.


Feel free to add additional seasonings in the crust to jazz it up a bit. The possibilities are endless.


This recipe uses rapid rise yeast. If you are using another kind of yeast you will need to follow the directions on the package as far as proofing times and water temperature.

Fresh, Homemade Flour Tortillas in No Time Flat

I was debating whether to call these supple, delectable discs, "tortillas," or "flatbreads," but since they were inspired by my testing of the Imusa tortilla press, seen herein, I decided to go with tortilla. This intro is dedicated to hungry SEO gurus everywhere.

Regardless of what you call them, if your only experience is with the dry, mundane supermarket varieties, you are in for a serious treat. Homemade tortillas are so much better that if you do decide to give these a try, be warned that you'll have a very hard time ever going back to the packaged option again.

Not only is the recipe very easy to make, there's no waiting hours for anything to rise, so in less than 30 minutes, you'll be enjoying the finest in hand-held meat delivery systems. Ironically, I failed to have any juicy grilled meat ready for the money shot, so I was forced to enjoy them au natural.

As I mention in the video, the hardest part of the entire procedure is rolling the dough balls into nice thin discs, but if you have a tortilla press this becomes very fast and easy. Since this post was made possible by my friends at Imusa, who also provided the press you see here, I'll included a couple links in case you want to add this apparatus to your kitchen tool collection.

I hope you give these a try soon, and your days of using store-bought tortillas comes to a warm, soft, and delicious end soon. Enjoy!

If you are interested in a tortilla press of your very own, here are a couple links:

Imusa Victoria Cast Iron Tortilla 6-1/2-Inch Press

Imusa Victoria Cast Iron Tortilla 8-Inch Press

Ingredients:

8 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cup), more as needed

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup hot water (about 105 degrees F.)

View the complete recipe

Roasted Garlic Bread Recipe

Roasted Garlic Bread &
White Cheddar Tomato Bread

I'll admit that I can eat a whole loaf of roasted garlic bread all by myself. That crusty outside, chewy center, topped with that butter, garlic, parsley combination just gets me every time! Yes lawd I have sinned!!!!

I HAVE to have garlic bread when it comes to eating certain meals  and that store bought stuff just will not do....no ma'am!! Ok I'm lying, I'll totally smash a box of frozen Texas toast garlic bread as well.

This recipe makes a simple, tasty loaf of garlic bread and white tomato cheese bread (if you wish)

To make the white cheddar tomato bread simply follow the recipe for garlic bread and  sprinkle on chopped tomatoes, white cheddar cheese and parsley.

Watch me make this Roasted Garlic Bread & White Cheddar Tomato Bread from start to finish!!

INGREDIENTS
1 loaf of of French Bread

8 Tablespoon butter, melted
3 cloves fresh garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated (I usually use Romano-Parmesan-Asiago blend)
1 Tablespoon Parsley, plus more for garnish

(Makes 1/2 loaf)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 -1 cup white cheddar cheese, grated
Parsley

Broil until the edges are golden

Serve hot from the oven 
(call me as soon as you take this out of the oven )

Get Creative: I hardly ever serve both sides of the french bread plain garlic only. Boooooo boring!!! I always do one side plain garlic and the other side something different. Currently I really like spinach Romano bread or smoke turkey sausage with smoke gouda. So many variety to try!

Best Homemade Pie Crust Recipe

Best Homemade, From Scratch Pie Crust 

If you are looking for a from scratch pie crust recipe that is easy, foolproof and downright melt-in-your mouth then here ya go!!

Pie are ALWAYS in season...apple pie, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie. (OMG I can so relate to Forrest Gump's friend, Bubba right now)  So many pie possibilities I'm smiling just thinking about it. (I really am smiling right now by the way)

A good pie must first start with a good pie crust! Most homemade, from scratch pie crust recipes I've tried are pretty bland, which probably isn't the recipes fault. Pie crusts are usually boring in order not to compete with the pie itself. Understable. Not agreeing but understandable.

However, I'm a sucker for a scratch- made pie crust that is buttery tasting (yes pie crust should always be made with REAL butter in my book!), tender and just makes you wanna keep pinching lil pieces of crust off the edge to eat. You know what I'm talking about? Oh Oh Oh and it also has to be EASY and fool proof because it is no secret that I suck am still learning how to make breads and thangs from scratch.

I honestly can't tell you when was the last time I've purchased a store-bought pie crust.  Now that I know how to make an incredible homemade pie crust I've actually gotten a little uppity when it comes to store-bought crust. I don't like there odd color or the smell of it's fake, processed ingredients. Butter, sugar, flour and salt. Yes that's what makes a REAL pie crust. Oh wait...this recipe has butter Crisco in it...um.... Ok so ONE questionable ingredient doesn't count! (p.s I will still nail a store bought pie crust because I'm greedy, but that doesn't mean I would buy it myself!)

I call this recipe The Best Homemade Pie Crust  because well... I have yet to taste a homemade crust with this much flavor yet still remains subtle. Yes, it knows it's place. It compliments any pie beautifully and that makes it perfect!

One of my readers told me that if you substitute the cold water for cold half n half it takes the curst to whole different level of yumminess! Well she didn't use those words but I'm soooooo ready to try it out and see!! Thanks so much to whoever sent me that tip! I'll update this post once I try the halfnhalf method

Watch me make this homemade pie crust recipe from start to finish

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of cold butter, chopped in pieces
1/2 cup cold butter-flavored shortening
1/2 cup ice cold water (add more by the tablespoon if the dough is too dry)

Banana Nut Pancakes Recipe

Banana Nut Pancakes

I love banana anything and pancakes are no exception. My mother use to make pancakes for us almost every Saturday growing up as a child.  I try to do the same thing with my son. Yeah I'm HUGE on family traditions. My toddler's palette however is a little more advanced than mine was as child, (I take full, proud responsibility for that!!) so I have to mix it up a bit for him. The plain ol pancakes with maple syrup just won't cut it every weekend for him.

My husband likes a lot of fluff on his pancakes so this banana nut pancake recipe with homemade banana brown sugar syrup is what I usually make for him on special days like his birthday or whenever I want something.

This pancake recipe is very basic and really any pancake recipe will do as long as it's not a super moist pancake recipe. I love the way all the flavors just tie together and although these banana nut pancakes looks very sweet with it's powdered sugar, cool whip & syrup, the sweetness somehow balances out beautifully.

I hope that you enjoy these beautiful banana nut pancakes just as much as we do in this house!

Watch me make these banana pancakes and homemade banana brown sugar syrup from start to finish!

INGREDIENTS


Banana Pancakes
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 -1 cup crushed pecans, finely crushed
Garnish: cool whip, powdered sugar, sliced banana, crushed pecans


Banana Brown Sugar Syrup
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Moist Zucchini Bread Recipe

Grandma's Moist Zucchini Bread

Aaaaah yes, zucchini bread. The spicy, sweet smell of this easy, quick bread baking brings back fond summertime childhood memories. I still have the image in my head of grandma proudly going out to her bountiful garden in that big, brown straw hat with that heavy basket propped on her hip, ready to gather up fresh zucchini.

She made lots of great recipes with zucchini but one of my favorites was her fresh, homemade moist zucchini bread. Grandmother made the best zucchini breads and everybody knew it. She'd start either early in the day or late at night because she didn't like to turn on the hot oven for an hour. She made loaves for neighbors, church gatherings and whoever else came by. I remember the insurance man coming by one day and him happily leaving with a loaf wrapped in saran wrap.

Even if you hate zucchini, you will love this bread! It is sweet with a hint of spice from the cinnamon and ginger. The outside is golden and tender and the inside is super moist and dense. I love it right from the oven, room temperature and even cold. One slice always follows another in my house.

I hope that you enjoy this moist zucchini bread recipe as much as I do!

Watch me make this fresh, moist, homemade zucchini bread recipe form start to finish!

Preheat Oven to 325

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves) 
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnut or pecans (optional)

Bake for 45 minute to 1 hour

ENJOY!!!

Melt in your mouth soft.....

Stick to the back of the fork moist!!!

Buttermilk Breakfast Biscuits

Southern Buttermilk Breakfast Biscuits

"Guhl how you g'won be from da Souf and not know how da make homemade biscuits!?" This is what my great grandmother C-Bell said to me one time when I told her I hated making from-scratch biscuits because they never turned out right.

It's true, me and biscuit-making DO NOT get along. (I'm getting better though, but it's totally the biscuits fault and not mine ; )

It's been so long since I've made buttermilk biscuits from scratch and now that I'm on this bread kick I just HAD to have some last night. I went straight to this breakfast biscuit recipe because it never lets me down.

This recipe is so easy and delicious and made especially for biscuit-making challenged people like myself.  It bakes up light, fluffy, golden, buttery biscuits that takes me back to country morning breakfast in Elberton.  "C-BELL, C-BELL WORKIN IN THE HOOOOT SUN....OVERRR THE HILL!!!" LOL (pardon me, that is an inside joke that only my female cousins will get when they read this. I couldn't resist.)

There is  just something to be said about a hot, soft, buttery biscuits straight from the oven. Lawd hammercy, that is one of my weaknesses. Especially when you sink your teeth into them and they just completely surrender,  melting into your mouth... I should write romance novels.

Throw on some grape jelly or pour on some white sausage gravy and BABY!!! They even taste good plain. Truth be told when I made these things last night, me and my toddler sat up and ate the first batch as soon as they came out of the oven. I didn't even feel guilty for not telling my husband they were ready. Snooze ya lose!

I love this breakfast biscuit recipe because it is so simple, quick and flavorful. Definitely a biscuit recipe you'll want to add to your stash!

Watch me make these biscuits from start to finish!

Ingredients: (makes 6-8 biscuits)


1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons powdered milk
1 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 dashes cream of tartar (find it in the spice aisle)
1/4 cup cold butter-flavored shortening
2/3 cup cold buttermilk
5 Tablespoons melted margarine (butter) - divided

*note* If you don't have buttermilk on hand, to make 1 cup of buttermilk simply use 1 cup of regular milk and add in 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let that sit for 5 minutes and there ya have some homemade buttermilk! 

Preheat Oven to 450

Step 1.) In a medium bowl whisk together flour, powdered milk, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar.
Step 2.) Cut shortening into dry mixture until it resembles large crumbs.
Step 3.) Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk & 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.  Stir gently JUST until combined
Step 4.) Place dough into the refrigerator for a minute or just until it cools down a bit.
Step 5.) Turn dough out onto a well floured surface (dough will be sticky, be sure to flour your hand and sprinkle dough with additional flour if needed)
Step 6.) Knead dough gently until it is elastic.
Step 7.) Roll or pat out dough to 1/2" - 3/4" thick; using a wide glass or round cookie cutter, cut out circles. (You can re-roll the extra dough and cut out more biscuits but they won't be as pretty as the first batch)
Step 8.) Dip each biscuit into the remaining melted butter and place in an ungreased pan with the sides of the biscuits touching.
Step 9.) Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden.
Step 10.) Brush hot biscuits with melted butter. (you may have to melt some more butter)

Quick Biscuit Making Tips 

(REMEMBER WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING BISCUITS, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!)

Although  there are some people that produce gorgeous, picturesque biscuits on their first try ......huzzies!!!

1.) Keep Your Ingredients COLD! COLD ingredients make for an incredible biscuit!
2.) Whisk your dry ingredients really well to make sure everything is combined
3.) Once you add in your wet ingredients start being REALLY gentle. Biscuit dough does not like to be handled roughly or a lot. Mix your wet ingredients in gently with the dry ingredients JUST until they are combined. Do not over mix or you'll have a flat & dense biscuit on your hand. (this may take some practice or at least with me it did because I'm very heavy-handed)
3.) Knead your dough gently just until it is elastic. (don't over knead)
4.) When cutting out your biscuits do not twist the cookie cutter. This will result in a flat biscuit
5.) Before placing biscuits in the oven, use your thumb to make a small indention on the tops of the biscuit. This will help them to rise evenly.
6.) If your biscuit dough starts to get warm as you're working with it, place it into the refrigerator to cool off a little.

Amish Bread Recipe...GONE SO WRONG!

What in the AMISH BREAD HELL!! How does a bread explode all over the oven. Please explain this to me. I made this video in tribute to my husbands Amish Bread. Yall....I don't even have words to say right now really. This is the same man that is coming out with a cooking blog. A cooking blog..Wow!! I'm still in shock that is he serious about this!

Yall he sits and plans out the meals he's gonna make on his blog and everything!  He hates cooking but being the competitive man that he is (and I love it) he is determined to take on this mission to prove that he can do it.  I'll support him every step of the way.... I mean I wanna be the supportive wife that encourages her man to grow...

BUT

I will not stand by him and watch my beloved oven and pans be violated in this manner!!!!!

Just watch the video. Give me some advice! Do I support him in this endeavor or tell him to breath, relax and just let this dream go like Sister Patterson's hairline?

Redemption!!!
**UPDATE***  My husband attempted this bread again on 12/26/09 and it was a success!!! Yayy! It turned out soooo soft and moist. Good job for trying again baby!!
( FYI: He used his SISTERS pan this time and lined the bottom of the oven: )

Homemade Yeast Rolls Recipe ~Grandma's Easy, Quick Dinner Rolls~

Grandma's Homemade Yeast Rolls

I will be the first to tell you that when it comes to making yeast breads from scratch...I kinda like...suck! I guess I don't have that delicate, patient bread-makers touch. (I'm learning though) That is why I LOVE this yeast roll recipe.

It is so easy, quick and pretty much error proof. It doesn't need any tiresome kneading, none of that rolling pin madness or super long rising time. You don't even need to break out the bread machine. My kinda recipe!!

This is the homemade yeast roll recipe that my grandmother uses to make rolls for Sunday dinners and special holidays. They are light, soft and has the perfect mild flavor to compliment any type of meal.  As soon as these lovelies come out of her oven on Thanksgiving it is the first thing that gets attacked.

So if you are homemade yeast roll challenged like myself, but LOVE the taste of fresh made dinner rolls then give this recipe a try!!

Here's how to make homemade yeast rolls! Watch me make these yeast rolls from start to finish!

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 packet of dry active yeast (rapid rise) (please see bottom note if you are using the highly active yeast)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4- 1/2 cup sugar 
1/4 cup of butter flavored shortening (Butter flavored shortening makes these rolls taste sooo good. If you use regular shortening the flavor will be really basic and taste like...well...bread.)
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Step 1.) In a large bowl, add 1 1/4 cup flour & yeast. Mix with whisk until combined. Set Aside

Step 2.) In a saucepan, over medium heat, add milk, sugar and shortening.  Stir constantly until shortening has melted. Do not boil.  (check on the back of your yeast package to see how hot this liquid needs to be. It's usually between 115-130 degrees F. USE A COOKING THERMOMETER IF NEEDED )

Step 3.) Pour milk mixture into flour mixture. 

Step 4.) Add in the egg

Step 5.) Beat on low speed for 1 minute and then on high speed for three minutes. (this will help get them light and fluffy)

Step 6.) Next, add in the salt and the rest of the flour (2 cups)

Step 7.) Use your hands or a rubber spatula to mix in the flour until a soft ball of dough forms.

Step 8.) Grease a bowl with vegetable oil and place the ball of dough into it. Cover and refrigerate for atleast  2 hours. 

Step 9.) Remove from refrigerator & punch down the dough with your fist to release the air.

Step 10.) Spread a thin layer of melted butter in the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan. 

Step 11.) Take a chuck of dough and form it into your desired shape. (Dip the dough in butter or brush on the butter. ) and place it into the pan.

Step 12.) Next cover the pan with a thin kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place for atleast 1-1 1/2 hours. (wait to bake them until you are ready to serve your meal so they will be piping hot! They don't mind hanging out)

Step 13.)  Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden. Keep an eye on them after 10 minutes. When they come out of the oven brush them with butter. I like to use a light mixture of honey & butter. Yummy!

NOTE* If you using Rapid Rise "Highly active" yeast  skip the refrigeration step and let the dough rise in a covered bowl for 10 -15 minutes in a warm place. Proceed with the rest of the recipe. Highly active yeast replaces the first rise.

Serve piping hot! Enjoy!

*Quick Yeast Making Tips*

1.) Make sure your yeast is fresh and quick acting (we don't want to be waiting around forever) Expired yeast or improperly stored yeast will suck majorly! Store yeast in the refrigerator.

2.) Make sure the liquid is warm enough. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast once it's added in. If it's too cold it won't react with the yeast which will result in crappy, crumbly, flat rolls. 105 - 115 degrees F. is perfect temperature but your yeast package may suggest 120-130 F. Just think of a nice cup of soothing hot chocolate (not too hot to sip, but not cold either) 
3.) If you alter the ingredients then your rolls may have a different texture and taste. I wouldn't suggest trying to replace the shortening with oil and so forth.

 

Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~

Grandma's Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing

If you've ever wondered how to make a flavorful, homemade Southern Cornbread dressing then let me share with you my grandmothers recipe. This dressing is usually the ONLY dressing I will eat. It is moist, full of that soul food flavor and as southern as it gets! I'm talking Elberton, Georgia southern!! (lol sorry fam I just had to put that in there)

My grandmother has been making this dressing for EVERYBODY'S Thanksgiving since I was a baby. People put in their requests for her to make them a pan for their Thanksgiving dinner months ahead of time.

When she gave me this recipe I was surprised to discover how easy it was. All this time I thought it was some complicated process. Now if you want this dressing to be darker then you can put in more seasonings. My grandmother puts in a crap load, but I find it tastes delish with just a teaspoon of each.

If you have a favorite southern cornbread recipe (not the sweet kind)  then use that. If not I've listed a basic, easy one below.

I want to apologize in advance for the quality of these pictures. I know they suck. I originally intended to do a video but simply did not have the time and I REALLY wanted to share this recipe with you guys today! So I just pulled them from my flipcam.

Ingredients

Basic Cornbread
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Dressing
Cornbread (9x9 inch pan) (my grandmother always uses day old cornbread)
1 cup onions, diced (about half of a large onion)
1 cup of celery, diced (about 3 stalks)
1 cup of green bell peppers diced (about 1 medium green bell pepper. You could also add in some red bell pepper as well if you'd like)
3 pieces of toast
1 shredded chicken breast
2 eggs
3-4 cups of chicken or turkey broth
Seasoning (poultry seasonings, sage, black pepper, )

Preheat the oven to 350

Let's Make the Cornbread

Step 1.) In a bowl, stir together the cornmeal & flour.

Step 2.) Add in the buttermilk,  eggs & oil. Stir until combined.

 

 

Step 3.) Pour into a greased, shallow baking dish or iron skillet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until set. 

 

While the cornbread is cooking let's do some prep work!

Step 1.) Boil 1 large chicken breast. Let it cool and then shred it up. Set aside.

Step 2.) Toast 3 pieces of bread. Set aside.

Step 3.) Chop up celery, onion & bell pepper. Saute them in butter until tender (I was watching America's Next Top Model and completely forgot to do this step!) Surprisingly, it still turned out well. Set aside.

Ok Let's Make This Dressing!!!

Step 1.) When your cornbread has cooled, break it up in a large bowl, along with the toast.

 

Step 2.) Add in the shredded chicken & the sauteed veggies. Use your hands to really mix it up good.

 

  

 

Step 3.) Add in some spices. I usually start with a teaspoon of each and then add more after I put the broth in if it needs it. Mix it up well.

Step 4.) Next add in the broth a little at a time. Add in just enough to make it thick & soupy. Stir  it up.

Step 5.) Give it a taste. It should taste exactly the way you want your dressing to taste. If it needs more spices add them in here. When you are content with the taste, go ahead and stir in the eggs.

Step 6.) Pour into a buttered 9 X 13 casserole pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until set.

Now all you need is some juicy turkey and home-style gravy!!