I haven’t made dinner rolls with her recipe for a long time and since I had to cook for the ranch today, I thought it’d be a good time.  Two important things about this recipe. Try to follow directions exactly to have the softest rolls ever.  So when it says little flour, use VERY little flour if any.  And when it says to butter them, be generous!  Enjoy y’all!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 envelope Active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup very warm water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup scalding hot milk
• 1 egg –lightly beaten
• 4 1/2 cups of sifted all purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons of melted butter for brushing rolls

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle the yeast over very warm water in a large bowl.  (warm water should feel comfortably warm when dropped on wrist)  Stir until yeast dissolves.

Add sugar, the 1/4cup butter and salt to hot milk and stir until the sugar dissolves and butter is melted.  Cool mixture to 105 to 115 degrees.

Add milk mixture to yeast, then beat in egg.  Beat in 4 cups of flour, one cup at a time to form soft dough.  Use some the remaining 1/2 cup flour to dust a pastry cloth.  Knead the dough lightly for 5 minutes, working in the remaining flour (use if for flouring your cloth and hands).

Place dough in a warm buttered bowl; turn greased side up.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1  1/2 hrs.

Punch dough down and knead 4 to 5 minutes on a lightly floured pastry cloth.  Dough will be sticky, but use as little flour as possible for flouring your hands and the pastry cloth, otherwise the rolls will not be as feathery light as they should be.

Pinch off small chunks of dough and shape into round rolls.  Place in neat rows, not quite touching, in a well-buttered 13×9x2 pan. Cover rolls and let rise in warm place until doubled, 30-45min.

Brush tops of rolls generously with melted butter, then bake in a 375′ oven for 18-20minutes or until nicely browned.

Serve warm with plenty of butter.  I pour melted butter on top of the rolls right when the come out of the oven.

Recipe makes about 2 dozen!

I served up my rolls in my brand new, very pretty Tuscan Everyday Baker.  I love that color!

Let me know if you make them!

I love cookbooks like this and if you’re into this stuff, check out the whole line of 101 things cookbooks for fun and easy recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (16.3oz) biscuits
• 1 can apple pie filling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400′.  Flatten each biscuit into a 6″ round.  Place 2 heaping tablespoons of pie filling on each biscuit.  Moisten edges of dough with water.  Fold over and press edges firmly with a fork to seal.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Mix cinnamon and sugar and then sprinkly over top of biscuits.  USE IT ALL.  It might seem like a lot but it’s really not.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  YUMMY!

Make your loved one a sweet dessert without all of the calories.   This recipe from Chef Chris Malon that will make your sweetheart love you more because they can indulge on some sweetness without  packing on the pounds.

INGREDIENTS:

• •1¼ cups cake flour
• •¾ cup soy flour
• •½ cup soy protein
• •1 teaspoon salt
• •1½ cups Splenda
• •1½ cups canola oil
• •½ cup egg substitute
• •3 one ounce bottles of red food coloring
• •1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• •1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• •1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• •2 teaspoons white vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9″ cake pans with non-stick baking spray; line with parchment paper and spray bottom of pans once again. Set aside. Whisk together the flours, soy protein and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Mix Splenda and oil on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk until combined. Add egg substitute and mix well. Mix in food coloring and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. Add baking-soda mixture to batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

• • ½ cup soy spread, room temperature
• • 1 (8- ounce) nonfat cream cheese, room temperature
• • 1 cup Splenda
• • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place soy spread in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy for about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add Splenda and vanilla, and beat until combined, about 2 minutes.

She’s a stay at home mom, like myself, and also happens to be one of the Eleven Moms.  Not only is she a super nice person, she truly does a lot for people and her Big Give during the holidays was a HUGE success.  She was able to bring in Kenmore with their donation, giving $7500 worth of appliances to their Faith Mission in Indiana.  AWESOME!!!  Lucky for me, I’ll get to meet this giving gal in a few days!!

I heart Amy for many reasons but because I’m a foodie, her food posts always catch my eye.  She’s always doing fun and creative things and many of her meals are budget friendly and fast!  One of her latest recipes is bread and around here, just a simple loaf of bread disappears in 30 seconds so imagine how fast a  fresh loaf of bread would be gone in!

She does extensive reviews on MANY products and really does her research so if you’re looking for someone that you can trust, aside from me of course.  And right now, you can join her in journey to test out the  Mercedes GLK and by the looks of it, it got to play in the snow!

Despite her huge success, Amy is as personable as they come, authentic, and a kind hearted woman.  And well, she’s just plain nice!

Whether it’s food, reviews, or her fun videos that you’re after, she has it all and I can’t recommend you visit her site enough!

This recipe is done in a bread machine but I’d imagine that you could cook this in the oven too just being careful as far as temp and time goes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/2 cup soy flour
• 2 cups white rice flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.  Select the sweet dough cycle.  Five minutes into the cycle, check the consistency of the dough.  Add additional rice flour or liquid if necessary.  When bread is finished, let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from pan

Freeze part of the loaf and use when needed.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Large ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
• 3 cups pitted fresh or frozen pie cherries
• 1/4 tsp. Almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 or 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• pastry for double pie crust (store bought or from scratch)

DIRECTIONS:

Put prepared fruit and almond extract into a large bowl.  Combine sugar and flour; sprinkle over fruit, tossing to mix.

Prepare pastry and fill bottom crust with prepared fruit.  Cut butter into small pieces and dot top of fruit.  Place top crust over fruit, trimming to allow 1/2″ to tuck under edge of lower crust.  Pinch and crimp edge.  With a sharp knife, make slits near center of pie.

Bake at 400′ oven for 45-55 minutes or until crust is brown and filling bubbles up through slits.   Allow your pie to cool before serving!   YUMMO

See that ice cream on the right? Coming in Spring….

p.s. I would love to see you join the new foodie community.  I already gave away two fabulous prizes to active members and that’s only the beginning;)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick butter (1/2cup), Unsalted & room temp
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp orange juice (1/4cup if freshly squeezed)
• 1/4 cup milk (you can use 2% if you want)
• 1/2 tsp grated orange rind

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325′ and have your 9×5 loaf pan buttered and ready to go.

Cream butter & sugar, then add eggs and mix well; set aside.  In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.  In a measuring cup combine orange juice, milk and orange zest and start adding butter mixture alternating with the flour mixture until light & creamy.

Spoon (pour) into pan and bake for 45min or until center comes out clean with toothpick.  Cool in pan and then remove from pan and drizzle with glaze.

OPTIONAL GLAZE

• 2tbsp orange juice
• 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

Mix together and drizzle on cake while still warm.

One foodie family tradition I do welcome is the basket full of fruit courtesy of my parents.  They do this every year and it’s refreshing to have something healthy around to eat and a good distraction for my toddler’s craving of more sugar cookies!  They also bring an assortment of nuts so it’s  all good!  OH, and they always bring it in such a lovely basket for a beautiful presentation.  Of course, I didn’t get the basket in the picture but I assure you it’s lovely.

And Santa ALWAYS brings the kiddos fruit.  You know, he’s not only rewarding them for being good, he’s also trying to instill healthy eating habits too;)

Potential health benefits of eating fruit…

*potential for weight control
*more energy for exercising
*reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases
*reduced risk of developing cancers
*lower blood pressure
*potential to lower cholesterol
*reduced change of developing type 2 diabetes
*potential to slow down age process

Incorporate some fruit and reap the rewards of good health!

It can be quite easy to slip 5 pieces of fruit into the diet. Here are some tips..

1. Add dried fruit to breakfast cereal
2. Prepare fruit salads to last few days
3. Eat apple before leaving for work
4. Eat small piece 30 minutes before / after light workout
5. Drink more fruit juices
6. Find recipes that contain fruit
7. Always have a bowl of fruit in or near T.V

So for 2009, try buying a fruit basket as a family gift and encourage others to eat healthy!  What are your fruit eating habits and traditions?  Share in the comments and/or at A Spoonful of Flavor, the new foodie community.

See,  you don’t always have to spend money on materialistic items you know, something from the heart and handmade is what counts.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• Grated rind of one lemon

Glaze Ingredients

• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350′ for metal pan, 325 for glass.  Blend margarine and sugar and beat in eggs.  Sift dry ingredients together and add to batter alternating with buttermilk.  Mix well.  Stir in grated lemon rind.  Pour into 9″ x 5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at for 1 hour for metal pan and 1 hour 15min for glass pan.

While bread bakes, combine glaze ingredients, stirring lemon juice until sugar dissolves.  When baked, remove bread from pan and pierce top with toothpick or cake tester all over.  Spoon glaze over.  Allow to cool before slicing!  This freezes well folks.

TIP: If you don’t have buttermilk, add a little vinegar to regular milk and let sit for a few minutes.

Cooking with the White Trash Mom

The best part about these recipes is that they are EASY to make.  If a recipe is hard, I could not do it. I am that bad of a cook. These recipes will bring you tons of fun and enjoyment and are a great addition at any gathering.

Winter Holiday Fun-Gingerbread Double Wide
Think of it—a double wide that you can eat!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of graham crackers
• 1 can vanilla frosting
• 10 sugar cubes
• Sprinkle of sugar

Directions:

Break a graham cracker in two.  Spread frosting out on a plate, sprinkle with sugar.  Stick 4 sugar cubes in the frosting where the graham crackers can stand on them.  Frost tops of the cubes. Frost the cracker edges and stick lengthwise on top of the frosted sugar cubes, joining the cubes, like glue at the frosted edges.  Let it set for at least 30 minutes.  Frost the top of a second graham cracker, sprinkle with sugar. “Glue” it down to the top of the cracker trailer with a glob of frosting.
Your double wide is complete and ready to eat!

Recipe courtesy of the ‘White Trash Handbook

Here are some WT recipes to liven up your dessert table! One of the staples of WT cooking is the Hostess Twinkie. You can find variations of my Twinkie recipes via the wonderful Hostess website.

JOY JOY FUN, a live view of this fun double  wide!

Here are some photos from White Trash Mom…….Ummmmm, guuuurrrrl you need to let that camera focus before you snap!..LOL