This recipe was submitted by Sherri for May’s Food Challenge.  If you have a recipe with eggs in it, you can enter too! Check it out ’cause there’s a great prize!  Thanks Sherri for entering!

Ingredients

• 12 frozen biscuits
• 12 oz country ham, thinly sliced
• 3 lg Egglands Best Eggs
• 1/2 med habanero pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/4 c Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp chives, dry
• 1 lg onion, sliced
• 6 Tbsp butter, unsalted (3 Tbsp for onions)
• 3 pinch salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place biscuits on lightly greased cookie sheet. Have sides touching each other. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. One minute before cooking is complete melt 1 tbsp butter, add Italian season and half of the chives. Brush the tops of biscuits with the butter mixture; continue to cook the biscuits for one more minute. Remove biscuits from oven and place on a cooling rack.
2. Meanwhile, in a heated large skillet, add ham slices and enough water to cover ham slices. Cook at medium heat until liquid has reduced in half. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Flip ham slices half way through. After liquid had reduced, remove ham and set or warming plate.
3. Add chopped habanero pepper, mustard and honey to the pan sauce. Simmer on low heat for about 2 minutes. Set aside
4. Grill sliced onions in 3 tbsp butter. Remove and set aside
5. Whisk eggs, remaining chives, pepper and salt. In a medium size frying pan, add 2 tbsp of butter. Let melt, and then add eggs. Cook eggs about 1 minute and flip and cook for an additional minute. Remove and cut into 12 equal pieces
6. Slice biscuits in half. Layer equal parts of egg, honey mustard mixture, ham, grilled onions and tops of biscuits.

Serve with fresh fruit and veggies.

I’ve made Chicken and Dumplings from scratch before but to be honest, it’s not worth the extra time in my opinion. In fact, check out this post on an attempt to make them from scratch and you’ll see exactly why go the quick route!  I learned how to take a shortcut a long time ago and it’s the only way I make them now. This is one of those perfect meals for Winter time and a great filler–perfect for when you are on rations. I’ve noticed a trend in my recipes. They are fit for anyone struggling to get through to the next payday. I guess that’s because we had more struggling years than I’d like to remember. While I tend to make this meal very basic, I know several folks who add a can of cream of chicken to the boiling water, after you take the chicken out. I don’t do it but it’s good either way.

INGREDIENTS

• 10-12 chicken thighs
• 4-8 cans of cheap biscuits (depending on how many dumplings you prefer)
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Rinse your chicken thighs and boil in water for 1 hour or until done.  Remove from water and place on cookie sheet.  While chicken is cooling, tear the canned biscuits into small pieces-about the size of a nickel and toss into water making sure to stir occasionally. While your dumplings are cooking, shred the chicken off the bone and place into dumpling soup.  Your dumplings are done when they no longer float–about 15 or 20 minutes. Add your salt and pepper and your done.

Alternatives: If you want to add flavor, try using chicken broth or cream of chicken after you take your chicken out.

Boil the heck out of the chicken!

Let it cool off!

Toss in your biscuit pieces…see how they’re floating?  NOT done.

While dumplings are cooking, tear that chicken up!

The shredded chicken….

Throwing the chicken in the dumpling soup. See how there are no dumplings floating?? That’s because they are done.

When the kids go back to school, I tend to stock my freezer full of ready made products.  You know, the ones that take minutes to cook or heat up?  I do this because A) The kids are usually starving right after school and supper isn’t ready until 6 and B) back to school usually means I’m the one helping with most of the chores here on the ranch instead of the kiddos, well, because they’re at school!  That means my time will get eaten up by chores, the little cowpoke (since the kids won’t be around to help watch), and trips to and from school helping out.

I love to cook from scratch and do it often but there are times when the kids need something fast to hold them through until supper or sometimes we need a meal in less than 30 minutes because we’re headed to town or school function.

Something I buy are Hot Pockets, Fully Cooked Chicken, and Stouffer’s Easy Express Skillet meals.  I’m obsessed with the Stouffer’s lasagna but don’t always have time to cook the family version of it so the express meals come in handy!

We have two freezers, one big one for our beef and other stuff and our top freezer on our fridge. This is where the quick foods are easily accessible.

As you can see, it’s not very well organized. I’ve got veggies on bottom, hot pockets, chicken, Popsicles and bacon on top.  My other freezer holds the Stouffer goods because well, obviously I can’t fit much else in here!

Here is one of my 20 minute meals using the Stouffer’s Easy Express Meals. First, I use Easy Express Skillets Grilled Chicken & Vegetables.  It has the vegetables already in it but I still need one more filler. Since these meals literally only take 20 minutes, I need something that takes the same amount or less.  That’s where biscuits come in!  Bread is always a great filler and I’ve got a recipe that takes 20 min or less.

BISCUITS!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• dash of salt
• 2 Tbl. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter
• 3/4 c. Carnation Evaporated Milk

PREPARATION:

Mix dry ingredients.  Add butter, milk and form into soft dough.  Do not over knead!  Pat into a ungreased 6×6 pan.  I use a pie pan myself so you can use whatever.  Cut into serving size portions before you cook.  Bake at 400′ for 15 to 20 minutes or until done and golden brown.

$500 Walmart Gift Card

I usually make my giveaways pretty simple, and while this one is still simple, it requires a bit more thought than the others I’ve done in the past.  Hey, it’s $500, if you wanna the chance to win something big like that, it’s gonna take a bit more work!

TO ENTER

Leave a comment here with a recipe using one of these Nestle products that would be great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack:

• Carnation Evaporated Milk
• Nestle Raisinets
• Haagen Dazs Ice Cream (any flavor)
• Nestle Coffee-Mate Creamer (any flavor)

ONLY ONE RECIPE COMMENT PER PERSON! Put a little effort into the recipe folks. Please don’t be lazy;)  I’d like to try some of the recipes myself!  In fact, those of you who are saying, ice cream between two cookies, etc–WILL NOT COUNT!!!  Geez!

Additional/Optional ways to enter, leaving each one in a separate comment:

• Twitter the giveaway, including a link back here and my handle, @ACowboysWife -1 entry
• Share on facebook or similar social networking site and leave a comment telling me. -1 entry
• Create a Whrrl story using photos of your recipe and I’ll give you an additional (include link to story)-25 entries!

FINE PRINT

This giveaway is sponsored by Nestle.  Giveaway closes on August 18th at about 10pm CST.

These dinner rolls are one of the easiest and most delicious bread recipes I have.  I first learned how to make dinner rolls from one of our previous employer’s wife, on the Fulton Quien Sabe Ranch.  She was a great cook and made many things from scratch but boy could she make a bread recipe now!  She always had to make double because each cowboy would eat 4 or 5 rolls each.  Yes, they were that good.

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 13x9x2 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!

Just bringing you easy and affordable recipes these days huh!  To make these Apple Turnovers from scratch would be divine but since many of us don’t have the time, I found a shortcut from the coolest cookbook ever, 101 Things to Do with Canned Biscuits!  These only take a few minutes to prepare and about the same amount of time to cook.

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!

Sometimes I’m running behind in the kitchen and don’t have the time to make sourdough rolls, etc but I have this faithful recipe that, with and hour and half, I can have fresh homemade rolls for my crew.  I just made these for the ranch crew here and they seemed to be a hit!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pkg. RapidRise Yeast
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• Salt
• 3 c. flour

DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve 1 package yeast in 1 cup of warm water.  Add to sugar, oil, salt, and flour.  Mix and knead well.  Let rise in warm place for 1 1/2 hours.  Roll out 12 rolls and place in a greased pan for 12 to 15 minutes at 400′.  Quick, super easy and SOOOOO good!  I chose to use a muffin pan but you can use a regular casserole dish.

I love bread so when I get a hold of a bread recipe, I lock it up tight.  These are really good and are one of my favorite type of biscuits.  Note that I said biscuits, not rolls.  There is a difference!  I used to make these for the cowboys all the time and got pretty good “reviews” from them:)  With that said, here we go……..

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• dash of salt
• 2 Tbl. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter
• 3/4 c. buttermilk (Don’t have buttermilk? No prob, just add 1 or 2 Tbls of vinegar to milk.)

PREPARATION:

Mix dry ingredients.  Add butter, milk and form into soft dough.  Do not over knead!  Pat into a ungreased 6×6 pan.  I use a pie pan myself so you can use whatever.  Cut into serving size portions before you cook.  Bake at 400′ for 15 to 20 minutes or until done and golden brown. 

SUPER EASY, HUH?!  OH, so good:)

The first picture is of the ingredients but they are a bit blurry since I was trying to show off my neon bronc rider light!!  Sorry ’bout that;)

VERY easy to make and it’s really good.  I hope you all enjoy!  If you want it as a sweeter treat, just add more sugar and eat it with honey! OH YEAH!

I have learned many variations of rolls through the years and these are one of favs that I make for the cowboys.

• 2c. warm water
• 2 pkg. yeast (rapid rise)
• 1/3c. oil
• 1/4c. sugar
• 1/2tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 6 -7c. flour

Dissolve yeast in water and add rest of ingredients. Knead but do not over knead.  Let rise for about an hour.  Make into rolls and let rise completely.  I like to cover mine with a light material.  Bake at 350′ for 20min. or until done.

TIP: Melt butter and brush on rolls in the last couple of minutes of cooking time and then after they come out of the oven.