Super Quick, Super Easy Homemade Rolls

 Super Quick, Super Easy Homemade Rolls

3 1/2 C. Warm water

3/4 C. sugar

1 C Oil

5 T. yeast

1 T. salt

10 1/2 C. flour 

3 eggs

1. Mix warm water, sugar, oil and yeast until it is all mixed.

2. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

3. Add flour, salt and eggs. Mix well. Add more flour if it is too sticky.

4. Spray your pans with non-stick spray. 

5. Put a little oil on your hands.. Shape into rolls, cinnamon rolls, or bread sticks. 

6. Let them rise for about 10 minutes.

7. Bake at 425 F for about 10 minutes.

I decreased the yeast from the original recipe. It just seemed like a little much, and they turned out okay. Make sure that the warm water is no warmer than 120 F, and no cooler than 110 F. 

This recipe makes two sheet cake pans worth of rolls. It was super easy to half the recipe because I didn't need that many rolls.

Apricot Whip

When I was first married, I tried this recipe from a cookbook I had because the apricot trees on Grandpa Cox's farm were abundant producers. So I decided to try this new recipe with some apricots that I had bottled. I have since used fresh apricots so I will include both here.

Apricot Whip (Original Recipe from Jiffy Cooking by Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

1 1-pound 14-ounce can of peeled apricots (or one quart bottle of pitted apricots)

20 large marshmallows

1 cup whipping cream, whipped (or use an 8 oz tub of Cool Whip)

Steps

1. Drain apricots reserving 1/4 cup of the syrup; remove pits. 

2. Blend apricots in a blender or mash just until broken up. 

3. Combine apricots, marshmallows, and reserved syrup. Cook and stir till marshmallows are dissolved. 

4.Cool. Fold in whipped cream. Chill for a least an hour. 

Makes 6 servings.

Apricot Whip (Zina's version with fresh apricots)

1. Wash and pit about 15-20 apricots. 

2. Put in a pan with 1/4 cup sugar. 

3.Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool enough that you can put if in a blender and blend until smooth. 

4. Pour it back in the pan that you cooked the apricots in and add marshmallows. Cook until marshmallows are dissolved

5. Cool the apricot/marshmallow mixture and add the cool whip or whipped cream. (I started using the cool whip more because it doesn't contain carrageenan and the cream without carrageenan is really expensive)

6. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving..

Note: You can either put if in a 9x13 cake pan or in a bowl. Doesn't matter.

Mock Lasagna Casserole

 An old favorite of my family. 

Mock Lasagna Casserole

1 pound ground beef or ground pork

1 - 15 oz. can of tomato sauce (2 cups) (I have used ready made spaghetti sauce to make it easier)

1/2 tsp each of garlic salt, pepper, crushed dry basil leaves

1 1/2 cups cream-style cottage cheese

6 oz. of shredded cheese

6 oz package of elbow macaroni

1. Cook elbow macaroni.

2. While the macaroni is cooking, brown the ground beef or pork. Add salt and pepper.

3. Add spices and tomato sauce to the ground, cooked meat.

4. Drain macaroni and put half of it into a 2 quart casserole dish.

5.  Put half of the cottage cheese on top of the macaroni

6. Layer half of the cheese on the cottage cheese.

7. Layer half of the meat sauce.

8. Repeat the layers.

9. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

10. You can add a little more cheese to the top when there are about 5 minutes left to bake.

Serves 6-8.

Buttermilk Pie Crust (All Butter Pie Crust)

 I was searching for an easy buttermilk pie crust recipe and tried this one. I love it! It was a perfect crust for my pies. I have to give credit to King Arthur Test Kitchen for this recipe.

2 1/2 cups of flour. 

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp buttermilk powder

16 Tbsp of unsalted butter (I did use salted butter and just reduced the salt in the recipe to 1/2 tsp)

1/4 to 1 cup ice water

Step by step

1) Whisk together flour, salt, and buttermilk powder (they said this was optional, but I think it needs it.)

2) Dice the butter into small cubes. Work it into the flour mixture (I used my food processor, pulsing until it was well distributed but not fully mixed in.) I call is small pea sized mixture.)

3) Gradually add the ice water mixing it with a fork or your fingers until it starts to come together. (I had to add more water the recipe called for, almost twice the 1/2 cup. However, start with the 1/4 cup suggested and add what you need for it to come together) 

4) Gather the dough, handling it as little as possible. Divide the dough in half and form a round disc.

5) You can roll the dough immediately or refrigerate up to a half hour. It was suggested that for a better texture that you refrigerate it. If you refrigerate it for more than half hour, you will need to let it come to room temperature for 15-20 minutes before you work with it.

 I discovered this recipe from a canning book.  We have loved it! 

Pear Honey

7-8 cups of mash/chopped peeled pears. 

1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple

1/4 cup lemon juice

5 cups sugar

1. Peel and core pears. You can either mash them or use a food processor or a blender to chop them.  It's nice to have little chunks of the fruit still in the finished product.

2. Put pears a large pot and add the crushed pineapple (if you don't have crushed, you can put slices, chunks or tidbits in with the pears as you blend them), 

3. Add the sugar and the lemon juice.  Stir well.  

4. Turn on the heat to a medium and make sure that you stir frequently so that it doesn't scorch or burn.  

5. When it is heated through, put in jars and process for 15 minutes.

We love it on pancakes and waffles but it's also great on ice cream.

Buttermilk Syrup

 I have seen a lot of different recipes for Buttermilk Syrup.  This is what I have come up with.

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1.  Start melting butter in a pan.

2.  Add sugar and buttermilk when it has is about half melted.

3.  Stir frequently.  When it is all melted and starting to boil, remove from heat.  Don't let it boil more than a minute.

4.  Add vanilla and stir.

5.  Add baking powder and stir in.  It will start to foam ,so make sure that you have a large enough pan or it will over flow.  I use a 1 quart pan and it doesn't overflow.

Down-In-the-Dumps Pudding (Brownies)

 1.  Mix together in a bowl:

        2 cups flour

        1 1/3 sugar

        4 tsp. baking powder

        1/2 tsp salt

        4 T. cocoa

2. Stir in 

        1 cup milk

        4 T vegetable oil

        2 cups chopped nuts (if you want)

3. Spread mixture in ungreased 9 x 13 pan.

4. Blend in a small bowl:

        2 cups brown sugar

        1/2 cup cocoa

5.  Sprinkle brown sugar/cocoa mixture on top of the mixture in the 9 x 13 pan.

6. Pour 3 1/2 cups hot water over all.

7.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.