HOMEMADE BREAD BOWLS

HOMEMADE BREAD BOWLS
Will never buy soup bowls from the store again.  These were easier than I thought they would be...everyone loved them!

Makes 6 bread bowls

Ingredients:
2 cups + 4 Tbsp warm water
2 packages of active dry yeast (about 2 Tbsp)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl add warm water and sprinkle in yeast.  Set aside to "proof" or get foamy (about 10 min).  Add melted butter, sugar and salt and mix until combined.  Gradually add flour.  Knead with your mixer or by hand for about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a large ungreased bowl.  Cover, place in warm  place and allow to rise until doubled.  (about 45 minutes).

After first rise punch dough down and foam into 6 equal sized balls.  Place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet and lightly cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise once more for about 20-30 minutes.  DO NOT touch the dough at all during this time.  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool and then cut off the top, remove some of the bread from the inside and fill with your favorite soup!

FRENCH DIP SANDWICH

FRENCH DIP SANDWICH
These were so easy and everyone loved them!

http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2016/03/21/french-dip-sandwich/

• 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) condensed French Onion Soup
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Beef Consomme
• 3-4 pounds beef chuck roast
• 8 sandwich rolls
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 
  

1. Place the roast in a slow cooker. Pour the soup and consomme over the top.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
3. Remove 3 cups of the juice from the slow cooker with a measuring cup or ladle and add to a small sauce pan. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce to a hard simmer and let cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the beef to a pie plate and shred with a fork.
5. Place the sandwich rolls in a 9x13 pan and spoon meat into each roll. Top with provolone cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
6. Serve immediately with the sauce on the side for dipping.

SWEET PORK BURRITOS & CILANTRO RANCH DRESSING

For my Mom & Dad's 50th Jill's family made these for dinner after the reunion.  We also had homemade ice cream.  It was so yummy!

Put following in a burrito - can do beans as well and of course cheese.

Sweet pork burritos:
3 lbs. pork loin
cup of salsa
cup of brown sugar

Cook on low all night in crock pot. Shred an hour before eating and add a little more brown sugar (against Jimmie's wishes :) and sprinkle with garlic salt.


Cilantro ranch dressing for burritos:

UPDATE: My family didn't like this as much as I thought they would - 1/2 recipe

3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 package of ranch dressing
bunch of cilantro (don't add too much and chop up little)
lime

SAWDUST PIE WITH BANANAS AND WHIPPED CREAM

Sawdust Pie with Bananas & Whipped Cream
http://luluthebaker.com/2016/11/sawdust-pie-bananas-whipped-cream/
Melissa Bahen (Luluthebaker) is in our ward.

We had this Thanksgiving 2016.  Everyone really liked but they didn't put on the bananas.

1 unbaked 9" pie crust
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 egg whites
Bananas and lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the unbaked pie crust aside. You can use a frozen store-bought crust or make your own from scratch. In a large bowl, combine granulated and brown sugars, coconut, pecans, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, and salt. Stir until combined. Add the egg whites, and mix with a large spoon until the egg whites are evenly distributed and the mixture is uniformly coated. Spread the mixture in the prepared pie crust and bake for 30 minutes, until the top of the pie is golden and feels firm and set to the touch. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely, and serve topped with fresh banana slices and whipped cream.

CREAMY MASHED POTATOES

CREAMY MASHED POTATOES
This is the only way I am going to make mashed potatoes from now on.  No longer am I going to use the Bosch. I can't believe I have been making them wrong for so many years.  I love, love doing it this way.  They are so creamy and yummy!  Thank you Pioneer Woman!  I don't always add as much butter/cream cheese and it calls for.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 3/4 cups Butter
• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through. 

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICHES & SLAW

BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICHES & SLAW
Abagail requested BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner.  I went to Pioneer Woman to see how she would do it.  I was telling my co-workers about it and how you do it before I did it.  They were like wow that seems like a lot of work.  It was but so worth it.  Yum!  Everyone loved it!  I bought a whole chicken and cut it up because I wanted to try doing it.  Next time I will buy one already cut up.  The slaw was okay.  Liked it a lot better about three days later.  I had a small bottle of the BBQ sauce we like so I made a 1/2 batch of the best bbq sauce on this blog and mixed them together.  Thought it was just the right amount of sauce.  It took about 3.5 hours from start to finish.  Would be faster next time if I didn't need to cut up the chicken.  Used my red pan.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/barbecue-chicken-sandwiches/

• 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 1 bottle (large) Barbecue Sauce
• 1 whole Onion, Sliced
• 8 whole Cloves Garlic (more To Taste)
• Slaw:
• 1/2 head Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1/2 head Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1 bunch Cilantro, Roughly Chopped

SLAW

Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours.

Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves. 

CHICKEN

Heat canola oil in a heavy pot over medium high heat. Season chicken, then sear on all sides until skin is golden brown and some fat is rendered. Remove chicken from pot and pour off excess grease. 

Add sliced onions and whole garlic cloves to pot and stir around to cook for 2 minutes. Pour in barbecue sauce, add chicken to the sauce, and place lid on the pot. 

Place in a 300 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until chicken is falling off the bone. 

Remove the whole garlic cloves from the pot and set it aside. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool enough to handle. Using hands or two forks, remove the meat from the bones. Finely shred the chicken using your hands or two forks. 

Carefully skim off the excess fat that has risen on top of the sauce. Return shredded chicken to the pot and stir into the sauce. Reheat so that it's warm.

Spread butter on kaiser rolls and toast on the griddle. 

To serve, place a good amount of chicken on the bottom half of the roll. Top with one or two garlic cloves, then a good helping of slaw. Top with the other half of the bun and dig in!

GRAPEFRUIT GREEK YOGURT LOAF

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/06/04/grapefruit-greek-yogurt-loaf/

GRAPEFRUIT GREEK YOGURT LOAF/CAKE
Yum! Yum!  Doesn't taste like grapefruit.  Read through comments and lots said it had a strong grapefruit flavor so maybe the ones I had weren't as ripe as they should have been?  Could add a citrus essential oil to this to make it taste more citrus.  You make in a bread pan.  This would be perfect for a brunch type meal.  You could also make into muffins/cupcakes or a cake.  

• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (180g) Greek yogurt1
• 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable or canola oil (melted + slightly cooled coconut oil works too)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, strained
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons grapefruit zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean

GLAZE:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 T freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained

1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Once combined, whisk in the yogurt, brown sugar, oil, grapefruit juice, zest, vanilla extract, and seeds. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Avoid overmixing.
3. Spread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
4. Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool before drizzling with glaze.
5. For the glaze, simply whisk the ingredients together and drizzle over cake. Slice and serve. Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for up to 5 days. I love it cold, so you can store it in the refrigerator too!

Muffins/cupcakes: prepare batter as instructed. Grease a 12-count muffin pan or use liners. Fill with batter all the way to the top. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving. Top with glaze. Makes about 12 muffins.

Square or round cake: This batter will fit into a 9x9 inch square baking pan or a 9-inch springform pan (it will be too tall for a regular 9-inch round cake pan). Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool and top with glaze.