Chicken Quesadillas

Have you ever eaten at Garcia's in I.F. and gotten their mini-chimi's with Jalapeno Cream cheese? or the Crispy Chicken Burritos at Taco Time? I love both of those. Last weekend I decided to experiment and see if I could come up with something that reminded me of those two things. I made the filling and then thought rather than roll up in a tortilla, why not make into quesadillas? They turned out tasting pretty close to what  I was hungry for! Yum!!

Chicken Quesadillas

1 pound chicken tenders (or about 5-6 chicken tenders or 2 large chicken breasts)
1 package Grill Mates Baja Citrus or Chipotle Marinade mix
1- 8oz. package cream cheese, brought to room tempurature
1 heaping Tablespoon canned green chilis with a little of the juice
2 minced jalapeno's or serrano peppers
Salt and pepper to taste
Flour tortillas (any size--I like to use the snack size)
Grated monterey jack cheese
Salsa
Guacamole

Mix Marinade packet according to directions on the package. Marinade chicken tenders for at least a half an hour. (Remember the longer you marinade, the more flavorful your chicken will be.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle with  about a Tablespoon of olive oil, when oil is hot add chicken tenders. Cook over medium heat until golden brown on both sides, and cooked through. (or you can grill your chicken on a hot grill, for about 6 to 7 minutes on each side over medium/high heat)
While chicken is cooking combine the cream cheese, green chili's and about a 1/2 Tablespoon of the chili pepper juice, and jalapenos together in a medium size bowl.  You can add a chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce if you like things really spicy, but I like them a little  milder.
When chicken is done, place on a cutting board, and let cool a few minutes to allow the juices to settle and so you can handle it. Dice the chicken and place in bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine. At this point, taste and add salt and pepper to suit your taste.
On a large cookie sheet that is sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, place 3 tortillas. Spread each toritilla with a heaping spoonful or two of the chicken mixture. You want a good layer on the tortilla. Sprinkle a little grated cheese over the filling. Top with another tortilla. I spray the top tortilla with a little cooking spray, or you can brush with butter.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and the tortilla's are crispy and starting to brown slightly.
Remove from oven and cut in half, and then cut in half the other direction so each quesadilla is in four pieces. If using the small snack size tortilla's you should have filling left for more quesadilla's.
Serve with salsa and guacamole if desired. Enjoy!

--This makes a good appetizer, or main dish served with a salad. And this is a good way to use left over cooked chicken if you like.

"Ghoul"ash" or after Halloween "Chili-mac"

This is a yummy skillet dinner that I always have called Goulash or since it's Halloween "Ghoul"ash. Whatever you call it, it's easy and my kids always liked it. This recipe came out of my Better Homes and Garden cookbook, and of course I tweaked it a bit for my taste.

Goulash or Chili-Mac

1  1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic
1- 15oz. can diced tomatoes (don't drain, need the juice so the macaroni will cook)
1- 8oz. can tomatoe sauce

1-15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup elbow macaroni
1-4oz. can diced green chili's

2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated cheese (I like colby jack or pepper jack)

In a large skillet, cook beef and onions until meat is brown and onions are tender. Drain off fat.
Stir in garlic, tomato sauce, tomatoes, beans, uncooked macaroni, green chili's, chili powder, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover with lid, and simmer for 20 minutes or until macaroni is tender; stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let sit for about 2 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Makes about 6 servings.
I like to serve with steamed veggies and warm french bread. Enjoy!!

"Lady" fingers or "witchy fingers"

I love Halloween. When we have an activity with the youth in our church, I usually volunteer to make dessert. I love this recipe for "Lady" fingers. This year for some reason they didn't hold their shape when I made them like they did in past. So I thought to add flavor and cover the bottoms  I would dip  them in chocolate. I used the chocolate ganache recipe from my "Chocolate Malt Cake" only I halved it for a smaller batch. Then while it was still warm I mixed about 1/4 cup of Raspberry jelly (seedless) for a chocolate raspberry flavor. Then when the cookies were cooled, I dunked the bottom half in the chocolate, and let set in the fridge. Then you have chocolate dipped "lady"fingers for a more "fancy" cookie! But they are good plain too! You can add green food coloring too if you like. And I like the idea of displaying them in a glove for a more gruesome display!!! also see the bottom of this recipe to see what I do to make them more gruesome!

"Lady" Fingers

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

a few drops of green food coloring (optional)

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

almond slivers

pretzel sticks

raspberry jelly, (seedless)

1 tube red decorator jell, or chocolate frosting (for decorating)

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg and flavorings, and green food coloring if you are making green fingers, mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined.

Working wiht 1 teaspoon of dough, roll into a log, and make dents so it looks like knuckles, and slice little lines on top of them. Place an almond sliver for the finger nail.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges.

OR this is what I do to make them more gruesome:

with a heaping teaspoon of dough, make a flat 1 and 1/2 inch wide retangle, spoon about 1/4 teaspoon raspberry jelly, and place a pretzel stick on top of that. Carefully form your dough around this to make a long  finger shaped log and then make the knuckle shapes and add the fingernail. This gives the illusion of crunching on a bone when you take a bite, and the red jelly looks like blood and adds a little flavor. Don't worry if they crack a little, it  makes it more realistic because you can see the deep red jam inside.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes or until fingers are slightly brown around the edges.

After the cookies cool a bit, I lift the almonds up just slightly and squeeze a little red decorator jell under them, or just a bit of chocolate frosting works too, if making green fingers.

Cheesey Sun-Dried Tomato Bread

I was experimenting with bread over the weekend. I made homemade Vegetable Beef soup (yes, this recipe is on my blog too) on Sunday and wanted something to go along with it besides plain white bread, so this is what I came up with. (don't judge mine by the picture, I let it raise while I was at Sunday meetings and it got a bit over-proofed! thus mine had a muffin top!) but it was yummo!!

Cheesey Sun-Dried Tomato Bread

1/2 cup Milk -scald in small saucepan, remove from heat and add:

2 Teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup or more diced sun-dried tomatoes
 (I use the dried kind that are usually in the produce department instead of the ones bottled in oil that's why I put mine in with the milk so they can soften a bit,  but you can use either)
Stir; let cool to luke warm.


In large bowl combine:
1 and 1/2 cups luke warm water
1 pkge. yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar

Whisk together in mixing bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes till bubbly.

add milk mixture to this, (be sure it's only luke warm.. too hot and it kills the yeast!)

Add:

2 cups flour

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 cup grated cheese (I used half pepperjack and colby jack cheeses, use your favorite)

 and mix well ( I use my Kitchen Aid and mix this all together for about 3 minutes)

Then add 2 to 3 more cups of flour one cup at a time.. while mixer is going till the dough is just right the right consistency.. I keep the mixer going for about 5 more minutes.. That way you don't have to knead it ( or you can hand knead it for 5 to 8 more minutes) Dough should be smooth and elastic. Put into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise for an hour or until doubled. Punch down and divide dough in-half, form each half into loaf shape and place in greased loaf pans. Let rise until doubled or just so it's beginning to dome up above the sides of the pans ( it will rise a little bit in the oven too) Bake a 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans and rub entire loaf with butter.

Yum!!!

My Tamale Recipe

I am re-posting this recipe... I have updated "how to" photos since I made them this weekend. Hope it helps make this recipe a little more understandable.

I love Tamales. It's funny I had never eaten them before until I married Jim. His mom's side of the family is Mexican and made them all the time so Jim grew up with them. Jim's mother showed me how to make them one weekend when we went to visit, and now I love to make them once in a while. I double this masa dough recipe when I make them and usually get about 25 to 30 tamales which is about right. We eat some and I share some with my mom and dad. Yummo!!

Tamales

Make the meat filling ahead of time.. see below.
Rinse one package of corn husks, and soak for about 1 hour in warm to hot water, while making dough.

Masa dough:
2 cups masa
2 cups lukewarm chicken broth
1 tsp. baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tsp. ground chile de arbol (hot so be careful) I use 1 tsp. in a double batch-- was out of this so I used 2 tsp. mexican chili powder and touch of cayenne pepper and ground chipotle powder this last time I made tamales--it worked good.
2/3 cup lard (I use crisco)
Combine masa, baking powder, salt, and chili seasoning. Work in broth into the masa mixture with fingers. Beat crisco in the bowl of an electric mixer till fluffy. Add masa mixture a little at a time to crisco and beat with mixer till fluffy and spongy. (test by rolling a small ball and dropping in a cup of water. If it floats the dough is spongy enough).

This is what my dough looks like... kind of looks like cookie dough!!

Filling:

pork roast or chicken or beef (amount depends on how many tamales you want to make.. I generally use a 3 to 4 pound roast, or  the same amount of Chicken)

1 can enchilada sauce (a large 19 oz. can)

Brown roast and season with salt and pepper and chili powder and whatever else you want to season it with. Put in crock pot and pour enchilada sauce over it. Cook all day (or all night) till meat falls apart. Take meat out of juice and shred with fork, add just enough juice or enchilada sauce to keep it juicy. ( I do this the day before I want to make tamales) I also add chili powder and Salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I add chipotle powder too for extra zing!

To assemble:
Spread a spoonful or two of masa dough on soaked corn husk, flat edge is the bottom. I spread on one side so dough covers 3/4 of the husk, so you have about 3 inches from the top and 2 inches on the right side without the dough.

Get all the corn husks spread with dough till you run out of dough. The smaller husks are good to leave plain... I use those when wrapping at the end. Put about a Tablespoon or so of meat filling down the middle of the masa dough on the corn husk,

fold the left side over meat to almost the edge of the masa dough on the other side. Fold right side of the husk over that.. and then fold the top down. Flat bottom end is open, so I get a small husk that doesn't have masa on it and fold over that end. Tie with a thin strip of corn husk..

 ( hope this makes sense, it's hard to explain.. you can go to u tube and type in "how to make tamales".. there are a bunch of videos on there.) Once all the tamales are made... I get my big pot and put about 2 inches of water in it and bring to a boil, I add two vegi steamers so that your tamales are up out of the water, I also crinkle up aluminum foil so the tamales don't fall in the water. Double boilers are good if you have a large one. Place tamales in pot. I put 3 down in a triangle shape then add 3 more on topof those on the edges so it's kind of a alternating triangle.

Keep going to top of pan, add a dish cloth to the top to keep the steam in , and cover pot. Turn heat down to medium/low so it's a low simmer,that way it keeps steaming but the water doesn't evaporate too fast. It takes an  hour or so for the tamales to be cook... check to make sure you still have water in the pot once in a while. Keep some water hot in another pan or teapot to add more if needed.

To check if tamales are done... get one out after about an hour and let cool for about 5 minutes. If the masa pulls away from the corn husk they are ready, if not let steam for another half an hour... Top with salsa, or enchilada sauce, and sour cream........ I like to serve mine with Mexican rice and black beans.......Enjoy!

Salsa

This is a basic salsa recipe I got from a friend at work. She always brought Salsa to our office parties that was so yummy!! This makes about 9 pints. You can mix up the chili's if you want depending on how hot or mild you like your salsa. Sometimes I even add 2 or 3 canned chipotles with  sauce  to add a smoky flavor to it. And you can use fresh chilis if you want instead of canned, just remember to take the seeds out. I use about 5 green chilie's and about 4 or 5 serranos or jalapenos or more, add a few, taste and if you like it hotter add more. Great in tacos, or just plain with chips! Yum!!!

Basic Salsa

12 cups tomatoes, diced (3 quarts)
4 cups diced onion
2 cups diced green or red bell pepper (a mixture is good)
2 or 3 4-oz cans  chopped green chilies
3 or 4  4-oz cans chopped jalepeno peppers,(drained with juice reserved)
1/2 a garlic bulb (minced) I used 2 heaping Tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons sugar
5 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup pepper juice with white vinegar added to make 3/4 cup
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (which ever you prefer)
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried cilantro or 1/2 a bunch fresh that has been chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
may add 3 canned chipotle peppers with adobo sauce if desired (just 3 peppers, not 3 cans of them)

I chop my tomatoes first in a food processor, however chunky you like, put these in a large soup pot. Then I chop the onions, then the bell peppers. Then if using fresh chili's I chop those with the garlic and fresh cilantro pretty fine.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the soup pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn down and simmer for an hour.

Spoon salsa into pint jars, this batch usually does 9 pints, might have just a bit leftover that you can eat right now.
Process in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

Fiddle-Faddle or Candy coated Popcorn!

This is a recipe I got off the internet for Fiddle Faddle, Poppycock, Screaming Yellow Zonkers, or you could call it plain old candy coated Pop-corn! It's more of a toffee flavor not a caramel corn. But I love it!! Once I make it I about eat the whole batch... so I double it! This recipe is for  a single batch...but it doubles easily, when I double it though, I just use 3 cups of nuts instead of 4. Here's a hint, be sure to get the candy up to hard crack stage, if not, it's kind of gooey and sticks to your teeth really bad.

Enjoy!!


Candy Coated Popcorn

3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 cups plain popped  popcorn
2 cups nuts (pecans and almonds are what I use, but you can add cashews if you prefer, a mix is good tho'_

Combine corn syrup, sugars, butter, maple syrup, water and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the mixture and monitor it with a candy thermometer. You want the candy coating to reach 290 degrees or just before hard crack stage. The temperature continues to rise a bit after you turn off the heat, so this is a good place to stop cooking.
While the candy cooks, pop the popcorn in the microwave or popper and measure out 8 cups after it's popped. Make sure to remove any unpopped kernels. Pour popcorn into a large microwave safe bowl. Measure the nuts into a smaller microwave save bowl. Prepare  a large cookie sheet by spraying with Pam or rub lightly with butter.
Just before the candy reaches 290 degrees, microwave the nuts in the small bowl for 1 minute to warm them up.
When your candy reaches 290 degrees, turn off the heat (but leave on the burner) add the vanilla and stir in the warm nuts. Immediatly microwave the popcorn for 1 minute on high., then pour the candy and nuts mixture over the popcorn while stirring. Microwave the bowl for 1 more minute on high, then stir well to coat all of the popcorn and nuts with candy. Then quickly pour the popcorn out onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, or rubbed lightly with butter.
When popcorn is cool, break up and put into a tightly sealed container to keep fresh. This stuff gets sticky when it's humid outside.
Makes 10 cups

Almost famous salad dressing

This is my favorite homemade salad dressing. It's kind of a combination of the Olive Garden salad dressing and the creamy pesto salad dressing that you get at Spaghetti Factory. I like to serve like Olive Garden, drizzled  over a big bowl of salad with olives, croutons, and banana peppers. Or you could put in a container and drizzle over individual salads. Yum!

Almost Famous Salad Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup real mayonaise
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 small clove, minced)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
4  fresh basil leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
1 Tablespoon Corn syrup

Combine all the ingredients into a blender with 1 Tablespoon of water. Puree until smooth. If too tart for your taste, you can add 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar.

Place in container and keep in fridge until ready to serve. Stir to re-blend before serving.
Drizzle over a large bowl filled with Garden salad, black olives, banana pepper slices and croutons.
Serve immediatly! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

This is a yummy basic pumpkin bread.! I love it with hot chocolate in the morning when it's a cold autumn day.... Yummo!!!

Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Set aside.
Beat eggs, sugars and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium/high speed for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin and oil and mix well.
Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix well with your electric mixer. Grease a 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, generously, I like to lightly sprinkle mine with cinnamon sugar after greasing. Then pour in the batter and sprinkle the top with chopped pumpkin seeds. Bake for about an hour or until the top of the bread is beginning to brown and a toothpick stuck into the center of the bread comes out clean. If the bread is starting to get too dark on the sides before the middle is cooked, turn the oven down to 325.
Remove from oven and let bread cool for about 20 minutes, remove from loaf  pan and continue to let cool,
or slice and eat while warm like I do! Enjoy!!!

Basic Sweet Rolls

This is another of my favorite roll recipes. This one you don't need to let the dough sit in the fridge, so it can easily be made in one afternoon. I use it for dinner rolls, but I've made cinnamon rolls and bear claws with it. It makes 2 dozen dinner rolls, but can easily be doubled if necessary, for a crowd. You can make into whatever shape of dinner roll you want--see my feather roll recipe for ideas! Also if you divide into 24 pieces and roll into balls and put in a greased pan you could make regular pan rolls. I made mine into crescent rolls, so I will post those instructions here.

Basic Sweet Rolls

In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of milk hot enough to melt 1/4 cup butter. Add 1/4 cup sugar and let cool. (for faster cooling set pan in a sink that has been filled with a little cold water)
While milk is cooling, dissolve one package of yeast in a 1/4 cup luke warm water (just warm on your wrist, too hot of water will kill the yeast) Add 1/2 Tablespoon sugar to the yeast, stir to combine. Let yeast mixture rest for about 5 to 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble on the top.
Add 1 egg to the milk mixture when it's cool, whisk to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add 3 cups of flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Pour in the milk mixture and the yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed in your mixer for about 3 minutes. Add 1 more cup of flour slowly until you have a sticky, elastic dough. (you may not need the whole cup, you will add more flour when you roll out the dough, let dough be sticky)
Place dough in a large lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough over so it has oil on the top, cover and let raise for about an hour or until double in size.
When ready to make into rolls, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Punch down dough, and divide into two pieces. On generously floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. Spread with butter, and cut into 12 pieces like you would a pizza.

Start rolling up into a crescent from the larger end and roll to the point. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. Remove from oven and brush the tops of rolls with butter. Serve immediately. Bet ya can't eat just one!!

Chinese Hamburger Casserole

This is another comfort food for me. Mom used to make it all the time when I was young. Dad loved it too, he used to call it "Idiot Casserole" because it was sooo easy even an idiot could make it. That always made me smile.  I serve with homemade rolls and steamed veggies... Yummo!

Chinese Hamburger Casserole

1 1/2 pounds Hamburger
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or one clove, minced)
2 or 3 stalks of cellery, sliced thin
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water (with soup)
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 cup long grain rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package chinese noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown hamburger and vegetables in a large skillet, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. While hamburger cooks, heat 1 and 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan, when boiling add the 1/2 cup rice and cook for 10 minutes.
When hambuger is browned, drain off fat. Add the soup, the can of water, soy sauce and cooked rice with remaining liquid that's in it. Stir to combine. Taste the sauce at this point to see if you need more salt and pepper.
Pour into a 13x9 casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle chinese noodles over the top. Continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Breakfast Skillitini

Jim and I ate breakfast at Frontier Pies one morning after an early doc appointment or something. We got skillitini's, they were yummo and they served theirs with scone fingers. Delish! I came up with this recipe, we love bigger breakfasts on Saturday mornings, we eat later, so it's more like brunch. You could add mushrooms, green and red bell pepper slices, or sometimes I add green chilies. Also instead of sausage, you could use ham, or spam, or cooked bacon! Be creative! I like to serve this with warm flour tortillas, or toast. Yum!!

Breakfast Skillitini

3 medium red potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
6 sausage links, sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 eggs
1/2 cup egg beaters egg product (makes for creamier scrambled eggs)
1 cup grated cheese
Tortillas or toast

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add potatoes and onions (Could add peppers here too) Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover pan with lid and let cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sliced sausage, (or whatever meat you want) and cook about 10 more minutes. (add mushrooms here if you want) While sausage and potatoes finish cooking, whisk eggs and egg product together with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Heat a small skillet over medium heat, when hot spray with Pam and add egg, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of grated cheese, and scramble, cooking until no longer runny. I like to cook my egg separately, cuz if you cooked it in the other pan, it would all blend together and be a frittata.....
When potatoes and meat are done, Add eggs on top and sprinkle the whole thing with the remaining cheese. Cover with lid and let cheese melt.
Serve with tortillas or toast. Also yummy to sprinkle a little hot sauce on the top. Enjoy!!!

Feather Rolls

Okay.. I love dinner rolls. These are my favorite. I love to make them at Thanksgiving, you can make then into crescent shapes, or clover leaf shapes, but my favorite is old fashioned Parker house rolls, where each is a cut out circle of dough, buttered, and then folded in half, and I poke my fingers around the edge to seal them. Then I let raise on a cookie sheet and bake. There is nother better than hot rolls out of the oven dripping with butter and jam...... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I remember Thanksgiving dinners at home where my Grandma Bergeson made them, I think that's all I would eat when I was little...hot rolls!!

Feather Rolls

2 envelopes yeast
1/2 cup luke warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
In a medium size bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the luke warm water. Let stand for about 5 minutes until it's bubbly on the top.
Meanwhile:
Scald 1 cup milk in a small saucepan (just heat so it gets hot, not boiling). Remove from  heat and add:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt.
Cool the milk mixture (either by sitting in the fridge for a few minutes or sitting the pan in a sink that's barely filled with cold water.)
Then add 2 beaten eggs, and stir to combine.
Place the milk mixture in a large mixing bowl that has a lid, add the yeast and 4 cups flour. Mix well. Cover bowl. And leave in the refridgerator over night. (you might need to punch the dough down a time or two until it gets cold enough that it doesn't pop the lid off your bowl.
Two hours or so before serving, roll dough into your favorite roll shapes.
For Parker house rolls:
Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll out each piece to 1/3-in. or 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Brush with butter if desired.
Using the dull edge of a table knife, make an off-center crease in each roll. Fold along crease so the large half is on top; poke around the edge with finger to seal shut if desired. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

For cresent shaped rolls, divide dough in half and roll each piece out into a large circle and 1/2 inch thick. Spread with butter. Then cut with pizza cutter through the middle and around like you would cut a pizza. Then roll each piece from the wide end to the center and shape into cresents about two inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Let raise and bake like the above directions.

For clover leaf rolls, roll 3 small balls of dough for each roll, dip each ball in melted butter and place in a greased muffin tin (3 balls to a cup). Let raise about 30 minutes or until puffing over the top of the muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes.


This also makes great cinnamon rolls. Divide dough in half, roll into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Add raisins or nuts as desired. Roll up into a log, and slice. Place on greased cookie sheet and let raise until double in size. Bake at 350 for15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool slightly and ice with your favorite icing.

Di's Beef Stroganoff

This is my favorite Beef Stroganoff recipes! This is one of my tried and trues out of one of my older cookbooks! It's another comfort food of mine. Yum!

Di's Beef Stroganoff

1 to 2 pounds sirloin steak, 1/2 inch thick
2 Tablespoons butter
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon minced)
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon (or 1 cube) instant Beef Bouillon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 /2 teaspoon prepared mustard
Fresh parsley for garnish
Hot cooked noodles or rice

Cut beef across the grain into strips, 1 1/2 by 1/2 inch. (for easier cutting, partially freeze beef, about 1 1/2 hours)
Heat 2 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove vegetables from skillet.

Heat the other 2 Tablespoons butter in skillet and add beef. Cook and stir until meat is brown, about 10 minutes. Add water, bouillon, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beef is cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add vegetable mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Stir in sour cream and mustard. Heat just until hot. Garnish with fresh snipped parsley; serve over hot cooked noodles.

Atkins Beef Stroganoff with Zucchini Noodles

I got this recipe off of the Atkins site. . We are trying to cut back on carbs and there are yummy recipes on that site. I had the idea of slicing zucchini really thin and using for noodles, as the atkins diet doesn't allow noodles, and they had this recipe just plain. I thought it was yummo on my zucchini noodles. My regular Beef Stroganoff recipe is about the same as this except it has more sour cream and no red wine vinegar. Both are yummy... I will post that one too.

Atkins Beef Stroganoff with Zucchini Noodles

1 1/4 pounds skirt steak or beef tenderloin, cut into 2 x 1 strips
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
1 cup small white mushrooms
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup beef broth (not low sodium)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch disolved in 2 Tablespoons water
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard)

2 medium sized zucchini

Directions:
Heat oven to warm setting. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat in batches, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a platter and place in oven.
Melt butter in skillet; add onion and cook 3 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushroom liquid evaporates. Add red wine vinegar and sugar; cook 5 minutes. Stir in beef broth and cook 10 minutes, towards the end of cooking time, add cornstarch that has been disolved in the 2 Tablespoons water, and continue to cook until mushrooms are coated with a thick sauce. Stir in sour cream and mustard. Add meat and accumulated juices. Reduce heat to low and cook 2-3 minutes, until meat is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over hot cooked pasta noodles or Zucchini like I did.

While Stroganoff is cooking make the  zucchini noodles:
 wash and slice zucchini lenthwise and thin as you can into 1 by 5 inch strips. ( I didn't peel mine) Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Then add the zucchini and let boil for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on how thick you sliced it) Don't cook too long, you don't want it mushy.
Drain, and season with just a bit of salt and pepper.