Parker House Rolls

Parker House Rolls
1 1/2 cups milk

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing

1/2 cup sugar

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 cups all-purpose flour

Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and sugar and let cool. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit until foamy. Combine milk mixture, eggs, yeast, salt, and 1/2 of the flour in a mixer with the dough attachment and mix until smooth. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until a smooth ball forms.

Remove from the bowl and knead by hand on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 60 to 70 minutes. On a floured surface, punch down the dough and shape into desired shapes. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover again and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter before serving.

This was my first time ever making rolls. And they were pretty good! I definitely need more practice but it was fun and Brandon had fun helping me make the dough into balls. Can you tell which ones he did?

They turned out soft and  fluffy on the inside. There is a video on the Food Network website that I wish I would have watched first. Some helpful tips for making these rolls. 

Cheesy Hamburger Soup

Cheesy Hamburger Soup

• ½ pound ground beef ( I used 1 pound)
• ¾ cup chopped onion
• ¾ cup shredded carrots
• ¾ cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 16 oz, of Velveeta cheese, cubed or- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1½ cups milk
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Brown the ground beef in 3 quart saucepan. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan add 1 T butter and add onion, shredded carrots, parsley flakes, basil and celery. Saute until tender.
3. Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. In small skillet melt remaining butter (3 T) and add the flour. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
5. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.

Mmmm. Delicious soup! Very comforting and homey. A feel good soup for when you're sick, too. I originally found the recipe here but found out from the blogger that it's a Taste of Home recipe which I found here. Awesome! ToH is my favorite. This makes a ton of soup and I think will keep well in the freezer. Definitely a keeper!

Oh, the title of the soup turned me off a bit so I changed it for my own purposes :)

Waffles from scratch

Waffles from scratch
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T. sugar

Combine eggs, milk and oil. Whisk until combined. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until blended. Batter will be thin. Bake in preheated waffle iron. Makes 10-12 waffles.

I LOVE these waffles. This is a recipe from my mom and I loved them every time she made them. And now my family loves them! I add half wheat flour and half white flour. And they are perfectly sweet. These also freeze well! I tried reheating them in the toaster but it didn't get warm all the way through. I know the Eggo waffles say to bake in the oven/toaster oven at 400F for 5 minutes. Or just toast it and warm in the microwave too. So good!

Honey Wheat Bread

Honey Wheat Bread Recipe

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast (active dry yeast will work also)

Instructions:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm!

This was bread was delicious! Simple recipe. The only problem I had, though, was that the time it took to rise was about twice as long as the recipe says. Not sure if I messed up somewhere. The blogger says she uses long loaf pans. I didn't know these things existed but I want some! Would make the bread easier to use for sandwiches and stuff since it would be shaped more like the bread at the store. 

Cheesy Rigatoni Bake

• 1 package (16 ounces) rigatoni or large tube pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt until smooth; gradually add milk and water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Drain pasta; place in a large bowl. Add eggs. Spoon into two greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Layer each with one can of tomato sauce, half the mozzarella cheese and half the white sauce. Sprinkle each
• with half the Parmesan cheese.
• Bake casseroles, uncovered, at for 30-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.
• Yield: 2 casseroles (6 servings each).

This was a very interesting meal. It seemed weird that there were eggs in this. Not quite sure the purpose they served. But Brandon loved this. He gobbled it right up. I'm still on the fence about it. It was good but not a meal that I would crave. I felt like it needed Cheddar cheese in there somewhere. It's very kid friendly, though. :)

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups grated zucchini

1 (11 oz) bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; stir until combined. Fold in zucchini and mix, then add chocolate chips. 

Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, then let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to wire racks.

Delicious cookies!! Someone commented on these cookies from the original site and said to put the zucchini in the food processor, skin and all, and measure out what you need. I will try that next time! This is definitely a keeper!

Black Bean Brownies

• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 
  

• Place the beans, 1/4 cup chocolate chips and oil in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Add the eggs, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder and salt; cover and process until smooth.
• Transfer to a 9-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out
• clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 1 dozen.
• Nutritional Facts: 1 brownie equals 167 calories, 7 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 53 mg cholesterol, 131 mg sodium,

I never thought I would ever make anything like this. It sounds so gross. But, honestly, I couldn't taste the beans at all! They tasted like brownies. The texture did throw me off a little bit and they did taste a little bitter to me and Sean. I've heard people suggest using milk chocolate chips to help the sweetness and I think I would do that next time. And maybe use part brown sugar and part white sugar. The kids LOVED these though. And that's what's most important. Trying to get more fiber into them. Yay!

Read more: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/black-bean-brownies#ixzz3CUejLdS1