Garlic Knots

I'm back! Did you think I walked off the edge of the earth?! Nope! I just got BUSY! I'm sure all you Mammas understand! ;) a 3 and 1 year old do not exactly leave hours and hours of free time! ;) anyways... I wanted to share this amazing garlic knot recipe I made up last night! Totally worth coming out of hiding! ;)

You need:

Bread dough - I used my fav basic dough, but you could totally use Rhodes rolls!

1/2 stick butter (NOT margarine!)

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp oregano

Parmesan cheese

Melt butter and add all seasonings except parm cheese.

One your bread dough has risen, divide into 12 equal sections. Roll each section into a rope and dip into butter. Tie roped into knots and place into a greased muffin tin. Sprinkle with parm cheese and bake at 350 for 15 min or until golden.

Sandwich Bread {in the bread machine}

I love homemade bread! Especially on a cold day, with a big bowl of beef stew. Which, ironically, is exactly what we ate this with!

Original recipe from Heather Drive Blog.

1 1/3 cups very warm water
1/3 cup olive oil (do not substitute with vegetable oil–use olive oil!)
2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
2 tbsp. and 2 tsp. white sugar
3 tsp. yeast

In the breadmaker pan, combine water, oil, and salt.
Add the flour on top of the liquids. Pour sugar into one corner of the breadmaker pan. Make a well (a dent) in the center of the flour and pour the yeast into it.
Set the breadmaker for a “basic” loaf and press start. Walk away… in three hours, you’ll have delicious fresh bread!

** I started by baking this in the breadmaker, but I didn't realize I'd spilled flour in the bottom and is started to smoke, so I ended up baking it in the oven at 350 for around 20-25 minutes.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen
3 - eggs
1 1/2 - cups sugar1 - cup vegetable oil or 1/2 - vegetable oil + 1/2- cup applesauce
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - cups grated zucchini
3 - cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 - teaspoon salt
1 - teaspoon baking soda
1/2 - teaspoon baking powder
1 - teaspoon cinnamon
1 - 3 oz box instant chocolate pudding
1/2 - cup pecans, chopped, optional
1/2 - cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar, oil, (or oil applesauce combination) and vanilla extract. Fold in the zucchini. Sift the flour and combine with salt, baking soda and baking powder, cinnamon and pudding mix.

Add to the egg mixture and mix well. Fold in the nuts if using and the chocolate chips. Pour into two greased loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans.

Bake for one hour, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely. If making mini loaves bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Best Ever Cornbread!

 

I will never go back to pouch mix cornbread EVER again! This cornbread is SO good, it's not dry, or crumbly like other cornbreads, its moist, and yummy, and SOO GOOD! I've made it twice in the past couple weeks!

 

Best Ever Cornbread

recipe from here

1 cup cornmeal

3 cups flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup vegtable  oil

6 Tbs. melted margarine

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a big bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil, butter, eggs and milk. Stir until it is just mixed. Bake in a 9x13 pan for 35 minutes.

Olive Garden Breadsticks {in the Bread Machine}

original recipe here
1 1/2 cups very warm water
2 Tbs white sugar
1 Tbs yeast
1 Tbs salt I know it's a lot of salt. but it works!
2 Tbs margarine
4 1/2 cups flour
 
Pour water, sugar and yeast into the bottom of the bread machine and let it set for like 5 minutes until it gets foamy. Then add the flour, margarine, and salt (add salt last, don't let it touch the yeast yet because it will kill it) Turn on the machine to the dough cycle and allow to run the full amount of time. Once the cycle is done, remove the dough and cut into about 12 peices. Roll into breadstick shape. Allow to rise again in a warm place until about doubled in size. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg+1 Tbs water) Bake at 400 for around 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
 
While they are baking, melt 3 Tbs margarine + 1 /2 tsp garlic powder + a pinch of salt and brush this over the breadsticks when they are done.

Perfect Bread Machine Rolls

1/2 c. warm water (if you get it too hot or too cold, the yeast will not work properly, make the water only slightly on the hot side of lukewarm, and be sure it is NOT so HOT it is scalding.)

2 1/2 tsp. yeast (or 1 pkg is OK-which is 2 1/4 tsp.)

1/3 cup sugar

1 c. milk

3 Tbsp. butter (soft)

1 egg

5 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

Put the yeast, warm water and sugar into your bread machine first. Let it set a few minutes before adding any more ingredients. This should make your yeast foam a bit, which is a good sign that it is working properly. Then add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed. Put the salt in last.

Then put your bread machine on it’s dough setting, which should last approximately 1 1/2 hours. As your dough mixes, use a spatula or spoon to help the flour get mixed in.

Once your dough cycle has finished, cut your douugh into balls and place on a baking sheet. Allow to rise until they rolls are doubled in size, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 15 min or until golden.

Healthier Banana Bread Muffins

These banana bread muffins are AH-MAZING! They are SO moist and yummy, I probably ate a few too many! Next time I think I will double the batch and freeze half. I got the original recipe form this amazing site, and them my changes are in italics.

Makes 22-24 muffins

4-6 ripe medium bananas, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 oz (3/4 cup) chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

Pam baking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Line two 12 cup muffin tins.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, bananas, apple sauce cinnamon and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and pecans, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into muffin pans and bake on the center rack for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes.

Texas Roadhouse Rolls & Cinnamon Butter

This recipe is amazing! If you have never been to Texas Roadhouse, take it from me, their rolls are DIVINE! And these were a pretty close match! (but doesn't the fact that someone else is making them, and cleaning up after them, make everything 10x better?) This is actually a bread machine recipe, which I love because I cannot, I repeat CAN NOT bake to save my life! My bread machine is my best baking friend! I got the original recipe here. These will definitely be a Sunday staple at our house from now on! They
1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup milk
1-1/2 Tbs butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3-1/2 to 4 cups unbleached flour

Put all of the above ingredients into your bread maker, and set to the dough cycle. When it's done, take the dough out and roll it into a rectangle. Cut it into squares and let them rise for 20-30 minutes or until they are slightly larger than when they started. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little milk) and bake at 350° for 10-15 minutesor until the tops are golden brown.
When they are done, while they are still hot, SLATHER the top with butter! Dont be shy! Serve with Cinnamon butter! (below)

Cinnamon Butter
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp honey
Whip with beaters until light and fluffy!

Bread Machine Potato Rolls

I got this recipe from my new favorite recipe blog They came out perfect and were SO yummy I just had to share!

Potato Dinner Rolls

1 cup milk
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup instant potatoes flakes
3 cups unbleached white bread flour
2 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all of the ingredients in the the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on Dough cycle, press Start.
When cycle is complete, remove dough from the machine, deflate and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets, decoratively slash top of each with a sharp razor or knife, if desired. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm area until doubled in volume, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
Makes 12 rolls.

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

One of my new years resolutions was to perfect my perfect pizza dough recipe, well I think I've done it! My mother in law bought me a breadmaker awhile back, and I was stumped at how to use it. Well the other week I dusted it off and made some bread. It was glorious! So now I have been using it for everything! It's so easy just to throw everything in there and press start and let it run! No mixing, no kneading, no mess! I've made pizza and breadsticks 3 times in the past week!
Basic Pizza Crust
1 1/4 cups of warm water
2 T. + 1 t. olive oil
3 1/2 cups of flour
1 T. of sugar
1/2 T. of salt
2 1/4 t. of yeast (or one packet)
1 T. Garlic bread seasoning (mix of garlic powder, onion flake, parsley and lots of other seasonings)

Put the wet ingredients in the bread maker
Put the dry ingredients into the bread maker EXCEPT for the yeast and garlic seasoning.
Make a small valley in the center of the dry ingredients and fill with the yeast making sure it does not touch the wet ingredients
Set the bread maker to the dough setting. Let the machine run until it has formed a ball. Add the garlic seasoning and let it run until the seasoning is incorporated and the dough ball is smooth. Stop the bread maker, and place the dough ball into an oiled bowl. cover with plastic wrap and let rise for a little while, until it has about doubled in size. sprinkle the ball with a little flour, pull it out and place on a floured board. Roll into whatever form you want (pizza, bread sticks, calzones) and let the dough rest and rise again for a few minutes before using. Bake at 425 until done (It just depends on what your cooking, anywhere form 15-25 min)
This pizza was pineapple and Canadian bacon with, get this... HOMEMADE Canadian bacon! Beau's step dad made us some, and it was AMAZING!! sorry this isn't the best picture, we keep eating it all before i can get over there with a camera! At least that tells ya its good!