Cheddar Biscuits

Recipe source:  cassiecraves.blogspot.com

These are supposedly a knock-off recipe for Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits.  I don't know how close they are because I've never had Red Lobster's biscuits or even been to Red Lobster, for that matter.  But I can say that they were super simple to make and really yummy!

2 cups Bisquick
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter, melted (I used spray butter.)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I used Lawry's garlic salt.)


1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix Bisquick, parsley, onion powder, pepper, milk and cheese until a soft dough forms.

3. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I got 10 biscuits out of my dough.) Bake 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder. Brush mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.  (I used spray butter and Lawry's garlic salt here.)

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Recipe source:  cassiecraves.blogspot.com

Russell has been super busy getting ready for his exam coming up in June, so he hasn't been able to make it home for dinner lately.  Usually when he eats with us, I love trying new recipes and some oldies and favorites.  Sometimes that means the kids don't care for what we're eating.  Sometimes they are hungry enough to try what we are having and are so surprised when they actually like it!  Since Russell isn't around for dinnertime right now, I have been trying some new kid-friendly recipes out on the kiddos.  Tonight we tried these pepperoni pizza puffs.  They are basically mini pizza muffins.  I don't know about your kids, but mine love to dip things, so they liked having these to dip in pizza sauce.  They turned out really yummy, everybody ate, and everyone was happy. :-) 

Of course, you can mix in whatever pizza toppings your family prefers, but we were safe and stuck with pepperoni.  I doubled the recipe and did one tray with those cute little baby pepperonis and one tray with chopped turkey pepperoni to be calorie-conscious.  Both were delicious.  Pair these cute muffins with whatever fruits and veggies you can get your kids to eat, and you've got a great kid meal.  My kids love fruit salad.  TOTALLY EASY and delicious.  Chop one apple, one banana, and 5-6 strawberries and mix with
1/2-1 cup of strawberry yogurt.  YUMMY.


3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon pizza seasoning
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or whatever you've got. I used a monterey jack/colby blend.)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mini pepperoni rounds (or 1 cup cubed pepperoni)
1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce (I used a jar of spaghetti sauce.)

 
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and pizza seasoning; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.


2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Focaccia Bread

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

I'm always looking for new things for sides to go with dinner.  This foccacia bread is perfect for that.  We've used it as a side for things like chicken, fish, and spaghetti.  It's nice because you can choose whatever you want to put on top.  Typically I do sliced tomatoes, black olives, and parmesan cheese.  But once I made one separate for the kids and did a few pepperonis, black olives, and a monterey jack/parmesan cheese blend, and they loved it. (Except for little Russell, who will pick the black olives off of or out of anything.)  The best thing about it is it's pretty simple, pretty quick, and REALLY delicious!

Disclaimer: I did not take this photo.  Photo credit: Allrecipes.com username: pelicangal

1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Toppings: sliced tomatoes, black olives, other cheeses, pepperoni, etc.

1.Dissolve sugar in the warm water in a large bowl, then sprinkle yeast over the top. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to foam. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, onions, basil, oregano, and 2 1/2 cups of flour until the dough comes together. If using a stand mixer, continue mixing with dough hook until smooth and elastic. If by hand, knead on a well floured surface until smooth and elastic. Spray inside of a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.



2.Preheat oven to 415 degrees F (215 degrees C).


3.Place dough onto oiled baking sheet (I use a cookie sheet), and flatten to cover the whole sheet evenly.  Here instead of oiling a baking sheet, I cover the bottom of the baking sheet with parchment paper.  It works great!! Use the tips of your fingers to make indentations all over the dough spaced about 1 inch apart. Drizzle the focaccia with 2 tablespoons olive oil, then top with tomatoes, olives, Parmesan cheese, (or whatever toppings you've chosen) and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt over the top. Let rise for 10 minutes


4.Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes until golden brown.

Creamy Cornbread

I got this recipe from Grandma Mitchell's cookbook, and we loved it!

3/4 Cup yellow corn meal
1/4 Cup sugar
2 Tbl baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Cup flour
1 Cup sour cream
1/4 Cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbl melted butter

Mix ingredients just enough to blend.

Bake in greased 8 inch pan in 425 degree oven for 20 min.

This recipe is very yummy, enjoy!!!

Chewy Soft Pretzels

Recipe source: mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

Friday we had a winter storm dumping on us, so it felt like a good day to bake a treat and be around the nice warm oven. This recipe was really fun and yummy. Russell was still at school, and Keyan and Halle were still napping, so Trey ended up being my helper. He is ALWAYS asking if he can help, so it was nice to have him there.

At this point, he was more interested in turning the measuring spoons into some sort of ship...

Rolling the dough into ropes...

Dough:


2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*


Topping:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted  (I used spray butter, and it worked and tasted great.)


Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown.
Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.