Make-A-Mix Pan Rolls

Argh! I lost this recipe today, just when I needed it, so I'm posting it!

Roll Mix (makes about 4 batches)

20 C Flour
4 t Salt
1 1/4 C Sugar
1 C Dry Milk

Pan Rolls:
1 T yeast
1 1/2 C lukewarm water
2 eggs beaten
1/2 C oil
5-6 C roll mix

Bake at 375 for 20-25 min.

APPLE STRUDEL BAKLAVA

3/4 lb. phyllo dough (18x16 inch sheets) 1 1/4 c. butter, melted 2 c. coarsely shredded, peeled apples 1 c. chopped walnuts 1 c. chopped toasted almonds 2/3 c. sugar 1/4 c. raisins 1 tsp. lemon zest 2 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp. cinnamon 1/2 c. honey Keep unused phyllo covered with damp towel while working. Lay 6 sheets of phyllo in bottom of a buttered 15x10 inch baking pan, brushing each sheet with some butter. Combine remaining ingredients except honey. Sprinkle half the apple mixture over phyllo in pan. Top with 6 more sheets phyllo brushed with butter and the filling. Top with remaining phyllo brushed with butter. Trim edges. Score into diamonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Warm honey; drizzle over baklava. Cool. Makes 40 pieces.

Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (these are optional, it's great with or without them)



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-10 inch tube pan.

2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into halves or quarters and place six to eight biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Shake well.

3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the greased pan. Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are coated and in the pan. If you are using raisins, place them among the biscuit pieces as you are layering.

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.

5. Bake for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

I made this to make up for not making lunch for the family today, and it was yummy, but do not, I repeat, do not try to double it and bake it in the 3 qt. pan, you will have a mess!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire
• 3 cups milk
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3/4 pound shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (3 cups)
• 8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
• 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs

  Preparation:

  In saucepan over medium low heat melt 4 tablespoons butter; blend in flour and seasonings, stirring until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk; cook and stir until thick and smooth. Stir in grated onion and cheese. Place cooked drained macaroni in a buttered 3-quart casserole. Pour sauce over macaroni and gently mix to blend. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and toss with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the macaroni. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
  Macaroni and cheese recipe serves 4 to 6.

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa

5-6 pounds Pork Roast
1 Tbs. Cumin
1 C. Brown Sugar
12 ounces medium Salsa Verde
20 ounces Coca Cola

Place roast in a crock pot and add water halfway up roast. Cook on low for 12 hours. Drain out the water and add the remaining ingredients, then cook for 4 more hours. Shred the pork and cook for 2 more hours.

I found that I needed to add extra salsa, coke, and sugar at the end. It was REALLY delicious!

Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing

This is the best copycat dressing I've tasted--it's pretty dang close!

1 Ranch Buttermilk Dressing packet
1 C. buttermilk
1 C. mayonnaise (do not use low fat or fat free)
2 tomatillos, remove husks and dice
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 juice of lime
1 jalepeno pepper, use seeds for spicy

Use food processor to blend, refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.

Chive and Parsley Dip

After committing to avoid any lengthy car trips to the grocery store Scott invited our friends over for dinner. It was a little tough pulling together but everything turned out well in the end. Improvising as usual I came up with this dip... the herbs are the first things that popped up in my garden.

1 part green onion
1 part parsley
1 clove garlic
1 part cream cheese
1 part mayo
5 parts low fat plain yogurt
A touch of dijion mustard
salt to taste


Finely mince all the herbs and garlic. Mix everything except yogurt and then gently fold in yogurt (helps distribute cream cheese evenly). Chill and serve. Yummy... but maybe I am just pregnant or something.

Apple Dumplings Pioneer Woman Style

We got this recipe from Courtney and according to Dionne, it is the best dessert she ever tasted. I have made it with low fat crescent rolls and half the butter and half the sugar and it is still delicious. A real hit!

OK, Mom, but let's not forget this actually comes from my idol Pioneer Woman! She's so awesome!

Apple Dumplings

2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
cinnamon
1 12 oz. can Mountain Dew (can use Sprite or 7up, is just used for the liquid)

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

Indian Fry Bread

Fry bread is wonderfully lumpy (puffed here and there). It can be served as a dessert or used as a main dish bread. Our family will often take them and stuff them, much like one might use bread or tortilla to dip into their food.
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup waterVegetable oil for frying

Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump.
Flour your hands. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. NOTE: You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.
Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter. NOTE: Don’t worry about it being round. As Grandma Felipa would say “it doesn’t roll into your mouth.”
Heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. NOTE: You can check by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large fryer.
Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take about 3 to 4 minutes.
Indian Fry Bread can be kept warm in a 200 degree F. oven for up to 1 hour. They refrigerate well and can be reheated in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini

Prep Time:5 min
Total Time:20 min
Makes:4 servings, 1-1/4 cups each
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time.
MEANWHILE, cook tomatoes in large skillet on medium heat 5 min. Add cream cheese and seasoning; cook 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.
DRAIN pasta mixture. Add to tomato mixture in skillet; mix lightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Banana-Raspberry Crepes

Shirlene's Crepes
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
8 eggs
3 cups milk
3 T. butter or marg melted

Mix flour, salt sugar. Beat eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir into dry ingredients and mix well. Pour by 1/2 cupfuls onto a lightly greased griddle: cook until set. Turn and cook one minute longer. Repeat to make 16 crepes.

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen raspberries, thawed
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S FREE or KNUDSEN FREE Fat Free Sour Cream
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping
3 medium bananas, sliced

PLACE raspberries in blender or food processor container; cover. Blend until pureed; strain to remove seeds. Remove 3 Tbsp. of the raspberry puree; place in medium bowl. Add sour cream and extract; mix well. Gently stir in whipped topping.
SPOON about 2 Tbsp. of the whipped topping mixture onto center of each crepe; top evenly with the banana slices. Fold both sides of crepes over filling. Top evenly with the remaining raspberry puree.

Amigo Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves 6
3 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 pound boneless chicken (whatever is on sale), chopped intobite-sized pieces*
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 (16-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup apple juice
12 ounces tomato sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups salsa (your favorite)
Garnishes (optional):Sour Cream
Baked tortilla chips
Shredded Monterey Jack
Sliced black olives
Sliced green onions
Chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat;add onion and sauté until translucent. Add chopped chicken and cookfor about 4 minutes, or until browned on all sides (you do not need tocook it all the way through). Stir in the cumin and chili powder.Add remaining ingredients (black beans through salsa), cover and heatthrough. Serve in bowls and garnish as desired.*LEANNE'S NOTE: Partially freeze chicken for ease in cutting.Per Serving: 257 Calories; 5g Fat; 26g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 8gDietary Fiber; 44mg Cholesterol; 1212mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat. Points: 5DO-AHEAD TIP: Sort, rinse and soak beans overnight.

Oatmeal Fruit Candy (High in fiber, natural sugar only)

Ingredients:
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dates (i use the kind that have nothing added so it is stickier)
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup apple butter

1/2 bar of nice, dark chocolate. a good dark chocolate will have little sugar added.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the oat, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl. Add dates, pecans and apricots, stir in apple butter. Mix until ingredients are well blended and oats are moistened with apple butter.

Spread mixture in 8 x 13-inch non-stick pan. Pat it down to make an even bottom layer. Bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are darkening and fruit should be somewhat crystalized.

While baking, melt chocolate by double boiling or chopping into small bits and microwaving. Add a little butter or milk to make it easier to work with. Drizzle melted chocolate over top of baked candy. Immediately cut into 2-inch squares, do not remove from pan. Allow to cool, go over cuts with knife again, and serve.

Note: These are even better on the second day. Servings: 24

Tofu Donburry

This is a delicious and filling Japanese dish.

First, create sauce by mixing soy sauce (or, i like to use Braggs liquid aminos, it tastes like soy souce but is good for you), some sweet liquid (i think the japanese sauce includes some rice wine but last night i used sparkling pear cider and it was good, you could also use white grape juice, apple juice, maybe some honey, whatever), and sliced ginger (this can be fresh, but traditionally would be pickled)

Steam rice (make as much as you'd need to serve each guest about half a bowl full of rice)

slice but keep separated:

Red Peppers
Onion
Carrots
Mushrooms
Tofu

Then layer in a large pan, in the following order: onion (bottom), carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, then tofu
(again use portions suitable for the amount of people you are serving. for me, one large pan layered thinly served three adults, but you could easily increase thickness to serve more)

Turn burner on medium, add a little water and cover pan with lid.

Crack and roughly mix enough eggs to cover top of your spread (probably about 1 1/2 eggs per person) in a separate bowl, then pour eggs over top of spread.

Let eggs cook a bit, add water if mix seems dry.
Pour sauce over top of spread before eggs cook fully.

Cover, let eggs cook (does not have to be very firm, about a medium is good)

Cut into bowl-sized portions and serve over bed of rice. If you want to make it look nice, top with a pinch of sliced pickled ginger.

Mashed "potatoes" (cauliflower)

steam cauliflower, a small amount of chopped onion, and a clove of garlic
process in food processor

add a pinch or so of curry
a tiny pinch of clove
pinch of thyme

this is so delicious! you can add spice to taste, but be slow to add any spice, i think the tricky thing is is that cauliflower is a little acidic compared to potatoes, thus carries spices to higher planes. benefits are worth it---cauliflower is so much better for you than potatoes (and if you steam it, it retains important enzymes) but when processed has the same texture as mashed potatoes. mmmmmmm.