Cheddar Bay Biscuits

An excellent remake of Red Lobsters yummy biscuits.

Printable Recipe

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bisquick mix
4 tbsp cold butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine Bisquick and cold butter, using a fork or pastry cutter. Don't combine too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter about the size of peas.
 

Add cheddar, milk and 1/4 tsp garlic.
 

Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Make 12 equal portions and place onto greased cookie sheet.
 

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are light brown.
 

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a bowl. Stir in 1/2 tsp garlic powder and parsley flakes.
 

Use a pastry brush to spread garlic butter over tops of biscuits.

Snickerdoodle Bread

I love cinnamon desserts during the winter, and this one did not disappoint. Absolutely amazing straight out of the oven, and still fabulous cold. This is one of my favorite new quick breads, and it got rave reviews at a meeting.

Printable Recipe

Snickerdoodle Bread

 adapted from Key Ingredient

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pkg Hershey's cinnamon chips

Topping:

3 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350.

Grease 2 loaf pans (or 4 mini loaf pans).

Cream butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy.

Add eggs and mix well.

Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.

Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.

Add cinnamon chips and stir by hand.

Spoon batter into loaf pans until about 2/3 full.

Mix 3 T. sugar and 3 t. cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the batter in each loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes (35-38 minutes for mini loaves).

Let cool before removing from pan.

KFC Biscuits

We had these biscuits when we were visiting friends, and even though they were a day old, I had to have the recipe. So, so good! They're supposed to be a copycat of KFC biscuits, but I like them even more than those. Yum!

Printable Recipe

Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, softened


Preheat oven to 425

Sift together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.

Make a well in the flour mix and add the milk.

Add butter and begin kneading until thoroughly mixed.

Pat into 1/2 inch thickness, then cut into biscuits.

Bake for 10-13 minutes.

Makes about 12 biscuits.

Best No-Knead Pizza Dough Ever

I wanted to get this out there early in the week, just in case you're like me and plan for Pizza Night on Fridays. I have tried a lot of pizza dough recipes. A LOT!!! And so many of them claim to be the best. But after all is said and done, I'm left thinking, "That's the best you've got?" So I've had this one tucked away on Pinterest for quite awhile, but by the time I saw it, I'd grown tired of making my own, barely decent, dough, and we'd gone to frozen pizza. Plus the "18 hours" of resting time scared me (PLEASE DON'T STOP READING!). When I looked at it again, I realized that while, yes, you do have to be thinking ahead for this one, the dough takes about 5 minutes to measure out and mix up, and then it just sits there. So all I have to do is remember sometime Thursday evening to whip it up, and then we're good for dinner Friday. And actually, the original blogger who posted it said it's very forgiving, and one time she only let it rise for 5 hours and it still turned out great, so even better! Just don't forget the extra hour at the end that you're supposed to let it sit (although I think I only did half an hour last time; again, forgiving).

I did the "heat a pizza stone first" trick, and the result was absolutely amazing! Not super thick and doughy, just thin enough without being overly so, and enough crunch to keep me from thinking I'd made fancy breadsticks instead. Much closer to restaurant style than I've ever accomplished before. I only had one stone, so I used an upside down cookie sheet for the other, and it was still great. (I have no idea why I turned it upside down, so don't ask.) And we freeze the third ball of dough, so by the third week, I don't even have to remember to make it because I have enough for two pizzas that just need to be thawed!

Printable Recipe

 No-Knead Pizza Dough

Handle the Heat

Yield: about 3 balls of dough (you can easily double this recipe)

3 3/4 cups (500 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour (I used bleached, just because that's what I had on hand)
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (be sure not to use really hot water as that will kill the yeast)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, yeast, and salt.

Gradually add the water, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the water is incorporated and a shaggy dough forms. You may need to use your hands to fully incorporate the water. Just remember, you don't need to knead!

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a clean large bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature in a draft-free place until the dough is doubled in size. This may take up to 18 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. Don't worry too much about the time as this dough is very forgiving.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface.

Divide into 3 equal portions.

Take one portion of dough and gather 4 corners to the center to create 4 folds.

Turn seam side down and roll into an even ball.

Repeat with remaining portions.

Let dough rest, covered, until soft and pliable, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 425.

Roll dough to desired shape.

Take pizza stone out and carefully slide the dough onto the stone.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Top with favorite toppings.

Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until done.


The dough can be made ahead of time: Refrigerate the dough, individually wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days. Unwrap and let rest at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap, for 2 to 3 hours before shaping.

Freeze the dough, individually wrapped in plastic and placed in Ziploc bags, for up to 1 month. Defrost the dough overnight in the fridge then allow to sit at room temperature as directed above before shaping.

The dough is now ready to be shaped into pizza or whatever else you desire.

Strawberry Shortcake

No real recipe, but we made a few loaves of Strawberry Pecan Bread, and I thought we should use it for the base of Strawberry Shortcake like I had mentioned. AMAZING!!! By far the best strawberry shortcake I've ever had! Seriously, please make this soon. And invite me over for some.

Strawberry Shortcake

Pita Bread

It's been far too long since I posted, I know. Life got a little crazy--finishing up Joy School for the year, getting ready to move, starting my business, and a hundred million other things. But I've still been making lots of new recipes, so there are plenty saved up to share. I wanted to start with this pita bread because I've had it saved in my file for a long time, but anytime there's a bread recipe, I automatically think it's going to be difficult and take forever. Not so! This one is very simple--you add all of the ingredients in the first few minutes, and while there's some wait time, it's not nearly as long as you would think. And it ends up being another one of those "I can never buy these from the store again because these are SO much better homemade" recipes, which is another reason it's so nice that it's a fairly simple recipe. We made these to use with Beef and Vegetable Pitas, and wow is all I can say.

Printable Recipe

Pita Bread

from Annie's Eats

3 cups flour, plus 1/2-3/4 cup more as needed
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar or honey
1 packet instant (RapidRise) yeast (this equals 2 1/4 tsp.)
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tbsp. olive oil, vegetable oil, butter or shortening 

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.

Add the olive oil and 1 ¼ cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball.  If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Place the ball on a work surface, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes. As the dough is mixing, continue to add flour, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky.  (I add a significant amount of flour, so don’t be afraid to keep adding more until you reach the right consistency.)

Place the dough in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and  roll it around so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 equal pieces.  

Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This allows the dough to relax so that it will be easier to shape.

Spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between ¼ – 1/8” thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently, you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5-10 minutes before trying again.
 
Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it is preheating. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

Once the dough has risen, open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.

Makes 8 pitas

Strawberry Pecan Bread

I know the last few posts have all been desserts, but I'm not even going to apologize. First, these recipes have been so good, it's a crime not to share them; and second, if you can't find a good meal in all the posts so far, I don't think there's much more I can do. :) We had some strawberries that were barely hanging on, and I was afraid I'd have to throw them out, until I remembered seeing this recipe a few days ago. I can't say enough good things about this bread. Absolutely wonderful! Moist, just the right amount of sweetness, and perfect for a snack anytime. This is one you have to try!

Update: I found this recipe on another blog (http://www.thecountrycook.net), and she suggested using this a base for strawberry shortcake, with strawberries and whip cream. I think I'm going to have to try that!

Printable Recipe

 Strawberry Pecan Bread

by Southern Plate 

Prep Time: 10 mins.   Bake Time: 45 mins.

1 cup fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
1 cup white sugar, plus two tablespoons
1-1/2 cups self rising flour
2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

Place strawberries in a small bowl and pour two tablespoons of sugar over them. Stir and set aside.

In mixing bowl, place flour, baking powder, salt, remaining sugar, oil, eggs, and cinnamon. Mix until well combined.

Add pecans and strawberries and mix again until well combined.

Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pan ten minutes before turning out of pan to cool completely.

Banana Bread with Streusel Topping

Banana bread is one of my favorites, and I've gone through a lot of recipes in my search for the perfect one. I wanted one that was moist and had a good crust, and this one has both. It has a yummy streusel topping and center, and what's best is that you get two loaves out of this, so you can share with a friend. Or have an extra loaf for yourself later. I have looked all over for the original recipe, but it has completely disappeared. If I ever find it, I'll be sure to give the creator credit! (Please don't judge the bread by the picture. Our oven is kind of finicky, and this batch is a little overdone. The streusel is usually much more crumbly.)

This also is great for mini loaves to give to friends! It makes 4 loaves and then I had enough to do a dozen mini muffins (apparently I was in the mood for tiny food). If you make mini loaves, reduce the baking time by 1/4 (so 38-45 mins) and leave the temperature the same.

Recently, I found something wonderful in the beverage aisle that's been a big help in baking: powdered buttermilk! No more making my own every time I need it for a random recipe. Maybe I'm the last person on earth to discover it, but in case there's one other person that hasn't seen it, here you go! Just put the dry amount (for example, it's 4 Tbsp. buttermilk powder to make one cup prepared) in with the dry ingredients, and then add the water (1 cup) with the liquid. For this recipe, just add the buttermilk powder with the flour and everything, and then stir in the water. Couldn't be easier!

Printable Recipe

Banana Bread with Streusel Topping

3 large bananas
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup flour


Preheat oven to 350. Grease two bread pans and set aside.

In an electric mixer, mix bananas and sugar until the banana is completely mashed.

Add in the butter, eggs and vanilla extract, and mix until well creamed.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix well. Mix in the buttermilk until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the crumb toppings with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly.

Pour half of the bread batter into the two bread pans. Then layer half of the streusel topping on top of the bread batter.

Pour remaining batter over the crumb mixture and then top with the rest of the streusel topping.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Makes 2 loaves.

60 Minute Rolls

I am about to give you an amazing gift. Ready? Who doesn't love homemade rolls? I know, I know, they take forever: kneading, rising, rising again, forming them, rising again, etc. But what I am about to share with you is a recipe that can even be made on a weeknight. Don't believe me? When I came across this recipe on The Mother Huddle, I thought it was too good to be true. Rolls in an hour? Never. And yet, they worked, and they were amazing! Okay, it is just a few more than 60 minutes from measuring the flour to putting them on the table, but it's really, really close. Like any new recipe, it might take you just a little longer the first few times as you get used to it, but soon you'll be churning these out like a pro.

Supposedly this makes 20 to 24, but our family is used to rolls the size of a softball, so I usually get about 12 rolls. If you're looking to feed a larger crowd, make sure you make them normal size. These are great for holidays, special occasions, Wednesdays, whenever. They go perfectly with the Beef Stew that I'll be posting in a few days. And with homemade honey butter, which I'll also post later, all I can say is, "Wow!"

After making them numerous times, I just realized that you should use the rapid rise (Bread Machine) yeast for best results. It was all an accident. I grabbed a jar out of the fridge and threw the yeast in the bowl. It wasn't until we sat down to dinner and we realized they were even more amazing this time that I thought to check. Regular yeast works, and the rolls will be great, just a bit more dense than with rapid rise.

Printable Recipe

60 Minute Rolls

from The Mother Huddle
 

4-5 cups flour (can use a cup or two of wheat flour)

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp Rapid Rise yeast

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 tsp salt

Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar and yeast. 

Heat milk, water, and butter until very warm (about 110°).

Add warm liquid to dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for two minutes. 

Add 1/4 cup flour and 1 tsp salt. Mix for two more minutes. 

Continue adding the rest of the flour until a stiff dough forms. 

Knead on a lightly floured surface or in your mixer for 2-3 minutes.

Place in greased bowl and let rise for 15 minutes (I turn the oven to 200° while I am mixing up the dough, then turn it off once it's preheated and put my dough, in an oven-safe bowl, for about 10 minutes to rise.). 

Punch down and form dough into 20-24 small dough balls and place on baking sheet.

Let rise 15 minutes. 

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Multigrain Bread

I'm just going to post the link for this recipe because the pictures that went along with it, at Our Best Bites, were very helpful, especially when I was mixing the dough. (I did make a new copy of the recipe for you to print off, though. Their version is very difficult to read.) I think I've been adding too much flour all along to other recipes because my dough is always a lot drier. I ended up adding another half cup of warm water after I let it rest for the first 20 minutes because it didn't look like the pictures. Sure glad I did. The bread turned out really well! We had a little mishap with the oven--someone turned it off, but neither of us thinks we did it--which made the top deflate a little. Please disregard the sad-looking bread in the picture. It really did taste wonderful!

I couldn't find the 7-grain cereal at the Commissary, so I ordered some from Amazon. They had the Bob's Red Mill cereal--4 packs for about $9.00. And you can make about 8 loaves per bag of cereal, so it seems like a pretty good deal!

Printable Recipe

Printable Recipe 2 (I took out the seeds and the oats--the oats just fall off when I make it, so I'm not going to bother anymore--and that way I could get it to print on one page instead of two.)

Multigrain Bread

from http://www.ourbestbites.com

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Delicious way to make an all-in-one meal. Spaghetti? Good! Garlic Bread? Good? Together? Good!!! I went ahead and made a normal size batch of spaghetti because I was having a hard time figuring out how much to make. Since I was going to have leftover sauce anyway, I might as well have extra noodles to go with it. It made enough for two loaves, if I'd thawed out another loaf of dough. If you have a large family, you might want to make two anyways. I also mixed in a couple vegetable purees (cauliflower and carrots, or you could do sweet potato or squash) into the sauce.

Printable Recipe

Braided Spaghetti Bread
from Rhodes Bake-N-Serv Blog

1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temp. (2 to 3 hours)                

6 oz spaghetti, cooked 

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce (I add ground beef to mine)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes      

1 egg white
Parmesan cheese
Parsley flakes
Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Roll loaf or combined dinner rolls into a 12x16-inch rectangle on a Silpat or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly. Mix spaghetti with sauce.

Remove wrap from dough. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down the center of dough. Top with cheese cubes.

Make cuts 1 ½-inches apart on long sides of dough to within ½-inch of filling.

Begin braid by folding the strips on one end toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid.

Transfer bread to baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, parsley, and garlic powder.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve.

Makes 9 slices

Serve with: Salad