Garlic Cheese Drop Biscuits

I like to make bread. I also like to eat it. One of my favorite things about eating out is tasting the bread served prior to the meal. Think of the Olive Garden breadsticks or the Macaroni Grill rosemary bread with oil and vinegar. Yum! These biscuits are supposed to taste like Red Lobster biscuits. I haven't been there in such a long time, I can't say whether there is a true likeness or not. But what I can say is that these biscuits are quick and easy to make and are the perfect fix when you need rolls or breadsticks with your meal but don't have time to make them.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup bread flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

5 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder, pepper and garlic powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the milk and cheese; stir just until combined. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for about 18 minutes, until lightly browned. While biscuits are baking mix melted butter and minced garlic. Brush garlic butter over hot baked biscuits.

Orange Rolls

Here in Texas we are spoiled with sunshine. No inversions around here, no misty lingering fog, and very few overcast days. We've had a few of rainy, cloudy days this week and while I'm grateful for whatever rain we can get, the lack of morning sunshine is just about enough to make me want to stay in yoga pants and sit and read a book all hours of the day. (Can I hear a big "WAH" from all of you that are still in the never ending winter?) The only other activity that seems acceptable is making cinnamon rolls. So yesterday I found this alternative recipe and cooked up these nice sunshiny orange rolls. By the time they were done the sun was shining and it was hot and muggy outside. But at least they served their purpose to get me going and as a bonus, they tasted great.

adapted from Sophistimom

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm milk

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 egg yolks

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

4 1/2 - 5 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon yeast (scant)

5 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature

zest of two oranges

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon ground cardamon (I used 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves)

cream cheese frosting (recipe below)

Directions:

Put milk, water, melted butter, egg yolks, egg, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in a bread machine pan. (Or check out Sophistimom for directions using a mixer.) Set on dough setting. Mix and let rise once. Punch down dough and and let rest for 3 minutes. Roll out into a large rectangle (about 12x20 inches).

Mix room temperature butter with orange zest. Spread the mixture over the entire surface of the dough. Mix powdered sugar with cardamon or other spices in a small bowl. Use a sieve and sprinkle sugar mixture over the butter.

Starting on a 20 inch edge, roll the dough up loosely. Make slices 3 inches apart. Place rolls one inch apart, swirl side up, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with tea towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

For the frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of 2 oranges

juice of 1/2 an orange

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Stir in sugar, vanilla, orange zest, and juice. Mix until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

Turtle Bars

When I went to college I had one roommate from Bear Lake. We had so much fun being happy and giddy together. Oh, those days at Utah State University are never to be forgotten. As roommates we shared a wide variety of things like late night talks, library tables, friends, contact lenses (not intentional), and these yummy Turtle Bars her mom used to make and bring when she came to visit. Our favorite way to eat them now is al a mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzled on top, but they are also good enough to stand alone.

Recipe from T. Arnell

Ingredients:

48 caramels or 2 11 ounce bags of caramel bits

7 1/2 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1/3 teaspoon salt

2/3 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/8 cup brown sugar

1 1/8 cup butter, melted

1 8 ounce package chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt caramels with milk in double boiler or microwave. Stir until smooth; set aside. Combine flour, oatmeal, salt, soda, brown sugar, and butter. Press half of mixture in a 9 x 13 greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Wait for them to melt and spread to cover crust. Pour on caramel mixture and spread. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture on top. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Apple Rolls

I love old-fashioned recipes because all of the ingredients are so basic. You probably have everything you need in your pantry to make these right now. The recipe for these apple rolls is from my Great Grandma Hunter. I remember her coming over to visit when I was very young and she was in her last years of life. I don't remember too much about her, but I do remember that she was a hard worker and a good cook. She also had funny superstitions like "Spit on your hand when you see a white horse, and your wish will come true." And I remember my Mom saying that she used to put a little bit of lemon juice in everything she made. These apple rolls of hers taste so down-to-earth and real that eating them takes me back 50 years to her kitchen table.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups applesauce

1/4 cup butter

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in shortening. Add milk and gently mix. Generously flour countertop and pat or roll dough into a 6 x 12 rectangle. Spread applesauce over dough. (I sprinkle it with cinnamon.) Carefully roll into a jelly roll. Expect this to be messy and expect some of the applesauce to squish out. Cut jelly roll into 1 inch slices and place them in a 9 x 11 greased pan. Scoop up any lost applesauce and place it on top of roll slices. Boil butter, water, sugar, and vanilla together for 2 minutes. Pour over rolls. Bake in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve warm, upside down, with milk or plain.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I have a husband who refuses to eat mayonnaise or anything that looks, feels, tastes, or smells like it. His restriction rules out things like fry sauce, yellow sauce, and actually pretty much any kind of sandwich, burger, or wrap sauce on the planet. One time early in our marriage, very early mind you, I sneakily added one teaspoon of mayonnaise into a southwestern wrap spread. He took one bite and I ended up eating about 6 wraps by myself over the next few days. And so that is how this recipe came to be. I love chicken salad sandwiches. These ones have no mayo. Cream cheese is the substitute. Works wonders. I aim to please my man, especially if he's subjected to eating girly food like this for dinner every once in a while. Not that he's complaining.

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (Season 2 breasts with salt and pepper and cook them in a slow cooker for a few hours.)

1/4 cup green onions, diced

10 grapes, sliced lengthwise in thirds

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, milk, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly. Serve with green leaf lettuce on rolls or in cream puffs.