Daffodillies

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I love food.  I also love things of beauty and when you combine the two... shebang!  (And a bunch of other interjections, as in wowza! and holy smokes!)

This recipe is absolutely perfect for Easter and you'll end up looking like this amazing baker when you bring these out to the table.  I mean really, who else makes food that ends up looking like flowers?  Okay, unless you're a cupcake or cake decorator... which I am most assuredly NOT. 

But between you and me, these are not so hard.  

Pinky swear.

Daffodillies

Ingredients

1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Dash salt
Dash white pepper

Directions

Separate each biscuit into three equal layers. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. With a kitchen shears or sharp knife, cut eight slits a third of the way toward center to form petals. Make a deep thumbprint in the center of each.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Place heaping teaspoonfuls of creamed cheese mixture in the center of each biscuit. 

Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

** See?  Told ya it was easy.  These will disappear really fast from the bread basket, so be prepared!

Until next time, here's to more smoochin' in the kitchen!

  

Caramel Banana Muffins

Are you looking for a way to bribe your family one Saturday morning?

Do you find yourself wishing that you had that perfect muffin recipe to make your overnight guests feel like they've stepped into a b&b?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be everyone's muffin-making hero (or heroine, whatever the case may be)?

Are you ready for me to stop asking you nonsensical questions?

Then, have I got a deal for you!

Reverting yet again to my good old trusty Taste of Home recipe collection, a couple of weeks ago, I came across this recipe.  I made them for my family in order to bribe them into doing their chores and within about twenty seconds it looked like the Tasmanian Devil had devoured the whole plate of them.

They really are that good.

(source)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• CARAMEL ICING:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon 2% milk
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture just until moistened.
• Fill paper-lined jumbo muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For icing, in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk; bring to a boil. Cool slightly. Beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Transfer to a small resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag and drizzle over muffins. 

*Jamie's notes:

  - I don't have a jumbo-sized muffin tin, so I just used my regular sized, which worked out just fine.  The baking time will be a little shorter, about 18-20 minutes.  

  - Don't forget to drop the pan on the counted a few times after filling them with the batter to get any air pockets out of them.

  - Don't be fooled by the picture of the muffin up there.  The recipe for the icing makes quite a bit and so I just spread it on with a knife rather than the whole messy bag process.  But don't skip the icing, though!  It makes the whole muffin incredible!

This of course is a perfect way to use up those bananas that you're children won't eat because they have spots on them and heaven knows no child (or this mama) will eat a banana with spots on them.  Ew.

P-Dub's Cinnamon Bread

Remember last week when I was aghast that I hadn't shared the famous Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's Cinnamon Swirl Bread with you?

I'm still aghast, I tell you.  Simply aghast.

I made five of these loaves last week.  Five.  I made them to sell at a local homeschool sale and even though I had made it five times and should be absolutely sick at the sight of them, they stilled smelled wonderful and made my tummy growl.  Thank goodness I sold all of them!

This is definitely a staple around our home, especially since breads like these are so stinkin' expensive at the grocery store.

P-Dub's recipe is the hand-kneadin' way, which I love doing.  I love the rhythm of it, the feeling of solidarity with our pioneer mothers.  Truly, I do.  When I have time.

When I don't, however, I cheat and use the bread machine.  I would have made a lousy pioneer woman.

(this is her picture, of course.  I'm not a pioneer, nor am I a photographer.)

I will give you her recipe and then note the bread machine modifications afterwards.

Get ready for your life to be changed.  Oh, yes.  Your life will be changed.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Milk
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 3-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
• Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don't boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it's warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you're going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven.

Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve, or make cinnamon toast or French toast with it.

**Bread Machine Modifications**

*I usually have softened butter on hand, so I don't worry about melting it.  I do however warm up the milk.

*Make sure when using a bread machine that you add the wet ingredients in the machine before all the dry ingredients.  The order of the ingredients will have to be moved around.

*Add the yeast to the bread machine last, as recommended by all bread machine manufacturers.  I'm not sure if that's the case for just dough, though.  At any rate, I add the yeast last and that works out just fine.

Other than that, I do everything else after the dough making just the same.  And oh.my.goodness., my life is so much better because of it.

The End.

Garlic Hoagie Rolls

I've recently remembered an old love... my bread machine.  It's true love, I assure you.  Last week we were having French Dip sandwiches when I remembered this recipe I had tucked away and really, really, really wanted to share.

SUCCESS!!  The meat was so-so, but the hoagie rolls were so yummy.

(photo courtesy of Taste of Home)

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water (70° to 80°)
• 1/2 cup warm 2% milk (70° to 80°)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 T. butter, softened
• 1 T. minced chives
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. garlic salt
• 3-1/4 cups bread flour
• 3 t. active dry yeast

Directions

• In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer (liquids always first, then dry, then yeast). Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1-2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
• When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into nine pieces. Shape each into a 4-1/2-in. x 1-1/2-in. roll. Place 4 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 20-30 minutes.
• Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Try to refrain from munching on them before dinner is own the table.  It's harder than you think.

Yield: 9 rolls.

Holy cow, these were so amazing!  I'm really loving using my bread machine right now because I don't have to spend extra on fancy-er breads.  And while I do love making my own bread from scratch, most days there is barely time to run to the potty let alone do anything extra in the meal prep.



What would you put on these?  I'm thinkin' you could do just about anything!  Let me know what you try!

Hamburger Buns in the Bread Machine

Ack!  It's been so long since I've been over here!  I kept thinking that it would slow down after Christmas.  I should have known better.  Life is never slow when you have five kids running around.  

I promise I'll do better, though.  {I think}

Even though we haven't been around here much lately, that doesn't mean we haven't been busy in the kitchen because we have!  I have a ton of new recipes to show y'all, but time just keeps slipping away.

But I've got one quick one for ya today:

Hamburger Buns in the Bread Machine!  I found this recipe over at New Nostalgia when I googled "hamburger buns in the bread machine".

Oh, my goodness!  These were so easy and incredibly yummy.  One of my kids wanted to forego the actual hamburger and just eat the bun.  Plus, no preservatives in them, so that's always a plus in my book!

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 T. honey
1 egg, room temperature
4 1/2 cups flour (I used a mixture of bread flour and unbleached all purpose)
2 1/4 t. yeast
1 1/4 t. salt

Directions:

-Pour milk, water, melted butter and honey into a glass bowl. Microwave until warm, just to take the chill off.  Add the egg.
-Pour into bread machine.  Add flour on top of wet ingredients.  Make a little well in flour, then add yeast and salt.  Set machine to dough cycle.
-When finished, take dough out, knead for a few turns, then divide into 12 balls.  Roll into balls, place onto greased cookie sheet (I used Stoneware, so I didn't need to grease it).  Flatten tops a bit, cover with a cloth and let rise about 30 minutes or until doubled.
-Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

These were so quick and easy and terribly, terribly yummy.  We will definitely be making these again!

So, until next time (which will be soon, I hope), bon apetit and may you have many smooches in the kitchen.

Linking up to Permenant Posies' Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits!

Thanksgiving Menu and the Amazing Bread Machine Cinnamon Roll Recipe

I don't know about you, but we're just emerging from a turkey-induced coma over here.  We've been wanting to post, but as soon as we'd get near the computer, our eyes would glaze over and the drooling would begin again in earnest.

I thought I'd give you a run-down on what was put out on our enormous farm-house dining room table this year.  Our table was literally groaning with food.  Even our kids looked at the spread and said, "That's a lot of food."  If they say that, then you know that you'd better have elastic waist pants on.

For Breakfast:

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

We got the party started early!  I made cinnamon roll dough in the bread machine and then made them the usual way the day before.  I'll share the recipe in just a sec.

For Dinner:

(by Paco and Jamie)

The turkey...  (angels are singing) 
Mashed potatoes
Homemade stuffing
Baked Apples
Pumpkin Roll (shared on Jamie's "mama-blog" last fall)
Two Pumpkin Pies

(by Rosie, Paco's amazing mamacita)

Corn souffle (must. get. this. recipe.)
Green salad with blueberries, mushrooms, walnuts and a vinaigrette
Cranberry jello
Peach Pie

Can you see why we haven't posted in a while?

Paco had been planning the turkey for weeks now.  He was drooling over the Food Network magazine and researching on-line how to make "his" turkey.

He's about as bad as the dad on the movie "A Christmas Story."

Seriously. 

He debated grilling, roasting, brining, or smoking it.  In the end, the poor, poor turkey was injected with fluid and smoked on the grill.  My heart went out to that turkey.  I can't imagine how bloated it felt.  Um, actually, I can. 

In the end, is was perfectly delicious.  That turkey's death was not in vain.

Now, for the cinnamon roll recipe...  Ready?

Ingredients

3/4 cup water

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 t. vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 T. sugar

1/4 cup softened butter

1 t. salt

2 T. milk

1 1/2 t. yeast

*Filling*

1/4 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup brown sugar, mixed with 2 t. cinnamon

*Icing*

3 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

3 T. hot water

2 cups confectioner's sugar

Directions

In bread machine, add ingredients according to manufacturer's suggested order (dry ingredients first, liquid second, yeast last) and set on dough cycle.

Turn onto lightly floured board.  Roll out to a rectangle about 10 x 18 inches.  Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon-brown sugar mixture.

Starting at long end, carefully roll up, pinching seams together.  Measure and cut 1-inch slices.  Place cut side up on a buttered baking sheet.  Cover with a slightly dampened towel and let rise in a warm place for 45-1 hour (or until doubled in size). 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until browned. 

For the icing, melt butter in a medium saucepan; add hot water and vanilla.  Remove from heat then stir in confectioner's sugar.  Add more hot water, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.  Drizzle over warm rolls.

(Makes 12)

Loosen your belt, sit back and thank the good Lord for cinnamon rolls.

Then it's time to start thinking about the Christmas menu.

I'm linking up over at Skip to My Lou and Permanent Posies today.  If you're hopping over from there, let me know.  We're just getting started blogging over here so we love visitors!  You can always become a follower or join our email list.  Thanks for stopping by!