Jen's Rolls (Jen Evans)

Oven:  350 degrees
Yield:  1 big tray (I usually make a double batch if there is a sizeable group to feed)

1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar
7/8 cup (7 oz.) milk
1/4 cup butter

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp. salt
2 3/4 cup flour

Combine water and yeast; let yeast grow.

Combine sugar, milk, and butter in microwave-safe bowl; microwave until butter melts (so that mixture is warm).

Combine yeast and milk mixtures.  Add egg.

Pour flour and salt into mixer.  Add liquid mixture, and knead until dough pulls from the sides of the bowl (you may need to add more flour), and the dough is smooth and elastic.  Let the dough rise until double.  Punch down, and roll out in circles, spread with melted butter, and cut into triangles and roll into crescent shapes.  Place on pan, and let rise again.  Bake until just golden on top.

Apple Pie - 9" (Greta Cousins)

Filling:

5 to 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients except butter.  Set aside until crust is prepared.

Pie Crust:

2 cups flour (she uses Gold Medal)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
5 Tbsp. cold water

Cut first three ingredients together using a pastry blender (or two dinner knives).  Add water and mix with fork until dough forms a ball. 

Divide dough ball in two.  Roll out bottom crust, put in 9" pie plate, and put in filling.

Dot filling with butter.

Roll out top crust and put on pie.  Trim, turn edge under, and crimp edge.

Moisten top slightly with water, sprinkle lightly with sugar (about 1 tsp.).  Make about 5 one-inch slits around top of pie.

Bake at 435 degrees for 1 hour, then turn to 450 degrees for 10 minutes longer.  Test apples with fork to see if tender.  (In California, bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour.)

Chicken Stock from Rotisserie Chicken (Soup Chick)

Cut and pasted from: 

http://www.soupchick.com/2010/02/how-to-make-soup-stock-from-rotisserie-chicken.html

Turn the carcass of a rotisserie chicken into the world's easiest chicken stock. Using a four-quart slow cooker, you can get 1-1/2 quarts of stock. You can make this on the stovetop, too.

1 rotisserie chicken carcass, including any bits of skin and meat still adhering
1 medium onion, not peeled, cut in half
1 stalk of celery, cut in half
1 small carrot, cut in half
12 black peppercorns

Slow cooker: Place all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover with water to within 2 inches of the top of the cooker. Cover, set cooker on LOW, and cook for 6 hours.

Stove top: Place all ingredients into a 4- or 5-quart stock pot or Dutch oven. Add 2-1/2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours.

Pass the stock through a fine-mesh strainer, or through a larger strainer lined with cheesecloth, into a container (or into more than one). Cover, and let cool on the counter top. Refrigerate or, if not planning to use within 3 days, put into the freezer.

Whether the stock has been refrigerated until cold, or stored in the freezer, there will be a thin layer of chicken fat that has congealed at the top. Remove that by scraping it off with a spoon before you cook with the stock.

Cranberry Sauce (Heidi Jameson)

2 1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1 chopped apple
1 medium orange
1/2 C. orange juice
2 lbs. cranberries (2 12-oz bags)
1 C. roasted pecans (broiled and chopped)

Combine sugar, ginger, orange peel and orange juice.  Simmer until sugar is dissovled.

Add apple and cranberries.  Simmer about 10 minutes.  (Cranberries will pop - wear apron!)

Let cool, then add pecans.

Banan Cream Pie (Our Best Bites)

1 4-serving size box of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding

1 c. cold water

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 cookie crusts. You can use anything–graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, shortbread, even Oreo.

Lots of bananas

1 pint whipping cream

1/3 c. powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, cold water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes. In another bowl, whip 1 c. of whipping cream until soft peaks form.

Slice the bananas (probably 4 small bananas or 2 large bananas) and layer them on the bottom of the crusts. Be sure and save the plastic domes that come with the pie crusts–you’ll need them later!

Set aside. Remove pudding from the fridge and gently dollop the whipped cream on top of the pudding. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until well-combined.

Now divide the mixture between the two pies.

Prepare sweetened whipped cream with the remaining whipping cream and 1/3 c. of powdered sugar and spread it on top of the two pies. Place the clear plastic shells back on the pies and allow to chill for several hours. This is actually really important–I tried eating it right away once and the pie wasn’t banana-y at all and the moisture hadn’t absorbed into the crust, so the crust just fell apart.
And there you have it–the best AND the easiest banana cream pie you’ll ever have or need!

Cranberry Sauce (Our Best Bites)

1 bag cranberries
1 c. white sugar
1 c. orange juice
1 c. water
1 stick cinnamon (optional)
1 very small pinch ground cloves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash cranberries and place in 9×13 baking dish. Add water, cloves, cinnamon stick, and orange juice and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 1 hour. Remove from oven, remove cinnamon stick, and allow to cool. If you like it with a little texture, mash berries; if you prefer it smooth, process in blender or food processor until desired consistency is reached. Serve with turkey, Swedish meatballs, on pulled turkey, pork, or chicken sandwiches, or on top of ice cream or cobbler.

Sweet Green Salad (Mom Poulsen)

Salad:
1 head of red leaf lettuce, washed and torn
1 head of green leaf lettuce, washed and torn
1 package dried cranberries
1 package crumbled feta cheese
Cut pears

(Can use bagged lettuce - it's quicker.)

Candied almonds:
1 Tbsp. butter
3/4 cup sugar

Carmelize butter and sugar in a skillet.  Stir for about another minute.  Add 1 1/2 cups slivered almonds.  Spread on tray.  Let cool.  Break up.

Dressing:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1/4 cup red (or yellow) onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix dressing ingredients together.  It is better if you can do this one day ahead of serving.  Keep shaking to dissolve sugar.

Our Favorite Desserts

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Brownies
• Carmel Brownies
• Not Better Than Love Cake
• Chocolate Zucchini Bread
• Banana Bread
• Apple Streudel
• Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Our Favorite Dinners

• Balsamic Chicken
• BBQ Chicken Pizza'
• Baked Ziti
• Black Bean Burgers
• Bean Burritos
• Chicken Curry
• Chicken Lynn
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chili
• Cornbread Casserole
• Enchilada Casserole
• Enchiladas
• Fajitas
• Goulash
• Hootenanny
• Italian Pasta (Olive Garden)
• Lasagne
• Lentil Soup
• Mango Chicken
• Napa Cabbage Salad
• Noodle Stir-Fry
• Pizza
• Potstickers
• Quinoa Chili
• Russian Tacos
• Shake 'n Bake Chicken
• Smoothies and Toast
• Spaghetti
• Spare Ribs
• Stew
• Stir-Fry
• Tacos
• Taco Soup