January Recipes

Sharon brought Cinnamon Rolls

Hot Roll Mix from the Make-A-Mix Cookbook

20 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together to distribute evenly. Put in a large airtight container. Label. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 to 8months. Makes about 22 cups of HOT ROLL MIX.

Changes Sharon made to Cinnamon Rolls recipe below:

She added the grated peel of 1 medium orange to the Cinnamon Sprinkle. She used 1/2 cup orange flavored craisins plumped in orange juice and drained.

For the glaze she substituted whipping cream for the milk and used orange extract instead of vanilla.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups HOT ROLL MIX
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
Cinnamon Sprinkle, see below
2 eggs, beaten
Sweet Glaze, see below
1/2 vegetable oil or melted butter

Cinnamon Sprinkle:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Sweet Glaze:

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Blend in eggs and oil or butter. Add 5 cups of HOT ROLL MIX. Stir well. Add additional HOT ROLL MIX to make a soft, but not too sticky dough. Knead about 5 minutes until dough is smooth. Lightly butter bowl. Put dough in bowl and turn to butter top. Cover dough with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Generously grease 2 baking sheets. Prepare Cinnamon Sprinkle. Punch down dough. Let stand 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 12” x 24” rectangle, about 1/4” thick. Spread generously with Cinnamon Sprinkle. Roll dough like a jelly roll and Cut with a sharp knife into 24 1” slices. Place on prepared baking sheets. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375˚. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Prepare Sweet Glaze, and brush on while rolls are still warm. Makes about 24 rolls.

Cinnamon Sprinkle: Melt butter or margarine in a small saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and nuts.

Sweet Glaze: In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to make a thin mixture.


Sybil brought Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup from Paula Deen

Ingredients
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.


Mina brought Chicken and Dumplings

First, I make my own broth (you can use can broth).
1 (about 3 pounds) whole chicken
8 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.In a heavy pot with a lid place the chicken and water and bring to a boil.
2.Now add salt and pepper.
3.Simmer (with lid on the pot) - until tender, about 1 hour or one and ½ hours.
4.Let broth and chicken cool in pot, now refrigerator so the fat will come to the top of the broth.
5.Skim excess fat off the broth. Then remove and take the meat off the bones and cut into large pieces. Discard the bones and skin.

Chicken and Dumplings
3 c. cooked chicken, cut into large pieces
½ c. butter
1/3 c. flour
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 c. chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup (98% fat free variety works great)

Blend butter, flour, salt and pepper in saucepan. Add chicken broth and cook until thick. Now stir in cream of chicken soup, add cooked chicken, and cook for a minute or thicker if you are going to use this mixture for chicken crepes or a dish that calls for cream chicken.

Dumplings:
2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ c. oil
1 c. milk

To prepare dumplings, mix all ingredients together and stir until moistened.
Roll out dough on a floured surface, with a rolling pin, until very thin. Cut into 1 inch wide strips using a pizza cutter or knife.

Layer sauce dumplings sauce dumpling and sauce in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 425° for 25-30minutes.

Serve immediately.


DeeAnn brought Homemade Pop Tarts

Make pie crust (or buy the ready made)
Here is one recipe:
1 1/3 cups fat (butter, lard, shortening, tallow...use a combination of two for the best flavor)
4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup cold water
Combine the fat, flour, salt and sugar with a pastry blender or in a food processor. Add the water a little at a time, mixing with a fork or food processor until it forms a slightly moist ball. Divide into two balls and roll out on a floured surface

At this point, you can trim off the edges so you have nice, neat rectangles, but I didn't want to waste any, so these are less than perfect.

For the filling, you can as I said, use jam or chop up some apple pie filling. We chose to the brown sugar variety: Melt 3 tablespoons butter and combine with 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a small bowl.

Cut your pie crust into smaller rectangles...making sure you cut an even number(tops and bottoms). Sprinkle some of the filling (about 1-2 Tbsp) on every other one.

Carefully place a top piece on the filling. Using a fork, crimp the edges shut to seal in the filling, but prick the tops to vent. If you are using jam or a fruit filling, this is especially important or you will have a mess on your baking sheet. Transfer the pop tarts to a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, switching from the top rack to the bottom rack halfway through the baking time. You will know they are done when they get a little tan around the edges and lose the shiny look in the middle. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

If desired, frost with a powdered sugar glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp milk (you don't want this runny)
1 tsp cinnamon (for the brown sugar filling)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, whisking briskly to remove lumps.

You can put sprinkles on top to make it fun.