The Easiest Hot Rolls You Will Ever Make

I hope all of you read the Tulsa World today. I had a small article written about how I cook a turkey. Here is the link http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=39&articleid=20081119_39_D1_Thanks692385&archive=yes
I am so caught up with Thanksgiving I have not been able to take many pictures though, sorry. We are having these hot rolls tonight with a pork roast dinner, so picture taking was easy.

I love hot rolls and these are so good you will not believe it! Easy and good makes a difference when talking about bread making. I make A LOT of BREAD!! Raven loves homemade wheat bread and Sean loves all BREAD!! Ransome and Raine are the biscuit eaters, so I make those too. I am willing to share my hot roll recipe if you promise you will make them. Okay, here it is...

2 cups warm water
2 T of loose yeast or 2 envelops
½ cup of sugar
½ cup of butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ t salt
6 cups of all purpose flour, sifted
Baking pan

Place water in a large bowl or your Kitchen Aid Mixer bowl, this is what I use. I love my Kitchen Aid mixer! Sprinkle yeast on top of water. Should foam up in 5 minutes. If it does not, your yeast may not be good. Once foaming adds sugar, eggs, salt, and butter. Mix for 3 minutes. Once that is mixed add flour 1 cup at time until well incorporated. Knead for 5 minutes. Brush bread dough with butter and cover for 1 hour or until it is doubled in size. I place mine on top of my stove to rise. Once raised, butter your baking pan. Break dough into 3-inch balls and roll in your hand until smooth. This dough is a little sticky, so add a little flour to your hands. Put into pan and brush each roll with melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let double in size, this usually will happen in 1 hour. Uncover and bake at 400’ for 35- 40 minutes and they are golden brown.

These are soo good and easy but they don’t look easy when served. Now get baking!!

Green Bean Casserole

I know all of you have either made or eaten Green Bean Casserole. Mine is different but the same. Clear as mud?? Thought so. This is on most tables for Thanksgiving, so give it a try.

Now don't worry. I will be posting some pictures tomorrow. I thought some one you would like recipes for Thanksgiving. Til then, have a great Monday!!

Green Bean Casserole
4 cans of French-style green beans-drained
4 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
4 slices of crisp bacon-crunched up
2 cans of French’s Onions —I know not homemade but they are really good
Salt and Pepper to taste
9x13 baking pan (yes, I own a lot of these)

Heat oven to 325’. Place all of your beans, soup, 1 can of onions, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Pour that mixture into your baking pan. Place crumbled bacon and 2nd can of onions on top of bean mixture. Place in oven for 30 minutes.

This a little different than the normal “green bean casserole.”

Cranberry Sauce and Broccoli Casserole

I really like to eat cranberry sauce. I like it with the Thanksgiving Meal but I really like it on turkey sandwiches. I make my sandwich with dressing and cranberry sauce. Sooo good!! I make my cranberry sauce the day before Thanksgiving so it has time to setup the way I like it. I hope you will try this recipe.

Cranberry Sauce
1 bag of fresh cranberries
2 cans of mandarin oranges
1-2 cup of sugar
Medium saucepan

Rinse cranberries. Place them in your saucepan. Pour juice from mandarin oranges in with cranberries. Put sugar in and stir well. Bring to a boil. Once berries begin to pop add your mandarin oranges. Cook until berry mixture thickens to a jam consistency. Usually around 30 minutes. You MUST CONTINUE TO STIR. If you don’t you will have a scorched mess. Another don’t ask issue with me. Try this recipe. You will never go back to the canned version again!


Broccoli Casserole

This is my all time favorite casserole. I can eat a huge bowl of it everyday. No, I don’t. Stop asking…. This is really a comfort food for me. This is a snap to put together. What is Thanksgiving without all of the sides???

Broccoli Casserole
2 frozen bags of name brand broccoli- thawed (I have found the off brands or cheaper brands have A LOT of stems)
2 pounds of Velveeta- melted
1 pound of Colby cheese- shredded
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 stick of butter
1 small onion diced
7 cups of cooked rice (you can use brown or whites)
Salt and pepper to taste
13x9 baking dish

In a large bowl, place rice, thawed broccoli, and soup. Mix well. In a pan melt butter. Once melted sauté onion until tender. Add onion to rice mixture. Melt Velveeta in the microwave. Pour Velveeta into rice mixture. Now is the time to salt and pepper to taste. Once seasoned to you liking pour into your 13x9 pan and sprinkle with shredded Colby. Bake @ 325’ for 30 minutes. Top should brown a little.

Better stop for now. I am hungry. Will post Granny West’s Corn Casserole this afternoon. Get cookin!! Or at least make your shopping list.

Mashed Potatoes and Homemade Turkey Gravy

I really love mashed potatoes. The way I make them on Thanksgiving should be illegal. I always use whole milk from a dairy in Claremore OK that does not pasteurize. Don't be alarmed. Unpasteurized milk is completely safe. It is in fact better for you. The milk from this dairy is soo good. I will be using their cream and milk this Thanksgiving. Here is their website in case you want to check it out. Now back to the potatoes. When you make them with cream and butter they are so delicious you will be hard pressed to make them any other way. Here is how to make them.

5 lbs. of Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut in chunks
1 stick of butter
Enough cream added to make the potatoes whip up nice. This can be from 1 cup to 2 cups
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dutch oven
Water

Place potatoes in dutch oven and cover with water. I pour a small amount of canola oil in with the potatoes. This keeps them from boiling over so easy. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain water off. Mash with potato masher. Put butter in and let it melt while you stir in the cream. Whip with a mixer until you like the consistency. It is entirely up to you. Some people like them lumpy, my father, or fluffy, my husband. Salt and pepper to taste and you are done. Now on to the gravy.

Homemade Turkey Gravy

Drippings from roasted turkey
Turkey broth from turkey parts that come with your turkey in a bag or in the cavity. Use everything but the liver.
All Purpose flour
Sat and Pepper to taste

Take drippings and heat them up in either the roasting pan or a large saucepan. When heated up add flour. Cook the flour until it is golden brown. Stir constantly or it will BURN!!! Add broth. I start with a quart. Cook until gravy is the thickness you like. Add salt and pepper. Serve piping hot. If more broth is needed add at 1/2 cup increments. If you need to thicken it up a little mix 2 T cornstarch in with 1 cup of cooled broth. Mix cornstarch and broth very well. Pour slowly into gravy. It should thicken quickly.

Hope you try this recipe and please don't buy canned gravy. You will like this MUCH better...

Grandma Minnie's Sweet Potato Casserole

Grandma Minnie's recipe needs a post of it's own for this casserole. When I first had it I could not believe what a pleasure for the mouth it was. I have made it every year since. Grandma Minnie passed away in 2002 but her recipes live on through her family's cooking each year. Cooking for me would not be the same without the first memories of the recipe, who made it and where it was first eaten. It is like taking a trip through time. I hope this will become one of your favorites too.

Grandma Minnie's Sweet Potato Casserole

5 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
2 sticks of butter
1 can of crushed pineapple
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of brown sugar
1 cup of pecans chopped
1 bag of large marshmallows
1- 13x9 baking pan
1- parchment lined baking sheet

First boil your sweet potatoes as you would potatoes for mashed potatoes. Once they are fork tender,then mash sweet potatoes with one stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar. I know this is a sweet dish but it is worth it. Pour mashed sweet potatoes into your baking dish. Next place pineapple and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Boil until liquid disappears. This happens in about 12 minutes. Pour pineapple on top of mashed sweet potatoes. Next take one stick of butter and brown sugar and place into a saucepan. Once the sugar and butter are melted add the pecans. Coat evenly. Then place pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet put in the oven at 250' for one hour. Turning EVERY 15 MINUTES. If you don't they will BURN!! Once they have cooled, crunch them up and place on top of pineapple. You are almost done now... Place marshmallows in a even line and cover top completely. Put into 325' oven until heated through. Marshmallows should be golden. This will happen in 30 minutes but keep a careful watch on them.

This is so good! I cannot wait until Turkey day. I will post mashed potatoes and gravy in a little bit.

Turkey and Ham

I have ordered fresh turkeys for years and love them. I think the taste is the best for the money too. Here is what I do and it is nothing too fancy. I know a lot of you brine your turkeys for taste and moistness but to tell the truth, I have never had a bad tasting turkey. That is since I took over the cooking role of my mother when I was 12. Sorry mom. :)

Rinse thawed or fresh turkey and pat dry
Rub oil all over bird. This means inside and out. The oil really makes the skin taste good. You will want to place your salt and pepper in small dishes. I do this so I will not cross contaminate the salt and pepper mills. Salt and pepper the turkey INSIDE and OUT generously. Don't worry if it looks like a lot. It will soak into the meat on the inside and remember you only get a small piece of skin with each slice of turkey. Place in a large roasting pan and bake in your oven according to your turkey's cooking instructions. I use my Nesco, so there is no need to baste but when I use the oven I baste every hour that the turkey is in the oven. I also cover my turkey in the oven with foil when it reaches the brown color I like.

Now on to the ham. We really like Cure 81 hams. My husband is really quite picky on what ham he likes. I guess not picky but he likes what he likes. I guess that is where the children get that from. We don't use glazes either. I just put the ham in the oven in a covered roasting pan and warm it through at 325'. Depending on the size this can take anywhere from 30--1 1/2 hours.

That is it for now. Raven opened her play yesterday with the lead role! We will go celebrate today.

Thanksgiving 2008

Every year I write up a menu with the date in the heading, like the one above. Not sure why?? Maybe it is my type A personality coming out. Who knows? All I know is that it makes me happy to see the menu with what is needed handwritten next the menu choice. I use recipes my family loves and always have. Not too many new things, maybe one or two but the comfort food is what they want. Me too... I have a tablecloth I made many years ago with every feather known to man on it. We have used it every year since. I made embroidered napkins this year on my new machine, love them. I cannot believe I have not done it before. Well enough chit chat. Here is the menu. I will post recipes in a day or so and the pictures will come on Turkey Day.

Turkey-- of course, I am cooking a 22 pounder this year in my Nesco with the convection feature. I truly love my Nesco! If you don't have one you must get one. It frees up your oven for many other things on Turkey Day.

Ham-- we always have ham too

Grandma Minnie's Sweet Potatoes-- These are to die for!!

Mashed Potatoes and Turkey Gravy--enough said

Cranberry Sauce--I make homemade. I like the store bought when in the hospital but you should at least try making a homemade version this year.

Broccoli Casserole-- This is my favorite.. My recipe is a little different.

Granny West's Corn Casserole--- This is my father's favorite. Sweet and savory at the same time. Granny knew what she was doing when it came to cooking.

Green Beam Casserole--Love it but I do tweak it a bit.

Homemade Hot Rolls--These are the BEST and EASIEST you will ever eat or make. Stay tuned..

Dressing--Yes, we call it dressing on Beaty's Creek. My husband helps with this. I love it raw out of the bowl. I am hungry for it right now. Must wait..Must wait..

5 Cup Salad--Everyone really likes this. Cool and fruity

7 Layer Salad-- I use baby greens in this because Raven HATES iceberg. Me too.

Deviled Eggs---Would not be a holiday without these.

Pecan Pie---I use organic pecans. We grow pecan trees at my mom and dad's farm. They make such a difference!

Pumpkin Pie-- Basic but so good

2 Layer Pumpkin Pie-- Like a cheesecake but even better to me.

Chocolate Chip Pie-- I could eat the whole thing but of course I don't....

Pumpkin Roll--Looks so impressive but is really pretty easy to make. Just takes some practice.

Ice Tea and Coffee

I make my pie crust. It is just easier for me. I like to know what goes into our food. Ever read a store bought crust's ingredients?? Scary!!

There it is. You never know what fresh produce will make me think of something to add to the menu. I will shop in the following week. Get your menu going. You might be like me and have one every year now. It is something to see year after year. Gets me in the mood. Oh wait, I am always in the mood for good food.