more recipes

More recipes because...

#1 - I was scorned over the weekend for buying, not baking my own yeast rolls for the Party Ham Sandwich Bake.  

#2 - I told D and her friend, E that I would pass this along and I have yet to.

#3 - we're on a roll with recipes.

I have always been intimidated by baking.  Yeast once scared the pants off me, I buy refrigerated/frozen pie crust because I have flat given up on making it and plainly put, cake and I duke it out to this day.  So, these are a couple of recipes that work well for me.  I've made them time and again.  Firstly, who doesn't love yeast rolls?!  And secondly, the homemade pizza crust and sauce is one of our favorites.  The crust is pretty thick, so we always make garlic butter for dipping.  It's great for movie night with friends.

This one can be found here.

Classic Dinner Rolls

Photo courtesy of breadworld.com

all purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 envelope Fleishmann's Rapid-Rise Yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. butter or margarine

Combine 3/4 cup flour, undissolved yeast and salt in a mixing bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer).  Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120 - 130 degrees) - in my 1100 watt microwave I heat for 1 minute and it's perfect.  Add to flour mixture and beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping sides occasionally.  Add 1/4 cup flour and beat on high for 2 minutes.  Add a little over 1/4 cup flour to make a soft dough.  Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 - 10 minutes.  (I use 8 minutes because anything more and I'm insane.)  Place in a cereal-size bowl, cover and let rest 10 minutes.  (While I'm waiting, I use this time to clean up my work space and grease an 8-inch cake pan.)  Now, divide dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.  Place these in your cake pan, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.  (If I'm making these during the winter when the wood stove's going, I place them near but, not too near the stove.  If not, I use a space heater in the bathroom because it's a small area and heats quickly or if it's summer, you can set them outside - out of the sun, of course.  Just some thoughts.)  Bake at 375 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes.  Brush with additional butter.

And this one can be found over here.

Traditional Pizza Crust
1 (1/4 oz.) envelope Rapi Rise active dry yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
cornmeal

Photo courtesy of Paula Deen Magazine

In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, combine yeast, sugar ,and water; let stand 5 minutes.  In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.  With the mixer on low, add yeast mixture and oil.  Continue mixing until it forms a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, turn dough out and knead for 5 minutes.  Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into an 18-inch circle (or you can make it rectangular, our favorite.)  Sprinkle a pizza stone or rectangular cookie sheet with cornmeal.  Place dough on top of stone/sheet, folding edges over to form crust (you can also stuff the crust with mozzarella cheese).  Prick dough with a fork.



(and just because you can't make pizza dough without a recipe for sauce...here's this one.)

Pizza Sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. Italian seasoning

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, and cook for 3 - 4 min. or until tender.  Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer for 15 min., stirring often.

Now, spread pizza sauce over crust; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Top evenly with sausage, pepperoni, ham and veggies of your choice.  Bake 15 - 20 min. or until crust is lightly browned.