Mayo or Miracle Whip?

For me it has to be Mayo and Hellmann’s is the best ! Here is a wonderful recipe featuring Hellmann’s!

Parmesan Crusted    Chicken

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
• 4 tsp. Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise with cheese in medium bowl. Arrange chicken on baking sheet. Evenly top with mayonnaise mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
3. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Also terrific with Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Light Mayonnaise or Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Canola Cholesterol Free Mayonnaise.
Cost per recipe*: $7.16 Cost per serving*: $1.79
*Based on average retail prices at national supermarkets
TIP: Omit Parmesan cheese and have Magically Moist Chicken on table in less then 30 minutes.
Calories 370, Calories From Fat 210, Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g, Total Fat 23g, Cholesterol 100g, Sodium 390g, Total Carbohydrates 2g, Sugars 1g, Dietary Fiber 0g, Protein35g, Vitamin A 2%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 8%, Iron 6%

For me it has got to be Mayo! Hellmann’s is the best!

You can make so many things with it!

Check out this wonderful giveaway at  makeit-loveit.com

Sponsored by Hellmann’s ! A $100 gift card to Cooking.com! Who could not use more cooking gadgets?  I know I am hoping Santa is going to bring me a set of knives and a French rolling pin!!

Good luck !!

Did you know? ….

 

Did you know you can make your own buttermilk?

I am not talking about making sour milk by adding lemon juice or vinegar, I am talking real buttermilk.

Take  1 cup of cultured buttermilk and put it in a quart jar and fill the jar the rest of the way with plain milk (whole or 2% ) put lid on and leave on counter top for 24 hours then refrigerate . Will keep up to 2 weeks . When you are down to your last cup of buttermilk add milk again and repeat. It is bottomless!!

 

Did you know you can make your own yogurt?

Crockpot Yogurt

You don’t need a yogurt maker, just a Crockpot and 1/2 cup yogurt ,

--8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized.--1/2 cup store-bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt (you need to have a starter. Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)
--thick bath towel
The Directions.
This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.
I used a 4 quart crockpot. This is so exciting. Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.
When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine.

Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation.
Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.
In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.
Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch. If you  want greek style yogurt, after it has been refrigerated put some cheese cloth in a strainer and and pour in yogurt  set up over a bowl to catch liquid. Put in fridge and let it set for a day ,discard the water that has drained off. The yogurt will be nice and thick. You can now flavor with fruit ,but I find it is better to do that as you are getting  ready  to serve . Just add chopped fruit and a little bit a of honey ,such a good tasty and healthful treat!

 

Did you know …. You can make your own Granola?

 

It is so good! Much better than what you get in a box and the money you save is crazy!!

Homemade Granola
3 1/2- cups uncooked old fashioned or quick oats
1 - stick + 1 tablespoon real butter
1/2 - 2/3 - cup honey (your preference)
1/4 - cup light brown sugar
1/4 - teaspoon salt
1 - teaspoon cinnamon sugar
1/2 - cup wheat germ
2 - tablespoons flax seed
1/2 - 3/4 - cup almond pieces
1/2 - 3/4 - cup pecan pieces
1/4 - cup sunflower seeds
1/2 - 3/4 - cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit
1/2 - cup raisins
First melt the butter in a 3 - quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey and salt and briefly heat with the butter until foamy and bubbly. In a separate bowl mix together the oatmeal, wheat germ, nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon sugar if adding dried cranberries and raisins add them as well. Turn off the heat and add the oatmeal mixture. Stir until everything is coated. Pour the mixture onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Spread the mixture out evenly and pat down. Bake it at 375° for 10 minutes (watch carefully) It will be a golden brown color. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes using a spatula or flipper slide it under the granola to loosen it a bit so it does not stick. Let cool on the baking sheet about 30 minutes then break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

So easy and the possibilities are endless. I did not have wheat germ and did not put it in,I just increased the oatmeal. You can change the kind of nut you want ,just any combination YOU like.

 

I love the combination of pork and apples with onions,so good and it is sweet but savory.

I made up a recipe with pork spare ribs and apples and put it it the Crockpot,So yummy! You could also put in a cast enameled pan like this:

 

My new pan from Paula Deen!!!  Did you hear me scream??? Okay back to the recipe!!

4 pork spare ribs

3 or 4 apples (cored and sliced)( I used home canned apples)

1 large onion sliced thin(I used home canned caramelized onions)

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup chicken broth

salt /pepper

fresh thyme

If using the enamel pot , use a bit of oil and brown(salt and pepper) the ribs till brown on both sides,remove from pan and  and sauté the onions and garlic until they are Carmel colored. Add apples ,thyme and cook until tender.  Place the ribs on top  and add the broth and put lid on and place in 325*  oven  for  hours and check to see if the meat is fall off the bone tender. If not then cook for about 30 more minutes.  I served this with fried potatoes and Greens would have been really good with it.

If using Crockpot ,put apples and onion ,garlic ,thyme in and place ribs(salt and pepper) on top. Add broth and cook for 6 hours on low and 4 on high. Mid way thru submerge the ribs down in the apples. Cook till the ribs are falling off the bone.

So good!

 

Tonight for dinner I made up this recipe for Queso Chicken soup. It was so creamy and spicy good!! It is a keeper!

Queso Chicken Soup

 

2 cans rotel tomatoes

2 cans chicken stock

1 onion chopped

1 large garlic clove chopped fine

2 chicken thighs

1 jar of  Monterey Jack cheese mexican cheese sauce

1 can black beans(drained and rinsed)

1  1/2 tsp cumin

salt/ pepper

1/2 a brick of cream cheese in cubes

 

This recipe is for a 4 quart slow cooker.

Put chicken,rotel,onion,garlic, cumin, beans, broth, salt and pepper in crockpot and cook on low for six hours.

take chicken out and let cool to de-bone. While chicken is cooling add cheese sauce and cream cheese. Stir to combine ,taste for seasonings and adjust.  Add chicken back in and let it heat back up. Serve with chips ,add hot sauce if desired.

This was really good! Loved it!

 

Enjoy!

Until next time!

Nana Nita

I Think I Might Be An Italian Or A Mexican!

 

 

I was born in Wisconsin, which is about as far from Mexico or Italy as can get ! I like a lot of your basic all American cuisine, but nine times out of ten I go for Mexican and Italian flavors.

I wanted to make some soup, it is so versatile, the possibilities are  endless.  I was thinking about Tortilla soup but I was kind of chickened out. I had a pork roast in the freezer that called to me. I love Carnitas  and I thought, hey why not take all of those flavors and turn it into soup!

Turns out I had to make up my own recipe because, apparently there is no such thing as Carnita soup! Who knew I was on the cutting edge! 

 

Carnita Soup

1 pork roast (trim some of the fat)

4 cups chicken broth

1 jalapeño chopped (with the seeds)

1/2 bunch cilantro(chopped)

1 onion chopped

2 large garlic cloves chopped

1 Tblsp cumin

1 chipotle chili chopped with a bit of the sauce

1 small can of green chilies

salt/ pepper

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 cup frozen corn 

shredded  montery jack

sour cream

avocado (sliced)

chips or heated tortillas

1 lime sliced

 

Take pork and rub it with salt, pepper and cumin,

put it in Crockpot and pour the stock to the side of the roast,not on top. Add onion, garlic,chilies,peppers,cilantro(save some for garnish)and cook on low until meat is fall apart tender.

Take meat out and and set aside. At this time you will want to get the fat off the top of your broth. (I did this part the day before and put the pork and the broth in the fridge and then you can lift the fat right off) I only used 1/3 of the pork for the soup, It was enough for us to have about 2 bowls each and some left over.  Add the beans,corn and 1/3 of the pork chopped.  Let it cook on low for four hours in the Crockpot. Taste  for seasoning and adjust, it will be spicy!

Serve with sour cream and and avocados and with chips, squeeze the lime in your bowl right before serving. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Now you have 2/3 of  pork roast left over to play with.  Divide it in half and put in freezer bags and pop in the freezer,you will then be a leg up on a quick fix later on. I do this frequently because it is just my husband and I, most of the time a whole roast of anything is too much. I will probably take half and make enchiladas and the other half chop and fry and make carnitas. The possibilities are endless, just use your imagination and let me know what you can come up with.

On to Italy, now bear in mind, I am not from Italy, so these are not authentic like your little Italian Grandma made. This is my recipe that I came up with and like.

Italian Meatballs

1 lbs ground beef

bread crumbs (Italian style)

1/4  onion grated

2 large garlic cloves finely chopped

1/4 C fresh shredded parmesan cheese

2 eggs

salt /pepper

1 Tbls Italian seasoning ( I used my home grown, which is stronger than store bought so you may want to adjust to your taste)

2 Tblsp milk

In large bowl, mix meat, eggs, onion,garlic, salt, pepper, cheese . Add bread crumbs (the amount depends on the the feel ) about  1/2 cup or so. Add milk and mix but not to vigorously(it will make them tough)  you may have to add a bit more bread crumbs.

In a non-stick skillet make a small little patty and cook it for you to taste. If it needs more salt or herbs you may adjust it now. ( do not skip this step, you will not know if you have seasoned properly if you don’t, and you can not season them after you cook all of them)

I do not like big meat balls, I make them smaller than most. Make all of them up.

At this point you may put them on a cookie sheet and freeze and use them later or :

Brown in skillet. Do this in batches , so you don’t overcrowd the meatballs. with a slotted spoon remove and drain.  Now at this point you may freeze them and use later or I put them in the Crockpot and put a quart jar of my homemade marina sauce on top and put on low for 4 hours.

  I made Meatball subs.

Really tasty! 

 

Until Next time!

 

Nana Nita!

Beef Stew, Crab Wantons and Jam….What??!!

 

 

These things do not go together,but It is what I have been up to.

So here it goes….

 

First things first,It has been cold and snowy and just seemed like a Beef Stew kind of day. I did not have a lot of the normal vegetables I usually use(peas,corn,green beans) so I improvised. I liked the changes, I hope you will too.

 

 

Beef Stew

 

1 lb of stew meat

2 large carrots chopped

1 medium onion chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

2 cloves garlic  minced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 tomato chopped

4 cups beef broth

salt /pepper

1/2 flour

oil

 

Chop meat in to small bit sized pieces,

salt and pepper meat. In a lidded container put flour and meat and cover it shake to coat meat with flour. Shake off excess flour,set aside.

In a heavy bottomed dutch oven put oil in to coat bottom of pan. Heat to med high,and put in half of the beef ,brown on all sides.

Remove with slotted spoon and repeat with remaining meat.

   

Add more oil if needed and sauté vegetables except the tomato, until the onions are tender. Add the beef back to pot and add the tomatoes and the broth.  Bring to boil and turn temperature down to simmer and simmer for 4 hours until meat is tender. The broth will thicken as it simmers. Taste for seasoning. We really liked the addition of the mushrooms,so good and beefy.

 

 

 

I love Chinese food! Those little Crab Ragoons are so good,I had to come up with a way to make them at home.

These are baked not fried so in my simple mind they are HEALTHY! Do not judge me. The entire package of cream cheese means nothing, I mean these are small bites….Lets move on.

 

Creamy Wantons

 

1 (8 oz. ) package cream cheese ,softened

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs( I used Panko )

1 small clove garlic (minced)

1 tsp sugar

1 pinch of salt

2 cups imitation crabmeat (about 3/4 lb)

30 refrigerated wanton wrappers

 

Pre-heat oven to 350* coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray

In food processor put crab meat and garlic, bread crumbs,and cream cheese. Pulse till combined..

Place 1 tsp crab mixture in center of each wanton.

brush the edges lightly with water then fold in half (one point to point) and press to seal..

 

Place on the cookie sheet.

 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden,turning once  halfway thru baking.

 

These are really good! You could use Duck sauce to dip theses in,Ummm. I did not have any but yummy!

If you really wanted to, you could pan fry,I won’t tell!

(Note) I put the filling in a container and keep in fridge,then as a snack ,you can just make up some as needed. I don’t know how they would do to make up ahead and freeze I’ll get back to you on that.

 

Now on to the Jam…. I love to make jam, the possibilities are endless, Just think of the combinations of fruit,once you learn the method it is easy!

 

Christmas Jam

Okay, I know Christmas is over ,but sometimes you have big plans and buy all the stuff to do something and then you forget to do it. So….to keep from having all the fruit go bad you make Christmas Jam in January…just let the season continue.

 

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 medium orange

1/2 cup water

1 (10 oz) frozen strawberries,thawed and crushed

3 cups sugar or more

2 pouches liquid pectin

1 Tbsp butter

 

Zest orange  into cranberries in the food processor,then discard peel and chop the orange and put in processor ,pulse to desired texture. Then throw in the strawberries and give a quick chop,then mix sugar in pan,add water and butter. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes,stirring constantly.(at this point I tasted the jam for sweetness, mine needed more sugar, it is to be sweet/tart but not that tart. So taste and add sugar as needed) Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Stir for 4 to 5 minute:pour into sterile jars,leaving 1/4'”headspace. Wipe jar rims,adjust lids and rings . Water bath 10 minutes.

See how pretty  it is in the jar? Christmas red ..or hey how about Valentines Day red ??Yeah …um ..that’s what I meant …

Valentines Day Jam..See I am ahead of the game!

Enjoy ,until next time!

 

Nana Nita

Christmas Dinner

 

I am not a fan of turkey and Christmas is to close to Thanksgiving to have turkey again. I really like pork roast ( and it was on sale) so that is what I fixed. I like a dry roast rub, I  am not a fan of  Crockpot pork roast.  It is really good done in a cast iron skillet, then it gets nice and brown on the bottom and the juice  makes a great pan sauce.

 

Pork Roast with Greek dry rub

 

The rub

4  large garlic cloves chopped fine

2  Tblsp fresh rosemary chopped fine

3  Tblsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp fresh oregano chopped

1 tsp lemon zest 

 

You can use this on pork, chicken or beef.

1 6 lbs pork roast (not loin)

I like  to rub the meat down with some olive oil,then with the rub,on a cookie sheet spread some of the rub in the bottom and roll the roast around on it . Put more rub as needed to thoroughly cat all sides of roast.  Save the left over rub if any in a jar with a good sealing lid and put it the freezer.

I like to use a deep cast iron skillet

This one also has ridges, so it will keep the meat out of the grease.

Place the pork roast in skillet after you have rubbed it down and place it fat side up.

 

Set oven to  *325 and roast for 20 to 30 minutes per pound or until juices run clear, but don’t over cook.

Take roast out and cover with foil to rest.

I like to serve this with the juice from the pan. When you remove the meat from the pan, place pan on med. heat. Add about 1 to 2 cups water(I use the water that I discarded from potatoes) and simmer,use a whisk to get bits up off the bottom of the pan. If you like you may add abit a thickener (1 Tblsp cornstarch in a little water and add to pan) Taste for seasoning and adjust. I can not convey to you how good this is!  As you slice this you will have to restrain yourself to keep from just nibbling it all away!

I served the Pork with cheesy mashed potatoes. This is a recipe I made up and we really like it especially if I am not serving gravy. You can make this with leftover mashed potatoes, but who has leftover mashed potatoes??

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

4 large  potatoes (chopped)you may leave skins on if you like,I have done it both ways.

2 large cloves of garlic (whole and pealed)

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese

1/2 to 1 cup cream

1/4 stick of (real butter)

salt to taste 

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

 

 

 

Place potatoes and garlic (whole and pealed) in large pan and enough water to cover the potatoes. Boil until potatoes are fork tender,drain off water (save water for pan sauce ), make sure you don’t discard garlic.

Pre heat oven to *350

Mash the potatoes and garlic, salt and pepper. Add the  sour cream and 1/2 cup cheddar and the parmesan cheese. Mix in thoroughly, slowly add the cream until mashed potato consistency, taste for seasoning.  In a buttered casserole dish 13x9, put the potato mixture in dish and top with remaining shredded cheese, bake till cheese lightly browns and melts and potatoes are hot thru.

You will notice that this dish is not low fat! You are not going to eat this everyday ! It is a holiday, you can work out twice the next day! 

I served Sautéed Garlic Green  Beans as another side.

These are so good and easy to fix. I just open a quart of green beans, drain or 2 cans, 1 garlic clove chopped. In non-stick skillet melt a bit of butter over medium heat, add garlic and stir, cook till softened. Add green beans and salt and pepper. I like to cook the beans until they get a bit of color on them.

These are some of my favorite recipes!  The pork roast is so easy and leftovers are great!!! How can you go wrong with cheese and potatoes??? 

I hope you try some of these recipes, you won’t regret it!

 

Until next time!

 

Nana Nita

 

 

 

 

  

Comfort Food

 

 

It is not yet Winter, but Fall does not know that. It has snowed, iced, the wind has blown, it has been below freezing more often than not!  So, we need some warmth,some comfort. What has more comfort that soup? Creamy, warm, filling goodness. 

As a child, anytime I was sick Mom would fix me Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup with toast . I did not like the chunks of chicken in it and she would take them out. :) It always made me feel better.  I still love Cream of Chicken soup but, I don’t like it from the can, I like a bit more in it now, even chunks of chicken!

This is my version of the soup:

 

Lanita’s Cream Of Chicken Soup

 

This is for a smaller Crockpot.

 

2 chicken thighs

2 cans chicken broth

2 large carrots, chopped

1 small onion chopped

1 stalk of celery,chopped (with some of the leaves)

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 potatoes peeled and chopped

salt and pepper

1 cup cream

2 Tblsp cornstarch

You can add any vegetable you would like, but I like it kind of plain, not a lot of stuff.

 

Cook on high for 6 hours(if your chicken is frozen) or until chicken is tender.

Take chicken out of Crockpot and let cool.  Take a potato masher and slightly mash the potatoes to give creamier texture. I had about a cup and a half of leftover white gravy from last nights fried chicken, I added that to make “cream” part of chicken. If you don’t have any white gravy hanging around, use 1 cup heavy cream, stir in cornstarch into cream to make slurry and pour into soup. Cover and let it cook on high for 30 more minutes. While that cooks debone chicken and tear into small bite sized pieces and add back into soup. Check for seasoning and thickness, if it is not thick enough you can use about 1/4 cup water and 1 Tblsp cornstarch add to soup to thicken,cook abit longer.

 

This is a satisfying, comforting wonderful bowl of soup. I served this with  Cheese biscuits,yum!

I have a confession, I can not make biscuits!! I have tried and I just can’t !  They always turn out like hockey pucks!!!They are not bad tasting ,just crunchy!  I think you should  cut some slack here, I make homemade bread, pastry, and all kinds of other stuff, I just can’t produce a fluffy biscuit!

So…… I came across the most wonderful thing, Southern  Biscuit mix Formula L! All you do is mix it with buttermilk.

You can’t mess these up! Just follow the recipe for cheese biscuits on the back of the bag.   You could add Jalapeños or onions, garlic. The possibilities are endless!

   The left over soup can be turned into chicken pot pie. Add abit more chicken and thickening, heat through and put in casserole dish and top with raw biscuits and bake till bubbly.

 

If you don’t have enough soup leftover for a big casserole then aren’t these individual one cute?

Yummy!

Enjoy!  Until next time !

 

Nana Nita

Let The Baking Begin!!

 

 

Usually by now I have just about every kind of cookie imaginable made and in my freezer. I just have not been in the mood to bake this year …I don’t know why.  But Thursday morning I got the bug…the baking bug! I saw the recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies and I thought I have to make theses and that led to the day of baking!

 

Mexican Wedding Cookies!

 

 

You can make these cookies with wild black walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, hickory or butternuts -- all will work fine.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose or cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 pound butter (at room temperature)
• Pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar, to coat (about 1 cup)

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 300°F and prepare a large cookie sheet.

2 Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, walnuts, salt, sugar) in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract. Add the butter in little pieces, and combine everything together with your (clean!) hands until the mixture looks like a coarse meal with nut bits in it. Form the dough into small balls no larger than a walnut and place on the cookie sheet, spaced at least an inch apart from each other.

3 Bake for 35 minutes. When they are still warm, but cool enough to touch, roll the cookies in some powdered sugar.

This recipe doubles or triples very well and you can freeze them after they have been rolled in sugar.

Set aside on a rack to cool completely. When cool, dust again in powdered sugar.

Makes about 20 cookies.

These are crispy and light and yummy!!

If you leave these out for Santa (wink, wink) He will be most happy! But everyone will know if you sneak a cookie, because of the powdered sugar!!! So wipe your mouth!  :)

 

Last year I made Apple Braids and they were a big hit. I thought I would change it up a bit this time. Everyone has left over cranberries sauce from Thanksgiving, right? …Or in my case I forgot to serve it!!! Oh well….Now I can add it to the BRAIDS and change it up a bit.

 

Cranberry Apple Braid

• 6 1/2 - 7 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs

Apple Filling

• 2 1/2 cups peeled, finely chopped apple
• 1 cup Cranberry Relish (See prior post for recipe)
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (opt.)

1. In large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast.
2. In 4 cup glass measuring cup, microwave milk and butter until milk is warm and butter has begun to melt. (or warm it in a saucepan on the stove)
3. Add warm milk to mixing bowl and mix on low
4. Add slightly beaten eggs and continue to mix until well moistened.
5. Mix for 3 minutes.
6. Change to dough hook and then add remaining flour to make a stiff dough.
7. Continue to mix or knead by hand for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
8. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top.
9. Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size. (I usually do this in the oven which I have warmed to 170 degrees and then turned off.)
10. Line 2 cookie sheets (with edges) with parchment paper.
11. Prepare Apple Cranberry: In saucepan, combine all filling ingredients except pecans. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil at least 5 minutes, stirring frequently or until it thickens somewhat. Cool
12. 
13. Punch down dough and divide in half. (or into 3 sections) I have also made 6 small braids, they freeze well after baking. Just thaw and warm in oven @250 covered in foil and then put on glaze.
14. Roll each section into a rectangle and place on cookie sheet.
15. Spread centre third of each rectangle with Raisin Apple Filling (see picture below).
16. 
17. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough diagonally at 1 inch intervals on both sides of filling.
18. Fold opposite strips of dough over filling, crossing in centre. (see picture below)
19. 
20. Seal ends of each braid.
21. Cover and let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size.
22. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
23. Remove to racks and cool.
24. Ice and decorate as desired.
25. 
26. You could fill these with just about any fruit filling. I have put sweetened cream cheese and then topped with different jams. They are great this way! Cheese Danish!

Enjoy with coffee for breakfast or and afternoon delight!

 

I made sweet rolls next! These are to die for, ooey, gooey, goodness!

 

Sweet Rolls

This recipe will make 40 to 50 rolls, I halved the recipe and had no problems.

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar ( you can use brown sugar as well)
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
• (optional: nuts, raisins)
• _____
• FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point).

Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape.

Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Make sure you get the cinnamon and sugar all the way to the edge,not like I have done here.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.

(At this point you can cover with foil and put in freezer. When ready to bake set out in refrigerator the day before to thaw.In the morning set on counter and let rise for 3o minutes, then follow baking instructions. )

Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

(You can let cool and freeze them and set out and heat at @250 till warm.

Note: My rolls don’t work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees.

Theses are the best rolls I have ever made!

Maybe I can have another day of baking and I’ll share it with you.

What treat do you like to have for Christmas that you can’t do with out? Leave a comment and let me know!

Enjoy!!

 

Nana Nita!