Dinner Rolls

This week I thought I'd post my favorite roll recipe. I got this recipe from my friend, who also, incidentally, showed me how to shape the rolls the easy way. There's no kneading necessary, which makes these super easy. These rolls freeze really well too, so make a batch and freeze some for later!

DINNER ROLLS

2 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm (105º-115º) water

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 cups hot (120º-130º) water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter shortening

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

7-8 cups flour

butter, melted

Mix together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 2 Tbsp. sugar. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to proof (get all fluffy). Whisk in large mixing bowl 2 cups hot water, 1/2 cup sugar, shortening, eggs, and salt. Add yeast mixture. Add flour one cup at a time. Let dough rise in greased bowl for one hour. Shape; bake at 350º for 16-22 minutes (I baked mine for 18 minutes). Brush with melted butter.

You could let the rolls rise for another hour after you shape them, but I was crunched for time and didn't let them rise again and they turned out just fine. It's just your personal preference.

Okay, here's how I shaped them. I put my left hand into an "OK" shape.

Then, I pinched off enough dough to make about a 1 1/2-inch ball. Instead of rolling the ball, I just put that dough atop the hole I made with my left hand, then pushed it through the hole with the pointer finger of my right hand, while slightly closing the hole. As the dough gets to the end, I pinched it shut and put the seam side down on the greased baking baking sheet. If you look in the top right-hand corner of the picture below, you can see the shaped rolls before they were baked. They look like little white domes. This method of shaping is so easy ... even my four-year-old can do it! (Although, the rolls he makes are quite a bit smaller.)

Oven-Baked Caramel French Toast

I don't have a picture for this recipe, but I totally wanted to share it because I like it so much better than regular French toast with maple syrup. I've had this exactly as the recipe is, and then I made it according to my liking. First off ... if you make it exactly like the recipe, it is really yummy; but, it was a little bit soggy for my tastes. I like my French toast to be a little crispy. So, I just make regular french toast (out of the egg mixture of this recipe), then layer it in the 9x13 pan and bake it for about 8-10 minutes with the caramel sauce. But, I'm sure the baking is purely optional if you make it using this method. Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think!

OVEN-BAKED CARAMEL FRENCH TOAST

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
12 slices French or Italian-style bread (I like homemade bread)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream (optional)

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans. Place 6 slices of bread on top of the sauce, sprinkle with the remaining pecans and cover with the remaining 6 slices of bread. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a blender. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread slices, cover the baking dish, and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350º. Remove the French toast from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until lightly brown. Drizzle sauce over the toast right before serving. To make the Caramel Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Grilled Potatoes & Crepes

Okay, so I know those two types of food really don't sound good together ... so thankfully, I didn't make them at the same time! The first thing I want to put on here is some grilled red potatoes.

Before I prepared my potatoes I lined my grill with foil, and then turned it on to heat it to medium-high. First I cut my red potatoes into roughly 1-inch cubes. Then, I put them in a ziploc bag and poured about 1/4 cup of Kraft Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette (YUM!) and shook that around. Once those got coated well enough, and my grill was ready, I poured them onto the foil.
Just a few tips that I discovered while I was grilling the potatoes. DON'T keep opening the grill. I was also grilling some corn, so I was opening the grill around every three minutes or so to turn my corn. But, it took my potatoes much longer to cook because I was letting the heat out every time I opened the lid. DO turn the potatoes occasionally to prevent sticking to the foil, and burning. You want them to look grilled, not charred. There is a chart for grilling vegetables in the summer Kraft Food & Family magazine that says red potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes will only take around 20 minutes to cook. I cooked mine for around 20-30 minutes and they still weren't very tender. Still yummy, though. So, plan on a little extra time if you do potatoes.

(BTW, on this plate I have Country Salisbury Steaks with my potatoes and corn. They were pretty good. Basically like little meatloaf patties (made with stuffing mix instead of bread crumbs), baked then covered with a semi-barbecue sauce.)

Now, onto the crepes. I really wanted to share a recipe with you because I was out last week, and since I didn't really use a recipe for the potatoes, I thought I'd add this one.

Before we left for our trip we had to get rid of some milk and eggs, plus I had some leftover whipped cream from the chocolate pie we ate the week before; so, I made crepes one morning for breakfast. Not the most nutritional breakfast because my children won't eat them with fruit in them, but crepes are super tasty when you add any number of ingredients to their middles. I'm sure you've seen crepes with ham and cheese, turkey, raspberries and cream cheese, etc. Every Friday after Thanksgiving, as early as I can remember, my mom would make crepes and we'd roll up the left-over turkey in them. Sometimes even add the stuffing. Then, we'd pour gravy over the top ... and that was our dinner. (Maybe I'll show you those after Thanksgiving this year.) SO YUMMY! Alas, my husband isn't as thrilled with those crepes; he likes his crepes to be sweet. So, let's get started!
CREPES

1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 eggs

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add milk and remaining ingredients. Blend in blender to get smooth texture. Pour scant 1/3-cupfuls into lightly buttered skillet while turning pan to coat bottom. Fill and serve. Filling suggestions: sugar (my children's favorite), berries and fruit, cream, cream cheese, lunch meat, cheese.

My mom had a crepe maker, like this one that she used all the time while I was growing up. It was super easy to use. Basically, you pour the crepe batter into a pie plate (or a dipping dish, like the one that comes with this pan), then turn the crepe maker upside down and dip the top of it into the batter, then turn it right side up and it cooks really quickly -- no turning necessary. This kind of pan yields super thin crepes.

But, if you've ever eaten crepes at a restaurant like "Magic Pan Crepe Stand," or "European Connection," or "Village Inn" you know that the crepes you get there are kind of thick, yet not as thick as pancakes. Those are the kind of crepes that we can make at home with a standard skillet. So, first you pour the batter into the skillet, like so:

And after that, your crepe should look like this:

Now, here's the tricky part. You have to flip the crepe to fully cook the other side. The tricky part about it is making sure you turn it at the right time. I find that when the crepe's edges start to turn away from the sides of the pan that I can slide my spatula around the edges of the crepe, then lift it up and flip it over. This takes getting used to and knowing your pan really well. The first time I made crepes in my stainless steel pan I ruined the first few before I got used to it. (I'd been making them in a non-stick pan before.) So, after you flip the crepe, here's what it will look like:

Then, you turn the side that looks the best down on the plate and put your filling on the less-asthetically-pleasing side. Then, you can roll, or fold the crepe.

**Oh, one more hint: I usually make a double batch because I like to snack on them throughout the day when I make them. But, you can make a double batch and freeze the leftovers for up to three weeks. Just layer a sheet of wax paper (or parchment paper) between each crepe, and then wrap them in wax paper and foil before placing them in the freezer.