Pull Apart Monkey Bread

 

Ingredients

Yeast Dough

1/4 c. warm water
1 pkg yeast or 1 Tbs. dry yeast
1 1/4 c. warm milk
1/3 c. butter, melted and cooled
2 egg, room temperature
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp  salt
5 c. flour

Coating

1 1/2 c.  sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter

Topping

1/4 c.  butter, melted and divided
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Grease two 9 x 5-inch bread pans or a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan. 

Combine warm water and yeast together in a large bowl.  Set in a warm location for about 10 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.

Add warm milk, butter, eggs, salt and 2 cups flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. You can also use a mixer with the dough hook. Continue to knead in the remaining flour, until it gets too hard to stir with a spoon. Turn the dough out on a floured surface. Knead in the rest of the flour, using more or less flour as needed, depending on the day. If there is a lot of moisture in the air, you will need more flour. Knead the dough until smooth for about 8 to 10 minutes. You will want a dough that is slightly sticky.

Lightly grease the bowl that you prepared the dough.  Place the dough in the bowl, turning once to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or a sheet of plastic wrap. Place in a warm location and let rise for about 2 hours. 

Prepare the coating. 

Place 1/2 cup melted butter in a bowl. In another bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon together.  Set aside.

Divide the dough into 40 to 45 balls. Roll each ball in the melted butter, and then roll the balls in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place the balls evenly between the 2 loaf pans.

Cover the loaf pans with a tea towel or a sheet of plastic wrap.  Set aside in a warm location to rise for about 20 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour over the pull apart balls in the loaf pans, dividing the mixture between the two pans.

Preheat oven to 350°.  See note below. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until done, and the top is golden brown.  If the tops brown too fast, cover loosely with a sheet of foil. Leave the bread to cool in the pans for 5 to 8 minutes.  Then invert the pans onto a serving platter.

Serve warm. You can mix up a thin glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk and pour over the warm monkey bread.

 I usually don't preheat the oven when making bread. I put the pans in the oven and then turn the oven on. It also helps give the bread a little more rising time.

 Pork Cutlets and Gravy

Growing up, my mother often served pork cutlets with potatoes and gravy. It was so good. Here is her recipe. 

Ingredients

Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs. potatoes, cut into quarters or halved. May be peeled if desired
2 or more garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. or more milk
2 Tbs. or more butter
salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 lb. pork cutlets
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs. milk or water
2 Tbs. oil

Gravy

2 Tbs  flour
2 1/4 c. milk or more as needed
salt and pepper to taste
1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)

Directions

Place the potatoes into a pot or saucepan. Fill the pot with cold water until there is an inch of liquid over the top of the potatoes.  Add a half teaspoon of salt to the water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft.  Drain.

Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer, and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can easily poke through the potatoes with a fork.

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.

In a shallow dish or bowl or pie pan, combine flour, onion powder, and garlic powder. In another shallow bowl, beat the egg and water or milk together. 

Season the cutlets with salt and pepper.  Dip a cutlet in flour mixture, and shake off excess. Then dip the cutlet in the egg mixture. Then dip the cutlet in the flour mixture again.  Repeat with each cutlet. Lay them on a pan as you get the skillet heated. 

Heat oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Cook the cutlets on one side until nicely browned, about 2 minutes. Turn the cutlets over and brown the other side. 

Remove the cutlets to a plate and set aside as you make the gravy.  

Make sure there is at least 2 tablespoons oil in the pan. If there is not enough oil, add some butter to the skillet. Stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes to remove the flour taste. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. 

Add the mushrooms and pork cutlets. Turn the heat to low as you finish the potatoes. 

With an electric hand held mixer, beat potatoes until most of the lumps are gone.  Add milk, butter, and garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve cutlets with potatoes and gravy.

 

New Potatoes and Creamed Peas

 Garden Fresh New Potatoes and Creamed Peas

Potatoes are good. Peas are good. But combine them together in a creamy white sauce, and you have a meal fit for a king, as they used to say.  Nothing can compare to the taste of baby potatoes and sweet peas picked fresh from the garden.  When I was growing up, this meal was considered a special treat, and we looked forward to eating every year! It was that good!! 

My mother didn't always have the extra money to buy cream, or evaporated milk, so she used whole milk instead.  This recipe came from my grandmother, who lived her entire life on the farm. She always had cream, fresh cows milk, eggs and garden produce.

Ingredients

2 lb. new potatoes or baby potatoes, washed and cut in half
3 c. sweet peas, fresh or frozen
1 c. water
3 1/2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. butter
2 c. milk
1 c. half and half cream or evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Add potatoes and bring the water back to a boil. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender.  Drain.

In a medium saucepan, add water and peas. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid and lower heat. Simmer peas for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender.  Drain. Add the peas to the new potatoes.

In the same pot you cooked the peas in, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in flour. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the flour taste. Gradually whisk in milk and cream.  Stirring constantly, cook until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the peas and potatoes. Heat the through, stirring frequently. Taste the sauce and add more seasoning if needed.

Chicken Tenders in Garlic Butter

With a few simple ingredients, you can have an amazing dinner ready to serve your family and or friends in a very short time. Tender, juicy chicken tenders, spices, garlic,and butter.  What could be better than that?!

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken tenders or chicken breast cut into tenders
1 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. olive oil or cooking oi
4 Tbs. butter, divided
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. water or white wine

Directions

Season chicken tenders with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place the chicken tenders in the skillet and fry them on one side for about 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter with garlic and parsley. Spoon the butter garlic mixture over the chicken and cook for 1 minute or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken is 165°.   Remove chicken tenders and place on a serving platter.   Deglaze the pan with water or wine because this is where all the flavor is. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the tasty bits.  Pour over chicken and serve.

Easy Strawberry Cake From Scratch

You can use fresh or frozen strawberries for this cake.  If using frozen strawberries, be sure to thaw them first before using. Then chop them up or mash them to make a purée.

Ingredients

1 c. butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 (3 oz.) package strawberry jello
4 eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk, room temperature
2 c. strawberries,  divided. Use half for the cake and the other half for frosting. If not frosting the cake, use only 1 c. strawberries to make purée

Frosting

1 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 to 4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. strawberry pureed

Directions

Make strawberry purée. Blend the strawberries in a blender, food processor or a handheld emulsion blender. Pour the into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Boil gently for about 20 minutes, or until the contents are reduced by half. You should have about 1 cup strawberry purée total. Cool mixture completely.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch cake pan, or two 8-inch round cake pans. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, vanilla and jello. Beat until light and fluffy and the mixture is smooth. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour.

Alternately, add milk and flour to the jello mixture, beginning with milk and ending with milk. Beating well after each addition. 

Gently fold in 1/2 cup of the cooled strawberry purée.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan or pans. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Prepare Strawberry Frosting

In a small bowl, beat butter and 3 c. powdered sugar together until thoroughly mixed together.

Mix in salt, vanilla extract and milk.   Beat until light and fluffy. You can add more powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin, or add a little more milk if the frosting is too thick.

Stir in 1/2 cup strawberry purée that you made earlier.

Spread frosting over cooled strawberry cake.

Sweet and Savory Barbecued Meatballs

 

This is one of the best barbecued meatball recipes I have come across. The meatballs are moist and flavorful and the Barbecue sauce is sweet and tangy. We usually double our sauce, but I don't always double the brown sugar. I go by taste and if it needs more sweetness, I add until it is right for us. That also goes for the rest of the seasonings.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 c. oatmeal  or bread crumbs, plain or Italian style
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. red pepper (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

BBQ Sauce

1/2 to 3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. ketchup or BBQ sauce or use half and half of each
1 Tbs. molasses
1 onion, chopped fine
1 Tbs. vinegar
1 Tbs. Worcestershire
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 to 2 tsp. liquid smoke

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a  shallow baking pan with cooking oil or line the pan with foil and spray that for easier cleanup. 

In a small bowl, combine the oatmeal or bread crumbs and egg together.  Let sit for several minutes so the bread can soak up the liquid.

Lightly combine ground beef, bread crumbs soaked in the egg and evaporated milk, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, red pepper, garlic, onion, and Parmesan cheese. It is important not to over mix, or your meatballs will be tough. 

Shape the meat into 30, 1-inch meatballs. Space the meatballs about 1 inch apart in the pan. Place the meatballs on a greased rack, if you have one, in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until done. The internal temperature should read at least 160° and the middle of the meatball should not be pink. Drain off excess grease.

As the meatballs are baking, prepare the barbecue sauce.  In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, ketchup or barbecue sauce, molasses, onion, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic powder and liquid smoke. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 2 minutes stirring frequently.

To finish up the meatballs, you can put the meatballs in a slow cooker or simmer them on the stove top. To finish in the slow cooker, pour the sauce over the top and cook on low for about 4 hours. Or, place the meatballs in a large saucepan. Pour the sauce over the top and simmer on low heat until done. Stir occasionally. The heat needs to be low, otherwise the sugar will burn and your sauce will not be good.

Spicy Rub Seasoning for Meats And Vegetables

It is so easy to put together your own spice blends.  If you want to save some money, use the ingredients of your choice, then putting together your own spice blend is a great way to achieve just that.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. thyme
1 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. pepper
2 Tbs. garlic powder
2 1/2 Tbs. paprika

Directions

In a small jar that has a tight-fitting lid, combine onion powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.  

Put on the lid and shake the jar to combine the spices. 

To use, run some spice rub onto both sides of the piece of meat. This spice rub is great on chicken, fish, beef or pork.  You can also sprinkle it over vegetables to give them some flavor. 

Preheat the grill or, if cooking on the stove top, heat up the skillet. Add a tablespoon of oil in the skillet or lightly oil the grill grate on the grill. 

Cook the meat, turning, so both sides cook evenly, until the chicken juices run clear, or the other cuts of meat and fish are done.