Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Scrumptious Dinner Rolls :: Spring Recipe Series

With all of this time I have on my hands these days, I like to find new recipes to make for my guys. While searching for a quick and easy bread recipe to make with my roasted chicken dinner I came across the most incredible sweet dinner roll recipe. With a few modifications, it turned out to be one of the BEST breads I've ever made. Spread a little melted butter over the top when you take them out of the oven and then get ready for an amazing bread eating experience.  They go well with just about anything... ENJOY!!!















Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1/2 cup warm milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

  1. Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.
  2. When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Depending on the size of the roll you want roll out 12-16 balls and place side by side in a greased baking dish. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
After rising for about an hour
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.


                
Notes:  I chose not to use my bread machine on this recipe, but instead used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. 

I warmed the milk and water first, added the yeast and sugar to the mixing bowl and let it bubble for about 15 minutes.  

Then I added the rest of the ingredients (I added the flour 1/2 cup at a time).  

When I took the rolls  the oven I slathered melted butter over the top and served them immediately. 

The rolls are great for breakfast and stored in a baggie can be used for a few days afterwards. 

Monday, September 5, 2011

Summer Finale' :: Blueberry Buckle Cake

Happy Labor Day!

On this official last day of summer, I decided to finish the season of with a delectable Blueberry Buckle Cake that can be eaten as an after BBQ dessert OR a morning coffee cake. Either way, it starts the day out or ends a summer backyard feast with the same delicious taste.

I used fresh blueberries in mine as I like how they retain some of the consistency during baking, but frozen berries can be used as well.

Blueberry Buckle Cake

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

    • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch pan.
    • Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, and egg. 

    • In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan.

    • To make topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.
    • Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes. 
    Enjoy it warm with a nice cup of coffee or a nice cold glass of milk! Mmmmmmmmmmmm


    Country Fried Chicken...an Ode' to summers End

    Ah, the scorching days of summer are almost at an end. And not a moment too soon if you ask me. Has it been HOT this year or WHAT? I don't care what anyone says, global warming is in full effect here on the mountain. Every year it gets hotter and hotter and by Labor Day, I am SO ready for Autumn to swoop in and cool things off.

    I tend to get a good energy burst at this time of the year,and since I don't have a lot to do on the work front, I've decided to focus all of my energy on the house and property and of course, cooking! I LOVE to cook!

    This past weekend while Mike and Louie mowed, clipped, weed whacked and basically addressed the outside chores, I decided to treat them to a nice end-of-summer dinner of country fried chicken, homemade mac and cheese, green beans simmered with ham and onion,s and watermelon!

    Mmmmmmmmm, it was sooo good.

    Here's my not so secret recipe, feel free to improvise, you really can't screw this up!

    Michele's Scrumptious Fried Chicken

    Ingredients

    • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
    • 1 teaspoon pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    • Dash Cayenne Pepper 
    • 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
    • Misc. Spices to taste
    • 1 cup butter milk
    • Cut up chicken 
    • canola oil


    Directions

    1. Rub chicken with salt, pepper, a little bit of garlic, and any other spices you want to throw in.
    2. Soak the chicken in a large bowl with the butter milk.

    1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add chicken to flour mixture, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. 

    1. Dip into buttermilk, then return to flour mixture and coat again. Let stand for 5 minutes.

    1. Heat about 2 in. of oil in a large skillet. Fry chicken until golden brown on all sides. Reduce heat to medium and cook until a meat thermometer reads 180°, about 20 minutes.  

    Keep finished pieces in a warm oven until time to serve.


    *Note* If chicken pieces are large, you will want to use a knife and check to make sure the centers are done, you can fry the chicken for 20 minutes and then place in a 350 degree oven and bake an additional 20 minutes to ensure they are done. They will retain the crispiness. 

    This chicken is a great picnic item too. Fry some up, pack it in a basket with some potato salad, biscuits, and a nice apple pie, and find a nice lake enjoy a meal with family!!


    Saturday, February 26, 2011

    DO You Know How Safe Your Food Is? Do You Care?


    The last few months we've heard quite a bit about terrorists who may try to poison the food supply, Relax, the terrorists aren't going to poison us because the government is allowing the big agriculture corporations like Monsanto do it. Here's the point where we, meaning you and I, either stay friends, or you decide that I've lost my mind and we part ways. I haven't lost my mind, actually  I've found it.  The past year has been quite interesting. You see, I stopped drinking the Kool-Aid and when I did my eyes began opening to the ugly truths that surround us. All of us. My new mission in life is to help as many people as I can see the truth as well as prepare for the situations I believe we are all facing in the near future. 

    Up until recently I paid little attention to things like "GMO's" (Genetically modified organisms), toxic pathogens in livestock feed and crops", and the blatant corruption in the government agencies who regulate the producers of our food supply. The more I read, the more I realized that Monsanto's claims that all of these derogatory reports about them we're false couldn't be. The fact that the corruption is so obvious leads me to believe that my fellow Americans have truly dropped the ball when it comes to anything that distracts them from their iPhones, XBoxes and PC's. 

    Big corporations are in bed with just about every government agency so why should agriculture be any different? Is anything safe? Apparently not. How much do YOU know about the food you eat? Are you, like 99% of the rest of the population content with whatever is written on the label? Do you have ANY idea where the food you feed your family comes from and if you learned it was toxic would you even care? I mean after all, it looks good, smells good and tastes good. Wake up people. The people who control our food supply are POISONING you! 


    Take a moment to Google: Monsanto, Roundup, Monsanto law suits, Monsanto documents, and then think decide if you really think all of the information is overblown or hyped, or conspiracy theory. Think about how you're going to protect your family from this company that controls almost all of the worlds food supply. Their goal is to control 100% within 10-20 years.Most people are not informed, they are conditioned to believe what the mainstream media tells them to believe. Most people never take the time to check the facts. It's time to take self-sufficiency seriously. 

    Do I sound like one of those survivalist people that spout end-of-the-world scenarios? When you dig deeper and start learning what's really going on beneath the surface of the mainstream media glossing over the facts, you'll get serious too. And then again, maybe you won't. Whatever you decide, you and your family will be left with the consequences be they good or bad. When it comes to my family, I tend to err on the side of extreme caution. 


    Whether you believe it or not, there are things that are happening that put everyone at risk. When you simply ignore it,  you are only putting yourself in a position to have to take emergency or crisis action instead of being prepared. No one is saying you have to build an underground bunker and hide out, but opening your mind to the possibility that that change you feel coming is real and you need to act. There is a reason why people are learning to garden, preserve their food, and stockpile. There is a reason why people are researching "self-sufficiency", urban homesteading, and prepping in record numbers and why the movement to be more self-sufficient is growing by the hour. It's because people can FEEL the change coming. Some will listen to that inner voice and prepare and some will say that those of us that are have gone crazy and bought into the conspiracy theories of future disaster. 

    Do you ever wonder why cancer rates have risen greatly over the past few decades? Is it possible that the people who claim our food is being poisoned may just be right? What do you have to lose by checking it out and educating yourself? Search for facts about how our environment and all of the toxins released into it are causing this rise in cancer. 

    (Global cancer rates are expected to increase 50 percent by the year 2020, according to the latest report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO). The 351-page study, titled World Cancer Report, begins by explaining that 10 million people developed malignant tumors and 6.2 million died from the disease in the year 2000. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/apr2003/canc-a26.shtml) 

    Under the Willow Tree is committed to bringing you the most accurate information and the BEST ways to become more self-sufficient.  Stop listening to the main stream media, start seeking facts and information independently and be prepared. 

    For those that decided to stick it out with me, thanks for letting me rant. I truly care about you and hope you'll take the initiative to  protect yourself and your family, it's obvious that our  government isn't going to do it for us!