The Invincible Rolls

These are nice and fluffy rolls! Last night my oven decided not to heat up, so as a last resort I plopped them in a lightly greased frying pan, threw on a lid and cooked them on low heat, turning them once. They still turned out delicious!!! We also have greatly enjoyed them baked... and its a LOT less stressful to bake them, so I would encourage you all to try the baked version if you have the opportunity and resources necessary :D! Buttery Rolls 1/2 cup warm milk 1/4 cup softened butter 2 Tbs sugar 1 egg 3/4 tsp salt 2 cups flour 1 tsp yeast Place all ingredients in bread machine and run the dough setting. When cycle is done, divide into 12 portions, shape into balls, and place in a greased 8x8 baking dish. Let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes, then bake at 375* for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown. Note: this is technically only a half recipe, so I can promise it will double easily!

Months of Menus

Anybody want to know what we are eating for the next month or two? Mom and Abby said they were curious, so...
In September I started doing menus a month or 2 at a time. I'm flexible, I don't always do what's written down, but it gives me an idea to start from. Just know that if you show up thinking you'll be joining us for beans and sow belly, the menu may have changed!
I printed calendar pages and then filled them in during a 4 hour internet session. These things take time. But it's done now!
OK, Thursdays night James and I usually go out, so those nights I/the kids serve easy kid food.
Friday nights are pizza night. 52 nights a year. Year in and year out. We have quite a list of "interesting" pizza variations, and we scatter them throughout.
Planning easy, fast, quick clean-up Sunday meals is something new I'm working on.
And last but not least, holidays make us eat differently. You know, I'm trying not to serve a lot of chicken right before Thanksgiving. We also eat more beef that many people because we buy 1/2 a cow from the Wakemans, and it is not only available, but some of the cleanest, most nutritious food I have available.
OK, I know I said "last", but I also have to explain that I "rediscovered" RealMomKitchen in planning these menus, so they are kinda heavy that direction, but she does a lot of our kind of cooking, so I like her. Normally we are heavy Pioneer Woman, Our Best Bites and Southern Plate eaters. Oh yeah, I tend to change recipes a lot: cheaper, homemade-ier, healthier, and what I have on hand.

November:
Mon. 1- Teriyaki Chicken, rice
Tues. 2- Josh's birthday
Wed. 3- *Tostadas
Thurs. 4- Tacos (night out)
Fri. 5- ?Pizza?
Sat. 6- ?anniversary trip?
Sun.7- Grilled chicken and Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
Mon. 8- *Rueben Casserole
Tues. 9- *Green Chili Quiche, *Sour cream Coffee Cake, Sausage
Wed. 10- PW Chicken Sandwiches
Thurs. 11- Sloppy Joes (night out)
Fri. 12- Pizza
Sat. 13- "Torquitos"
Sun. 14- *Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup or *this one
Mon. 15- Burgers, Fries
Tues. 16- Mexican Cornbread
Wed. 17- Roast beef and mashed potatoes
Thurs. 18- Leftover beef, noodles (night out)
Fri. 19- Pizza
Sat. 20- Chicken Bacon Pizza Rolls
Sun. 21- Steak Tips over Rice
Mon. 22- *Baked Potato Soup
Tues. 23- Meatloaf or *meatloaf, noodles
Wed. 24- Tacos
Thurs. 25- Turkey with Abby
Fri. 26- Quite possibly more turkey, otherwise pizza
Sat. 27- Baked Sandwich
Sun. 28- *Rustic Beef Stew
Mon. 29- *Open Face Texas Burgers
Tues. 30- Chicken, Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

December:
Wed. 1- *Chicken and Homemade Noodles
Thurs. 2-Pancakes (night out)
Fri. 3-Pizza
Sat. 4-Premade meatball subs wrapped in foil and ready to throw in the oven to heat.
Sun. 5- *Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Mon. 6- Biscuits and Gravy, Scrambled Eggs
Tues. 7- *Fried Burritos
Wed. 8- *Garlic Butter Burgers
Thurs. 9- Bread sticks and dips (night out)
Fri. 10- Pizza
Sat. 11- ______
Sun. 12- Bama Steak Sandwiches
Mon. 13- Navajo Tacos
Tues. 14- Chicken (grilled/pan cooked), *Potato Slabs
Wed. 15- *Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves - in bread shells
Thurs. 16- Pizza soup, muffins (night out)
Fri. 17- Pizza
Sat. 18- Bread sticks, dip
Sun. 19- Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
Mon. 20- Roast Beef with *Yorkshire Pudding
Tues. 21- Ham, *Au-gratin Potatoes (with recipe alterations)
Wed. 22- Beef Taco Bake, rice
Thurs. 23- Pizza?
Fri. 24- ???
Sat. 25-???
Sun. 26- ???
Mon. 27- Chicken Bacon Pizza Rolls
Tues. 28- Roast Beef Casserole
Wed. 29- Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta
Thurs. 30- Pigs in blankets
Fri. 31- ???- (church thingy)

* New untested recipe

Cloud Biscuits

This is Mom's famous biscuit recipe. We were "raised" on these, right guys? Well, Abby doesn't have the recipe!!! Or she didn't before this anyway. These are great biscuits, dumplings for your (Southern Plate) chicken and dumplings, etc. and so on.

2 c flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1-2 T sugar
1/2 c shortening, (I now use butter or solid coconut oil)
2/3 c milk
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients. Cut fat in until mixture is course crumbs. Combine egg and milk (I start with 1/2 c milk and add more later if it comes out dry), add to flour, stir until just combined (Mom always had us use a fork for this step. I distinctly remember that. Yes, I still do it too.). Knead lightly 5 or so times to form a ball. Roll on floured surface, to 3/4 inch thick. Cut and bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Serve. Win friends and influence people. Just give your mom some credit.

Peanut Butter Filled Brownies

Tragedy nearly struck yesterday. We did not have enough ice cream for our traditional "Sunday night supper". BUT... I realized it in time. Close one.
So I decided to make brownies so we could have brownie sundaes and stretch our remaining ice cream. I developed a sudden need for a peanut butter filled brownie. I spent the next 40ish minutes doing in-depth internet research. No beans. Every single recipe was described as . . . . . (I can hardly bring myself to say it) . . . ."cakey". If I want cake, I eat cake. I do not normally want cake.
I was scared, but it was time to go out on a limb. Someone needed to invent a REAL P.B. filled brownie. But who wants to ruin a perfectly good batch of brownies by messing around with crazy ideas?!? Folks, they weren't ruined.
I think these are the closest we will come on this earth, to the brownies we will be eating in heaven.
James said they were perfect. If James does not like something, he feels no need (whatsoever) to conceal the fact. He then said "You need to put these on your blog thingy." I think it was a command. Then he said he was taking them to work for his chili cook-off on Friday.
This is big. See, there's this lady at work, who makes "the best" caramel filled brownies. She always brings them to every food-bringing thing. Everyone falls all over those brownies. If James brings these brownies, he is going up against a...standard. But he thinks it will go over. I was honored.

So, the brownies (Think brownie meets Reese's cup):


Let's go for an 9x13 pan recipe, O.K.? Halve everything for an 8x8. These things are the real deal. If you don't have a crowd to feed them to, do the 8x8!

1 9x13 size batch of brownie batter, a mix, your favorite recipe, or mine:
1 c butter
2 c sugar
1 c cocoa powder
4 eggs (3 if they come from your own chickens and are huge)
1 1/3 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t vanilla

In large sauce pan cook together butter, cocoa, and sugar until butter is all melted. Throw in your eggs and vanilla, stir. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Whew, that's done.

Filling:
1 c peanut butter, (I used creamy)
1/4 c butter
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1-2 T, more or less milk or cream (I used cream because I had it)

In a sauce pan combine P.B. and butter. Stir in sugar. Add milk until you get a frosting/soft playdough texture. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it shouldn't be pourable (by a long shot!!!), yet it shouldn't be dry, crumbly, or really stiff.

In a greased 9x13, spread 1/3-1/2 of the brownie batter. Take spoonfuls of the P.B. mix, pat them flat and lay on the brownie layer. There is enough P.B. to make a nice thick layer, so if you wanted, you could only make 2/3 of the batch or so, and have a thinner layer. I wanted it good and thick though, so this was perfect for us. When you have all the P.B. on there, pour the remaining brownie on top, and spread to cover the filling. This is where my brownies being more of a batter than a dough is rather helpful.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I checked rather often, as I had no idea how long these would bake. I started checking at 18 minutes. Bake until they are still a little soft, but aren't pouring out of the pan when you tip it a little. My toothpick came out chocolaty, but not raw-brownie-gooey. I let mine cool completely while we went to church, before cutting. Perfect.