Savory Italian Rounds

I modified this recipe from Taste of Home. These are super easy to make and have a lot of great flavor, they would go well with many different meals.-sarah

2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 t. basil
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. onion powder
12 oz refrigerated biscuits

• In a bowl combine the mayo with the Parmesan and seasonings.
• Separate biscuits and place on 2 ungreased cookie sheets, let stand for 5 minutes. Flatten biscuits into 4 inch circles.
• Divide cheese mixture between biscuits and spread over evenly.
• Bake at 400 degrees about 10 minutes.

Quick Garlic Knots

I was making a nice Italian meal and needed/wanted some garlic bread to go with it.  I had some refrigerated biscuits and did this to them...the result was delicious.  Nothing super genius here and maybe people already do this and I am the last to find out!  Either way, I don't want to forget...was yummy!  -Kristin

Refrigerated biscuits
Oil
Garlic powder
Garlic salt
Oregano

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Roll biscuits into a rope (like 6 or 8 inches) and knot.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Right out of the oven brush with oil.
• Then sprinkle with seasonings.

Cheddar and Green Onion Corn Muffins

I
I am so excited about a square muffin pan I found at a garage sale...notice the square muffins in the picture :)  I changed this recipe a little bit by using green onions in place of fresh chives that the original recipe called for.  So you could use either or.  The original recipe is from a blog called Simply Scratch.  These muffins are very good!!! -Kristin

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup yellow corn meal

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1  egg

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup frozen corn (thawed and patted dry if frozen)

2 tablespoon green onions or fresh chives, chopped

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
• In a medium bowl combine the corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and baking soda. 
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In the center of the well; add the egg, milk, melted butter, corn and onions.
• Mix just until everything starts to come together, then stir in the cheddar cheese. 
• Spoon the corn batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are lightly golden. Let cool in pan for a few minutes before removing them. 
• Store the corn muffins in an airtight container for one to two days.

Bacon cheese Biscuits

I got this yummy recipe idea from the website picky-palate.com. It's a great idea with a few basic ingredients. These tasty biscuits would go great with a breakfast, lunch or dinner!-Sarah

1 can prepared biscuits

2 T. butter

*cheese

bacon, fried and crumbled

• I melted the butter over very low heat in a cast iron skillet. You could also pour the melted butter into a greased 8x8 pan. Swirl the melted butter around to grease bottom and sides of pan.
• Place biscuits in a single layer in pan.
• Cover with a layer of cheese, crumbled bacon, and another layer of cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes.

*The original recipe calls for a layer of sliced mozzarella and then shredded cheddar on top. I think any cheese or combo would be great!

Miracle Bread

Oh my, this is delicious! I found this recipe on the blog homejoys. She always has fantastic looking bread recipes and I decided I must try this one! The dough was so easy to work with and rose beautifully! The egg wash on the top gave it a great color and the best part was that it tasted as good as it looked!-Sarah

1/2 cup warm water

2 tablespoons yeast

2 tablespoons sugar or honey

• Mix together and let yeast dissolve for a few minutes.

2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons melted butter or oil

2 teaspoons salt

• Add to yeast water mixture.

6-7 cups flour

1 egg

2 T. milk

sesame seeds or poppy seeds

• Stir in as much of the 6 cups of flour as you can. Knead in remaining flour by hand or with a dough hook on mixer. Using additional flour as needed.
• Roll dough into ball and place in a greased bowl, turning over to grease top of ball.
• Let rise, at room temperature, 30-60 minutes, until doubled in size.
• Divide dough in half, using a rolling pin ,roll dough out to a large oval. Roll up lengthwise and place on greased cookie sheet.
• With a sharp knife make diagonal slits in top of bread. Let rise about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
• In a small bowl beat together the egg and milk. Brush over loaves and sprinkle with seeds.
• Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. (the original recipe calls for a 15-20 minute baking time but that was too much for me, depends on how fat your loaves are too)

No Knead Bread

I made this fun bread for dinner tonight and it was a hit! If you are nervous about making yeast breads this is a great bread to start with. It was super easy and really yummy. I love that it only rises once and the dough raises impressively in the oven while baking!-Sarah

This bread also turns out awesome using 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat :) -Kristin

4 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 T. salt (yes a tablespoon)

4 1/2 t. yeast

1 cup water

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

• In a mixer bowl combine 2 cups flour with sugar, salt and yeast.
• In a small saucepan heat water, milk and oil until warm to the touch. Remove from heat and stir in egg.
• Add liquid mixture to mixing bowl. Mix on low to combine everything, then mix on medium for 3 minutes.
• By hand stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups flour. Cover and let rise about 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Stir down the dough and place in 2 greased bread pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

The Best Corn Muffins Ever!

THE BEST CORN MUFFINS EVER...EVER!  That sums up this recipe.  -Kristin

1 1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or just sour milk: add 1 T. lemon juice in a one cup measure and then fill the rest of the way up with milk)
1/2 cup oil

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line with paper or foil baking cups.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
• In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
• Pour wet mixture into dry and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix or you will have flat, dense muffins.
• Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 11-14 minutes, until muffins are golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Maple-Oat Dinner Rolls

This recipe from my new Taste of Home magazine is a real keeper. I love making rolls from scratch and these have such a wonderful flavor. They would be excellent to serve for breakfast or brunch, they have a lot of flavor all on their own. -Sarah

2 1/4 t. yeast
1/2 cup warm (110-115 degrees) water, divided
1/2 cup warm (110-115 degrees) coffee
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
3 T. shortening
1 t. salt
3-3 1/2 cups bread flour

• Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add the remaining water, coffee, oats, sugar, syrup, egg, shortening, salt, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface and knead about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top of dough. Cover and let rest until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down, turn onto a floured surface and divide into about 15 balls, placing in a greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter if desired.

The Taste of Home Baking Book
The Taste of Home Cookbook- New Revised: One Recipe four ways
Taste of Home: Winning Recipes: 645 Recipes from National Cooking Contests

Easy Breadsticks

These are quick and easy to get ready and serve with pizza or a snack. Our dog Benji really wants to get some of these! -Kristin

1/4 c. butter
3 c. white flour (or 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour)
1 t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 T. oil
1 c. milk (or a bit more)

• Place butter in a 9x13 pan and put in oven that is preheating to 425 so that the butter melts as the oven heats up. Be careful to not let it burn.
• Stir together the dry ingredients. Mix together the oil and milk and gradually pour into flour and mix well.
• Knead 5-6 times in the bowl.
• Place on a lightly floured surface and roll out into 9x13 rectangle.
• Lay dough in the pre-heated 9x13 pan, atop the melted butter. Cut into 1 inch strips.
• Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Egg and Onion Matza

This is another great recipe from tammysrecipes! My family loves these fun squares and I love that they are easy and quick. I love the mild onion flavor and this recipe has made me reach for the onion powder a lot more often while cooking. -Sarah

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 cup milk

• Mix onion powder with milk and set aside to soak.
• Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg and milk mixture. Mix until a soft dough forms. Knead and divide dough in half.
• Roll each half of dough out on lightly floured surface and cut with a pizza cutter into desired shapes. Prick each piece a few times with a fork.
• Place pieces of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet that has been lightly salted (Kosher salt works well for this).
• Bake at 450 degrees about 10 minutes.

Soft Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

These whole wheat rolls will impress you with how incredibly soft they are. The secret ingredient is instant mashed potatoes. I got this recipe from an old issue of Bon Appetit I found. -Kristin

3/4 c. milk (2% or whole)
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. butter
3 c. whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
3/4 c. instant mashed potato flakes
1/4 c. nonfat dry milk powder
3 T. sugar
2 1/4 t. quick-rising active dry yeast
1 1/4 t. salt
1 egg yolk
1 egg white, whisked with 1 T. water (for glaze)
3-5 T. oatmeal

• Bring milk and water to simmer in a small pan.
• Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Bring the mixture down to 120-130 F.
• Meanwhile, mix together all the dry ingredients.
• Add the warm milk mixture to the dry ingredients along with the egg yolk.
• Knead mixture in bowl until dough comes together, (dough will be sticky).
• Turn out onto floured work surface and knead until very smooth, elastic and no longer sticky. (About 8 minutes) *Or just use stand up mixer.
• Place dough in a buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel. Set in a warm, draft free place and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours till doubled.
• Butter 13x9x2 baking sheet.
• Turn dough onto floured surface and divide in half and then each half into 4 equal pieces.
• Roll each piece into almost smooth ball.
• Arrange dough rounds 4 lengthwise and 4 crosswise rows in prepared pan.
• Cover with kitchen towel and let rise till almost doubled and expanded to where they touch each other, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Brush the egg white mixture all over the rolls and then sprinkle with the oatmeal.
• Bake for 28 minutes until lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before removing.

Cheesy Bread Sticks

This recipe is from tammysrecipes.com she has a ton of awesome recipes on her site and this is one of them, although she calls it Italian Cheese Bread. Whatever you call this it's yummy! My family loves these and I've made this recipe many different ways. -Sarah

1 recipe pizza crust, from blog
1/4 cup Italian, Ranch or other salad dressing
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
pepper
1 T. Parmesan cheese (or more)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• Make the pizza dough and press onto a lightly greased pan.
• Spread with salad dressing.
• Sprinkle with seasonings.
• Top with cheeses and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

I've made these using a Greek salad dressing, red onion and fet cheese, oh the possibilities!

Italian Parmesan Bread

I love to bake bread! This is a fun bread to make, there is no trouble with shaping the dough, it just goes into the casserole dish. I got this recipe from a friend, it goes perfectly with any Italian meal! I've used grated Parmesan instead of the shredded, the bread is different, but still awesome! -Sarah

1 pkg. yeast
1 cup warm water (130 degrees)
3 cups flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten (room temperature)
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. minced dried onion
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
melted butter

• In a mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 cups of flour, butter, egg, sugar, salt and seasonings.
• Beat at low speed until mixed, increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.
• Stir in remaining flour and 1/3 cup of the cheese.
• Beat until smooth, cover and rise 1 hour.
• Stir batter 25 strokes.
• Place in a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. (dough will be very soft and sticky) Brush with butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and let rise 30 minutes-1 hour.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Perfect Dinner Rolls

Anna (my sister-in-law), brought these over for dinner, with a big pot of soup. They are so yummy, my husband made sure I got the recipe. -Sarah

1 T. yeast
2 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1/4 cup non-dairy powdered creamer
2 1/4 t. salt
6-7 cups bread flour

• Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, shortening, creamer, salt and 5 cups of flour.
• Beat until smooth, stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Dough will be sticky.
• Knead about 6-8 minutes.
• Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat all sides. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
• Punch down, and divide into 24 pieces, forming into rolls.
• Place on two greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Natalie's Biscuits

My cousin, Natalie made these once and I could hardly stop from eating them all! They are quick to make and yummy to eat. Another great thing about these is that they are miniature...I love using my mini muffin pan! -Sarah

1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup margarine, melted

Mix all and spoon into a greased mini muffin tin. Bake at 425 degrees for about 6-8 minutes. Makes about 9 mini muffins.

*I have made these with real butter and they are ok, but I think they are much better when they are made with margarine.

String Cheese Sticks

Thes are so fun to serve to the kids! They love the cheesy centers and they are quick and easy to make!-Sarah

2 1/4 cup Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
8, 1 oz. pieces of string cheese
1 T. butter, melted
1/4 t. garlic powder

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Stir Bisquick and milk together to form a soft dough. Sprinkle counter lightly with Bisquick, place ball of dough on counter. Knead 10 times.

• Roll dough out and cut into 8 pieces. Rectangle shaped.
• Wrap a piece of dough around each piece of cheese, sealing seams well. Place on greased cookie sheet, seam side down.
• Bake 8-10 minutes. Mix butter and garlic, brush over sticks.

French Bread

This recipe comes from a friend at church, who is a wonderful cook, I think this bread has a great flavor, and it's not much work for 2 beautiful loaves of bread. -Sarah

In the bowl of a stand mixer:
Dissolve 2 pkg's yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, add
1/2 t. sugar

Bring 2 cups water to a boil and add:
2 T. shortening
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
Cool to 130 degrees
Add to yeast mixture.

Slowly add 7 cups of bread flour by starting with 3 cups and adding 1 cup at a time until dough is formed.
Knead dough for 10 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Punch down and let rest for 15 minutes.
Split dough in half and shape into 2 loaves, place on 1 greased cookie sheet, put 5 slits in each loaf. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat together 1 egg and 2 T. milk, brush over loaves, bake about 30 minutes.

Beer Bread

I got this recipe from a Robin Miller episode on Food Network. I changed it a bit to make it a little better. This recipe is perfect, easy and great with any meal. You can use any beer you want. -Kristin

2 1/4 c. flour
5 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
12 oz. beer
2 T. butter, melted or olive oil

• Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Make a well in center and add beer and melted butter or olive oil and mix until blended.
• Pour into greased 8 inch loaf pan and bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes until golden brown.

English Muffin Bread

I ended up with a bunch of old recipe cards from my Grandma (I love old recipe cards, the handwriting, the yellowness, the notes!) I go through them and pull out something that looks interesting every once in awhile. This is a great recipe. It tastes just like an English muffin and is so fantastic toasted! More frugal than buying the packaged ones from the store too! -Sarah

2 packages yeast
6 cups flour
1 T. sugar
2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
cornmeal

• Combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda.
• Heat liquids till very warm (120-130 degrees).
• Add liquids to dry mixture. Beat well, stir in rest of flour to make a stiff batter.
• Spoon into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Cover and rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool.

Biscuits

This is my Grandma's recipe for biscuits. They are so classic and so good! -Sarah

2 cups flour
2 t. sugar
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cream of tarter
1/2 t. salt

1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

• Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Add egg and milk. Mix lightly, just till combined.
• Pat dough out on floured counter and cut with biscuit cutter. (if I'm in a big hurry I'll just take a knife and cut the whole thing into squares)
• Bake at 425 degrees for about 7 minutes.