Monday, April 21, 2008

Oatmeal Caramel Bars

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. I made a few changes that other reviewers suggested.

INGREDIENTS:
32 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
5 tablespoons heavy cream (milk works too)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups butter, melted (I use a little less)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I use a little more)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (we don't like nuts so I use baking toffee chips instead)
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt together the caramels and heavy cream, stirring occasionally until smooth. (I do this in the microwave to save time)

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well blended. Press Half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Reserve the rest.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour the caramel mixture over the top and then crumble the remaining crust mixture over everything.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes, or until the top is lightly toasted. Cut into squares while it is still warm.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Easy Oven Beef Stew



This is a great easy recipe you can start in the early afternoon and have ready when everyone gets home for dinner.

Easy Oven Beef Stew

2-lb stew meat (I usually buy a roast and chunk it up)
1 medium onion - chopped
1 stalk celery (I omit this because my family isn't wild about celery)
4 carrots - cut into chunks (I buy the bag of baby carrots and cut them in half)
1 T. sugar (I half this because I don't like it so sweet)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. tomato juice
2 T. minute tapioca

Mix meat, onions, celery, carrots in a large pan. Mix together sugar, salt, tomato juice and tapioca. Pour over meat and vegetables. Cover with foil tightly, then a lid. Bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours. Serve over mashed potatoes.

note: When you pour the liquid over the meat and vegetables it appears there will not be enough, but it will make enough gravy to serve with the mashed potatoes. Real mashed potatoes are the best but instant do well in a pinch.

Lion House Rolls


I have a piece of crud camera so please don't judge me by my pictures. I didn't have a picture of these cooked but you can get the idea from this pic of them rising.
These are some of my favorite rolls. I can't actually get the real shape of the Lion House Rolls so I just make them into a cresent shape. The one thing I do different from the following recipe is brush the dough with butter before I roll it into cresent shapes. Enjoy!
Lion House Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine
1 egg
5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour, or bread flour


Method:
In large bowl or electric mixer, combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour).
Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. (This helps prevent dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise in warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.
Scrape dough out onto floured board. Turn dough over so it is floured on both sides; gently flatten to about 1 inch thick. With rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle about 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick. Brush with melted butter. With pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut dough in half to make two strips about 4 inches wide. Make cuts through strips of dough every 2 inches, making about 18 pieces of dough.
Starting with short end, roll up one piece of dough, with butter on the inside. Place roll on parchment-lined pan with other short end down on the paper. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Be sure all rolls face the same direction on baking pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light to medium golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Serve with Honey Butter. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls.


Helpful Tips for Making Rolls
Always add flour gradually and keep dough as soft as you can handle. A soft dough will produce a lighter roll.
It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour called for in the recipe—add only enough flour to make dough manageable.
To shorten dough's rising time, use one of these methods:
1) When dough is thoroughly mixed, oil bowl and cover dough with plastic wrap. Fill sink or larger bowl with about 2 inches of hot water or enough water to come about half or three-fourths the way up outside the dough bowl. Place bowl of dough in bowl of water and allow to rise until double in size.
2) Just before mixing dough, turn oven on lowest possible temperature. Place a pan of hot water on bottom oven rack. When dough is thoroughly mixed, place in oiled bowl. Cover dough with plastic wrap; place in oven. Turn oven off, shut oven door, and allow dough to rise until double in size, about 50 to 60 minutes. Shape or cut into desired rolls. Place rolls on greased or parchment-lined pans and allow to rise until double in size. Bake according to recipe.
Brush top of rolls with butter when first taken from oven.
How to consistently make attractive, good-tasting rolls? Practice! Practice! Practice!


Sunday, April 13, 2008

White Chocolate Chippers

If you are a McGhie, you know I have an obsession with cookies. My latest quest has been an effort to reproduce the White Chocolate Chippers from Paradise Bakery.....they don't have them in Georgia!
(Note to Steph - I would like to see you post the recipe for those yummy bar cookies you brought to Mom and Dad's farewell!)
White Chocolate Chippers
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. Hersheys DARK cocoa
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour (approx.)
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. white chocolate chips (or less)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (opt....I like nuts)
Beat butter, short., sugars, add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients.
I usually chill the dough a while....it gives me a chance to eat it longer.
Roll into small balls and bake 350 for 10 min.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Peanut Butter S'more Cookies


I don't really like peanut butter cookies. Not sure why. I mean I love peanut butter and I love cookies. I bought this small pamphlet cook book called "Monster Cookies" which has recipes for those huge sized cookies. In it I tried the recipe for these. They were really yummy. Every time I take them somewhere I always get tons of requests for the recipe. So here it is...

Peanut Butter S'mores

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 (1.55oz) milk chocolate candy bars
16 large marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, egg and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until blended.
3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten dough with tines of fork, forming criss-cross pattern. Bake about 14 minutes of until set and edges are light golden brown. Cook cookies 2 minutes on cookie sheets; transfer to wire cooling racks. Cool completely.
4. To assemble sandwiches, break each candy bar into four sections. Place 1 section of chocolate on flat side of 1 cookies. Place on microwaveable plate; top with 1 marshmallow. Microwave on HIGH 10 to 12 seconds or until marshmallow is puffy. Immediately top with another cookie, flat side down. Press slightly. Repeat with remaining cookies, chocolate and marshmallows. Cool completely. Makes about 16 sandwich cookies.