amanda's breadsticks

These breadstick are so easy (even I can't screw them up...and I'm terrible with bread making). I got the recipe from a girl in my ward (thanks Amanda) and they are super delicious--and did I meantion easy?

* Amanda's Bread Sticks *

1 1/2 c. warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. flour (or more)
6-8 Tbsp. butter
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese
Grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the warm water; let bubble about 10 minutes. Mix in the salt and flour until it's no longer sticky. Knead on a floured surface until soft dough is formed. Let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in 9x13 pan at 375. Roll dough on a floured board and cut into strips. Roll in butter and arrange in pan. Sprinkle with a little garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Let raise 10 minutes. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese over the top for the last few minutes if desired.

* Cheesy Garlic Toast (like Sizzler's) *

Have you ever been to Sizzler? Their salad bar is pretty good and my husband really likes their hibachi chicken! Anyways, they serve this yummy toast as an appetizer. I honestly can't remember where I got this recipe (sorry to whomever I owe credit to but thanks!) but it is such a fast and easy side to a meal. We used to have it all the time and then I forgot about it for a year or two. I remembered it one day and I'm glad I did!

*Cheesy Garlic Toast *
bread slices
butter or margarine
parmesan cheese (just the kind out of the green canister)
garlic salt or powder

Heat a pan over medium heat. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over butter and spread evenly over slice of bread (don't use too much...) Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder or garlic salt. Place the bread butter/cheese side down on hot pan. Toast bread until golden brown.

* Popeye Pancakes *

Some people call these German Pancakes or Hootenanies. We called them Popeye Pancakes because of the "muscles" they grew as they baked (and it was called Popeye Pancakes in the cookbook we used)! Growing up, it was my little brother's favorite meal (I loved them too) and my dad would often make them on weekends for breakfast. He always made them in the cookie sheet pan but you can also make them in the 9x13 pan. They cook in the same amount of time but they are obviously thicker in the smaller pan.

* Popeye Pancakes *

(my Popeye Pancakes obviously didn't eat their spinach...they didn't turn out as bumpy as they usually do. Disclaimer....there is no spinach in this recipe)
6 T. butter/margarine
1 c. flour
6 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt 6 T. butter in either cookie sheet or 9x13 pan over low heat. Make sure the entire bottom and lower sides of the pan are coated with butter. Pour the remaining butter into mixture below. (I also spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray, just to be safe) Combine and blend flour, eggs, milk, salt, and butter until bubbly and frothy. Pour mixture into buttered pan and bake at 400* for 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with maple syrup --or-- lemon juice and sift with powdered sugar.

* Garlic Cheese Biscuits *

I LOVE these! I seriously could eat the entire batch myself. They are so fast and easy and perfect to go along with any italian dish or soup or with whatever your little heart desires. You can actually find this recipe off the Bisquick box but I originally got it from my sister at a bridal shower...thanks for the 5 1/2 years of yumminess, Tarese :)

* Garlic Cheese Biscuits *
1 1/2 c. Bisquick mix
1 c. cheddar cheese (or whatever you have on hand...I usually use Colby jack)
2 shakes garlic powder
shake or two of parsley
1/2 c. milk
-------------
3 T. butter
garlic salt
Parmesan cheese
parsley

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. When combined, drop by spoon onto cookies sheet. Bake at 450* for 7-9 minutes. While baking, mix melted butter, garlic salt, cheese, and parsley together. After biscuits finish baking, pour or brush butter mixture over the tops. SO YUMMY!

* Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy *

I am not a "made-from-scratch" kind of girl. I am all about shortcuts (think Bisquick, gravy mixes, jarred spaghetti sauce, etc.) and although I generally think that made-from-scratch things taste better, I am too lazy just not confident enough in my cooking abilities to try homemade things out. So the other night I decided to try to make homemade biscuits and gravy...not because I necessarily wanted to but because I was out of Bisquick and gravy packages and this was the dinner the hubby requested. It actually turned out pretty good, if I say so myself! So if you're a "made-from-scratch" kind of person, give it a try :)

I found the biscuit recipe here and I got the sausage gravy recipe out of the "Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook" (yes, the Christmas one...they didn't have the regular "Worldwide Ward Cookbook" at the library so I settled for the holiday version.)

* Homemade Fluffy Biscuits *
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

* Sausage Gravy *
1 lb. sausage
4 T. grease from sausage (add 2-3 T. butter, if necessary)
4 T. flour
2 c. milk
1 dash hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage. Remove from pan and drain grease from sausage. If there is not 4 T. of grease, add 2-3 T. of butter and put back into pan. Mix flour and grease/butter until it forms a ball. Stir in milk. Whisk together until incorporated and let it cook until it thickens. Add sausage, salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of hot sauce. Serve over biscuits.

* Zucchini Bread or Muffins *

We got our first zucchini out of our garden this week so I decided to make muffins for breakfast one day. The kids LOVED it and it was a nice way to get rid of our zucchini...how sad is it that I am already saying "get rid" of our zucchini when it was our first one? :) I got this recipe out of a cookbook we received in Young Womens years ago.

* Zucchini Bread or Muffins *
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. shredded zucchini
3 T. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Beat the eggs and then add the oil and sugars. Add vanilla and zucchini and stir well. Add dry ingredients. Bake at 325* for 35-45 minutes in greased and floured bread pans ---or--- 25-28 minutes in lined or greased muffin tins.

I actually halved this recipe and it made 12 muffins and a small loaf of bread. If you do the whole recipe, I believe it makes two loaves.

* Pizza Crust and White Sauce *

I've said before that I don't necessarily love my go-to pizza crust recipe. I mean, there is really nothing wrong with it other than it's kind of bland but it's fast, easy, and doesn't need to rise. This recipe is similar with a little more flavor...it's also fast, easy, and doesn't need to rise. I found it on Real Mom Kitchen blog here. Give it a try, if you're looking for something fast and easy.

*Fast & Easy Pizza Crust*sorry about the crappy picture...my camera broke a few weeks ago and I had to use my phone :(
3 cups flour, more or less
1 tablespoon honey, heaping
1 tablespoon oil, heaping
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. (If using a pizza stone, let stone heat for at least 30 minutes in the oven before baking pizza.) Mix all pizza dough ingredients together, except the flour. Add flour and knead for a bit then put into pan (or use a pizza peel and pizza stone). Top dough with sauce and toppings. If baking in a sheet pan, bake for about 12 minutes (checking often) until crust is browned and cheese is golden and bubbly. If baking on the preheated pizza stone, slide pizza onto stone and bake for about 8 minutes. Makes 1 large pizza.

I also used this white sauce found on Real Mom Kitchen. It reminded me of the white sauce we used at Papa Murphys...and it was also really good!

*White Pizza Sauce*
½ cup ranch dressing
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried basil
¼ cup shredded Parmesan

Mix all ingredients together and place on your pizza crust. This is enough sauce for 1 (14 inch) pizza.

* Amish White Bread *

We have a cooking group in our ward. Once a month, we get together and share recipes using a different ingredient and then bring the recipe for everyone to try. One month we did asparagus. The leader of the group, Delight, made a super yummy asparagus soup and served this bread with it. It was so good and she said it was so easy to make. She gave me the recipe (found here) and I finally made it today...and it turned out great! For those who are scared of making homemade bread (or maybe that's just me...) try this recipe!

* Amish White Bread *2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

* Whole Wheat Waffles (or pancakes) *

Last year for Christmas, my parents gave us a bunch of whole wheat kernels and a hand wheat grinder for our food storage. I'll admit that I had no idea what to do with them and honestly didn't use it until about October of this last year. Then I got this awesome recipe from my parents and it forever changed our family meals. This is my #1 go-to meal when it gets to be 5:00pm and I still haven't thought about dinner...or if I'm just to lazy to make anything else. We probably have it at least once a week. It is so easy because you don't have to grind up the wheat kernels...the blender does it for you! And I just feel so healthy (as long as you don't count the syrup and butter) because they're whole wheat :)

Whole Wheat Waffles*mix the following on high speed for 2 minutes:
1 c. milk
1 c. whole wheat kernels

*add:
1/2 c. milk
*and mix for 2 more minutes.

*Then add these ingredients:
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 T. honey
*and blend well.

*Right before baking, add:
1 T. baking powder
*and fold in on low speed just until blended. Bake!

THESE ARE YUMMY!

* Brown Sugar Muffins *

Disclaimer: I would not describe these muffins as "spectacular" or "scrumptious" or "the best thing I ever ate" but...they are fast, easy, and my son LOVES them.
I used to have the packed Betty Crocker muffin mixes in my cupboards for mornings when we didn't feel like eating cold cereal or toast but one morning I went to make some muffins and I was out of the mixes! My little boy started crying that he "needed" a muffin-man (as he calls them) so I got out a cookbook that I received from my sister and this was the first recipe I saw. It doesn't have any "extras" in it (chocolate chips, blueberries, etc.) but I think that's why my son loves them. And I actually like them too.

Brown Sugar Muffins1/2 c. soft butter or margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour

Mix all ingredients together until blended and batter is still somewhat lumpy. Bake in muffin tins at 350* for 15 minutes. (Sometimes, I rub a little bit of brown sugar on the top while they're still warm.) This makes about 2 dozen muffins so I usually half the recipe for our little family.

* Apple Cinnamon Rolls *

I am a terrible food blogger! To the two people who may check this blog, I am sorry! I have been trying new recipes lately and have forgotten to take pictures and I hate posting on a recipe blog without pictures so...I'm lame.

Anyways, onto the yummy recipe. I got this basic cinnamon roll recipe back in Young Women's and tweaked it a little by adding the apples (which I saw my dad do once back in the day). My hubby LOVES it with the apples so that how we always do it now. So, without further ado...

Apple Cinnamon Rolls
*1 pkg. active dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp.)
*1/2 c. warm water
*1/2 c. lukewarm milk
*1/3 c. sugar
*1/3 c. shortening, margarine, or butter softened (I use margarine)
*1 tsp. salt
*1 egg
*3 1/2 - 4 c. flour
*2 granny smith apples (or other tart variety)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl (I use my kitchenaid). Stir in milk, sugar, margarine, salt, egg, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth (about 3-5 min.) Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until dough has doubled in size (Usually about an hour). You could also use your favorite cinnamon roll dough recipe but try it with the apples, you won't be disappointed :)

While the dough is rising, core and peel your apples. Shred using grater and put into frying pan. Add a little margarine and cinnamon and fry apples until soft. Set aside to cool.

Sweet Roll Filling
*4 Tbs. margarine or butter softened
*1/2 c. sugar
*4 tsp. cinnamon

After dough has doubled, roll dough into a rectangle on lightly floured surface. Spread with softened margarine. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the entire dough rectangle (I don't use the entire cinnamon/sugar mixture...I probably only use about 1/2 of it). Sprinkle shredded, cooked apples on top of cinnamon mixture. Roll up tightly. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices using floss, thread, or serrated knife. Place slices onto cookie sheet and let rise again til double (30-45 min.). Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes. Spread tops with frosting or icing. We just use an icing glaze because Heathe is not a huge frosting fan. I make my glaze using powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.

Enjoy!!!

* The BEST Banana Bread Ever! *

My mom seriously makes the best Banana Bread EVER! I don't want to brag but I won a contest in Young Women's with this recipe (haha I'm so lame...) You definitely want to try this recipe...it is SO SO good!

Banana Bread
(Not the greatest picture...sorry! But it's still the best!)

*1 1/3 c. vegetable oil
*3 c. sugar
*4 eggs
*6 ripe bananas
*1 c. sour cream
*1 T. vanilla
*4 c. flour
*1 1/2 t. salt
*1 1/2 t. soda
*2 c. chopped nuts (opt.)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased and floured pans. Sprinkle sugar over the tops of the batter. Bake at 325* for 45-60 minutes. Cool completely and cover. Store in the refrigerator. (Makes 4 loaf pans)