Cheesy Mashed Potato Soup and French Bread

Cheesy Mashed Potato Soup

3 tsp. Chicken Bouillon
1 tsp. Salt
2 C. Water
3 Carrots
3 Stalks of Celery
3 Scallions

Bring water, salt and bouillon to a boil, add vegetables until soft.
Add:

2 C. Mashed Potatoes
1 - 2 C. Ham

Whisk 2 Tbs. of flour into 2 1/2 C. Milk and add to the soup when Potatoes are all incorporated.

Bring soup to a simmer then take off heat and add:

2 C. Grated Cheese

French Bread

1/2 C. Water
2 Tbs. Yeast
2 C. Hot Water
3 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Salt
1/3 C. Shortening
6 C. Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large mixing bowl combine hot water, sugar, salt and shortening and allow to stand until lukewarm. Add yeast and 3 C. Flour. Beat until smooth and well blended. Add remaining flour to make a soft dough that can still be mixed with a spoon. Allow to rest 10 min. Stir batter down. Rest again. Repeat 5 times.

Form dough into balls for bread bowls or shape into 2 loafs. Let it rise for 30 min. Bake at 400 for 35 min. or until done.
Megan Murdoch

Corn Bread

The best homemade corn bread I have tasted. Got it form my sister-in-law while in Utah.

Corn Bread

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. milk
1 can cream corn
1/2 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350* Cream together butter & sugar in a plastic bowl. Add eggs, mix in. Add rest of ingredients & mix. Pour into a greased 9x13 glass baking pan & bake for 40-45 min, or until golden brown. Serve with honey & butter. (recipe by Jenny Bates)

-Rebecca Fluhman

Easy Breadsticks

1 ½ c. warm/hot water

1 pkg. (1 Tbsp.) yeast

¼ c. sugar, or a little less

1 t. salt

3 c. flour (maybe a little more)

Mix well and roll to ½” thick. Cut into strips and roll in melted butter and put on jelly roll pan. Let rise a few minutes. Can sprinkle with Salad Supreme, garlic, parmesan cheese, or cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes. The tops won’t brown very much, so check the bottom to make sure they’re done.

Some Recipes from Karin

Hey girls! Here are a few fabulous recipe's I've recently discovered that I want to share.

Karin Dance :)

Spinach, Bacon, and Mushroom Quiche

(The best quiche recipe ever, especially cuz of the fab crust recipe I found)

Didn't it turn out pretty??? I'm so proud!

I discovered this on my new favorite website, AllRecipes.com. Click here if you want to see their quiche recipe, but I made few changes which I think make it better. Also, they just suggested using a store-bought crust. But, I found the most delicious crust recipe I have ever tasted in my life on their website (I took it from their Danish Pastry Apple Bars recipe). This crust is so fabulous--it makes all the difference. You'll want to use it with all you pies, etc. from now on, I tell you!

Ingredients:

• 6 slices bacon
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I didn't have swiss, so I used Mozzerella--although, I would have preferred Swiss. Also, I didn't put any cheese on top like the directions say, so I only grated 3/4 cups of both cheeses.)
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Pie Crust: (this makes a lot of dough, so you'll only use less than half of it. You can just save the rest in your fridge to make a pie or something later.)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shortening (I like butter for better taste, but shortening for flakiness. So, I did 2/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup shortening. It was much better this way than when I made this crust the last time with just butter).
• 1 egg yolk (Save the egg whites if you ever use this crust recipe for pie. You can whip the whites till they're frothy, then dust in onto the top pie crust with pastry brush before baking. This makes the pie come out beautiful and golden.)
• 1/2 cup milk
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening/butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I used frozen/cold stick of butter and use a cheese grater to grate the butter into the mixture. This makes it blend better). Beat egg yolk in measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2/3 cup total liquid. Stir into flour mixture until all flour is damp. Divide the dough in half. On floured surface, roll half the dough and mold into pie pan or tart pan (it's best to use a tart pan with removeable bottom. Much prettier effect.) Set pan aside (Put remaining dough in a container in fridge to use for another day/recipe).
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Sautee onions in olive oil until transparent and softened (the recipe didn't suggest cooking them first, but I added this step cuz I think it is a must--I don't like undercooked onions in things like this). Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whip together eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in bacon, spinach, mushrooms, onions, 3/4 cup Swiss cheese, and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Transfer to the pie crust. Top with remaining cheese (optional--I didn't do this because it's just more fat, and the quiche is much prettier without the cheese on top).
• Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 35 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned (I baked it in my new, large tart pan with a removeable bottom. The quiche was gorgeous when I removed the rim to serve it).

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Awww...look at my cute little loaf!

My in-laws gave us a wheat grinder for Christmas! I have a ton of wheat I've been wanting to try out, so I found this wheat bread recipe on my sister-in-law's blog (thanks, Lindsay!). It turned out great! Easy and healthy.

• Grind 4 1/2 cups wheat into flour.
• In mixer, place:
  2 1/2 cups warm/hot water
  1 tbsp. salt
  1/2 cup oil (or 1/4 cup, if adding flax seed. I used olive oil to be healthy.)
  1/3 cup honey
• Add half of flour (about 5 cups) and blend.
• Add:
  1/4 cup ground flaxseed (optional--I used this)
  1-2 tbsp. dough enhancer (optional--I don't have this, so I didn't use it.)
  1 tbsp SAF yeast (I just used regular yeast)
  Mix until blended.
• Add remaining flour just until dough pulls away cleanly from bottom of mixer. Mix for 10 minutes.
• While mixing, adjust oven racks so that loaves will rest in center of oven. Turn on oven to lowest temperature (mine was 170 degrees). Grease 2 8x4 inch loaf pans (I made one big loaf, and then 3 small loaves).
• Divide dough into 2 equal balls. Shape into loaves. Place into pans.
• Turn off oven. Place pans into oven evenly spaced. Let rise unitl 2-2 1/2 inches above pan. Remove dough from oven.
• Turn oven on to 350 degrees. Put dough back in and bake for 25-30 minutes (or longer for crustier bread).
• Remove from pans to cool.

Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from my Stake Women's Conference last month. It is to die for! This one's for you, Karlene :) This recipe makes a ton.

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (I actually got a COSTCO rotisserie chicken and used half of the meat from it for this soup. I saved the rest for another chicken recipe)
• 3 cans chicken broth
• 1 can beef broth
• 2 cans tomato soup
• 2 cans tomatoes (I used the tomatoes I canned from my garden last year. Sweet! Yes, I am the homemaking queen!)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1/2 onion, diced (I didn't happen to have an onion when I made this, so I used a green bell pepper instead)
• 1/2 C. fresh diced cilantro, chopped (This makes all the difference to me! I am obsessed with cilantro. Chop some extra to put on top of the soup for a yummy garnish.)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Turn down heat and let simmer for one hour at least.
• Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheddar, sour cream, guacamole, fresh cilantro, etc.

Nutmeg and Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

These muffins are even better the day after you make them if you keep them in an airtight container. Yeild: 12 muffins

Batter-

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs 3/4 cup milk

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small sauce pan, set aside (I just melt it in the microwave)

In large bowl beat eggs with a whisk. Add milk. Mix well.

In a different bowl combine dry ingredients. Add all at once to the egg and milk mix. Blend until smooth. Stir in melted butter.

Fill greased muffin cups almost to top.

Bake 20 minutes.

Topping-

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Prepare topping by melting butter. Set aside. Combine sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Remove warm muffins from tins. Dip in butter and rool in sugar mixture. YUMMY!

Megan Rencher

Rosemary Bread (Macaroni Grill)

I LOVE this stuff... It's easy to make, tastes fabulous, goes great with the black bean soup, and makes a smashing grilled cheese sandwich the next day.  

1 Tbsp. yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 c. warm water

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. rosemary (fresh chopped is best)

1 Tbsp. butter

Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl and let stand, allowing mixtures to grow big and bubbly.  Mix in butter, salt, and two cups of flour.  Add 1 Tbsp. rosemary.  Knead for about 10 minutes by hand, or 5 minutes in a food processor (I use my kitchenaid) until dough is smooth and elastic.  Add more flour if necessary.  Oil a bowl, place dough inside, cover and let rise for one hour until doubled.  Punch down dough and divide in half.  Let dough rest for 5 minutes.  Spray pan with cooking stray and shape the dough into 2 small round oval loaves.  Sprinke remaining Tbsp. rosemary over the loaves and press into surface.  Let loaves rise again until doubled (about 45 min.).  Preheat oven to 375 degrees, bake for 15-20 minute. Brush with extra butter if desired. 

Chrissy Parkinson

Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts(I didn't add these when I made it)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease and flour two 8 X 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (I actually cooked it for about 75 minutes.) Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Kelly P.

Amish White Bread

Amish White Bread

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

* 1/3 cup white sugar

* 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

* 1/4 cup vegetable oil

* 6 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS

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

2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth (I use a Kitchenaid mixer and let it knead the dough for me for about 10 minutes). 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.

3. 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.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

This isn't my grandma's bread recipe, but it reminds me of the bread she used to make all the time before she passed away. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. I adjusted the ingredients a little bit so the bread wasn't so sweet. Here's the original if you want to check it out.

Sara P.

Lion House Crescent Rolls

2 tablespoons yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, margarine, or butter
2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
1 egg
5 to 6 cups flour

Mix yeast and water and let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, shortening, salt, dry milk, egg, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Gradually add remaining flour till soft dough is formed. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl; cover and let rise till doubled. Punch down; divide into thirds. Roll out 1/3 of dough into a circle cut into 12 pie-shaped pieces. Starting at wide end, roll up each piece into crescent. Place on greased baking sheet with point on the bottom. Repeat with remainder of dough. Let rise until double. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Kelly P.