Elephant Ears (Deep Fried raised Dough)

 This is my father's recipe from many years ago. Always a family favorite.  It is a LARGE batch. For a smaller batch you may want to halve it. I am adding it as I recieved it in its original form as that is the recipe I can attest to.  This recipe makes soft fluffy fried dough.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

5 TBSP sugar

5 TBSP shortening

2 Tablespoons salt

2 packets of active dry yeast

2 cups warm water

6 cups all purpose flour

2 qrts vegitable oil for frying

for dusting the tops: confectionary surgar or cinnamon and sugar

Instructions:

Scald milk, add sugar, shortening and salt, Mix then let cool to a lukewarm temp. In a large bowl add yeast to warm water and let dissolve. Once dissolved, add milk mixture and two cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  STIR in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough.  Knead until smooth and elastic. (8-10 minutes.)

Place in a greased bowl, (making sure to grease the top of the dough.) Cover and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.  Generally about an hour.

Heat cooking oil to 375 degrees F.

Divide the dough into about 8 balls. (Depending on size you want the actual "ears" to be.) Roll/stretch out in the shape of an elephant ear.  Deep fry 3-5 minutes on each side-until golden brown. Remove from oil and rub one side in either confectionary surgar or cinnamon-sugar mixture.

(We like to melt butter and brush butter on one side before sugaring.)

Fun fact: Smaller versions of elephant ears are called "mouse ears", so make sure you make some mouse ears for the littles in the family.

Crock Pot Ranch Chicken Over Rice

Full of flavor and very filling this is one meal that will be a regular at our table.  I was delighted with how this turned out. It is not for lovers of bland food that's for sure. 

INGREDIENTS:

4 Boneless/skinless chicken breasts

2 TBLSP butter + another 2 TBLSP butter

Seasoned Salt

1 pk Ranch Dressing Mix (I use Hidden Valley Brand)

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup

8 oz cream cheese cubed

1/2 cup chicken stock 

1/4 teaspoon dried Oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried Parsley

1-2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

1) Prepare chicken (trim any fat, wash and pat dry) place evenly in bottom of crock pot.

2) LIGHTLY sprinkle seasoned salt over chicken.

3) Sprinkle ranch dressing mix over the chicken.

4) Melt 2 TBLSP butter and drizzle over chicken.

5) Cook on high for 1 1/2 - 2 hours then lower to low for an hour (You could also cook on low for 4 hours.)

6) In a medium saucepan melt the other 2 TBLSP along with the minced garlic.

7) Add the cream of chicken soup, cubed cream cheese, chicken stock, oregano and parsley and whisk until smooth over medium heat.

8) Add mixture to crock pot, cover and cook on low for another 1 1/2 hours. ( I stirred occasionally.)

9) Serve over cooked rice and enjoy!!!

Chicken Parm Nuggets

These chicken parm nuggets are awesome. Even my very picky almost 7 year old loves them!  They have been added to our regular menu.

Ingredients:

Boneless/skinless chicken- (Either 3-4 breasts cut in nugget size or already cut fresh chicken tenders halved.)

1 pkg (mozzarella) string cheese sticks

2 eggs

1/2 - 1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cups Italian bread crumbs

1/4 grated Parmesan cheese

vegetable (or canola) oil for frying

Directions:

First prepare your breading pans.

You'll need one pan/bowl with your flour, the second with the eggs scrambled and mixed well and the third with the Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese mixed well.  Set aside.

Cut your cheese. I cut each stick in threes and then each third the long way. You'll need the same number of cheese chunks as nugget pieces.

Now, get your prepared chicken.  At one end make a slice in the middle. (I use my finger to widen the slice.)  Then slide a piece of the cheese into the opening. (How easy was that?)

Once you have all of your chicken nuggets stuffed coat them evenly first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the parm/bread crumb mixture and set aside.

Heat oil, about an inch deep in a skillet on medium heat. When hot, add chicken to oil let brown lightly on one side then turn and let brown on the other. Remove to a paper towel covered plate.

These tasty nuggets can be served with marina/spaghetti sauce for dipping in or served over spaghetti/pasta with sauce and they are awesome on their own!

Lasagna Roll-Ups

I love my lasagna and didn't really think that I'd find anything I liked better. I'd seen numerous post with various lasagna roll-ups but they didn't make me want to run out and try them. But they did inspire me to turn my own lasagna into a roll up and I have to say OMG good!!!! I served it up with some home made cheesy garlic bread and was in heaven!!  This recipe makes about 15 roll-ups. Good for big family gatherings. It would be easy to scale down or go ahead and make them up and freeze the rolls for a quick supper later on. It is a little time consuming but well worth it for the taste. These hold together so much better than regular lasagna, you just can't beat them.

Ingredients:

1 box (1lb) lasagna noodles boiled
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 8 oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 8 oz bag shredded cheddar cheese
grated Parmesan cheese
abt 1/2 pound browned ground beef
abt 1/2 pound browned Italian sausage (I only use Gianelli hot Italian)
2 cans of Hunts spaghetti sauce  (24 oz cans)

I use a 9x13 casserole dish and am able to get 9 roll-ups in it comfortably.
First add half a can of sauce to the casserole dish to cover the bottom.

You're going to need a clean flat surface to put your roll ups together. Spread a lasagna noodle out flat. Spoon a thin layer of ricotta down the noodle leaving about half an inch on each end to roll. Next sprinkle some shredded cheese thinly over the ricotta, the cheddar over that and sprinkle Parmesan over that. (You can honestly say it's a four cheese lasagna.)

I mix my ground beef and sausage together in a bowl just make sure it's finally ground/crumbled after cooked. You want small pieces. Crumble this down the length of the noodle over the cheese. Next, I drizzle a small amount of the sauce down the length over the meat and then we're ready to roll.

Starting at one end roll your noodle. Expect a bit of your filling to find it's way out of the side of your noodle as your rolling. (I don't think you're doing it right if you don't make a bit of a mess.) You want it tight enough that it's going to hold it's shape, but be careful not to get it so tight it rips your noodle apart.

Place your lasagna roll in the dish with the sauce, and you're ready to make the next one. Once your dish is filled, cover the roll ups with the remaining sauce (I sprinkled on some more Parmesan over the top,) and you are ready to bake-you'll want your oven preheated to 450 degrees.

 Cover the pan with tin foil, slightly tenting it over the roll ups so that it is not touching.  Bake for about 35 minutes remove from oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over each one and replace in oven just long enough for cheese to melt.  For appearances before serving sprinkle a little Italian seasoning over the top  and enjoy!! They are definitely worth the time and energy!!

To freeze: just add the roll ups (without the sauce) to a freezer  bag and you've got yourself a fast easy meal later on.

Fruit Crisp Dump Cake (Cherry/Pineapple)

This is where fruit crisp meets fruit cobbler. I favor crisp over cobbler, so when I saw the recipe for a 'dump cake' that claimed to be of cobbler quality I saw the opportunity to join the two together. There's variations and other tweaks I'd like to try with the basic idea of this recipe, but I have enjoyed this take on it.

Ingredients:

For the Crisp:

1 cup quick oats (oat meal)
1 cup flour
1 cup PACKED brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup MELTED butter


For the 'dump cake':

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter


Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix the ingredients for the Crisp. It should be nice and crumbly. Press 1/3 of the crisp into the bottom of your lightly greased pan. I used a bundt cake pan. Spread the can of cherries atop the crisp evenly. Spread the pineapple over that. Sprinkle the DRY cake mix over the fruit ,covering it completely and evenly. Cut the butter into square (pats) and spread them out over the cake mix. Take the remanding crisp and sprinkle over the top.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the crisp is nice and brown and the cake mix under is 'cooked'.

Serve warm, topped with whipped cream or with ice cream. I can't wait to try this with other fruits!

Chicken Parm and Spaghetti

Chicken Parm and Spaghetti

Having never made chicken parmesan I searched through Pintrest looking at a handful of recipes but couldn't settle on one that really did it for me. However, I got the gist of what it was meant to be and set about making my own. I was pleased with how it turned out, and it looked awesome as you can see. I will certainly be adding this as a regular meal now.  I served it atop spaghetti and made my own fresh garlic cheesy bread to go with it.

My ingredients:

6 thin cut boneless/skinless chicken breasts.
Spaghetti sauce (I use the Hunts in the can. About a can(24 oz) and a half is what I ended up using.)
1 package Marcum Chicken seasoning. (You can use your favorite chicken breading/bread crumbs. I prefer the Marcum seasoning. I love the taste and it's simple.)
about 1/2 cup milk (for coating)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Italian seasoning
vegetable/canola oil for frying
(I'm not using measurements as it's mostly eyeballing and preference.)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
In one pan, pour the milk, in a second pan spread the seasoning/coating of your choice. Place the chicken breasts in the milk to coat them making sure you get both sides, then place them in the coating/seasoning making sure the breading coats the chicken evenly and set aside.

In a skillet heat the oil, you need enough oil to cover half the thickness of the chicken breast. Once the oil is hot, cook each breast browning both sides and set on a paper towel covered plate.

In a casserole dish (9x13) empty one can of the spaghetti sauce. (Or enough sauce to cover to the dish.) Place the chicken spaced out in the dish and spoon sauce over the tops. Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the chicken covering the entire length of each breast. Cover that with the shredded mozzarella. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the mozzarella. Bake 25-30 minutes until sauce is bubbling and cheese in nicely melted.

Serve overtop cooked spaghetti or your favorite pasta!!

Cinnamon Honey Puffs

                    Cinnamon Honey Puffs

These are inspired by a recipe I saw on Pintrest and a recipe I already used for Loukemathes. Combining the two I came up with this sweet and easy concoction.

Ingredients:

1 can of Grands Homestyle biscuits
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
A deep fryer or a medium pot and corn/canola oil for frying
Cinnamon and sugar mixture

Directions:

Get the oil heating up in your deep fryer/pan.
Cut your biscuits in quarters place them in the hot oil.  They will float so you'll have to turn them once one side is nice and golden brown. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate.
As I'm frying my dough I like to get my honey syrup started: Heat the honey, water and sugar together till well blended and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, but don't let the syrup get too cool. Place the cooked dough quarters in the honey syrup and roll to cover entire ball. (I let mine sit for a few seconds on both sides to absorb a little of the syrup.) Remove and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and store in an airtight container. I find that these are best warm, but they also do well being reheated in the microwave for a few seconds.