Delicious Dinner Rolls for a Crowd

1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups of warm water
about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
at least 1 cup of butter

In a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.

Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.

Stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Once your milk mixture is cooled down to lukewarm, add the yeast mixture.

Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added). Work the flour in by adding 2 cups at time and stirring well. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.

At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir. You can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it rise until doubled in size.

When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.

Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking (I love to use my pastry cloth). Divide the dough into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.

Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.

Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter. Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough. Roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle. Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven until they are golden brown, about 13 – 15 minutes.

While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

adapted from: How Does She

Baked Oatmeal

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
Additional milk

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar,
baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk
and butter. Stir into oat mixture until blended.

Spoon into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or
until set. Serve warm with milk. Yield: 9 servings.

Audrey's little note: I halved this recipe and put it in a muffin tin, baked for @ 20 minutes: yum.

from: Taste of Home

Steph's Salsa

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons vinegar
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cumin (start with half & add to taste)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1 can green chiles (optional)

Add ingredients to blender and pulse until you have the consistency you like.

adapted from: Stephanie's recipe