One-Hour Dinner Rolls

1 1/2 cups non-fat milk
3 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons sugar
4- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon rapid rise/quick rise yeast (or if you have packets, one packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) will work just fine)
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 egg at room temp (place in a bowl of warm water for at least 5 minutes)
additional melted butter (a few tablespoons) for brushing on at end

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place milk, butter, and sugar in a microwavable container and heat for about 2 minutes. You want this mixture to be between 120-130 degrees, for best results use a digital instant read thermometer to gauge the temperature.

While the mixture is heating, combine 3 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. When milk mixture is heated to about 125 degrees, add to the flour mixture and start to beat. Add egg and continue to beat until everything is combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and then add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time. I almost always add 4 1/4 cups total. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

Place remaining flour on a cutting board or silicone mat (or additional flour, if you used all of yours in the dough) and very gently scrape out the dough using a spatula. Dust the top of your dough with flour and then using your hands, lightly pat the dough into a rectangle.

Score the dough into sections (24 for dinner roll size) and gently form portions into balls. Place in a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray. Let dough rest for 20-30 minutes until puffed and almost double in size.

Bake rolls in preheated oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter.

from: Our Best Bites

Dressed Up Tomato Soup

1 can Tomato Soup
1 can diced tomatoes
chicken boullion
salt & pepper

Puree the diced tomatoes in a blender, pour into a saucepan with the soup over medium heat. Sprinkle in boullion, salt & pepper to taste, stir and bring to a simmer. Enjoy!

Audrey's little note: this soup is so fast & easy, and awesome with grilled cheese!

Best Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper, finely ground
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, balsamic, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Add the oil and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue whisking until the dressing is fully emulsified.

Store in a jar with a lid and refrigerate. Shake well before serving. Enjoy!

from: Barefeet in the Kitchen

Greek Tacos

2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
1 cup diced red onion (divided)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 lb ground turkey
1 tbsp + 1 tsp oregano (divided)
1 ½ tsp black pepper (divided)
1 tsp kosher salt (divided)
½ cup sun dried tomatoes
1 cup cherry tomatoes (quartered)
1 cup cucumber (diced)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 pita breads
½ cup feta cheese crumbles
1 tbsp fresh mint (chopped)
1 lemon (sliced into 6 wedges)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add 1 tbsp olive oil.

Sauté ½ cup of onions in the olive oil for 4-5 minutes, add the garlic, saute 1 minute, add the turkey. Cook the turkey through, drain any grease, then add 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp black pepper, ½ tsp kosher salt and sun dried tomatoes. Simmer on low for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the remaining ½ cup of onions with the cherry tomatoes and cucumber.
In a small bowl whisk the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil with the red wine vinegar, lemon juice and remaining 1 tsp oregano, ½ tsp black pepper and ½ tsp kosher salt. Pour this mixture over the tomato cucumber salsa and toss to combine.

Warm the pita bread in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30-60 seconds on each side.

Add the cooked ground turkey to the pita bread, top with the cucumber tomato salsa, feta cheese and fresh mint. Serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over the tacos.

from: whitneybond.com

Rhubarb Pie

4 c. chopped rhubarb
1 1/3 c. white sugar
6 T. all-purpose flour
1 T. butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of the mixture over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour mixture. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust.

Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350° F, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Audrey's little note: If desired, you can make this recipe into 4-6 half-pint jar pies (you'll need a bit more pastry if you want to do 6). I followed the instructions found here to assemble the pies, then followed the baking instructions above.

from: Allrecipes

Grandma Darlene's Pecan Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, stir together, then set aside:
1 1/4 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. shredded coconut

In a mixer:
2 room temperature egg whites (be sure you don't have any yolk left in them!)
1/8 t. salt

Whip until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in until incorporated:
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 t. vanilla
1 t. Karo Syrup

Fold nut mixture into egg white mixture until well mixed.

Drop batter on parchment paper, place 1/2 nut on the top of each cookie. Bake 13-15 minutes, watch closely. The cookies are done when they're lightly brown on the edges & tops.

from: Grandma Darlene

Coconut "Rumbi" Rice

2 c. long grain white rice
2 1/2 c. water
1 (14oz) can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

Combine water, coconut milk, beans and sugar in a pot. When it starts boiling, stir in rice and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, until rice is tender. Fluff with a large serving spoon and remove from heat. (Or just put it all in a rice cooker!)

adapted from: The Mama's Girls

Coconut Lime Chicken

6 halves skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp canola oil
zest of 1 large lime
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 - 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp curry powder
3/4 cup canned coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place chicken in a gallon zip top bag and flatten them uniformly with a meat pounder.

In a bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients together: oil, lime zest, cumin, soy sauce, salt, sugar, curry powder, coconut milk, and lime juice. This marinade may taste pretty salty to you right now, but once we put it over the chicken and rice, it will balance out. Pour the marinade over the chicken in the zip top bag, squeeze the air out and allow to marinade at least 30 minutes, or preferably up to 2 hours in the fridge.

After marinating, grill the chicken over moderately high heat in a pan with a bit of cooking spray or canola oil in it. Get the pan really hot before you add the meat - you want it to sear. Allow to sit without moving it for several minutes on each side until just cooked. The time will depend on the thickness of the meat. While cooking the meat,  add the marinade to a small saucepan and bring to a full boil for at least 2-3 minutes. (This is sufficient to kill the bacteria in it.)

Serve the chicken and a drizzle of the sauce over rice with chopped cilantro and fresh lime wedges.  This is a very important part, as these flavors bring balance and brightness to the dish.

Note: I served this with Coconut "Rumbi" Rice, so good!

Note #2: This recipe also works with SHRIMP!! 

from: Menu Musings

Bison Bacon Chili

6 oz uncured bacon
1 lb grass fed bison
½ onion diced
2 large carrots
1 bell pepper
2 T chili powder
½ T cumin
½ T paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
sea salt and pepper to taste
15 oz can tomato sauce (no sugar added)
15 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup GF chicken broth

Heat pot to medium high and add chopped bacon. Stir occasionally until crispy. Remove with slotted spoon onto paper towels.

Add chopped onion, carrots, bell pepper, and jalapeno to bacon fat; cook for 7 minutes.

Add bison to veggies and break apart. Cook for 10 minutes.

Add spices and garlic and mix well, add broth, tomatoes, and sauce and stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

When ready to serve, stir in 3/4 of cooked bacon. Garnish with remaining bacon, chopped avocado and cilantro (optional).

Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lbs extra-lean ground turkey
1 tsp clove garlic, minced
½ cup onions, diced
1 ½ cup sweet potato, diced
Salt and pepper
A pinch of chili pepper
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh parsley for garnishing

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add ground turkey and garlic. Stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes. Add onions and cook until onions are gold brown. Add the sweet potato, chili pepper, salt and pepper.

Cover the skillet and cook until they are tender. Don’t forget to stir occasionally. If necessary, add more olive oil or a little bit of water to cook the sweet potato.

While the sweet potato is cooking pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. When the sweet potato is tender, add shredded mozzarella cheese and bring the skillet to the oven to melt the cheese. When the cheese melts, remove from the oven and garnish with parsley.

from: Primavera Kitchen