Apple Butter Jam

Apple Butter

10-12 Diced/peeled apples (about 14 cups)
2 c. apple cidar
3 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Place apples and cidar in crock pot, add sugar. Can fill pot with more apples, if they will fit. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 4 hours. Blend crock pot contents, along with cinnamon & cloves, until smooth. Return contents to crock pot and cook on low for 1 hour. Fill pint jars and process in water bath for 10 minutes.

Chicken Bacon Salad

Chicken Bacon Salad

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breast, cooked & cubed
1/2 lb. bacon
1/2-1 cup craisins
1/2-1 cup nuts, chopped
1 C. Mozzarella cheese, grated
Mixed greens (I used 1 bag spring mix & 1 bag of chopped romaine)

Dressing: (this usually makes a little more than you need)
1/4 of red onion, chopped
1/2 c. Red wine vinegar
1 c oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard

Serves 8-10. This is a very filling salad and can be served for a brunch or light lunch with rolls.

Wheat Bread w/hard white wheat

Wheat Bread

**I half this recipe since my mixer doesn't accomodate 10+ cups of flour. And when it's halved it makes 2 loaves.

6 c hot tap water
sprinkle 6 c. wheat

2 T salt
2T yeast
2T gluten
2T bread enchancer

2/3 c oil
2/3 c honey

Start adding more flour (abt 5-7 cups) until dough easily pulls off sides
* I realized that I was making this recipe with a little too little wheat, so add more until it's a doughy consistency.

knead with dough hook 5 min (if you have a kneading function, you don't need to knead on counter or place on counter).

oil counter (INSTEAD OF FLOUR), place dough on counter and divide into loaves. Spray pans, let dough double in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

Easy Way Cinnamon Rolls

2 3/4 c. warm water
pinch of sugar
2 pkg dry yeast
1 pkg of yellow/cake mix
2 eggs
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water w/pinch of sugar. Add cake mix and 2 eggs and mix well. Add enough flour to create a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes, then let rise in a large, greased bowl on the counter for 2-3 hours, overnite in the frig, or quick-rise in a preheated oven for about an hour till doubled in size. More later.....

Fool Proof Crescent Rolls

Makes 16 rolls

Combine 1/2 c. warm H2O, 1 Tblsp yeast (1 pkg.), & 1 tsp sugar. Set aside.

In a small bowl or glass measuring, cup, heat 1/2 c. water & 4 Tbl butter till melted. Put in large bowl & mix in 1/2 c. milk, 1/4 c. sugar, 1 tsp of salt, & 2 eggs. Stir in the yeast mixture.

Beat in 3 1/2 - 4 c. flour. Knead for a few minutes. Dough should still be sticky. Let raise until double in size either on the counter (2-3 hours) or overnite in the frig.

Dump dough out onto a well-floured board. Knead enough flour into dough until it is soft & manageable and not sticky. Divide dough in half and roll each piece into a flat circle 1/4" thick or size of large dinner plate. Spread with softened (or melted) butter & cut into 8 wedges. Starting at the large end, roll up each piece and place on a greased cookie sheet. Rolls should be close together so they are just not touching. 16 rolls can be fit onto a large cookie sheet. Let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes till doubled. Preheat oven to 375 and bake rolls for 10 to 15 minutes, till golden. Check halfway through, maybe rotate cookie sheet, and be careful not let them burn. They can be left to cool on the cookie sheet till serving time.

To speed-raise these rolls, preheat oven to 250, turn off, loosely cover the dough with greased tin foil or plastic wrap, and place in the oven. Dough can raise this way for 40-60 minutes. The formed rolls can raise this way for 15-20 minues. Take out before doubled because they will continue to raise while the oven is preheating. Pre-heat oven to 375 and bake as above. Recipe can easily be doubled. If you want larger rolls, divide the doubled dough in to 3 pieces instead of 4.

Johnny Cake aka coconut muffins

This is a recipe I got from the chef at Cat Cay. After Scott treated him for kidney stones, he offered to help us in any way. Later in the week, I asked him for this recipe, which they often served for the dinner bread. I did scale it down quite a bit, so this is a manageable size. And I'm not totally sure of the cooking time since I was setting my timer 5 minutes at a time.

4 c. flour
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 3/4 T butter (room temp)
1/4 c. shortening
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. coconut
1 3/4 c. water
*And I added a can of drained crushed pineapple

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter
and shortening and then add water, coconut, & pineapple.

Fill muffin liners and/or tins about 2/3 full and I sprinkle each with a little sugar. Cook at 350 degrees. I'd start at 25 minutes and check it after every few minutes until tooth pick comes out clean.

Penne Pasta w/Mozzerella, Basil, & Tomato

Nicole requested that I post this recipe. It's one I found in a magazine and make it quite often since it's so simple. I ocassionally add sausage slices, but usually eat it veggie style. I'll note my alterations below.


1 lb penne pasta 8 oz. mozzerella cheese
2 T olive oil 2 pts. grape tomatoes, halved
1 T minced garlic 1/4 c. sliced fresh basil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Cook pasta. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook for 30 sec. Stir in halved tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add 1/3 c. water from pasta pot to skillet. Bring mixture to boil. Stir in salt and pepper. Drain past and stir in tomato mixture. Add basil and diced mozzerella last, so it doesn't melt too much.

**I usually just use string cheese and dried basil in this recipe. And I've also begun doubling the ingredients for the sauce (everything but the pasta) so there's more sauce to mix with the pasta.