Zucchini Bread

This recipe is awesome. I like to make miniature loaves out of it. for some reason, they taste better smaller...

Recipe from allrecipes.com by V Monte
With my adaptations.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 t. Salt
1 t. Baking soda
1 t. Baking powder
2 t. Cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 t. Vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1/4-1/2 cup applesauce (honestly, I never measure)

Grease 2 8x4 inch pans. (or if you are me 1 8x4 and 2 mini pans) preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon together. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, apple sauce and sugar together in large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in zucchini until combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for a few minutes then finish cooling on wire rack.

Best eaten within a day. If you plan on keeping it for more than 2 days, it should probably be refrigerated.

Banana Banana Bread

You read that right. Double bananas equals double flavor.

Recipe from allrecipes.com by Shelley Albeluhn

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 t. Baking soda
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 cups butter
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed over ripe bananas
( I never measure my bananas. that would be messy. I just add them until it looks like the right amount. I haven't seen it make a big difference)
chopped walnuts, optional

in a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture, just until moistened. pour batter into greased 9x5 loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

The Best Dinner Rolls

A couple of years ago I was at a friends house and had some of the best dinner rolls I've ever tasted. Of course, I insisted upon the recipe. Mine don't ever taste as good as hers do, but they are still dang good.

Recipe fills approximately 1 9x13 pan.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 c. Milk (mixture of half evaporated, half regular milk.)
1 half stick butter
2 T. Yeast (dissolved in 1/4 c. Water)
1/4 c. Sugar
1 1/2 t. Salt
4 c. Flour

cook or microwave the butter and milk together until butter is melted. cool just slightly while beating 2 eggs in mixer. add the butter mixture and yeast. mix well. mix dry ingredients separately, then add half at a time to bowl. Knead dough very well. Dough will be sticky. Let rise until double. Shape into rolls and place in greased pan. Cover and let rolls rise. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Gingerbread Men

Somewhere between the 4 cookies that I just ate in the last 5 minutes, I realized that I haven't yet posted this recipe. This is something that we look forward to making every Christmas season. Traditionally we just cut out gingerbread men and decorate them but this year we decided to get a little more diverse. that's the fun part. You can do whatever you want with them.

Ingredients:
3 c. flour
2 t. ginger
1 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Baking soda
1/4 t. Nutmeg
1/4 t. Salt
3/4 c. Butter
3/4 c. Brown sugar
1/2 c. Molasses
1 egg
1 t. Vanilla

Directions:
beat butter and sugar. Add molasses egg and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients. ( gradually). Refrigerate until stiff. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut in shapes. If you want to make ornaments out of them, use a straw to punch a hole in the top. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once they are cool you can frost and decorate. For the icing I just mix together powdered sugar, vanilla, a little milk, and sometimes almond extract. I don't have exact measurements, I just add the powdered sugar until it's really thick. Then I scoop the icing into a baggie, zip it up and snip a tiny bit of the bottom corner to squeeze it out. we use little candies and sprinkles for decoration.

If you like your gingerbread cookies more crispy, you can bake for a little longer. they will also get harder as they set. I like to just leave mine out until they harden a little.

Fluffy flaky biscuits

Recipe from stolenmomentscooking.com.
Fluffy & Flaky Biscuits
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter, frozen
1/2 – 1 c. milk
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
2. Quickly grate the frozen butter on a cheese grater.
3. cut butter into flour mixture.
4. Pour in the milk, starting with just a half cup and adding more as needed until the dough comes together. You want the dough to be soft, but not too soft to handle.
5. Pour the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead for just a minute.
6. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Fold it on top of itself to make 3 or 4 layers. Roll out again and fold into thirds or fourths. Repeat at least one or two more times.
7. For the final rolling of the dough, leave it about an inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter or glass.
8. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top. Fold remaining dough back together and roll out again. Repeat process until done.
Makes about 8 biscuits...give or take, depending on how big you make them.