Cute Easter Rolls

Cute Bunny Buns! I saw this on one of the blogs I stalk and thought you might like to make some too!

What you need:

Your favorite roll recipe or this bread recipe

Roll dough into rope. Twist into a loop with ends over lapped at top, to make bunny body. Then place a small ball of dough on top for tail. Let rise then bake at 350 for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Brush with butter while warm. Enjoy!

For better directions go here.

Tasteful Tuesday

Here is the promised cornbread recipe. It took me half a lifetime to find a cornbread recipe that I like. To me, most cornbread is dry and not tastey. This however, is moist, sweet and delicious! Now, it is probably not the most healthy cornbread around but everyone I have shared it with loves it. I even won an award at our ward chili cook-off. So, a BIG thanks to my good friend Sarah for sharing it with me....my life hasn't been the same since!

Omaha Cornbread

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups bisquick

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Mix all together and pour into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min. This is much better cool.

Tasteful Tuesday

I love home made bread. I love the smell while it is cooking and I love it hot out of the oven with butter and jam, YUM! I DON'T like paying over $3 a loaf for mediocre bread at the store! So, I decided to start making all my bread at home. I know, you are all thinking I am crazy. However, I feel much better about this stuff going into my kids tummies than some of that other stuff. My mother in law has a good wheat bread recipe that I used to make occasionally. When I decided to make my own bread, I wanted it to be whole wheat. Thankfully my kids aren't opposed to eating it. Then I stumbled on this great 100% Whole Wheat bread that takes about an hour to make. What made it even better is that my husband bought me this great wheat grinder for my birthday! Now, we buy our wheat in bulk and I grind it fresh when I am ready to make bread. This is much cheaper than paying $3.50 for a 5lb bag of wheat flour.

It has taken me a while to get this recipe down...not because it is hard but because I was letting it rise too long. I would make it at a friend's house on our baking day and it would be soo good. Then I would come home and try it and it would crumble all over the place. It is a very moist bread and it would still be crumbly. So, if you have problems with that, just don't let it rise as long. I really only let it rise for the 15 min. It ends up being in about the middle of my bread pan when I turn the oven on. It rises very nicely to the top of the pan once the oven is turned on for baking. Now that I have it all figured out, I am in bread heaven. 100% Whole Wheat Bread, no preservatives or other icky stuff and it is made in about an hour. Can't beat that!

100% Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast

3/4 Tablespoon dough enhancer (if you have it)

6 cups whole wheat flour (you can do part white, part wheat if you want)

3/4 Tablespoon salt

Preheat oven to 170, then turn oven off. Mix all together in mixer and knead 8 min. Remove from mixer and knead a few times by hand on oiled counter. Place into greased loaf pans, put into warm oven and let rise 15-30 min. Leaving pans in oven, turn oven on to 350 and start timer for 25 min. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Makes 2 loaves.

**I don't have the dough enhancer so I bought some gluten flour and I add a few tablespoons of that.

Tasteful Tuesday

Today I am posting another snack recipe. I am always on the look out for a quick easy snack for the kids. This is one that they can help make. These really were very tasty. I also posted a recipe for Tuscan-Lentil Soup on my food blog. Mike and I thought it was very good and talk about a great powerhouse dinner....full of lentils and veggies. Our oldest ate it up and thought it was good...the others, not so much. Hope you have a great day!

Quick, Soft Pretzels

1/2 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons yeast

1 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 cups flour

Combine water and yeast until bubbly. Then add rest of ingredients. You want to incorporate as much of the flour as you can. Let dough rest 5 min. Divide into 10-12 balls. Roll into ropes and twist into pretzel shape. You can then use milk to paint over the top with pastry brush and then top with coarse salt or you can do an egg wash (1 egg white with 1 Tablespoon water). These are also yummy topped with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 400 for 15-18 min. on a lightly greased cookie sheet. These make a great snack or even a quick bread to go with dinner.

Tasteful Tuesday

Today's recipe is for my favorite banana bread and it comes from my mother in law. I think everyone has one that is their favorite but it is fun to change it up sometimes. We are not really big ans of nuts in bread, but if you like them you could go ahead and add them with the dry ingredients. I love the cinnamon in this bread. I recently took this for cub scout snacks and both loaves were gone in about 3 min. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Brenda's Banana Bread

Sift together:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, mix:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup oil

2 cups mashed bananas (5-6)

3 eggs, beaten

Add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix well. Pour into greased loaf pans and let stand 20 min. (no idea why). Bake at 350 for 50-60 min, depending on pan size

Tasteful Tuesdays

For those of you who know me really well, you know two things by now. One, I am fairly bad at blogging regularly. Two, I love to cook....anything, especially really yummy bad for you stuff! So, even though I haven't wanted to for some time, I decided to start a weekly reader called Tasteful Tuesdays. Doing so will get me to post something mildly useful (hopefully) weekly and allow me to fulfill my wildest dreams in the kitchen. One noticeable mention. I am not a great photographer...that domain falls again to my most talented hubby (is there anything the guy can't do?) so the pictures of my really yummy bad for you stuff will probably leave you with something to be desired. Please don't use my poor photo skills as an excuse to not try these tempting recipes!
I am choosing to start off with my most favorite bread recipe, which I got off another blog (sorry I can't remember where) and which I make usually at least twice a week. It is great because it only takes about an hour for fabulous results. The recipe for this bread allows you to use the dough for 3 different tasties: breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, and fabulous braided bread. I however, have a different recipe for cinnamon rolls and therefore only use this recipe for breadstick and braided bread. I usually make this recipe in a big bowl, stirring by hand but you can use the mixer. If you try it out, drop me a note and let me know what you think!

Fabulous Bread

2 cups warm water

2 Tablespoons yeast

1/2 cup sugar

Let sit while yeast dissolves. then add:

3 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Mix well and add

1 egg

1/4 cup olive or canola oil

2 1/2-3 cups flour, added one at a time(you want it to be a very soft bread but not too sticky)

Knead on an oiled counter. Let rise 30 min. If you are making breadsticks*, do that now. If you are making bread, divide into 3 pieces, roll into ropes, braid. The recipe will make 2 braided loaves or 2 sheets full of breadsticks (I usually make one of both) Place on greased cookies sheet and let rise 30 min. Then bake 15 min. at 375 degrees.

*if you want really great breadsticks, place one cube of butter on a sheet with sides. Put into oven while warming. Pull out when butter is melted and sprinlke on some garlic powder and grated parmesean cheese. Then put the cut breadsticks on the sheet, rolling in butter and then twisting. Bake for 15 min.

Next week I'll have some great brownies with cookie dough frosting....who doesn't love cookie dough and brownies?!