Life kicked in!

Sorry that things have slowed down around here. I started school this week, so I'm a little over-scheduled. School 4 nights a week, and still working at Starbucks 5-6 mornings a week. Eek!

I've been using some of my free time to hand-write all of my recipes on 3x5 index cards. Up until now, they were written mostly on sticky notes and scrap paper and stuck inside of my 1975 Betty Crocker cookbook that I inherited from my maternal grandmother. However, last year my paternal grandmother gave me a recipe box and she started sending me her old recipes. I figured it was time to add my own!

Some of my granny's recipes are 100 years old, and come from HER granny. I promise I'll take the time to share them with you in the coming weeks. The most famous is written below, they are delicious!

REFRIGERTOR ROLLS

-1 cup hot water
-6 Tablespoons shortening
-¼ cup sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 egg, well beaten
-1 package dry yeast
-¼ cup lukewarm water
-3 ½ - 4 cups flour

In a large bowl, pour the hot water over the shortening and stir until the shortening dissolves. Stir in the sugar, set aside and let it cool to lukewarm. Whisk in the salt and egg.

Dissolve the package of yeast into the lukewarm water, add to the shortening mixture.

Gradually stir in enough of the flour to make an easily handled dough, until it forms a ball. Be careful not to add too much flour, you want it sticky. Use the remaining flour to knead the dough until it springs back when touched.

Let dough rest while you wash your bowl and grease it.

Place dough in bowl, then turn it over in the bowl so the top is greased. Cover bowl with wax paper or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. * Punch down and pinch off 2" balls to form into rolls.

Place rolls in a greased or non-stick pan, fairly close together (like biscuits). Cover and let rise until doubled in size (when they rise, they should be touching).

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425 for 10-12 minutes. Just before serving, lightly brush the tops with melted butter. Serve hot.

*At this point, dough can be covered and stored in refrigerator for future use. Punch down daily while stored.

Makes 18 – 24 rolls.

Lemon Icing Cookies

1 box lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
juice from one lemon

Mix and drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 to 9 minutes. Let cool completely. Ice with store bought lemon icing.

Peach Mango Sorbet

It's bowl-licking good! (No kidding, I stood over the kitchen sink with a spatula and scraped that sucker clean)

You will need:

-3 large ripe mangos

-3 large ripe peaches

-3/4 c sugar

-Juice of 2 large lemons

-1/4 c corn syrup

-2 c cold water

-1/4 c peach or mango liqueur (or peach or mango vodka, any flavored alcohol will do)

Peel the fruit and cut into large, managable chunks. Toss in a bowl with the lemon juice and sugar, let it sit for about an hour.

Add the fruit and juices from the bowl to your food processor or blender, pulse on a low speed until mashed. With the power on low, slowly add the corn syrup, cold water and alcohol until completely pureed. Transfer to your ice cream maker, follow the instructions and transfer to containers to freeze for at least an hour.

If you don't want to use any alcohol, you can just take it out and add another quarter cup of corn syrup. This will help keep it a little more gooey and not too hard and icy.

Time for a change?

I've been thinking about this blog, and it might be time for a change. My quest to become a Martha Follower has taken me down a different path, and the blog has become much more collaborative over the past few months.

So, leave a comment with new name ideas, and any other changes you think it could use. I'd like to see it become even more of a shared place for recipes, suggestions, improvements, etc...

Key Lime Pie

I'm not sure why we call this pie Key Lime, because there are none in it, but it's still delicious and the name stuck. It's always a hit and there is never any left. I wish I had a picture to post of it....It's the easiest thing in the world to make!

2 graham cracker pie crusts
1 large coolwhip thawed to room temp
1 small frozen limeade
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
few dashes lemon juice
few drops green food coloring
(lime slices for garnish)

Mix together cool whip, limeade, milk, lemon juice and food coloring until completely smooth, no lumps. Put into pie crusts. Top with lime slices in the middle. Refrigerate for several hours.

Orzo salad with dill vinaigrette

This turned out to be a tasty addition to our little backyard party last night! When I first tasted the orzo/vinegerette combination, I was afraid that it wasn't flavorful enough. However, when tossed with the veggies and cheese, it was fantastic!

(The picture comes from Nicolle, who apparently took this shot of the leftovers we sent her home with last night!)

-3/4 lb orzo, cooked al dente
-1/4 c chopped fresh dill
-1/4 c white wine vinegar
-2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
-3 tbsp Dijon mustard
-1/2 c olive oil
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-2 cucumbers, cut into cubes
-1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
-1 pint feta cheese, crumbled

Using a food processor, blender or stick blender, combine the dill, vinegars and mustard together until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil, then salt and pepper, blend again. Toss the dressing with the still-warm orzo, cover and throw into the fridge to chill.

Just before serving, toss the vegetables and feta cheese with the pasta. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh dill, if desired.

(I encourage you to come up with your own variations - for example, goat cheese instead of feta, or adding bell peppers to up the flavor, or maybe adding tarragon to the dressing. There are a ton of options out there!)

Empanadas

This is a little time consuming, but super easy! You will need a rotisserie chicken, a bottle of green taco sauce, shredded cheese, and 4 uncooked pie crusts. Shred the chicken and mix it with the entire bottle of taco sauce. Cut out circles in the pie crusts. Place the chicken mixture and cheese in the middle of each circle. Use your fingertip to wet around the edges, fold and seal, then crimp with a wet fork. Bake at 400 degrees on a greased cookie sheet, for about 25 minutes.