Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Recipe adapted from ourbestbites.com (such a great site...probably 1/2 my dinners come from here)

These are a fun twist on pizza that the kids will love! You can "personalize" them with any toppings of your choice and dip them in either alfredo or marinara sauce. I've even made them with chicken/bacon/cheese and dipped them in ranch dressing for an appetizer. Gotta love the versatility folks!

The first time I made these I just used a store bought dough sheet/or pizza dough like the ones in the pillsbury cans. This time, I made a delicious homemade pizza dough. YUM.

Pizza Dough

1 tblsp. yeast

1 c. warm water

3 c. flour

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 c. olive oil

Combine yeast and warm water in mixer, let stand 5 minutes. Slowly add the flour, salt, sugar, thyme, cheese and oil. Mix on low until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary (maybe add a tblsp or two of water if it's too dry). Place dough in large bowl greased with tblsp of oil, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size. Punch down and roll into crusts over floured surface.

Pizza Rolls

1 batch homemade pizza dough (or 2 store bought refrigerated pizza dough cans)

2 tblsp. grated parmesan cheese

1 tblsp. melted butter

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

mozzarella cheese

marinara or alfredo sauce

pizza toppings: pepperoni, ham, pineapple, sausage, etc...

Combine garlic powder and Italian seasoning in small bowl and set aside.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a rectangle. Cut into squares using a pizza cutter; you should end up with about 18-24 squares depending on how big or small you cut them. Place cheese and desired toppings in middle of squares. Fold up by grabbing corners then pinching together and making a ball (see photos above). Dip smooth side in melted butter and place seam side down on baking dish. Sprinkle with seasoning mix and then parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with marinara or alfredo sauce.

Gourmet Pigs in a Blanket

I spruced these suckers up a few years ago and they are a family favorite. It's pretty easy- and if you want, you can spruce it up even more using the buttermilk rolls instead of refrigerated ready ones.

Gourmet Pigs in a Blanket

Hot Dogs

1 package crescent rolls (8 count)

Cheese

Topping:

1 egg

1 T Miracle Whip

1 T Mustard (it's BEST to use the nice mustard, the kind with the mustard seeds in it)

Salt

Dash of curry

Slice 4 hot dogs in half, then cut a slit in them lengthwise for cheese. Wrap them in the crescent rolls and then whisk together the topping, and baste the piggies.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes on a GREASED or FOILED and greased pan.

Orange Rolls

I do NOT like oranges. Never have, never will. But I LOVE these orange rolls! I know, I'm weird. I think the reason why is because the "orange" part of these rolls doesn't even come into play until the glaze, which I have complete control over how much "orange" I use. I think I ate at least 5, just today! Also, I am not a great bread maker. Some people just have the knack....I don't. So if I can make these rolls, all of you can too!

ORANGE ROLLS
(recipe given to me years ago by Paula LeSueur)

First: scald 2 cups milk, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup shortening in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside and let cool completely.

Second: in an electric mixer with a dough hook place 1 cup warm water, 2 tblsp sugar, and 2 tblsp yeast. Let dissolve, then add the cooled milk mixture and mix well.

Third: Add 4 beaten eggs and then 9 cups of flour, one at a time until well mixed and sides of bowl start to come clean.

Cover and place in fridge overnight. Roll out dough at least 3 hours before baking.
****I actually just make the dough in the morning, then shape the rolls a few hours later****

Fourth: roll out the dough into a large rectangle on a buttered surface! (yes butter, NOT flour... and don't be afraid to use butter all over your hands too, it helps you work with the dough.)
Spread more butter all over the rectangle then roll it up like you would for cinnamon rolls. Slice the big roll in 1/2, then each of those halves in 1/2. Then cut each of the 4 sections into 12 slices. Place in greased muffins pans and let rise for 2-3 hours. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Another option: once you have it rolled into a large rectangle, cut it horizontally in the middle, then slice it vertically into several strips (see photo above). Use these strips to tie knots with the dough. Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise/bake just as above. A fun variation in shape that the kids love!

Orange Glaze:
2 tblsp. orange juice concentrate, melted (I use a little less)
2 tblsp. softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
grated orange rind and juice from an orange to desired consistency

Mix all the above together and spread on warm rolls.
(I actually half the roll recipe and keep the glaze amounts the same. So double the glaze for a full batch of rolls if you like them well frosted!)

The Best Sunday Dinner

This meal is sort of our signature meal at our house. It is so good. It originated when I went to dinner at my friends house and she cooked this spectacular meat, I thought she was some sort of chef goddess. When I called her and asked her for the "recipe", she said "Morton's of Omaha.... at Costco."

Ever since, whenever we share this meal with others (which we usually do, because this is a big hunk of meat and we are only a wee family of three) they go on and on and on about how delicious it is. So this isn't so much as a recipe, as an idea. But I'll give recipes for my sides, cause they were good, and I totally take credit for them.

Tri-Tip with Potatoes and Rolls

One Morton's of Omaha pre marinated tri tip from Costco

(You can borrow my membership if you don't have one..)

Tri tip is yummy barbecued, as long as it's a good barbecue, and a good barbecuer.

We started cooking it in the oven, as to not mess it up with our crappy BBQ.

Preheat oven to 450.

Tri tip takes 1 hour to cook, and will continue to cook inside if left sitting after coming out of the oven. We like ours a little medium- so maybe 50 min is good for us. All preference on how you like your meat. We pour some worschester sauce on ours to keep it nice and moist and add a little bit of garlic salt.

Potatoes

5-6 Yukon Gold potatoes

Seasoning Salt

Garlic salt

butter

water

Slice potatoes into thick slices. Put them into a large skillet and melt 1-2 T of butter. Stir to coat the potatoes. The seasonings are all preference. I like about 1-2 T of seasoning salt, and 1 T of garlic salt. The potatoes will cook on med-low heat and you will need to stir occasionally and add 1/4 c. periodically to keep them moist and keep them from sticking. Continue to stir and add the water till potatoes are nice and tender.

Buttermilk Rolls

3 cups Buttermilk (room temperature)*

3 cups flour

1 T. yeast dissolved in ¼ cup warm water (first let rise a few minutes)

½ cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten with a fork

2 tsp salt

5 cups flour (sometimes you need a cup more--it should not be too sticky)

½ cup oil

1 tsp baking soda

Dissolve yeast in ¼ c. warm water and let proof a few minutes. Mix the buttermilk, 3 cups flour and yeast together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Let this stand at room temperature until double in size, about 2 hours.
Add sugar, eggs, salt, 5 cups flour, oil, and baking soda. Mix well and kneed for 7-10 minutes. Roll out what you want and place the rest in the refrigerator, covered. The next time you want some fresh baked rolls, take from the bowl what you want and again put the rest back in the refrigerator. It will keep for 7 days. (This is perfect for Sunday meals because you don’t have a lot of mess to clean up and it’s quick.)
Let rolls rise on baking sheets until double in size. Time depends on the room temperature, usually 1½ - 2 hours. Dough from the refrigerator will take longer because the dough is cold.
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter if you like.

Makes 2 dozen rolls. (I halfed it, when making for my little family..)

*I used buttermilk substitute, which is 1 T of lemon juice to each cup of milk. Worked just great.