Texas Roadhouse Rolls and Cinnamon Butter

My favorite part about eating at Texas Roadhouse is the rolls. I love them! I especially love the cinnamon butter. I found a copycat recipe on Goodstuff Maynard. Although I can't say they taste like the Texas Roadhouse rolls they were delicious. I even passed up dessert for a second roll. Now you know they're good.

Texas Roadhouse Rolls

1 1/2 packets active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
3 tbsp melted butter, cooled
1/2 cup sugar
2 quart all purpose flour (wierd measurement. It's 8 cups)
2 whole eggs
2 tsp. salt

Soften yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar.
Add yeast, milk, sugar, and enough flour to make a medium batter. Beat thoroughly. Let stand until light and foamy.
Add melted butter, eggs and salt. Beat well. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Sprinkle small amount of flour on counter and let dough rest.
Meanwhile, clena and dry bowl; grease clean surface of bowl. Knead dough until smooth and satiny. Put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place until double in bulk.
Punch down. Turn out on floured board. Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes.
Shape dough into desired forms. Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Baste immeadiately with butter.
Makes 5-6 dozen

*Notes-I ended up using only about 7 1/2 cups flour. Also, I made bigger rolls and it only made about 3 dozen. If you do this bake for about 25 minutes.


Cinnamon Butter from Real Mom Kitchen

1/2 cup room temperature butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. cinnamon

combine all ingredients and mix until light and fluffy

New Year's Brunch- Lodge Style

I hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did. It was so fun to see family, eat good food, and just have fun! Here is the delicious brunch recipe we promised. I think breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I just love all the different flavors and varieties and especially the sweet treats. We always have a family brunch on New Year's and watch the Rose Parade. I got this fabulous brunch menu last year from Better Homes and Gardens. The French Toast is so yummy with the crunch from the granola and the creamy cinnamon yogurt sauce. The Beef Hash is especially great for the men who want something filling and hearty. I love all the flavors from the orange and lime juices combined with the spice of the peppers! The warm citrus fruit is a great contrast with the tart fruit and sweet sugar and unique because you serve it warm. And last but not least, some delicious hot chocolate with toffee on top. I like to add a little vanill to mine. Save room because this is one delicious and hearty meal.

Granola Topped French Toast

Beef Hash with a Spicy Kick

Warm Citrus Fruit with Brown Sugar

Timberline (or other) hot chocolate

Granola Topped French Toast
Better Homes and Gardens

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 1/2-inch thick bias-slices baguette-style French bread
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup granola, coarsely crushed
1 recipe Cinnamon-Yogurt Sauce (see recipe below)
Maple syrup (optional)
Sifted powdered sugar (optional)

Directions
1. In a shallow bowl beat together eggs, milk, granulated sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons of the orange peel, vanilla, and cinnamon with a whisk. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides.
2. In a skillet or on a griddle melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat; add half of the bread slices. Sprinkle some of the granola on top of each slice of bread in the skillet, pressing in gently with spatula so granola sticks.Flip each slice, pressing lightly with the spatula. Cook for 2 minutes more or until golden brown. When removing from pan, flip each slice so granola side is on top.
3. Repeat with remaining butter, bread slices, and granola. Serve with Cinnamon-Yogurt Sauce, remaining orange peel, and syrup. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes 4 servings.

Cinnamon Yogurt Sauce

In a bowl combine one 8-ounce container plain low-fat yogurt, 1 tablespoon honey, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. Makes 3/4 cup.

Beef Hash with a Spicy Kick

Better Homes and Gardens

*Plan ahead. Needs to marinate for 30 minutes*

1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from chipotle peppers)
1-1/4 pounds beef sirloin or top loin steak, finely chopped
2 large onions, diced (2 cups)
2 tablespoons minced garlic or bottled minced garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1-1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes or red skinned potatoes, cooked* and diced
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper
Fried eggs (optional)
Fresh cilantro sprig (optional)
Directions
1. In a large plastic bag set in a bowl, combine orange juice, lime juice, and adobo sauce. Add meat, turning to coat. Close bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Drain and discard marinade. Pat meat dry with clean white paper towels. (Removing as much moisture as possible from the meat makes for a crispy hash.)
2. In a 12-inch heavy skillet cook the onion, garlic, and chili powder in hot oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add meat to skillet; cook and stir about 2 minutes or until meat is browned. Stir in potatoes and chipotle peppers. Spread in an even layer in the skillet. Cook for 8 minutes more or until potatoes are golden brown, turning occasionally. Stir in tomatoes and snipped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with fried eggs and fresh cilantro. Makes 6 servings.
*To Cook Potatoes: Remove eyes from potatoes. Cut potatoes into quarters. Cook, covered, in enough boiling lightly salted water to cover for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Warm Citrus Fruit With Brown Sugar

Better Homes and Gardens

2 medium red grapefruit, peeled and sectioned, or 1-1/2 cups refrigerated grapefruit sections, drained
2 medium oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks or one 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions
1. In a medium bowl combine grapefruit, oranges, and pineapple. Transfer to four individual broiler-safe au gratin dishes or a 1-quart broiler-safe au gratin dish or casserole.
2. In a small bowl stir together brown sugar and butter until well mixed; sprinkle on fruit. Broil about 4 inches from the heat for 5 to 6 minutes until sugar is bubbly. Makes 4 servings.

Timberline Hot Chocolate

Sligtly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
4 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4-1/2 teaspoon vanilla to taste

1 recipe Schlag (see recipe below) (optional)
English toffee, crushed (optional)
Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

Directions
1. In a saucepan combine milk, water, and sugar. Stir over medium heat until mixture just comes to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate. Beat with an immersion blender, rotary mixer, or whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is frothy. Add vanilla.
2. To serve, pour hot chocolate into cups. If desired, top with Schlag, crushed English toffee, and cocoa powder. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Schlag: In a mixing bowl combine 1 cup whipping cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Beat until soft peaks form (tips curl).

Posted by: Sallie & Julia

Honey Bun Cake

Lots of my favorite recipes are things I have tasted at friend's houses. Robyn made this delicious cake for book club and I have made it quite a few times. It's great as a dessert or a yummy treat for breakfast or brunch. It is originally from the back of a Betty Crocker cake mix. For some reason if you look up this recipe on their website they have replaced the butter with vegetable oil but it's much better this way.

Honey Bun Cake

1 pkg. Betty Crocker supermoist butter recipe yellow cake mix

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

4 eggs

1 8 oz. container sour cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped pecans

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 c. powdered sugar

1 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Remove 1/2 cup dry cake mix, reserve. Beat remaining dry cake mix, butter, eggs and sour cream in large bowl on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread half of the batter in pan. Stir together reserved dry cake mix, brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter in pan. Carefully spread remaining batter evenly over pecan mixture. (To make spreading easier, drop batter by dollops over pecan mixture, then spread.)

Bake 40-45 minutes or until deep golden brown and cake springs back when lightly touched in center. Stir powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until thin enough to drizzle, stirring in additional milk , 1 tsp. at a time if necessary. Poke top of warm cake several times with fork; spread over top of cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Store covered.

Sweet and Easy Cornbread

Picture Courtesy of Our Best Bites

I am just willing Fall to get here so I can start breaking out my Fall recipes again. I love the spring and summer months that come with a lot of light dishes and grilling but I have to admit I think the warm comfort foods of fall and winter are my favorite. Truth be told, I never really liked cornbread until about 7 years ago when I tried this recipe. Most of the cornbread I had tried was too dry, too crumbly, not sweet enough, and basically, not worth eating. This recipe changed that and since then I have found several other recipes I like too. Another tip from Our Best Bites--replacing the water called for in the recipe with milk--made it even better. I'm sharing this one first because it's so yummy and easy. You can make it into muffins, or squares. I love it with Cinnamon Honey Butter.

Sweet and Easy Cornbread

1 yellow cake mix
2 Jiffy cornbread mixes
Oil, milk, and eggs according to package directions

Preheat oven according to directions on cake mix box. Combine cake mix and cornbread mixes in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, and milk according to package directions (replace all water with milk). Mix together according to cake mix directions.

Bake according to directions on cake mix. Usually around 20 minutes for the muffins and 30 for the cake. If you find that it is not done in the center and browning too quickly, cover with foil and keep cooking until middle is done.

*This makes a lot of cornbread and since I don't really like using half a cake mix I usually just make it all and freeze the leftovers. You can either do 24 muffins, 12 muffins and a 9 x13 or a 9x13 and 8x8 pan. *

Posted by: Sallie

Easter Dinner Ideas

I've had a few requests for Easter Dinner Ideas. We're just having our family this year so this is what I'm making:



Honey Glazed Ham

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Asparagus

Lion House Rolls

Lime Pineapple Delight Jello

Lemon Tart

Hummingbird Cake

Ice Cream Punch



Here are some other ideas



Appetizers:

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/loaves-and-fishes.html

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/artichoke-dip.html

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/phyllo-wrapped-brie-with-apricot.html

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/bacon-wrapped-dates.html

Ham with this glaze:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Glazed-Ham/Detail.aspx



Potatoes & sweet potatoes

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/search/label/Side%20Dishes

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/potato-casserole.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/twice-baked-potato-casserole-recipe/index.html

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/our-first-post.html

http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/sweet_potato_bake/ (really yummy)



Vegetables:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Asparagus/Detail.aspx
http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/julias-green-bean-casserole.html
or fresh corn with butter, salt and Pepper



Jello Salad:

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/pistachio-jello-salad.html
http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/search?q=lime+pineapple+delight


Green Salad:
http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/strawberry-spinach-bacon-salad.html

Rolls:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Dinner-Rolls/Detail.aspx
http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/lion-house-rolls.html
http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/texas-roadhouse-rolls-and-cinnamon.html



Dessert:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Cake-III/Detail.aspx

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/lemon-tart.html

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=387218

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/pineapple-upsidedown-cake.html

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/strawberry-cheesecake-trifle.html

http://mysisterskitchen2009.blogspot.com/2009/03/peanut-butter-cheese-cake-minis.html



The only thingsI haven't made are the carrot cake & hummingbird cake but they both got 5 star ratings so I'm pretty comfortable with that.



RealMomKitchen.blogspot.com also has quite a few ideas for dinners so go on over and check it out.



Hope you have a great Easter!

Sweet Potato Bake

This week we are going to feature some yummy side dishes you can add to your Thanksgiving Dinner. These are also things you might have someone bring if you're feeding a lot of people and just need some extra food to go along with the turkey. I might have mentioned that up until a year ago I had never even tried a sweet potato. Something about the slimy, little orange things floating in a marshmallow sauce never appealed to me. All of that changed when my sister's Mother in Law had a sweet potato souffle from Honey Baked Ham at her house for Christmas. Once I tasted it, all the other food was forgotten. That's how good it was. I think I must have had 3 or 4 helpings. Of course I vowed never to let another holiday pass without this delicious dish on my table. Good Old Paula Deen to the rescue! This is just so yummy it could really pass for a dessert and the crunchy topping is the best! It's super easy and bakes in only 30 minutes.



Sweet Potato Bake
Paula Deen




Ingredients:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup heavy cream (can use half and half or whole milk but cream is the best)


Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (pecans are excellent too)
Mix together with fork; sprinkle over top of casserole.


Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except for cream. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cream;mix well. Pour into greased casserole dish ( 1 1/2 quarts). Add topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.



Posted by: Sallie & Julia

Soft Wrap Bread

I've had this Soft Wrap Bread bookmared for awhile and after hearing Melanie rave about it finally decided to try it. I am seriously in love with this bread! This bread is so soft and delicious. The possibilities are endless. Top them with taco fixings, turn them into Gyros, Pb & J wraps for the kids, top with a little honey & cinnamon butter, or eggs and cheese for a breakfast wrap. They do take about 3 hours so you'll need to plan ahead but the recipe is made in stages and none of them require much work, especially if you have a mixer. This bread is going to be making lots of appearances at my house! Stay tuned to find out what I put in these delicious wraps.

Soft Wrap Bread

from King Arthur Flour

*Makes about 8-9 breads*

3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup potato flour OR 1/2 cup potato buds or flakes
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon instant yeast

1) To make the bread: Place 2 cups of the flour into a bowl or the bucket of a bread machine. Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl or bucket and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.
2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes or buds) and the remaining 1 cup of flour with the salt, oil and yeast.
3) Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand, mixer or bread machine) to form a soft dough. Note: You can allow the dough to go through the entire kneading cycle(s) in the bread machine, but it's not necessary; about a 5-minute knead in the machine, once it gets up to full kneading speed, is fine. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky. Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled.
4) Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 or 2 hours)
5) Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each about the size of a handball, around 3 ounces), cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
6) Roll each piece into a 7"- to 8"-circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) over medium heat for about 1 minute per side, until they're puffed and flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out.
7) Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag.