Italian Rice Balls

This is a great way to use up leftover rice.  It’s very important that you use leftover or rice that has had time to cool down. If you do not use leftover rice the recipe will not work correctly.

I have tried to use both fresh and older rice and the fresh rice never comes out right. There is something about the starch and the cooled rice that helps the balls keep their shape. If you are using warm fresh rice the balls will fall apart as they are cooking. Believe me it’s not worth the big mess (huge mess) if you don’t have older rice then don’t make this recipe. You will thank me for this information.

I love this recipe! It’s fun and delicious. No one is ever expecting to find rice in the balls. It’s also a great vegetarian appetizer or side dish if you are in need of one. You can use brown rice but I am afraid it might be a little too course to make the balls but it might be worth a try if you have extra brown rice.

I love to eat these balls but not necessarily make them. They are a bit of a pain, but they are worth the reward in the end!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 quart water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs (occasionally I use Italian bread crumbs)
• 2 cups olive oil

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, parsley, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Pour water and 1 teaspoon salt into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in rice and reduce heat to low. Cook rice until water is almost absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and slowly pour in egg mixture, stirring rapidly to prevent egg from scrambling. Allow rice mixture to cool for 1 hour. This process works best with older rice that you have as a leftover.
3. Pour bread crumbs into a pile on one end of a cutting board. Dampen hands and roll rice mixture into 1 inch balls, then coat each one with bread crumbs.
4. In a small, deep skillet, heat olive oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (Should have enough oil to completely cover rice balls.) Fry rice balls 6 at a time, turning as needed to ensure even browning. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

Original Recipe Source

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Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna Rolls

I made this dish a few days ago, and I have to say it's easier than the recipe looks, but a little bland. If I make it again I would spruce it up with some minced garlic, onion, bell pepper all sauteed then I would probably add some ground beef to it too. It could also use some Italian seasonings! I know you are thinking right now ..Why would you make this again, but I think it has potential it just needs a little help! Oh yeah and making the bechamel sauce can be a pain in the a$$ because it gets lumpy. If that happens to you put the sauce through the blender! That will work like a charm!

Ingredients
Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
Lasagna:
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions
To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls.

Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

Food Network Lasagna Rolls

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Homemade Bread Machine Hamburger Buns

This recipe for Homemade Bread Machine Hamburger Buns is incredible!!! I can't say enough about it except I will never buy buns from the store again. The recipe is super simple, the buns are fresh, fluffy, and super easy to make, and they don't get soggy like store buns!!

Ingredients
1 cup water
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil plus 2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

EGG Wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
sesame seed or poppy seeds

Directions
1 Add ingredients in order listed, except for the egg and 1 T. water that is for the egg wash later.
2 Select dough/pasta setting when cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to a lightly floured surface.
3 Divide dough into 4 equal portions, divide each portion into 2 balls.
4 Turn balls in hands folding edge under to make a circle.
5 Press ball flat between hands.
6 Place on greased cookie sheet pressing to a 31/2 inch circle.
7 Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until double in volume.
8 Combine 1 slightly beaten egg with 1 tblsp.
9 water and brush on buns.
10 Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
11 Perfect buns every time.
12 Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

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Shrimp Scampi

My plan was to make a shrimp scampi recipe I found on someone elses blog, but I found a few more recipes I thought looked good so I decided to take what I liked from each and put them together. Dinner was so yummy!

Shrimp Scampi

• 1 pound of Shrimp


• Olive Oil


• 4 Tbs of butter or margerine


• 3 cloves of garlic minced (in a garlic press)


• Juice from half a lemon (microwave your lemon for 10 seconds to get the most juice)


• 2 Cups Chicken Broth


• 1 Cup Milk


• Salt and pepper to taste


• Fresh Parsley


• Small box of spaghetti or linguini

Heat olive oil over a medium heat. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside. Add butter, garlic, lemon juice, salt pepper, chicken broth, and milk. Cook and reduce to half and thickened. If need be add a 1-2 tbs of flour to thicken. Add shrimp back to the pan. Cook until heated through. Cook box of pasta using box directios. Add Shrimp Scampi sauce over pasta. Enjoy!

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Bread Machine Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread

Bread Machine Sweet
Orange Bread

This recipe turned out super fantastic!

The smell of the house alone is worth the 3 hour wait!

Bread Machine Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread

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I Got My New Wash Machine!!

I was soooo excited yesterday when Sears showed up with my wash machine! I have missed having it, and even more I have hated going to the laundry rooms! The people there tend to be so rude and pushy! It's just not for me!

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Homemade Chicken Broth

I got some energy today and decided to make homemade chicken broth. One of my blogging friends posted a great recipe for it. It's a much better way to go verses buying canned broth. First off it's homemade (you know what's in it) MUCH lower in sodium (the cans are loaded) and last I made 7 cups for less than the price of one can! I used chicken breast that needed to be stewed for other meals so that was basically free because it was just an addition, but removed for later dinners.

The carrots, celery (that was almost dead it was very wilted, but still good) mushrooms that were on their way out the door too, garlic and one large onion! The onion cost .12 the carrots cost .05 for each carrot and the celery was about .15 garlic was .05 mushrooms were .40. For less than .87 I made 7 cups of broth, and now it's in my freezer waiting to be used at any given time!

Here is the link: Homemade Chicken Broth Thank you Stephanie!!

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Quick and Easy Charro Beans

I can't say enough about this recipe!! This is YUUUUMMMY! I took a few recipes, but didn't like or have everything I needed for them so I made this up as I went along! They turned out so good! My husband freaked over them, and to be honest so did I!

Quick and Easy Charro Beans

Ingredients:
19.75oz can Whole Pinto Beans (Drained)
1/4lb bacon
2 Cloves of Garlic
½ Onions
½ cup Chicken Broth

Cut your Bacon up into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Fry until crispy. Remove Bacon and dry on a paper towel while leaving the bacon drippings in the pan. To the drippings add Onion, and Garlic. Cook until tender and translucent. Remove 1 cup of beans and leave them in reserve. Take remaining beans and mash them in the pan of onion and garlic. Mix it all together, and Add Chicken Broth. Add remaining beans and mix all together. Once mixed add cooked bacon back to the pot. Cook until bacon is no longer crisp. If needed add additional Chicken Broth to the beans.

Enjoy!

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Hearty Chicken Stew

This is one of my favorite recipes. I don’t care what time of year it is hot or cold bring on my hearty chicken stew. This was a favorite of mine when I was a kid too. We would have it so often that finally my parents said NO MORE they were sick of it but I sure wasn’t!

I make this as often as possible. Unlike the recipe I normally just eye ball the veggies and the broth. I cut up enough veggies to fill up my pot. Normally I double the potatoes and triple the carrots and just add extra broth! I don’t even measure anymore because I have made it so often.

Originally this recipe was on a Tyson Chicken recipe card in the grocery store butcher area when I was a kid. Thanks Tyson for making me one happy kid!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of boneless chicken breast raw
• 2 carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 16 oz. to 56 oz. of chicken broth or enough to fill to the top of your vegetables
• 1 tbsp. of ketchup
• 1/3 cup flour
• ¼ tsp. thyme
• 1/2 stick of butter
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• Pepper a few dashes

Directions: 

1. Cut chicken up into bite size pieces
2. In a zip bag mix flour salt and pepper together then add chicken pieces and shake until the chicken is well coated. 
3. Add butter to pot a 4 to 6 quart pot and melt.
4. Add chicken to the pot. Cook chicken about 4 minutes or until the chicken is nicely browned. 
5. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside
6. To the pot and remaining chicken drippings add celery and onion cook for another 3 minutes. 
7. Return the chicken back to the pot
8. Next add in the vegetables, salt, pepper, thyme, and ketchup.
9. Also if any flour is remaining in the zip bag add the flour in for thickening
10. Once everything is in the pot top off with chicken broth
11. Bring to a boil then lower the temperature to a simmer
12. Stir every 10-15 minutes to prevent burning.
13. cook until vegetables are tender.

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Cinnabons To die for

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted last... Life has been a disaster around here! I wanted to share this recipe. I made them a few months ago, and plan to make more tomorrow. They are a nightmare worth of work, but a million dollars worth of yummy. They seriously will take you all day to make! So don't have any plans! This has to be the exact recipe for Cinnabons Rolls! I will post back with pictures.


Ingredients
DOUGH
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup water (105-115 degree)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup warmed milk
2/3 cup butter
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
7 cups all-purpose flour (or more if needed, up to 8)


FILLING
1 cup melted butter, , divided
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)
CREAMY GLAZE
2/3 cup melted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4-8 tablespoons hot water

Directions
1 To prepare dough: In a cup, combine yeast, warm water and 1 tsp sugar, stir and set aside.

2 In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture.

3 Add half the flour and beat until smooth.

4 Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky).

5 Turn out onto a well-floured board; knead 5-10 minutes.

6 Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

7 When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes.

8 Roll out on floured surface into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.

9 To prepare filling: Spread dough with 1/2 cup melted butter.

10 Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough.

11 Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins, if desired.

12 Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal.

13 Cut into 12 slices.

14 Coat bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and an 8-inch square pan with remaining 1/2 cup melted butter, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

15 Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans.

16 Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk,about 45 minutes.

17 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

18 Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned.

19 Cool rolls slightly.

20 To prepare glaze: Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla; add hot water 1 Tbsp at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency.

21 Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

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