Herbed Dinner Rolls

I've been using this recipe for many years now. I found it in Quick Cooking, oh how I miss Quick Cooking. Simple & Delicious is just not as good. It uses too many pre-packaged foods to speed up the process, but enough of my soap box. :) The recipe calls for herbs in the dough, but if you don't want them leave them out. I usually use all purpose flour instead of the bread flour the recipe calls for. And I use kosher salt on top. The buttery, saltiness of the top makes these oh so good.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary, crushed
• 3-1/4 cups flour
• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• Additional butter, melted
• Coarse salt, optional

Directions

• In a bread machine pan, place the water, butter, egg, sugar, salt,
• seasonings, flour and yeast in order suggested by manufacturer.
• Select dough setting(check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to
• 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
• 
  
• When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.
• Divide dough into 16 portions; shape each into a ball. Place 2 in.
• apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place
• until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• 
  
• Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with
• butter and sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. Remove from pans to
• wire racks. Yield: 16 rolls.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

So I was at it again. I was thinking I'd do something like barbecued meatballs from some ground pork I found on sale at the store. I also had a bunch of ground beef, so I though a mix of the two would be good. After cooking the meatballs in a skillet, I tried one before saucing and realized they tasted a lot like Salisbury Steak, but made with real meat. I have always been a sucker for Salisbury Steak, but it just doesn't chew quite like it is made from real meat. This had a nice flavor and I was really chewing something. I basically ended up with meatballs in a brown gravy. It was pretty good served over mashed potatoes.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

1 lb ground chuck
1 lb ground pork
4 bread heals (saved in the freezer) pulsed in the food processor to make fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
1 larger onion, minced in the food processor (or grated on a box grater)
2 cloves garlic, minced with the onion
1/2 tsp chipolte powder (could use cayenne or leave it out)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and form into small (1-inch) meatballs. Brown in a skillet in batches (draining on paper towels after cooking). Once all the meatballs are cooked there should be about 4 Tbsp grease in the pan. Add enough flour to the pan to make a thick grainy-looking paste (about equal parts grease and flour, but I didn't actually measure). Brown the flour for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in 1 can (approx. 2 cups) chicken broth, stirring frequently until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Add meatballs back to the skillet and simmer until cooked through and the sauce has thickened to your liking (maybe 5 minutes).


We served this with mashed potatoes, but I really should have had some peas too so that it was just like the TV dinners of old. You remember, the ones that were in a foil tray and went in the oven. I must admit, I really liked those. The microwaved ones are just not that good.

Taco Salad

Here's an easy one. I don't even need the recipe any more, but I'll post it so others can enjoy. We got this recipe from one of my aunts many moons ago. And we love it because it's salad with Doritoes. Who wouldn't like that. Okay, my boys don't like salad, but some day they'll change their tune. They're just too young to appreciate it.

Taco Salad

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg. taco seasoning
2 heads lettuce, cored and torn or chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped (I like to seed them too)
1 lb colby cheese, cubed (the texture is nicer, but you can use a shredded cheese if you prefer)
1 bag Doritoes, crushed a bit (flavor of your choice, I use nacho cheese, but Ranch is good too)
1 bottle Catalina dressing

Brown ground beef with onion. Prepare with taco seasoning as directed. (I usually do this step a day ahead and leave the meat cold, but you could use it hot.) Just before serving toss together the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, taco meat, and Doritoes. Add as much dressing as you like and toss. (I like to make half of the taco salad at a time and put more together as needed. Soggy Doritoes are just not good.) Enjoy.