Cheese and Bean Quesadillas

Ingredients:
8 Flour Tortillas
2 cans Refried Beans
1 small onion, diced
2 Cups Cheddar Cheese
Cilantro, chopped
1 cup Salsa

Directions:
Warm the refried beans per the directions on the can. Heat a skillet and put tortilla on skillet for 20 seconds to warm and make pliable. Spoon refried beans over tortilla. Sprinkle cheese, onion and cilantro over the beans. Add a spoonful of salsa on top. Roll tightly and place in skillet to brown. Rotate each side. Remove, cut into thirds. Serve with salsa.

My Mom's Whole Wheat Bread

I was out of bread and didn't want to go to the store and then remembered my Mom's yummy whole wheat bread!

Whole Wheat Bread
*Makes 4 loaves

2/3 Cup oil
2/3 Cup honey
1 Tablespoon salt
5 Cups Water
8-9 Cups flour
1 Tablespoon yeast

In a mixer, add the oil, honey salt, and water. Mix and add about half of the flour. The consistency should be like a cake mix. Add yeast, change the mixer attachment to the kneader. Add remaining flour. Turn on HIGH and knead for 5 minutes.

Let raise until doubled in size.

Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Great Dip Idea

Last night I made Southwest Lasagna Roll-ups. Recipe HERE, I only had six lasagna noodles on hand so I had left over filling. I used the filling, added salsa and turned into a dip. It was yummy! A queso bean dip!

Baked Onion Rings

I found this recipe on THIS blog. She has some amazing recipes!

I servex these tonight with homemade BLT's

Baked Onion Rings:

2 sweet yellow onions, sliced into thick rings
1/2 cup of flour

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1 egg

3 tbsp milk

1 1/2 cups of Italian seasoned panko crumbs

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat coated with cooking spray.

Slice the onion into thick rings then separate them. Pour the flour into a bowl then season it with a bit of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper then mix well. Mix the egg and milk in a bowl until well combined. Pour the panko crumbs into another bowl. Dredge the onions first in the flour, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the panko crumbs until fully coated. Place each coated ring on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining rings. Spray the rings with cooking spray then place into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes then flip the rings over carefully with tongs. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Enjoy.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

 

First, make the dough

Dough:
2 cups heated milk (heat in the microwave for 2 minutes)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 -5 cups flour
2 teaspoons yeast

If you have a bread maker just put the ingredients in the bread maker in that order on the dough setting.
 If not just use a mixer. Melt the butter in the milk. Pour milk into mixer. Add sugar and salt. Slowly add half of the flour. Add the yeast and the rest of the flour. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Dough should be soft. Cover and let raise for about 45 minutes. (at least 10 if you don't have a lot of time)

Cinnamon Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch of salt

Roll the dough into a rectangle shape. Then spread the dough with melted butter.

Sprinkle brown sugar, sugar, salt and cinnamon over the butter.

Roll the dough up using the longest end as your starting point.

Cut diagonally into strips (You can use string to make a perfect cut.. I didn't)
Place the cinnamon rolls in a 9x13 pan that has been greased.

Let rise until doubled in size.

Bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes. (My oven takes longer than most and I cooked it for 23 minutes)

Cover with frosting while warm.

I just made my own frosting and it turned out good. I used a little bit of orange extract (but they didn't taste like orange rolls. (Those will be next)
1 stick butter, softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons orange extract
splash of milk
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together until well blended.

My Mom's Breadsticks

Use the dough recipe:
2 cups heated milk
2 tablespooons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 -5 cups flour
2 teaspoons yeast

If you have a bread maker just put the ingredients in the bread maker in that order on the dough setting. If not just use a mixer. Melt the butter in the milk. Pour milk into mixer. Add sugar and salt. Slowly add half of the flour. Add the yeast and the rest of the flour. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Dough should be soft. Cover and let stand for 10-30 minutes. The longer they stand, the fluffier they are.

Let raise til doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden on top.

While cooking, melt 1/3 cube butter in microwave. Mix in small bowl about 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon garlic salt. (You can alter to your liking).

Take breadsticks out of the oven and immediately baste the butter on the bread and sprinkle with cheese.

Let cool before covering or storing.

My Mom's Famous Bread

This dough is so versatile! I use it for everything: pizza dough, dinner rolls, crescent rolls, scones (when fried), breadsticks, just regular bread.. if you need a dough recipe, this will work!!

2 cups heated milk
2 tablespooons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 -5 cups flour
2 teaspoons yeast

If you have a bread maker just put the ingredients in the bread maker in that order on the dough setting. If not just use a mixer. Melt the butter in the milk. Pour milk into mixer. Add sugar and salt. Slowly add half of the flour. Add the yeast and the rest of the flour. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Dough should be soft. Cover and let stand for 10-30 minutes. If you have a dough setting on your bread maker, that should usually be enough. The dough setting will have it raise before you start. It does make a difference, but not always needed. The longer they stand, the fluffier they are.

Olive Garden Salad

I love the salad at Olive Garden. I tried this recipe and although it's still not the same, it's close! Give a try and let me know if you have ideas to make it better!

SALAD RECIPE:
1 bag American Blend Salad (Dole works well)
4-5 slices Red Onion
4-6 Black Olives
2-4 Pickled Pepperoncini
1/2 cup Croutons
1 small Tomato sliced
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

DRESSING RECIPE:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Dressing:
Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed (approximately 30 seconds).
If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Salad:
Chill a glass salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Place the bag of salad in bowl.
Place on top of the lettuce – red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons.
Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
Add plenty of Olive Garden™ Salad Dressing on top.




Tracker

I am keeping track of what I am eating and using weight watchers points to do so. I created my own spreadsheet that tracks my points. (so I don't have to pay the extra monthly fee to track what I eat) I will be adding the point value to the meals that I calculate, mainly for my reference so I don't have to go back and figure out the points. So that is why you will see the point value on the recipes. Thanks

Whole Wheat Pancakes

This tastes great, you wouldn't be able to tell they are whole wheat. This is a great starter recipe that can be played around with.



Ingredients:1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon oil

 

Directions:

Preheat griddle.

In medium bowl, stir or sift dry ingredients together; beat egg, buttermilk, brown sugar and oil together. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened; batter should be slightly lumpy.

Pour ¼ cup batter for each cake onto a well-seasoned hot griddle. Flip the pancake when bubbles appear on surface; turn only once.

Weight Watchers Points= 3 points per pancake 1/4 cup sugar free syrup = 1 point