Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 c. baking mix
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable/canola oil
1 c. packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 c. grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, combine the baking mix, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Whisk until combined then set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the white sugar and the oil, stirring until creamy. Add the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir well. This combination of ingredients will be creamy and fluffy. Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir until well combined. Grate the zucchini and fold it into the batter. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Pour the batter into the pans and bake 50-60 minutes.

I had never made zucchini bread before but my garden produced a ginormous zucchini at the end of the season. I cooked half of the zucchini in a skillet with butter and seasoning for dinner and still had a huge part of the zucchini left. I knew I had to find a way to use it. I found a recipe online that looked promising but I discovered I was out of flour! I knew I had baking mix, so I set about trying to alter the recipe I had found, simply omitting the baking soda and baking powder. And I wanted to use all of my zucchini, so even though it only called for 2-3 cups, I used it all which ended up being around 4 cups. One of the loaves didn't come out of the pan very easily, but the chunks of bread were delicious. The second loaf I left in the pan longer and I made sure to score around the outside with a knife really well and it came out of the pan perfectly. I took that loaf to work and received many compliments. I will definitely be making it again!

Pizza Bread

Ingredients:

1 loaf frozen white bread dough
3 Tblsp. margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 oz. pepperoni
pizza sauce
other pizza toppings (optional)

Let the bread dough thaw in the fridge overnight. Preheat the oven to 350. Spread dough out flat on a cookie sheet. Melt the margarine. Add the spices to the margarine. Brush 2/3 of the margarine/spice mixture on the pizza dough. Lay pepperoni slices on top evenly over the entire rectangle of dough. Sprinkle all of the cheese on top of the pepperoni. Top with any other pizza ingredients you want. Roll dough into a jelly roll shape and place in center of cookie sheet with seam side down. Brush remaining margarine/spice mixture on top of roll. Bake for 30 minutes or till golden brown. Slice and serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

This is another of my sister's recipes she shared with me. You can use all mozzarella instead of the combination of cheddar and mozzarella if you want. I like making 2 at a time and making one that is just pepperoni and adding mushrooms and onions to the other. These are great to make up in advance and just pop into the oven when you're ready to eat. Good for potlucks too, of course!

Philly cheesesteak braid

Ingredients:

4 portions, frozen sandwich steaks, thinly sliced, cut crosswise into 1/2" strips
2 T. margarine
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 green pepper, large - cut into strips
salt and pepper to taste
2 8oz. cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 egg, beaten

Preheat over to 350. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook and stir steak strips in margarine until no longer pink; remove from skillet. Add onion and green pepper to skillet and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add cooked steak back to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Unroll 1 can of dough into 2 long rectangles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet with long sides overlapping 1/2"; firmly press edges and perforations to seal. Press or roll out to form 7" x 13" rectangle. On a second cookie sheet, repeat with remaining can of dough. Spoon half of meat mixture in 2" strip lengthwise down center of each dough. Use 1/2 cup of cheese on each and sprinkle over meat. Make cuts 1" apart on longest sides of each rectangle just to edge of filling. To give braided appearance, fold strips of dough at an angle halfway across the filling, alternating from side to side. Fold ends of braid under to seal. Brush braids with egg. Bake 16-22 minutes or till golden brown.

I found this recipe in a Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbook. I've made this for card parties and get-togethers, or even for dinner. It looks so pretty and impressive, but it really is simple. You can add mushrooms if you'd like in addition to, or instead of, the green pepper.

Homemade Croutons

Ingredients:

1 loaf of bakery bread, stale
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Cut stale bread into cubes, about 3/4" big. Leave uncovered to dry out further overnight. Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, place the bread cubes. Combine the two oils and drizzle over the bread. Mix thoroughly. Combine spices in small bowl. Add the spices to the bread in the bowl. Cover the bowl and shake well to mix and make sure the spices cover the bread cubes evenly. Spread the seasoned bread cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, making sure not to overbake. Allow to cool and store in air-tight container for salads and soups.

I had a couple ciabatta rolls leftover from sandwiches and they got pretty stale. I hated to see them go to waste, so I searched for a crouton recipe online. After substituting my own spices for what their recipe called for, we loved the result. A couple of notes: you have to watch them when they are baking - you don't want to get them too brown; also, you can easily over-season them. Try your own spice combinations for different types of meals, just don't overdo the salt. They are great to snack on, they smell great when they are baking and they are fabulous warm out of the oven!

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Ingredients:

2 loaves frozen bread dough
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. spaghetti
1 lb. mozzarella, cubed
1 egg
parmesan cheese
parsley
garlic powder
Thaw bread dough according to package directions. Brown ground beef and onion, add sauce and set aside. Boil pasta according to package directions and drain. Combine pasta and sauce mixture. Place each thawed bread dough loaf onto a separate cookie sheet and spread and press them out making them into large rectangles. Sprinkle garlic powder or garlic salt on the dough for some extra garlic flavor. Place pasta and sauce along center of dough, dividing half onto each loaf. Place 1/2 of the mozzarella cubes on top of each. Using a sharp knife, make cuts in the dough about 1" apart, coming within 1/2" of the filling down the center. Fold the bottom and top edges over and pinch to seal. Braid the dough cuts over top of the spaghetti and cheese, left over right until all dough is folded over top. Beat egg and brush loaves with it. Sprinkle with parmesan, parlsey and garlic powder. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. Slice and serve.

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It originally came from the website for the company that makes the frozen bread dough but of course I altered it and made it my own. Their recipe just makes one loaf so the first time I made this, we ate every bit of it and wished for more. One might be enough if you served a salad with it or some italian green beans. We just go for 2 loaves now and have some leftovers too. Make sure you pick a spaghetti sauce that you like and would serve normally as regular spaghetti. We like one with a fresh basil flavor. You could make these loaves up the night before and store in the fridge until dinnertime. I think they would make a great dish for company too since you can make them up in advance and just put them in the oven when you're ready to eat. The mozzarella chunks melt and the cheese oozes out through the braid. I made this tonight and it is baking in the oven right now and smells delicious.

Party Bread

Ingredients:

1 sourdough bread loaf, unsliced
8 oz monterey jack cheese, sliced
1/2 c. margarine, melted
1/2 c. green onion, chopped
2-3 tsp. poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the bread lengthwise and crosswise without cutting through the bottom crust. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Combine margarine, green onion and poppy seeds; drizzle over the bread. Wrap loaf in foil, place on cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

This is always a hit at get-togethers. It can be made up ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you're ready to bake it and serve it. The bread you start with is already baked and you're adding some fabulous ingredients and it looks like you went to a lot of trouble. To make preparing it easier, I use an electric knife to make the cross-cuts in the bread. Once it is baked and the cheese is all melted and gooey with the green onions and poppy seeds, you just pull a piece out and eat it. You can put a fork or a knife out with it to help people pull portions off the loaf easier. So yummy!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 c. margarine
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs, separated
4 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. milk

Glaze:
4 Tblsp. margarine
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl using mixer, cream margarine and sugar till fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg yolks. In separate bowl, combine baking powder, flour, salt and cinnamon; add to creamed mixture alternating with the milk. Mix only enough to blend well. Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks and fold them into the batter. Pour batter into buttered 9"x13" baking pan. Bake 45 minutes. For the glaze: Cream together the 4 tablespoons of margarine, the powdered sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. After the cake has finished baking, immediatly sprinkle the glaze mixture on top and return it to the oven for 5 more minutes. Allow to cool briefly and serve warm.

This takes a little time and a few bowls, but it is so worth it. The glaze makes a nice crispy, flaky, sugary coating. The house smells wonderful and it is really delicious. Great for a brunch or for company.

Holiday Rolls

Ingredients:

1 loaf frozen white bread dough
1 egg
milk
poppy seeds (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)

Thaw bread dough according to package directions. Grease cookie sheet with butter. Cut loaf into 12 golfball-sized pieces. Roll each piece into 6" long rope. Twist or tie in knot and place flat on cookie sheet, sides touching. Leave to rise under damp dishtowel about 1 hour in a warm oven. Remove from oven and preheat oven to 400. Mix together the egg and a little milk. Brush egg mixture on tops of rolls. Sprinkle with seed of choice (if desired). Bake for about 15 minutes, till golden brown.

My family had a "tradition" of baking crescent rolls amidst all the chaos of the holiday dinner preparation and they always ended up burnt because we'd forget them. Jim's mom makes these easy rolls and I volunteered to make them and bring them to my family's dinner one time. Now I bring the rolls to all the holiday dinners - a new holiday tradition with no burned rolls! I bake them the night before. Usually I do some with sesame seeds, some with poppy seeds and some without. The egg wash gives them a golden shine and they are soft and perfect inside.

My Sister's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2-3 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour loaf pan. In large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Measure out the flour and add the baking soda, mix together. Add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix well. Add mashed bananas and mix until they are fully mixed through the batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours.

This is my sister Shari's recipe. I like it because it reminds me of my Grandma A's banana bread. I love bananas, but I really only like them when they are sorta green. So once they get ripe they usually just sit in the bowl on the table until we decide to bake some bread. My youngest daughter likes to make it, all on her own. It's a great treat for breakfast or an after-school or after-work snack.


Bonus: I decided to try it as muffins instead of a loaf. It worked great! I used cupcake liners and sprayed them with vegetable oil spray first. Then mixed everything up exactly as for bread. Then ladle into the 18 muffin cups. Your cooking time is only 40 minutes, and they came out great.

Pumpkin Bites

Ingredients:
2 boxes of spice cake mix
1 29oz. can pure pack pumpkin (not the sweetened pumpkin pie filling...no, no, NO)
1 12oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dump both dry cake mixes in large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin and blend together well. Let dough sit 2-3 minutes, then stir in the chocolate chips. Batter will be very stiff. Drop dough by scant tablespoons onto cookie sheets, at least an inch apart from each other. Bake 12-15 minutes. Yield: Dozens of delicious pumpkin goodness.

My friend Denise made these for a work potluck last year. I loved them so I asked her for the recipe. You eat them like cookies but they remind you of muffins or cake and they're less messy. This was the first time I made them and it was so easy. And it made so many! I lost track of how many dozen I made. These are perfect for fall get-togethers - tailgating, Halloween parties, or marching band snacks. You can substitute carrot cake or other flavors of cake mix, but I've never tried those, just the spice cake mix. The house smelled like pumpkin spice for days afterward too.