Freezer friendly ham and cheese pockets

Freezer-Friendly Ham & Cheese Pockets

Dough:

• 3 cups flour
• 4 Tablespoons dry milk
• 3 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons yeast
• 1 cup warm water

Filling:

• Sliced ham
• Shredded or sliced cheese

To make dough in bread machine: Add ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. Check about halfway through to see if you need to add a little extra water or flour to make a soft dough.

To make dough by hand: Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in salt, sugar, and dry milk. Add flour and stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Add a little more flour, if needed.

To make Ham & Cheese Pockets: Divide dough into 10-14 balls. Roll each ball into a rectangle. Put ham and cheese on half of the rectangle. Fold dough over and pinch sides to seal tightly.

Bake Pockets on a greased cookie sheet at 350-degrees for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned.

To freeze: Let cool completely. Freeze in airtight ziptop freezer bags for up to 2-3 months.

To serve: Remove desired number of pizza pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated through. Or, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350-degrees oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Breadsticks (Deserae)

I first ate these soft, fluffy, garlic bread sticks with a steaming hot bowl of beef stew. sigh, just thinking of the dinner at Ashlees house warms my heart. Why does comfort food do that to you? The smell of homemade bread, chicken noodle soup, mac n cheese….you just get all nostalgic and stuff. Just a testament to how powerful food can be in our lives right?
SO, while my bread sticks are rising right now, I thought I would share with you this awesome recipe! These bread sticks are simple and fast. I love to add them as a side to soups, salads and PASTA! Adds an extra element of yum and satifaction to the meal. And best is that they really are easy, and So delicioso! Give them a try :)
   

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Breadsticks

Rating: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of warm water
  
• 3 cups flour (about)
  
• 1 T yeast
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 2 T sugar

Instructions

1. In bowl mix warm water and yeast. Make sure yeast is good by letting it sit for a couple minutes and rise.
   
2. Add sugar and salt. Start mixing and add flour till it is smooth and elastic.
   
3. Let rise for 10 minutes in the bowl.
   
4. Melt 1 cube of butter and pour in edged cookie sheet.
   
5. Roll dough out in rectangle about the same size as the cookie sheet. Cut in 1"x4" strips using a pizza cutter. Roll in the butter, and then place back on cookie sheet.
   
6. Sprinkle with your favorite toppings such as: garlic salt, parmesan, parsley flakes, italian seasonings, seasoning salts.
   
7. Let rise for 15-20 minutes more on the pan and then bake at 350 deg for about 20 minutes. Until the edges are just starting to turn a beautiful golden brown.

Hot cross buns

Ingredients

30g compressed yeast
1/4 C sugar
4 C plain flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 tsp salt
1 TBS mixed spices
1 TBS ground cinnamon
60g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 C raisins

Flour paste for crossess

1/2 C plain flour
2 tsp sugar
1/3 C water, aprox

Glaze

1 TBS sugar
1 tsp gelatine
1 TBS hot water

Directions

Cream yeast in a small bowl with 1 tsp each of the sugar and flour, add warm milk, mix well.  Cover, stand in warm place for about 15 mins or until mix is frothy.
Sift flour, salt, sugar and spices into large bowl.  Rub in butter, add egg, raisins and yeast mix, beat well with wooden spoon.  Cover bowl with clean cloth, stand in warm place for about 40 mins or until dough is doubled in size.  Punch dough down, turn onto floured surface, knead well for about 5 mins or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Cut dough into 16 pieces, knead each piece into a round shape.  Put buns in lightly greased 23cm square slab pan, stand in warm place for about 15 mins or until buns reach the top edge of the pan.  Place flour paste for crosses in the piping bag fitted with small plain tube and pipe across buns.
Bake for 20 mins on 350.  Glaze when hot out of the oven.

Coconut cream buns

Panipopo - Sweet coconut buns

By panipopos


pani = buns
popo = coconut
pagipopo in the vernacular

My aunt makes amazing panipopo, massive trays of them, and sells them from her shop in Samoa. Unfortunately the only clear recipe I've ever been able to get out of her is for the panipopo sauce ("equal parts coconut milk and water, then sugar to taste"). So here is my version which pairs a simple bread bun with Aunty's coconut sauce. These were usually eaten after the evening prayer, with a steaming hot cup of kokosamoa (Samoan cocoa), but I have been known to eat them as a midnight snack and then again for breakfast the next morning.

Panipopo (makes 12)


1 package (or 2 and ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 cup (240ml) warm water
¼ cup (50g) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
2½ - 3 cups (313-475g) all-purpose flour or bread flour


Put the yeast and water in a large bowl and leave for 10 minutes.
What you're doing here is giving the yeast a headstart before everyone else jumps in the bowl. You should see your yeast froth to the surface of the water. If you don't see any froth then a) your yeast is old or dead and you need to get some fresh stuff, b) your water was too hot and you burned them to death or c) did you wait 10 minutes? did you really? i mean, like really REALLY?


Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.
It's difficult to give an exact flour measurement because flours differ from place to place. What you're looking for is a cohesive mass of dough, so add the first two cups of flour, mixing after each addition, and then add the last cup in bit by bit until you see your dough come together.


Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 to 20 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
This is the most work you'll have to do for these buns, I promise. You can add a little bit of flour from time to time to keep the dough from sticking to the surface or to your hands, but don't add too much or you'll end up with tough dough (tough dough = tough buns).


Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and leave to double in volume. (Optional step: Punch down and leave to double in volume again.)
In my 30°C/86°F kitchen, my dough took about 1 hour to double in size. The dough will prove (rise) at almost any temperature except freezing, it just depends on how hot/cold your kitchen is. Better to go by volume here, and not by time.


Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the buns and place in an ungreased baking tin. Cover and leave to rise until almost doubled.
So there are two common ways to shape the buns:

• Roll into a long rectangle, and then roll it up. Slice into 2.5 cm (1 inch) or any even-sized rounds.
• Pinch off balls of dough and roll into balls.

Some say that the jellyroll-style buns soak up more of the coconut sauce, but I've made them both ways and they're pretty much the same.

Because of the size of my oven, I used two 20 cm round aluminium tins, but I think the buns look better in rectangular or square pans. There's something about seeing all these uniformly shaped buns lined up in a row. The important thing about your baking pan is that it is deep enough to hold the buns and sauce without it bubbling over. Oven cleaning - not fun.


While the buns are rising, preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F, and make your coconut sauce.


Coconut sauce:
½ can (200ml) canned or fresh coconut milk
½ can (200ml) water
½ cup (100g) sugar
Combine all ingredients well.
If your coconut milk is a little coagulated, just give it a stir and it'll be right as rain. Try to use a good quality canned coconut milk (my mother thought the thicker, the better) but as always, fresh is best.
If you taste the sauce as it is now, you might find it almost sickeningly sweet, but don't worry, because during baking, some of the sugar is absorbed by the buns.


When the buns have doubled in size, pour the sauce over them. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and the sauce is bubbling up around the edges.
Let them cool at least a half hour before cutting into them. This gives the buns time to set up, and also gives the sauce a chance to thicken slightly.


* Recipe can be doubled.
* Buns can be frozen in baking pans immediately after shaping and then baked the following day. After you take it out of the freezer, just leave it to double in size (will take 2-3 hours to defreeze and then rise), pour on your sauce, then bake.
* Keep leftovers (ha! what leftovers?) in the refrigerator.

Usually served upside down (sauce-side up) with generous helpings of sauce, but I like to eat them right side up, so I can grab the dry part with my hands, eat off the coconut-soaked part, and then redip the drier bread in the sauce as I work my way up the bun.


Good luck guys. I hope you try these because although the recipe seems long, if you cut out all my commentary, it's actually very short. And yes, these do take some time, but remember it's the pani's time, not yours.


http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Feta and vegetable loaf

Ingredients

Cooking oil spray, for greasing
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups baby spinach, washed
120g feta, crumbled
½ cup semi-dried tomatoes, drained, chopped
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
2 cups self-raising flour
1½ tsp fine salt
150g sour cream
4 eggs, beaten
Softened butter, to serve 

 1. Preheat oven to 180°C 355 C.  Grease a medium (21.5 x 11.5cm) loaf tin with cooking oil spray, then line base and sides with baking paper. Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach and set aside until wilted. Stir in feta and tomato. Season with sea-salt flakes and pepper.
2. Sift flour and fine salt into a large bowl. Stir in sour cream, egg and remaining oil until smooth. Add onion mixture to flour mixture and beat gently to combine. Spoon into prepared tin and smooth surface. Bake for 60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
3. Cool in tin for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Use a serrated knife to cut into slices, then serve with softened butter.

Pizza crust

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour
In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.
Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl.
Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
While oven is heating, punch down dough and shape into a disc. Spray your work surface, rolling pin, and pizza stone with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough disc onto work surface. Roll and shape into a circle. (Disregard all of this, by the way, if you’re a stinking dough-thrower). Very gently transfer the dough onto your pizza stone and continue to shape up to the edges of the stone.

4. Using a fork, prick several holes in the crust. Drizzle crust with a little olive oil…

 and brush all the way up to the edges. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Both oiling and garlic salting the crust help crisp it up, give it a great flavor, and keep it from getting soggy in the middle.

5. Bake crust in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven.

Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza

 

Ingredients

• 1 whole Pizza Crust
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• 1 whole Large Red Onion, Halved And Thinly Sliced
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Parmesan Cheese, Grated
• 10 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Thinly Sliced
• 8 slices Prosciutto (more To Taste)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and brown sugar and toss/stir for several minutes, or until onions are brown and cooked. Set aside.
Roll out pizza dough to a rectangular shape. Drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle on a little salt, followed by a little Parmesan.
Lay slices of mozzarella evenly over the top of the crust. Arrange caramelized onions over the top of the mozzarella. Randomly lay slices of prosciutto over the onions.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the lower half of the oven, or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into squares. Serve immediately.

White Bread

Rosebud’s Butter-Topped White Bread
Servings: 2 loaves (feel free to halve this recipe for just one loaf)

Ingredients
4 and 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast (or the equivalent of two packets)
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces
2 and 2/3 cup additional warm water
9-10 cups all-purpose flour (*I swear by King Arthur brand…also sidenote…I am moving 5 minutes from their factory soon….woohoo!)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the tops of the loaves
Additional butter/cooking spray, for greasing your rising bowl and loaf pans

Instructions
1. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup of warm water, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the sugar, salt, butter, additional 2 and 2/3 cup warm water, and mix gently to combine.
3.  Slowly add 5 cups of the flour, mixing on low speed until smooth.
4. With the mixer on its lowest speed (you don’t want flour everywhere…as I have discovered), slowly add the remaining flour until the dough is smooth.
5. Switch to your dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 10 minutes. ***Now, if you have a smaller mixer, I would recommend kneading the dough in two portions so as not to burn your motor out-this is a lot of dough.  Alternatively, like my grandmother used to do, you can knead all of the dough by hand.
6.  While the dough is kneading, lightly grease a large bowl with butter or cooking spray, as well as two loaf pans (I used 9″).
7.  Once the dough is ready, place the dough in the greased bowl and turn over to completely coat the dough with butter/cooking spray.  Cover, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
8. After an hour, punch down the dough (yes!) and divide it into two portions.
9. Working with one portion at a time, roll (with a rolling pin) the dough out into roughly 12″ x 12″ squares, making sure that the thickness of the dough is uniform throughout.
10.  Slowly and tightly roll up each square, sealing the edges firmly.
11.  Tuck the ends of the roll tightly under the bread and place into your prepared loaf pans.  Repeat with the second loaf.  Cover the loaves, set in a warm place, and let rise until doubled, about another hour.
12.  Place one rack on the lowest position in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
13. Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then cover each loaf with aluminum foil to prevent the tops from browning too much.
14.  Once covered with foil, bake for an additional 15 minutes.
15. Remove the loaves from the oven, place on a wire rack to cool, and lightly brush the loaves with the melted butter.


Enjoy!!

Source:  My grandmother, Rosebud Curbey

Cinnamon rolls

Start out by mixing: 

3 cups Luke warm water

 3 tbsp Fast acting yeast

2 tbsp Sugar.

Let grow for approx 10 mins to see if yeast is good. See the growth?

Then add:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cube Butter/margarine melted and cooled

1 Egg

1 tbsp Salt

Flour (5-6 C)

Start mixer and start adding flour 1 cup at a time (About 6 cups total). The goal is to have the dough texture so that it starts to separate from the edges of the mixing bowl but is slightly sticky. That's why is it around 6 cups more or less. Too much flour will make them dense but not enough and the dough will be sticky and difficult to work with. Always lean towards the sticky side. 

Sift flour on a clean counter where you will rough out the dough. Tip the bowl over on side and cover with a towel. This will let the dough rise out of the bowl and onto the flour with out sticking to the counter and with out falling all over the edges of your bowl and creating a big mess. Cover with a towel because this helps to warm the dough and speed up rising. Let rise about 2-3 hours.** (Perfect to leave and go to church!)

Filling

1 cup brown sugar, packed 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup butter, softened

Icing

1 1/2 C powdered sugar 2 T melted butter 1/2 tsp vanilla 1-2 Tbs milk

Filling: make sure butter is softened well. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly: Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to “crumble” it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces and then cut into rolls. Place in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. If desired spread with icing while still warm.

I got this from my mate Desarae Fowler.

Lionhouse rolls

Lion House Rolls
Adapted from Pinterest
print recipe

2 cups warm water ( 110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup non fat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter , melted
2 teaspoons salt
5 -5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup additional butter for inside and top of rolls

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until dissolved.
Sprinkle yeast over warm water and add 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Let sit until yeast bubbles. Add  egg, additional 1/4 cup of sugar and melted butter.  Mix on low speed until ingredients are incorporated. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 cups flour.
Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are mixed well. Increase speed of mixer for  2 minutes at medium speed.
Add 2 cups more flour; mix on low speed, then for 2 minutes as medium speed. (Dough will become stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand).
Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer.
Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.
(It may not be necessary to use the entire amount of flour.)
Scrape dough off sides of bowl and coat sides of bowl with about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil  around sides of the bowl,  so it is covered with oil.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place until double in size.
After dough has risen, sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and place dough on floured surface.
Roll out and cut rolls.  See note below to watch instructional video on the method use in making Lion House Rolls.
Place on greased (or parchment lined) baking pans.
Let rise in warm place until rolls are double in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours).
Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.
Brush with melted butter while hot.

Tips:
-The video mentioned is found here.
-I tried the method shown in the video but was unable to flip the rolls and have the rolls turn out in a uniform way. I simply rolled the dough on a floured surface and placed them on the pan to rise.
-If you are making these ahead of time, make the rolls up to the point where the rolls are placed on the cookie sheet. Do not let them raise a second time, cover with a sheet of wax paper and then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place immediately in freezer. When ready to bake, take out of freezer about 4 hours prior to baking. Remove plastic wrap and wax paper. Cover loosely with a towel. Let sit in draft free warm place until rolls raise. Do not set pan directly on granite or stone counter top. The counter will be too cold to allow rolls to raise properly. Set a towel down on the counter first, then place the pan on top of the towel.
-Here's a link for a cute idea to roll up little "notes of thanks" inside of your rolls for Thanksgiving, a great idea for kids. The recipe is different than the Lion House roll recipe, but you could use the idea with either recipe.