Orange Rolls

Orange Rolls

If you want some seriously sweet orange rolls, you need to try this recipe.

It's very easy and, I must say, better than any other orange roll I've tried.

Ingredients:

12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls,
thawed but still cold (for abt an hr.)

1 orange rind, grated

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

citrus glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsps. orange juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix grated orange rind with sugar. Roll each roll into a 9-inch rope. Tie in a loose knot. Roll each knot in melted butter and then in rind/sugar mixture. Place on baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let rise until double in size (usually abt 1 1/2 to 2 hrs). Remove wrap. Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes (varies with oven, I only cook them for 10 mins). Remove from baking sheet and place on cooling rack. Brush with citrus glaze while still warm.

And enjoy!

Pasta Fresca "House" Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion, julienne
1/4 t salt
1/2 t sugar
2 T fresh oregano, chopped
2 T fresh garlic, minced
1 can 29 oz. whole tomatoes drained and pureed (if you are using fresh tomatoes...blanch, peel, de-seed, and puree them)
1/4 t black pepper
2 T fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup white wine

Procedure:
Satue onions with olive oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes until soft. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, wine, basil, and oregano. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

LADYBUG COOKIES

We made these cookies for Anna's birthday party and a couple of people have asked for the recipe so here it is . . .

I love this sugar cookie recipe. It is so yummy.
Cream: 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, and 4 eggs
Add: 1 tsp. almond extract, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1 cup sour cream
Sift : 1 tsp. backing powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, and 5-6 cups flour

Refrigerate overnight
Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes

(My dough is still kind of sticky when I put it in the fridge. Then when I take it out of the fridge and roll out the dough with flour it seems like the dough ends up just perfect!)

We made 2 circles: one for the body and then we cut the other one in half for the wings. We frosted one brown and once red. Then we put black m&m's on the red cookie and then put it on top of the brown cookie. We then put a bite size Oreo for the head with licorice string for the antennas.

The kids loved making these. Happy Cookie making!!

Green Beans, potatoes, and bacon

This isn't much of a recipe, but it is one of my favorite things to eat this time of year. This is a very flexible and forgiving dish as long as you don't overcook it. I use more green beans than potatoes, and much more veggies than bacon. I use turkey bacon so there isn't much bacon grease left. If you use real bacon you might want to pour out some of the grease before adding anything to it. We'll eat this by itself for lunch. The bacon encourages Max to eat lots of green beans!

Ingredients:
fresh green beans
new red potatoes
bacon
red wine vinegar
salt

Cut potatoes into large bite size pieces and steam.
While potatoes are steaming, cook bacon in large pan. Crisper is better. When the bacon is done, tear into small pieces. Leave leftover bacon grease in pan.
When the potatoes are almost tender throw in the green beans. Steam till potatoes are tender and green beans are cooked, but still crisp.
Heat bacon pan over medium-low heat. Add some vinegar to deglaze pan. Add potatoes and green beans, toss, and salt to taste. Be sure to salt before adding bacon. Add bacon pieces and another splash of vinegar and enjoy.

Black Bean Salsa... Arrrriba

This tasty treat will tantalize your taste buds. It is a light and refreshing treat of summer.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, drained

1 small bunch cilantro chopped

1 small bunch green onions, finely chopped

3-4 medium tomatoes

2-3 medium avocados

1 pkg. Good Seasonings Italian dressing (mix as directed)

Mix together and serve with tortilla chips.

Lemonade Pie

This is a sweet, succulent, summer treat. Keeping in tradition with my super easy recipes, this one holds true.

You will need:

1 carton vanilla ice cream

1 can frozen pink lemonade

2 graham cracker pie crusts

Directions: Let ice cream and lemonade soften. Combine in large bowl. Pour mixture into pie crusts and refreeze.

Banana Bread Cookies

This recipe is from Ashley's sister-in-law's cookbook that some of us have, but for those of you who don't have it, here you go. The picture is horrible for which I apologize, but these are really tasty, though I recommend doubling the recipe as a single version only makes about 2 dozen, and you'll definitely want more than that.

3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. banana flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix shortening, brown sugar, egg, banana flavoring, and vanilla. Mix in a different bowl flour, salt and soda. Add flour mixture. Rotate bananas into batter, then mix well. Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-11 min. (You can also add milk chocolate chips to batter ...which I recommend!)

Frosting (This is what really makes the cookie good!)

6 T. Brown Sugar
4 T. Milk
4 T. Butter
Powdered Sugar

Bring all brown sugar, milk and butter to a boil. Take off heat, and add powdered sugar until frosting consistency (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups).