Divine Caramel Sauce

1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup heavy whipping cream

In 2-quart saucepan, heat corn syrup, brown sugar and butter to boiling over low heat, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream; heat to boiling. Cool about 30 minutes. Serve warm. Store covered in refrigerator up to 2 months. Reheat slightly before serving if desired.

Recipe from Taste of Home

Busy-Day Porkchops

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup six cheese blend
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs + couple shakes of Santa Maria Seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
4 boneless pork loin chops
cooking spray

Place milk in shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine the cheese, bread crumbs, salt, garlic powder, santa maria seasoning, and pepper. Dip pork chops in milk, then coat with crumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; spritz chops with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Original recipe from Taste of Home, but I did tweak it to meet my needs :)

Chick'Fil A Sandwiches

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
Peanut oil, for frying
1 large egg
1/2 cup nonfat milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon malted milk powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 sour pickle cut into 8 slices, plus 1 tablespoon pickle juice from the jar
2 teaspoons white vinegar
4 soft hamburger buns, split
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 4 thin cutlets. Place the cutlets between 2 pieces of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound to 1/8-inch thick with a mallet or heavy skillet. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon each pepper and paprika.
Heat about 2 inches peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until a deep fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Meanwhile, whisk the egg, milk and 2 tablespoons water in a baking disha. Whisk both flours, the malted milk powder, confectioners sugar, baking soda, dry mustard, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper in another dish. Toss the pickle slices, pickle juice and vinegar in a bowl and set aside.
Working in batches, dip the chicken in the egg mixture, turning to coat, then dredge the flour mixture and shake off any excess. Fry the chicken in the hot oil until golden brown, about 4 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed. Drain on paper towels.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread the cut sides of the buns with some of the butter and lightly toast in the skillet, buttered-side down; spread with more butter. Put 2 pickle slices on each bun bottom; top with a piece of chicken and cover with the bun tops.

Worlds Best Rolls

2 c. whole milk (if you're in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don't use 1% or skim)

½ c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided

1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter

2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast

2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water

8-9 c. all-purpose flour

3 beaten eggs

1 Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts.

2 Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. (I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.)

3 While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes.

4 In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.

5 Add beaten eggs.

6 Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft--it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don't worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they're so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

7 Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

8 Spray 2 9x13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

9 Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls

Sweet Dinner Rolls

½ cup warm water
½ cup warm milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
¼ cup butter, softened

1. Pour water and milk into bowl. Add sugar, stir to dissolve, then add yeast. Allow to proof for about 20 minutes until creamy foam appears, add butter and salt. Mix. Add slightly beaten egg and flour cup by cup while stirring. Allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm area, covered with a dishtowel.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch circle. Spread ¼ cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges started at wide end; roll gently but firmly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden.

Can also be rolled into balls and baked as traditional rolls. This dough makes great cinnamon rolls also

Sweet & Easy Cornbread

1 yellow cake mix

2 Jiffy cornbread mixes

Oil, milk, and eggs according to package directions

Preheat oven according to directions on cake mix box. Combine cake mix and cornbread mixes in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, and milk according to package directions (replace all water with milk). Mix together according to cake mix directions. Just bake according to cake mix directions (about 20 minutes for muffins or 30 minutes for a 9x13 pan")

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup Mazola oil
4 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
2/3 cup cold water
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together first 7 ingredients. Mix well. Add pumpkin and water. Mix well. Add flour, mix well, and add nuts. Grease and flour 3 1-lb coffee cans. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.

(When I make this I just use 2 regular size bread pans)

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

1 T active dry yeast

1/2 C warm water (105 degr F/ 40 deg C)

4 1/2 C all-purpose flour (22 1/2 oz 700g)

4 large eggs

1/4 C sugar

1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp

Filling

1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

Glaze

1 C powdered sugar

2 T butter, melted

2 T milk or cream

1 t vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.

Add the eggs, sugar, butter, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes. Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed.

Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

While dough is rising, prepare filling. Take 2 T of the stick of butter and set aside. Beat remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle about 15x10 in. Spread filling onto dough and roll up length-wise.

Use string or dental floss to score and cut the dough into rolls. You can make 12 small rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large. Place cut side up in baking dish. Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

The next morning remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour. While rising mix glaze ingredients until combined. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Spread the glaze over warm rolls and serve

Flour Tortillas

2 1/2 c. flour

1 c. very hot water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 c. shortening

In a heavy-duty mixer, combine flour and salt. Add in shortening and mix until well combined (it will resemble coarse bread crumbs). Add hot water. The water hotness is the key to these being easy to make--it needs to be hot enough to melt the shortening, but not SO hot that the dough turns into an ooey-gooey mess. I usually get relatively warm water from my tap and then heat it for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.

Anyway, after you add the water, the dough will start to come together. When it is fully combined, remove from mixer and divide into portions. Now...the recipe yield really depends on how many tortillas you want. If you want small tortillas (like for fajitas), then you'll probably get around 10-12. If you want medium tortillas (burritos), then you'll probably get 8 or so. For large tortillas (like for salad wraps), you'll get around 6. Shape portions into round balls.

Preheat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet to medium-low heat. If necessary, spray your work surface with non-stick cooking spray; you may not need to because the dough isn't particularly sticky, but it may be and you also don't want to add any more flour to your dough. Press your palm against the surface of the dough ball, trying to maintain as much of a round shape as possible. Place rolling pin in middle of flattened dough ball and roll to desired thickness, shaping in a circle as you go.

Place raw tortilla on preheated skillet. Now...be forewarned--the first one may not work out great; You're going to be watching for bubbles. If you get little blistery bubbles, your skillet is too hot and you need to reduce the heat. You're looking for big, fat, slow-bubbling bubbles. When you start to see them, flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30-45 seconds or so. This is where some personal taste comes in, but in my experience, dark marks on your tortillas (like you see on store-bought ones) usually lead to brittle tortillas when they cool down. Personally, I'm keeping my eye out for a kind of "greasy" look inside; I know that sounds gross, but that's the best way I can think of to describe it. These ones are cooked enough to not taste raw, but they're also very soft when they cool and they hold up to being wrapped, folded, twisted, and turned.

If you're cooking these quickly, you can just stack them on top of each other and they'll stay warm. You can also wrap them in damp paper towels and then wrap them in foil and keep them in a warm oven (170) until you're ready to use them

English Muffins

1/3 cup water, warm (110F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup nonfat milk, slightly warm (100-110F)
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

In a large bowl, whisk together water, sugar and yeast and let mixture stand for 10 minutes, until slightly foamy. Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 40 minutes. Heat a griddle/nonstick frying pan over medium/medium-high heat (water dropped on the griddle evaporates very quickly). Lightly grease with cooking spray. Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto greased surface and cook until medium brown on the bottom. The top with look set and the sides will appear somewhat dry. The exact time depends on the temperature of your griddle and the size of your muffins, but expect this to take several minutes. Flip over and cook 2nd side until brown. Cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes or until completely cool. When ready to serve, split muffins with a fork and toast. Serve with butter, jam, peanut butter, etc.

Makes 10-12 muffins

Dinner Rolls

Dissolve 2 pkgs yeast in ¼ cup warm water- set aside
Heat 2 cups of milk and 1/3 cup butter in microwave until butter is mostly melted

Add:

¼ cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Once the milk has cooled down, add yeast mixture and then add 5-6 cups flour. Knead a few minutes. Let rise until double and then punch down and form into rolls and place on pan. Let rise until double.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Rub with butter and serve

Date Nut Bread

1 lb. dates
2 c. boiling water
2 tsp. soda
1-1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. nuts
2-3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Cut dates in small pieces and add water & soda. Let stand a few minutes. Mix sugar, butter and well-beaten eggs. Add flour & salt alternately with dates. Stir in vanilla & nuts. Bake in greased loaf pan @ 350 for 1 hour.

Classic White Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water (105-115F)

1 package active dry yeast (.25 oz)

1 tbsp sugar

6-7 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp salt

4 tbsp butter, softened

Combine 1/2 cup water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy - about 10 minutes. Add remaining water, flour and salt to yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon (or in a mixer) until dough cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Knead in butter until dough is smooth and not sticky. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading for an additional minute or two. Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl to rise until doubled, about 1- 1 1/2 hours.

Butter two 8×4 inch loaf pans and set aside. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide in two equal portions. Shape as described above and place seam side down into prepared loaf pans. Cover loaf pans lightly with oiled plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Dough will rise above the lip of the pan.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375F.

Place loaves in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. After 35 minutes, use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread. It will read 200F when the loaves are done. If you do not have an instant read thermometer (meat thermometer), simply cook the loaves for 40 minutes and keep an eye on your oven thermometer to make sure the temperature remains constant.

Remove loaves from pans immediately and let cool completely (2-3 hours) before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves

Buttermilk Wheat Bread

2 envelopes dry yeast
1/2 cup very warm water
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup cracked wheat
2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1. Sprinkle yeast into very warm water. Stir in 1 tsp. of the honey. Stir until yeast dissolves. Let stand undisturbed to proof yeast until bubbly and double in volume, about 10 min.
2. Heat buttermilk with shortening, remaining honey and salt in small saucepan just to lukewarm; combine with yeast mixture in large bowl.
3. Stir in soda, whole wheat flour and cracked wheat until smooth; beat in enough of the all-purpose flour to make a soft dough.
4. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 min., using only as much flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.
5. Place in buttered bowl; turn to bring buttered side up. Cover. Let rise in warm place 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
6. Punch down, turn onto lightly floured board. Knead a few times. Invert bowl over dough; let rise 10 min.
7. Divide in half; knead; roll each piece to an 18x9" rectangle. Roll up from short side jelly-roll fashion. Pinch ends together to seal. Place seam side down in greased loaf pans.
8. Let rise again in warm place 40 min.
9. Bake in 375 degree oven 35 min. Remove from pans. Cool completely before storing in plastic bags.

Makes 2 loaves.

Basic Scones

1/3 C real butter

1 ¾ C Flour

3T sugar

2/1/2 t baking powder

¼ t salt

1 egg, beaten

4-6 T milk

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until it resembles fine crumbs.
Combine egg and 4T milk. Slowly pour milk mixture into dry mixture while mixing with a fork to combine. If you need the additional 2 T milk to bring the dough together, add it. I almost always need the full 6T of milk.
Gently pat dough into a circle, about 1/2 inch thick. Brush top with milk or beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with sugar.
Cut into 6 wedges and separate on a cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. The tops shouldn’t be brown, but the bottoms will be golden-brown and the tops set. Keep an eye on them and don't over-bake.
While still warm, split and spread with butter and jam, lemon curd, honey-butter, just about anything!

Aunt Ann's Bread (AKA Zucchini Bread)

2 cups Zucchini 3 cups flour
1 cup Brown sugar 1 tsp baking soda
1cup sugar 1/4 tsp baking powder
1cup oil 1 tsp salt
3 eggs 1Tbsp cinnamon
1Tbsp Vanilla

Mix sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt & cinnamon. Add zucchini last. Then pour into two greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 325 for 60 min. Slice and enjoy!

Angel Rolls

3 ½ cup brad flour, divided
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 pkg quick rise yeast
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup warm buttermilk (120-130)
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup warm water (120-130)
melted butter or margarine

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups flour, sugar, yeast, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the buttermilk, oil, and water. Beat until moistened. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 4-6 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out to ½ inch thickness, cut with a 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Top with butter.

Amanda's Bread Recipe

8-10 cups flour (can use ½ white and ½ wheat)
½ c oil
½ c honey
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 scant Tablespoons salt
5 cups warm water

Combine yeast, water and honey. Mix dry ingredients while waiting for water to bubble. When water begins to bubble, pour over the dry ingredients. Mix and knead for 20 mins. Place cloth over bowl and allow to rise about double in size (1 hour). Punch down and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Separate into five pieces and form loaves. Place loaves in greased pan. Let rise again, until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour. (Makes five loaves)

Tangy Fruit Punch

1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice

1 can (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

3/4 cup thawed lemonade concentrate

1 cup water, divided

1/2 cup sugar

2 large ripe bananas

1 package (20 ounces) frozen unsweetened whole strawberries, thawed

2 liters ginger ale, chilled

In a punch bowl or large container, combine pineapple juice, orange juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, 1/2 cup water and sugar. Place bananas, strawberries and remaining water in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Stir into the juice mixture. Cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, stir in ginger ale. Yield: 25-30 servings (about 5 quarts).

Sunrise Punch

2 c. pineapple juice

2 c. cranberry juice

1 (11.5 oz.) can apricot or mango nectar

1/2 c. FRESH lime juice (about 4-5 limes)

2 12-oz. cans ginger ale (or 3 c.)

Combine pineapple juice, cranberry juice, "nectar," and lime juice. Chill until ready to serve. When ready, you can either mix the ginger ale with the juice-ish mixture or you can mix the drinks 2 parts juice, one part ginger ale. Serve over lots of ice. Garnish with fresh fruit and a little paper umbrella if you feel the urge!