Turkey Potato Bake

2 1/4 cups water
1 4.5 to 5 oz package dry julienne potato mix
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese *
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to boiling. Meanwhile, in a 2-quart baking dish combine dry potatoes and sauce mix from potato mix. Stir in turkey, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and the parsley flakes. Stir in the boiling water and the milk. Bake uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender, Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving, it will thicken on standing.

* I used monterey jack cheese as I didn't have cheddar.

*This recipe made barely enough for our family of 5, next time I will probably double the recipe and put it in a larger baking dish.

Lemony Turkey Rice Soup

6 cups chicken broth, divided
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups diced cooked turkey
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 t0 1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro*

In a large saucepan, combine 5 1/2 cups of broth, soup, rice, turkey, and pepper. Bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth. Gradually stir into hot soup.

Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and heated through. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve.

*I am not a fan of cilantro so I omit this from the recipe and it is still fantastic. It is also not something I keep in my food storage, so it's another bonus for me to omit it!

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. sugar

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. softened butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. chopped almonds, or pecans

48 Rolo (caramels in milk chocolate), unwrapped 9 oz. pkg.

1 tbsp. sugar

4 oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (opt.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; blend well.
In a large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar, brown sugar and butter until light. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture, blend well. Stir in 1/2 cup of the pecans.
For each cookie with floured hands, shape about 1 tablespoonful dough around 1 Rolo, covering completely.
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup pecans and 1 tablespoon sugar. Press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place nut side up, 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool on wire rack. Melt the vanilla flavored candy coating in a saucepan or in a baggie in the microwave. Drizzle over cookies.

Recipe from Sister Cafe

Buttermilk Refigerator Rolls

3 cups Buttermilk (room temperature)

3 cups flour
1 T. yeast dissolved in ¼ cup warm water (first let rise a few minutes)
½ cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten with a fork
2 tsp salt
5 cups flour (sometimes you need a cup more--it should not be too sticky)
½ cup oil
1 tsp baking soda

Dissolve yeast in ¼ c. warm water and let proof a few minutes. Mix the buttermilk, flour and yeast together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Cover and let this stand at room temperature until double in size, about 2 hours.
Add sugar, eggs, salt, flour, oil, and baking soda. Mix well and knead for 7-10 minutes. Roll out what you want and place the rest in the refrigerator, lightly covered so air can still circulate. The next time you want some fresh baked rolls, take from the bowl what you want and again put the rest back in the refrigerator. It will keep for 7 days. (This is perfect for Sunday meals because you don’t have a lot of mess to clean up and it’s quick.)
Let rolls rise on baking sheets until double in size. Time depends on the room temperature, usually 1½ - 2 hours. Dough from the refrigerator will take longer because the dough is cold.
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter if you like.

Recipe from Sisters Cafe

Orange Rolls

1 recipe dinner rolls (Lion House Dinner Rolls)
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 T. freshly squeezed orange juice
Grated orange rind from two large oranges

Orange Glaze:
Mix together 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 T. freshly squeezed orange juice and ½ tsp. grated orange rind.

Follow directions below for dinner rolls. Combine butter, sugar, orange juice and orange rind in a small bowl and mix well.
When dough is ready to shape into rolls, punch down and divide in thirds. Roll each portion into large rectangle about 9x13 inches, ¼ inch thick. Spread each rectangle with one-third of the butter/orange/sugar mixture. Starting with the long side, roll up jelly roll style. Seal edges well, then cut with dental floss into 1-inch slices.
Place on a greased baking sheet (I fit 15 on a sheet - three rows of five). Let rise away from draft until dough doubles. (Today that took about 1 hour.) Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes. (Mine were done at about 16 minutes, so check early.) Remove rolls from pans and cool on wire rack. When rolls are cool, drizzle with orange glaze.

Lion House Dinner Rolls

2 T. dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
2 1/2 tsp. Salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5-6 cups flour
1 egg

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, shortening, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add 2 more cups flour, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add about 1 to 1 1/2 more cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time until well mixed. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and satiny (I knead it in my Bosch mixer). Return dough to an oiled bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap; let rise until about triple in size. (Today this took 1 1/2 hours, in a warm place.) Use last of the flour as needed on the board for rolling and shaping the dough. Let dough rest on board for 10 minutes so it will be easier to manage if you roll it. Separate dough into three portions. To make plain rolls, roll out each portion into a circle and cut into 8 pie-shaped pieces. Roll up crescent-style and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Makes between 3-4 dozen rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

2 c. milk
2 cubes butter (1 cup)
2 pkg yeast (4 ½ tsp)
1/3 c. warm water
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
4 beaten eggs
8 c. flour
Filling: 1 square softened butter & cinnamon(lots) & sugar

Heat milk and 2 squares of butter together until butter is melted. Cool and set aside. Mix yeast and warm water; let stand 5 minutes. Add cooled milk, 1 1/3 c. sugar, 1 tsp salt, 4 beaten eggs. Add 4 c. flour and mix and gradually add 4 additional cups flour. Dough should be firm but sticky. Cover with cloth and put in a warm place, and raise 1 ½ to 2 hours. Dough should nearly be doubled in size. Divide dough in half and empty onto floured surface and knead a little. Roll dough into rectangle, about ½ inch thick. To this half of dough, spread on ½ square of softened butter, completely covering dough. Then sprinkle a coating of sugar over entire piece of dough. Then a layer of cinnamon. Be generous with the cinnamon; this is what makes it tasty. Roll into long roll, pinch edges together and slice with dental floss. Place on a cookie sheet covered with a silpt or parchment paper. Do same thing to second half of dough. Cover with a clean dishtowel (or saran wrap sprayed with cooking spray) and put in warm place, free of drafts, for 2 to 5 hours to raise--just depends-but the should be double in size. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until barely browned. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Drizzle with glaze while still warm. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Butter Cream Glaze:

1 cube softened butter (1/2 cup)

1 tsp vanilla

dash of salt

dash of cream of tarter

1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar

scalded milk or cream

Add all together...adding milk a little at a time, alternately with the powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. For cinnamon rolls, it needs to be a little thinner than regular icing.