Mel's Rolls

1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, well beaten
5 cups flour (unsifted)

Mix together warm water, sugar, and yeast. Scald milk; add butter so it will melt, then put in refrigerator to cool. Let mixtures stand 20 minutes. In a large bowl combine sugar, salt, eggs, yeast mixture, milk mixture; stir in flour. Let rise 20 minutes. Knead on floured surface. Form into rolls. Let rise (about 20 minutes). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

From start to finish this takes me about 1 1/2 hours.

I like to use this recipe for cinnamon rolls.

Portuguese Chicken and Rice
1 whole chicken cut up, or 1 lb chicken thighs
1 onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
Half a pound of bacon
1 1/2 cups of rice
Salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken rub:
4 tablespoons of softened butter
olive oil
paprika
garlic powder
a little bit of salt

Fill a pot halfway with water, add the chicken, bacon, onion, bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken, bay leaf, onion ad bacon to a bowl and set aside. Pour 1 ½ cups of rice into the chicken broth and cook for about 20 minutes until rice is cooked.

In the meantime, in a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of softened butter. Add the olive oil and paprika, garlic powder and a little bit of salt, mix well until smooth. Spoon the rice into a greased 13 x 9-inch pan. Next layer the chicken on top, spread it out a bit so that you have room for the bacon and onions. Spoon the rub onto each thigh and using your hands, rub it all over, on both sides. Add the bacon and onions, placing them between the chicken thighs. At this point I add another 2 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces. Bake in a 425 º oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is brown and bacon is nice and crispy.

Laurie’s Notes: I made a lot of this so I did not have a pan big enough to put the whole dinner into. While I cooked the rice on the stove, I finished cooking the chicken with the rub and the bacon and onions for 30 minutes. Then when I served it, I combined the rice and chicken on the plates. It worked out well and tasted very yummy this way also.

Chicken Enchilladas Casserole
Bake: 350º Cook Time: 25 minutes

1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1 -4oz. can green chili peppers
3 Tbsp. margarine
¼ cup flour
1 tsp. ground coriander seed
¾ tsp. salt
2 ½ cup chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
12 -6in. tortillas


In large saucepan, cook onion and green pepper in 2 Tbsp. margarine till tender. Combine in a bowl with chopped chicken and green chili peppers; set aside.

In same saucepan, melt 3 Tbsp. margarine. Blend in flour, coriander, and salt. Stir in chicken broth all at once; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and ½ cup of cheese. Stir ½ cup of sauce into the chicken. Dip each tortilla into remaining hot sauce to soften; fill each with about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture. Roll up. Arrange rolls in a 9x13 baking dish; pour remaining sauce over. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, in 350 degree oven about 25 minutes or till bubbly.



Laurie's Notes: I don’t use the green peppers or green chili’s. I also prefer to use canned chicken but only because it’s faster prep time and easier for my kids to eat.

Butter Cream Icing

½ cup solid vegetable shortening
½ cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 tablespoon milk

In a large bowl, cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until you’re ready to decorate. For best results, keep icing in refrigerator when not using it. Icing can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. Rewhip before using. Makes 3 cups.

Note: To use the above recipe to ice cake smooth, add an extra 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or light corn syrup to make icing easy to spread.

Chili

Brown:
1 lb. hamburger (do not drain grease)
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small garlic clove

In large saucepan combine:
1 28-oz. can of tomatoes
1 28-oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cans kidney beans (juice and all)
¼ c. chili powder
¼ c. parsley
crushed red pepper to taste

Combine with meat mixture. Bring to a boil. Add a stick of butter. Simmer for 1 hour.

CINNAMON ROLLS

Cream:
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar

Add:
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup warm mashed potatoes (or 1 cup boiling water and 1 cup potato flakes)

Dissolve:
1 package or 1 TBL yeast with
1/2 cup warm water

Add to first mixture:
Dissolved yeast
1 additional cup of warm water

Add:
6-7 cups flour, one at a time, mixing each cup with a fork

Let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, punch down

Roll dough 1/4 inch thick and sprinkle with half of the following mixture:
1/2 cube melted butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBL cinnamon

Roll the dough into a long roll; cut into sections. Place on a greased pan; let rise 40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or just until golden brown. Top warm rolls with medium glaze of powdered sugar and a small amount of water and some vanilla mixed together.

Great Chili Beans

2 cups dried pinto beans
2 cloves of fresh garlic (pressed through garlic press)
1 onion chopped
1 - 29 oz. can tomato sauce
1 - 30 oz. can of tomatoes (sliced)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 TBL salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 TBL chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 TBL brown sugar
1 tsp cumin

Cook beans until soft, about two hours. Drain. Cook ground beef, onion, and garlic. Add beef mixture and all other ingredients to the cooked beans and simmer for at least an hour or longer if you want thicker chili.