Grilled Cheese...With a twist

I don't have a picture of this particular sandwich, but you may find one by searching Paula Dean. I got this recipe watching her show, and it was every bit as delicious as she made it out to be. :)

Grilled Cheese w/ bacon and apples with a roasted onion mayonaise

bacon strips, fried up
thinly sliced granny smith apple (gala works, too)
cheddar cheese slices
some sort of fun bread (french, sourdough, Italian, etc.)
purple onion
mayo

Chop your onion and roasted in a lightly oiled pan for 1/2 hr (350 I think). Fry your bacon and slice your apples. Butter two pieces of bread. Ok. I'll stop here. I think you know how to put a sandwich together. ;) When your onions are done, throw a 1/2 c. mayo in a blender and toss some onions in (to taste). Spread that on both pieces of bread (not the side you buttered) and then add your fixings and grill it like normal. It is a little bit of upscale eating in your every day kitchen. Bon appetit!

Beautiful Brown Rolls

Like most of you, I love some good homemade rolls. My favorite hands down are my late Grandma Marchant's Parker House rolls. I have tried and tried to recreate them, but have never managed it. So, when I got the craving for homemade rolls and the itch to bake simultaneously, I had Jeff search some cookbooks for a new roll recipe.


Beautiful Brown Rolls:


2 c. boiling water
1 c. quick cooking oats
2 pkg (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. molasses
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
5-3/4 to 6-1/4 c. flour
melted butter or margarine


In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water and oats; cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in warm water; stir into oat mixture. Add the eggs, molasses, oil, sugar, and salt. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface ; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide into 36 pieces and shape into rolls. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Brush with butter. Cool on wire racks. Yields: 3 dozen.


This recipe comes from "The Best of Country Cooking 2000" which is a Taste of Home cookbook.

Peach Pie

I was dying for some fresh peach pie last week, but not having any fresh peaches, I had to improvise. Fortunately, improvising is my specialty. :) What I did have were some jars of bottled peaches that needed to be used. (I know-big improvise) I pulled out some of my most trust-worthy cookbooks and found this in the ever-handy Betty Crocker cookbook:

Fresh Peach Pie (with canned peach variation)

9 in - 2 crust pie

2 cans (1 lb 13 oz) sliced peaches, drained

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 TBSP butter or margarine

Heat oven to 425. Prepare pastry. Mix peaches and lemon juice. Stir together sugar, flour and cinnamon; mix with peaches. Turn into pastry-lined pan; dot with butter. Cover with top crust which has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2-3 in strip of aluminum foil to prevent excess browning; remove foil last 15 minutes of baking. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

I sprinkled the crust with cinnamon and sugar on the top for a little extra sparkle. Not one piece of this pie was wasted.