Lattice-Top Chicken Bake

This has been in our digital codex for a very long time. We made it a lot when the kids were little, but did not make it as often in the past decade. We got out and brushed off the recipe. It was still well-liked, a good one to have in the list for my omnivore family.

Ingredients:
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of potato soup
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup French fried onions
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tube (8 oz) crescent rolls

Directions:

1. Cook chicken as desired. Cube into small pieces. 
2. In a bowl, mix veggies, chicken, soup, milk, cheese, onions, and salt. 
3. Transfer to a greased large baking dish.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
   While it bakes, separate crescent dough into 2 rectangles. 
5. While it bakes, separate crescent dough into 2 rectangles. 
6. Seal perforations; cut each rectangle lengthwise into 4 strips. Weave strips
7. over warm filling, forming a lattice crust.
8. Bake 15 min longer or until crust is golden brown.

Notes:

• Serves 6-8, according to the recipe, and if you have small children. It's closer to 4-6 

Cinnamon Buns

"Land of Nod" Cinnamon Buns. My daughter made these several times over her high school years to bring to classes as snacks and treats. They were always popular.

Ingredients:
20 Frozen Dough Rolls
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding
1-2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Spray a 10" Bundt pan withi cooking spray.
2. Add frozen rolls.
3. Sprinkle with brown sugar, pudding powder, and cinnamon.
4. Pour melted butter over everything.
5. Cover with a damp tea cloth, and leave out at room temperature overnight.
6. When ready in the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Remove cloth, put the Bundt pan with rolls in the oven.
8. Bake 25 minutes.
9. Let sit 5 minutes, and invert on a plate.

Maple Cinnamon Rolls

Off the bat, nothing compares to Preston Rolls (original and vegan.) But, if you need something a little easier to make - like so much easier and less pressing, these fit the bill. They are also a different type of cinnamon roll. 

These should be served warm and as fresh out of the oven as possible. You can do most of the prep the night before and finish putting the rolls together and baking the next day - or a couple days down the road if you have a lot of baking/cooking ahead of you. It is okay to freeze these as well. 

Ingredients:

1 quart almond milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets

8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

additional flour

1/2 lbs (2 sticks) Earth Balance

1.5 - 2 cups sugar

cinnamon

Maple Frosting

2 lbs powdered sugar

2 teaspoons Maple Extract

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup brewed coffee

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Heat until steaming heavily. Turn off heat and leave to cool to lukewarm, 30 - 60 minutes.
2. Once mixture is lukewarm, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add both packages of Active Dry Yeast across the top. (Not a single pile.) Let this sit for a minute. 
3. Add 8 cups of all-purpose flour, slowly. Stir mixture together.  For first 4-5 cups, use regular mixing arm. Use dough hook once dough starts for form. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
4. After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and refrigerate until you need it. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
5. To prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. 
6. Take half the dough and place on floured surface. Roll the dough in a rectangular shape (longer side nearest you) and thinning the dough. 
7. Drizzle 1 stick or so melted butter over the dough. Then sprinkle 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar over the Earth Balance followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
8. Roll the dough lengthwise on the long side of the rectangle (so you have a long roll of buns rather than a short and very fat stick.)
9. Use cooking spray or extra Earth Balance to grease pans. Cut the rolls approximately 1 inch thick and place in the buttered pans.
10. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Check often.
11. For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. Viscosity will vary. Thicker is better, as long as it pours. Taste and adjust as needed. Pour over the rolls.

Notes:

• You can also add other fillings, such as chocolate chunks or caramel. 
• You could also line your baking pans with foil, and turn them upside down after the frosting has soaked in. This creates more of a sticky bun feel.

Cinnamon Roll in a Mug

Trying to slowly start making my breakfasts again, even if it is just oatmeal. The first breakfast I tried from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor was this gem. Once I got comfortable putting it together, it's a very quick and easy breakfast to make for 1. It's also incredibly yummy. 

Ingredients:
¼ cup flour 
¼ tsp baking powder 
2-4 tbsp soy or almond milk, depends on the brand 
1 tbsp pure maple syrup 
¼ tsp vanilla extract 
1 tbsp brown sugar 
heaping ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 
3-oz plain vegan yogurt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking powder together until well combined. 
2. Stir in milk, maple and vanilla. 
3. If the batter is very dry, add 1-2 tbsp more milk (batter should be thick, not dry or runny). 
4. Spoon into a microwave-safe coffee mug and set aside briefly. 
5. In a separate bowl, whisk brown sugar and cinnamon together then sprinkle over the batter in your mug. 
6. Use a knife to swirl cinnamon-sugar into the batter. Or use a spoon to mix it in, although not necessarily thoroughly. 
7. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 25 seconds. 
8. Top with yogurt or eat on the side.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 258 calories, 2.0g fat, 50.7g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 27.8g sugars, 9.0g protein
• Suggestions: Add a side of fruit.

Vegan Preston Rolls

As I stated last year, Preston Rolls are a tradition at my house. I love Preston Rolls. However, I became vegan this year, so the standing family recipe would not be suitable. I have been learning vegan baking, and made just a couple edits. Because Preston Rolls are so finicky anyway, I think these turned out just about the same as previously - at least within the variation that one can expect out of Preston Rolls.

Ingredients:

1+ cake yeast
1⁄2 cup lukewarm water


2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
6 tablespoons water


2 1⁄2 cups (unsweetened) almond milk
 1⁄2 cup vegetable shortening  
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
8 1⁄4 cups flour


For rolling out:
1 stick vegan butter, melted
cinnamon
brown sugar
flour to coat counter and rolling pin
walnuts 


For icing:
1 cup powdered sugar 
1 tablespoon almond milk  

Directions:

1. Soak yeast in lukewarm water. (I have a hard time with the “lukewarm.” Basically, lukewarm is room temperature, so I take my cup of water at a medium temperature out of the tap, and let sit for awhile on the counter. Then I add the yeast and stir just a tiny bit, lightly.) When dissolved, add 1⁄2 cup flour. Beat well and set aside to rise. It should about double in volume. See photo below for end result.
2. Make your flax eggs by beating your ground flax seeds with the water. Set aside in fridge for 15-60 minutes. 
3. Heat milk and shortening together, stirring to dissolve shortening. Cool to lukewarm. 
4. Add sugar, salt, and beaten flax eggs to milk mixture. (Do this in stand mixer using the low setting with beater attachment.)
5. Gradually add yeast mixture and flour. After 1st two cups of flour, switch to dough hook. Knead well. (Let dough hook continue for 10-15 minutes.)
6. Dough should not be stiff. Allow to rise (takes a few hours). Punch down, rise, punch down, rise, punch down.
7. Set in rolls:  Pat out, brush melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts as desired. Roll up, cut up, and put in greased (with shortening, vegan butter, spray, or your favorite method) pans. (The rolls should be crafted within about 12 hours of first starting to raise the dough. Any later and they get a little iffy.)
8. Allow to rise. (Can leave overnight if it's late.)
9. Bake 350º for 30 minutes. Serve warm out of the oven with icing. You can serve straight out of the oven, or microwave individual rolls for about 20 seconds each.
10. Just before serving make icing.

For icing:

1. In a small bowl, stir milk into the sugar until smooth. Should be fairly thick. Add more sugar to thicken, add more milk to hin. Spoon over individual rolls. Icing will harden after a short time. Store in fridge. Stir to continue uese once hardened. Add milk to thin if necessary. 

Notes:

• Makes 1 batch, ~ 4 dozen rolls. Double by adding another yeast cake.

• Where to find cake yeast: Fleishmann's makes cake yeast, which I found in Seattle in the dairy section (next to the Toll House Cookie dough tubs) at a local grocery store (one that is actually a part of a national chain.) When I lived near my mother, she'd procure cake yeast from a local bakery and deliver some to me. Cake yeast is called cake yeast because it is active live yeast in the form of a cake, rather than active dry yeast in the form of granules. Do not substitute other forms of yeast - they will not be Preston Rolls.

This is the end result of step 1 - bubbly mixture about twice the initial volume of the yeast + water + flour.

Bread: Preston Rolls

A Christmas tradition at my house is Preston Rolls. The lineage of these rolls, as I understand it, is that a person who helped my grandmother made these rolls. The recipe passed to her girls, who shared it with my mother. My mother said she tweaked the original recipe just a bit. The recipe given here is these. I find these difficult to make. They do not always turn out. Because of this, and because I can't direct you to an original recipe or another link, I've photographed the directions step by step.

These are an excellent cinnamon roll that took me 24 hours to make this year, but they certainly take all day at the least. Enjoy!

Yeast in lukewarm water with a half cup flour starting to rise.

Warmed milk with shortening dissolved.

The remaining 7 3/4 cups flour, beaten eggs and sugar to go into the milk and shortening.

Mixing in the milk with shortening, eggs, and sugar.

The black mark shows how far the yeast had risen after an hour or so.

You know the yeast is doing it's job when the mixture is bubbling.

The yeast and the 1st two cups of flour.

Switching to the dough hook after the first two cups of flour.

Adding the remaining 5 3/4 cups of flour.

This is the mixing.

After a few cups, the dough starts to form.

Letting the dough hook knead for 10-15 minutes.

Putting the dough in a bowl to rise. 

My method of raising is to put it in a warm place (and block it off from dogs.)

This is the dough after the first rise, which took about 3 hours.

And this is how it looks after I punched it down the first time.

This is the dough after the third and final rise.

Take a handful of dough, put it on a floured surface, flour it up a bit, and roll it out. 

Brush melted butter across dough, sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts.

Roll them up.

Cut into lengths appropriate for your baking dish.

Place the rolls into the dish with about an inch of personal space around each.

Here, all my rolls are placed in baking dishes. Yes, I used random dishes. It's probably better to use all the same type of good pan.

Now the rolls need to rise. Again, this takes several hours. I left mine overnight because it was close to midnight this year.

The risen rolls.

A pan of raised rolls.

After baking for 30 minutes at 350º.

Make some icing.

Serve warm on a plate with some icing. 

1 batch (can double with extra cake of yeast)

Ingredients:

1+ cake yeast
1⁄2 cup lukewarm water

2 1⁄2 cups milk
 1⁄2 cup shortening  
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
8 1⁄4 cups flour

For rolling out:

1 stick butter, melted
cinnamon
brown sugar
flour to coat counter; rolling pin walnuts 

For icing:
1 cup powdered sugar 
1 tablespoon milk 

Directions:

1. Soak yeast in lukewarm water. (I have a hard time with the “lukewarm.” Basically, lukewarm is room temperature, so I take my cup of water at a medium temperature out of the tap, and let sit for awhile on the counter. Then I add the yeast and stir just a tiny bit, lightly.) When dissolved, add 1⁄2 cup flour. Beat well and set aside to rise.
2. Scald milk. While milk is hot, add shortening. Cool to lukewarm. (This step probably hearkens from the days of needing to heat milk, but it remains to dissolve the shortening.)
3. Add sugar, salt, and beaten eggs to milk mixture. (Do this in mix master using the low setting with beater attachment.)
4. Gradually add yeast mixture and flour. After 1st two cups of flour, switch to dough hook. Knead well. (Let dough hook continue for 10-15 minutes.)
5. Dough should not be stiff. Allow to rise (takes a few hours). Punch down, rise, punch down, rise, punch down.
6. Set in rolls:  Pat out, brush melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts as desired. Roll up, cut up, and put in buttered pans. (The rolls should be crafted within about 12 hours of first starting to raise the dough. Any later and they get a little iffy.)
7. Allow to rise. (Can leave overnight if it's late.)
8. Bake 350 – 375º for 30 minutes. Serve warm out of the oven with icing. You can serve straight out of the oven, reheat an entire pan at 350 for 30 minutes, or microwave individual rolls for about 20 seconds each.
9. Just before serving make icing.

For icing:

1. In a small bowl, stir milk into the sugar until smooth. Should be fairly thick. Add more sugar to thicken, add more milk to hin. Spoon over individual rolls. Icing will harden after a short time. Store in fridge. Stir to continue uese once hardened. Add milk to thin if necessary. 

Other Details:

• Makes ~4 dozen rolls.
• Finding cake yeast: Fleishmann's makes cake yeast, which I found in Seattle in the dairy section (next to the Toll House Cookie dough tubs) at a local grocery store (that is actually a part of a national chain.) When I lived near my mother, she'd procure cake yeast from a local bakery and deliver some to me. Cake yeast is called cake yeast because it is active live yeast in the form of a cake, rather than active dry yeast in the form of granules. 

Bread: Carol's Sweet Rolls & Ryan's Honey Wheat Version

My mother-in-law makes sweet buns that are fantastic and are a staple of the holiday season. A holiday season a few years ago, the husband acquired her sweet bun recipe. His are not quite the same as hers, and because we like whole wheat bread better, he adjusted the recipe for a honey wheat version. The recipe posted here is what the husband makes, with the honey wheat variation given at the end (in a very non-exact way). Enjoy!

Carol's Sweet Roll

Honey Wheat Sweet Buns

Carol's Sweet Rolls
Ingredients:
1 yeast packet in ¼ cup water
1 cup sugar
½ stick butter, melted
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups lukewarm water
7 cups flour

Directions:

1. Prepare the yeast in warm water according to yeast packet temperature directions.
2. Mix the sugar and salt into 4 cups of flour. '
3. Mix the butter, eggs, and water. Check to be sure the temperature of the wet ingredients is within 80-90ºF.
4. Mix the yeast and wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
5. Using the dough hook, knead to mix. Add 1 cup of remaining flour at a time, kneading to fully mix until all flour has been added.
6. Let dough raise in an oiled bowl in a warm location, covered by a tea towel, until it has doubled in size.
7. Oil heavy sheet pan. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Tear off small handfuls of dough. Roll each piece into a ball, and place on the oiled pan.
8. Let rolls raise in a warm location covered until rolls have grown to adequate size. At least 30 minutes, an hour is better.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
10. Remove from pan onto racks and brush with melted butter.

Ryan's Honey Wheat version of Carol's Sweet Buns
Ingredients and Directions:
Use whole wheat flour and honey. Top with rolled oats.

Other Notes:

• Makes a few dozen rolls. 
• For sweeter buns, don't add the sugar until after all the flour has been added.
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Bread: Ree's Rolls

So, you may have discovered one of our favorite sites to get recipes is The Pioneer Woman. (Or maybe not as it looks like I haven't posted some of the other things we make of hers quite yet. They're coming!) The husband decided to make these a couple years ago for the fun of it, near as I can tell. And they are everything everyone raves about them all over the place. I think when I brought them up on facebook at the time, I got a lot of positive response. So, here they are: Ree's Rolls, as we call 'em.

Ingredients:

1 quart Whole Milk

1 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets

8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

Plenty Of Melted Butter

2 cups Sugar

Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

Maple Frosting

1 bag Powdered Sugar

2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring

1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Melted Butter

1/4 cup Brewed Coffee

1/8 teaspoon Salt

Directions:

1. Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
2. After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it -- overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
3. When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
4. Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
5. Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
6. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
7. For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don't skimp on the frosting.

Other details:

• Original Recipe
• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: Easy
• Servings: 8 rolls per pan (about seven pans)
• If I recall correctly, the husband made some with chocolate chunks, some with traditional cinnamon filling, and some with caramel or something like that.
• Ree gives this note: Note: My rolls don't work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees.
• Nutrition is per roll, assuming 56 rolls can be made with this recipe.
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