Printable Recipe
12-24 pieces of bread, depending on how you cut it

1 1/2 c. warm water
3 T olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 t. salt
3 1/2 c. flour
1 T instant yeast
1/2 t. garlic salt
3 t. dried herbs (I used my Carrabba's blend)
extra dried herbs for sprinkling

Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.

Combine all of the ingredients, except the dried herbs for sprinkling, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it is puffy. (I only let it raise for 30 minutes and it was fine.)

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger (I used the end of a wooden spoon).

Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with the dried herbs of your choice, if desired. Bake the bread till it’s golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Holly's Note:
This was delicious. Very easy and nearly foolproof to make. I found the original recipe at Taste and Tell, who found it at My Kitchen Cafe, who adapted it from King Arthur Flour. How's that for giving credit?

I used my Carrabba's blend for the seasoning, but this is a versatile bread and you could season it any way you want. Mix your own herbs or use a favorite blend depending on what you're serving. I figured it would be greasy and so I used less olive oil for drizzling. It ended up being a bit on the dry side, so next time I will drizzle away!

1 recipe Good White Bread
3/4 c. sugar
1 T. cocoa
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. butter, divided
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. water
Chocolate pieces: semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, mini Hershey's kisses, or your favorite chocolate.

Mix granulated sugar, cocoa and cinnamon, set aside. Mix together 1/4 cup butter, brown sugar and water in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds or until smooth when stirred.

Pour mixture into 12-cup fluted tube pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pinch off pieces of bread dough; form into balls, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, placing 3 pieces of chocolate inside each ball.

Dip each ball in remaining 1/4 cup melted butter; roll in cocoa-sugar mixture. Place balls in prepared pan.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 20 minutes in pan; invert onto serving plate.

Holly's Note:
I found the original recipe at Hershey's, and modified it to use my own bread recipe.

Biscuits and Gravy is one of my most favorite breakfasts, and certainly the one I order the most when eating out.  I wanted to try making it myself.

Biscuits

I didn't want a full recipe of biscuits, so I fudged one of my own.  There are tons out there and Bisquick or refrigerated work too...

1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder (probably use 1 t. next time)
1 T cold butter
1/8 tsp. salt
about 1/2 cup milk

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add milk, stirring until soft dough is formed, if it's sticky add a little more four. Turn out on slightly floured board and lightly knead it until it's smooth enough to shape.  About 30-45 seconds.

Roll about 1/2 inch thick and cut with 2 inch floured biscuit cutter or a glass dipped in flour (which is what I do). Bake on an ungreased sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. This made about 4 biscuits.  They were pretty flat, so I think I'd add a bit more baking powder next time, but they were tasty.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound bulk sausage
A couple of tablespoons of flour
Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

I'm sorry that this isn't a specific recipe.  There are tons out there.

I molded the sausage into a roll and sliced off about 4 or 5 rounds.  After I fried them up, I set them aside, crumbled up the rest of the sausage and cooked it. Remove the sausage from the pan and add some flour to the drippings to make a roux.  You want it smooth, so add a little flour at a time.  You probably need about a tablespoon or 2.  Whisk it around and let it get nice and brown.

Add some milk, probably about a 1/2-3/4 cup, and stir.  If it's still a bit dry, add some more milk.  Whisk it all together and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.  Add the crumbled sausage back into the pan and stir some more.

Let it simmer, stirring occasionally.  It will thicken up.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Some people like to add a little sage.  Mine got a bit thick.  Next time, I would add more milk, so it was creamier.

Serve over biscuits, with a sausage patty on the side.

Printable Recipe

1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
4 T. butter
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
4 t. yeast
1 t. salt

Heat the water, honey and butter together until 120-130 degrees. Put in breadmaker. Add egg and dry ingredients. Mix. When cycle is completed, turn out and divide into 24 rolls. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter if desired.

Very light and tasty.

Holly's Note:
This is our new favorite bread roll recipe. I use this all the time. The original recipe wasn't a bread machine recipe. I just prefer to let the breadmaker do all my mixing and kneading for me. The original recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine.

Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Add egg, milk and butter. Stir until just moistened. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle a little cinnamon/sugar mixture on top. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until done.

Makes 12 muffins.

I don't know how the weather is where you live, but here in Idaho we think it's Spring! Actually, what we think is Mother Nature is bipolar and forgot to take her meds. It's warm, it's cold, it's sunny, it's rainy, it's Idaho.

Since it's been a cool and wet Spring (and we're very grateful for the moisture), I've decided that it's still soup weather and this is one of my favorites.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Pair it with Honey Oat Rolls for a delicious meal.

Printable Recipe

1 1/4 c. warm water
1/2 c. honey
2 T. oil (I used light olive oil, the original recipe called for canola)
1 1/2 t. salt
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. wheat flour
1 t. yeast

Place everything in your bread machine in whatever order the machine requires. Or, if you're like me, you just put it all in any which way. Let the bread machine do its thing. Once the dough cycle is completed, take the dough out and place it in a greased bread pan. Let it rise for about 20 minutes and then bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes.

Holly's Note:
This bread is terrific. Very light. Very more-ish as my husband would say. It's wonderful toasted. The original recipe calls for it to be baked in the bread maker, but I don't like how bread bakes up in my bread maker. I think it would be a great "food storage" bread, as all the ingredients are easy to keep on hand or in your food storage.

Printable Recipe


2 T. yeast
2-1/2 c. warm water
2 t. salt
2 T. vegetable oil
7 c. flour
1 T. cornmeal

Combine water, salt, oil and 2-3 cups flour in the mixer. Mix together. Add yeast and more flour. With the mixer running, continue adding flour until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom and is not too sticky. I used all 7 cups of flour. Let the mixer knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm oven until it's doubled, which was about 45 minutes for me. Punch it down and then form it into 8 round loaves. Place the loaves on a cookie sheet that has been lightly greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place, until doubled again. I let mine go about 45 minutes and I think I should have let it rise longer.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. To use as bowls, carefully slice the top off and pull out the center leaving at least 3/4 inch sides of bread in bowls. Fill with hot soup and serve immediately.

Holly's Note:
I found this at Safely Gathered In, a terrific food storage site.  I don't use all 8 bowls, but I freeze the remaining ones and just thaw them in the microwave.  These were terrific.  I've used it with Chicken and Wild Rice Soup as well as Ham and Potato Chowder.

Printable Recipe

2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium, the riper the better)
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 t. vanilla
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 t. baking soda
¼ t. salt

Combine bananas, eggs, oil and vanilla and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to banana mixture. Pour batter into greased pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until done.

Makes 1 large 9 x 5 loaf or two smaller ones. You can also make muffins or mini-muffins. For the muffins, bake for 25 minutes.

Holly’s Note:
If you don’t have quite enough banana mixture, add ½ cup of applesauce. My family loves this.

Printable Recipe

1 cup warm water
2 T. oil
1 t. lemon juice
1 ½ t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. powdered milk
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 t. yeast

In bread machine, place everything in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check after 5 minutes, add water or flour if necessary). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto floured surface. Form into a loaf and place into a greased loaf pan. Let rise again, and bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Holly's Note:
This is the same recipe as Good White Bread, just with wheat flour instead of white. My husband loves bread and he prefers heavy bread to light bread. He often says that we Americans don't know how to do bread correctly, and Wonder Bread doesn't count as bread. (He's right.) So, using whole wheat flour in this bread makes it a healthier as well as heavier loaf. You can do a mixture of white and wheat flour if you want it a little lighter.

Printable Recipe

8 oz cream cheese
1-2 cups frozen California Mixed Veggies (or whatever veggie you like) (parboiled for one minute)
1/2 t. pepper
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

Mix cream cheese, veggies, pepper and chicken together. Roll out crescent rolls. Place ~1 to 1/2 T chicken mixture into the center of a crescent and wrap it up, sealing the edges. Roll the hamster in breadcrumbs. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes. Easily serves 4.
Serve with the following gravy:

Hamster Gravy

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
2 t. beef bouillon

Mix soup, milk and bouillon together, cook until hot. Serve over hamsters.

Holly’s Note:

To freeze:  place unbaked hamsters on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm.  Wrap and store in freezer bags.  To cook frozen hamsters, thaw and bake as directed.

It’s really good for having missionaries over for dinner. If you want to double it, don’t add more cream cheese, it gets runny. Just keep adding veggies and chicken and crescent rolls.

I think my brother-in-law actually came up with the name “Hamsters” because we thought that rolled up, they looked like headless hamsters. Kind of gross, but the name just stuck, at least in our family!

Printable Recipe

1 cup warm water
2 T. oil
1 t. lemon juice
1 ½ t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. powdered milk
3 cups flour
2 t. yeast

In bread machine, place everything in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check after 5 minutes, add water or flour if necessary). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto floured surface. Pull it apart and form into 1” size balls.

Dip each ball into:
1/4 cup butter, melted

and then roll in the following mixture:
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Place in a greased casserole dish or bundt pan. Dump any remaining butter or sugar mixture over the top. Let it rise for 15 minutes or so. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Dump it onto a plate and enjoy.

Holly's Note:
This is the same recipe for Good White Bread. I know that most Monkey Bread recipes call for refrigerator biscuits and they're good too. We prefer using homemade bread. I don't often have refrigerator biscuits on hand anyway!

You can also do these the night before. Just pop the pan in the fridge overnight for a slow, second rise. In the morning, pull it out, let it sit at room temp for about 1/2 an hour and bake.

Printable Recipe

1 cup warm water
2 T. oil
1 t. lemon juice
1 ½ t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. powdered milk
3 cups flour
2 t. yeast

Dump everything into the bread machine. I don't worry about what order. Select dough setting (check after 5 minutes, add water or flour if necessary). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto floured surface. Form into a loaf and place into a greased loaf pan. Let rise again, and bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Holly's Note:
This same recipe can be used for Monkey Bread.

Printable Recipe
Makes 2 loaves

2 ¼ cup warm water
2 T. sugar
2 pkg. active dry yeast (4 1/2 t.)
1 T. salt
2 T. vegetable oil
6 cups flour

In a large mixer, combine water and sugar and yeast. Allow it to soften/proof for about 5 minutes. Add salt, oil, and half the flour; mix well. Add remaining flour. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. I just set my timer. Stir the dough down and allow to rest 10 more minutes. Repeat until dough has been stirred 5 times. It takes about an hour. I just go about my business listening for my timer. It's also very forgiving and if you can't mix/rest 5 times, 3 or 4 is ok too.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead 2 or 3 times. Divide dough into two loaves. Roll each loaf into a 9x13 inch rectangle (give or take). Roll from long side and pinch edges.

Place on baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Cover and allow it to rise about 30 minutes. Again, it's really forgiving if you're in a hurry and can't let it go that long. With a sharp knife, cut 3 gashes at angle on top of dough. Bake 400 degrees for 30 min, checking at about 20 minutes.

Holly's Note:
Delicious! I found the original recipe at Real Mom Kitchen. There are some awesome recipes there. This is a delicious bread that is fairly easy. The original recipe said that it was really soft, so I spritzed water on one loaf. Both loaves came out nice and brown. Once they cooled, both were soft, but still crusty. They were pretty dense loaves. I think they need a bit more than 30 minute rising time.

They are perfect with the Carrabba's Italian Seasoning mix. I also think it would be a great food storage recipe, because it doesn't need anything special or extra. It's nice and basic.

Printable Recipe

1 package yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
4 1/2 t. honey
1 T. nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 t. Italian seasoning
1 t. salt
4 1/2 t. pizza sauce
3/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
2 T. finely chopped onion
1 t. chopped olives
1 t. chopped mushrooms

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in honey and milk powder and until well blended. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup bread flour, wheat flour and seasonings. Add to yeast mixture, beat until smooth. Stir in pizza sauce. Stir in enough remaining bread flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until elastic. (6-8 minutes). Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top, cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour)./

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 14 x 12 inch rectangle. Sprinkle pepperoni, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, 2 T. mozzarella cheese, onion, olives and mushrooms to within 1/2 inch of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side, pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under. Place seamed side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining cheeses, Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

Holly’s Note:
I make the dough in the bread machine. Rather than going through the whole cycle, I just shut the machine off after it is kneaded, and let it rise in the machine until doubled. Once I roll it out, I treat it like a pizza and use our favorite Ragu, the toppings we like, the cheeses we like (not olives!), and then rolled it up and let it rise, etc.

I used the dough recipe for regular pizza, but we didn’t like it as well as we do the stromboli. This is great for snacking, but is also sells well at bake sales. The original recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine.

Printable Recipe

1 T. crushed red pepper
1/2 T. black pepper
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. dried rosemary, crushed
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried parsley
1/2 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. garlic, minced
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt

Stir/grind it all together and put ~1-2 tablespoons on a shallow plate. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over and mix it together. Dip warm French Bread into it and enjoy.

Holly's Note:
This is a work in progress. I've found several listings for this recipe online and I've since modified it. The original recipe was too heavy on the garlic and pepper, so I halved both and added a bit of sugar, which really finishes it. I will probably continue to tweak this, as I'm sure you will if you try it. It also needs a full-bodied, extra virgin olive oil, not a light one.

Ever since I discovered Carrabba's restaurant, I have been trying to duplicate the herb seasoning they use with olive oil and warm french bread. I would always ask the server what was in it, and then try and remember all the ingredients. Now that my local Carrabba's has closed, we can at least enjoy the seasoning/oil mix at home. If anyone can duplicate their Marsala sauce, please let me know!

Printable Recipe Here
Makes about 24 breadsticks


1 1/2 c. warm water
1 T. sugar
1 T. yeast
1/2 t. salt
3 - 4 1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl (I used my mixer), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for about 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, I used about 4 1/2) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Grease a bowl with shortening and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for ~45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. I couldn't let it go that long.

Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Roll into a rectangle and cut into strips with a pizza cutter.

You can then roll each piece of dough into a twist or just leave it as a stick, which is what I did. Place on a greased baking sheet.

Cover and let the dough to rise for about another 30 minutes. When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the garlic seasoning of your choice or Parmesan Cheese and garlic salt. 

Holly's Note:
I made Stuffed Meat Shells the other night and wanted a bread roll recipe that was easy, inexpensive and didn't make oodles of rolls.  I adapted this recipe from Our Best Bites, which is an awesome cooking blog. It's one of my favorites.

It sounds like it takes a long time, but it really didn't. I started them about 4:00 (I hadn't planned to do bread ahead of time) and wanted dinner on the table by 6. It was perfect. I think they'd be very forgiving if you couldn't let them rise the whole time. I actually got almost 24 breadsticks.

I sprinkled some with cinnamon and sugar which my son absolutely loved. I sprinkled some with my Carrabba's Blend and they were good, but we actually preferred them plain.

Printable Recipe

5 to 6 cups flour
1 yellow cake mix
2 pkgs (1/4 ounce each) quick-rise yeast
2-1/2 cups warm water (120° to 130°)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon

Combine ~4 cups flour, dry cake mix, yeast and warm water until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Brush with butter; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut each roll into 12 slices; place cut side down in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.

Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes. Frost warm rolls with Homemade Frosting.

Holly's Note* (amended):
This was a Taste of Home recipe that I'd had in my file for ages. It's easy to make and my family loved them. The rolls end up being quite large. Next time I won't let them raise as long, and I'll cut them smaller. It makes about 2 dozen, so I froze the unbaked rolls. When I wanted to make them again, I just pulled a bunch out of the freezer and placed them in a greased muffin tin. I put the muffin tin in a cold oven and left it overnight. The next morning, I removed the thawed, raised rolls, pre-heated the oven to 400 and baked them as normal. They were delicious.

I think they would be good with a white cake mix or even a lemon one.

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture until just combined. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Holly’s Note:
This is our favorite Sunday morning muffin recipe. They are awesome. Easy to make and oh, so yummy. The original recipe came from a Quick Cooking magazine.

1 cup water (70° to 80°)
2 T. butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. each, dried basil, oregano, thyme, crushed rosemary, and garlic powder
3 1/4 cups flour
2 t. yeast (or 1 pkg.)

In bread machine, place everything in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check after 5 minutes, add water or flour if necessary). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto floured surface. Divide into 16 portions, shape into balls. Place on baking sheet, cover and let rise until doubled (about 1/2 hour).

Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes (my oven is only about 9-10 minutes), until golden brown.

Holly's Note:
We love these. I haven't made garlic bread since I found this recipe. It is the perfect accompaniment to pasta dishes. These freeze well too. The original recipe came from a Quick Cooking magazine.