Thanksgiving Dinner Sides

(photo by: Lara, author of "HowDoesShe.com" blog - http://www.howdoesshe.com/delicious-dinner-rolls follow the link to find a step-by-step picture process)

In addition to my fabulous juicy turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, I made my famous apple sausage stuffing and mashed potatoes to accompany it. I also tried a new dinner roll recipe found on pintrest.com (followed to blog called "HowDoesShe.com") along with some yummy roasted carrots (from "So Wonderful So Marvelous"). My hubby does not like cooked carrots; roasted carrots is the closest he'll come to eating any type of cooked carrot. Both recipes are keepers; I can't wait to make them again!

Dinner Rolls:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups of warm water
about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
at least 1 cup of butter

Directions:

• Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.

• We are going to add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.
• (Keep track of how much flour you are adding!!!)
• Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!
• Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour.
• Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it raise.
• Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.
• Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.
• Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.
• Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter.
• Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.
• Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!
• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes, It may take longer depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.
• While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

Balsamic Honey Glazed Oven Roasted Baby Carrots

(Photo by: Michelle, author of "So Wonderful So Marvelous" blog - http://www.sowonderfulsomarvelous.com/2010/01/cooking-challenged.html)

Ingredients:

2lbs baby carrots
4 tbsp olive oil divided
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

• Roast 2 pounds of baby carrots in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes with some seasoning (salt/pepper) and a little olive oil.
• Pull out of the oven and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of honey, and about 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

• Pop them back into the oven for about 5 more minutes.

(photo by: *Huntergirl* from food.share.com)

I have a limited opportunity to try new recipes during my month long break from school. So I'm attempting to try a new recipe as often as possible; even if it means beginning at 11 o'clock at night. I made these tasty treats the night before Thanksgiving, so we'd have something yummy and quick to eat in the morning. They were delightful!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans (toasted these briefly first on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Just)
• 2 1/2 cups flour (I used half white, half whole wheat)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups.
3. FILLING: Beat cream cheese until soft.
4. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar.
5. Beat until smooth.
6. Set aside.
7. STREUSEL TOPPING: Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans.
8. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly.
9. Set aside.
10. MUFFIN BATTER: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
11. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and gradually incorporate eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla.
12. Beat together until smooth.
13. Fill cups with pumpkin mixture until they're about 1/2 full.
14. Carefully add one tbsp of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter.
15. If you're using paper cups, try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper.
16. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
17. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Salisbury Steaks with Caramelized Onion Gravy

I found this recipe on my new favorite website Pintrest.com. If you follow the link, it directs you back to a blog called "One Perfect Bite.blogspot.com." I decided to make this for dinner tonight to avoid spending money eating out, like we regularly do on the weekends. The steaks were good but what made this recipe outstanding was the delicious caramelized onion gravy! I served my steaks with homemade mashed potatoes (always homemade - never from a box!), which went perfectly with the gravy.

Salisbury Steak with Caramelized Onion Gravy

Ingredients:
Onion Gravy
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional - but this is what gives the gravy it's phenomenal flavor!)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
Meat Patties
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup cooked white rice (Substitute: I used 1/4 cup bread crumbs instead of cooked rice.)
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
1) To make gravy: Heat butter in a large sauté pan. Add onions and cook over medium-high heat, until onions start to brown, stirring occasionally. When onions are slightly softened and turning a deep honey brown, add 1/4 cup broth. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking, adding more broth as needed to prevent caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan from burning. It should take at least 25 to 30 minutes to properly caramelize onions. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Stir in remaining beef broth and tomato paste. Stir in cider vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

2) To make patties: Mix ground beef, rice, egg yolk, salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and thyme in a bowl. Shape into 4 oval patties about 3/4-inch thick. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Sear patties about 3 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms. Pour gravy over patties and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or noodles. Yield: 4 Servings.