At Home My Way

Does anyone else remember when your favorite lunch item at school were those big huge puffy rolls that were served with almost every school lunch? Those were the days! Now it seems like kids are only served prepackaged, warm-up entrees and dinner rolls are a thing of the past. This dinner roll recipe is the best of the best! They are as good as those rolls made by little lunchroom ladies in hair nets! Sometimes I wear an apron, but never a hair net, and my rolls turn out perfect even though I'm not a lunchroom lady! This dough can be made in the bread machine, but they are pretty easy. (I'm just very wordy and tell you every single step here!) No Bread Machine Required. This recipe shared at the Grocery Cart Challenge SCHOOLHOUSE DINNER ROLLS (Bread Machine instructions) 1 1/3 cup very warm water (hot but no hurt) 1 packet of yeast (or 2 teaspoons) 1/4 cup white sugar Instructions: Measure the water in a 2 cup measuring cup, add the sugar and yeast. Mix well and set...

Our daughter was at a summer party in a rural small town nearby and tried some pulled BBQ pork which she raved about. She texted and begged the poor guy who brought the stuff to give her the recipe but he claimed it was an old family recipe and he couldn't give it up. Luckily I found a recipe that we love and we have been making it ever since! Here's how we make Crockpot Pulled Pork with Homemade Easy Tangy BBQ Sauce AT HOME MY WAY: CROCKPOT PULLED PORK WITH TANGY BBQ SAUCE Meat: Pork loin ( We don't really like pork butt roasts and prefer pork loins because we enjoy leaner cuts of meat  at our house but you can use whatever you prefer here. )  Spices for cooking the meat: 1 Tablespoon paprika 1 Tablespoon garlic powder 1 Tablespoon onion powder salt/pepper Tangy BBQ Sauce (I double this recipe): 1 cup ketchup 3 Tablespoons brown sugar 3 Tablespoons cider vinegar 2 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard 1/4 teaspoon pepper Instructions: ...

I made homemade yogurt again. Last time I made it, it turned great. But I just cooked with it and never got really brave enough to eat the stuff LOL. But, then I ran across this blog post at The Rickett Chronicles . I was inspired again to find a way to sweeten it and add fruit to it so I could really be eating something good for me. Ka-ching! I did it! This is how I did it: HOMEMADE YOGURT 1 half gallon 2 percent milk (I used Central Dairy because it is not ultra pasteurized. If it says ultra pasteurized, don't get it. It may fail.) 1/2 cup of store bought plain yogurt. (Freeze the other half for making yogurt another day. You can also use 1/2 cup of the yogurt you make to further make more batches of yogurt. But, every 4 batches or so you need to use the store bought stuff to strengthen your cultures.) 1/3 cup powdered milk 1 candy thermometer 1 cooler (I used one of those insulators for my crockpot because I could zip it up.) 1 large pot to cook in and 1 large ...

This goes great with this fish dinner ! My Mom and Dad used to have these friends in Florida and we would go to their house for fish fries. They lived on a canal in Eustis, Florida. The water was pitch black! Now, besides these fabulous potatoes, the other things I remember most about going to their house to eat was that the Mom kept sheets covering all of her furniture. Even when we were there for dinner. You would have thought we would have been "the guests" but maybe not. ;) The other thing was that they had this doberman pincher dog named "Satan" and she roamed around in the backyard patroling for gators. My mom made this dish and I modified it for my onion hater family. Its very good and is a healthier take on fried potatoes and onions. BAKED POTATOES AND ONIONS 1-2 bags of those cheapo little shoestring french fries. I use Always Save which I get from Country Market. Walmart does not carry them. They carry only regular cut fries, but they are really cut ...

We love to have a fish fry. But, in the winter or when I don't want to "smell grease" inside my house, or when I think Big Daddy needs to eat something healthier, I make fried fish in my oven. It works great! I even tested it on my parents and they loved it. BAKED "FRIED FISH" 6-8 crappy or tilapia filets (I used frozen tilapia filets) packaged Fish Fry mix - (I used the kind from Orscheln Farm Store) cooking spray (I use generic, of course) cookie sheet Place 2-3 cups of the fish fry mixture you are using in a gallon ziploc type bag. Put in the pieces of thawed fish. Shake good until each piece is well coated. You may have to turn them over and shake again. Spray your cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place the coated fish pieces on the cookie sheet. Spray the fish with a little cooking spray (it says 100% oil so its fine). Place in preheated 400 degree oven. Bake 30 minutes or so or until your fish feels solid and doesn't fall apart. You should be a...

I made some cole slaw to have with fish the other night. It turned out great. I could just make a small amount and will use the leftover cabbage for egg rolls. SUPER EASY COLE SLAW You will need: 1/2 cup Mayo/Miracle Whip (I had generic Miracle Whip also known as "salad dressing") 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tablespoons vinegar (I only had cider vinegar) Mix the ingredients for the dressing. Add to about 3 cups of grated cabbage or half a bag of cole slaw mix. Stir well and let sit in the fridge for an hour so the dressing softens the cabbage. I loved it!

Do you want a super simple crockpot meal that is comfort food at its best?   Crockpot Chicken & Biscuits is it!  You put chicken, cream of chicken soup and water in a crockpot. This takes me maybe two minutes tops to assemble. Cook all day (8-10 hours) and then after cooked, top with canned biscuits and finish off in the oven.  The recipe is SUPER SIMPLE!   * Freezer Crockpot meal directions further below. (I just tell every little thing here so it may look like a long recipe but the recipe is simple. Like - five steps! lol) CROCKPOT CHICKEN AND BISCUITS 6-10 pieces of chicken (I use boneless, skinless breast tenders.) (Thaw the chicken is using bone-in chicken.) 1 regular can cream of chicken soup (generic is fine or even homemade)  1 1/2 can water (use the can from the cream of chicken soup)  pepper (optional) (there's plenty of salt in the soup so I don't add any salt) 1 can of biscuits (We use generic Grands biscuits.) *NOTE: ...

(I eat this with yogurt and fruit, like the yogurt parfaits at McDonalds - but also this is completely fabulous with just milk - like a bowl of cold cereal.) Makes a great gift! PERFECT GRANOLA 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup oil (I use Canola) 1/2 cup honey 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. vanilla 7 cups oats (I use old fashioned, NOT quick cooking), chopped pecans, sliced almonds, etc. (just make sure your combined oats/nuts only equals 7 cups) Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and vanilla. Mix oats and nuts in a large bowl. Pour liquid ingredients over. Stir well until well coated. Spread in a 10×13 pan. (I use a broiler pan for this. I either spray it with Pam first or use a sheet of parchment paper - which I fold up and reuse over and over every time I make granola). Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Take out and stir. Return pan to oven. Turn oven off. Go to bed. Wake up to a delicious, cinnamon-y sent ...

My husband had the flu over New Years. Well... he said, "its just a head cold", but it was the flu and he's still not completely over it. Needless to say, I stayed in the kitchen trying all sorts of recipes that I always find and never get to. I have made homemade pita bread before, but sometimes they puff up and sometimes they don't. When I read about how soft these pitas are, I knew I had to try them! Boy am I so glad I did! They are absolutely perfect. And, the plus, they are another bread machine recipe so half the work was done for me. My daughter helped out making these pitas. She rolled them out for me. They were easy and very delicious! I made a mixture of chicken, peppers, and onions to put in our pitas because I didn't have any lunch meat. We both were eating with our eyes rolled back in our heads! LOL. I even opened one up and put a little grape jelly in there. Now, that was a little piece of paradise! I highly recommend these pitas. Don't be sca...

I made these terrific little cookies. And shhh! They don't use any butter, margarine, oil or shortening. I thought there was a problem with the recipe, but I made them anyway. And.... they are fabulous! They were a little different to work with, but they are just awesome! And so GOOD FOR YOU! HEALTHIER CHOCOLATE OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 2/3 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 cup brown sugar (white sugar is fine here as well) 1 cup oats (I used quick oats, but old fashioned is fine too) 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/3 cup corn syrup (I might try honey here) 1/8 cup chocolate chips (dark is the best for you, but I had milk chocolate) Mix together the flour, sugar, oats, cocoa and baking powder. Stir well to combine. Mix together the egg, vanilla, syrup and stir to mix. Add to the dry ingredients. Mix well. It will be very dry and crumbly. Just stir and stir with a sturdy spoon -like a wooden spoon. Add in chocolate chips - o...

I've always wanted to make my own homemade sandwich bread. (My picture quality is terrible but the bread is just PERFECT!) I have searched and searched for the perfect recipe for everyday sandwich bread and always the bread I make is either too heavy, too moist, or too MUCH! But, I made one this weekend that is so perfect. I don't know if this works the "old fashioned" way. I have a bread machine and so since the directions said to use a bread machine, that is what I did. However, I only use my bread machine for making the dough. After the dough setting completes, I take it from there and bake it in a regular loaf pan in the real oven. Its great! Very soft! In fact, I let it cool completely and still had to slice it with an electric knife. Picture trying to slice a loaf of Wonder Bread with a knife. That's what I'm talking about! Here's the recipe with exact instructions on how I did it. Worked like a charm and we had this for our favorite, peanut bu...

I can never seem to make a menu plan as a "plan". So, I decided I would make a menu journal. Then, next January I can at least see what we had this January. We have daughter #1 living at home with us right now (she moved home over the summer),so between she and Big Daddy, its nearly impossible to please them both by cooking the same thing. Sometimes, I end up making a combination dinner. That means I take one meat and cook it two ways, suiting both of them. Daughter #2 and I are more flexible. We like pretty much everything. But,then with that being said, we don't like repetitive meals (like hubby and daughter #1), so I probably do way more cooking than most folks. But, we're happy and that's all that matters, right? JANUARY 2010 Menu Log Main Dish/Supper Homemade Stir Fry / Steak & gravy with a micro potato BFF Chili / frozen pizza HM spaghetti sauce, cole slaw, and garlic toast Crockpot Chicken and Biscuits Baked "Fried Fish" , oven fried ...

HOMEMADE STIRFRY 2 (or more) chicken tenders or 1 med/large steak cut in small strips/chunks 2-3 Tablespoons oil (I use olive oil) 1 onion, chopped/sliced 1 green, red or yellow pepper, seeded and sliced or chopped 1/2 cup of Teriyaki sauce (in the bottle) 1/4 cup of General Tsao sauce (not sure how to spell that) 1/4 cup of water + additional water as needed 1 bunch of broccoli, cut into little trees (about 2 cups) 1 small can of mushrooms, drained (optional) Optional: Squash or zucchini (sliced); carrots (small slices) or whatever veges you have (fresh not frozen) (I buy the prebagged stuff at Gerbes) 2-3 packages of Ramen noodles cooked WITHOUT the seasoning packets and drained. (I used 3 packages last time and I could have fed 4 easily.) Start the ramen noodles after the meat is done because it moves pretty fast after that and you want your ramen noodles ready when the stirfry is done. Drizzle oil in large non-stick skillet. Add the onion/bell peppers/mushrooms/car...