Burgers and Pasta Salad

It's got to be pretty spectacular to pull me out of non-blogging status to actually posting something anymore. I wish that wasn't the case. There have been times when I thought about something I've made and when I try to find it, I realize I never posted it, and then I have no clue where to look. Yesterday I made some hamburgers that were good, and today I made some pasta salad to go with the leftover hamburgers. Would you believe I got the inspiration for the burgers from the back of the Lipton box? True. As for the salad, I have a photo album category on my phone where I put recipes that I gather on the go. What I mean is that if I'm away from my house (and computer) and I see a recipe that looks good, I'll take a picture of it and it usually stays right in my phone and I never try it. Today was an exception, and I'm glad it was!

Lipton Onion Soup Burgers, adapted

2 lbs ground beef, 85% lean

1/2 cup greek yogurt

2 T mayonnaise (I used light)

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Gently mix everything together. Form into 8 patties. Grill or pan fry (I grilled!) until desired doneness. Top with cheese if you want. 

Pasta Salad  (adapted from centercutcook.com)

1 lb pasta of your choice (I used spiral pasta)

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (optional; I opted out because I didn't have an onion)

4 to 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)

1/4 cup sugar

2 T apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

optional- chopped broccoli

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse under cool water until no longer hot. Drain well. While waiting for the pasta to cook, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, pepper and parsley. Stir in the red bell pepper, celery, onion and broccoli (if using). When the pasta is no longer warm, stir it into the dressing mixture. Gently stir in the cheese. Chill salad for about 30-60 minutes before serving. 

And now I'll be able to find these recipes again because they're posted! Good thing there was a little bit of leftover salad so I had something to use for my photo!

Carrots or Candy?

If you had to choose whether to eat carrots or candy, what would you pick? Well, now you don't have to choose because these carrots are as sweet as candy! And the bonus is that they are beyond simple to make!

Please ignore the crockpot potatoes that look awful (they weren't awful but they look awful). 

Candy Carrots
carrots- as many or as few as you need to feed your army or yourself
olive oil- just enough to moisten the carrots
kosher salt- a sprinkle or two
Place an oven rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven using the broiler function. Peel as many carrots as you need (actually, you will need more than you think because people will taste these and then take three times more than you expected). Julienne slice the carrots into even pieces. I usually cut it in half horizontally, or thirds if it is a particularly long carrot, and then slice it into small pieces vertically. Drizzle a couple of teaspoons of olive oil into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Add the carrot sticks and shake or massage the bag to distribute the oil onto the carrots. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spread the carrots onto the cookie sheet in a single layer. Lightly sprinkle the carrots with a little kosher salt. Place cookie sheet into the oven and cook the carrots until tender, about 15-20 minutes, depending on how large or small you cut your carrots. Take a peak at them about halfway through the cooking time and give them a little shake. You can even take them out and flip them over, but I don't find it necessary to do that. When the carrots are tender (just pull one out and test it!), remove them from the oven and serve immediately. You're going to wish you'd cooked more. I promise.

Versatile Roll Recipe

I've put roll recipes on here in the past and I've been told they are good. A couple of weeks ago, we had another cousin dinner and my sister-in-law served rolls that were so divine I asked for her recipe before we left that night. The recipe is named Orange Rolls, but she didn't make them into orange rolls, she just made them into crescent rolls.
I made the crescent rolls the other night to take to a friend's house. Her kids devoured the rolls, and after her youngest had eaten three and asked for another, she was disappointed to be told they were all gone. The recipe makes four dozen rolls (I didn't take four dozen to the dinner), so with part of the dough I made some cinnamon twists. Laura made up some cream cheese frosting for some cookies we had the other day and it was perfect for dipping.

Sorry for the terrible lighting. This photo was taken at 3:45 AM. Yeah, I couldn't sleep...again.

So here, in my opinion, is the best orange/cinnamon/dinner roll recipe I've posted.

(Orange) Rolls (adapted from Kathy Knowlton who got it from someone named Gayle Jorgensen)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plus 2 T sugar (divided)
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 T yeast (I use instant)
3 eggs, beaten
4-6 cups flour
extra butter as needed, melted
small amount of kosher salt (unless you're making sweet rolls)

Scald the milk (heat just until tiny bubbles start to form on the edge of the pan) and remove from heat. Add the butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt and then cool mixture to lukewarm. Add the eggs. In a small bowl (I use my glass measuring cup) add yeast and 2 T sugar to warm water (wait a couple minutes if you are using regular yeast to make sure it proofs) and when the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add yeast mixture to milk mixture.
Now comes the only hard part- knowing how much flour to add. It's going to vary from day to day, kitchen to kitchen. Start with stirring in about four cups and add more until the dough is soft but still a little bit sticky. I stirred the flour in by hand instead of using a machine (it's pretty much the only exercise I've had in weeks). I used the full six cups. In fact, I actually made a mistake when reading the recipe and added 1 cup of warm water instead of 1/2 cup, therefore I needed more flour than 6 cups to resolve that mistake.
At this point, you can let it rise in the refrigerator or on the counter. It will rise more slowly in the refrigerator but sometimes that's a good thing depending on your schedule. If you choose that option, you need to take the dough out about three hours before you need to bake the rolls. If you don't refrigerate the dough, let it rise on the counter until doubled in size. "Punch" (I don't actually punch, I just collapse it) down the dough and shape into whatever you need depending on what you're going to make (crescents, balls, rectangle for cinnamon or orange rolls, etc.).
Divide the dough into four balls of equal size. Pick your variation from below.
For the twists shown here, I rolled out one ball the dough into a rectangle, brushed it with melted butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar, then used my pizza wheel to cut it into strips. I twisted the dough and baked it (see times below). If you want to make conventional cinnamon rolls, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread with melted butter. Spread a layer of brown sugar over the butter and sprinkle with as much cinnamon as you want. Roll up and slice (unflavored dental floss is my choice, or you can use thread too) and put in a 9x13" pan. Let rise and bake.
For the crescent rolls, roll dough into a circle. Brush with melted butter. Using pizza wheel, divide into twelve "pizza slices." Roll up, let rise and bake (again, see times below). When you take the rolls out of the oven, brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle a small amount of kosher salt on the tops of the rolls.
For the orange rolls, shape into twists or rolls (copy the cinnamon directions) rise and bake, then frost with glaze recipe below.
You could also turn these into breadsticks by rolling into skinny "snakes" then brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with a blend of Parmesan cheese mixed with a little garlic salt and oregano.

Let the rolls rise for about 15-20 minutes (it's not rocket science) and then bake at 375°F. for 15 minutes for the regular crescent rolls, 10-12 minutes for the twists or breadsticks, and 15-20 minutes for filled cinnamon or orange rolls.

Orange Glaze (I didn't use this part, but it was on the card from Kathy, so I'll include it)
2 T orange juice
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix all together and spread over cooked rolls or twists.

Holiday Jell-O

Last week I commented on Facebook that I got frustrated when I couldn't find something I knew I'd put in a safe place. This recipe was what I was referring to, which I found in the grocery sack with the ingredients. I know that once I blog it, I'll always be able to find it, so now it's REALLY in a safe place.
I served this Jell-O at our Empty Nester's party. It got a ton of comments! I originally got the recipe from the Relief Society meeting in Karen's ward in Arizona. I don't know who Rochelle is, as it was listed as Rochelle's Dessert. Yes, you could serve this as a dessert, but I prefer it with my meal, and since I don't know who Rochelle is, I'm re-naming it Holiday Jell-O.

Jell-O:

1 (6 oz) box cherry Jell-O

2 cups boiling water

1 (14 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce (not the jellied kind)

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)

1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling

Topping:

1 (3 oz) box instant vanilla pudding

1 cup milk

1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip (or to taste)

In a medium bowl, stir the cranberry sauce to break it up. Add the crushed pineapple with juice, and the cherry pie filling. In a separate bowl, stir the Jell-O and boiling water together until the Jell-O is dissolved. Add Jell-O to the fruit mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a 9x13 pan or individual serving dishes. Chill until set, about one hour.

Just before serving, mix vanilla pudding with milk and whisk until thick. Fold in about half to 3/4 of the Cool Whip container and check to see if it is the ratio you prefer, adding more Cool Whip if necessary, then spread it over the set Jell-O.

Note: I thought stiff paper cupcake liners were a good idea, but they became too soggy. The foil liners worked well though.

Crowd-sized portions:

Double the Jell-O ingredients and continue as directed for the instructions. For the topping, use one large box of pudding with 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 containers of Cool Whip. Makes 64 individual servings. 

Cranberry Sauce

I used to hate cranberry sauce. Then I learned to make it myself, and now I love it! Take a bag of these guys...

 ...and turn it into this.

Here's how:
Cranberry Sauce (by Our Best Bites)
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 pinch ground cloves (barely shake the bottle one time)
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
Turn the oven on to 350°F. Rinse the cranberries (there can sometimes be little sticks in there), and place the berries in a 9x13 pan. Add the water, cloves, cinnamon stick and orange juice. Give it a swirl, then sprinkle the sugar on top of the berries.
Bake for one hour.
I like my sauce a little lumpy, so I mash them a little bit after they've cooled slightly. You can process it in a food blender if you like yours smooth. Chill until ready to serve. I'm hoping there will be leftovers!

Now That I Have More Time

Would you believe that from time to time I make something that is not dessert? For dinner the other night, we had meatloaf and smashed potatoes. Ignore the green beans. Blah.
My sister made the same menu for dinner on that same night. Pretty funny (just goes to show how much we think alike). However, she used ATK's meatloaf and Our Best Bites loaded mashed potatoes.

And then we had this for the "salad."
Or maybe it was dessert- I can't really remember. But I do remember that Karen said she liked it better than the ambrosia salad I always made when she was a kid, and she likes that a lot. This is actually called Cookie Salad, but because I didn't have the cookies it wanted, I left them out. That way I could more reasonably justify it as a salad.
Here's how my version of this one goes- it's a no-brainer.

Fruit Salad Dessert (adapted from Real Mom Kitchen)
1 (3.4 oz) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup buttermilk (gives it a little zip!)
12 oz of cool whip
1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 cup raspberries (optional)
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, halved and well drained (I didn't have any- I used strawberries)

Mix the dry pudding mix, milk and buttermilk together with a whisk until it is well-blended. Fold in the Cool Whip and then gently fold in the fruit. Chill salad for about an hour before serving. I recommend eating your cookies separately, but if you want to be wild and crazy, the cookie in this salad is a fudge striped cookie (not a fudge stripped cookie, like it says on the blog this was adapted from). Click over to Real Mom Kitchen if you want to know how to include the cookies.

Pretty Jell-O

These are fingerable. I know, that's not a word, but I'm using it anyway. You can pick these up and walk around with them. Like jigglers.

I got the recipe from one of my very favorite food blogs, Our Best Bites. You can go there, or stay here, whichever you choose.

Glass Block Holiday Jell-O

4 (3 oz) packages assorted Jell-O (pick pretty colors!)

2 packets unflavored gelatin (Knox)

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Spray four containers (I used Snapware) with Pam (the idea here is that you are only making a small amount of each of the four colors, so a small container is fine at this stage). In the microwave, boil one cup of water in a glass 2 cup measuring cup. When it's boiling, remove it and pour in one color of Jell-O. Stir until it's dissolved. Pour into prepared container. Rinse out your measuring cup and repeat with other three colors of Jell-O (do I have to say "one at a time?" I didn't think so). Refrigerate until well-chilled, four hours or overnight.

In a medium-sized bowl, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup of cold water (this softens the gelatin). Let that sit for about four minutes. Meanwhile, boil 1 1/2 cups of water. Pour that boiling water over the gelatin and stir to combine, then add the can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir it together well, then let it come to room temperature.

Lightly spray a 9x13" pan with Pam. Get out your colored Jell-O and cut it into about 1/2" squares. Toss all the squares into the 9x13" pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jell-O. Make sure the same colored squares are not all hanging out in one spot. You don't want a whole clump of blue in one place. Let all the colors be friends with all the other colors. Also, you want the colors to be submerged below the white mixture, and level.

Refrigerate until firm (overnight is best). Cut into squares or rectangles or break out the cookie cutters and make shapes.

Now your Jell-O is super pretty. I heard that some people who have made this have poured their colored Jell-O in layers. Can you imagine how long that would take? I'm not willing to wait that long. Squares it is for me!