"Faux" Lion House Rolls

Those of you that know the Lion House Rolls know that they are they best rolls on the planet. I swear I could eat an entire tray of them. I have the actual recipe and truthfully it isnt that difficult. However, it is somewhat time consuming. Recently a friend of mine that attends my church gave me this recipe which tastes pretty darn close to the coveted Lion House Rolls and its a bit more simple. It makes a lot too which is great because if you are like me, you eat more than one roll with each meal!

7 cups Flour
2 Tbs yeast (3 1/2 pkts) - use the quick rise
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 tsp salt
2 eggs

• Mix together 3 1/2 cup flour, yeast, salt, sugar
• Heat 1 1/2 cup milk & shortening until melted. Remove from heat and add rest of milk.
• Pour liquid into dry ingredients and add the eggs and the rest of the flour. Mix well.
• Knead with flour for 2-3 minutes. Let rise until double in size. Punch down and roll out and shape ( I make crescents) Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Let rise again for 15-30 minutes
• Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Sorry I dont have a picture.....I will post one the next time I make them!

Aunt Sally's Broccoli Potato Soup....

This recipe is soooooo good. While we were living in Kentucky we had the pleasure of being fed on occasion by Denver's Aunt Sally. This woman can cook. I might even try something out of my comfort zone if it is cooked by her. In fact....I cannot stand broccoli. Wont eat it. Never have liked it. Unless it is in this soup! It really is yummy. I fed some to my brother the other day who probably hates broccoli more than I do and got the same reaction...... "Now this is good". So that being said, Im going to post this recipe here with all props going to Sally Miller of Drift Kentucky who so VERY graciously gave me this recipe (and I hear she doesnt give out her recipes often).

Broccoli Potato Soup

6-8 small to medium Russett potatoes peeled and quartered
1 small vidalia onion (or sweet onion if you cant find Vidalia)
2 stalks of broccoli chopped (fresh is best)
1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup)
Velveeta Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
milk

~ first add the potatos to a large pot and cover with water. Heat to boiling then add the chopped onion and then the broccoli. Boil until veggies are soft (about 15 min). Drain off water and mash with a potato masher until its the consistency you like ( we like small chunks in ours so I dont mash it up too much). Add butter and cheese and stir a bit then cover and let it sit for a minute to allow the cheese to melt. Stir again until all the cheese is melted through. Add salt and pepper to your liking and then add milk to make a good soup consistency. Serve in bowls and sprinkly celery salt on top.

TIPS:

This was a hard recipe for me to follow at first because everything is so general. This is the way she cooks. "A little of this and a little of that".....no solid measurements. Agh! But, I worked through it and found that it really is all about personal preference. The Velveeta for instance, I used the lower fat version and I use a medium block of it. It comes in a little 8oz size and then I think the size I used was 16oz.....anyway, it depends on how much of the cheese flavor you like. I also use skim milk so this really is a great way to eat a "creamy" soup without all the fat. The celery salt on top at the end really adds some great flavor to the soup so I would definitely suggest using it. Oh, and once I didnt have velveeta and decided to use shredded cheddar cheese....tasty but not a great texture. It ended up being really curdled....not very appetizing so I suggest sticking with Velveeta.

Oreo Cookies.....

I got this recipe from a girl that I worked with years ago....cant remember her name. They are sinfully good and I bet you can't eat just one!

Oreo Cookie

1 box Devils Food cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 shortening

~ mix these ingredients together. Dough will be pretty thick. Roll into quarter sized balls (or bigger if you want a bigger cookie) Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees. I personally dont cook mine longer than 8 minutes because I prefer a soft and chewy cookie.

Filling

1 lb box of powdered sugar
1 8oz block of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup of butter (yes, that means 2 whole sticks!)
1 tsp vanilla

~cream butter and cream cheese together first. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add vanilla.

TIPS:

It is best to chill the frosting first before spreading but if you dont have time, then definitely you will need to chill the cookies after otherwise the filling will ooze out and make a huge mess! I always just keep them in the fridge until ready to serve.

The Perfect Biscuit....

My husband is from the south so gravy and biscuits are a staple for him. This is hard for me because I dont like this particular meal..... I eat my biscuits with butter & jam or honey only. Still, I wanted to find a biscuit that suited me....fluffy....and also my husband.....chewy. I sortof came up with this one on my own based on a few different recipes I found combined with tips for perfect biscuit making. I think these are perfect.....hope you do too!

2 cups self rising flour
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup fat (butter or shortening)
1 cup buttermilk (or plain milk)

~combine flour & sugar. Add butter and blend with a pastry blender until it becomes mealy. Dont over mix though because you dont want the butter to get to soft. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Use your hands to fold the flour into the milk until it is all blended. You may have to add a little more milk to make a dough but dont put too much....you dont want it too gooey.

~place onto lightly floured surface and fold the dough over itself 3 to 4 times. This creates layers. Softly roll out the dough but leave it thick. If you roll it too thin you will end up with what I like to call hockey puck biscuits..... Use biscuit cutter to cut out circles. Place the cutout biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and make sure they are touching each other. I like to place them all in a circular clump in the middle of the sheet. Bake at 415 degrees for about 15 minutes. I prefer to watch them and take them out when they are just browning on the top.

SOME TIPS:

• 
  if you use regular all purpose flour, you will need to add leavening agents....ie, salt & baking powder
• 
  butter gives the biscuit more flavor but shortening will give you a lighter/fluffier biscuit. Its all about preference.
• 
  buttermilk gives the biscuit a distinctive "tang"....sometimes I prefer to use regular milk and they turn out just great either way