No Fear Dinner Rolls and More!

Bread terrors?  I don't know why, but I've talked to a lot of people who have a fear of making bread.  It's time consuming, difficult, won't turn out right they say.  Nay, I say!  I'm going to share with you my super simple, no fail, ultra delicious 45 minute rolls.  In less than an hour, you can have the amazing smell of fresh bread wafting from your kitchen and be the envy of homemakers for miles around.  And all this will cost you nothing, although you should probably buy like four or five HugaMonkey baby slings out of gratitude and/or amazement.

I mix these up in my life saving, can't-do-without KitchenAid mixer.  You could use a hand mixer with a dough hook attachment, a food processor if you know how (I don't), or a wooden spoon and your bare hands if you're tough. I've never tried this in a bread machine.  When I had a bread machine, it seemed more trouble than it was worth.  My little bitty kitchen cannot have single-function items hogging up all the space when a KitchenAid can do it just as well, plus about a thousand other awesome things.  Looks like that's going to have to be a blog post all its own.   Ah, yes!  The recipe!

45 Minute Rolls

1 c. hot water

1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) yeast

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 T. oil

2 to 2 1/2 c. flour

1. Mix together the water, yeast, sugar, and salt and let stand 5 minutes
2. Stir in the oil, then gently begin stirring in the flour 1/2 c. at a time
3. Dump the dough out and spray your bowl with oil.  Dump the dough back in and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 425
5. From into 12 rolls (or just drop by heaping spoonful) onto greased cookie sheet and let them rise another 10 minutes.
6. Bake rolls on center rack for about 12 minutes until they are golden brown and the smell is melting you like butter, which you better have plenty of.

See how easy that was!  Whoa, careful, yo're dripping butter on the keyboard.

Here's a great accompaniment to those rolls.  I love soup the most out of anything in the whole world.  I could eat soup every day.  The best part is that it's pretty difficult to ruin soup.  I mean, even that rat could make it.   This hearty winter stew comes out different for me every time because I have different things on hand every time.  I've made it with as little as 4 ingredients!    I guess this is more of a soup tutorial than an actual recipe, because it doesn't really matter what goes into it, but it does matter how you do it. If everything goes in, it makes a LOT.  So invite some friends over or take a big bowl to someone in need.

Pantry Stew

3 T. olive oil

1/2 onion, diced (can use 1/4 cup dried onions)

2 cloves garlic, minced (can use garlic powder)

Any of the following vegetables, cut into bite size pieces: carrots, celery, potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach (fresh or frozen), cabbage, artichoke hearts, etc.

1 can kidney beans

1 can crushed tomatoes

2 bullion cubes, any flavor

1 c. instant rice or small pasta (macaroni, shells, etc)

• Your choice of herbs and spices: Italian seasoning, basil, parsley, cayenne pepper, chili powder - whatever you like!
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.  Add garlic and onions and saute until the onions are translucent and tender.  This releases the flavors into the oil and helps infuse into the rest of the soup.
• Add diced vegetable and barely cover in water.  Bring to a boil on high, then turn it down to a simmer, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until veggies are tender but not mushy.  If you boil it on high the whole time, it will destroy the vegetables and they'll turn to mush. 
• Add canned beans and tomatoes, bullion, and herbs and spices. If you cook tomatoes and spices too long, they will turn bitter or lose their flavor.  Best to put them in last.  The beans are already cooked, so you don't need to boil them or they'll get too mushy.
• Stir in rice or pasta and leave on lowest heat for 5 more minutes.
• Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.  This will keep the pasta or rice from getting soggy and cool it to a perfect temperature.  Now is the time to salt and pepper to taste, when it's cooled and you can taste how much salt you're putting in.

Soups do something magical in the fridge.  The flavors "marry" over night, and you'll get a deeper, richer flavor the next day.  it's best to do this if you're having soup at a dinner party.  For a new splash of flavor, try adding a teaspoon or two of vinegar.  Seriously!  Red wine, balsamic, or even regular old white will add a new and tasty twist you'll be surprised about.

Start the rolls, then chop soup veggies while the yeast rises.  Add the oil and flour to the rolls, then saute and begin boiling the stew.  While that boils, form the dough into rolls.  Then put the final ingredients in the soup.  While the rolls bake, your soup can cool and finish up.  Everything will come out at the same time at the perfect temperature, and you will feel like the goddess of the kitchen!