Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

I have made a variety of rolls in my time, but I really really like this one. The rolls are super soft and chewy, even with the whole wheat flour. These would be a great addition to any dinner.

2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup Warm Water (105-115 degrees)
2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Melted Butter plus more for brushing on the rolls

Combine the yeast and about 1/4 cup of the warm water. Set aside until frothy, 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add in the yeast and mix on low speed until well combined. Continue mixing on low - medium low until very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer, mix the ingredients in a mixing bowl, then turn out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until very smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a clean bowl and coat all over with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let the dough rise until about doubled in size, approximately 60-90 minutes.

Punch the dough down and form into 12 balls about the size of a golf ball. Place the dough balls in a greased baking dish about 1 - 1 1/2 inches apart. Brush the dough balls with melted butter and cover with the tea towel and let rise again until doubled in size, 30-60 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

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Pasta Sauce with Meatballs and Sausage

Okay, so I know it's been unreasonably long since I've posted any recipes. The irony is not lost on me that as soon as we got the fancy new kitchen I stopped publishing recipes. But that is how it has gone. It's not that I haven't been cooking, because I have! For some reason the inspiration to photo and write about my recipes has been lacking.

But there are a few loyal souls out there who keep commenting asking for more recipes, so here goes. I hope to start posting more regularly.

Please enjoy this recipe for pasta sauce with sausage and meatballs.


For the meatballs :

1 - 1 1/4 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs or panko (measured in a glass or 'liquid' measuring cup)
milk (enough to cover the breadcrumbs)
Salt and Pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 350

Lightly grease a cookie sheet or baking pan

Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs in the glass measuring cup. Put the turkey in a medium mixing bowl. When the breadcrumbs have absorbed most of the milk (3 minutes or so) add salt and pepper to taste, and the garlic powder. Mix with a fork, then add the breadcrumb mixture to the meat in the bowl. Combine well, and form into roughly walnut-sized meatballs.

Place the meatballs on the prepared baking pan, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.


For the Sausage:

1 pound Italian Sausage Links, mild or spicy

Brown the sausage in a non-stick pan over medium-low or medium heat until browned on all sides.

For the Sauce :

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, Diced (2 cups)
2-3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced or Pressed
1 24 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
1 15 ounce Can Tomato Sauce
2 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and saute until very soft, but not brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for one minute. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add the dried herbs, crushing between your palm and fingers as you add them to the pot. Continue heating over medium heat until the sauce begins to simmer.

Add the meatballs and the sausage to the sauce. Lower heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, up to several hours.

Serve with your favorite pasta, or spaghetti squash. Buon Apetito!

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Veggie Stir Fry : remodel dinner #42

This is the second time veggie stir fry appears as a remodel dinner. Again, I used the sauce from this pork stir fry recipe. This time I used onions, carrots, radishes, green beans and bok choy. My sweetie cooked up some frozen pot stickers and steamed rice completed the meal. Yum!

And if all goes according plan (like THAT ever happens), tonight I will be cooking dinner on our new range!

Smoked Ribs : remodel dinner #41

For our Sunday dinner my sweetie decided to smoke some baby back ribs, and boy was I ever glad he did! They were delicious served up with some grilled corn and summer squash.

Leftover Mexican food from lunch : remodel dinner #40

Not too exciting. We went out for lunch and had plenty of food leftover. So, "The Italian Job" in the blu ray player and leftover mexican food. We had a fun meal.

A whole week's list of dinners : remodel dinners # 33-39

I have no photos of the dinners we ate this week, save for one, the delicious pork roast my sweetie did on the grill Sunday night. So I am posting this picture of our new range. You'll see it's still in the garage. Hopefully it will be installed in the kitchen next week, and the 'remodel cooking' series on More Than Just Soup will come to an end. But one can never be certain of such things.




Here is a quick list of this week's dinners in case anyone is interested.

Sat. #33: BBQ chicken thighs

Sun. #34 : Pork roast

Mon. #35 : Albondigas Soup

Tues. #36: Arugula Risotto with Leftover Pork Roast

Wed. #37: Pizza (again!)

Thurs. #38 : Pepper Steak

Fri. #39: Date night! We are going to see Loverboy at the Boardwalk tonight, then out to dinner.

Corned Beef : remodel dinner #32

I was walking through the grocery store the other day and passed by some corned beef. Immediately my mind said "Hey, that's something that can be cooked in an electric skillet!" And so, it found it's way into my cart, and last night it found it's way into the electric skillet. Along with a can and a half of Guinness and some potatoes and carrots.

I made a variation of my usual corned beef recipe with oranges and onions, but no celery. I also didn't wrap it in foil, which is why I had to use so much more liquid. It still turned out passable, but it is not as good as my sweetie's home made corned beef!