Grandma Jean's Rolls

These rolls are amazing!  I learned how to make these from my mother-in-law, Henry's Grandma Jean.  {That is a day in the kitchen that I will never regret!}Plain, buttered, strawberry-jammed, hot-out-of-the-oven, next-day snack, however you please... these are the rolls you want.  I  made them this past Sunday to go with my husband's shepherd's pie {recipe coming in the next Dish!}and they were all gone before the little one had even retired to bed.  Try this recipe and tell me you're not impressed.  I dare you!

Here we go.

• 1 cake yeast {2 1/4 tsp}
• 2 tsp + 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C lukewarm water {if you need to, use a thermometer and get it to 110 degrees - it makes a difference!}
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 1/4 C shortening
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 6 C flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tbsp wheat gluten***
• 1 Tbsp dough enhancer***
• butter

***The wheat gluten and dough enhancer are optional.  I made these rolls for two years without these ingredients, and the bread was still delicious.  Adding this stuff, though, takes these rolls from amazing to amazingly magical.  Magic, people.

1.  Dissolve 2 tsp of sugar in the water.  Dissolve the yeast in the sugar-water.  Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, scald the milk.  Add the shortening, 1/2 C sugar, and salt.  Set aside to let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the milk mixture, and 2 C of flour mixed with the wheat gluten.  Beat smooth.
4. Add yeast mixture, eggs, dough enhancer, and remaining flour.  Knead until smooth.  Dough will be pretty wet/sticky.  Let rise.
5. Shape rolls as desired.  Our family favorite is the crescent roll:  Cut dough into fourths.  Roll each section into a 1/4" circle.  Butter well.  Cut each section into 12 pie-shaped pieces.  Begin rolling at largest end and form crescents.  Let rise.
6. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  For extra magic, butter the tops as they come out of the oven.

Mongolian Beef and Asian Cabbage Salad

 Our favorite meal at P.F. Chang's is their crispy, delicious Mongolian Beef.  I found this copycat recipe and just had to try it.  It is a little more involved and takes more time than my standard recipes, but it is a keeper!  My extended family has been raving about "that time Dorothy made that awesome Mongolian Beef" since we ate it.  I do mean raving, too.  The salad is a perfect side for this dish, and is a cinch to make. 

Mongolian Beef
original recipe found here

•  2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
• 1/2 C soy sauce
• 1/2 C water
• 3/4 C dark brown sugar
• vegetable oil for frying, about 1 C
• 1 lb flank steaks, sliced against the grain into 1/4" thick slices (tilt your blade at 45 degrees for wider cuts)
• 1/4 C cornstarch
• 2 large green onions, sliced on the diagonal into one-inch lengths

1. Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  When hot, add ginger, garlic, and soy sauce.  Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.
2. Dip steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides.  Let sit for about 10 minutes to the cornstarch sticks.  Meanwhile, heat up frying oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat.  Add the beef to the oil and sautee until the beef just begins to darken on the edges, about two minutes.  Use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.
3. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it, and cook thoroughly.  Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions.  Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with slotted spoon to a serving plate, leaving the excess sauce behind in the pan.
4. Serve over rice.

Asian Salad
original recipe found here

• 1 package ramen noodles, crushed
• 1/2 C blanched slivered almonds
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 bag coleslaw (cabbage and carrots)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 3/8 C vegetable oil
• 1/8 C distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 C white sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce

1. In a skillet over low heat, brown ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds with melted butter.  Take off heat and cool.
2. In a small saucepan, bring oil, sugar, and vinegar to boil for one minute.  Cool.  Add soy sauce.
3. In a large bowl, combine coleslaw and chopped green onions.  Add the noodle and soy sauce mixture.  Toss to coat.  Serve.

Pozole

Here's another quick and easy favorite from our house.  It's kind of like a {very simple} version of Cafe Rio's chicken tortilla soup.

Pozole {poh-SOH-lay}

• 6 C chicken broth
• 2 cans hominy {yellow, white, or both}, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans Ro-Tel, drained
• 12 oz chicken, cooked and shredded
• {optional} cilantro leaves, lime wedges, guacamole, sour cream, tortilla strips

1. Heat broth in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add hominy and tomatoes.  Bring to a simmer.
2. Add chicken and cook to heat through.
3. Spoon into bowls.  Garnish as desired.

{Tip}  This is a fantastic way to use leftover chicken.  A few nights after a roast chicken dinner, for example, you could cut up the leftover meat and use it for pozole.  I've also used pre-cooked frozen chicken, which is great in a jiffy.  If you have no already-cooked chicken and you want to make this recipe, I suggest slow-cooking some chicken breasts in the broth and Ro-Tel.  Then you can shred the meat, add more broth, add the hominy, and you're done.

The {optional} garnishes aren't so optional for some.  The cilantro and lime are not optional for my husband.  The guacamole?  Not optional for my sister-in-law.  For me?  I la-la-love the tortilla chips/strips.

How will you garnish your pozole?

Hello! & Zucchini Waffles

Hello!  I'm Dorothy, and I am honored to be a new contributor to Just Between Friends.  Isn't Jonie spectacular?  She invited me to share some of my favorite recipes with you, and I am excited to do just that.  Before I get started with today's recipe, here is a little bit about me:

 I love Taylor Swift, cream slushes at Sonic, and Swedish Fish.  A schoolteacher and student-at-heart, I also love grammar, math, literature, and history {especially in the form of biographies}.  My little family of three {me + husband + son} is everything to me, and together we inspire my kitchen adventures.

simple
I am a list-making, schedule-planning, goal-setting kind of lady.  When I noticed that my mornings and early afternoons were more open than my evening dinner-time rushes, I started using those empty a.m. slots to prepare in advance as much as possible.  Daily routine:  simplified.

delicious 
My husband, Curtis, is a talented engineer and a devoted, committed husband and father.  He is also a wonderful self-taught chef.  Growing up, he ate regularly at restaurants {and we're not talking Wendy's} and developed a very mature palate.  As a result, he has a taste for finer foods than my favorite three-ingredient casserole standbys.

nutritious
Nursing my sweet baby boy was so satisfying.  I loved knowing that I, my body, was providing little Henry with all the nutrients he needed to grow.  Grow he did!  Now he eats what we eat, and I am more mindful than ever of creating nutritious and balanced meals for our family.

So.  The recipe.  It's simple.  It takes less than fifteen minutes to prepare, guys.  You can even make the batter in advance and keep it in the fridge.  It's delicious, you'll see.  It is nutritious, too; it's a breakfast food with vegetables in it!

• 1 small zucchini
• canola oil
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
• 1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 2 C milk
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat a waffle iron.  Puree the zucchini in a blender or food processor.  Mix in enough canola oil to make 1/3 C of the zucchini-oil puree.  Mix all other ingredients except the egg whites together.  Add the zucchini-oil puree and mix.  Gently fold in the egg whites.  Spray the waffle iron, pour in the batter, and cook for two to four minutes or until crisp and golden-brown.

Top with buttermilk syrup, and serve with bacon and milk.
{Healthy Remix} Top with hot applesauce and strawberries, and serve with turkey bacon and milk.