Hamburger Buns

We had AJ and Sarah over for dinner on the 4th of July and of course had hamburgers. Sarah asked if the hamburger bun recipe was on the blog yet and as it wasn't I promised I'd get it on soon...so here it is! I know this is only adding to the BBQ kick on here lately, but hey, at least they're really good!

I got this recipe from my mother in law and was happy as I'd just been thinking about finding a recipe to make hamburger buns. It was originally for 12 and I've halved it.

Hamburger Buns
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/8 tsp SAF instant yeast (or half a .25 ounce packet of rapid rise active dry yeast)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tablespoon water

Combine milk, 1/2 cup water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand until lukeward, about 110°F (if the mixture is too hot it will kill the yeast).

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If using a Kitchen Aid or stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with Saran Wrap and a dish towel and let stand until doubled in size, approximately 40 mins to 1 hour (again I usually heat the oven up to 175°F and then turn it off and let the dough rise in the warm oven).

Punch down the dough and divide it into 6 portions. They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

Oil/PAM your hand and then flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. Cover rolls and let sit until they double in size, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tbsp of water in a cup or small bowl and brush onto the tops of the rolls.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Makes 6 buns.

*Note: Chris loves putting grilled onions on his burgers and I have to say they've become an absolute necessity on my veggie burger too! So yummy!!! Avocado is sure good too!

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Marinades

We had a family lunch today to celebrate Chris's birthday and Chris grilled two different kinds of chicken. The first is called Bengal BBQ chicken and is served at Disneyland. Chris said he just asked for the recipe and they gave it to him. Lucky for him because he loves it.

Chris said he found the second recipe online somewhere years ago. He doesn't know what it's called so I'm calling it Sprite Chicken.

Bengal BBQ
1 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 c. water
1 tbsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (original recipe only called for 1/2 tsp, but Chris always uses 1 tsp)
1 tbsp fresh garlic
1 tbsp corn starch

Mix all but corn starch. Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Add corn starch to thicken. Marinate in a gallon size ziploc bag for approximately 6 hours. Grill.

*Note: As far as how much chicken this will make, Chris said it's enough marinade for a gallon sized ziploc bag full of chicken.

*Note: This one is on the hotter/spicier side. If you like a little bit of a kick, but not a lot you might want to use only 1/2 a tsp of the cayenne pepper.

Sprite Chicken
1 can Sprite (you can also use 7-Up)
1 cup Soy Sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic (you could also use garlic powder)

Marinate in a gallon size ziploc bag for overnight before grilling.

*Note: As far as how much chicken this will make, Chris said it's enough marinade for a gallon sized ziploc bag full of chicken.

Serve with grilled potatoes, veggies, grilled potatoes with veggies, watermelon (if you're a Parson this is a must), salad, etc.

Enjoy!

Grilled Red Peppers

Another BBQ recipe. We had steak for Father's Day and Chris's birthday and of course needed potatoes and then wanted a veggie and since I love red peppers I came up with this. That'll explain the last two posts;)

Grilled Red Peppers

red peppers, seeded and cut into large chunks

olive oil

Montreal Steak seasoning (or whatever seasoning you'd like)

Seed and cut red peppers and place in a ziploc bag along with the olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning. Rub till the peppers are covered in the oil and seasoning. Using a basket or barbeque griddle. Make sure to watch these carefully as they don't take very long to cook on each side (probably about 5 mins on low).

*Note: You might want to experiment with how much of the seasoning to use, depending on your tastes. I would recommend starting off lightly the first time and then adding more the next time you make them if you'd like. I've made them twice and thought the seasoning was perfect both times.

Enjoy!

Red potatoes on the BBQ

Can you tell we BBQ a lot in the summer? Or that I love potatoes?

These are super duper easy and of course delicious...sorry I say that a lot!

Red Potatoes on the BBQ

red potatoes, washed and sliced

onions, sliced

butter or margarine

rosemary garlic spice

salt

Slice the potatoes and onions and layer in a large piece of tin foil sprayed with PAM. Put pieces of butter on the potatoes and sprinkle with the rosemary garlic spice (or whatever spices you'd like) and salt. Fold up the tin foil and BBQ (of course turning sides) till done.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Serve with steak, chicken, etc.

Enjoy!

Chris's Grilled Potatoes and Veggies

Chris has a lot of specialties, but his grilled potatoes and veggies are definitely one of MY favourites! Beware that this is another one of those recipes that is not exact as far as amounts or measurements.









Grilled Potatoes and Veggies
potatoes, washed and cut
large red onion, cut
red, yellow, orange peppers, washed, seeded and cut
zucchini / Italian squash, washed and cut
olive oil/oil
seasonings as desired: rosemary garlic, salt, pepper, etc.

Combine veggies in a bowl with olive oil and seasonings. Put potatoes on a barbeque griddle and cook, flipping as needed to prevent burning. Once the potatoes start to soften, add the veggies and cook together till done.

Serve with BBQ chicken or steak, with a nice dollop of sour cream on the potatoes and veggies of course!

*Note: You can also bake these in the oven at 400 degrees till tender. Start with the potatoes, then add the veggies when the potatoes start to soften.

Enjoy!

Breadsticks

This is the same recipe as the Regular Crust pizza dough.

Breadsticks

3 cups flour

1 tbsp instant yeast (I like SAF Instant yeast)

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil

1 cup hot water

Mix dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients. If using a Kitchen Aid, mix until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. I usually mix it for a few minutes in the Kitchen Aid and then take it out and finish kneading it by hand. If you are not using a Kitchen Aid, mix the ingredients until combined and then knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if necessary.Place in a oiled bowl and cover with saran wrap and a dish towel and let rise until it's doubled in size (approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on the temperature of the room).

Hand press into a rectangle type shape and then fold over and cut into strips (about 9-10). I like to twist mine and place them on a pizza stone sprinkled with corn meal. Brush with melted butter or margarine and sprinkle desired spices (we like a little garlic salt and garlic herb or roasted garlic) and parmesan cheese. We often leave them plain and then dip them in garlic dipping sauce. Instead of dipping them in the garlic dipping sauce sometimes I just brush them with margarine as soon as they come out of the oven.

Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 15 mins or until browned on top.

Enjoy!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Variations

This recipe is from Chris's aunt Mindy. The recipe is to make Caramel Crunch ice cream, but I thought I'd post it as vanilla ice cream since we use the vanilla ice cream base to make all sorts of variations, like caramel crunch, cookies n cream, etc. I think we've also made peanut butter cup with it before too! Oh and I just have to mention that even though it might sound kinda funny mixed berry oreo is SO good.

The difference in this recipe versus the recipe for the berry ice cream is this recipe uses eggs and so Chris says it's more of a custard base... whatever it is it's smooth and creamy and absolutely DELICIOUS!!!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 cups whole milk
3 cups whipping cream
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs until light. Add sugar and continue to beat until thick. Add the milk, whipping cream, vanilla and salt and mix well. Pour into a 4 quart freezer and place in ice cream maker, surround with ice and rock salt and allow to mix. Check periodically and add more ice as necessary.

*Note: If you only have a 5 or 6 quart machine, then use 6 cups whole milk and 4 cups whipping cream.

**Note: If you are concerned about Salmonella you have 2 options. You can substitute the eggs with an egg substitute such as Egg Beaters (follow instructions on carton). You can also heat the egg/milk mixture to 160 degrees F slowly then cool it quickly in the fridge or freezer.

Mindy's Carmel Crunch
1 jar Mrs. Richardsons Caramel Topping
1bag crushed Skor chips

Follow instructions above, however add 1/2 jar of caramel topping before you turn the ice cream maker on. When freezer slows, add the crushed Skor chips and the rest of the caramel.

*Note: You might not want to use the entire jar or the entire package of the chips if you're using a 4 quart machine.

Mixed Berry
2 cups mixed berries, thawed and mashed

Follow instructions above, adding the mixed berries to the ice cream maker before you turn it on.

Cookies-N-Cream
1/2 - 3/4 bag Oreos, crushed in a ziploc bag (if you buy the monster box from Costco Chris suggests using 2 1/2 sleeves)

Follow instructions above. Once the ice cream maker has stopped turning add the crushed Oreos.

Berry Cookies-N-Cream
1/2 - 3/4 bag Oreos, crushed in a ziploc bag (if you buy the monster box from Costco Chris suggests using 2 1/2 sleeves)
2 cups mixed berries, thawed and mashed

Follow instructions above, adding the mixed berries before you turn the ice maker on. Once the ice cream has stopped add the crushed Oreo's.

*Note: as mentioned above, you can use the basic vanilla recipe and mix in anything you'd like!

Enjoy!