Hug Hess Pasta Salad

We call it Hug Hess pasta salad because we totally stole the idea from this great little place in Ogden, Ut! Such a simple and refreshing salad.

Hug Hess Pasta Salad

Ingredients

Tri-color pasta

2 or 3 tomatoes

Cucumber

Mini carrots or shredded carrots

Broccoli

1 can of Pinto beans

Mozzarella cheese

salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste

olives and chicken

Directions

Cook pasta until tender, dice tomatoes cucumbers, carrots and mozzarella. If using frozen broccoli thaw and press water out. Drain and rinse can of pinto beans. You can add sliced olives and chicken if desired. Mix everything together pour a bottle of western family Raspberry Vinaigrette on top. You may add a little sugar to sweeten it up.

I like it best the second day--you may wish to prepare it a day ahead. Make sure to stir before serving, so the dressing isn't all on the bottom. The vinaigrette really makes or breaks the salad so be sure to pick a good one!

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Zucchini Casserole

I made this last night for the first time. I love zucchini in any form! I saw some at the store and grabbed it up. ( I always tweak the recipes as I make them, but this is the original recipe.)

1/4 cup chopped onion
6 cups sliced zucchini
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese
1 pkg. stuffing mix
1 cube butter
1/3 cup water

Cook onion and zucchini in boiling water for five minutes. Drain. Add soup, sour cream, and cheese. Combine stuffing mix with melted butter and water. Spread half of stuffing on bottom of 2 quart casserole dish. Cover with entire squash mixture. Then crumble the remaining stuffing over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

*I left out the onion and added some cooked, chopped chicken. It made it more like a meal than a side dish. I think next time I would use more cheese and actually leave out the chicken. * Pin It

Grandma Doxey's Dinner Rolls

For as long as I can remember, I have loved rolls. Not just any rolls, but my Grandmother Doxey's Rolls. I just love the smell of baking rolls. It takes me back to so many Christmas's and Thanksgivings when I would  gorg my childhood belly on fluffy rolls. 

Desi and I come from a long line of roll makers. Our mothers side of the family makes rolls for every family function it seems. And not just any rolls, the exact same ones. Made in the exact same fashion. And they rock! It's almost as if these rolls have become another member of the family, they are so expected. Guess what the my mother and her sisters gave me as a group gift for my bridal shower? A roll! No, A kitchen aid so I could make the rolls. 

To make the Doxey rolls, you will need a mixer like a Kitchen Aid with the hook attachment. A rolling pin, cup and cookie sheet. This is written in tutorial style to help you master the technique. And I should preface, if your rolls don't turn out magical the first time, don't give up. With most bread making, there is an art to it. Mastering the right amounts of flour to get the perfect texture takes practice. And when you get it right it is soo worth it!

Start out by mixing: 

3 cups Luke warm water

 3 tbsp Fast acting yeast

2 tbsp Sugar.

Let grow for approx 10 mins to see if yeast is good. See the growth?

Then add:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cube Butter/margarine melted and cooled

1 Egg

1 tbsp Salt

Flour (5-6 C)

Start mixer and start adding flour 1 cup at a time (About 6 cups total). The goal is to have the dough texture so that it starts to separate from the edges of the mixing bowl but is slightly sticky. That's why is it around 6 cups more or less. Too much flour will make them dense but not enough and the dough will be sticky and difficult to work with. Always lean towards the sticky side. 

Sift flour on a clean counter where you will rough out the dough. Tip the bowl over on side and cover with a towel. This will let the dough rise out of the bowl and onto the flour with out sticking to the counter and with out falling all over the edges of your bowl and creating a big mess. Cover with a towel because this helps to warm the dough and speed up rising. Let rise about 2-3 hours.** (Perfect to leave and go to church!)

When ready to prepare rolls, melt 1 cube butter and pour into a large cookie sheet. Roll out dough with rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thick and cut in to circles with a large cup.

Take circles and pat each side in the butter in the pan and fold and pinch in half and align in pan. Once all are in the pan. cover with clean dish towel and let rise another 30 mins.*

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Bake in oven for 15-20 mins or until golden brown. If desired brush top of cooked rolls with butter to soften and let cool. I love to eat them while they are hot! They just melt in your mouth. 





*Sometimes there is extra dough after filling up your cookie sheet. Roll this dough in to a small loaf and let rise. Cook after your rolls and you will have a nice extra loaf of bread! 

**Dough may also be use to make garlic bread loaves. Just take dough and split in half. Roll out in to two loaves. Sprinkle with Jonny's Garlic Spread and a dash of Jonny's Seasoning Salt. Bake at 350 for 15 mins.

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