Homemade Hamburger Buns

When I made the homemade sloppy joes my husband said that the french bread rolls were to chewy so I went on a hunt to find a great bun recipe and I came across this one on A Chow Life. T test it out I made sloppy joes and eagerly waited for the feedback and it was a huge thumbs up from everyone. I've also used it for meatball sandwiches, cold cut sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches. Every time it's delicious. So if you are looking for a good bun, here you go.

Hamburger Buns
1 and 1/2 cups milk
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 and 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water
Sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter and heat until the butter is melted, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105° to 115°F. Add the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 4 cups flour, the sugar and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-7 1/2-inch rectangle. Using a ruler as a guide, cut the dough into 2 1/2-inch squares. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing the buns evenly apart, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 400°F.
Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until the buns are golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a bun registers 190°F, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut in half and use as hamburger buns. Makes 12 hamburger buns.

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Hasselback Potatoes

I've seen a few of these recipes around but I used the one from Tasty Kitchen. I truly enjoy the site since you can read reviews and comments.Anyways about these potatoes. I may or may not have made these potatoes 4 or 5 times this month. I also may or may not have tried it with russet, red, and yellow potatoes. Well actually I did but only because I wanted to be thorough for you guys. I'm thoughtful that way.

For research purposes only I like red potatoes the best. These potatoes are an amazing side dish for just about any meal. You can dress them up with the works. Sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or just plain. Well as plain as these get. Plus there is an amazing liquid left over from the potatoes that we may have poured over broccoli, asparagus, but we did not dip bread in it. Wait we did actually. This stuff is amazing. Try it for a nice Holiday side dish. You won't be sad.

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

adapted from Tasty Kitchen

2 whole Golden Potatoes
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 piece (about 2 Inches Long) Parmigiano-Reggiano, Sliced Thinly
⅛ teaspoons Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
¼ cups Heavy Cream
¼ cups Cheddar Cheese Blend

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Scrub potatoes.
You need 2 wooden spoons with handles of the same width. Place a spoon on each side of the potato and start slicing the potato into thin slices. The spoons will stop the knife from cutting all the way through the potato.
Slice the butter into thin pieces. Alternate the butter and the parmesan, stuffing them in between the slices of the potato. Season the potato with garlic powder and kosher salt. Drizzle the potato with olive oil.
Bake at 400ºF for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle heavy cream over the potatoes. Top with cheddar cheese.
Place back in the oven for 10-12 more minutes. Remove and serve!

  

Sauteed Mushrooms and Swiss Chard

For a few months now I've been getting a weekly Bountiful Basket. If you want more information check here. Basically I get a basket full of fruits and vegetables every Saturday and the best part is I have no idea what I am getting each week. It's been fun trying out different things and I am amazed at how much the kids love it. This week we got swiss chard and it has been a long time since I made anything with it so I started out safe but if we get it again I have some great plans for it. I love swiss chard because it has a ton of nutrients and doesn't have a weird taste.

Sauteed Mushrooms and Swiss Chard
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1/2 Tbs. Butter
1 Bunch of swiss chard (usually about 5-7 leaves)
slice mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Wash swiss chard. Then cut off the stems and set the leaves aside. Chop up the stems. Over medium heat combine butter and olive oil. Once heated add stems. If it's sizzling a lot turn the temperature down. Take the leaves and slice them into 1 inch strips. After about 6-8 minutes add the garlic and the mushrooms. Let cook for about 3 minutes and then add the chard leaves and salt and pepper. Cook until leaves begin to wilt. The leaves cook done a considerable amount so it might seem like a lot of leaves but it isn't. Once leaves begin to wilt take off the heat and serve.

It was a great side dish to our Bountiful Basket corn on the cob and free pork chops from Albertsons.