White Bread

I found this recipe online and the bread turned out great! nice and fluffy. It's
gonna be my new go to recipe for bread. It's someone else's family recipe so I left a little blurb about it:

Grandma VanDoren's White Bread
"What Grandma used to make! Our family's favorite. The recipe was never written down (that I know of) until she shared it with me when she was in her 90's."
...
Ingredients:
3 cups warm water
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
3 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
8 cups bread flour

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, and 4 cups flour. Mix thoroughly, and let sponge rise until doubled in size.
2. Gradually add about 4 cups flour, kneading until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
3. Punch down the dough, let it rest a few minutes. Divide dough into three equal parts. Shape into loaves, and place in three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased bread pans. Let rise until almost doubled.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes. The loaves may need to be covered for the last few minutes with foil to prevent excess browning.

Strawberry Cream Cake

Both my daughters request this cake for their birthday. It's super easy and looks like it was so much work. I took a 'from scratch' recipe and simplified it.

yellow cake mix
3 eggs, 1/4 cup oil, water (or whatever the cake mix requests)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 pound fresh strawberries
instant vanilla pudding mix (prepared) - (or store bought pudding works in a crunch)
whipped cream (cool whip)

Bake the cake as directed in 2 greased and floured 9 inch round pans, let cool, cut both cakes in 1/2. Rinse and cut strawberries in slices. add sugar and water to make a light syrup, stir to dissolve sugar. Spread 1st layer of cake with pudding and top with 1/3 of strawberries, repeat layer, top with last cake and whip cream and the rest of the strawberries. All done. whala!

Breakfast Burritos

This is something I developed - super easy and it is my kid's favorite.

8 flour tortillas - I'm very picky about the brand (guerrero)
2 TB butter
about 8-9 eggs
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (I use a mixed cheese)
4 strips bacon

cut bacon in half/lengthwise. Fry bacon up. Mix eggs with whisk in a bowl and in a separate fry pan drop butter and when melted,scramble eggs. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat when eggs reach a soft scramble and sprinkle with the cheese. cover so cheese melts while warming tortillas. Warm tortillas on a flat pan surface. (1 at a time)

Assembly:
1 warmed tortilla
scoop eggs and cheese
1 (1/2) slice bacon
wrap into burrito

repeat till all burritos are made

variations:
some times I will cook potatoes alongside the bacon and add it into burritos, also you can use sausage instead of bacon. I just cook sausage first in the frying pan and then add the eggs to scramble it all together,top w/cheese...etc.

Banana Pancakes w/Coconut Syrup

I Found this recipe online and added my own twist..these turned out amazing! Definitely a company recipe

BANANA PANCAKES:
2 c. bisquick pancake mix
1.5 c. milk
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, chopped

COCONUT SYRUP:
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1 TB corn starch
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. coconut extract

FOR PANCAKES: add chopped bananas to bisquick recipe for pancakes

FOR SYRUP: Combine sugar, water, cornstarch and butter and bring to a boil; boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in flavoring. Serve over warm pancakes.

Steaks with a mustard cream sauce

This recipe is from my 60 minute gourmet cookbook. One of my favorites. (french cooking made easy)

4 or 6 Sirloin steaks or any tender cut steaks
salt and pepper
2 TB cooking oil
2 TB butter
2 TB finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup cognac
1 1/2cups heavy cream
1 TB Dijon mustard

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet to almost smokig. Cook steaks in very hot skillet to desired doneness, browning sides. Remove steaks to a seving platter to keep warm. Pour off fat, and Add butter and shallots to the skillet, Add cognac and ignite it. after flame is gone, Add cream and bring to a boil, stirring constantly,about 5 minutes. remove from heat and stir in mustard. Serve sause with steaks.

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

salt and pepper
cooking oil
roast beef cut of meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup


Salt an pepper roast beef on all sides. Brown roast beef on all sides in a frying pan with the oil. Place roast beef in slow cooker. mix dry and wet soup together. and smear on the roast beef. Let cook for 8 hours on low. I sometimes add veggies (carrots and potatoes) at 4 hours in.

Sofrito

4 large onions
5 large green or red bell peppers
4 full heads of garlic
2 bunches fresh cilanro
2 spicy peppers ( I use passila)

chop all ingredients in your food proccessor and freeze in i cup portions. I double wrap them - i use small ziplock baggies and then put the smaller baggies into a larger (2 gal) ziplock in my freezer because it has a strong smell and can affect the other foods.

I use Sofrito for all my Puertorican recipes and i also add it to soups, beans, spagetti sauces..etc. It makes everything taste better