Recipe of the week

I made this for dinner last night. It was all good! The rolls were great, except next time I would use 4 cups of flour because the dough was a little sticky. They had a nice crusty exterior and were tender inside. They would make great buns for sandwiches. I picked this soup recipe because I had all the ingredients, except celery, so I added another cup of carrots. I also added some cayenne pepper for a little heat and omitted the parsley and cream. I immersion blended it a little. The boys liked the soup, Hudson usually just eats the "chunks" out of the soup, but he gobbled up the liquid too. Of course the recipes are from Recipezaar.

Bacon and Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 cup raw bacon, diced

1 cup onions, diced

1-2 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

2 tablespoons flour (optional)

3-4 cups stock or water

3 cups potatoes, diced

2-3 cups milk

1 cup cream (optional)

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning (optional)

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons choppedparsley

Directions

1. In your soup pot, saute the onion and bacon on medium heat until the onion is soft and the bacon is becoming crispy.
2. Drain off excess fat, if necessary, leaving 2 T. behind.

3. Add carrots and celery and saute for 2 minutes on medium heat.

4. If using, add flour and stir to coat vegetables.
5. Turn heat to medium high for 1 minute then add 1 cup of stock, stirring to get brown bits off bottom of pan.
6. Add the rest of the stock and potatoes and bring to a boil.
7. When potatoes are soft, add milk/cream and heat until the soup is warm again.
8. If desired, use a potato masher to break down the potatoes to your desired texture or simply continue to cook until the soup is as thick as you like.
9. If using, add cajun seasoning.
10. Add salt and pepper to taste.
11. Before serving add chopped parsley.

Prize-Winning Crusty Rolls

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 egg white

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3-3 1/4 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons fast rising yeastor quick-rising yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in bread machine pan as suggested by manufacturer.

2. Choose dough cycle and start machine.
3. Upon completion of the dough cycle, remove dough.
4. Form rolls, place on a greased baking sheet.
5. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free location for 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.