Its a super stuffed Monday!

      Monday's always seem to be hectic...no matter what it is you have to do...no matter how little or how much. I was actually having a really hard time choosing today's Menu....nothing sounded good...nothing looked good...nothing jumped out and said COOK ME! I was flipping through recipes when the one for Super Stuffed Potatoes waved at me! I decided it would go good with some Broccoli and cheese, sweet rolls and a nice homemade vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.

This can actually be a very quick meal made in 30 mins....just omit making the rolls from scratch (store bought works just as great!) and get an already made cake or just a regular old mix.....or you can take the semi long way around...and do it like I did :)

So first we will start out with our Rolls. These are Homemade Sweet Dinner Rolls and I made them using my bread machine...BUT..don't  fret..if you don't have a bread machine, you can still make these YUMMY rolls. 

To make rolls without a bread machine:
Dissolve your yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar in warm water, let it sit for just about 10 min. While that is sitting,  warm your milk in saucepan until it just begins to bubble. Remove from heat, stir in sugar and butter until completely melted and cool to about lukewarm. Combine your yeast mixture, milk mixture and egg  in a large bowl. Stir in flour a little at a time and knead on lightly floured surface, about 10 mins. Cover the same with a clean dishcloth and let rise about 1 hr in a warm place.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)       
  
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup butter, softened 

• Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.

 (Tip: Once you have added your flour, make a little indentation pocket in the top for your yeast to go in!)

• When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour.(My oven was still warm from when I baked by cake, so I just set them in there and let them rise! It did GREAT!) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 

 

 

• Let bake about 15-20 mins or until golden brown :)

 

 

What I did was get all my ingredients in the bread machine and then I worked on my cake.

So next we will talk about making the homemade yellow cake with Vanilla buttercream frosting.  This really was easy to make and IMO didn't not require any more effort then making a regular cake. I will say that the cake could have been a little more moist, but I do believe that was my fault and done by overcooking slightly. For anyone who tries this recipe please let me know how it turned out for you....and if you have any suggestions..I am ALWAYS open to suggestions!

Homemade Yellow Cake:

Ingredients:                                            

2 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, grease and flour either two round pans or a rectangle cake pan(which is what I used.        
  

•  In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next sift together your flour, baking powder and salt.

• Add half of your flour mixture slowly to your butter mixture, once you have it mixed well, add half of your milk and all of your vanilla and mix well

• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

• Add the remaining flour mixture,  and then the rest of the milk. Mix until you have a smooth consistency

• Fill a greased, floured baking pan or 2 layer pans no more than half full.

• Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes until cake springs back when lightly touched near center or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:                                                                       
1 (16 oz) package of powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
3 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla


Beat sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla with electric mixer at low speed until well blended amd smooth. If the frosting becomes too thick you can add more milk by teaspoonfuls until it is the desired consistency. This will make about 2 1/2 cups of frosting.

Now...this frosting for me, was a tad on the sweet side...but the hubby and kids all liked it...and my husband usually isn't one for overly sweet things. Mine was also thin because I did add extra milk in the hopes of toning down the sweetness some, but I think the thinner icing works well for this cake.

Next we are going to move on to our main course, SUPER STUFFED POTATOES, with cheesy broccoli as the side dish!!! mmmmmmm! I only did one side dish with this meal because of the meat and potato being used as the main dish, I figured adding anymore sides would just be overkill!
This was actually the first time I had ever made these, and they are definately on the list of must make again. They were so filling and delicious...and when the weather starts to get colder, these will be PERFECT for warming you up.
 

Super Stuffed Potatoes                                                         

 Ingredients:

4 small potatoes (2-1/4 lb.)

1 lb.  ground beef

1/4 lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small  tomato, chopped

2 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup  BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream

Prick potatoes in several places with fork. Microwave on HIGH 14 min. or just until tender, turning after 7 min.   

Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain.

Add VELVEETA, tomatoes and onions; cook until VELVEETA is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.





Split potatoes; mash insides with fork. Top with meat mixture and sour cream.

I seasoned my meat with Lawry's season salt as it was browning...I season all my meat! I also put a little butter and season salt on each potato before I topped it with the meat mixture. I doubled this recipe (because 4 servings is not nearly enough of ANYTHING for my family) and it was no problem at all to double. Everyone really loved it, especially the kids...they told me to be SURE and make it again!

Cheesy Broccoli:
               When you are doing your weekly grocery shopping, be sure and pick up this

Simply follow the directions on the bag and that's it! This will be the easiest thing you make allllllll day!











And don't forget to frost your cake so that when you are done with this delicious dinner you can have dessert!

I hope everyone really enjoys these recipes! It really is a hearty meal made in just a short time.

Please give me your feedback...and as always..Happy Cooking!

Until Tomorrow.....