Texas Roadhouse Rolls {Copycat}

You know those restaurants that you go to because you love the bread they serve as you're waiting for your food?  Or the chips and salsa they have as an appetizer that you try your best not to fill up on?  Now the rest of their food is great, and your excited about that too - but you relish in the yumminess of the rolls or chips you get in the beginning.  Well Texas Roadhouse falls under that category.  I've only been to Texas Roadhouse once and I really need to change that because it was soooo good.  The chicken salad I ordered was delish, but man - their rolls were a buttery goodness of warm deliciousness.  So - when I came across their copycat recipe I had to try it right away, and I did!  And they turned out wonderful.  I love this recipe for many reasons - it's easy, it's yummy, bread makes me and my family happy and it makes a ton.  I gave a bag-full to my neighbor because there were so many rolls.  A very good problem to have.

Give this recipe a try.  If you've been to Texas Roadhouse - let me know how you think these compare.  If you haven't been to Texas Roadhouse, no worries - you can make these rolls, I'm pretty positive you'll love them, then you can go try them out at Texas Roadhouse and then you'll be so happy you can make them right in your own kitchen!

Texas Roadhouse Rolls {Copycat}
Yield: About 30 rolls

Ingredients
*4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 cup sugar
7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled
2 eggs
2 teaspoons salt

Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, with your dough hook attached, combine yeast, water, milk, sugar and 4 cups of the flour.  Mix well.  Add melted butter, eggs and salt and beat well again.  Add the rest of the flour to form a soft dough.  (You may need to add a little more to get the right consistency.  7 1/2 cups worked perfect when I made them.)  You want the dough to pull apart from the bowl but not become to stiff.  Knead for 5 minutes.

Lightly spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking oil and place dough inside the bowl.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until it has doubled in size (1-2 hours).

Once the dough has doubled, punch it down a few times and turn it out onto a greased (with non-stick cooking spray) counter.  Let it rest for 10 minutes.  Roll the dough out to a 18"x12" rectangle and cut into desired sizes (I was able to cut 31 squares out).  Place rolls on baking stones or silpat lined baking sheets.  Cover again with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about 30 minutes).

Bake in a 350 degree F preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately brush the tops with melted butter if desired.

*If you are using active dry yeast instead of instant, first combine the yeast and warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar and let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast starts to froth.  Then add to your stand mixer and continue with the recipe.

Recipe Source:  adapted slightly from jocooks

Greek Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad

I love this salad.  Just look at it.  All of the colors and flavors and freshness.  I might be so close as to calling it perfect.  The dressing/marinade is mmm, mmm, tasty and adding it all together with a little Tzatziki sauce is starting to make my mouth water as I'm typing this.  One of the great things about salads is how you can add more of what you really like and take away some of what you don't.  Kalamata olives are pretty strong but I love the kick they add.  Now I couldn't eat a jar full of them, but eating them combined with the other ingredients in this salad was oh so good.

Our family loves us some Naan bread.  One of these days I really need to learn how to make it.  We loved scooping the salad up with the bread and putting some chicken slices on top with a dollop of the tzatziki.  I'm sure there are other breads that would work - like flatbread - if you don't prefer Naan.  

This salad might look like it has a lot going on but it really doesn't take much time at all to put together.  The chicken can marinade up to a day in advance and the Tzatziki sauce can be made ahead of time, too.  Then you just dice up the salad ingredients and cook the chicken and you've got yourself a meal that people would pay good money for at a restaurant!  

Greek Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

4 thinner boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Naan bread (store-bought)

Marinade/Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Tzatziki

1 cup Greek yogurt, plain

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and grated

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt, to taste

For the Salad

2 cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced thick

8 oz grape tomatoes

1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced thin

4 oz. Feta cheese, cubed or crumbled

1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Directions

Whisk together the marinade/dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour out 1/3 cup to use later as the dressing and store in the refrigerator.  Pour the rest into a large ziplock bag.

Add the chicken to the bag with the marinade and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes.  If I'm on top of things I like to marinade it overnight in the refrigerator to make sure the chicken soaks up as much flavor as possible.

For the Tzatziki: combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Remove the chicken from the bag and place in the skillet.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through (about 6 minutes each side).  You want the internal temperature to reach at least 165 degrees F.  Once chicken is cooked through, remove from the pan and place on a large plate.  Cover the plate with aluminum foil and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.  

Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine.  Arrange on a large serving platter or individual plates.  Slice the rested chicken and add to the platter or plates.  Warm up Naan bread and add to the platter or plates.  Drizzle the salad with the reserved 1/3 cup marinade/dressing.  Serve with the Tzatziki sauce.

Recipe Source:  adapted slightly from cafe delights.  

Flag Pull-Apart Cake

Happy Memorial Day!  This post is to thank all of our service men and women who have sacrificed their time, families, jobs, hobbies, and ultimately their lives for us.  For the freedom we so much enjoy and I'm afraid take for granted most of the time.  I will forever be grateful for these men and women who have done more than we will ever know for people they don't even know and will never even meet.  From my family to yours - Thank you.

And for those of you who have lost a family member or a friend, my heart goes out to you and many times my prayers include you.  I am thinking about you today and I want you to know that those lives that were lost - I will always be so grateful for what they did for me and for my family.  Thank you.

Flag Pull-Apart Cake
Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients
1 box cake mix and all needed ingredients listed on the box
2 containers of vanilla frosting
food coloring
sprinkles

Directions
Make the cake according to the box.  Allow to cool completely before icing and adding the sprinkles.

Pineapple Banana Bread

I am so excited that summer-time is just around the corner.  Maybe I've mentioned that in almost every post the last few weeks?  Just shows that I really am excited.  I love the sunshine and the summer smells and watermelon season and all the yummy food that summer-time brings.  I also can't wait for this upcoming three-day Memorial Day weekend.  No Monday morning crazy rush out the door.  Just hanging out a home, packing a picnic and BBQ-ing at a nearby park with our family and friends.  And bringing along yummy food to share with good company, of course!

I love this Pineapple Banana bread because it is banana bread (which we love) but with a lighter twist to it.  The taste of pineapple summers this bread right up and really makes you feel like you need to go outside and play!  (At least that's what I tell my kids.)  It's a bread you can eat as a snack, as a dessert, or along with your breakfast!  The glaze is completely optional, but that pineapple taste in that sugary topping really is very wonderful.  And don't you love the little poppy-seeds?  Such a fun and light summer-time bread.

Pineapple Banana Bread

Yield: One loaf

Note: You can easily use canned pineapple in this recipe.  I had pineapple in my fridge that was on the verge of going bad so I pulsed it in my food processor and used that instead of canned.  It produced the perfect amount of liquid I needed (just a few tablespoons).  This recipe is a PERFECT way to use up almost too-ripe pineapple. 

*You can also add greased parchment paper with long overhanging ends to your loaf pan to make it easier to get the bread out when you're done.  Normally my bread pops right out of my favorite loaf pans, but this bread for some reason had a little harder of a time.  Next time I will for sure use greased parchment paper. 

Ingredients

Bread

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted better, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional, but so fun)

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained (reserve the juice!)

2 cups all purpose flour, unbleached

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze

1 cup confectioner's sugar

reserved pineapple juice (about 2-3 tablespoons)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  *Grease a standard size loaf pan and set aside.  

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time and then the extract and poppy seeds.  Blend in the drained pineapple and the mashed banana.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  Stir with a wooden spoon or large spatula until everything is just combined.

Spread the batter evenly into the pan and shake it around a few times to release any air bubbles.  Bake for about 65 minutes in preheated oven, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a cooling rack before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze:

Mix the confectioner's sugar with two tablespoons of the reserved pineapple juice.  Add more juice as needed to create the glaze consistency you like.

Recipe Source:  modified slightly from theviewfromthegreatisland.com