Roll Dough Creation

I recently sorted through months -- if not years -- worth of recipes, discarding the ones that didn't sound as good as they originally did and filing the ones I wanted to cook for my family.  One, however, was kept out because I knew it would be perfect for Thanksgiving.

The recipe was from a flyer I'd received from Bridgford, a company that makes frozen bread dough.  I was familiar with Bridgford because I use their Parkerhouse rolls to make better than garlic bread pull apart rolls. This time, though, with just a few easy additions, the rolls are transformed into pumpkins.

The visual design of the rolls was inspired by Holly, food blogger behind Beyond Kimchee, using a homemade roll recipe.  I substituted the roll recipe my family has come to expect for the holidays, but you can use your favorite roll recipe, or save time and start with a package of frozen rolls from the grocery.

Shape the homemade bread dough or thawed rolls into balls.  I normally get 18 cloverleaf rolls from one batch of dough.  I made the balls a little bigger so I only ended up with 15.

Try to keep the balls close to the same size to ensure they bake evenly. Don't fret, though, if the balls aren't the same exact size because pumpkins aren't all the same size either! 

Put the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet, spacing them about 2-inches apart.

Flatten each ball slightly using the palm of your hand.

Using a pair of kitchen shears or a knife, make six cuts around the edge of the dough.

Make a hole in the center of the dough using your pinkie.

Cover the dough and let rise until double in size.  Insert a pecan piece in the hole in the center for the stem.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Whether you make the rolls from scratch or use a package of frozen rolls, these pumpkin shaped rolls are a whimsical and delicious addition to a Thanksgiving meal.

© Margaret's Morsels

Almost Homemade

I'm always surprised when people assume I cook feasts for my family year round.  I love to cook, but the only feasts I prepare are at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Not only would that be too much food for a family of three on a regular basis, I don't have time to cook like that every day.  As I've written before, suppertime is the most stressful time of day for me.  This is why I'm always looking for shortcuts that will allow me to spend less time in the kitchen, while still making foods my family will eat and get supper on the table at a decent hour!

In the blogs I posted for Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Alfredo and Baked Ziti, I either mention adding garlic bread to round out the meal, or have a picture of the plated dish with garlic bread on the side.  Garlic bread is a packaged food I find convenient to keep in the freezer for nights when I need a quick bread to go with a meal.  Sometimes, though, I want to serve something that tastes homemade, but doesn't require the time and effort of making something from scratch.  What my family affectionately calls "Better than Garlic Bread Pull Apart Rolls" meet all of these requirements.

The bread starts with a package of frozen rolls.  You've probably seen these in the freezer case at the grocery and wondered what to do with them.

These rolls are a real time saver and can be used for monkey bread, cinnamon rolls and a myriad of other dishes.  They can even be baked as rolls!  Although I don't have to make the bread, I still need to plan ahead of time since the rolls have to be thawed overnight in the refrigerator.

A couple of hours before we're going to eat, I remove the rolls from the refrigerator.  While the margarine is melting in the microwave, I take the rolls out of the package and place them on a piece of waxed paper.

You don't have to do this, but I find it faster than removing the rolls from the bag one at a time, especially if the rolls are stuck together.  Once the margarine is melted, stir in garlic powder and garlic salt.  These are the same seasonings used in equal proportions in Garlic Cheese Biscuits, but this roll recipe uses 50% more garlic powder.

The friend that gave me the recipe bakes the rolls in a Bundt pan.  I tried that once and thought the rolls were dry.  If you're like me and love the round shape, but don't have a ring shaped pan, you can improvise and make your own.  Grease a small, ovensafe cup or bowl -- this keep the rolls from sticking to it -- and place it in the center of a 10-inch round cake pan. You now have a ring shaped pan!  If you don't want to go to that much trouble, use the 10-inch pan without the cup or bowl, or use a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan instead.

Dip each roll in the melted butter mixture and place it in the greased pan, stacking the rolls in two layers.  If there's any butter mixture left, pour it over the top layer of rolls.

First layer

Second layer

Put the pan in a warm place free from drafts, cover it with a towel and let the rolls rise an hour.  After the rolls have risen, bake them for 30 to 45 minutes, or until brown.  When the rolls are done, put the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  If the rolls come apart when you take them out of the pan, you can separate them and serve them in a bread basket.

The frozen rolls make the finished product taste as though it was made from scratch.  People love these rolls and, unless they ask for the recipe, assume they're homemade.  I don't mind letting them think that since they're "almost" homemade!

Better than Garlic Bread Pull Apart Rolls

6 to 8 Servings

1 (1 lb. 9 oz.) pkg. frozen Parkerhouse style roll dough, thawed

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Thaw dough according to package directions.  Melt butter; stir in the garlic powder and garlic salt.  Dip each roll in the butter mixture and place in a greased 10-inch round cake pan, or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.  Put the pan in a warm place free from drafts, cover with a towel and let rise an hour.  Bake the rolls at 350° for 30 to 45 minutes, or until brown.  Put the pan on a cooling rack and let cool 10 minutes before removing bread.

© Margaret's Morsels

New Life for Leftover Ham

The presents have been opened, the out of town company has gone home, the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over.  If you're like me, two things remain:  bills and leftovers!  I can't help with the bills, but I can share a recipe for leftover ham.


I always cook a ham for Christmas and freeze the leftovers.  Before I freeze the ham, I use some of it to make a quick and easy Broccoli Ham Ring.


The recipe consists of a filling made with ham and four other ingredients. One of the ingredients -- frozen chopped broccoli -- needs to be thawed so I combine the filling ingredients early in the day.  By the time I'm ready to cook supper, the broccoli is thawed.  The only thing left to do is arrange the filling atop refrigerated crescent rolls.


As the name implies, the finished dish is in a ring shape, but it's actually quite easy to make.  I prepare the ring on a large baking stone, but you could use a pizza pan or cookie sheet.  Just make sure whatever pan you use is big enough to accommodate the crescent rolls when they're spread out in a sunburst pattern.  If you don't have a pan big enough, you could make two rings using half of the ingredients for each ring.


A picture's worth a thousand words so I'll let these pictures be your guide in how to assemble the ring.

Put the dough in a circle with the points to the outside.

Put the filling on the wide ends of the dough.

Pull the points of the dough over the filling and tuck

them under the wide ends of the dough.

Some of the filling will show, but that only adds to the beauty of the dish.

I usually serve a salad -- green or congealed -- with the Broccoli Ham Ring.  Since I've got leftover Green Bean Bundles and Cranberry Orange Relish, I'll be serving those with the ham ring this time.  Those two sides were great Christmas day with the ham so they'll be good with the ham ring too.  After all, I don't want Christmas leftovers to go to waste!

Broccoli Ham Ring

8 Servings

1 cup chopped ham

1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 (8 oz.) pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.

To assemble the ring, unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on a 15-inch round baking stone with wide ends of triangles overlapping in the center and points toward the outside (there should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center of stone).  Scoop ham mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle.  Bring points of triangle up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. Filling will not be completely covered.

Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown.  Cut into 8 servings.

© Margaret's Morsels