Cyndi Mitchell’s stir down yeast rollsA tender, yet substantial roll They are easy – no kneading or shaping and just the right size for a holiday dinner.  I use a sprayed small ice cream scoop to scoop the dough out.

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water, 105 -115 degrees
• Couple pinches sugar PLUS 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons shortening, room temperature (I used Crisco)
• 2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a couple pinches of sugar to feed the yeast. Yeast will foam up fairly quickly. Place in mixing bowl.2.   On low to medium speed, stir in salt, egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, shortening and 1 cup of flour. Beat until smooth. 3.   Stir in rest of flour, on low to medium speed. Mixture will be sticky.4.   Let rise, covered, till doubled, 30 minutes. 5.   Stir down, and fill greased cupcake tins. (I used melted butter). Mixture will still be sticky. Fill tins about 2/3 full. Let rise again in the tins till almost doubled. Dough will raise over the top of the tins somewhat. No need to cover. In my kitchen, this took 25 minutes.6.   Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.7.   Brush with butter right away (optional but yummy).8.   Makes 12.
Tip:

• Make these by hand if you like.
• These freeze well. Rewarm from frozen or thawed state. To rewarm, place on baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake until warm in a 325-350 degree oven.

………

Do-ahead mashed potatoes

I get more requests for this than any other recipe. You can do this a couple of days ahead. 

Ingredients4-5 pounds potatoes, peeled if you want and chunked up8-12 ozs cream cheese, softened, regular or light1 cup sour cream, regular or lightSalt and pepper to taste1/2 stick melted butter or margarine

Instructions

Boil potatoes until tender, drain and mash. Add everything but butter and mix well. Pour into sprayed casserole or baking dish. Let cool and store in refrigerator, covered. Before baking, bring to room temperature if you can to speed up rewarming. Pour melted butter over. Cover lightly and bake in preheated 350 or 375 degree oven for 40-60 minutes or until hot.  Or microwave, lightly tented, on medium heat until hot.

Even easier: make your mashed potatoes in the usual way. Keep warm in sprayed crockpot on low for several hours.  They may need a bit more milk.