Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

I absolutely love these. I always make the same old roll recipe and decided to try something different. I have made these 3 times in the last 2 weeks, trying something a little different each time. I like to mix my dough in my bread maker on the dough cycle. If you want the instructions for making them without the bread maker, you can read the original recipe here. I ended up needing a little more flour, possibly because of my humidity, so I used 4 1/2 cups as opposed to 4. I also tried them with an 8oz can of crushed pineapple in place of the pineapple juice, but I couldn't get past the pineapple pieces in the rolls. So, this is my version of the recipe that I like best.

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
adapted from yammiesnoshery.com
1/3 cup warm milk
2/3 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 scant TBSP instant dry yeast, or bread machine yeast

For the tops:
1 egg white
2 TBSPs water
2 TBSPs melted butter

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on dough cycle; press start.
2. When cycle has finished, remove dough from bread machine. Punch the dough down and divide into 16 equal balls. Place rolls in 2 greased round cake or pie pans. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray or a damp towel, and let rise again until doubled, 45-60 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 2 TBSPs water; brush lightly onto the rolls. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the tops are nicely browned. Remove from oven, brush the tops with melted butter, and serve warm.

Chicken Barley Soup

I've already made a couple of new things this year that I'm exited to post. First is this soup. I had never cooked with barley before making this. It's just something that is not in my normal diet, but I do like the taste. I decided to try this recipe because it's easy and pretty much chicken noodle soup, but with barley instead of noodles. It's very versatile too because you can add whatever veggies you want. I used frozen corn, carrots, and peas. Rotisserie chicken would give the soup the most flavor, but I just used some cubed leftover chicken and a little shredded chicken from my freezer. I ate some of this the next day for lunch, and it needed a little extra liquid so added some water. I'm glad to have a new and healthy soup in my collection. :)

Chicken Barley Soup
adapted from grit.com
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cans (14 1/2oz each) chicken broth
1 cup water
3/4 cup quick cooking barley
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups frozen vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, optional

In large pot, combine chicken, onion, celery, broth, water, barley and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Yields 4-6 servings.