Mike's Breadsticks

1 c very warm water
1 c flour
2 T yeast
2 T sugar

1 t salt
1 t spice of your choice
1 - 1 1/2 c flour
1 T olive oil
1 cube melted butter
Additional toppings such as basil, cajun seasoning, parmesan cheese, cinnamon sugar 

In a large bowl, add 1 cup water as hot as is comes from the tap, 1 cup flour, 2 T of dry yeast and 2 T sugar.  Stir together gently and then let it proof for a half hour.  After half an hour, it should be bubbly and foamy.   Add 1 teaspoon of salt and any spices you want to add,  to taste.  Add 1 T of olive oil.  Then add another cup of flour, a little at a time and knead/stir until it comes clean on the sides of the bowl.  It may not take a whole cup or it may take  one and a quarter cups.   Let mixture sit on counter in a warm kitchen for an hour, or until the dough doubles in size.   Grease a large cookie sheet heavily with Crisco.   Flour your hands and  take a golf ball size piece of dough and roll between your hands until you have a long "snake" the width of your cookie sheet.  If it sticks to your hands as you are rolling out then flour your hands again.    Let the breadsticks  rise for another hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    Brush with melted butter and bake for 13 minutes. When you take them out of the oven,  brush with a mixture of butter,  garlic powder,  onion powder and basil again.  If you want cinnamon-sugar  breadsticks,  don’t add the spices to the initial batter  but do brush with butter and cinnamon-sugar after removing from the oven. 

Eggnog Tres Leches Cake

1 (15 oz) Betty Crocker White Cake Mix
4 eggs
1/2 c oil
1/2 c water
1 c eggnog
8 oz evaporated milk
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 pint heavy cream
1 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a stand mixer, beat together the cake mix, eggs, oil and water.  Pour this batter into two 9-inch cake rounds that are generously sprayed with nonstick baking spray.  Bake for 24-29 minutes in a preheated oven.  Remove and cool completely in the metal cake pans.  Once cool, tip one of your cakes gently out of the metal pan, then use a sharp knife to slice the rounded top portion of the cake.  Return the leveled cake to the cake pan.  Drizzle the eggnog over the cake rounds - a half a cup of eggnog should be drizzled over each cake.  Then, drizzle the evaporated milk, followed by the condensed milk.  Make sure you drizzle the milks over the entire cakes.  Set cakes uncovered to allow the milk to seep into the cakes, about 30-45 minutes.  Whip the whipping cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Remove the cakes from the fridge.  Invert the leveled cake onto a serving dish.  Add whipped cream to the top of the cake, then gently invert the second cake on top of the frosted layer.  Frost with the remaining cream.  - Recipe from CheekyKitchen on Tablespoon.com

Em's Red Pepper Jelly

12 Sweet Bell Peppers
3 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
3 T tapioca
1 T salt

Chop peppers up finely.  Sprinkle with salt and stir in.  Let sit one hour and drain.   Combine peppers with sugar, vinegar and tapioca in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then simmer 2-3 hours until thickened, stirring every 5-10 minutes so it doesn't burn.  Bottle in sterilized 1/2 pint jars and seal, using your favorite canning method.  Em just turns the bottles over while still really hot and lest them seal on their own.  Makes 6-8 jars of jelly.  Serve over cream cheese as a dip or use as a glaze for fish, poultry or ham.