Cinnamon Rolls

Here is THE cinnamon roll recipe... It's off the internet, and a little modified. Anyway, this is the way I do it.

Dough:
1 cup warm milk(about 110 degrees)
2 eggs, room temp
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast
4 1/2 c. flour(I have substituted partial whole wheat, it's just ok)
1 tsp salt

Filling:
2 1/2 TBS cinnamon
1/3 c. butter(softened)
1 c. sugar

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Mix warm milk, eggs, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Proof(let sit) for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add flour and salt. Knead until smooth(or let your kitchen-aid do the work for you with the dough hook). Heat oven to 200, then turn off. Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with towel. Place in warm oven and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.

Roll dough into a 16X12" rectangle/oval. Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Spread butter on dough and sprinkle with sugar mixture(use all of it). Roll up dough lengthwise and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls into a lightly greased 9X13" pan. Cover and let rise in warm place until nearly doubled(30-60 minutes). Or you can cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep in refrigerator over night. In the morning you can take it out, remove covering, let it rise for 1 hour(in an oven heated to 200, then turned off), and then bake.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake about 25 minutes, until golden brown. Immediately invert onto cookie sheet for 30 seconds, then flip back over, and allow to cool while making frosting.

Beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Spread on warm rolls.

Carrot Cake

This recipe came out of a church cookbook, and I've been making it for YEARS. It's the only carrot cake recipe I'll use since I don't like nuts or raisins in my carrot cake. The pineapple makes it perfect! Ok so how to write this recipe? Original or modified??? I guess I'll do the original and describe the changes I make??? Try to keep up! :)

1 1/2 c. vegetable oil(I use applesauce instead)
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. grated carrots
2 1/2 c. flour(half and half whole wheat or whatever you're brave enough to try!)
8 oz. crushed pineapple
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
(I also add some vanilla)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour a 9X13" pan or two 9" pans. Mix all ingredients until smooth and well blended. Bake 50-60 minutes for 9X13, or 30-45 minutes for 9" pans.

I ALWAYS double the recipe for the frosting, but here it is in it's original form!

3 oz cream cheese room temp
1 tsp vanilla(I use about twice that amount)
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Frost cake when cool.

Urkey Lurkey(Italian pasta dish)

I got this awesome recipe from a friend, who I think, got it off of a cooking show. It rocks! :)

1 lb pasta
1 head cauliflower, broccoli, or both
1 lb Italian sausage(we leave this out when T is home b/c he doesn't like it)
4 oz salami or pepperoni(when T is home we do 4-6 oz of each)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil(I only use 1/4 cup)
1 large onion
1 red or green bell pepper julienned
2 TBS minced garlic
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper(I use this only in my portion, it's much too spicy for my kids)
8 oz cubed mozzarella cheese(I use closer to 16oz)
1/2 cup sliced green olives
1/2 cup sliced black olives
2 TBS freshly chopped parsley leaves
finely grated Parmesan cheese for passing at the table

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and cook pasta according to directions. Strain and place in large pot or pasta dish, cover.

Meanwhile, bring another pot of salted water to boil, and cook cauliflower, broccoli, or both, until tender crisp(about 5 minutes). Using slotted spoon, transfer to pot with pasta and cover.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over med/high, crumble and cook Italian sausage until browned and cooked though. Add pepperoni/salami and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer meats to pot with pasta and cover.

Add 1 1/2 TBS olive oil to a hot skillet with onions and bell peppers, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, basil, oregano, and red pepper, and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Using spoon, transfer to pasta pot.

Add olive oil, cubed cheese, green and black olives, and parsley to pot. Toss to thoroughly combine. Serve in large bowl.

Chicken Nuggets

These are super easy to make, and way cheaper than buying organic chicken nuggets! :)

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts(be sure the chicken is completely defrosted!)

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs(I just made my own with organic whole wheat bread and Italian seasoning)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping. Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

That's it! It's so yummy!

powdered sugar

I thought that I already blogged this, but going back through my posts I can't find it! This is how to make powdered sugar, which is very expensive if you buy organic because powdered sugar is more expensive than organic granulated sugar!

1 cup sugar
1 TBS cornstarch

Blend in blender until smooth and powdered.

That's it! Have fun! :)

organic creamer

Ok for those of you who haven't looked at what's in that coffee creamer you drink every morning, quick go look right now! I'm not even sure it can be considered a food product! :(

So my husband is completely in love with coffee creamer, so when we went organic, asking him to give that up is like asking him to cut off his right arm! Looking online this morning I found a super easy, super yummy recipe! The best part? It makes alot, and you can tweak it to be any flavor you want! Here's the basic recipe:

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 TBS maple syrup(I'm sure you could use agave nectar)

Steam over medium heat, remove from heat, and cool.

That's it! Now for some add ins:

To make Vanilla just add a TBS of vanilla, or a vanilla bean cut in half!
To make Cinnamon, you guessed it, just add cinnamon!
Pumpkin pie spice: Add pumpkin pie spice
Chocolate: Add a few TBS of Cacao powder

Are you getting the picture? Add whatever you want, to taste, to make it your own! How easy is that???? Much love to you all(obviously why I share all this with you!!!!)

birthing

So lately I have been confronted with a brand new dilemma. When I was pregnant with our littlest(for at the least the next 4 months) I had my midwife ask me if I wanted any of the kids present during my birth. At the time my oldest 2 were a 9 year old boy, and a 7 year old girl. I responded no, that if the oldest was a girl maybe, but that I thought that a 9 year old boy was too young to be in the delivery room. Until she asked, I had never even thought about letting any of the kids in the room.

So by the time this baby is going to be born our oldest daughter will be 9, so my plan(that I hadn't even cleared with my hubby yet!) was to ask her if she was interested in being there, and if so, show her some actual birth footage, get a backup person to take her out of the room if necessary, and go from there. I never got the chance to discuss with hubby or to ask!

2 nights ago, during prayer time, our 5 year old daughter said that she wanted to see the baby come out. I said, "Well you already know how a baby comes out." She said, "Yeah but I want to SEE it." Hmmm. Then my 9 year old pipes in with, "Yeah, me too!" I'm trying to come up with a good reason why not. Not that I want to say no, but I don't want to just say yes without thinking it through either. If they know what they're in for, and I have a backup plan, then why not? I have very calm labors and deliveries, and I don't scream or yell or get out of hand...

Something for our family to pray about and decide! I'll let you all in on the answer when we figure it out! :)