Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I can't even begin to tell you how yummy these cinnamon rolls are and they really aren't that hard to make. So try them....I promise you will enjoy!
Your slim figure may not but your taste buds will.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

3/4 cup milk
5 tbsp. melted margarine or butter
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup water

Cinnamon Filling:

5 tbsp. melted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
2-2 1/2 tbsp. milk

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and 5 tbsp. butter just until the butter is melted. Set off to the side until it cools to lukewarm. (about 25 minutes)
Once the milk cools you can then begin to mix the dough.
In large bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour, yeast, 1/4 cup sugar and salt.
Stir in the egg and water.
Next add the milk mixture and mix well.
Add the last cup of flour. 
Once dough forms, knead on a floured surface until smooth.
(Or if you have a Kitchen-Aid mixer like I do then let the dough hook do it's magic for about 4-5 minutes.)
Place dough in a bowl, cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
Next, on a floured surface roll dough into an 18 X 14 rectangle.

Pour the melted butter on top of dough and spread to about an inch of the edge of the dough. Leave an inch edge all around so the dough will seal easier when rolling up.
Combine the brown sugar & cinnamon and then sprinkle over the butter.

Roll the dough up jelly roll style *lengthwise* and seal the edges. (Obviously it doesn't have to be done neatly!)

Cut into twelve rolls.
I used dental floss to cut my rolls and it worked perfectly. Much better than what it did when I used a knife. 

Place rolls in a greased baking dish and cover again with a towel. Let set until dough rises. ( I let mine set for an hour to an hour and a half.)

Uncover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven and prepare the icing by mixing the powdered sugar and milk. Once combined, drizzle on tops of rolls.
Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

My garden is overflowing with squash and zucchini.
This year I planted 4 plants and oh my, I have so much coming on that I don't know what to do with it all. 
I found a hidden zucchini this morning tucked away under all the leaves and it was huge so I brought it in and shredded it up for breads and baking.

I ended up with 3 loaves plus 4 mini loaves and enough shreds to freeze for a later batch. It was so good right out of the oven with a little real butter slathered on top....yum!

Zucchini Bread
(Makes 2 loaves)

3 eggs
2 cups sugar       *Mix these three together.*
1 cup oil

2 cups grated zucchini      *Add these two to the
2 tsp. vanilla                     above mixture.*

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder       *Stir these five ingredients
2 tsp. baking soda             in a bowl and then add
3 tsp. cinnamon                to above.*
1 tsp. salt

Now you can add 1 cup chopped walnuts if you like or if
you are like me and forget to add them to the mixture then just sprinkle some over the top of the bread once you've placed them in the pans. It's just as good and I think it looks
*pretty* with the nuts on top.

Divide the batter into two loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups & Yummy Breadsticks

I am so glad that the weekend is here. It's been a busy week for me and I'm ready for some R&R.

They're calling for a rainy weekend here so I'm counting on that and planning on a little couch/TV time while doing a little stitching. 

So would you like to know about the recipe?
Well, it's not mine. 
I found it on Pinterest and let me tell you it is soooo good.
I'm not a big pasta fan and I have never combined chicken with pasta so I just didn't think it would be something that I'd like but boy was I wrong. Everyone loved it!

You know what made it even better?

These homemade bread sticks!

You can find the Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups HERE at MMM...Cafe.

The bread sticks are HERE at Mommy's Kitchen.

Give them both a try....I think you'll really like them.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Homemade Beer Bread

Have you ever purchased a box of beer bread mix that you simply add a bottle of beer and a little butter ?
My mom buys a packet of it for me every once in a while (can't remember the name of it) and I think it's pretty tasty for a box mix but a little on the pricey side when you consider the few ingredients that are actually in the mix.
So when I came across this recipe in an old box of recipes from my mother-in-law I knew I had to try it.

     Sorry it's not the best picture! My oldest son got his hands on it before I could take a picture.

Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tbsp. sugar
12 oz. bottle of beer

Mix all ingredients and place in a greased bread pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes.
Brush a little melted butter on the top as soon as you remove it from the oven and it's ready.
Enjoy!

First Flakes and Freezing Temps.

It's a cold and snowy evening!

Hi everyone!
It's been a few days since I last posted. I came down with a nasty headcold with fever and cough and it about whipped my butt for a day or two but I'm feeling better now.

Since today was the last day of our Christmas break I figured I'd better get caught up on a few things before we begin school tomorrow.  Though the kids are wishing for their first snow day of the season. It is snowing but no major amount. Just enough to make the roads a bit slippery and enough to excite the kids.

In the kitchen today:

I baked a few loaves of homemade oatmeal bread (recipe is here) as well as a blackberry cobbler.
For dinner some oven baked chicken.

While everything was cooking I took a little time to work on some sewing jobs.

Black valances created from a full size sliding door curtain.
Rainbow leapard curtains made from bed sheets and I need to add inside pockets and pouches to a few coal mine safety vests for a friend.
I managed to get the black curtains done and that was it. Hopefully I'll get started on the other two projects this week and get them finished.

I didn't get any crafting done the few days that I was sick so yesterday I tried to make up some lost time.

I added several more rows to my "neapolitan afghan".

And I began a new Valentine needle punch. Pattern is from Chestnut Junction!

Hope you all are staying warm. Our temperatures are going to dip into the 20's for the first time this season with wind chills in the teens. Not much better tomorrow. Good days to stay indoor all warm and cozy while working on more sewing.
Have a great evening!

Hoagie Buns from Scratch

Don't these look yummy?
My absolute favorite sub is a meatball hoagie but you could use these buns for a all kinds of subs.

5 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. softened butter
1 3/4 cups warm water
olive oil

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
Add butter and mix well.
Gradually add the remaining flour, alternating with the warm water.
Knead until smooth, 10-15 minutes.
(I used the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer and let it run 5-6 minutes.)
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
Cut dough into 6 equal sections and shape each into a hoagie bun. As you will see in the photo below mine were not in perfect even shapes but it doesn't matter. Once they rise they will be fine.
Place buns on two greased cookie sheet and spray the tops with cooking spray.
Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove pans from refrigerator.

Bake 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

This really was easy to make and they tasted so much better than store bought. I sliced each bun down the center, placed several homemade meatballs cooked in spaghetti sauce on them and topped it with mozzarella cheese. Place the subs back in the oven for 5 more minutes just to melt the cheese.  

Enjoy!

About to Throw it Out the Window!

I have spent the last two days *sew* frustrated with my sewing machine. Remember on Saturday I had cut and pinned all those purses together....well I planned on getting them all sewed together yesterday but that sure didn't happen.
Instead I spent the whole day fiddling with the adjustments on my machine. My stitches were horrible looking and I could not figure out why. ( Oh, and I couldn't sew in reverse either.) I changed the settings and rethreaded the dang thing so many times that I just wanted to scream.
I also spent a good bit of today trying to figure out the problem and finally just gave up. I changed the stitch setting (there are three straight-stitches that I can use) and got it to work perfectly. It seems that the middle setting has gone bad but thankfully the other two are working. One of these days I'll have to find someone to look at it and see what it needs to fix it.

Once I got it all straightened out I was able to sew the final stitch around the top of this purse and it's a good thing because I was just about to throw the purse out the window too! Now, *hopefully* I will be able to get the other three purses done tomorrow.

Here's a few pictures of the other mess that I got into yesterday.

I baked some zucchini bread and it turned out pretty good so there WAS a little good to my day.

 

I'm wishing for a day of smooth sailing tomorrow with no frustrations and maybe 3 more purses complete! Wish me luck!

SUNSHINE & Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuits

We finally have SUNSHINE!

This weekend was great. The sun shined bright and the temperature was in the 40's.

A much needed reprieve from all the winter blahs. Saturday was spent outside cleaning out our vehicles, a job that was much needed. After getting them all cleaned and swept out I headed to the car wash for what seemed like a never-ending wait in line. That place was packed! I guess we all had the same idea.

It was also a great day to hang laundry up outside to dry and to grill out for supper. Later in the evening I sat down and finished the pillow for my giveaway that ends this Saturday as well as another stitchery that I have been working on. While I sewed I watched another great movie on the Hallmark. It was called "Uncorked". It was really good and I believe it plays a few more times this month. Definitely worth watching!

Sunday was spent catching up and getting things done around the house before we all headed back to school and work. After a busy day I needed something quick for supper so I whipped up these basic biscuits and had sausage, egg & cheese biscuits as well as some hashbrowns. I prefer to use the larger size sausage patties for these but they are so expensive to buy that way (preshaped) so I just used 2 rolls of Bob Evans sausage and shaped them into large patties myself. Add some egg and a slice of cheese and you've got a quick simple supper or breakfast!

Quick & Simple Biscuits

2 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cups Crisco

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425°.

Place flour, baking powder & salt in a bowl and mix well.

Add Crisco to flour and use a fork or pastry blender to blend.

Add milk.

Mix it enough so that the dough will hold together.

(I just used my hands for this step.)

Place dough on counter and knead it about 10 times.

Roll dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Use a biscuit cutter or drinking glass to cut circles.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes or till browned.

Well we are off to get busy on school so that we can get it done and get outside to enjoy another day of sunshine. I'll be back later to catch up with all of you. Hope you enjoy your day!

Blueberry Muffins Without All the Sugar

I still have several bags of fresh berries that I had froze this past summer so the other morning I thought I would mix up some muffins for breakfast. I chose blueberries~my all time favorite for muffins.

I didn't use any sugar in the batter but I did top them with a bit of brown sugar. I got mixed reactions from the kids. Some liked them and some thought that they needed more sugar.

I ate mine with some good ol' butter spread over them and thought they were tasty. They weren't as sweet as store-bought but definitely healthier.

Blueberry Muffins Without All the Sugar

3 cups white flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 tbsp. milled flax seed

4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup oil

2 cups berries

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix flour, wheat germ, flax seed, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk & oil.

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients.

Fold in berries.

Spoon batter into muffin tins.

Combine brown sugar & cinnamon and sprinkle on muffin tops.

Bake 20 minutes at 400°.

Enjoy!

Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

Here is the roll recipe that I talked about the other night.

It's a dinner roll but it is made with pineapple juice so it's got some sweetness to it.

I found this recipe several years ago and have just now gotten around to actually trying it. I thought it was a bit odd to add the yeast after mixing the dough but in the end it worked.

They remind me of the Hawaiian rolls that you can buy in an orange bag. I can't think of the brand name but I usually find them sitting in front of the deli case.

Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

3 cups flour

1 egg

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 pkg. yeast

1/2 stick butter, melted

Beat the egg.

Add pineapple juice, sugar, vanilla and butter to the egg.

Add flour and mix.

Next add the yeast & mix well.

Leave dough in bowl and cover it with a towel.

Place in a warm spot and let rise for 1 hour.

Remove towel and punch dough down.

Pinch off small amounts of dough and gently roll into balls.

*I made 13 rolls in total.*

Place rolls in a greased 13 X 9.

Cover again with a towel and place in a warm spot for another hour.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

I didn't have pineapple juice but I did have a can of pineapple tidbits so here is what I did.

I drained the pineapple juice from the tidbits and got exactly one cup of juice that I used in the rolls.

I used the remaining pineapple and mixed it with a few things that I had on hand and came up with a pineapple fluff.

Quick Pineapple Fluff

2 (8oz.) cream cheese, softened

20 oz. pineapple tidbits, drained

3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Mix all together enjoy!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend.

I'm tired from shopping all day so I'm heading to the couch to watch a bit of tv and sew a little before bedtime.

I'll be back on Monday with a few more cookie recipes.

Crumb Topped Banana Muffins

I made these yesterday and they were pretty good. I had about 6 bananas that were very ripe so I used three of them in this and I mashed and froze the other three for use down the road.

I have to be honest, I still like the banana bread recipe that I use but these were pretty good for a quick fix.

Crumb Topped Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. flour

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. butter

Combine dry muffin ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine bananas, sugar, egg & butter: mix well.

Stir into dry ingredients.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins about 3/4 full.

Combine first three topping ingredients in a small bowl.

Cut in butter until crumbly.

Sprinkle this mixture over the muffins.

Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or till done.

Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and then remove.

Enjoy!

Homemade Whole Wheat Rolls

My trip to Sugar Creek is what actually spurred me on to find a good whole wheat roll recipe. About a week before going on our trip I was thinking of all the little shops that we would browse through and of course the fantastic meal that we would have while we were there.

You know, the good home-cooked meal that always comes with white or wheat rolls.

I have made white rolls many times but have never tried my hands at wheat.

I was in search of a recipe that would produce a light-weight fluffy roll instead of a hard rock. I am only saying this because I think most things made with all wheat seem to turn out that way.... Hard & Dense.

So off to my cookbooks I went. I knew I wanted to use honey for a sweeter roll but just couldn't find the right recipe. So, I used ideas from several different recipes and came up with this.

**Does anyone know what the vinegar does? I have never used vinegar in bread but that was in one recipe that I saw so I thought I would try it.**

They turned out good, sweet and light-weight. I should have let them rise a bit longer before I baked them but they were still good, just not as big as what they could have been.

The best part was that everyone in my family, even the picky eaters, enjoyed them...even the big one that refuses to eat wheat bread of any kind.

I'll have to take a picture the next time I make them since I forgot to grab one after they came out of the oven. :(

Homemade Wheat Rolls

1 3/4 cups water

2 tsp. sugar

1 tbsp. yeast

2 tbsp. vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup oil

1 1/2 tsp. Lecithin

2 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Place water, sugar & yeast in bowl and let it set till bubbly. (3-5 minutes)

Add vinegar, honey, oil, Lecithin, salt & egg.

Stir in whole wheat flour a cup at a time.

Add 2 1/2 cups of the white flour in the same manner.

Knead dough by hand or by mixer with a dough hook.

Add last cup of flour as you are kneading it.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover.

Let rise till doubled.

Punch dough down and form into 2-inch dough balls.

Place in a greased pan, cover and let rise again.

Bake 350° for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Oh So Soft Oatmeal Bread

I love oatmeal bread whether it's store bought or homemade because of it's soft texture and sweet flavor. It's a light bread instead of such a hard dense loaf as some wheat breads can be.

This recipe turned out perfect. Though the next time I make it I may try to add a bit of whole wheat flour to it and see how it turns out.

This along with the spread that I made this weekend was yummy!

(I'll share that recipe later!)

Homemade Oatmeal Bread

1 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp. salt

1/4 cup melted butter

3 tbsp. light molasses

1 cup boiling water

1 pkg. dry yeast

1 cup warm water

4 - 4 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.

Add yeast, warm water and half of the flour.

Beat till smooth.

Add rest of flour and knead till smooth.

Put dough in a greased bowl.

Cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch dough down.

Cover and let rise another 15 minutes.

Shape into 2 loaves and place in bread pans.

Bake 35 minutes at 350°.

( I used my Kitchen-Aid mixer on this. The dough was a bit sticky but I just greased my hands and bowl well before working with it.)

Bacon Pineapple Pizza

Here is my homemade version of a Hawaiian Pizza. I made four pizzas the other night, one to please each and every picky eater at my house. There was Hawaiian, plain cheese, extra pepperoni and then a white pizza. I figured I would be the only person to eat the bacon & pineapple one so I only made one.

Wrong move! It was the first pizza tray to be empty. Even my most picky eater gobbled this up!

The first five ingredients are for the dough which will make enough for 2 pizza crusts. The toppings that I listed below were used on just 1 of the crusts so you will need to double the toppings if making more than one pizza or top the second crust with your own favorite toppings!

Bacon & Pineapple Pizza

1 pkg. yeast

2 cups warm water

2 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. oil

5 cups flour

Toppings:

1 lb. bacon, fried & crumbled

1 jar pizza or spaghetti sauce

20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

8-12 oz. shredded cheese (mozz., colby jack, etc.)

Fry bacon & place on paper towels to absorb extra grease.

Drain pineapple.

In a large bowl, mix yeast & water.

Add sugar & salt.

Stir in oil.

Slowly add flour.

Mix well. (I use my Kitchen-Aid mixer with a dough hook)

Grease hands and form dough into a ball.

Place dough back in bowl, cover with a towel and let rise 5-10 minutes.

Divide dough into 2 balls.

Take each ball and spread out onto a pizza pan.

Top pizza with pizza or spaghetti sauce.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Top with half of the crumbled bacon.

Use hands to "sprinkle" half of the pineapple over top of bacon.

Sprinkle the remaining bacon and pineapple on top.

Bake in oven at 350° for 20 minutes or till crust is browned to your own liking.

Enjoy!

Trying my hand a making homemade bread

This is not something totally new for me but something that I don't do often. If I did I'd be HUGE because there is nothing better than warm homemade bread with real butter. I have tried a few recipes lately but thought they tasted more like a sweet bread so I thought I'd try something on my own. I made one batch that I used half wheat flour and half white flour and it went to the garbage can. It wouldn't even mix up. I figure it needed more oil or liquid but at that point I was done with it.

As my attempts went on I finally came up with this and so far like it the best.

Homemade Bread

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp. dry yeast

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

In mixing bowl, let sugar dissolve in warm water.

Add yeast, give it a gentle stir and let sit 5 minutes.

Add oil, flours, and salt.

Mix all together.

I use my Kitchen-Aid mixer with the dough hook attachment and just let it do the work of kneading for about 5 minutes on low speed.

Place in a greased loaf pan.

Cover with a tea towel or light-weight towel and let the dough rise.

The time will depend on the warmth of your house.

I place mine on top of the fridge and let it rise for about 2 hours.

Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

This makes one loaf.

I always try to have a fast & simple dinner on Friday nights so I used this bread this past Friday to make turkey melts and boy were they good.

I just sliced & buttered one side of the bread. Placed butter side down on griddle and then topped with mesquite turkey breast and a slice of cheese. Put other slice of buttered bread on top and cook till both sides are toasted. (I have been using my bacon press when making sandwiches this way. It makes them flat and reminds me of a panini.)

Anyways, when both sides were toasted I removed them. Opened them up and added shredded lettuce, tomato slices and then drizzled a little coleslaw dressing over the top. YUM!

It's the weekend! -- Garden Started

Sooooo glad the weekend is almost here. Not a whole lot going on today. Just trying to catch up on a few things.

I'm almost finished with one of my Pay It Forwards. Not telling who it's going to or what it is just yet. But I will a bit later.


I think I'm gonna spend the day in the kitchen. I have the urge for some No-Bake cookies and I think I'll make some homemade pizza for supper plus I've got to try some of the cheese bread that Tammy has over at

http://tammysrecipes.com/italian_cheese_bread. It looks so yummy. I will use my dough recipe but I've got to try the dressing on it. Her pictures looks oh so good.

GARDEN STARTED

Tuesday night I went to a Homoeopathic Study Group Meeting and while I was gone my husband and oldest son got the garden all tilled up and ready to go. *Though, once we move the kids fort (still unfinished) then we will make the garden bigger to allow more room for some extra potatoes.* Then on Wednesday, while it was so nice out, we planted onions. I have peas that I believe need to be planted now too, but I have never grown them before so I need to read more about them first. Last year it was so wet that we were late in getting the garden started. This year we seem to be on track, now I just hope the garden does as well or better as last years. Well I'm heading to the kitchen so I'll have to catch up on all my favorite blogs a little later.