Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls

So, for my very first post on here, I decided to start you ladies out with a wonderful (INSANELY easy) homemade cinnamon rolls recipe. :) Hope you enjoy these as much as we do! *Some notes about this that are totally optional-purely what I prefer-with the frosting, don't double it (that's waaay too much), but just what the recipe calls for never seems like enough, so 1 1/2 it. Also, wait to frost the rolls until they have cooled almost all the way. Otherwise, you end up with more frosting melted on the pan than the rolls. And one last thing-when it says roll dough into a rectangle, an oval is good enough if you can't get those edges quite right. :) Let me know if you have any questions.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2 (.25 oz) pkgs active dry yeast

2 1/2 C warm water

1 (9 oz) pkg yellow cake mix

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 C all-purpose flour

The inside goodness:

1/2 C butter or margarine-melted

3/4 C white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Frosting:

3 C confectioner's sugar

1/2 C butter or margarine-softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it stand until creamy (about 10 minutes). Then combine the yeast mixture with the cake mix, salt, and vanilla; stir well to combine. Stir in the flour; beat well. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place for one hour. Deflate dough and turn it out onto a well floured surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (combine in a bowl beforehand to make things real easy). Roll up dough and cut into 3/4 inch thick rolls. Place rolls in two lightly greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes. While rolls are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, stir together everything for the frosting. After the rolls have cooled a bit, spread with the frosting. Enjoy!!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...Make Sandi's Wonderful Hot Cider Drink!!!

1/2 Gallon Apple Juice
1 small can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 small can frozen lemonade concentrate {get it!?!}
1 quart water 
1 cup sugar
1 tsp allspice
3 sticks cinnamon
8 cloves

Mix and heat in crock pot

I've been blah, blek, blue lately and very much in a blogging shlump so I knew to get out of it I needed to blog something, anything...  

voila!  

It's been 15 days since Gramps passed away.  

Most all of his Grandkids and Great-Grand Children last saw him on Halloween, dutifully parading costumes in exchange for a king sized candy bar (oh, baby!)  And while it is still a fresh and vivid memory I am afraid it will fade so I have found something bright to connect with it and keep it alive.  Minutes after visiting Gramps we went to my Aunt Sandi's and she had the most delicious aroma in her home, and offered us her Hot Cider.  Warm and delicious I spent many weeks craving it so I decided to serve it at my ThanksGiving dinner.  I hope to make my own tradition from it somehow and have its home-filling scent help me keep Gramp's memory alive for my girls.  

Also, in full effort to unshlumpitize I took my OWN picture of the cider:

{even though I was overwhelmingly tempted to deceitfully post a google image search picture as my own!}

And it is scandalously possible that if I would have seen this picture

before taking my own, I would have tried it!!!!

It looks so much like my mugs it is scary!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe and Instructions:

Be sure to use ultra ripe bananas for this. Their skins should be mottled black and they should feel soft to the touch. Using what you would normally consider to be ripe bananas will diminish the bread’s rich flavor.
½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (3 ¾ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (~ 12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I used sugar – works fine)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I found that 2 cups was closer to 10 ounces – guess my whole wheat is heavy)
½ cups (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

www.breadtopia.com

Chili Teaser

No recipe (it's a secret!)

but trust me, it is the best chili in the universe!

Cheesy Broccoli and Potato Soup

The breads, the soups, the naughty treats, are all coming out from hiding because Fall is here!!!
This soup is kind of like a mix between a chowder and a baked potato smothered with broccoli and cheese!

YOWSA, YUMMY!!!!

Another one of moms recipes, I take no credit...
...except for taking the picture 
{because y'all know what a great photographer I am}
and nudging her to add in the recipe 
{ya, ya! and I am pushy - get over it!}

{insert recipe here}

Conference Popcorn

Moms caramel recipe + air popped popcorn (1 cup unpoped) + a much too small bowl

= nostalgic conference viewing bliss

My kids favorite Tomato Soup

This easy recipe calls for a jar of Mom's famous salsa, a baggie of frozen corn from Grandma, and a can of black beans. Heat them up and if your lucky your mom will decorate it with sour cream and chives. YUMMO!

Caramels

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup of naughty light corn syrup
1 cube of butter
1 can (15 0z) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

in large sauce pan, melt butter add corn syrup and bring to a boil. add brown sugar stir well and bring up to a boil again. add sweetened condensed milk simmer and stir until it reaches 228° for popcorn or 229° for apple dunking or 230° for caramels take off the heat and stir in vanilla (don't forget nuts for the bottom of the pan) It thickens as it cools.

German Pancakes

Alright...since my sister STOLE my whole wheat bread post (which I totally deserved because I wasn't on the ball and it needed to be blogged about...

and she did a way better job on the post that I could have...
and her first attempt at bread looked a whole lot better than mine did...
sigh

I let mine raise too much and it fell a bit in the oven...
but aren't those hamburger buns just so cute!!)

I decided to get with it and post our new favorite ALTON BROWN recipe...
German Pancakes.

Ooh, doesn't that look good!!! It was. I had it for breakfast. My cute hubby made it. Jealous???

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup milk, warmed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
• Confectioners' sugar
• Marinated Berries or Glazed Apples and Pears, recipes follow
• Serving suggestion: Maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth batter. Set aside.

Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and brush the inside with the shortening. Pour in the batter and bake for 15 minutes.

Lower the oven to 350 degrees F. and continue baking until puffed and golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes more. Run a knife around the edge of the skillet. We love the food network because even in a small kitchen...
You can make something like this... YUM

Top it with butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar. Or for a healthier side, top with berries, or applesauce.
Even the kiddies will love it.

Going



Going



Gone!



It think there's one piece left. Anyone want to come over. Better hurry!!

Food Storage Bread

If you've got this...

...And want this

Make sure you got a lot of this... 

Okay it isn't really that bad!

I made my first, totally from scratch whole wheat bread today and it was fun!

I need to learn some great recipes to learn how to use my food storage wheat and my sister makes yummo wheat bread so this is her recipe :)

It would have been even GREATER if she would have written this post but WHATEVA!

First step: take a couple of hours and find your cell phone so you can get the recipe from your sister...

Second Step: proof your yeast to see if "IT'S ALIVE" ahhh!

I just put it in 1/4 cup warm water and a pinch of sugar and...

...um yeah - it's definitely alive! it like octopled in size :)

Third Step: convince hubby to help you grind the wheat...

My KSL beauty

 

I have never even watched someone do this - I don't know why, my parents have always had a wheat grinder and both of sisters have one, but I have been ignorantly blissful... Until today, dundundun.

Hubby helped a ton, after a grumble about it being used (grumblegrumblecheapskatewife) he fiddled with the switches and gadgets and buttons and got the baby going!!!

The wheat kernels went in the top and the flour came out the bottom... easy-peasy!

It was really exciting, and I KNOW hubby would deny it, but I think he had fun too!

Bonding and breadmaking!

Final Step: The rest is gravy baby - just follow the recipe!

and steps 1-3 are optional!

4 1/2 cups Hard Wheat (freshly ground)

1 1/2 Tbs Yeast

mix together

3 cups warm water

mix in kitchen aid

Cover and let rise 15 minutes

Add

1 Tbs Salt

1/3 cup honey

1 1/4 Tbs Dough Enhancer

1/4 cup oil (or applesauce)

1 Tbs Gluten

Mix together

2 - 3 cups wheat flour

added 1 cup at a time until desired consistency

mix for 5 minutes

put in bread pans and let rise for 20 minutes in a cool oven with boiling water steam bath

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

I got my gluten and dough enhancer at Kitchen Kneads and I had the yeast from forever ago in a little packet and it was still good - so I am thinking individual packets are great for long term storage of yeast???

I don't really know.

I tried to be all prepared but I actually didn't have bread pans so I sort of shaped them into loaves and set them side by side in a cake pan (that is why they are on the squatty side!)  They may not be the prettiest loaves but I am bursting with pride for them!

oh why not - lets see that picture of them again:

Oh cute!

Custard Bread Pudding

I'm just going to start my mom off in the right direction...
Remember when you made this a couple of weeks ago?


mmmmmmm

We want the recipe ;)

1 qt. milk, scalded
2 c. day-old bread cubes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
3 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Set oven for 325 degrees. Pour milk over bread cubes. Add
salt and sugar. Beat eggs; add to bread mixture with butter
and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 1 1 1/2 quart greased
casserole. Set casserole in a pan. Pour in hot water to
within 1 inch of top. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until knife
inserted near rim comes out clean. Makes 8 servings.


SURPRISE PUDDING:

Use plain whole wheat or raisin whole-wheat bread instead of
white bread in making Custard Bread Pudding.


CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING:

Add 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted, to bread and
milk mixture in Custard Bread Pudding. Use 3/4 cup of sugar
instead of 1/2.

There you go. I used a really good raisin bread for mine and I got the recipe from Cooks.com Love, Mom

Tradition

I dug up this picture from a couple years back.  Whenever our extended family gets together for the winter holidays my mom and I always seem to get the same assignment - A Crudité platter of some sort

I have been watching...

And usually a pickle platter, and or a cheese and cracker platter - we try mix it up a bit!

as much as we can with not shaking the roots of tradition mind you


 
I don't know what made us take a picture this year but I wish we had more pictures 
(especially of our pineapple turkey because I don't think we'll be making that little guy ever again!)

The best part of food is family!

I made my mom and sisters co-authors on this shiny new blog because of my family I am the least likely to cook (but most likely to eat!!!!!)  

This is my shout out to them to post their famous recipes and if they need me to come by and snap some pictures of their food (and/or sample it) I am more than willing!

I sure need the photography XP!  

In my crazy, waywardly ambitions mind I want to gather a enough recipe posts to do a book!

Craving Green Onions?

I know! What is my deal, I CRAVE those grilled green onions that Mexican restaurants garnish with - I have ever since I was pregnant with baby #1 (as in going on 3 years now...)  

So about a month ago I "invented" a grilled green onion that was pretty good!  I debuted it at our chinese party! I may have been the only one that ate them - but I put them AWAY!  

I have since tried them a couple of other times and they are getting better *squeal*

They are easy-peasy!  I just lightly toss them in some olive oil so that some seasoning will stick.  I have sprinkled them with Adobo, seasoned salt, Mrs. Dash - all work great - just add a little sumthin sumthin to enhance the flavors.  I throw them all out on my stove top grill and when they have some nice grill marks I turn them and grill the other side - really technical I know, might be too hard for you to try...  

Since hubby is gone a lot for dinner sometimes I eat just a plate of these bad boys and some rice - yummo!

...in my defense I just gotta say I am not a photographer!
It is on my list of things to teach myself - but hey, I try! 
...also blogger redid how they upload and format photos and I am still getting used to it...