Cinnamon Rolls

From: My bread machine's cookbook

Ingredients: (my bread machine is a 3-cup flour bread machine; if yours is too, this recipe should work for you)

3/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 cups bread flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 tsp active dry yeast OR 1 1/2 tsp fast rise yeast

Filling:
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Add milk and egg to bread pan. Add bread flour, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt to pan. Tap pan to settle dry ingredients, then level dry ingredients, pushing some of the flour mixture into the corners. Place pieces of butter around edges of pan on top of dry ingredients. Make a slight well in the center of dry ingredients and add the yeast. Place bread pan into oven chamber. Lock pan in place and close cover. Program your bread to the Dough setting. Start the bread machine. When dough is done (usually about 1 hour), remove dough, place on a floured surface. Knead dough about 1 minute, then let rest about 15 minutes.

Roll dough out into a rectangle, about 15x10 inches. Spread 1/3 cup melted butter over dough to within 1 inch of edges. Then sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar, the cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped nuts evenly over dough. Roll dough up tightly on long side. Press edges to seal and form into a 12-inch long, evenly shaped roll. With a knife, cut roll into 1-inch pieces. Place rolls into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then drizzle with icing made by combining 1 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 tbsp milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Blend until smooth. If too thin or thick, add more powdered sugar or milk until it's the consistency you want. Cut apart and remove from pan.

If you want to make them at night and have them in the morning, just let them rise and then refrigerate them. Take them out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and follow the rest of the recipe.

My rolls in the fridge last night:

My rolls this morning after being baked and iced:

Verdict:
Thumbs UP!! I didn't put any nuts in these because we don't like nuts, but I didn't change anything else. These took a while to make just waiting for the rising and stuff, but the actual "work" of the recipe was nothing. Stephen even said he would be happy if we never buy cinnamon rolls from the store again (which I'm too cheap to buy anyway, so that works!) Absolutely delicious and a must-make for us in the future!

Corn Chowder

From: "From Soup to Nuts" cookbook

Ingredients:
1 can (1 lb) cream-style corn
2 cups milk
1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
paprika

Empty can of corn into saucepan; add milk. Add soup; blend thoroughly. Bring to boiling point over low heat, stirring frequently. Just before serving, stir in salt and hot pepper sauce. Sprinkle with paprika.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I left out the sale and hot pepper sauce.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! You honestly can't get any easier than this. I opened the cans and my 2-year old poured them in, as well as the milk. Then the only work I had to do was stir! The soup was delicious - I love the blend of corn and mushrooms, and it definitely didn't taste like it was a 3-ingredient soup. I'll be making this again when I'm in a hurry!!

Peach Butter

Mmmmmm.... soooooo glad I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen! This is what my stovetop was up to all night long.

Ingredients:
4 pounds peaches
1 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon (or about 3 Tbsp lemon juice from the squeeze bottle)



Peel your peaches. You can just peel them with a knife, or you can cut a small "X" in the bottom of each peach, dip them into boiling water for about 30 seconds and then cold water for a minute and the peelings will come right off.

Halve your peaches and remove the pits, then cut each half into quarters. You should have 8 chunks from each peach. Place peach chunks and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until peaches are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure they cook evenly. You can then puree the peaches in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender.


Return the peaches to the large pot, add the sugar and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a good strong simmer/gentle boil, cooking them at this level for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and more often near the end, as it thickens up and the fruit masses risk scorching on the bottom of the pot. (It actually took mine almost 50 minutes and even then it really didn't thicken until after I had turned off the heat.)

Let peach butter cool.

If you’re not canning it, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It should be good for at least two weeks. For example, I had just enough left over for my mom to snag some!

If you are going to can your peach butter:

First, sterilize your jars, either by boiling them in a large, deep pot of water (which should cover the jars completely) for 10 minutes or washing them in lots of hot soapy water, rinsing and drying the parts well and then place the jars only in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes. Then, divide your hot piping hot peach butter between your jars, leaving a little room at the top. Wipe the rims clean with a dry towel and cover the jars with their lids. Submerge the jars in a large, deep pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, either in a removable basket or using tongs to dip and remove them. Let cool completely on towels, a process that can take overnight. If canned properly, the peach butter should last indefinitely at room temperature.



I was so fortunate. I cannot afford the "real" canning supplies. I had the jars and lids from my grandmother who did not have a use for them, a stockpot from my mom, and borrowed the canning basket from my friend Cindy. It turned out to be perfect and saved me a bunch of money. :)

This recipe is for my secret sister at church... but I still wanted to post it. Not sure if I can keep it a secret since I'm blogging about it though!!

One Dish Cinnamon Swirl

From: Family Circle

Ingredients:
cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 envelopes RapidRise Yeast
2/3 cup milk (120-130 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg

Cinnamon mixture
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix batter ingredients in a pre-sprayed 8x8 baking dish; let rest for 10 minutes. Combine cinnamon mixture in a small bowl by mixing with fork. Top batter evenly with cinnamon mixture; using fingers, poke topping thoroughly into batter. Bake by placing in a cold oven; set temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned and firm in center. Cool 10 minutes. Combine icing ingredients and drizzle over warm cake.



What I did differently from the recipe:
I halved the icing recipe.

What I'll do differently next time:
Same thing. I don't like a lot of sweetness on desserts like this!

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This was a fast, easy recipe. I admit, though, I didn't like mixing all the batter in my 8x8 pan. I guess they do that to save you dishes but it was irritating to me. Also, my cinnamon mixture wasn't crumbly, but I think that's my fault. My mixtures with butter and brown sugar never crumble correctly. But the fact is, it's a yummy recipe, especially right out of the oven!

One Dish Cinnamon Swirl

Ingredients:
cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 envelopes RapidRise Yeast
2/3 cup milk (120-130 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg

Cinnamon mixture
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix batter ingredients in a pre-sprayed 8x8 baking dish; let rest for 10 minutes. Combine cinnamon mixture in a small bowl by mixing with fork. Top batter evenly with cinnamon mixture; using fingers, poke topping thoroughly into batter. Bake by placing in a cold oven; set temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned and firm in center. Cool 10 minutes. Combine icing ingredients and drizzle over warm cake.

Crescent Rolls

From: Bread Maker's Cookbook

Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 3 Tbsp water, 80 degrees
3 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp dry milk
3 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter, cut into 6 pieces
2 tsp active dry yeast or 1 1/2 tsp fast rise yeast


Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer (usually liquid first, then dry ingredients, then butter around the sides, and yeast in a well in the middle). Cook on your bread machine's dough cycle. When it's done, pull it out and let it rest on a floured surface for 15 minutes.

Divide dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a circle 1/4-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 pie shaped wedges. Roll each wedge from wide end to narrow tip. Curve ends to form crescent. Place on greased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes to one hour. Brush with butter and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

What I did differently from this recipe:
Well, first of all I am not gifted enough to know how to "curve ends to form crescent", but I am gifted enough to realize that does not affect the taste! So I didn't do that!

What I'll do differently next time:
I used yeast that expired about a month ago. I've been using it and it was fine, but for the dough, I think I should have used new yeast. The rolls didn't quite rise as high as I'd like them too, but they were still delicious.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! See ya later, Pillsbury! I thought these were great, and between myself and Brianna (2 years old) we ate probably 7 or 8, plus a couple of dinner rolls that I made just for funsies. What can I say, we like bread! I'll definitely be making these again! Oh yes, and I do realize they don't exactly look like Pillsbury, but you know what... that's okay!

Garlic Bread

From: My breadmaker cookbook

Ingredients: (1 lb loaf)
3/4 cup water, 80 degrees
2 cups bread flour
2 tsp dry milk
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1-2 1/2 tsp (to taste) garlic powder
2 tsp, cut into 4 pieces of butter
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast or 1 tsp fast rise yeast

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer (usually liquid first, then dry ingredients, then put the butter pats in the four corners, then put the yeast in a well in the middle. Cook according to your bread machine's manual.

Ingredients (1 1/2 lb loaf)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp water, 80 degrees
3 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp dry milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 - 3 tsp (to taste) garlic powder
1 Tbsp, cut into 4 pieces, of butter
2 tsp active dry yeast or 1 1/2 tsp fast rise yeast

What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up!! Another hit with the bread machine! I made this one night when my sister and family came over for pizza, so no pictures were taken. I put in 2 tsp of garlic powder and it was perfect for me, but I do love my garlic. This is such a tasty bread for Italian night!!