Cinnamon Rolls

One of our family traditions for Christmas is to have homemade Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas morning. I got this recipe when hubby and I first got married. We have loved it!

Cinnamon Rolls

Blend together:

3 cups flour

3/4 cup powder milk

1/2 cup potato flakes (non-butter)

1/4 cup gluten

3 Tbsp yeast

Add:

2 1/2 cups hot water

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar

Mix well and then slowly add:

3-4 cups flour

Let mix for approximately 5 minutes.

Let rise 1 hour and then punch down.

Cut in 1/2 and roll into rectangle.

Spread butter across rectangle and then spread brown sugar and cinnamon on top.

Roll up and cut into slices.

Put in pan and let rise until double in size (approximately 45 minutes.)

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

Cool and Frost.

Frosting

(sorry there aren't exact measurements on powdered sugar and milk... I usually just add until I like the consistency and taste with the other ingredients)

Powder sugar (my best guess is about 1 lb.???)

Milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 oz cream cheese

3 Tbsp butter

Mix until nice and creamy!

ham glaze

8 lb cooked ham
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c honey
2/3 c butter

Heat last four ingredients, keep warm
Put ham in a baking bag in a foil-lined pan, pour glaze over
bake 325 1 hr 15 min, flip bag every 15 min

I made this last easter and it was yummy and cheaper than the pre-made glazed hams.
I'm not sure where I got the recipe from, I think online somewhere, just so you know I'm not taking credit for this recipe.

Merry Christmas Eve!!

becky higgins

I thought this was a cool post. I love learning new hair and styling tips. enjoy here.

Chicken Noodle Soup

While we are on warm wintery meals... this is one of my favorites! I wish I had a pic to post, but I don't, but trust me it is super yummy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

12 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup white grape juice

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz Egg noodles

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cups cold water

2 cups cooked diced chicken

salt and ground pepper

1/4 to 1/2 tsp fine herbs (aka little sprinkle -more or less depending how "seasoned" you like your food- of those herbs that you like. We usually do Thyme, Basil, Oregano)

In small saucepan, combine 1 cup of chicken broth, juice and butter. Bring mixture to boil then reduce heat and let simmer until mixture has reduced to 1/2 cup total. (This usually takes a little while so plan ahead and don't start when you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table.) Stir in cream and set mixture aside.

In a large stock pot, heat remaining 11 cups of broth to boil. Add noodles and cook 13-15 minutes (may vary though, I usually go until noodles are almost done but not quite so they don't get overcooked while finishing the rest of the recipe.)

Blend flour and water together and stir into soup. Bring to a boil again. Then add cream mixture, salt, pepper, herbs, and chicken.

Heat through and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Homemade Pizza--BBQ chicken or Hawaiian

(Pic of BBQ chicken pizza)

Jeanette gave me the basic recipe for the BBQ chicken and we had it last night and loved it (Hope you don't mind, Jeanette.. I may have taken some liberties when I made it so if you see any corrections let me know)! The Ham and pineapple was our standard homemade pizza up until then. The crust recipe is one that I have had for awhile. It makes a thin kind of crunchy crust. You could also use a premade or pizza dough crust to make this easier.

Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (make sure you preheat so the crust doesn't go soggy)

1 pkg dry active yeast

1 1/4 cup warm water

3 1/2-4 cups flour

Sprinkle yeast on warm water, stir to dissolve. Add 2 cups flour. Beat thoroughly. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly greased bowl. Turn dough over to grease the top. Cover and let rise until double in size (about 30 minutes). Turn onto board and knead just enough to force out large bubbles. Divide in half. Roll each 1/2 out to make 11 inch circle. lightly oil pizza pan Place dough on pan and stretch to fit.

Ham and Pineapple Pizza:

1 lb. deli ham or canadian bacon

1 can pineapple tidbits

mozzarella and cheddar cheese

1 can tomato sauce

1/3 tsp oregano

1/3 tsp thyme

1/3 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix tomato sauce with spices. Spread dough with sauce then sprinkle with thin ham slices or canadian bacon. Then pineapple tidbits (Make sure you shake a lot of the excess liquid off the pineapple) Top with Mozzarella and cheddar cheese bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 lb. chicken

1 cup hickory BBQ sauce

1 tsp molassses

1 tbsp honey

small red onion

cilantro

mozzarella cheese

Cut chicken into small (1 inch) pieces and cook on stove in 1 tbsp oil until cooked through. Add BBQ sauce, molasses, and honey. Mix and Bring to boil. Spread sauce and chicken over dough. Dice red onion and spread over sauce. Cover in grated mozzarella cheese. Then sprinkle fresh cilantro over as desired. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Sheperd's Pie

Easy favorite. I actually made the filling a week or two ago and froze it in a ziploc freezer bag. I don't like to cook much on Sundays, so I got the bag out of the freezer, defrosted it in the microwave, spooned it into a casserole dish then topped it with instant potatoes, cheese and paprika. My idea of easy dinner, it was very nice and tasted great.

1 lb ground beef/turkey
chopped onion or onion powder
16 oz bag your choice frozen veggies, I used mixed this time
can tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste
mashed potatoes
cheese
paprika

Cook beef with onion, drain fat
Add veggies, soup and salt and pepper, simmer for 5-10 min covered
Dump into 9x13 casserole dish, top with mashed potatoes, cheese and some paprika, it makes a cheery touch :)
bake 350 30 min till top is golden and edges are bubbly.

Note- You can double this recipe, make one and freeze the other if you have a disposable foil casserole dish. (I wouldn't recommend freezing glass dishes, I've heard it can weaken them and make them shatter) Cover with plastic wrap first, then tinfoil, label and freeze. Or just put the extra filling in a plastic freezer bag, that was nice and it defrosted a lot more quickly. Enjoy!

The Frugal Girl's rolls

So I planned on posting this recipe today so I wouldn't have to type so much :) I've never been successful at roll-making until now. I found this recipe online while searching for a roll recipe that had whole-wheat flour. They turned out great and it was fun to learn to make the rosette shape. it takes some practice, but she gives very detailed, pictured instructions. *Note: I wouldn't skimp on the sugar, add the full-amount the recipe calls for. Find the recipe here.

Potato Cheese Soup and Bread Bowls

BREAD BOWLS

1/2 cup warm water

4 1/2 tsp yeast

2 cup hot water

3 tbsp sugar

6 cups flour

1 tbsp salt

1/3 cup oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water

Combine 3 cups of flour with hot water, sugar, salt, and oil. Add yeast and remaining flour and mix together. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes and then stir down. Repeat the rest and stir down 4 times.

Turn onto a floured surface and divide into 4 parts. Roll dough out and then tuck edges under to make a ball shape. Arrange the seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. (Cooking time may vary by oven)

Note: This also makes good French Bread (what the recipe was originally written for): divide into 2-3 parts, then roll out with rolling pin and roll up into loaf form, slash diagonals into top before brushing with egg

POTATO CHEESE SOUP

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup diced carrots

4 cups chicken broth

5 cups russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)-- about 4 medium potatoes

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Cheese Sauce

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup milk

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (grated) -- 2 cups

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in large stock pot over medium-high heat, add carrots and saute until softened -- about 3-4 minutes

Add the broth, potatoes, basil, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are tender -- about 20 minutes.

While soup is simmering, make cheese sauce. Melt 3 tbsp butter in medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened. Add the cheese and stir until cheese is both melted and thoroughly combined.

Gradually, pour the sauce into the soup and stir until blended.

Italian Vegetable Soup

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

1 medium onion sliced

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp dried basil leaves

2 medium zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 yellow summer squash cut in into 1/4 inch slices

1 can (16 oz) tomatoes undrained

10 1/2 oz. broth

Cook sausage and onion in sauce pan over medium high for 8-10 min. stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked and no longer pink. Drain. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat until boils. Reduce to low. Cover and simmer about 5 min until zucchini and squash is tender.

Day 1 - Willy's Chili

Sorry that I don't have a photo of this chili. It has a nice, thick, saucy color if that helps. Which it probably doesn't...

This recipe was given to me at my bridal shower, with the ingredients, by a dear friend and neighbor, Nan. So it's always been Nan's chili, but since it's my kids' favorite, they like to call it Willy (after William, no he does not go by that nickname, but it sort of rhymes with chili ;) So, thank you Nan, and here we go:

Nan's Chili/Willy's Chili

1 lb ground beef (ground turkey just doesn't cut it in this recipe)
10 oz can Campbell's French Onion Soup
1 T chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t pepper
2 cans undrained kidney beans
few drops tabasco (opt)*
6 oz can tomato paste
8 oz can tomato sauce

Brown meat in 1 T oil if desired, crumble.
Puree soup in blender/food processor, pour over meat.
Stir in spices, add undrained beans, tomato paste, tomato sauce.
Stir well, reduce heat med-low and cook about 20-30 minutes until hot and flavors are blended. (I'm pretty sure I cover the pot while this is simmering)

*If I were you and if kids will be eating this, I'd leave out any tabasco/red pepper. I would always forget and add just a dash or two of red pepper, but it would still make it too hot.

Hope you enjoy!

back from the dead

So I'm not in love with this background, but it'll have to do for now till I figure out blogger's new design templates etc.

So!

I'm so sorry I've been neglecting this site! Things have been hectic this year when we decided to go through the home-buying process. Almost a year later, I feel like I can breathe again. sheesh!

I decided to fix a flaw. Instead of having to check back here to see if your post had any comments you needed to see, that I would just email them to you since they go to my email acct. Duh, I know. Sorry for that past inconvenience! It should be a lot more manageable now. (I also added this new tidbit in the blog description category so any newcomers will get this info.)

I've decided to try and post a soup/warm weather recipe everyday (or cheat and put a link if I come across one online ;) just 'cuz I love soup/chili etc. *Please feel free to add some of your own, I love new recipes!!* Hoping you have a Merry Christmas,

~Amy

A New Job Chart

So a friend gave me this idea for a new job chart. Each of my kids get their own pockets. I velcro their jobs to the front each day and when they finish their job, they cash them in for pom-poms. When their jars are full of pom-poms they get to go on and ice cream date. Kimball (3) gets to use the large pom-poms while the older kids have to use the smaller ones. If they don't like or want to do their jobs, they can either pay me two pom-poms to do it for them or they can trade jobs with me for one of mine or sometimes they even trade each other. So far, it seems to be working well. It's nice to switch things up everyone once in awhile. If anyone is interested, I have the file of job pictures you can have. Just email me and I'll send them your way!

The Best Part of Waking Up Is...

...making these cute, fun, awesome flowers from coffee filters. I'm not going to take credit for "inventing" it: go here! but I sure do LOVE making them! I hung these up above my kitchen table for our Valentine's Dinner, but just think of how cute they would be to decorate for any holiday?!