Easiest Cinnamon Rolls Ever!

I decided to be a domestic lady yesterday and made cinnamon rolls for the kid's breakfast. They were soooo easy because of the bread maker doing the work for the dough and they tasted delicious (what little nibble I took). I will definitely make these again! Clone of a Cinnabon

Rated: Submitted By: Marsha Fernandez Photo By: CC Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours Servings: 12

"Save yourself a lot of money by making your own homemade cinnamon rolls! The dough is made in the bread machine and everything else is done by hand."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2 eggs, room temperature 1/3 cup margarine, melted 4 1/2 cups bread flour (I used all-purpose) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast (I used what I had-didn't say bread machine)   1 cup brown sugar, packed  2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 1/3 cup butter, softened

Frosting: 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened  1/4 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt I just made a powdered (snow as we call it) sugar and milk and vanilla mixture and poured it on top. Little less calories and still yummy, but I'll be that frosting is AMAZING! Now Phil is mad because there might be cream cheese on his favorite cinnabons!

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2.	After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3.	Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4.	Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Dinner of Yumminess

Last night I made the yummiest spread and I didn't take a single photo! I think I was so excited by the yumminess that I didn't grab the camera. Oh well...

The line-up was:
Turkey breast (Foster Farms seasoned-so easy and delicious-it's even in a pan for cooking now!) Literally take out of the packaging and put in the pre-heated oven and cook until 165*!

Green Beans prepared this way:
Clean and cut the ends
Place in large skillet/pan and add 1/2 cup stock (I use water and bullion paste) and cook until the beans are tender and all the water is gone. I usually allow them to cook until they begin to get a little browned in spots (I really need a picture) because they are so flavorful that way. My kids and I AND Phil gobble them up every time! Notice there is NO oil, butter or even salt/pepper. They are amazing!

Smashed red potatoes:
So I saw Giada make THIS recipe on Food Network the other day and HAD to have it, but then I was having turkey and gravy so I just couldn't have this lemony potato thing so I...

Boiled my small red potatoes until they were just fork tender.
Let them cool until I could touch them (and my kids stopped needing me)

Gently smashed them with the palm of my hand. This was tricky because many of mine fell apart, but I just kept them together as I set them in the pan and it worked out just fine.

I put a twig of Thyme in 1/4 cup olive oil for about 2 minutes stirring it around to flavor my oil.

Added the pre-boiled and gently smashed potatoes and cook until they were browned on each side (about 3 minutes per side).

Remove thyme and discard.

EAT THEM and you'll see why I had to have them!

This was so yummy I could hardly stand it. We ended the meal with homemade vanilla ice-cream (since it was family night) and that just made the meal even better!

And if I could do all this with a sprained ankle and four kids needed various things throughout, anyone can do it!

More Rolls, Please

Should I be making rolls? NO!! Do I want rolls? YES. We'll see how they are tonight with our porcupine meatballs! These were delish for a roll in a hurry! Everyone ate and enjoyed! QUICK AND EASY DINNER ROLLS

1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 c. lukewarm water 1 egg 1/4 c. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/4 c. oil or melted butter 3 c. flour, sifted Better than biscuits, and easier to make, too! Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add egg, sugar, salt and oil (or butter).Add half the flour, and beat until smooth. Add rest of flour and beat again until smooth. Fill greased muffin pans half full and let rise until double. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Brush tops with butter while still warm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (for those of us dieting folks)!

Mini Chocolate-Chip CookiesI'm excited to make these for a special treat today and see how they are! 

Course: desserts PointsPlus™ Value:    1 Servings:  48 Preparation Time:  10 min Cooking Time:  20 min Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Go ahead and grab a few of these bite-size cookies. They might be little, but they pack a big chocolate punch.

Ingredients 2 Tbsp butter, softened    2 tsp canola oil    1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar, dark-variety    1 tsp vanilla extract    1/8 tsp table salt      1 large egg white(s)    3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour    1/4 tsp baking soda    3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup    Instructions Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white; mix thoroughly to combine. In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; stir into batter. Add chocolate chips to batter; stir to distribute evenly throughout. Drop 48 half-teaspoons of dough onto one or two large nonstick baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space between each cookie. Bake cookies until golden around edges, about 4 to 6 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

Salsa Chicken

I hesitate to let this one out of the bag because it's my emergency guests coming over gotta make a meal recipe, but here it goes...

1 Jar Pineapple/Peach Salsa-sounds crazy, but it's awesome!
3-4 frozen or fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Crockpot

Place chicken in crockpot pour salsa on top. Cover and let cook on high for 5-6 hours (if frozen), 3-4 hours on low (fresh).

Serving Suggestions:
We love to make tostadas or tacos with the chicken. Lettuce, shredded cheese, avocado/guacamole, sour cream (Phil would say this should not be included) and you've got the yummiest MexiCali meal you've eaten!

Dinner Tonight With Homemade Pizzas

I made this soup and it was DELISH! I was able to eat it for several days later and it was great! I used fat free milk and got my broccoli from Trader Joe's already ready to go! :) I will definitely make this again!

Best Cream Of Broccoli Soup

Rated:	Prep Time: 10 Minutes	Ready In: 35 Minutes
Submitted By: Jessie A.	Cook Time: 25 Minutes	Servings: 6

"Onions, celery and broccoli cooked in chicken broth are pureed with milk in this roux-thickened soup."

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter 1 onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 3 cups chicken broth 8 cups broccoli florets

3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups milk ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2.	Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
3.	In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. Season with pepper and serve.

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Printed from Allrecipes.com 12/22/2010

Roast Beef

I keep stealing recipes from the net, but that's usually how I find ones that I like and use in the future. I started WW online today, so we'll see how many new, healthy recipes I submit for the future! :) I'll update tonight after I try this recipe, but I know I won't be letting it get to room temp first or we won't be having this tonight! 

Roast Beef

Posted by Elise on Dec 22, 2005

My mom knows a lot about cooking beef. She knows all of the cuts and what to do with them. This must have something to do with growing up at a time where people went to their local butchers for meat instead of a supermarket. We typically use a rump roast when making roast beef. You can also use a round roast or a sirloin tip with these instructions. This slow roasting method at low heat is good for tougher cuts of beef; the lower heat prevents any gristle from getting too tough. This method should not be used with choice or prime grades of beef, or the more tender cuts, as slow cooking more delicate cuts will make them mushy.

Roast beef made this way is easy, relatively inexpensive, and you get great leftovers for roast beef sandwiches.

Roast Beef Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 3 to 3 1/2 lbs of Boneless Rump Roast (pick a end cut with a lot of fat marbling)
• Olive oil
• 8 slivers of garlic
• Salt and pepper

You will need a meat thermometer

For the gravy:

• Red wine, water, and or beef stock
• corn starch

METHOD

1 Start with the roast at room temperature (remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking - keep it wrapped). Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2 With a sharp knife make 8 small incisions around the roast. Place a sliver of garlic into each incision. Take a tablespoon or so of olive oil and spread all around the roast. Sprinkle around the roast with salt and pepper. Place the roast directly on an oven rack, fatty side up, with a drip pan on a rack beneath the roasting rack. This arrangement creates convection in the oven so that you do not need to turn the roast. The roast is placed fat side up so that as the fat melts it will bathe the entire roast in its juices.

3 Brown the roast at 375°F for half an hour. Lower the heat to 225°F. The roast should take somewhere from 2 to 3 hours additionally to cook. When the roast just starts to drip its juices and it is brown on the outside, check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Pull the roast from the oven when the inside temperature of the roast is 135° to 140°F. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes, tented in aluminum foil to keep warm, before carving to serve.

Serves 4-6.

To make the gravy:
Remove the dripping pan from the oven and place on the stove top at medium heat. Note that if you are pulling the roast out early, for rare or a medium rare level of doneness, you may not have a lot of drippings. Hopefully you will have some. If not, you may want to leave the roast in a little longer at even lower heat, 175°F, to ease some more drippings out of it. Add some water, red wine, or beef stock to the drippings to deglaze (loosen the drippings from the pan). Dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in a little water and add to the drip pan. Stir quickly while the gravy thickens to avoid lumping. You can add a little butter if there is not a lot of fat in the drippings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mom adds some fresh thyme too if she has some. (See also How to Make Gravy.)