Fun Food Friday- Cinnamon Rolls

I used to work with a lady who made the most amazing cinnamon rolls.  The only problem was she wouldn't share the recipe. :)  After years of failed attempts to make a cinnamon roll even remotely close to hers I finally came across this recipe and then when I finally got a bread maker, I was able to make my own amazing cinnamon rolls.  The actual title for this recipe is "Better-Than-The-Mall Cinnamon Rolls" and seriously, they're close.  And I love that for the dough all you have to do is throw the ingredients into a bread maker and it mixes it, kneads it, and does the first rising for you!  And they are so easy to wrap individually and freeze.  When I was pregnant with Micah I would wake up in the middle of the night hungry and I'd go downstairs to the freezer, get out a cinnamon roll, thaw it in the microwave and then proceed to eat the entire cinnamon roll. :)  Oh my goodness, so terrible but oh so good.  That all came to an end when I ended up with gestational diabetes. :)  So wither you're in the mood for some yummy cinnamon rolls or you want to bring a nice treat to someone who has had surgery or just had a baby, here is an awesome recipe for you!  It is a lot of steps as you can see by the number of pictures, but seriously, they're not hard.  But with the risings and everything they do take some time, so make sure you have a couple of hours available because rising dough waits for no one. :)   Enjoy! 

 

 

Ingredients:

Dough: Butter, Milk, Eggs, Flour, Salt, Sugar, Active Dry Yeast

Filling: Butter, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar

Frosting: Butter (do you see a theme?:)), Cream Cheese, Powdered Sugar, Vanilla

Heat 1 cup of milk to between 105 and 115 degrees

(I heated it in the microwave on high for 90 seconds)

Melt 1/3 cup butter

Add to the bread maker tin the heated milk...

2 eggs...

Micah was making sure Mommy got all of the ingredients right :)

Mix the eggs around a bit so the yolks break 

and the melted butter

Then add 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour...

 

1 teaspoon salt...

1/2 cup granulated sugar...

 

and 2 packages active dry yeast

 I had lots of people watching to make sure I got it all right :)

 

Put the tin in the bread maker..



Select the Dough cycle and press start. :)  Now do whatever your heart desires for the 1 hour and 30 minutes the bread maker will be doing the work for you. :)

Once the cycle is done remove the dough from the tin and place on a lightly floured surface

Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 10 minute

For the filling mix together 1 cup of brown sugar...

And 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon

Roll out the dough into a 20x16-inch rectangle

Spread 1/3 cup softened butter all over the dough

Then sprinkle the filling mixture evenly over the dough

And spread it all out

Now the fun part, rolling it up.  Just start at one end and begin rolling towards the other end, trying to keep it as tight as possible

When you get it all rolled up pinch the end shut (and ignore the nice oven burns on my arm :), and my nice Art Camp shirt, wasn't planning on being in any pictures:))

Now you want to cut the roll in 12 pieces. 

I find it easiest to put a ruler up to the roll and then cut in half...

 

And cut the halves in half...

And then cut the quarters in 3 to make 12 even rolls

Place rolls in a greased pan.  I find they fit best in a tin pan, but you can also use a 9x13 pan or a lasagna pan.  Also, make sure you place the 2 end rolls end side down.

Now you need let the rolls rise for 35 to 45 minutes or until they've almost doubled in size.  You want to place them in a warm place to rise.  I find the easiest thing to do is place them on a cookie rack and place a pan of hot water underneath.   

Then cover them with a towel.

So after about 45 minutes they would look like this.  Then, bake them in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

For the frosting cream together 5 ounces of softened cream cheese and

6 Tablespoons of softened butter

Add 2 1/4 cups of powdered sugar

And mix together until it's nice and smooth

Then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and mix.

The rolls should look like this when done.  Let them stand 5 minutes before frosting

Put frosting on each roll..

 

And spread around until it covers all the rolls

 

And then if you have the self-control, just look at those incredibly yummy cinnamon rolls and dream about the time when you will eat them :)  Or...

Dig right in!!! 

If you don't eat them immediately I recommend heating them up before you do-

 30 seconds in the microwave works great for individual ones.  You can also heat the whole pan up in the oven on 300 for about 20 minutes.

Go ahead, indulge yourself!!! :)  

And if you feel up to it, share some with the people you love! :)

 

 

Better-Than-The-Mall Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls

1 cup warm mil (105 to 115 degrees)

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 packages active dry yeast

 

Filling

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

 

Frosting

5 ounces cream cheese, softened

6 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Place all roll ingredients in bread machine pan in the order above.  Select the Dough cycle (Do not use delay cycle).  Remove dough from pan and place on a lightly floured surface.  Cover and let rest 10 minutes.  Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.  Roll dough into a 20x16-inch rectangle.  Spread 1/3 cup softened butter over dough; sprinkle evenly with brown sugar-cinnamon mixture.  Roll up dough, beginning at 20-inch side; pinch edge of dough into roll to seal.  Cut into 12 slices.  Place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 35-45 minutes or until dough has almost doubled in size.  Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Beat all frosting ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and spreadable.  Let rolls stand 5 minutes before frosting.  Spread frosting on warm rolls.



 

Week 20

 

Jonathan (left): 17.6 pounds

David (right): 14.8 pounds

 

We've had a good week.  The boys are sleeping well for the most part.  They sleep great at night, sometimes not so great at naps, but usually at least one of them cooperates for naps, so it's just one.  I think sometimes that one just wants some mommy time. :)  Teething always effected Micah's naps, so it doesn't surprise me.  A biggie for our family this week...Micah moved into a big bed so the twins now each have their own bed.  They had been sleeping like this: 

 

As you can see they were running out of room.  We have Steve's bed from seminary, so we decided it was time to put Micah in it.  We talked up sleeping in a big bed and would show Micah the bed in the spare room and ask him if he thought he'd like to sleep in that bed and he always said yes.  We got him Cars sheets for Christmas and they did the trick.  He loves sleeping in his big bed and has yet to get out when he's not supposed to.  We have a gate put up outside his door in case he gets up in the middle of the night so he won't fall down the stairs but so far he doesn't even know it's there.  It was very strange for me the first night, I just couldn't believe my little boy was out of a crib. :)  After we moved his new bed in we realized his crib wouldn't fit through his door.  Steve discovered if he took the mattress out and the springs out and the door off he could fit it through the door.  Unfortunately to get it into the nursery it had to go around a corner and we discovered after all of that that it in fact would not make it around the corner.  So we ended up having to take it apart in Micah's room and then put it back together in the nursery.  But now everything is where it's supposed to be and I think the boys are enjoying their new space. :)

 

Micah loves sleeping on his Cars sheets

David- he got the "new" crib.  I decided he rarely gets to use new things, ie clothes, because Jonathan fits into them first, so he got the new crib. :)

Jonathan

 

We went to the mall last night to get out and I just thought the boys looked so cute I had to take a picture. :)



 

I think they look a lot alike when they're in their carseats with hats on

Don't they just melt your heart? :)  Such sweet little boys!!

 



Fun Food Friday- Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

I found this recipe in our local Christian school's cookbook.  I changed it up a little bit and have it say, it's mighty yummy. :)  I did one and a half recipes so I had enough for a freezer meal, so in the pictures I'll put the amount I used to add 1/2 to the recipe, but in the recipe below I'll put the normal amounts.  Hope that makes sense.  Enjoy!!!

Ingredients: Chicken, Butter, Onion, Chicken Broth, Chicken Bouillon Cubes, Sugar, Colby-Jack Cheese, Sour Cream, Flour, Bow Tie Pasta (aka Farfalle Pasta)

Cut about 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into cubes (I had very large chicken breasts, so that's why I only needed 5, 1 + 1/2 of the recipe would call for 6)

Cook 12 oz of bow tie (or farfalle) pasta in boiling water for about 10 minutes

Chop up 1 cup of onions

Add 1/2 cup of flour to a Ziploc bag

Add chicken to bag and shake until all the chicken is coated

In a large skillet (I used my big wok) melt 6 tablespoons of butter

Add onions...

 

and chicken

And cook until all the chicken is browned and cooked through.  It takes a while as there's a lot of chicken.  Just be patient and keep moving the chicken around so it doesn't burn and all gets browned.

Shred 12 ounces of Colby Jack cheese (or if you're lucky enough to have your sister visiting, see if she'll do it for you :)).

Drain the pasta... 

And return to big pot

Measure 1 cup of chicken broth...

and then I decided to also add 1/2 cup of milk and then I added a little more broth so I had about 14 ounces of liquid.

 

Add the liquid to the cooked chicken/onions

Add 3 chicken bouillon cubes...

and 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar

Cook for 5 minutes or until all the bouillon cubes are dissolved.  The liquid needs to be boiling in order for the cubes to dissolve, so make sure your heat is hot enough and that you keep stirring.

Once the cubes are dissolved, add the Colby Jack cheese and stir until it's melted...

Then add 3/4 cup sour cream and stir

Add chicken mixture to the pasta...

and stir till it is all evenly coated

 

Pour pasta into a greased baking dish.  1 1/2 of the recipe is enough for an 8x8 freezer meal and a good size baking dish.  It probably would be enough for one 9x13 dish as well.

Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes

And now you are ready to dig in!!!  My sister decided I needed a better plate to display my finished product. :)  Thanks Tracie, I love my new plate!!!

Micah approves :)

 

 

Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

4 Tbs Butter

8 oz bow tie pasta

8 oz. shredded Colby Jack cheese

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

3/4 cup chopped onion
2 chicken bouillon cubes
6 oz chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup flour

Cook pasta (in a large pot) in boiling water for about 10 minutes.  Drain and return to pot.  Add flour to a Ziploc bag, then add chicken and shake till all chicken is coated.  In a large skillet melt butter and add onion and chicken.  Cook chicken until it is browned and cooked through on both sides.  Add chicken broth, milk, bouillon cubes and sugar.  Cook for 5 minutes or until cubes are completely dissolved.  Add cheese.  Stir until melted.  Add sour cream and stir.  Pour sauce over pasta and stir until evenly coated.  Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.