Cinnamon Rolls

When my husband woke up this morning he asked, "What's for breakfast?"  Without skipping a beat I answered, "Cinnamon rolls".  I'd seen this recipe and knew I wanted to try it out.  Since I rarely have a Saturday morning in, I decided this was the best time to give it a whirl.

They took a lot longer than I expected.  By about an hour.  Mixing the dough was quick and mixing the icing was quick.  Aside from the time spent allowing the dough to rise, the longest part was slicing 12 semi-even rolls and placing them in the pan.  Not an easy task, I can promise you that.  I tried using both a knife and dental floss to make the even cuts.  The dental floss would have worked better if the dough underneath didn't keep sticking to the wax paper.  I used the wax paper to prevent any of it sticking in the first place. So that was frustrating.  And as I mentioned, it took far longer than I thought it would. 

But... they came out wonderful in the end.  Here's what they looked like straight out of the oven:

CINNAMON ROLLS

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

6 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

ICING:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

6oz mascarpone cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the butter; stir until melted. Add water and let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture, yeast, white sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 12x9 inch rectangle. In a bowl, stir together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Spread each piece with half of the butter, half of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough, using a little water to seal the seam.
4. Cut each roll into 12 slices using a very sharp knife or dental floss. Place rolls onto two 9x13 inch greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
6. To make frosting; combine confectioner's sugar, mascarpone, butter and vanilla. Add milk gradually until frosting reaches a spreading consistency. Spread over warm (but not hot) cinnamon rolls.

Makes 24 rolls.

PERSONAL NOTES:

These are absolutely yummy, but they do take a fair amount of time to make.  The original recipe called for 3oz. cream cheese for the icing, but I used twice that amount plus switched it to mascarpone.  So much better.  I also increased the amount of cinnamon to make it a little spicier.  I like my cinnamon rolls to really taste like cinnamon rolls.

Cheese, Tomato and Basil Muffins

Again, this is a recipe I wish I could say was mine, but it's not.  Of course it attracted my attention and of course I had to try it out.  It's a good dinner muffin - just beware that it has a pretty strong flavor so you may not want to serve it with anything too overpowering.  They also have a wonderful consistency that I can't seem to put my finger on.  They're chewy in a non-bready-way, but they're good - really, really good.  And they'd be mighty tasty with some butter spread on them too.  Just something to think about ;-)

CHEESE, TOMATO & BASIL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup self-rising flour

pinch of salt

1/3 cup & 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

2 tbsp chopped basil

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

butter to serve

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil 8 muffin tin holes. In a bowl combine flour, salt, cornmeal, cheese, tomatoes and basil. In a separate bowl beat egg, milk and oil. Mix dry and wet ingredients, divide the batter between the muffin holes and scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with the butter.
PERSONAL NOTES:
For starters, this recipe made about 10 muffins, not 8.  Be prepared to have more batter.  I also didn't use sundried tomatoes in oil.  Frankly, it wasn't missed.  I didn't have them with butter either, but I'm sure they'd be mighty tasty with it.

Oh, they're only about 145 calories per muffin.  Sweet!

Sweet Potato and Fennel Frittata (with Leeks!)

This is a creative combination right here (and I wish I'd thought of it!): Sweet potato and fennel.  I wouldn't have thought to bring these two together but I'm glad someone else did.  Since I wasn't sure how I'd feel about fennel (beleive it or not I've never actually had fennel before except as tea) so I picked up some leeks to split the frittata into two parts: one half fennel and the other half leeks.  As it turns out, both halves are delicious!  Although I'm still glad I grabbed the leeks.  They offer good flavor combinations as well as textures.  So good.


SWEET POTATO & FENNEL FRITTATA (AND LEEKS)

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs (or egg subsitute)
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 large sweet potato (peeled and sliced really thin with a mandolin
1 large fennel bulb (cored, and sliced thin)
2 leeks (optional)
1/4 cup fresh grated Pecorino cheese
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or oregano)
Salt and pepper as needed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the eggs, mascarpone and milk together. Season with salt and set aside. Brush the bottom of your tart pan with butter. Arrange one-third of the sweet potato slices in a single layer on the base slightly overlapping the slices. Sprinkle a third of the fennel slices evenly. Season with salt, pepper and a third of the thyme. Pour a third of the egg mixture over the veggies. Sprinkle some of the Pecorino cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers ending by sprinkling all the remaining Pecorino on top.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until the center is set. Remove to rack and serve immediately.

PERSONAL NOTES:

As I mentioned above, I split the frittata into two halves.  One side for the fennel, the other for the leeks.  Also - and this is a BIG note - my frittata cooked for 50 minutes NOT 30 minutes.  I kept checking to see if the eggs were cooked in the middle and they weren't.  I have no idea why it took so long, but there you have it.  Check it at 30 minutes and see if you need to keep it cooking or not.  50 minutes is quite a bit of time - and considerably longer than what the recipe originally called for.  But let me tell you, the end result was worth the wait.  SO GOOD.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Muffins

What more can I say about pumpkin?  I simply love the stuff and it's versatility.  You can do so much with it.  I mean, you can have it as dessert, make it as a bread, have it in soup or as a main dish.  So many options.  And although pumpkin is a winter squash I'll be eating it pretty much all year.  Plus, since you all know how much I love muffins as either a breakfast food on the go or as a midday snack, I had to try these out...

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE SWIRL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg

3/4 cup egg substitute

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin 

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

In a mixing bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, combine egg, egg substitute, pumpkin, applesauce and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray; fill two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

PERSONAL NOTES:

The recipe originally states to use chocolate chips.  Something in my mind made me think that melting the chocolate first and making chocolate swirls would be a little more fun, more whimsical.  It tastes absolutely fine.  My only recommendation with making swirls is mix the melted chocolate with about 1/2 cup of the batter first.  Since it's just the melted chocolate, it has a different consistency in the muffin.  As I said, still yummy, just different.  Next time I'll be mixing it with the batter first. 

Super yummy!

(Original recipe can be found here from allrecipes.com)

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins?  Yeah, there was no way I was avoiding these guys.  Holy Moly - they're yummy.  The muffins are very light and fluffy - almost cake-like.  The amount of chocolate chips is just the right amount - not too overpowering.  And that's coming from someone who LOVES chocolate.  This was perfect. 

At first I was a little unsure because the dough seemed a little bit on the gummy side - like it had too much flour in it or something, but really, they came out just fine.  Even the next day the consistency and freshness remained unsullied.  So wonderful.  In terms of grabbing this and eating on the go, they're probably better than some of the of the other muffins I've made.  There's nothing sticky on the tops to create a mess (like if you put one in a sandwich bag for "on the go").  They're just easy.  And the batch only took about 10 minutes to whip up.  Easy all around.  Plus, they're only about 160 calories each!

You can find the original recipe here from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 cup cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or use paper liners.

Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Beat in egg, cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into cream cheese mixture until flour is moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling them 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated oven until tops are golden, about 20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins*
PERSONAL NOTES:

As I mentioned above, you really don't need to smother the muffins in chocolate chips. They have just enough in what the recipe calls for. Also, I used skim milk where it called for cream and Egg Beaters for the egg. YUM!

*Actually, they made more like 14...

Spinach Cheese Swirls

I guess I got a little sidetracked with yesterday's big football game which is why I hadn't posted.  But I made these and had to share.  They're SO good!  What a great appetizer for a football party (Giants @ the Superbowl!!!)! Or perhaps for any other occasion for company or to enjoy for yourself :)
Back when I was making the pot pies, I purchased Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets.  As it turns out, there's a recipe on the back of the box for these Spinach Cheese Swirls.  I thought they looked so good I had to try them.  I clipped the recipe and held on to it until now to make them.  They're really yummy.  And while they can be enjoyed at room temperature, they are definitely best fresh out of the oven or warmed up afterward.  So good!

SPINACH CHEESE SWIRLS

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 of a 17.3oz package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 tbsp water
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 pkg. (about 10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

DIRECTIONS:

THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. or until easy to handle.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease baking sheet or line with parchment paper. 

STIR egg and water in small bowl.  Stir Muenster cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion and garlic powder in medium bowl.

UNFOLD pastry sheet on lightly floured surface.  Brush with egg mixture.  Top with cheese mixture and spinach.  Starting at short side closest to you, roll up like a jelly roll.  Cut into 20 (1/2") slices.  Place slices cut-side down on baking sheets.  Brush with egg mixture.

BAKE 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nothing like a hearty bowl of winter chowder

There is no better day than today to sit down to a hot, chunky bowl of chowder.  YUM!

Back when I was making the pot pies, the thought came to mind how good the pie itself would be just as a chowder.  After all, the pie crust is what makes the pot pie, but it's also the thing that's not good for you (among other things in life, of course).  So as I was debating how to cook the fish I had stored in the freezer I thought about making the soup and the decision was finalized when Rob mentioned he had all this cooked chicken that he didn't know what to do with.  Hmmmm... I think I see a chicken chowder in your future, dear husband.

And this is exactly what I've done; made a seafood chowder and a chicken-potato chowder.  While they still took a good amount of time to prepare, I ended up tossing them both into slow cookers to simmer for a few hours.  If nothing else, I figured the potatoes needed cooking time to soften up a bit.  But after inhaling a bowl of soup I know I made the right call.  The chowder is out of this world and as I said, what better day to have it than today when it's snowy and blustery out.  I feel all warm and cozy on the inside now :)

Getting back to the pot pies, these are different in a few ways.  I didn't use peas or celery and I added sweet potatoes, red potatoes and corn.  I'm not a fan of celery and I just plain ol' forgot the peas.  But I really like the texture of the potatoes with the carrots and therefore that works really well for me.  I also added a bit more broth and cream to the mix.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves

3 celery ribs, chopped (optional)

3 carrots, chopped or sliced

1 10oz package frozen corn

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup fat free half-and-half cream

1 cup coconut milk

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 4.5oz cans crabmeat 

3 handfuls uncooked jumbo shrimp (cut into pieces)

2 4oz fillets uncooked tilapia (or other white fish)

1 medium red potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 medium sweet potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1tsp Old Bay seasoning

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the onion, (celery if you're using it), and carrots until tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn, potatoes, parsley, thyme, flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vegetable broth, half-and-half, and coconut milk and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the seafood.

Transfer the chowder into a slow cooker and set for about 3 or 4 hours. 

CHICKEN POTATO CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup butter

1 small onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped (optional)

3 carrots, chopped

1 10oz package frozen corn

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup fat free half-and-half cream

1 cup coconut milk

Salt and ground black pepper to taste 

3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

 

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the onion, (celery if you're using it), and carrots until tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn, potatoes, parsley, thyme, flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth, half-and-half, and coconut milk and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the chicken.

Transfer the chowder into a slow cooker and set for about 3 or 4 hours.

PERSONAL NOTES:

You may find you'll want either thicker or thinner chowder.  If that's the case, then either cut back or increase the amount of broth/cream/milk to the soup.  I like thicker soup so I tend to use less and add in if I need to "loosen" it up a bit.  I love a chunky soup so this just works well for me.