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Sugary Goodness

My friend and I have have been planning to make The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls for awhile. They just look so good. Today we finally took a crack at it.

It's really a wonder we got any made at all. Whenever we are together we are constantly laughing.


We've known each other for 19 years. We know each others secrets. We're second moms to each others children. She describes me as the little devil that is always on her shoulder. I'm not sure how I should take that. Ha!

Back to the rolls, they did not look at all like Ree's. Maybe we missed a step from all the cutting up. They were soft and mushy when we were rolling them up.

We couldn't believe how much butter the recipe called for. I think we left some out and still felt like we put in too much. Get a load of that measuring cup. Yep, all butter.

They turned out so ugly, but they were oh so good! I didn't even get a close up picture, they were that hideous. So direct your attention to the nice steaming cup of coffee and away from the flat blobs of sugary goodness.

Here's Ree's recipe. Be sure to go to her blog to see a really nice picture of these delicious rolls!

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
• _____
• MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

Note: My rolls don’t work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees.

Project 365

I've been meaning to post my photos for the 365 project on a weekly basis. I'm just not organized nor disciplined enough to do that, I guess. So, I will periodically post several at a time! I've really enjoyed doing this, and I'm quiet surprised that I haven't tired of it yet.



This is one of my favorites. My son loves to draw and has gotten really good. He has sold two drawings already. Not bad for the ripe old age of 12!

To add to his drawing talents, he also has a big mouth! ;)

This is my dear sweet mother. She loves planting flowers!

From the book "Romancing the Ordinary"

One of my favorites from a photo shoot with my friends daughter. My boys think I'm weird for taking a picture of her feet! Ha!

Macro water drip

I love fingerling potatoes! They are so hard to find though.

I collect cook books. Love them!

Salad collage.

My middle child texting his friends about his first car. We went out looking for two weekends and couldn't find anything that would meet his dad's standards. We finally found this and drove it home and surprised him.

This picture looks very lonely to me.

Typical Sunday morning breakfast at our house. It's lowfat and all though. ;)

Hunter told me to title this one "cowlick." Gross!

This baboon looks so sad to me.



That's all folks!

Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.

Couples Skate

My friend and I were talking about the old skating rink the other day. We used to go all the time. Believe it or not, I was a pretty good skater. I even thought of going for my 40th birthday. It was only a thought! I'm sure that I would break something! How cool would a themed girls night out be though? We could all try to get our hands on a pair of Jordache jeans, the kind that you had to lay down and zip with a coat hanger. I can't believe my ovaries survived the 80's and went on to produce children. Ha!

All this talk of the skating rink got me thinking about my brothers friend that I had the biggest crush on. His name was Brent, he was the most handsome thing I had ever seen. I was around 11 years old, he was around 13. It was a one sided crush. He would join my brother in teasing me and it used to break my heart. One time he spent the night and he and my brother hog tied me to a bed post! I expected my brother to pick on me, but when Brent did it, it cut me to the core. I'll never forget, when I finally untied myself, I clawed his neck. I had the longest nails and they went deep into his neck. He had four lumps to remember me by!

Anyway, back to skating, one night they called couples skate and I wanted Brent to skate with me. They were playing Rod Stewart's, "You're In My Heart." I chased him around the rink for the entire song. I obviously didn't take hints too well. How sad is that? Actually, it's funny now, but then I thought my world was surely coming to an end.

Several years later he showed up on my doorstep with a birthday card and flowers on what I believe was my 14th or 15th birthday. I told him he was too late! It sure did feel good to say that! Ha! I don't know whatever happened to him. Brent if you're out there, this one's for you.

Trying Out The New Lens

Here is my new lens!


I also included a few shots I took with it. They aren't very colorful. It was an overcast day and of course nothing is in bloom yet.

These geese were so funny, they moved their heads in so many directions!










Very creepy tree, it looks like it has claws!

How Did I Get This Old??

I turned 40 on Saturday. Wow, how did that happen? It still seems so funny to say it. I certainly don't feel old, I guess that's what's important anyway! My kids often tell me that I sometimes act like a 12 year old, and I'm okay with that too! I guess being a constant goof will make you feel younger!

I spent the day with my best friend and her 15 year old daughter. We went shopping, because you have to spend money on your birthday right? We hit up Hobby Lobby. I love that place!

They had all of their spring and beachy decorations out. Don't you just love this hula girl? Too cute!

We played with different ways to make wreaths!

I picked out some really cool fabric. My friend is going to sew me a camera strap! Yay for friends who can sew!

We also found a pattern to make some sexy vintage aprons! It's so much more fun to cook when you have on pearls and a vintage apron!

We ended the day with Chick-fil-A and an ice cream birthday toast!


My oldest son bought me some Riesling. He is so very thoughtful. I love that wine, it goes great with desserts.
Oh, I almost forgot, on the way to my friends house I dropped a cd in the floor board of my car, when I bent to pick it up I noticed a package. My husband bought me a zoom lens for my camera and left it in the car for me to find. He is way too good to me. I will include the lens and some pictures I took in another post. It's really cool and would be great for spying on people! ;)

Dorito Taco Salad

I'm sure everyone has had this before. I remember having it as a kid, but had forgotten all about it until recently. It's really good and quick! Of course my boys won't touch it with a ten foot pole, so they went out for pizza. Brats! I'm hoping that I chopped the onions up small enough to pass them off to Chuck as garlic. It usually works!

Ingredients

• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 pound sharp Cheddar, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, drained and shredded
• 1 pound lean ground beef, browned, crumbled and drained
• 1 cup salad dressing (recommended: Catalina)
• 1 (7-ounce) bag taco flavored chips, crushed
• 1 cup salsa
• Tortilla chips, to serve

Directions

Combine the tomatoes, cheese, onion, lettuce, and ground beef in a large bowl. Add the salad dressing and mix well. Just before serving, add the taco chips, tossing to combine with other ingredients. Top each serving with salsa. Serve with tortilla chips. I also added a few black olives which aren't in the ingredient list.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Wow, I just tried Becky Higgins Garlic Chicken Farfalle It has so much flavor. By far one the best pasta dishes I've had. I served this with a Caesar salad and crusty Italian bread. I think this will be the dish of choice for the next girl's dinner and a movie!


16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I do a spoonful of crushed garlic)
1 Tbsp. pepper*
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumpled**
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

*Seems like a lot of pepper, but it has a wonderful flavor when everything mixes together. If you’re apprehensive, do less pepper. You can always add more.

**We like to cook our bacon in the oven (400 degrees, convection). Way less messy. And it’s crispy every time. Time varies, so you just have to watch it. I think it’s usually around 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumple (I totally wear disposable gloves for this part - surprise, surprise).

[ directions ]

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.