cinnabon!

A while ago, I found a recipe for "Clone of a Cinnabon" and thought about it for months. I don't know why. To be honest, I have never had a Cinnabon in my life. Not that they don't smell amazing when I pass by the store in the mall or anything... I just never have given in.

Well, because this was my first time making cinnamon rolls from scratch, I waited until I had some back-up. Two weeks ago, an old family friend of Andrew's, Alexa, came to visit. I love Alexa... probably because we are so crazy similar in our likes and dislikes. Very strangely alike. We are going to open a bakery someday... you just wait and see!

Here's the recipe... I honestly can't tell you if they are truly the clone of a Cinnabon... but I can honestly tell you that they were super crazy good!

Start with dough. We discovered the butter works better when you let it get really soft... almost melted. Cold butter = bad idea.

let rise. roll it out. spread with butter. spread with cinnamon & sugar!

roll up, slice into pieces, and place in a greased baking pan. YUMMMMM!

Bake...

And slather with cream cheese icing!

Enjoy while warm with a lot of milk!

We did change a few things... we just used regular dry active yeast and let it rise in a warm oven after kneading. We didn't use a bread maker (I don't own one), and they tasted wonderful! 

Asiago spinach sammies!

The great thing about these bagels is that you can make great sammies out of them. Last weekend, we were in a rush to get out the door to church so I put these together super fast!

I cooked two eggs over medium, toasted two bagels, and layered some fresh spinach and provolone.

seriously... stinkin' amazing. 

Panera's Asiago Cheese Bagels

Panera is one of my favorite comfort food restaurants, but it's quite expensive to eat there often. I love their iced green tea. I love their macaroni and cheese. I love their asiago cheese bagels... so I set out to make them.

I have made bagels numerous times, and they're not very hard. They do take time and patience, but a homemade bagel is so worth it.

Here's what I used and here's the blog I got the recipe from:

You basically knead, let rest, cut into pieces, let rest, broil, boil, and then bake :) YUM!

This is everything making friends in the mixer... Confession: first time I've used my dough hook. SO EASY.

When everything comes together, lay it on a clean, floured surface and knead until it looks like this:

See: smooth, elastic, absorbed a lot of the flour!

You let that rest and then cut into six 'equal' (do your best!) portions and then form into a bagel shape. I do this by rolling dough into a ball-shape, poking a hole in the middle, and then stretching out the hole until sides are mostly even. Try your best :) They will still taste good!

They need to rise again, but put a big pot of water with a tablespoon of sugar on the stove while you wait.

Then you need to broil the bagels for three minutes and then boil them. This was a new method for me :)

Happy face! Becoming good things... notice how small the holes got? That's okay. More room for asiago cheese!

Put in a hot 375 oven and bake for 12 minutes. Pull out and top with cheese and then bake for 12-15 minutes more :) Keep your eye on it. They could burn. Thankfully, mine did not :)

YUMMM!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 package (0.25 ounce) instant yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (115 degrees F)
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded (I split this half parm and half asiago) 
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced dried onion
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) asiago cheese or six-cheese blend, shredded

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, yeast, 1-1/2 Tablespoons sugar, Parmesan, dried onion, and salt.  Add warm water and combine with dough hooks on low mixer speed until dough forms.  Add a little more flour or water if necessary to reach desired consistency. 
2. Roll out dough on lightly-floured surface.  Knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic (a few minutes or so).  Let rest in a lightly oiled bowl, covered, for 10 minutes.
3. With floured scissors, cut into six portions of equal size.  Shape each portion into a smooth ball and poke a hole in center.  Gently pull dough outwards until hole reaches 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter.  Place on greased baking sheet and cover dough with a warm, damp cloth.  Let rise 20 minutes.
4. While dough is rising, place 1 gallon water mixed with 1 Tablespoon sugar in a large, deep pot over high heat.  Once water begins boiling, lower heat until water reaches a simmer.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. Broil bagels on low at least 6 inches from heat for 3 minutes, turning once halfway through.
6. Gently drop 3-4 bagels at a time into simmering water.  Cook 7 minutes, turning once halfway through.  Drain on paper towels.  Return bagels to greased baking sheet and bake 25 minutes.  When about 12-15 minutes of cook time remains, quickly remove baking sheet from oven, sprinkle asiago cheese atop each bagel, and then continue baking for remainder of time

breakfast strata

College was an incredible experience. I LOVE being married and having a real job... and a house! But, I sincerely enjoyed college and wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

Anyways, I was part of THE most amazing sorority ever, Theta Alpha Pi... and my roommate/sorority sister 3/4 years out of college (Hayley) threw me an amazing bridal shower in April of our senior year. 

Hayley had every girl write out one of their favorite recipes and then she put them all into a cute photo album as a gift for me. To be honest, I forget I have these recipes a lot.

For example, when we went to the Outer Banks with Kara (another sister) and her husband this past summer, we had this amazing pasta casserole and I asked her for the recipe. She told me that I already had it in my bridal shower collection. That was embarrassing.

Anyway, last week, I was looking through all of my cookbooks and came across the collection of recipes. I found this recipe for breakfast strata from a dear friend, Hannah, who just got married herself! 

It was SO easy and SO yummy. And there are SO many variations I can't wait to try. This is what I used:

First thing I did was put half of the sausage in a skillet and started to saute that to get it nice and browned. 

Then, I sprayed an 8x8 pan with cooking spray and then laid four pieces of crust-less bread in the bottom of the pan. 

After the sausage cooks, add in the mustard. Sprinkle that over the bread. Shred some cheese (I used cheddar) and put that over the sausage. SMELLS AMAZING :)

Beat eggs, milk, half and half, and pepper together. Pour that mixture over the cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Eat it immediately... it was delicious! I modified Hannah's recipe because it's just AJ and me. We ate most of it and then enjoyed the rest the next day.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bread (no crusts!)
• 1/2 pound breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 tsp. mustard
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup half and half
• dash of pepper

Instructions:

• Place bread in a greased 8x8 pan.
• Saute sausage until brown. Drain if needed.
• Stir in mustard and then sprinkle sausage/mustard mixture over bread. Sprinkle cheese over sausage!
• Beat eggs, milk, half&half, and pepper in separate bowl and then pour over cheese. 
• Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. 
• Cut into squares and enjoy :)

Thanks Hannah! We loved it :)

western style omelettes

AJ and I are really into the weekends. I know this 'season' of our marriage will not last forever: no kids to worry about (unless you count our cats), and jobs that allow us to be off on the weekends (most of the time!).

I cherish the weekends: waking up 'late' (usually around 7), making a big breakfast, easing into our day slowly. We choose what to do... which is sometimes nothing. Today, we are heading to Williamsburg because we got a great deal on tickets. Neither of us have ever been, so we jumped at the chance.

I made that salsa from my BRAND NEW food processor this week and it was so delicious. We didn't make much because tomatoes are not really in season right now, thus they are expensive.

We ate quite a bit of salsa with tortilla chips, but we still had a little bit left. I decided to make western-style omelettes for dinner with it. YUMMY.

P.S. We love brinner (breakfast for dinner)

I sauteed some onions, peppers, and chiles for several minutes until they were soft and starting to caramelize.

In comes the eggs! I just mixed (I think four?) eggs with 1/4 cup of water. My Grandpa told me when I was starting to cook eggs (probably when I was 12 or 13) that it didn't matter if you chose water or milk to add to scrambled eggs. No one can tell the difference. So, since then... I've always used water.

When the eggs started to solidify, I tried to flip them over all together. FAIL. But... you know what? My husband doesn't care that his omelette isn't perfect so I went with it.

I shredded some colby jack cheese and added some salsa and more chiles to the top before I attempted to flip it over.

Yummo! Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Panettone French Toast

World Market is probably my favorite store, next to Trader Joe's of course. I find so many wonderful things there... most recently, panettone.

I follow Giada de Laurentiis on twitter and she suggested the other day using panettone for french toast. Well, first off.. I've never even had panettone... but she made it sound AMAZING.

At World Market, they had a really big box of it and then a smaller (I think 3 ounce) box. I got the smaller version, and it turned out to be just right for AJ and I. I had to wait to use it until we both had a morning off, which turned out to be Sunday.

I found several recipes for panettone french toast, but I didn't have everything needed for any of them. Therefore, I kind of made up my own.

Here's the bread cut up into pieces. It cut into five pieces but the top slice was curved, so I ate it. WHY has no one told me about panettone before? Or made me eat it? IT IS SO GOOD.

You have to mix some eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt together to form the 'dip' for the bread before you put it in the hot griddle.

 before & after... sorry if raw eggs make you queasy.

Then you dip the bread on both sides and then put it in the griddle!

They need to cook for 4-5 minutes on each side... so while I was waiting, I made Giada's cinnamon sugar syrup to go on top. And I also made scrambled eggs with my gingerbread spatula: Judge not.

Recipe:

• 1 small panettone (cut into 4 or 5 slices)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt

1. In a broad bowl (you'll need to dip), mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt together. Make sure it's really mixed up! 
2. Dip each piece of bread (mine were about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick each) into the mixture. Make sure both sides are covered and then put it on a griddle pan over medium-high heat.
3. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side and then eat! It is sweet enough that it doesn't need syrup, but the syrup is yummy!

cinnamon bun pancakes :)

For the past few weekends, I haven't been able to sleep past 6:30 or 7 AM. BUMMER. This morning, I woke up at 6:40, wide awake. Lovely.

However, AJ and I are part of an planning team for a church event tonight, so I was almost grateful that I didn't want to sleep until 10 because we have a lot to do.

I didn't do any cooking yesterday except for my oatmeal and that MRE, so I was yearning to do something. I found a recipe for cinnamon bun pancakes yesterday on Pioneer Woman (my hero!) and decided to try it. So glad. I think this may become a Christmas morning tradition for us... it's that special.

It was also pretty easy... whisk the dry ingredients up:

Whisk the wet ingredients together:

And then whisk them together:

Ladle on to a warm griddle and practice your patience.

While I was being patient, I made this maple butter icing for the top. The powdered sugar didn't mix in as well as I thought it should, but did it matter? NO.

After the pancakes were all cooked, serve them up with lots of the icing on top and a big glass of milk. You and your loved ones will need it.

Side Note: We honeymooned at Run of the River, this amazing bed and breakfast in Washington state. The staff served us absolutely incredible breakfasts with more food than anyone could eat. The inn is small (I think nine rooms) and you eat at 9 AM with every other guest at this big table. It was awesome. Anyways- this breakfast reminded me of something we would eat at Run of the River.

Seriously, if you haven't eaten breakfast... make these.

this is what my plate looked like about five minutes after we sat down... YUM! :)

Have a great Saturday!

comfort food.

I love grocery stores. Love. Love. Love. It is strange how much I enjoy grocery shopping. I love looking at everything and seeing how things are set up. Of all of the grocery stores, Trader Joe's is probably my favorite. Trader Joe's is a new-found love; we've only known each other for about a year. People are nice in Trader Joe's. For example, a month ago when we went to Trader Joe's (we don't go very often... because it's about 45 minutes away in Richmond and because I spend way too much time and money), I was exploring their baking aisle. I was looking for an apple-cranberry pie filling they sold last year that was delicious.

I did not find the pie filling. That made me a little sad. I am planning on going to Trader Joe's sometime soon though (Don't tell AJ!) and I hope they have it in stock then. Anyways- while I was mesmerized by everything in the baking aisle, I caught eye of a pumpkin bread/muffin mix. My eyes are drawn to anything pumpkin... as you probably have gathered. An older lady (imagine a fairy godmother) came up beside me and told me to buy it. That was weird.

I must have given her a funny look, because she went on to elaborate on how amazing it was and that I should put golden raisins in and that it was so easy and so delicious. So I bought it. I figured... it certainly won't hurt me and it's pumpkin-flavored. Well, it's sat in our pantry for a month. I was trying to wait to use it until Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was not to be. My impatience wins out again.

Tonight, I opened that box and made it. Seriously, the only ingredients called for are eggs, oil, and water. EASY SMEASY. I added the golden raisins because the fairy godmother told me to. She's a smart lady.

My favorite recipes are simple but oh, so delicious. This one qualifies for both, definitely. It is so easy. Throw everything but the raisins in the KitchenAid and mix for two minutes. Stir in the raisins. Pour into a bread pan or muffin pan and BAKE. Hello! So easy.

Pre-baking. I have never been good at pouring batter into muffin tins neatly. Never. Actually, There's not much I do neatly. It all comes back to impatience. I'm working on it.

They bake for about fifteen minutes. While I was waiting, I distracted myself by setting up our new home office! So exciting .We have this funny 9' x 9' room that will Lord willing be a nursery at some point, but we decided to use it as an office for the time being. I have been doing my school work on the dining room table. AJ does not like that. I don't really like it either. Tonight, we bought a folding table to put up there and set everything up. It looks cute. I'll have to take a picture at some point.

By the time everything was set up, the muffins were done! I immediately sliced one and put butter and lingonberry jam on it. Also, I set off the fire alarm... you win some, you lose some. I opened the back door and continued to eat!

So yummy. Trader Joe's, you again do not disappoint. I still have not forgiven you for that horrific strawberry rhubard pie you sold me though.