Cinnamon rolls of Amazingness

Ok. I confess. I am a recipe collector. I have a gigantic hoard of recipes; but the strange thing is that I don’t use them. I love to look through recipe books, food magazines, and cooking websites. I find so many fabulous recipes that I just have to add to my collection. My stash is so ominous that it’s exhausting just to think about going through it. Whenever I actually need a recipe I seek out a new one instead of relying on the ones I already have. It’s a very strange habit of mine, and I really need to knock it off and clear out the rubbish. I’m setting a new goal: Ok. By the end of the year, I will have sorted through my entire stash of recipes, discarded the Terrible’s, and organized the Fabulous. Yikes! Now I’m scared. Breathe….ok, ok…I can do it.

  

To start me off in the right direction I can officially say that today I tried something new, FROM my STASH! I’ve had this recipe for like 6 years. I even think about it sometimes, which is the weird part, because it’s not like it was one that was buried and forgotten. I just haven’t been able to make myself try it. In my defense, however, it’s only been a recent development that I’ve actually been baking and cooking regularly. With this new hobby I may actually be able to get through that stack of recipes.

Drum roll…today’s recipe, #1 from the stash: Cinnamon rolls! And they were pretty amazing. I actually got a craving for them 2 days ago. I stepped out of my car in the Costco parking lot and was completely immersed in a sweet wave of fresh baked Cinnamon; but they weren’t on my list so I didn’t let myself buy any. And they were so worth the wait.

I have a really (REALLY) hard time following recipes. I don’t know why, but I just can’t do it. I have to change the amounts, add or subtract ingredients, and I do it all in a different order. That is another habit I’m trying to break (one step at a time); I need to learn to follow a recipe the first time, and then make changes afterward. I must’ve been on a roll today--I did follow the recipe! EXACTLY. Word for word. And now that’s done, I can add my 2 cents.

 Here’s a link to the full recipe, with my changes:

 Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

And here are a few changes I made from the original recipe:

They didn’t all fit in a 9x13 baking dish, as suggested. Next time I’ll use a baking sheet instead.

  

It was recommended to turn the pan over, fresh from the oven, so the filling would recoat the rolls. I didn’t have a problem with the filling dripping out, so flipping them just made a mess of my rolls; I won’t do it next time.

I also doubled the frosting because I LOVE a little roll with my frosting.

  

No forks required!

Why fight it?

But, even following the recipe exactly they turned out fabulous. Definitely a keeper, I’m adding it to the Fabulous. Even my honey agreed! And he can be quite picky.

That's one down...five million to go...

  

Related Recipe:

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

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Instant Dinner: Lunchables. Yep, homemade.

I’ve always thought store bought lunchables were such a waste of money. They're over-priced, the kids only eat a tiny portion of it, and all they really care about are the candies that come in it.

Sadly, I did give in to them for a while. It was a time that I was trying to edge away from “happy meals”, and fast food. It seemed healthier (and possibly cheaper) to buy food from a grocery store instead of a drive-thru window. It was for sure a step in the right direction. And, I’ve taken a lot more steps since then. I guess buying lunchables became a habit, engrained in their tiny brains. The colorful packages developed tiny voices, and they called out to my kids as we passed by them. It was a painful process to wean them off of the silly things. 

I’m always looking for simple and easy—to go along with cheap and healthy; hence the lunchable fiasco. Depending on the situation, each of these sought after qualities alternately take a front seat on my priority bus. If life were made of chocolate, and we were all butterflies in the sunshine I would put Easy, and then Simple, behind door #1. Followed of course by Healthy, and then last of all would be Cheap. I’m not cheap because I enjoy it. I’m cheap because it’s my nature. It’s my instinct for survival. It’s in my genetic programming even. So, in the end, cheap always wins out. But I find ways to make harmony among this chaos of decision.

At any rate, I just wanted to point out an incredibly Easy, Simple, and less expensive--yet quick and somewhat healthy—last minute meal idea:

The Homemade Lunchable!

There are endless possibilities, but our favorite includes American cheese singles, Ritz crackers, and Turkey lunchmeat slices from Costco. We always have these on hand, it’s always easy to access, and I buy it all in bulk, from Costco.

All you really need is a cracker, a meat, and a cheese. Some kind of sauce is always good, and then you can get creative and add veggies, or whatever else you have in your pantry at the moment. Another of our favorites is Ritz, pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese; just like a mini pizza!

Have fun, mix and match…keep life simple, smile a little.

Best of all, my kids love it! AND they can even get it all out and assembled on their own. It’s almost like pressing an EASY BUTTON…

So, we shall rename this delightful discovery...

I hereby declare this meal to be so dubbed:

Easy-Button-Instant-Dinner

So let it be written, so let it be done.

And we all lived happily ever after…the end



(sorry, no recipe...just pictures and ideas)
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A Leaning Tower of…OREOS

And the best part is that I made them! And…and…and… from scratch!

These were ridiculously AMAZING. If you like Oreos—even a little--you HAVE to try this. It was the highlight of my week. They were so pretty, I felt like the proud mother of these things.  I couldn’t stop smiling and admiring them. My kids are starting to question my sanity, as I ogle food and am constantly taking pictures. I can’t even explain how it makes me feel when I see these foods that I have created come together so perfectly. This is definitely getting a little weird. But weird can be good, and I’m ok with that; such is my life.

I’ve seen this recipe on several different blogs lately and in slightly different versions. I don’t know who to give original credit to, so in the sense of fairness I’ll just call myself a “recipe recycler” and share with you my own version. That way no one is sad, and all who have a similar recipe can feel equally credited.

It fits perfectly into my theme of trying to get down to basics and make as much from scratch as I possibly can. Oreos are often a staple in my home, and my honey and I like to enjoy them in the quiet of the evening, after the kids are in bed.

 I have a hard time eating them casually. Eating Oreos is sort of an event in itself, and it has to be done right, in order to maximize the ultimate Amazing-ness of this simple pleasure. For me, it has to be in the evening, once my tummy has had plenty of time to relax from dinner. Of course, the kids also have to be in bed, and all my evening tasks need to be finished. I settle under the covers with my honey, a neatly stacked pile of 6 cookies (store bought), and a half glass of cold milk. As perfect as perfect can get.

So, I made these amazing, perfect, gorgeous cookies yesterday afternoon. In the midst of my photo shoot the kids got home from school. Girl actually threw an impressive tantrum because “they look so good, I can’t stand it…I HAVE to have one!”… She carried on like that--screaming--for an entire hour. It was very exhausting, but I suppose I can consider it a compliment? Anyway, I made them all wait until after dinner so we could enjoy them as a family; sort of creating a new Oreo ritual.

After much anticipation, the moment of truth happened. And, surprisingly, they actually tasted almost as good as they looked (I say almost because I kept them in the fridge, and so they were a little hard). It also lost some of its magic because we were eating them on a full stomach. Very important to remember, do not eat them on a full stomach. Other than that, they were superb. Girl and boy#1 enjoyed them, boy #2 said “these are so delicious I could eat them all day, every day”, and boy #3 basically took a bath in his milk, while--with a blissful glint in his eye--devoured every morsel he could get in his mouth. He was completely immersed in the whole process.

These are so easy and so good. The cream filling is identical to store bought (except better, of course) and the cookie is so very close; not identical because of the texture, but as close as you can get at home. Right out of the oven they are crisp, but if you let them sit overnight in a sealed container they soften up. I almost fell over when I ate one this morning—they were that good.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to buy another package of the real ones again.

Everyone has their own “Oreo ritual”...what’s yours?

Related Recipe:

Homemade Oreos

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An Easy Classic, and Kid Friendly

It never fails. When I buy something new, it doesn’t matter what it is, the kids think they need to have it, immediately. Waiting is painful, when you’re little.

A few weeks ago I bought a large bag of rice crispy cereal that was on sale. I planned to make rice crispy treats, some day. I do that on occasion—buy something intending to do something with it eventually—and then years later have to throw it out.  

In this situation kids did come in handy. My girl saw them right away, and wanted them for breakfast. I had to explain what they were for and that I didn’t want to open them until I was ready to use them. Of course, it was already stuck in her head, and this morning I finally gave in.

Today would be the day I would use them. Today was the day she got to eat rice crispy cereal for breakfast. And now that the new thing isn’t new anymore I’m sure she won’t eat another bowl of it.

But oh well, at least I got to spend some time with my boys, making something yummy. They were great helpers, and this is such an easy recipe that I let them do most of the work.

Related Recipe:

Marshmallow Crispy Squares

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