Cinnamon Rolls

I have several recipes for cinnamon rolls, but I always return to this one. It's a little more time consuming, but well worth it!

Cinnamon Rolls

Pan on Stove:

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup shortening

1¼ cup milk

Stir all above ingredients on med-high or until shortening is melted and add to ingredients in large bowl.

Large Bowl:

1½ cups flour

1 Tbs. yeast

On side:

1 egg

2 cups flour

Once shortening mixture is added to bowl of flour, add egg and beat for 3 minutes at high speed. By hand stir in 2 cups flour to make soft sticky dough. Grease hands and knead dough. Shape into a ball and place lightly greased bowl. Spray top with Pam and cover. Put bowl into oven and let rise until doubled (usually 1½ hours). Punch down and roll out. Spread melted butter onto dough. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of dough. Roll length-wise and use dental floss to cut. Place on lightly greased pan and cover with saran wrap. Let rise another 30-45 minutes and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until golden on top. Frost when slightly cooled.

Cinnamon Filling:

2½ Tbs. melted butter

½ cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

I usually make a little more filling, but that's because I LOVE the filling.

Whole Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

I got this from Everyday Foods. There are a few others I will be trying out of that magazine and if they pass the "Brian" test, I'll put them up. I used to make whole roasted chicken all the time, but when the rotisserie chicken became so cheap, I stopped. I honestly think I like roasted chicken better. And Brian loved the skin on this chicken because it was so crispy. And it was really easy to make! It's a great fall/winter dish.

A whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
salt and pepper
fresh thyme and parsley
2 leeks (white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and then crosswise)
baby carrots
small red potatoes
olive oil
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 450. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff with fresh thyme and parsley (I was out of thyme so I just used parsley). If you don't have fresh herbs, you can use dry and mix it with the vegetables instead of in the chicken. Take olive oil and toss with leeks, carrots, and potatoes. Place chicken in roasting pan and arrange veggies around (I just put all the veggies in first, then the chicken breast down on top). Add water. Roast chicken until it's golden brown and juices run clear when pierced between breast and leg, about 1-1/2 hours. Or thickest part of thigh hits 165 (be careful not to hit bone).

Holiday Sweet Potatoes

My FAVORITE dish at Thanksgiving!! I could eat the whole pan! In fact, sweet potatoes, rolls, pie, and cranberry sauce is the reason I show up for dinner! Oh yeah, and corn...and stuffing. Okay, most of the dinner except turkey and green beans.

Holiday Sweet Potatoes

2½ pounds sweet potatoes

½ cup sugar

½ cup milk

¼ cup butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup flour

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. vanilla

Topping-

¼ cup butter, melted

¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

¾ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Boil the sweet potatoes till done, then peel and mash with all of the above ingredients. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with the topping and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Roast Beef with Cabbage, Squash, and Carrots

So I recently subscribed to the Everyday Food magazine. It's the size of a Reader's Digest, but has some good recipes. They have a section which has a week full of meals. I tried the Roast Beef with Cabbage, Squash and Carrots at Brian's request. While it wasn't my absolute favorite (I thought it was better the next day), Brian, Dalin and Ellie LOVED LOVED it! Which surprised me, since I usually don't serve cooked cabbage and butternut squash, like, ever. So, perhaps your kids might too. Try it out. It's really easy.

Roast Beef with Cabbage, Squash, and Carrots

2 lbs boneless top loin roast (I just used...something, I can't remember, but it was fine)
salt and pepper
1 medium (about 2 lbs) of butternut squash, peeled, halved and sliced 1/2" thick
3 medium carrots, sliced into 3" lengths (I just used baby carrots)
1 small red cabbage (about a pound), cored and cut into wedges
4 sprigs of thyme (you can use dried)
2 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Season beef with salt and pepper, and place fat side up in a shallow roasting pan. Toss remaining ingredients together, add salt and pepper to taste. Surround beef with vegetables and roast in oven until squash is tender and beef is medium-rare, about 40 minutes. Tent beef loosely with foil for 10 minutes after it's done.