Cinnamon Rolls

I know Cinnamon Rolls are quite the game change from Low-Carb/Paleo, but I had a few people request the recipe after I baked these for church.

Usually, it’s been my family’s tradition to bake Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas breakfast, something I always look forward to with eager anticipation. These past few weeks however, I was struggling with a craving that just wouldn’t go away. A craving for hot, gooey, soft, melt in your mouth Cinnamon Rolls. I happily satisfied the yearning by baking them for our church Fellowship Meal, today (as a dessert, though I could’ve easily eaten them as the main dish). 😉

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Basic Sweet Dough:

3/4 C Buttermilk warm, 110 degrees (if you don’t have buttermilk, mix 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of whole milk and let sit for 10 min.)

6 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

3 large eggs

4 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1/4 C sugar

2 1/4 instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/4 tsp salt

Whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If after the first 5 minutes more flour is needed (the dough should not stick to the sides of the mixer bowl, only the bottom of it) add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface (or lightly floured depending on how sticky it is) and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl (I just spray Pam in the bowl) and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. If your house is drafty, then turn the oven onto 200 degrees for 10 minutes, turn it off, and set the dough in the oven to rise.

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**Rolls:

3/4 C packed light brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Pinch salt

1 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

Grease a 9×13 in. baking pan. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a small bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and press into a 16×12 in. rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter, then sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over it, leaving a 3/4 in. border along the long, top edge. Press on the filling to adhere it to the dough.

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Loosen the dough from the counter using a bench scraper or metal spatula, and roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and roll the log seam side down. Gently stretch the log to be 18 in. in length with an even diameter and pat the ends to even them.

Slice the cylinder into 12 evenly sized rolls (about 1 1/2 in. wide) using a serrated knife. Arrange the rolls cut side down in the prepared baking pan and wrap tightly with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size and are pressed against one another, 1 to 1 1/2 hours (to make ahead, do not let the rolls rise, but refrigerate them overnight or up to 16 hours. Let the rolls sit at room temperature until they have nearly doubled in size, about an hour, then bake as directed).

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden and puffed, 25 to 30 minutes.

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Glaze:

1 1/2 C confectioner’s sugar

3 Tbsp. cream cheese, softened (DO NOT microwave, just let it sit at room temperature until soft)

3 Tbsp. whole milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. After baked rolls have cooled for 5 minutes, drizzle glaze over them and serve.

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**_Recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book_**

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~Soli Deo Gloria

Mexi-Keto Tacos

Almost three weeks ago, my husband and I started eating low-carb, high-fat. Steve’s been a little more serious about it than I have, but we’ve both been feeling more energetic and dropping unwanted weight. While we’ve found eating this way to be much more healthy and fulfilling, it has been a little tough to give up on some of our old foods and find creative ways to have variety while still eating well. Needless to say my Mexican hubby needs his tacos. Browsing different Paleo forums the other day in search of a good alternative, Steve found a recipe for taco shells made from Provolone cheese. Stopping at the grocery store on our way home from church to buy more bacon (we eat quite a lot of bacon) we also purchased the ingredients for Steve’s Mexi-Keto Tacos.

 

Picture Courtesy of Steve

 

Taco Shells:

*Make sure your Provolone cheese is round*

Microwave one slice of cheese on a piece of parchment paper on high for 65-75 seconds. Let it cool for a few seconds, then being careful not to touch the hot cheese, drape it over the handle of a wooden spoon balanced on two cups (before I took the parchment paper off, I made sure to shape the cheese first). The cheese is very greasy, so I’d recommend putting paper towels, or a plate beneath it. Once the cheese is cool to the touch, set on a paper towel-lined plate.

 

Taco Meat:

*These measurements are for every one pound of ground beef*

2 tsp. Chili Powder

2 tsp. Paprika

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp. Cayenne

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Oregano

 

Add all ingredients to browned meat and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

 

~Soli Deo Gloria

Spice-Rubbed Picnic Chicken

One of the simplest dinners I make, comes in the form of chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs may seem a little daunting because of having bones and skin on them, but that’s actually  what makes it so easy to prepare. The bone and skin keep the chicken moist and tender making it almost impossible to over-cook.

This Picnic Spice-Rub Chicken is one of my favorite Summer meals. The rub has just enough spice in it to give it a kick, but not so much that it’s overpowering (I am NOT a spicy food person).

This recipe takes about an hour (including prep and cooking). I usually buy food in bulk, so my chicken is frozen and I have to get it out to thaw in the morning. Another secret to juicy chicken is to cook it completely thawed and never frozen, so you will have to count in de-frosting time, as well.

A few of the many sides that go well with this chicken are: green or fruit salad, Caprese salad, cucumbers with a vegetable dip, or watermelon strawberry smoothies. And don’t forget a good glass of red wine or an ice cold beer!

Spice-Rubbed Picnic Chicken: 

modified from Cook’s Illustrated

(serves 8)

5 Pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, thawed

1/4 C. butter, melted

2 Tbsp. Kosher salt (do not substitute with table or sea salt)

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 Tbsp. sweet paprika

2 tsp.  ground black pepper

1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and lay skin side up on foil lined trays (I use cookie sheets or a broiler pan-just make sure if you use one of those that it has rimmed sides to catch the fat). Using a sharp knife, cut two or three slits in skin of chicken making sure not to cut through to the bone. Brush melted butter over skin, thoroughly.

2. Mix together Kosher salt, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in small bowl until thoroughly combined. Taking desired amount in hand, rub onto chicken making sure to get underneath the skin where slit as well.

3. Cook 30-50 min. or until thighs register 175 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  Let cool 5-10 min. before serving.

~Soli Deo Gloria

In Like A Lamb, And Out Like A Lion

The old expression “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb” is not something to pin your hopes on, as it’s the second week of April and it’s been raining cats and dogs the past couple days.

Bad weather tends to make me (and I’m sure I’m not alone here) rather moody, and not quite sure what to do with myself. But, it’s never polite to be completely self-absorbed with feeling sorry for oneself, so grab a cup of tea, round up the kids, and start tackling the ever-growing book pile we’re all prone to have.

 

My current book pile (for quite some time now):

Evidence Not Seen ~ Darlene Deibler Rose

Lectures On Calvinism ~ Abraham Kuyper

Keeper Of The Bees ~ Gene Stratton Porter

Drawing Of The Dark ~ Tim Powers

What Did You Expect ~ Paul David Tripp

Streams In The Desert ~ L.B Cowman

 

What books are you currently reading?

Chocolate And Rum

I ate way too much today. It’s easy to do that sometimes. Something came over me, I threw caution to the wind, and stuffed myself. I eat when I need to comfort myself, and I’m missing somebody very special right now, so I hope that someone gets home soon, otherwise I’ll end up becoming a Mauritanian Beauty. Not really. It’d be difficult to gain that much weight in three days.

The sad part is, even though I’m stuffed like a turkey, I would eat that Chocolate Mousse again in the blink of an eye. Easily the best Chocolate Mousse I’ve ever tasted, a breeze to make, and NO SUGAR! You know you want this, it has rum in it; so set aside an hour to slap this together and enjoy with some homemade whipped cream.

Chocolate Mousse

Makes 5

1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup dark-brewed coffee

4 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon rum

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Heat a medium-sized saucepan one-third full with hot water until lightly simmering. Place heat-proof bowl on top and melt together chocolate and coffee, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat.

Whisk the egg yolks and rum together until very thick (you can also do this in an electric mixer on medium-high speed for three minutes). Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.

Beat the egg whites, salt, and vanilla until the whites form soft peaks. Being careful not to over mix, fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Spoon into five 6-oz dishes, cover, and refrigerate for three hours.

For Whipped Topping

1 cup chilled heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in electric mixer on medium-low speed for one minute until frothy. Increase mixer speed to high, and continue to beat until mixture forms soft peaks, about three minutes.

Spoon onto chilled Mousse, and sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder.

(recipe modified from TasteSpotting)

~Soli Deo Gloria

Easy Peasy Crêpes

I had hinted my next post would be centered around Gumdrop Cake, but alas and alack life is full of many trials and undercooked, crumbly Gumdrop Cake is part of my sanctification process, I’m sure. I won’t bore you with the details of my Gumdrop Cake fiasco, but let me conclude by stating that Gumdrop Cake takes a very long time to cook, and is best baked two weeks in advance.

Now, who loves Crêpes?

The only thing better than pancakes are pancakes that are thin, so you can eat more of them and not feel like your waist line is thickening. And the only thing better than thin pancakes are thin pancakes filled with tangy sour cream and strawberry goodness, all topped off with fresh whipped cream.

Many people may draw back in dread when threatened with the prospect of cooking Crêpes. Don’t panic. The only reason Crêpes sound complicated is because they are thoroughly and utterly of French origin. In reality, Crêpes are ridiculously easy to make, with the bonus of being perfectly delicious.

For Crêpes:

(Serves Twelve)

1 cup whole milk

4 large eggs

1  1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

Place milk and 2/3 cup water in a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup or medium bowl. Whisk in eggs, then flour, salt, and oil.

Heat 8 inch skillet over medium heat till very hot. Pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet, tilting to coat bottom evenly. Cook until underside is pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes, then run a rubber spatula around Crêpe to loosen it and flip Crêpe with spatula. Cook until underside is pale golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer Crêpe to a dinner plate. No need to use parchment paper or towel.

You can use any type of filling for your Crêpes that you wish, depending on your craving of either savory or sweet, but for breakfast Crêpes I prefer to use strawberries and sour cream filling.

For Filling:

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Place strawberries in bowl and crush till uniform. Set aside. In separate bowl whisk sour cream and powdered sugar.

Fill Crêpes, fold into tight cylinder or fan, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!

 

(Recipe adapted from _Perfect Recipes For Having People Over_)

~ Soli Deo Gloria

Simple Things

I firmly believe the simple things in life are usually the things that stay with us the longest, give us the greatest joy, and bless us the most. Whether it is a note from a sibling saying they love you, a scribbled drawing from a tiny hand, a hug from one of your parents, or enjoying God’s creation while taking a walk, these simple things are powerful in how they remain in our hearts and minds.

I find simple foods are usually the best, as well. Just eating a cracker with some cheese can taste absolutely delicious and excite your senses much more than eating a fancy meal of stuffed pheasant and crême brûlée, or some such nonsense. And eating a bowl of homemade granola with yogurt can taste so much better than eggs and bacon, some mornings.

12 C. Oats

1 C. Wheat Germ

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

3/4 C. Oil

3/4 C. Honey

1 C. Nuts of your choice (Optional)

1 1/2 C. Dried Fruit (Optional)

Mix the oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl. Mix oil and honey together and microwave for two minutes. Pour the hot oil and honey onto oat mixture and stir until combined. If adding nuts, coarsely chop them and mix into granola. Spread onto two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets and cook at 275 degrees for two hours, stirring every half hour. After granola has cooled completely, add chopped dried fruit and enjoy with milk or yogurt.

~Soli Deo Gloria