Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com.  I don't know where the idea to make cinnamon rolls came from, but I decided it'd be nice to do when Kenny & Delaney were here.  This recipe was delicious and pretty simple to do.  Next time we have company stay with us, I'll probably make them again.  But we don't need a whole pan of these in the fridge, they will get eaten much too quickly!

rolls
1 c. milk
1/3 c. butter
1 (.25 oz.) package active dry yeast
1/2 c. sugar
4 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs

filling
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbl. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins (optional, I didn't include them)

glaze
1 tsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. sifted powdered sugar
2 Tbl. half & half

1.  Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles; remove from heat.  Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
2.  In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the milk mixture.  Add sugar, 3 c. of flour, salt and egg.  Stir well to combine.  Add the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, stirring well after each addition.
3.  When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth and supple, about 8 mins.
4.  Lightly oil a larger bowl and place dough in it; coat with oil.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
5.  Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10"x14" rectangle.  Lightly brush the far edge with water.
6.  In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangle evenly.  The sprinkle raisins, if using.  Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.
7.  Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place in a greased 9"x13" pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rise overnight.
8.  The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Let the rolls stand at room temperature for 30 mins. before baking.
9.  Once at room temperature, bake for 25 - 30 mins., or until golden.  Meanwhile, combine corn syrup with vanilla in a small bowl.  Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough cream to make a thick glaze.  Drizzle glaze over the rolls and serve warm.

before going in the fridge at night

big rolls the next morning

out of the oven, yum!

Apple Pie

Since we had a ton of apples, I figured we needed to have an apple pie!  I used the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens book and it turned out pretty much perfect!

Pastry for Double-Crust Pie
2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. shortening
8 - 10 Tbl. cold water


1.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.
2.  Sprinkle 1 Tbl. of water over part of the flour mixture; toss with a fork.  Push moistened pastry to side of bowl.  Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 Tbl. of the water at a time, until flour mixture is moistened.  Divide pastry in half, form into balls.
3.  On lightly floured surface, use hands to slightly flatten one pastry ball.  Roll it from center to edges into a 12 inch circle.
4.  Wrap pastry circle around rolling pin; unroll it into a 9 inch pie plate.  Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it.  Trim pastry even with rim; transfer filling to pie plate.
5.  Roll remaining ball into another 12 inch circle, place on top of filling.  Cut slits in pastry and trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate.  Fold top pastry under bottom pastry and crimp edges as desired.

Apple Pie
1 recipe Pastry for Double-Crust pie
6 c. thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 1/4 pounds)
1 Tbl. lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tbl. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 c. dried cranberries (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare and roll out Pastry for Double-Crust Pie.  Line a 9 inch pie plate with a pastry circle.
2.  If desired, sprinkle apples with lemon juice.  In a large bowl, stir together: flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (I added a little vanilla as well).  Add apples slices and, if desired, cranberries.  Gently toss until coated.
3.  Transfer mixture to pastry-lined pie plate.  Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate.  Place remaining pastry on top, cut slits in the top.  Crimp edges as desired.
4.  If desired, brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar.  To prevent over-browning, cover edge of pie with foil.
5.  Bake for 40 minutes; remove foil.  Bake 20 minutes more or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly.  Cool on a wire rack.  To serve warm, let pie cool at least 2 hours.

delicious apples!

this is the best I could do, haha

so yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Chicken in Lemon-Cream Sauce

My mom sent me this recipe and I made this last night and it is so yummy!  It was hard to leave leftovers!  It's a very simple, easy recipe and went great with some mashed potatoes and corn.  Wonderful!

a few Tbl. butter
8 chicken breast halves, or tenders
2 Tbl. dry white wine or water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. (white) pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 Tbl. lemon juice
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 c. sliced mushrooms (we don't love mushrooms, so I excluded them)

1.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat, add chicken.  Cook, about 10 minutes, or until browned and tender.  Remove and place in overproof serving dish; discard butter from skillet.
2.  Add wine (or water), lemon peel and lemon juice to skillet; cook and stir over medium heat about 1 min.  Stir in salt and pepper.
3.  Gradually pour in cream, stirring constantly.  Stir until hot, do not boil!  Pour cream sauce over chicken, sprinkle with cheese and mushrooms.  Broil about 6 inches from heat source until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. 

No pictures, sorry!

Ravioli Soup

I love this recipe.  I used to ask my mom for it all the time for my birthday.  It's perfect with grated parmesan cheese and a few slices of french bread, yum!  I made the entire recipe when we had friends over, and everyone loved it.

2 (10 oz.) cans Campbell's beef broth bouillon
2 c. canned tomato juice
6 c. water
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots (in half circles)
1/2 c. chopped green onion
1 1/2 c. peeled, diced potato (can use a little extra, I love the potato in this)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach
about 48 - 60 frozen meat ravioli, cooked (for those in the Bay Area, my mom uses the local Genova brand)
2 (8 oz. each) containers of ravioli sauce (tomato, garlic, herbs)

1.  Combine bouillon, tomato juice and water in a large pot.
2.  Bring to a boil and add: carrot, potato, onion, parsley, salt, sugar and pepper. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender.
3.  Add the spinach and gently stir in the ravioli (which has already  been cooked) and the sauce.  Heat about 10 minutes.
4.  Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled over top, if desired.

not a great picture, but it is delicious!

Apple Cream Cheese Danish

We have all these apples from our apple picking trip and I was aching to make some delicious pastry.  Then I found this recipe and went for it.  It was a bit more tricky than I imagined, because I had bought a box of two big puff pastry sheets, and they didn't roll out as well as I had hoped.  So I just kind of winged it, and with the leftover filling made blintzes, yum!  Zak devoured these, and I did my best not to eat them all in one day.  But they are certainly tasty!

24 oz. cottage cheese
3 apples (peeled, cored & thinly sliced)
1 tsp. lemon juice
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
17 1/2 oz. puff pastry, thawed
3 Tbl. sugar (decoration)

1.  Place cottage cheese in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or heavy paper towel; pat dry and set aside.
2.  Place apples in a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning.
3.  Combine cream cheese, drained cream cheese, 1/2 c. sugar, egg, vanilla in a bowl.  Mix with electric mixer for 1 - 2 minutes on medium high, until almost smooth.
4.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5.  Cut each of the puff pastry sheets into 9 pieces, to have 18 total (make sure they are relatively square-shaped).  Roll pieces out, one by one, to make about 5 x 5 inch squares.  Avoid rolling with too much pressure or over the edges, to ensure they puff up.
6.  Place a square in front of you (so it's diamond-shaped).  Spoon a generous of cheese filling, leaving some room at the top and bottom edges.  Fan out 3 - 5 apple slices in the center.  Bring the left and right corners together to meet in the center and pinch to seal.
7.  Transfer danish to baking sheet; repeat with remaining pastries.  Sprinkle sugar over each bundle and bake until pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

mine didn't turn out super pretty, but they sure were tasty, warm or room temperature!