Cinnamon Biscuit Rolls - Video!

I made a how to video for the cinnamon biscuit rolls last week!  I'm currently working on the sourdough bread video. as well.  I've got a few other videos on my channel, like how to make buns and showing how I decorated a baby shower cake, plus some other fun stuff.

I'm hoping to post weekly, but we'll see.  Until later, have fun cooking!

Pizza Twists

So, we like to make pizza in our house.  Yes... we make a lot of pizza.  This last Friday I decided to do something a little bit different.  We had a regular pizza, but I doubled the dough recipe and took half of that for the pizza, and the other half for these!

 

MMMMMM

These will be perfect for my little Grade 1 girl for school!  Popped them all in the freezer for something different for lunches.  I'm sure she will enjoy them!

They are super easy! 

Take your favorite pizza dough recipe.  Make it.  Take your favorite pizza sauce recipe.  Make that.  Roll your dough out as thin as you think you can possibly make it.  Spread on the sauce, and sprinkle the cheese on half of it.  Fold the 'no cheese' half over the 'cheesy' half.  Then cut into strips.  Twirl each strip twice before placing it on a parchment paper lined baking pan, then bake as you would your regular pizza!  Ta-da!

Banana Nut Bread

This is the banana bread recipe I make on a regular basis with any bananas that look like they're getting a little over-ripe. It is delish! And easy too! (adapted from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook)

Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour (I use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
2-3 medium bananas, mashed
1 egg
1 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350F.
Grease bottom of loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.
Mix all ingredients, beat 30 seconds. Pour into pan(s)
Bake until wooden pick (inserted in the center) comes out clean... about 55-65 minutes.
Cool slightly, loosen sides of loaf from the pan and remove, cooling completely on wire rack before slicing. To store, wrap and refrigerate for 1 week. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Pancake Day

Tuesday was pancake day, and I'm sorry I didn't post this then... oops. Anyway, I have this 'from scratch' pancake recipe memorized and thought, why not put it on my blog? So here it is!

Pancakes

serves 2-4

Ingredients
1 cup flour (I use whole grain)
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
dash salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Drop onto frying pan, flip when bubbly on top. Serve with butter and syrup (maple is the best).

For variations, try the following:

• Add one mashed banana to the batter for banana pancakes.
• Add chocolate chips (1/2 cup should do) and a mashed banana for banana chocolate chip pancakes.
• Add 1 or 2 peeled and chopped apples and some cinnamon (to taste) for Apple cinnamon pancakes.
• Add blueberries or strawberries or a mix of both for berry pancakes. Blueberries will turn the batter blue... it looks pretty cool. Maybe have some fun with it and add some food coloring for the kids.
• Get creative in adding different fruits and other things from the pantry to your pancakes to make them all your own. You can even serve them with ice cream, whipped cream, or just sprinkle some sugar on top.

Banana Macadamia Nut Bread

Well, I found this recipe while looking through my Brand Name Cookbook for something to bake that involved bananas... and just my luck, I had a few walnuts left over from a previous recipe. So, I decided this would be the perfect thing to try as I've gotten tired of making the same old banana bread recipe already.

Banana Macadamia Nut Bread

Ingredients
2 cups flour (I did 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup white)
1/2 cup sugar (this is less than the recipe asks for)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 tbsp grated orange peel (oops... didn't have this)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 or 3)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup coconut (I halved this)
3/4 cup macadamia nuts or walnuts, chopped (again, I had less)

Heat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda, salt, orange peel, and vanilla. Beat at low speed, scraping the bowl often, 2-3 minutes until well mixed. Add bananas and orange juice. Continue beating, scraping the bowl often, until well mixed (about 1 min). By hand stir in the coconut and nuts. The batter will be thick! Spread into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan (or 3 greased 5 1/2x3 inch mini loaf pans).

Bake 60-65 min for large loaf, or 35-45 min for minis, or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes and remove from pan to cooling rack.

Pomegranate Banana Bread

Apparently, November is national Pomegranate Month in the USA. I didn't know that before, but thought it interesting. I love pomegranates, a friend I met in university introduced the fruit to me... I had never actually seen one before. Anyway, we bought one for Christmas and with the hustle and bustle of the month, completely forgot about it. Not one to let a fruit that good go bad, I thought it best to try to bake it (otherwise we wouldn't eat it fast enough). Lo and behold, my hubby finds this recipe on POM Wonderful, and since we also had 2 over-ripe bananas, I thought it would be the perfect thing to try!


POM, Banana & Pistachio Bread
20min prep
1 1/2 hours baking and cooling
makes 1 loaf



Ingredients
1 cup arils from 1 large Pomegranate
2 cups flour (I did 1 white and 1 whole wheat)
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
2-3 bananas, mashed (1 cup)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shelled pistachios or slivered almonds, chopped (I didn't have these so I omitted them)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Grease one 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

3. Score pomegranate, place in a bowl of water. Break open the pom under the water to free the arils or seed sacs. They will sink while the membranes will float (I didn't know this until reading this recipe... would have saved me lots of time pulling those seeds out like I usually do!). Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1 cup to put aside (snack on the rest... yummers).

4. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a smaller bowl, stir together bananas, oil, milk, and egg. Add liquids to flour (and arils and pistachios if used) until just moistened. Don't over mix.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. You can sprinkle leftover nuts/arils over top if you like. I didn't bother (didn't have any left over... oops...).

6. Bake 50-60minutes until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove onto a rack and cool completely. To store, wrap it tightly or you can freeze for up to 1 month by wrapping tightly in foil.



Nutrients per serving (1 slice... don't ask how big the slice is because it doesn't say)

162 calories
3g protein
24g carbs
6g total fat (1g saturated)
12mg cholesterol
139g sodium (if you do 1/2 tsp salt... I always do less)

Pumpkin Waffles

I've made this recipe once last year, and decided it would be a good one to make this year to welcome autumn... yes, I love fall! I don't remember where I got this one from unfortunetly.

Pumpkin Waffles

Makes 16 4inch waffles
Prep 15min

Ingrediants
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
dash salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin (or mashed cooked pumpkin)
2 eggs, seperate yolks and whites
3 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions
1. In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.

2. In medium bowl combine milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, and butter. Add pumpkin mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until just combined (will be lumpy)

3. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter, leaving a few puffs of white.

4. Heat a lightly greased waffle baker. Pour some batter onto waffle grid (be careful not to overfill as cleanup will be ... ahem... fun). Cook as per waffle grill directions.

5. Serve waffles immediately. Can also be frozen.

Cider-Honey Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup apple cider or juice and 1 cup honey. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes or til slightly thickened. Serve warm. Can be stored in fridge up to 1 week. Makes about 1 cup.

Note: To use an entire 14oz can of pumpkin, multiply recipe above by 1.5

New Measures
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
dash salt
3/8 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/8 tsp ground ginger
2 2/3 cup milk
1 can pumpkin
3 eggs, seperate yolks and whites
1/4 cup butter, melted

Whole Wheat Buns

This recipe I got from my mom. It is really good, but I do still find mixing the bun dough to be a challenge.

Whole Wheat Buns

Mix the following:
4 cups warm water
1 cup oil
2 Tbsp honey
1/3 cup molasses
2 eggs

Mix the following (in seperate bowl):
3 cups white flour
2 Tbsp fast rising yeast
2 tsp salt (usually, I do 1/2 this or less)

Throw dry mixture into wet mixture and mix. Add whole wheat flour (about 7 cups) until right consistancy (not "sticky", rollable). Roll into buns and let rise under a towel until "light" (looking double the size... or more). Bake in 350F oven for 15-20minutes. If doing bread, do 45 minutes.

Versatile Biscuit Dough

So, today for supper I decided to make some pigs in a blanket... using biscuit dough. Along for the ride came these quick little cinnamon rolls. So, you get an appetizer and dessert (or tomorrows breakfast) all in one little handy dandy recipe. Want to try? (biscuit dough recipe from my mom)

Versatile Biscuits



Ingrediants

• 3 cups flour (I used 2 whole wheat and 1 white)
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• dash salt
• 2 Tbsp lard
• 1 1/4 cup milk

Mix all dry ingrediants. Cut in lard until small 'crumbs' appear. Add milk, stir. Knead on floured surface (or in the bowl, whatever works for you) 10-20 times or until even consistancy. Roll out 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1 1/2" squares. Bake 10-12 minutes at 425F until lightly browned on top.

Pigs in a Blanket
Cut weiners/sausages (if sausage, cook a little first) in half, roll into dough (thinner dough is better... I did mine a bit thick). Basically, 1"x2" pieces. Bake 10-15 minutes (or until browned on top).

Cinnamon Rolls
If doing all dough as cinnamon rolls, roll in a 16" x 10" square. Mix 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, and 2 tsp cinnamon together. Spread on dough leaving 1" along the long side. Roll from the empty side to the other (if you wish to add raisins, do so before rolling). Cut roll into 20-24 pieces. Place together in a parchment covered pan, or put in muffin tins. Bake until browned in center (10-12 minutes).  Alternately, you can wrap the roll in cling wrap and refrigerate overnight before baking the next morning.

Wraps
Make them like you would the cinnamon rolls, only instead of making the cinnamon mixture, place mayonnaise on the biscuit, and then add shredded cheese, thin sliced ham, and spinach/lettuce before rolling.  Slice into 1/2 inch sections, lay on a parchment covered cookie sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes.

Breads and Muffins

Here is a list of recipes that fall into the category of breads and muffins, and along with that, they make great breakfast foods.

Banana Blueberry Muffins
Banana Macadamia Nut Bread
Bran Muffins
Bright Beet Pancakes
Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes
No Sugar Pear-Cardamom Muffins
Pancakes
Pomegranate Banana Bread
Pumpkin Waffles
Versatile Biscuit Dough
Whole Wheat Buns
Whole Wheat Waffles
Zucchini Bread

Whole Wheat Waffles

I got this recipe off the Homestead Happenings website. It is so good I had to post it. We've made it many times before, and decided to make it for breakfast this morning. I find them light and fluffy fresh, and when we're done we freeze the rest and use them like eggos in the morning... just they are so much tastier (yes, I've had eggos... can't stand them as they taste very fake).

Whole Wheat Waffles
Ingredients
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 beaten egg yolks
3 1/2 cups milk
1 cup melted butter
4 stiffly beaten egg whites

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl combine egg yolks, milk, and butter. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold in your egg whites. The whites do not need to be well mixed, it is fine to see a few fluffy bits in the batter. Bake in your waffle iron until golden brown.

These freeze well. Package them in between wax paper into your freezer bags so you can grab as many as you need.

We like to make a strawberry sauce for them. Take 2 cups of strawberries (we use frozen), mash them in a small saucepan and add 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and cook 5 minutes. Cool slightly. You can add whipped cream on top of that yet if you wish.

Recipes Part VII: Zucchini Bread and cake (aug 6, 2007)

Today's recipe is Zucchini bread. Really good stuff too. The recipe I got that I modified is from the internet somewhere. It called for more oil and double the sugar, but I like things with a bit less sugar, and quite honestly didn't think the recipe needed 1 cup per loaf. So, here you go.



Zucchini Bread

Ingrediants
- 1 cup walnuts/pecans, chopped (I omitted these, as I didn't have any)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium)
- 1/3 cup veggie oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder. With a hand mixer on medium speed, beat till ingredients are blended (30 seconds).
Add flour; mix till moistened. Stir in nuts and zucchini. Pour batter into a greased and floured (I didn't bother flouring mine) loaf pan.
Bake 65-75 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Here is another recipe. I didn't make it this time, but I've made it before.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and cocoa. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. add zucchini. mix in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Mix well. Pour into bundt cake pan or tube pan (greased and floured or sprayed with cooking spray).
Bake at 350 F for 60 min or until firm on top. Frost with melted chocolate.