Notebook Experiments: Is WHO Bread Delicious?

Experiment: Is WHO bread really and truly delicious?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.14.07

Materials Needed: Please see SouleMama for the complete recipe and instructions.

Results: I have had this recipe bookmarked for a very long time and have finally replaced my bread machine so I can test another fun bread machine recipe.

We grilled out last night and I thought I would make a loaf of this bread and (just because I am over-the-top kind of gal) I decided to make a batch of my Honey Butter to spread on top.

This bread is delicious and smelled like heaven as it baked. It has all of my favorite elements in it- a dash of brown sugar, honey, oatmeal, and cinnamon. I did substitute one cup of the white flour with whole wheat flour, which gave it a deliciously chewy texture with a nice firm crust.

Conclusion: I would definitely make this bread over and over again. It is such a perfect balance of flavors and adding my addition of the honey butter really made it even more delicious. Every single person in the family loved this bread and I look forward to smearing some jam on it for toast in the morning.

If you don't have a bread machine, don't despair because Soule Mama also has an acoustic version for those without bread machines. Many thanks to Soule Mama for generously sharing her wonderful recipes!

Ain't No Party Like a LEGO Party

What a busy holiday weekend this was for us! We celebrated Ethan's sixth birthday with his dream party- a LEGO birthday party. I must say that I tried to put a lot of effort into this one and he was the happiest little boy I had ever seen!

What's a LEGO party without a LEGO cake though? I had bookmarked a recipe in my notebook entry for a LEGO cake, but we were entertaining a lot of people and the cake would not cover the amount of people that I needed it to. I also did not want to try and cut and make shapes out of a sheet cake. I opted to prepare two cake mixes in loaf pans to create this cake. One cake mix per loaf pan, cooked as directed, but cooked for at least an hour (mine took approximately one hour and ten minutes to cook these cakes at the same time). I then froze the cake overnight which helped keep the crumbs at bay and made it easier to decorate. I did use the marshmallows, but opted for blue and yellow for colors. This cake was extremely difficult to frost around and on top of the marshmallows, but I think the results turned out great, even though it was not as smooth as I had aimed for. The cost to make these two cakes was $5.50.

We had the party outside so I kept the decorating simple. I made pinwheels out of my scrapbook paper. To make these, just fold your paper accordion-style. Then fold your accordion in half and fan these out. You can then staple these to one another (along the back side) to make your pinwheel. Each of these pinwheels had three pieces of paper on them each. You just want to make sure that the paper is very sturdy so it will hold the shape. I gave them a hole with a hole punch and then tied them on the underside of the umbrella with green raffia. They looked really lovely under the patio umbrella.

For the indoor food table, I did a big basket of LEGOS and I framed a letter that I wrote to Ethan about how special he was to us. This is the first year I have done this, and we read this to him as a bedtime story before bed the night before. He loved hearing about how much we loved him and how proud we were of him. The grandparents loved reading it too and seeing what cool things happened this year. Total spent on decorations and party supplies- $0

I did serve food at the party and opted for some take-and-bake pizzas to help save me some time. Our Papa Murphy's is just down the road and I signed up for their e-club so that I could get a new batch of coupons. We printed these out and used these on four family size pizzas. Total cost for pizza for twenty $34 (with plenty of leftovers). We also served some fresh melon, spinach dip with carrot sticks, & tortilla chips with salsa, and soda. Overall, I spent about $50 on food (which includes the cost of the cake), but we also have a couple of dinners and plenty of snacks leftover to eat!

Entertainment consisted of dragging out every outdoor game and toy we could imagine to keep the kiddos busy. The kids also spent lots of time coloring on free LEGO coloring pages that I printed up from the LEGO website. They could take these pages home with them to color too so that filled in for those goody bags. Total cost spent on entertainment and goody bags- $0


All of that effort for this perfect moment right here. Ethan wished for a hundred kisses from his mom & dad. I think we can do that! How I wish he was always this innocent and that I could freeze this perfect moment forever. Perfect moment...oh, you know it... PRICELESS!

Total Amount Spent on LEGO Party for Twenty: $50

Cracking the McDonald's Coffee Code

Wow, my Boo to McDonald's post certainly received a lot of responses and I loved hearing how you all make your iced coffees. It gave me so many great ideas and so I decided to approach this in my traditional test kitchen fashion and try to crack the code. For all my hard work, I finally got a vanilla coffee I love and a lot of belly aches, constant shakes, and a little bit of time in the bathroom... BUT it was totally worth it!

Are you ready?

Here is my magical formula that gave me the best vanilla coffee without the chemical nastiness that McDonald's was giving me.

First up, I made my own coffee syrup. I used the coffee syrup recipe that I highlighted in my Get Your Java Fix from Slashfood. I used the recipe that they list for the Vanilla Bean, but substituted the bean with two tablespoons of vanilla extract. The two tablespoons number came from Ashley, a friendly McDonald's employee, who shared her secret for making the coffees at home. I stored the syrup in a mason jar and am keeping it in the fridge.

To make the coffee, I fill the cup with ice. Next fill your cup halfway with coffee (I used my Folger's Gourmet Vanilla Biscotti) and then almost halfway with milk. Top the coffee with two tablespoons of your homemade vanilla coffee syrup and then a splash of fat-free vanilla creamer (inexpensively purchased at Aldi or make your own).

With this combination, I did not need to add any extra sugar and it is just as sweet as McDonald's and just as tasty too! The splash of vanilla creamer gave it a richer taste, but the skim milk and fat-free creamer gave me a better calorie combination.

Boo To McDonald's

I feel like there should be some scary 48 Hours Mystery music playing in the background or that this picture should do some eerie fade effect or that I just grow wider and wider. I just found out that my McDonald's Vanilla Iced Coffees are made with WHOLE MILK. I only have one word to say to this...WHY?

This picture was taken after I went for a run. Yes, these were my little treats to myself after working out at the gym or doing something amazing like going for a run around the neighborhood in ninety degree weather (which I did this weekend and almost died). Little did I know that I was gulping all of the calories back into my body.

I discovered this after I had went to the gym one morning. Sweaty from a really good workout, I pulled up to the drive-thru and asked for the usual, but this time I asked the one question that I did not want to ask.

"Um, ma'am, can you tell me...is that coffee made with nonfat milk?"

"No."

"Um, well, could you make it with some nonfat milk?"

"No."

"Well, is it made with two percent milk?"

"No. It's made with whole milk."

"(teeny tiny voice) Can you change that to a medium please?"

What the hay? I love these coffees and they are so inexpensive, but I do not need to be gulping whole milk throughout the day. I am not on a diet, but I prefer not to ingest 11 grams of fat (according to McDonald's website) in one sitting.

Oh, and here are the ingredients that they have listed:

Premium Roast Coffee. Light Cream: Milk, cream, sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium citrate, carrageenan. CONTAINS: MILK. Vanilla Syrup: Sugar, water, fructose, natural (plant source) and artificial flavor, caramel color (with sulfites), potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid, malic acid. Ice.

Hmm? Sounds like a chem lab in my stomach!

Now I am going to figure out how to replicate this. After all, if I can crack the code on Starbuck's Peppermint Mochas, these McDonald's iced coffees should be a walk in the park.

Do you guys have some suggestions for making the perfect iced coffees? Any tips to share before I try to replicate my coffee experience with some good old-fashioned nonfat milk?

Notebook Experiments: Blueberry Muffins & Loving Your Neighbors

Experiment: Can blueberry muffins help score us some new friends?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 03.27.08

Materials Needed: Please see little momma & company for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. I did add a little special ingredient of my own this time to the mix and that was some freshly grated lemon zest and one squeeze of a lemon into the batter. It just added a little hint of something in the background, but didn't overpower that yummy blueberry taste! This ingredient is completely optional, but added a very fresh flavor to our muffins.

Results: I have been very inspired by Monica, at The Homespun Heart, and her wonderful intentions of being thoughtful and kind to their neighbors. When our new neighbors moved in next door, we wanted to welcome them in the kind of way that we would hope that we would have been welcomed into the neighborhood. What says welcome better than a big batch of blueberry muffins?

While I baked muffins, Ethan worked very carefully on a card for the new family. It had a picture of their house on the front and then a picture of our house inside. He invited them to "come over to our house sometime," which was so sweet and sincere that sometimes I can't help but kiss him.

He helped me make the surprise delivery and he was as proud as he could be! It was a great moment for both of us and a wonderful way to teach him how to share in some good old-fashioned hospitality.

Conclusion: The neighbors were so touched by our gesture, which made me very happy! It also was a fun thing for Ethan and I to do this project together.

I would have to say that this concluded another fabulous notebook experiment! I am hoping that I have started a movement of neighborly love- check out Keeping the Kingdom First and how they shared their love with their neighbors after reading my little tweets about my baking day. Her daughter is older and she was able to keep her occupied with this task and hopefully she has sealed herself a brand new friendship.

In this high-tech day and age, I was wondering if you know your neighbors? What kind of a relationship do you have with the people on your street? This is something I am trying to work on, but I find it can be very difficult to connect with others because everyone is so busy. How do you make those connections?

Beer Poached Italian Brats

Last week we decided to dine on Italian Brats cooked on our grill. To be honest, the only kind I have ever had were prepared by someone else or were the pre-cooked variety that you find next to the hot dogs.

I had a lot of beer leftover from my Retro Housewife Bunco night though and thought why not poach the brats in some beer before we threw them on the grill?

They turned out delicious! I used this recipe (scaled down for 1 pound of brats and minus the onion because of personal preference) and served these with some tortilla chips and carrot sticks.

I took advantage of the Memorial Day cookout sales that were going on at the store and stocked the freezer with some yummy goodies to throw on the grill this summer. These brats were on sale for $2.50 per pound, which made them both economical and a delicious choice for summer.

Sound Off: What is your favorite grilling recipe for the summer? I am looking for some suggestions to add to our mix this summer!

Notebook Experiments: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, & Pecan Cookies

Experiment: Will Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, & Pecan Cookies satisfy my sweet tooth?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 11.14.07

Materials Needed: Please see Smitten Kitchen for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. We did omit a couple of ingredients in the recipe because of our personal taste. The recipe called for two cups of pecans, but my family doesn't like pecans so we left those out. The batter was pretty wet without this addition though so I added an extra cup of the quick cooking oats to firm the dough up. I also omitted the orange zest because I had no oranges here.

Results: With the addition of the extra cup of oatmeal (minus the pecans), these turned out delicious. The dough was very easy to work with, in fact, I could mold the balls in my hands without sticking.

The first batch was a tad too crispy because the cookies did not look done and I left them in for an extra two minutes. This was a mistake. The next batch was perfect at 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Don't make the same mistake and it should yield a cookie that is chewy, but also soft. The edges should be a light brown and don't worry so much about the tops!

Conclusion: These cookies were absolutely delicious and the hint of cinnamon in them gave them that extra something special. By omitting the pecans and replacing this ingredient with oatmeal, it helped to keep the cost low on making this treat and yielded delicious results. Thank you, Smitten Kitchen, for generously sharing your recipes with the public!

Adventures in Bread Making: Fiddlin' With Temperatures

My first batch of bread yielded a gummy texture on the inside of my loaf which was commented on by all of the culinary critics in our house. I really loved the ease of this bread though and wasn't willing to give up just yet. These next two loaves were cooked at 475 degrees for forty minutes.

The exterior ended up being a tad too crunchy, but the interior was gosh darn perfection. These loaves were not gummy at all and the bread sang to me when I opened the oven with that beautiful golden crust. I think we will try it again at 475 for 35 minutes and see if we hit the ultimate perfection.

As we dined on roasted chicken salad sandwiches on this amazing bread, I looked across the table and said to my husband, "You realize that no one else does this, right?" In spite of his full mouth, he grinned and said, "I know, I know."

Sometimes I feel like I am running the America's Test Kitchen show over here and I fear that if something should ever happen to me, my husband's next wife will have one ridiculous act to follow.

Adventures in Bread Making: Artisan Bread in 5

After our discussion on my old school baking day, I had lots of great ideas for how I could get around actually buying a bread machine. One of our readers, named Noreen, suggested that I check out a book called, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" which would help me get around the whole bread machine process and required no kneading.

As soon as I read her comment, I put a hold on it at our library and picked it up the next day. With a cup of iced coffee in hand, I read through the entire process and what I would need to complete it.

For copyright reasons, I will refrain from going into the recipes themselves, but I will explain the process of this method so that you can decide if this something you could/would do to make bread for your family. The master mix recipe I am using is actually located here so you could attempt the first recipe without even getting the book.

There are lots of different recipes in the book and then different ways of shaping the dough recipes. I attempted the master recipe which included just the basics- water, yeast, flour, and salt.

The difference between making this dough and the traditional dough is that you literally dump the ingredients in (no need to even proof the yeast) and use a wooden spoon to just mix everything together. The dough is very wet and easy to stir and you don't even have to break out the mixer.

You cover the dough and let it rise for two hours and then you stick it in the fridge for a minimum of three hours and up to fourteen days. Yes, that's right..fourteen days! According to the authors, the dough will taste better and better the longer the dough sits in there and you can even use some of your old dough as a starter for a new dough, much like the process of making a sour dough starter.
The first picture shows what this dough looks like when it is just incorporated- stringy and yucky looking. This second picture shows what the dough looks like after it rises. This master recipe was enough for four loaves so that is why it looks like there is so much. They have bigger recipes than this, but this is the amount of fridge space I could spare for the week.

I let this dough sit for two days before I made my first loaf. When you make your first loaf, you just "cloak the dough," (sprinkle the dough on top with some flour) and then cut off a grapefruit section of the dough for your first loaf. Without any kneading or any real handling of the dough, you tuck the corners of the dough underneath and put it on a pizza peel (I used my extra pizza stone) that has been sprinkled with a little cornmeal. Now you let it rise and preheat your oven for 450 degrees. They suggested twenty minutes, comments on Amazon suggested preheating the entire forty minutes that the dough is rising to help achieve the best crust.


It should look something like the picture above. It is relatively smooth on top, but the corners are all tucked underneath. After you have shaped it like this and let it rise, you can slice the top two or three times.

You now slide the loaf (very awkwardly if you have no pizza peel) and then you fill a boiler tray with one cup of hot water and put it in the oven to help steam the oven up to give you a nice crisp crust. Don't ever open the door and let it cook for thirty minutes.

When I took it out, it looked like this. Now remember, this is my first loaf so I am sure I will get better at it, but I am pretty impressed with how this first loaf looks. Next time I will score it a little more and I will probably make more than one loaf at a time. The exterior of this loaf is nice and golden, and it is solid and crusty on the outside. Perfection!

The interior was a bit gummy though so I may cook it for another ten minutes or raise the temperature. This will just require some tweaking on my part, but our family still thought it tasted pretty darn good.

Now that I have made this first loaf, I am so excited to try the other loaves in the book. The entire process took very little of my time and I had very little clean-up (my least favorite part of making bread) so it is a great solution for a busy mom who wants to make homemade bread, but doesn't have the tools or time to make bread from scratch.

Let's also talk about the cost savings too. In our town, our local market has artisan breads for sale that cost about $4 a loaf. I buy my ingredients in bulk at Sam's Club and I am estimating that this loaf of bread costs me about forty cents or less. What a savings and how elegant is this to bring to parties and when entertaining? You just can't beat it!

A big thank you to Noreen for the suggestion and I hope you can try this recipe and tell me what you think! I have a demonstration from the authors posted below- this might help explain the process further.

Old-Fashioned Spaghetti & Meatballs (And How to Eat It)

With my grocery dollars screaming for mercy right now, I am trying to focus more on eating more budget-friendly fare. My grocery lists have shifted from what we want to eat to what is on sale and what is going to give us the best bang for our buck. A manager's special on a meatloaf mix of meat dictated what we would be dining on this week...a good old fashioned plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

I really love my spaghetti and meatballs recipe, but I saw a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs in an AllRecipes Dinner Tonight Cookbook (picked up at our local thrift store for $2) and knew that I had to try this recipe.

I followed all of the directions except that I prefer to bake my meatballs rather than fry them. It is easier clean-up for me and healthier for our family. You can bake the meatballs in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for fifteen minutes and then I gave them a little dip in the sauce to take on some of those flavors.

This dish is perfection. I still prefer my meatball recipe over this one, but the sauce recipe wins hands down. This made a large batch of sauce (enough for approximately six to eight servings) and cost about $2.33 to make the sauce. The meatloaf mix was on sale for $2.09 and I used a box of pasta that I had purchased on sale for $.89. Total cost of the meal $5.31 or approximately $.89 per serving (if serving six generous portions).

I made a double batch of the meatballs and we will be having meatball subs on homemade sub rolls this week and leftovers another day. I just love food that can be served over and over again!

Italian Spaghetti Sauce With Meatballs

1# lean ground beef (ground turkey, meatloaf mix, or turkey sausage)
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons olive oil (omit if you are baking these)
3/4 cup chopped onion (we omitted because we don't like onions)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 bay leaf (I omitted because we didn't have any)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and egg. Mix well and form into 30 balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs in two tablespoons hot oil over medium-high heat seven minutes or until browned; remove from skillet and drain.

To make sauce, saute onion and garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar, and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer one hour and thirty minutes. Stir in tomato paste basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and meatballs and simmer thirty more minutes. Discard bay leaf. Serve over spaghetti.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a family favorite in our house. Now let us show you how to eat it properly and our sweet little Emily will demonstrate.

Emily just loves to eat this, but she likes to have the long noodles for slurping, not short and stumpy noodles. I can understand this, but... She usually ends up looking like this.

Then we have to hold our noodles and balance them at the very top of our head in our hair. Is it sufficiently rubbed into our forehead and hair yet? If you can complete this trick, you can move on to the next step.

Be sure to get your entire face in there so it looks like this.
And don't let the face outshine your toes. After all, eating like a monkey is the Clark way.

Dinner and a show! Two for the price of one!

Simple Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have been looking for a heartier muffin recipe for the kids. My children just love muffins and I love making these fast little treats for snacks and the occasional breakfast. I have had this recipe in my to-be-tried pile for far too long so I decided to break it out this week.

These muffins are hearty, but the chocolate chips make them a little bit sweet too. I was surprised that they had so much oatmeal in them, but the soaking process made the chewiness of the oats disappear. The muffin was still light, although you could tell it was a little denser than the traditional muffin.

My kids absolutely loved these and I did too. I think I will be making these with some butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips next time, just to switch it up a bit!

Simple Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Combine oats and milk (I used prepared powdered milk) and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin. Stir egg, oil, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the pecans into the oat and milk mixture. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oat mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fill each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining brown sugar and pecans. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Amy's Notes: I added a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the muffins. I omitted the pecans and instead I topped the muffins with this crumb topping recipe.

Sound Off: Do you have any hearty or healthy muffin recipes that I could try? I am looking for some new ideas for breakfast and would love any suggestions you might have!

Yummy Jerk Chicken

We tried a new marinade for Caribbean Jerk Chicken this week and it was delicious! This spice mix has the perfect balance of spices and coats the chicken beautifully. I marinated the chicken for a few hours and we had planned to grill it outside. The weather didn't end up cooperating so I ended up baking this for 350 degrees for about forty-five minutes, and it was absolutely perfect.

We served the chicken with rice and some corn to complete the dinner!

Yummy Jerk Chicken

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces

Mix the marinade ingredients into a bowl and then pour over the chicken pieces. Allow this to marinate for a minimum of one hour or overnight. Grill your meat until it is done.

Key Lime Pie With a Graham Cracker & Oatmeal Crust

For my brother's birthday, he requested his favorite pie... Key Lime! I had never made this type of pie before, but was up for the challenge after hunting around on Recipezaar.com for the perfect recipe.

I used this recipe for the crust which contained the graham crackers and oatmeal, instead of just the plain oatmeal crust. It turned out perfect and made the crust a little heartier and a tad less sweet, which balanced the citrus wonderfully.

I don't have any pictures of the pie because we gobbled it up too fast, but it turned out wonderful. I used this recipe for the filling and the only thing I didn't like about it was that I thought I should have doubled the filling for these pies. I had a lot of crust and a little filling, which made it look more like a tart with too much crust. Regardless, everyone seemed to really enjoy it and I was proud to get to help with the celebration!

I look forward to making more of these this summer. Lucky for me, it is the only pie my husband will eat so I am glad to have found a recipe that he liked.

Those Bodacious Blueberry Muffins

This weekend I made Emily's, from the wonderful Loria Family Dialogues, Bodacious Blueberry Muffins for a snack. I happened to have some of my crumb topping in the freezer so I added a sprinkle of that on top of each of these.

Wow! These were delicious! I think I might mix up some of the dry ingredients, just like I do for my dinners in a bag, for a quick snack to take to playgroups or potlucks.

With the crumb topping, they tasted like a yummy Blueberry Buckle- delicious! I hope you can try these and a big thanks to Emily for such a wonderful recipe! Now I just need to convince my children and husband that blueberry muffins are delicious (weird people!)

Sloppy Joes & Oven Fries

I always love to try out new recipes and wanted to give a new recipe for Sloppy Joes a shot. These sandwiches were absolutely delicious. I have made this recipe twice and adjusted the ratios to our liking. This ground beef mixture has just a little bit of tang, with a whole lot of tomato-y goodness.

I served these on my homemade hamburger buns, with a side of these Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges, that I had been dying to try (from Tammy's Recipes)

The potato wedges were equally delicious and a perfect balance of spices. They were crispy and not soggy, which I find to be quite important in an order of fries. Best of all, they were a hit with the whole family!

Yummy Sloppy Joes (adapted from Recipezaar)

1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped onions (I omitted these because I don't like onions)
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

In a large skillet, brown beef with onions (make sure to drain or rinse your meat after this step). Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Add to beef and onions. Cook for 1 hour over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Serve on warm hamburger buns.

Saturday Morning Treat: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday treats was a Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll. My mom would make these for us on Saturdays and we always fought over the ones that had the most frosting. Sadly, it was such a thrill when my dad worked in the mornings because that meant that there would be two extra rolls for us to fight over. Who could resist those rolls and the simple pleasure of having a sweet treat once a week?

I still love those cinnamon rolls, but at $1.69 a roll, they are an unnecessary addition to the grocery budget. What I do have though is flour and sugar, purchased in bulk, and a bread machine that can turn out cinnamon roll dough like nobody's business. I figured I was on to something and decided to give it a shot and figure out if I could replicate my Saturday morning experience. It took a couple of Saturdays to tweak this recipe, but I finally am satisfied with the results. Lucky for me, my family didn't mind being the guinea pigs so I have gotten this down pat for your dining pleasure!

To make my dough, I used the recipe from the homemade hamburger buns, except that I increased the sugar to 1/3 cup. I ran the dough cycle on my bread machine and when it beeped, I had the perfect dough for rolling.

I rolled the dough out into a 12x15 rectangle and then spread it with the following filling:

Cinnamon Roll Filling

1/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Spread the softened butter all over the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this all over the dough and then use your hands to gently press the filling in. Take the edge of the dough and begin rolling it up. Roll it tightly and slowly, being careful to keep all the filling inside. At this point you should have a long log that you can cut your rolls from. You can wrap the dough with plastic and store in the fridge overnight or you can slice your rolls (should make ten large rolls) and put them on your cookie sheet or pizza stone. Store in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pull the rolls out and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven reaches 400 degrees, immediately drop the temperature to 375 degrees and put the rolls in the oven. Cook these for approximately 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the rolls are cooking, I just make a frosting out of powdered sugar and water (I don't measure this, but approximately 1/2 cup powdered sugar to 1-2 tablespoons water mixed together should do ya!) When the rolls are done, drizzle your frosting over the rolls and serve them warm or room temperature (although they are best warm)

Amy's Notes-

- The first time I made these, I put them on a pizza stone and they cooked very evenly. The second time, I popped them in a 9x13" pan and only the ones on the outside got done. I would recommend placing these either on a cookie sheet (with a nice lip) or on a pizza stone.

- When you slice the cinnamon rolls, you can slice them with a knife or you can use dental floss and cut them that way. I find the dental floss to be a little more tedious so I stuck to slicing with the knife and reshaping the dough afterwards.

- The best part about making these cinnamon rolls is that you can vary the sizes and I can make mini-versions of the rolls for the little kids and tuck these in the center of the batch so that they don't get overdone. The kids love these mini versions and I control the amount of sugar they are getting. Just give them a teeny drizzle of frosting and they will be set!

- You can reheat these in the microwave for a nice snack in the evening or for breakfast the next day. Place on a microwave-safe plate and zap for about twenty seconds. Makes a great mommy snack with a cup of coffee!

Sound Off: What is a favorite Saturday morning treat in your house?

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Don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted. Much luck to everyone!

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Can you tell that I give my bread machine a workout? Today I wanted to share this amazing recipe for making your own hamburger buns. Sometimes frugality comes from necessity, and this was one of those times. The snow was coming down and Emily needed a nap desperately. I thought I had hamburger rolls in the freezer, but my trip to the freezer turned up empty. There was no way I was taking a tired toddler out in the brutal snowstorm for a package of buns.

I headed to my computer and remembered I had a recipe bookmarked to make my own rolls. This recipe not only can make your hamburger buns, but it can make hot dog buns too! I had high hopes for this recipe and it totally delivered.

This dough is extremely easy to work with and the rolls puffed up beautifully as the dough did its rising. The buns were soft and squishy, but easy to split for filling them with whatever you like.

The buns stayed soft for about three days after being made. I kept them in a food storage bag and they tasted great for several days.

Hot Dog/Hamburger Buns/Rolls/Cinnamon Buns Dough Cycle (Courtesy of Recipezaar)

1 1/4 cups skim milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
1/4-1/3 cup sugar (I use a 1/4 cup measure)
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1. Place all ingredients in order recommended by your bread machine manufacturer.

2. Select dough cycle and start machine.

3. I preheat my oven to 100°F and turn off.

4. When dough cycle is complete remove from machine and proceed.

5. I roll into a long log and cut into 12 pieces for hot dog buns or 9 pieces for large hamburger buns. For Hot Dog Buns, I roll out till they look like long skinny wieners. Hamburger Buns, I flatten with my palm till about the thickness of a pancake. They rise beautifully and look as nicely shaped as store bought ones. Put on parchment-lined baking sheet so sides are almost touching (Amy's Note- I just put them on my pizza stone).

6. Cover with cloth and put in the warm oven for 45-60 minutes to rise.

7. When doubled remove from oven.

8. Turn oven to 400°F and when you put the buns in the oven, reduce temperature immediately to 375° and bake hot dog buns 15 minutes and hamburger buns 17 minutes. (Amy's Note- I checked around 12 minutes and they were golden)

9. CINNAMON BUNS. Use 1/3 cup sugar in recipe. Made 10 large buns.

10. Roll out to about 12 x 15" and spread with butter or margarine. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over all and roll up tightly. Cut into as many buns as you want. I make 10.

11. Set oven to 400° and turn down to 375° when you put buns inches Bake 20 minutes. (Amy's Note: These take more like 12 minutes)

What to Do With Leftover Pitas?

We had pitas leftover from our dinner,but they didn't last long. Most of them got turned into little personal pan pizzas for lunches this week.

I topped them with some of my homemade sauce, a little cheese, and some pepperoni. The kids gobbled them up and ever since we ate these, Emily keeps pointing to the stove and saying, "Pizza? Pizza?"

These might be a fun variation on our pizza nights at home especially since everyone can pick their own favorite toppings!

Sound Off: What do you do with leftover pitas? Do you have a favorite topping or way to stuff them that is a hit with your family?

Homemade Pitas

If you would have asked me I thought I could whip up some pitas for my family a few years ago, I would have told you no. I have had this recipe in my collection for so long that I don't even know where it originated from, but I decided to dust off the old recipe collection and see if these could come together for me. After all, if it was a complete failure...well, at least I tried!

This dough is incredibly easy to work with, especially for a novice! It is not too dry and it is not too wet so you don't have to use a lot of flour to roll these out.

These pitas are so yummy and the whole wheat flour adds a yummy dimension to the flavors. The kids loved these and my husband could not get over that I had made them because they looked just like the store-bought variety.

Now that I have made them though, there is no turning back. I will never buy these at the store again. In fact, I am whipping up my second batch for the week today! I hope your family will enjoy these as much as we have!

Pita Bread (for the Bread Machine)

1 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons yeast

Put ingredients into the bread machine in order listed. Run the dough cycle on your machine. When the bread machine beeps, pull the dough out of the bread machine and divide the dough into ten pieces. Roll each piece into a six inch circle. Place these on a baking sheet (or your pizza stones) and let them rise for twenty minutes (I can fit about four rounds per pizza stone or three pitas per baking sheet). Bake at 500 degrees for three minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pitas and cook for another three to four minutes on the flip side.

Amy's Side Notes:

- When you pull the pitas off of your baking sheet, wrap them into a damp kitchen towel for a few minutes. This helps keep them from drying out. Once they are cool, you can store them in a food storage bag.

- Freeze extras for a rainy day! After the pitas have cooled, slip a piece of wax paper between them and store in a freezer bag. You can take out what you need...when you need it!

Vanilla Scented Granola

I am easing my family into eating granola and I found this recipe that I thought would fit the bill perfectly. The only item that they could consider "weird" are the slivered almonds. No dried fruits, no coconut, no weird foods...no reason to complain!

I will gradually be adding some other elements into this recipe, but if you have a picky family, this granola recipe might be a great place to start. I bought a large container of vanilla yogurt and made little yogurt cups for the kids with this homemade granola sprinkled on top. They gobbled it up and I found them both licking their bowls. I would say this one was a hit!

Vanilla Scented Granola Courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine

Cooking spray
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

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• Low Sodium Granola & Porridge
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Grains Granola & Porridge
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Position rack to middle of oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Lightly spray large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Mix next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Combine oil, honey and sugar in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour hot liquid over oat mixture; stir well. Using hands, toss mixture until thoroughly mixed. Spread granola on prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionaly, about 30 minutes (but check after 20). Transfer sheet to rack; cool granola completely. (Can be made two weeks ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.) Makes approximately 8 cups.

Side Note: If you prefer granola clumps, do not stir during baking and allow the granola to cool. You can then break the granola apart into pieces.

Apple Pie Muffins

Practicing hospital hospitality this past week for my nephew, I put together a basket of treats for the family to take down to the hospital with them.

I had lots of apples to use up and thought this recipe for Apple Pie Muffins would be perfect for a yummy treat. I made a double batch for them and for our family. I also made a triple batch of the crumb topping and put it in our freezer to help save a step the next time I make these or my Banana Crumb Muffins.

These muffins are super delicious and just the right balance of sweetness and tartness (from the apples). Serve these with a big glass of milk to wash them down.

Our house smelled so good after I was done baking these that I wanted to extend the scent longer. I used the peels and apple cores from dicing my apples and threw them in a pot with some lemons that were no longer good anymore. I topped the pot with some water and extra cinnamon and let it simmer away while I packaged the muffins up for the trip to Chicago. It smelled like an apple pie for the entire day. Thanks to whoever supplied that tip on Works-For-Me Wednesday because it really worked.

I thought these looked so beautiful in this red gingham basket that I had purchased from Goodwill. I put a little tag on it with a description of the muffins on it so that people knew what they would be diving into.

Although I couldn't sit in the waiting room with them, it was my way of showing that I loved and supported them during that time.

WSBT-TV: Making Gourmet Coffee at Home

Each Tuesday I share my frugal ideas with our community on the morning show for our local news station, WSBT-TV.

This week I shared on a topic that is near and dear to my heart- making your own gourmet coffee at home. I share some of my tips for replicating a gourmet coffee experience and how I manage to keep my latte factor to a minimum.

I am working on an article to put up for our site, but wanted to share some links to some of the ideas that we have incorporated in our house.

Here are some related posts on making a Starbucks Coffee experience in your very own home! Imagine that I have over 116 references to coffee on my blog so scanning through our archives or searching under coffee can also yield additional fun ideas to create a gourmet coffee experience.

All About Coffee:

Make Your Own Flavored Creamers
Get Your Java Fix (Chock full of tips for replicating the Starbucks experience!)
Where to Get Free Wi-Fi (You need that while you are sipping your coffee)
Make Your Own Starbucks Iced Peppermint Mochas
Make Your Own Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Make Your Own Dried Coffee Drink Mixes (great for gift giving)
This is Coffee (a fun retro movie on how to make the perfect cup of joe)
A Little About My Coffee-Making Process
How to Score Free Starbucks Coffee

Treats to go with your coffee:

Make Your Own Biscotti
Make Your Own Starbucks Banana Pound Cake
David's Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

Homemade Pancake Syrup

This weekend I hit the supermarket and found a fancy loaf of bread that I could make our delicious French Toast out of. I decided this would be a great time to try making my own pancake syrup since it has been on my list of things to do for quite some time.

I found this great recipe, courtesy of Hillbilly Housewife, and decided to give it a try. The syrup was delicious and I don't think we will ever go back to the commercial stuff, especially since this was so easy to make. It was a little thinner than the commercial version, but it had a much better flavor than the store-bought variety.

I hope you can enjoy some of this in your house too!