I'm Pretty Good, Huh?

This morning I woke up early and surprised Jason by making homemade cinnamon rolls. At Jason's old job, they had a cafeteria for the employees. Everyone morning this old woman would get up at the crack of dawn and make cinnamon rolls by hand. She rolled out the dough with her knuckles and made icing from her tears. Ok, ok, I'm kidding about that part. They were probably frozen and the old lady just warmed them up.

I found this recipe to make cinnamon rolls using frozen bread dough. Surprisingly enough, my Kroger had frozen bread dough. The package comes with four long oval pieces of bread dough. You have to let it thaw pretty much overnight. The dough didn't roll out very easily. It kept springing back together, but they tasted good and I was able to make a roll out of them, so I don't guess it matters too much.

(Stacy -- Before you get started, realize that these have to rise for 1 1/2 hours before you can bake them. I don't want another banana pudding episode!)

Since I have 3 more loaves of frozen bread dough in the freezer, I'll probably be making these again.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls:
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
2 Tablespoons melted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used pecans)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
Dash of vanilla extract
Dash of Jack Daniels (this is totally optional...just my way of saying "Good Morning")


Directions:
1. Roll out thawed dough into a rectangle shape (about 18x6 if you can).
2. Brush with melted butter.
3. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts and sprinkle over dough.
4. Starting at the long edge, carefully roll up the dough into a jelly roll shape.
5. Moisten the edges and seal with melted butter.
6. Cut the roll into 20 slices (somehow I only got 14....I guess I slice big).
7. Place rolls into a lightly greased casserole dish or greased cake pans.
8. Leave the rolls on the counter and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until they have doubled in size.
9. Pour the cream over the rolls and bake at 350 degrees fro 25 minutes.
10. To make the icing, combine confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla, and Jack Daniels. If you like your icing thick, add a little more sugar. If you like it thin, add a little more milk (or Jack).
11. Drizzle icing over rolls while they are still warm.

This picture sucks, but this is what they look like before they are cooked. Sad huh?


This is what they look like after the have cooked. Delicious, yes?

Bacon Cheddar Muffins

Good morning everyone!! Since I had some extra time this morning, I thought I would get up and make some of my mom's favorite muffins. I'm not a big muffin fan. I only eat the tops, they are usually too sweet, and they're pretty boring. These muffins are the exception. They are full of cheese and bacon and you will want to eat every single bite.

Bacon Cheddar Muffins:

2 cups Bisquick

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (I use microwave bacon)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients except for cheese & bacon

3. Batter will be lumpy, so don't worry about getting it completely smooth

4. Fold in cheese & bacon

5. Pour batter into 12 muffin cups

6. Bake for 20 minutes

Breakfast Supper

I asked Jason if he wanted Breakfast Supper tonight. He said, "nah, I'll just eat a bowl of Cap'n Crunch." I rolled my eyes and told him that we could have bacon and he quickly changed his mind.

Tonight's dinner was inspired by my favorite tv chef -- The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). I watched her earlier this week make a breakfast of roasted asparagus and scrambled eggs, so tonight I decided to give it a try. Asparagus is one of the few green things that Jason will eat - he actually loves it.


The full dinner consisted of bacon, toast, hashbrowns, asparagus and scrambled eggs.




Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Asparagus and Scrambled Eggs
1 bunch asparagus, ends chopped off
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper


4-6 eggs
Splash of milk (or half-n-half)


1. Drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper over asparagus
2. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes
3. Add milk to eggs and scramble