BROWNIES!

Blonde Brownies

2 2/3 c. flour

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2/3 c. butter

2 ½ c. brown sugar

3 eggs

1tsp. vanilla

1 package chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Let cool for 10 minutes, and then add eggs and vanilla. Stir well. Then add the dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for several hours before cutting.

**Grab a glass of milk because these babies are RICH!

I made these with just everyday items that I had on hand...what can you make?

CINNAMON ROLLS

 OK, I can't take total credit for this recipe. It was given to me by my neighbor after she brought some AMAZING orange rolls to a BBQ that we had. I have slightly adapted the recipe and used 3 cups of bread  flour with the all purpose flour. I think personally, that they stayed softer with the bread flour, but they taste just as good with the all purpose flour too. Yesterday when I made these, I split the dough in half and made half cinnamon rolls and half orange rolls. I asked for opinions, but nobody could say that one was better than the other. But, then again, what is better that bread and frosting?!

Orange/Cinnamon Rolls

4 eggs                                                

½ c. butter or margarine

½ c. sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 c. milk, scalded

3 TBSP. yeast. Dissolved in ½ c. warm water

6-7 cups flour

In a stand mixer, beat together eggs, butter, sugar and salt. Add scalded milk and continue to mix until butter is melted. Cool for about 5 minutes, then add yeast. Change attachment to a dough hook, and add flour a cup at a time.  The dough will be very sticky, but cover with a damp cloth and put in warm place and let rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough and separate into 2-3 parts. Roll to about ¼ of an inch thick rectangle

                                         And spread with filling, and roll the length of the dough. Cut and place                              

                                          On a greased pan. Let raise about 45 minutes. Then bake at 400

                                          Degrees for 7-10minutes, or until golden brown.

Orange Spread:

½ c. butter, softened

1 1/2c. sugar

Grated rind of 1 large orange

Cinnamon Spread:

Melt ¼ c. butter, and brush all over dough. Then sprinkle the entire dough with cinnamon, and then sprinkle with brown sugar. (I just eyeball this, I don’t ever measure)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

4-6 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients until smooth.  Spread over rolls.

The Best Pizza Dough I Have Ever Tasted

The other night I was looking on Pinterest for some yummy recipes, and I happen to run into this beauty! It was labeled "the best pizza dough", but I am usually skeptical about that (because not to long ago I made some bread sticks, and they weren't that great). I didn't have any bread flour and had never used it before, so I decided to buy some to try and see if it really would make a difference. Well, it really did!

Bread flour, I guess, has a higher gluten protein. The protein binds to the flour to entrap carbon dioxide released by the yeast fermentation process, and results in a stronger rise. 

So here is the awesome recipe. Try it out and send us pictures of the yummy things you make with it. I will post my BBQ Chicken Pizza here soon.

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

½ cup warm water (about 110°)

1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast

1 ¼ cups water, at room temperature

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 ½ tsp. salt

olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes.  Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.  

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed.  Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms.  Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.  Press the dough to deflate it.

To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven.  Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal.  Top as desired.  Slide the dough onto the pizza stone.  Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes.  Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

A Yummy Treat For Under 40 Cents Each

I don't know about all of you out there, but living on a budget now days is the name of MY game. 

I was grocery shopping the other day and saw this cute kit to make banana pops for only $1.89 and bought bananas for $0.59/lb. The kit makes 8 banana pops (you use 4 bananas cut in half), and the price came out to be less than 40 cents per treat! I thought it was great and healthy snack to have waiting for the kiddos when they get home from school. 

*****CHALLENGE*****

We are challenging you to make/buy snacks or treats for you kids on a budget. Let us know what you make and the cost. 

Magnet Menu Board

OK, so 2 posts ago I had found this really cute menu planner from my favorite paper store. Well, I had this magnet board that just sat in my kitchen that I have done NOTHING with for the last 2 years. *LIGHT BULB* So, I totally thought that this would be the perfect thing to make my menu planner out of.  Then I just rummaged through all of my scrapbook paper and got to work.

 Then I made dinner tags on the printer in a cute font and glued them to another co-ordinating paper and then I used those magnets that come attached to your phone books (you know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that you never use for the mortuary or the plumbers) I cut those into strips and glued them to the back too.

 Then I made a little pocket for the extra meal magnets to go into. And then I used my Cricut to cut out the days of the week (the other one had the magnets as the days of the week in a bottle cap, but I didn't have any of those). Then, the only thing I actually had to purchase was the Post-It notes for the shopping list. 

I made this totally free with the stuff I had on hand. I LOVE it when I can make things and not have to go buy them (not to mention my hubby does too :0)