cinnamon rolls

Last weekend I made cinnamon rolls to go along with a pot of chili. I love that combination - it's just so cozy and delicious. Landon helped me with the cinnamon rolls. He is seriously the best little kitchen helper. Talking to him while we rolled up the dough, I realized that I've been using the same recipe for over 20 years. What?! I'm not sure how that's even possible. I obviously started baking at a VERY early age. Ha! 

Anyway, sometimes it's best to stick with what works, so that's what I've done. The original recipe does give the option of butter, margarine or shortening for the dough, but I've only listed butter here. I've also included an additional cream cheese frosting recipe. We prefer that over the traditional glaze.

To get the best rise on your dough, heat your oven for a few minutes to 200 degrees and then turn it off.  I used to just turn my oven light on during raising, but that just heated oven really does make a difference.  I hope you'll give these a try! Be sure to let me know.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 package regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115)
1/2 lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, unsalted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
 
Filling
3 tablespoons softened butter (I use salted)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
 
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2 quart bowl. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased 2 1/2 quart bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched). Punch down dough.
 
Flatten dough with hands or rolling pin into rectangle, 15x12 inches, on lightly floured surface. Spread with softened butter. Sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture over rectangle. Roll up tightly. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well. Stretch roll to make even. Cut into 12 even slices. Place into greased 9x13 pan. Let rise until double, about 40 minutes.
 
Heat oven to 375. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Spread rolls with glaze while warm. 

If using the cream cheese frosting, prepare it while the rolls are baking. Spread on still warm rolls (but not right from oven or the frosting will just melt).

Enjoy! 

Five on Friday

Hooray for Friday!!  We've got a busy weekend planned and I'm excited to get out and enjoy these fleeting October days. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Here we go!

We're going to Beckley tomorrow evening to go through the haunted coal mine. Landon is so excited. We took him to the mine back in the summer for the regular tour and he really enjoyed it. We'll see how he does with the scarier tour. Mike and I went with through the haunted mine back in 1998 with some friends of ours. We had just been married for a few weeks and I got us matching sweaters to wear. Yes, I really did!! We wore the EXACT same sweaters. I cringe just thinking about it.  I jokingly told Mike maybe we could do that again this year. He didn't seem to happy at the idea...

A tour of the mine is really something to see. My grandpa was a coal miner and it's very humbling to see the conditions they worked in to provide for their families. I'll try to do a post soon on all there is to see at the Exhibition Coal Mine. It really is interesting. 

I ordered this travel mug for Mike yesterday for Christmas. A friend recommended this brand and I love the easy clean lid. I'm almost completely done with our Christmas shopping and hope to finish up before Nov. 1st. 

Landon is being what he calls a scaredy cat for Halloween. My friend Robin is making his hat and I got him a tail and a set of black thermals to wear as his costume. I also got some face paint to make a nose and whiskers. He'll be the cutest scaredy cat around! 

I'm not sure what our main course will be for Sunday dinner yet, but I do know that these German-Style fried potatoes will on the table. Ever since I saw the picture on Pinterest from Scrumpdillyicious, I cannot quit thinking about them. Yum!

Our book club will hopefully start on November 1st. I'll have a post up next week about the book we'll be reading and where we'll be discussing. Look for details on Instagram with hashtag #THCbookclub   (I'm ToniaTHC). 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

tonia's shrimp creole

When we were at the beach back in April, Mike had a bowl of shrimp creole that he could not stop talking about. I decided to try fixing it at home and came across a few recipes, but none sounded just right to me. I ended up using a few recipes to create my own version. You guys, it's soooo good! We've had it several times over the past few months. We like ours pretty hot, so be careful with how much creole seasoning you use. It's fine to start with one tablespoon and add more. 

Besides being delicious, I love that this recipe fits right in with my new love of one-pot meals. 


Tonia's Shrimp Creole

2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 lbs smoked sausage, sliced (I like Ekerich)
16 oz chicken broth
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 small tomato paste
1 bell pepper, diced
1 white onion, diced
1/2 bunch celery, diced
4 gloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs creole seasoning + 1 tsp for dusting

In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter together over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, green bell pepper and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Mix in flour and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in chicken broth, scraping bottom of pan. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper,  1 tablespoon creole seasoning, bay leaves & sausage. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer for about 30 minutes or until reduced and thickened. 

Now you're ready to add the shrimp. Right before adding, rinse the shrimp well and dust with about 1 tsp creole seasoning. Let sit for about 3-5 minutes (no more than 5 minutes or the salt in the seasoning will pull all the moisture from your shrimp). Add shrimp to pot and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until shrimp is opaque and cooked through. Remove bay leaves. Serve over rice with hot crusty bread and a salad.