Cinnamon Rolls

On Christmas morning, its tradition in our household to have the boys wake up to something freshly baked, toasty, and super sweet. Usually, it has been my mom's sticky bun recipe. Given that Alex is now eating everything we eat, I figured the rich, sticky caramel may have been a little too much for him to handle, so I browsed FoodNetwork.com until I found a suitable substitute! I found it- and by a woman after my own heart- Sandra Lee. I love the fact she is a semi-homemade type of gal, because I'm the same way. I'm not above using some store bough ingredients for the ease of putting meals on the table, especially on a morning like Christmas where my time could be better spent doing family things, instead of in the kitchen :)

And in case you're wondering... I did spend my morning preppin' Santa toys and stockings instead of completely slaving away- and watching Alex run towards his presents for the first time was well worth the sacrifice of fresh dough !!!

Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe by Sandra Lee

Ingredients:
* 1 loaf frozen white bread dough, thawed in fridge
* flour for dusting surface
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 2/3 stick butter, softened
* 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 1/3 cup cream cheese
* 1 teasp. vanilla extract

To Make:
* Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to form a 15x7in rectangle.
* In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon
* Spread 2/3 cup softened butter over dough and evenly spread cinnamon-sugar mixture
* Roll up dough like a jelly roll
* Cut roll into 16 slices and set aside in a warm place to allow dough to rise (until doubled in size- about an hour)
* Divide rolls among 2 lightly battered round baking pans. Bake for 15 mins until golden brown.
* Combine  1 stick butter, powered sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract together for form icing.
* Frost the warm rolls with the icing before serving.

This recipe has been Alexander approved!

Chili & Cornbread

The guests have gone... the routines have once again begun... and it is just the three (ahem, four) of us in the house, once again. Joy! I loved having guests for Alex's bday, but I really enjoy our boring normalcy we have going in our family. This meant that it was back to cooking dinners for two (and a half) and eating whatever we wanted! I vowed to do the cooking if husband picked out the menu for an entire week- something he's never done before. I told him to pick five meals and I would make the grocery list, do the shopping, do the cooking, and the clean-up, if he would just PICK.

Ladies... don't let your husbands pick the menu for an entire week. Seriously. Especially if your husband believes he's the 'all-that-is-man' type and doesn't eat anything healthy like my husband. Gulp. Here is what he picked...

Spaghetti with homemade meat sauce and garlic bread. (no need for salad I guess)
Spicy sausage jumbalaya with cheese (out of a box... sigh....it actually worked since I wasn't feeling well that night and he had to make it after his busy work day and he was really the only one who ate it)
Hearty homemade chili served over fritos and cornbread (no need for salad again I guess)
Calzones with salad (yay- he actually mentioned salad!)
Smokey chicken, cheese, and potato casserole (left over salad maybe?)

Is it any wonder I truly believe husband may kick the bucket by the age of 30? All meat, cheese, starch. No veggies, fruit, or anything remotely healthy. Don't worry mom, I'm eating all my fruits for breakfast, and my veggies at lunch!

I also need to add he requested I make him Puppy Chow, and when I asked him to pick a dessert he wanted a chocolate peanutbutter pie. Yeah... no. Instead, I made him reason with me and pick something with fruit- so he picked peach cobbler... with ice cream....

Anywho, his menu did make me slightly happy because it wasn't our normal five dishes we eat every week- I actually get to try and cook some things I've never made before! I have never made chili from scratch, so I was eager to try, and it was delicious! May I take a minute to stop and toot my own horn? TOOOT... TOOOT!!!!!!!!! Not only was it fast, but it was simple- just the way I like it :)

This chili was amazing. Even Chris, who rarely compliments my dinners-from-scratch, and is a HUGE chili fan, said it hit the spot and was very very good! :) Also, it was nice that I didn't have to make it in my crockpot- just so I didn't have to smell its delicious aromas all day :) Oh, and I had all the ingredients without going to the store- whoop!

Chili
From the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
* 2 cups chopped onion (2 large- I only used one)
* 1 cup chopped green pepper (1 large)
* 4 gloves garlic, minced
* 2 15 oz cans of kidney beans, pinto beans, blackbeans rinsed and drained. I used a half can of black beans and a can of chili beans- Chris isn't a huge bean fan so I decreased the amount to appease him.
* 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
* 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes (I used one regular, one fire roasted) undrained
* 1 cup water
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* shredded cheddar cheese to top
* sour cream to top
* fritos for under chili if you are like Chris and enjoy the 'frito pie' thing

To Do:
* Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned and veggies are tender. Drain fat.
* In dutch oven (or large boiling pot like I have), combine beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, basil, black pepper. Add meat and veggie mixture.
* Bring chili to a boil and then reduce heat so a simmer. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occassionally. I let ours cook for about half an hour.
* Ours did seem a little more runny than we were used to, so I did thicken ours up a bit with some cornstarch- but didn't add too much.


Cornbread
Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

Ingredients:
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup cornmeal
* 2-3 tablespoons sugar (use 3 if you like sweeter stuff)
* 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup milk
* 1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter (I used butter)

To Do:
* Preheat oven to 400. In medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
* Add 1 tablespoon to 9 in. round baking dish, and place in oven for 3 minutes, or until butter is melted. Remove pan from heat and coat bottom and sides of pan with melted butter (perfect that swirl motion!)
* Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until just moistened.
* Pour batter into hot buttered skillet and return to oven for 15-20 minutes (mine needed 20). When toothpick comes out of middle clear, its done!
* Cut into wedges and serve warm. Feel free to whip up some tasty honey butter to serve on the side :)

Banana Bread

My son eats everything.

Everything.

Except avocado. And italian dressing for pasta salad.

With a boy who eats everything, who knew I'd find his absolute all-time favorite food ?!

Well, I've found it. Banana bread. Good thing I could eat an entire loaf a day if I wanted to because I plan on having some on-hand at all times. Although, I won't eat an entire load a day- I have a son to share with now (shoot).

Banana Bread Recipe
Source: My little red recipe box in my dining room

Ingredients:

* 1 cup granulate sugar
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 large eggs
* 3-4 ripe bananas (I always use 4)
* 1 tablespoon milk
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt

To Do:

* Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter loaf pan.
* cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy
* add eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition
* mash bananas with fork in bowl. Mix in milk and cinnamon
* mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl
* add banana mixture to creamed sugar/butter mixture. then add dry mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition
* Bake for 1 hour, then remove from loaf pan and cool on baking rack for 15 mins

Serve warm with butter... Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm