Breakfast, Pastries, Recipes

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

Sarah

So, I don’t use my breadmaker nearly enough. Maybe because it’s a bit clunky, maybe because I’m a little too lazy to pull everything out of the cabinet to get it out. But I really should use it more. Especially when it makes delicious treats like these, at a fraction of the effort as regular from-scratch cinnamon rolls take!

Well, I suppose to be perfectly honest, these babies don’t come out of the breadmaker perfectly formed or anything, so there is still some work to be done… but really not much at all. These cinnamon rolls are perfectly sweet, perfectly gooey, and have just the right ratio of filling to icing to satisfy even the toughest critic. An unexpected burst of Maple syrup in the icing takes these cinnamon rolls one step further from amazing to incredible. Or is it incredible to extraordinary? Or wonderful to fantastic? No matter how you put it… these are worth pulling out the ‘ole breadmaker for. If you don’t think two people can polish these off… think again. You can do it! 🙂

Can ‘o cinnamon rolls, you don’t got nothing on these!

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls [from Faithful Provisions, icing from Taste of Home]
click to print

Ingredients:

for the dough

  • 1 1/8 cup warm milk [microwave for 30 seconds]
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 egg, plus 2 egg whites, beaten
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 2 1/2 cups white flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

for the filling

  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar, not packed
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon

for the icing

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1-2 teaspoons milk

Directions:

Put dough ingredients in breadmaker according to the manufacturer’s directions [for mine this is liquids and salt, dry, yeast], and run on dough cycle.

Remove dough from breadmaker when cycle is complete, then preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two round cake pans or pie dishes and set aside.

Roll dough out into a large rectangle, approximately 12×24 inches.

Brush with melted butter, then cover evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon. Be sure to leave about a 1-inch gap around the edges; otherwise filling will spill out when you roll.

Roll up dough lengthwise, then cut in half. Continue cutting each piece in half until you have 16 pieces total. Place in prepared pans.

At this point, you have three options:

  1. Refrigerate overnight and bake in the morning, following steps below [bring to room temperature 30 minutes or so before baking].
  2. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes [I find this is necessary in colder temperatures].
  3. Bake and enjoy now!

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

While baking, mix together icing. Whisk together powdered sugar with maple syrup and butter, then add enough milk to reach spreading consistency. Ice cinnamon rolls immediately after coming out of the oven, serve, and enjoy!

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes

Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki Chicken

Sarah

I used to turn my nose up at dark meat. Chicken, turkey, whatever. I’ll stick with white meat. At Thanksgiving, I’m all about the side dishes anyway. But then I got married. To a meat lover. I quickly realized that the large package of chicken that would have lasted single me all month now lasts a much shorter time. Then I also realized how expensive buying boneless skinless chicken breasts exclusively is. So I decided to be brave, be bold… and embrace the dark meat! Guess what–it isn’t that bad. It’s less expensive and *gasp* actually pretty good. Especially when you pair it with fruity, tangy sauces and marinades, like this Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki sauce that I adapted from Beth at Budget Bytes.

This pineapple-apricot teriyaki sauce is definitely sweeter and fruitier than your average teryaki sauce… not authentic by any means. But we loved it paired with the hearty, complex flavor of dark meat chicken thighs. [I do try to buy boneless skinless because it’s just easier.] A perfect early-spring dinner, if I do say so myself.

And word to the wise… if you enjoy eating sauces by the spoonful… make a double batch of this sauce. Trust me. No chicken necessary. 🙂

Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki Chicken [from Budget Bytes]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup apricot preserves
  • 1/4 cup crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place chicken thighs on baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together apricot preserves, pineapple, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, and cornstarch. Reserve about 1/3 cup sauce in a separate bowl. Brush half of the rest of the sauce over the chicken thighs.

Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush on the second half of the sauce [not the 1/3 cup reserved]. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve over spinach and rice or Israeli couscous, being sure to spoon the reserved sauce over each piece.

Time: 35 minutes [5 minutes active].

Yield: 4 servings.

shared at Life as Mom

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Week of April 2

Monday: Mexican Lasagna
Tuesday: Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Wednesday: class for me… Ben fends for himself. last month of classes!!
Thursday: Fritatta
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Shrimp Lo Mein
Sunday: Easter! I guess I should make some sort of Easter dinner since we’ll be here…

~~~

Nothing to report about last week’s eats… but I did make some sweet appetizers/desserts that I hope to post soon! 🙂 Have a great week!

Bars, Desserts, Recipes

PB + J Brownies

Sarah

Several weeks ago, I received a fun email request from Christina of She Runs, She Eats. She and her friend Cindy of Once Upon a Loaf had dreamed up an awesome contest, complete with prizes, recognition, and glory of epic proportions. Well, perhaps not recognition and glory of epic proportions, but you get my drift. The competition is in honor of National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, as well as Cindy’s birthday, on April 2. So what exactly was this contest, you may ask? Well, to create the most magnificent peanut butter and jelly creation imaginable, of course! In sandwich or baked good form, please. With any kind of nut butter and any jelly or jelly-like food [preserves, spreads, fresh/dried fruit, etc.]. Sign me up right away, I said! And just like that, I was dreaming up ideas for Project PB&J.

Though I do love me a good PB&J, something sweet and chewy was calling my name. Since our recipes were supposed to be original, I didn’t want to go a-copying the PB&J bars that were popular over the past year or so. So what else went with peanut butter and fruit? Well, chocolate of course!

PB + J Brownies via thepajamachef.comA little experimentation later and PB&J Brownies were born. These, my friends, are nothing short of amazing. I mean… do you see what I see?!?!

PB + J Brownies via thepajamachef.comSee that rich, fudgy, chewy brownie. Then see that little bit ‘o peanut butter action. But notjustpeanut butter all alone, or even anything reminiscent peanut butter cookie. More like peanut buttercheesecake. Mhmm… now that’s the good stuff! Where the brownie layer is rich and decadent, the peanut butter layer is sweet–but not too sweet. Creamy, but definitely baked. Fantastic.

Can you deny it? Please say no.

But of course, we have to take these brownies over the top just a little more [and qualify for the contest, duh!]… To put the cherry on the sundae… or the topping on the brownie :)… let’s swirl some raspberry preserves into the peanut butter layer. The preserves fold into the peanut butter as the brownies bake, leaving that perfect mix of peanut butter-jelly action that we know and love. If raspberry isn’t your thing, feel free to sub any other all-fruit preserves. I happen to love the subtle-sweet raspberry with peanut butter [and didn’t want to finish the last of 2011’s strawberry freezer jam… just saying :)], but do what suits you. And it would suit me to enjoy another brownie right now… but sadly, they all disappeared! Bummer. I better get busy baking again!PB + J Brownies via thepajamachef.com

PB&J Brownies [brownie layer inspired by/compared with the recipes here, here, here, and here; PB&J layers are TPC originals!]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup salted butter
  • 4 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 2 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder [sifted if lumpy]
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 eggs, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter [not the “natural” kind]
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened [I used Neufchâtel]
  • 1/3 cup sour cream [I used light]
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • scant 1/3 cup raspberry preserves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate on low, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together 2 cups sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Break 3 eggs in a separate bowl and whisk to break yolks, then stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour egg mixture and chocolate mixture [once cool–don’t cook the eggs] into dry ingredients, then stir together until just combined. Spoon into prepared pan. Mixture will be fudgy.

In the bowl of stand mixer, beat together peanut butter, cream cheese, sour cream, cinnamon, and remaining  1 egg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread in pan on top of  chocolate layer, using a spatula and [clean!] hands to press down.

Lastly, spoon preserves over peanut butter layer and use a knife to swirl preserves into peanut butter layer.

Bake for 60 minutes, covered, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days–if they last that long!

Time: 80 minutes [20 minutes active].

Yield: 24.

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Turkey, Spinach, and Kale Stuffed Shells

Sarah

So, once upon a time almost three years ago, I made spinach-filled manicotti. Ben loved it, I hated it. It tasted like spinach cottage cheese to me. That’s because my mom’s lasagna [which I oddly enough, haven’t ever blogged about even though it’s amazing] uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and I thought that substitution would work in other dishes. Turns out I was wrong. Blech! Ever since that day, I’ve been wary of spinach in baked pasta dishes. I know it’s not the spinach’s fault, and I love it in other things, but in pasta now? No thanks.

When I heard through the Secret Recipe Club that Jey at The Jey of Cooking was raising money for the American Heart Association in honor of her mom’s heart transplant by asking bloggers to make a heart-healthy dish, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to get back into the spinach pasta game.

And get back into it, I did.

See that? I call it Turkey, Spinach, and Kale Stuffed Shells. From the outside, it looks like your typical cheesy, saucy stuffed shells. Delicious, right? Needs no explanation, you assume. Wrong! On the inside, you’ll find a creamy sauce made with lots of greens like spinach and kale, a bit of hearty meat, your typical Italian seasonings, and enough to ricotta and parmesan cheese to enjoy but not be weighted down by. Extra creaminess comes from fat free Greek yogurt. Perfecto!

So why is this recipe heart healthy? Well, for one, it uses ground turkey instead of ground beef [lower in fat and calories]–and the amount of meat is reduced to be more of a “condiment” or flavoring than the focus. The focus of these shells is the greens. Kale is one of the healthiest greens around, thanks to its vitamins and minerals, as well as its ability to lower cholesterol when eaten cooked. Pretty neat. Spinach isn’t bad for you either, and this recipe does not taste bad… unlike my previous attempt… so I’m in, and hope you’ll be too! I know you’ll love this cheesy, veggie filled, hearty take on traditional stuffed shells. Please head over to Jey’s blog to read more about what she’s doing to honor her mom and check out the recipe roundup on March 30th!

Turkey, Spinach, and Kale Stuffed Shells
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounce package jumbo pasta shells [approximately 36 shells]
  • 1/2 pound ground turkey
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups fresh kale, packed tightly
  • 2 cups fresh spinach, packed tightly
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • dash ground nutmeg
  • 1 25 ounce jar marinara sauce [I used Muir Glen Cabernet Marinara]
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese [I used a pizza blend cheese (mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, romano) because I had it, but mozzarella or any Italian blend would work fine.]
  • freshly ground lemon pepper

Directions:

Begin by boiling a large pot of salted water for the shells. Once boiling, add shells and cook to al dente. Then drain, rinse with cold water, and spread out on a baking sheet to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Then, brown ground turkey in a skillet. Add garlic to pan to saute when turkey is almost done cooking. Drain any excess fat and set aside.

In a food processor, combine kale, spinach, ricotta, and greek yogurt and process until greens are chopped very finely. You may have to do this in two batches, or add more greens as you go depending on the size of your food processor.

Remove greens mixture to a mixing bowl, then add cooked turkey, parmesan cheese, black pepper, basil, oregano, and red pepper. Stir together until incorporated.

Spoon a small amount of marinara sauce [~ 1/2 cup] on bottom of a large baking dish*. Then fill each shell with about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of kale/turkey mixture and place in baking dish. Repeat until all shells are filled, then cover with remaining marinara sauce. You want the shells to be covered, but not drowning in sauce. Top with shredded cheese and lemon pepper. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Time: 45 minutes [15 minutes active]
Yield: 8 servings.
Notes: *Regarding the baking dishes: I used a 9×13 pan and two individual size serving dishes, but you could use two square baking dishes [eat one and freeze/give away the other] or just use a larger dish [11×15]. Or just halve the recipe to begin with!