Quick and Easy Cinnamon Bun Bread

We found this recipe from a blog that we really enjoy. We tried it the other morning. Milo said "Mmmm, this is better than chocolate cake!" It is really very tasty.

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Bun Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp active dry or rapid rise yeast
2/3 cup warm milk (100-110F; low fat is fine)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

Filling/Topping
3 tbsp butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk or cream

Lightly grease an 8×8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Dissolve the yeast in a measuring cup filled with the warmed milk, then stir milk mixture, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and egg into the flour mixture. Mix well, until very smooth. Pour into prepared pan and let rest for 15 minutes.

While the dough rests, mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl using a fork until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of rested dough and press the mixture down into the dough with your fingertips (or swirl in with a spatula.)

Place pan into a cold oven, then set the oven temperature to 350F. Bake for about 30 minutes, until bread is lightly browned at the edges and the center of the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Some of the sugar mixture on top may still be bubbling.

Cool for at least 30 minutes before whisking the powdered sugar and milk together to form an icing and drizzling it onto the bread.

Serve warm. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.

Serves 9.

Link to original recipe at Baking Bites.

Papaya and Other Fruit Salsas

We wanted to try another fruit salsa. We found this recipe in our new cookbook and wanted to try it. We made pineapple salsa. It was very tasty.

The author also suggests that you can substitute the papaya with mango, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, Crenshaw, peaches, nectarines, apricots, grapes, blueberries, etc. His list contains most fruits although he states that for less juicy fruits you may need to increase the oil or citrus to get the desired consistency.

Papaya and Other Fruit Salsas

2 c. firm but ripe papaya, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 c. diced red onion
1/2 c. diced red, yellow, or green bell pepper or a combination
2 T minced fresh chile, to taste, or hot red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste
1/4 c. or more chopped cilantro fresh leaves
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 T freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Put all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more chile, lime, or salt as needed.

2. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a couple of hours. (Bring back to room temperature before serving.)

This recipe is from Mark Bitmann's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian."

Watermelon Salsa

This is a recipe that we've made lots of times before. We thought we'd post how we make it. I believe we got the recipe from Alysha.

Watermelon Salsa

2 c. watermelon
1/4 c. cilantro
2 green onions
1/3 c. lime juice
1 green or yellow bell pepper
Tabasco to taste

Mix together and serve.

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

'Tis the season for harvesting the garden! I've been waiting to make this recipe!1 cup vegetable oil

(I used applesauce instead, making it low fat. Give me another piece!)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup milk

3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate

(I use cocoa and follow the directions to substitute)

1 tbs. vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini
(if it is peeled & you don't grate the seeds, you'll never know it's in the finished product)

1 cup chopped nuts

(This is my personal addition to the recipe. Sometimes I add nuts, sometimes I don't.)

In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl sift dry ingredients; add to first mixture. Add milk and mix well. Melt baking chocolate in the microwave for 20 second intervals, until just melted. Blend chocolate and vanilla into batter. Stir in zucchini. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (this is what the recipe says, it always takes quite a bit longer). Cool and frost. (We don't frost ours because then it wouldn't be low fat anymore. This cake is really moist so it is great without frosting.)

Since it has zucchini & applesauce in it does it count as a vegetable and a fruit serving or am I stretching it?

Chicken Pasta Salad

This is the pasta salad that we had the other night for our family dinner. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of it, but you all saw it, so hopefully you’ll remember it. We have made it with any kind of pasta, grapes and the pineapple. It also works well in pitas. You can also leave the chicken out.

Chicken Pasta Salad

1 8 ounce Faralle (bow tie macaroni)
1 8 ounce tri-colored spiral macaroni
1 cup cashews
2 cups red grapes sliced in half
2 cups chopped celery
1 small package raisins
2 chicken breasts cubed
3 green onions, chopped
1 can pineapple tidbits (drained)

Cook the pasta and drain well.
Cook the chicken thoroughly.
Then mix all ingredients together well.

COMBINE

1 16 ounce bottle Kraft coleslaw dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (Do not use salad dressing. It is not the same thing.)

Pour over salad.

Enjoy!

Texas Waffles

The hotels we stayed in on our trip served waffles shaped like this. (I've heard they do mickey mouse shaped waffles around Disneyland.)

Where's the recipe? Well, after eating these for 10 days straight.......I would be fine not to eat one for a really long time. I thought I would share a breakfast you would only eat in Texas.

Sloppy Joe's

We have found a very good recipe for Sloppy Joe's. It is really very good.

First, chop a red bell pepper and an onion.

Pour two tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet and turned the heat to medium. Next, add the onions and red bell peppers. Cook the onions and peppers over medium heat, stirring regularly.

After the onions are just slightly brown and the peppers are getting soft, add two cloves of garlic (I just use my garlic press, but you can chop it if you don't own a garlic press...and you will probably soon buy a garlic press because your hands will smell like garlic for a few days after handling it while chopping) and stir for about a minute.

Then add one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, one 6 oz. can of tomato paste, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a dash of cinnamon and stir it all together. Let the sauce cool slightly then spoon it into the blender and puree it until it is fairly smooth.

Then cook the meat and season it to taste. Add the sauce and one cup of shredded cheese. Heat it up and stir until smooth.

Link to original recipe at Pinch My Salt.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

We have been wanting to make some BBQ Chicken Pizza for a while. Scott found a recipe recently that we thought we'd try. It was very, very good. We will definitely make it again.

Pizza before we baked it.

Our baked pizza.

We used the pizza dough recipe that we got from Scott's mom. We cut the following recipe in half to fit on a normal sized pizza stone. You can use the recipe as is for a larger pan or for a thicker crust.

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar

Mix together until yeast is softened.

Add:
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Mix well. Knead. Can roll into shape or just push it with your fingers.

Now for the rest of the pizza.

For the sauce, mix together a 1/2 cup BBQ sauce and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey. We like honey, so we added a lot. Spread this sauce on the pizza dough.

Cook 1 chicken breast and dice or shred it. That seemed to be plenty of chicken.
To make caramelized onions, sauté the onions in the olive oil.

1 to 2 tbsp olive oil and
1/3 red onion, sliced (we used yellow onions, which was fine)

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional) (We would have put it on, but we didn't have any.)

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for around 14-15 minutes.

Link to original recipe from Good Eats and Sweet Treats

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake

When we saw the recipe for this ice cream cake on our favorite food blog, we thought it might be fun to make one for Milo's birthday. It tasted really good.

For some guidance in making an ice cream cake, you can check out the Baking Bites tutorial here. The original recipe was for a huge cake (three 10×15-inch layers). In our recipe below, I'm going to cut it in half. It made three 9x13-inch layers.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream Layer
1/2 gallon high-quality mint chocolate chip ice cream

Line a 9x13-inch pan with plastic wrap. Soften ice cream until it is easy to scoop, then spread it into an even layer in the prepared pan. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or until very firm. Once it is firm, the pan can be removed and the layer can be stored in the plastic wrap.

Chocolate Cake (make 2)
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. Leave some paper overhanging the edges of the pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour hot water (not quite boiling) over batter and stir until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment paper to transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not remove parchment paper.

Repeat recipe to make a second cake.

Assembly
2 cake layers
1 ice cream layer
2 batches* vanilla buttercream frosting

Place one cake layer on a large serving platter or cake board, using parchment paper to help move the cake without breaking it. Peel off parchment once cake is in place. Top cake with ice cream layer and top ice cream layer with remaining cake layer.

Freeze for at least an hour, until firm and cold. Meanwhile, make buttercream frosting.

Frost chilled cake with a thin layer of frosting and freeze until ready to serve.

* We ended up making 2 batches of buttercream frosting which resulted in a thick, rich layer of frosting. We had trouble spreading the frosting because we were spreading it on a frozen cake and the frosting froze. You might want to try frosting the cake before it is frozen to help avoid this problem. Or just be more adept at frosting cakes...

Link to original recipe at Baking Bites.

Strawberry Lassi

I hadn't heard of a lassi until Scott told me about them. Scott has had them before and told me they were a great drink.

Here is some background on lassis. This text came from Baking Bites. You can find a link below. "A lassi is a traditionally Indian drink that is made with yogurt and a variety of spices, sweet or savory. I’ve noticed that fruit lassis are probably the most popular and are easily the most widely available type at the Indian restaurants I’ve been too. They are often smoothie-like in consistency and use yogurt, milk, fruit and a sweetener."

Photo courtesy of Baking Bites

Strawberry Lassi

2 cups fresh strawberries (about 12-oz.), roughly chopped
1 cup plain yogurt
2-3 tbsp honey (we add an extra tbsp of honey)
1 cup ice (or frozen fruit can be used as ice)

Process in food processor until no chunks of ice remain and drink is very, very smooth.
Pour into chilled glasses.

The original recipe can be found at Baking Bites here.