Monday, May 20, 2013

How Do I Love Thee, O Cinnabon?

I always hear of people saying that their weakness is carbs. My mother-in-law used to insist on having bread at the table for every meal, even if it meant sliced sandwich bread was piled high on a serving platter. I can go days without bread.

BUT....if bread is available, hot, fresh bread, nobody better stand between me and that delectable morsel straight from heaven.

I tried out a new Italian restaurant yesterday. They served fresh garlic knots while we were waiting for our food. I quickly devoured mine and would've eaten any that was left. Of course, none was.

If I smell bread, I'm a goner. As long as it comes from the grocery store, pre-made, sealed in plastic, there is no temptation for me. Let me walk into the mall and pass a Cinnabon....another story completely.

I have been in the mood lately to cook more and bake. So the when my kids suggested I buy the cinnamon rolls in the packaged tubes at the grocery store, I said NOPE! I will make my own. Years ago, I used to make them all the time so why not do it again?

Yesterday we only had a 2pm church service so it was a perfect morning to make my cinnamon rolls. The only thing I hate about making homemade bread is the kneading but the dough for this is made in my bread machine making this E-A-S-Y.  And "easy" is my middle name. Or maybe "bread-lover" is my middle name?? hmmm....

Too bad screens aren't scratch and sniff but this recipe might get you tempted to lick the screen just in case.


Cinnabon-like Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:
1 cup warm whole milk
2 eggs (anytime you are baking, it's best to use room temp eggs)
1/3 c. melted margarine, cooled down
 1 t. salt
1/2 c. granulated white sugar
4 1/2 c. all purpose (or bread) flour (note: I use bread flour, I think it makes the rolls a little more light and airy)
2 1/2 t. bread machine yeast

Sweet spread to use after dough is rolled out:
1 c. packed down brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. softened butter

For the icing: **note: I make extra icing because I like to use the entire bar of cheese and we like alot of icing on the rolls. The extra icing I just save to put on cinnamon pancakes or whatever**
8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened (of course, you can use cream cheese, but the rolls are so sweet that I figured we should cut back on the calories somewhere)
2/3 c. butter softened (NOT melted)
4 c. powdered sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. salt

Put all the ingredients for the dough in your bread machine. The ingredients are listed in the order that I put them in my machine but yours might differ so check your manual. With mine, I do wet, salt, dry and yeast last making sure the yeast does not touch the salt or liquid. Select "Dough" option and let the bread machine do its thing.

When the dough is complete, place it on a floured surface and let it rest for a few minutes. While it is resting, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Prepare dough by rolling it out into a big rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter. HINT: This seems to be a lot of butter but use it and do not spread the butter to the very edges, you want the dough to be able to "seal". Sprinkle the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture over the buttered dough. Now roll up the dough to make a long roll. Cut it evenly to make about a dozen rolls. Place in a greased baking dish (I used a glass 9x13 pan that I make my big batches of brownies in). 

Now, I know you want to bake them and get onto the ooey gooey goodness but let's take a clean towel and cover them to double in size. (If your house is cold, you can turn oven on extreme lowest temp and put the pan in there, crack the door some.) When the rolls have risen to be about doubled in size, set oven to 400 degrees and cook 10-15 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, cream the cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt. Then turn mixer on lowest speed and gradually add the powdered sugar.

When the rolls are done, remove from oven and immediately turn upside down on a platter. Leave the pan over them. This will allow all the gooey goodness to drizzle back down on the rolls. Once it looks like all the dripping is complete, remove pan and spread on some icing. The warmth of the rolls will allow the icing to melt some and drizzle in between.

 

 

Is It Over

Our church hosts a Young Ministers Conference every year and even though my family is not "young ministers" by your usual definition, my family always attends. Thankfully, my pastor believes that it is the entire church's responsibility to share the Gospel so he doesn't limit anyone's attendance. It's a great time to be encouraged and meet new people.

I went with my kids to go out to eat after one of the services and a young man sat down beside one of my sons. After introductions and some small talk, the young man (I think he was 15) asked my son if he was out of school yet for summer break.

My son looked at me.

The young man recognizing the look, exclaimed, "Dude!!! You're homeschooled too!!"

I guess only homeschoolers can appreciate this. Yes, we do have a calendar. And days are planned.

BUT....we also tend to homeschool beyond the calendar and do some unscheduled summer learning too.

(okay, just for a little explanation here - I was going to find a comic relating to year-round schooling or how everything can have an educational angle to it but I got distracted and since I just love Ryan Gosling and all those "Hey girl" memes anyway...I just couldn't resist. After all, to be completely honest, this is the true reason why we usually go past our calendar last day.)

 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

A "PIN"tastic Site

 Hello. My name is Adena and I'm a Pinterest addict. When I have very little time to get online, I don't necessarily check my email (which is probably what I should do first), or get on Facebook to reconnect with family and friends faraway...and close, or even read blogs. Nope. I get on Pinterest. I guess that explains why my email boxes (yes, as in more than one) are overflowing, I still don't know if my friend's daughter had her baby that was due last week and I can't remember the last time I wrote or followed a blog party!

BUT...my Pinterest boards have been alive and well this whole time. The only evidence that I've even been online at all. Check out my boards, I'm sure there's something there you will like.

Every once in awhile, I find a site that I really, really, really like. One that I would be very upset if I never again returned to it. I have recently found a foodie site like that- From Away. To be completely honest, I almost wrote her off when I saw she was from Maine. The only people I know from Maine cook lobsters and seafood. I'm not a big seafood eater. (Well, except for a recent trip to Cedar Key, FL which I will post about very soon!!) This goes to show how little I really know. I think I have pinned almost half of her recipes from the index and only maybe two were fishy. I think I've gained five pounds just looking through it all. I cannot wait to start cooking more again. Right now I am trying out a new recipe for cinnamon buns. If it's good, I'll share.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Random Thought on Returning to Blogging

I've been thinking about blogging again off and on for the past month. I'm not sure if I even have any readers still out there. If so, I guess it will come up on your RSS feed and you will wonder who in the world I am. It's okay. My intention has never been to become a famous blogger, get published or even draw a large group of followers. Here's why I blog:

  1. Write. I love to write. I seldom write. I used to want to be a writer. Now, I just want to write to remember things about my life. And my kid's life. And share favorite websites or recipes or crafts. I write how I think. Choppy. You probably wouldn't know it by reading my blog that I have a 3.9 GPA in college right now. And I can write a mean essay. In MLA format too.
  2. Meet new people. I love to interact with other people that share the same interests as I do. Of course, this only works if you actually leave comments. I do try to make a comment on every blog I visit because I know they would want to know I was there. And if I enjoyed their content. I love meeting other homeschool moms. I don't have a large support group where I live now and that's the one thing I really, really, really miss about where I used to live. And I love to share recipes with others that enjoy cooking. And I love crafts. I don't have as much time to devote to it but I love to create something pretty. And I enjoy sharing what I know about natural health, family, marriage, parenting, cool things in Florida to do and see. I used to dabble in photography. The list is endless. But I have always told my children never write a person off - you can always learn something new from each person you come in contact with in life. And I try to do the same. 
  3. Accountability. I used to join groups that helped me stay on track. One helped me to stick to a schedule of waking up early and reading the Bible daily, another helped me keep track of all we were doing in our homeschool, and some even helped me keep blogging regularly.
I do have a problem with consistency. I get sidetracked easily. When I decided that I would like to start my blog back up, I've toyed with the idea of just creating a new blog entirely. I need a more unique name. I found another blog with a very similar name after I created this one a few years ago. But I haven't learned how to transfer everything (have some books, just no time to read them yet) and I don't want to lose my older posts. Believe it or not, I often look up my own blog to find a recipe. Sometimes it's just easier than searching through my extensive files of recipes.

I've been very busy this past year, and I have tried to continue living by my Word of the Year - Intentional. I have just found that as I focused on my priorities, that blogging just was not as important as it had been. But now I am realizing how blogging does fit in my life and why I should continue it. Sure, there's a ton of blogs out there and honestly, how many blogs do you need to read on one subject? But my family is unique. We are the only ones because we are individuals and that makes us special and able to write about something that no one else can.

So, here I am.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Living Intentionally in 2013

Yikes! Has it really been since September since I last posted??!!

Writing I think is like exercising. If you do it daily, you enjoy it and you are more committed to it. But if you miss one day, it's easy to miss another. And another. And before you know it, so much time has passed that it becomes a distant memory.

It's January. And that means all I am hearing about it New Year's resolutions. I remember last year, instead of resolutions, I mainly focused on one word. I haven't even read blogs much lately so not sure if that is the thing this year or not. But I would like to focus on a new word for 2013.

Instead of letting life just happen to me, I want to live intentionally. I want to make things happen. I want to go forth and get what I want out of life rather to sit idly by and see what happens. I want to make a difference to my world. I want to make memories. I want to leave a legacy. I want to be involved. Simply, I want to live. I want to focus on things that matter. People. Relationships. Connecting. With others. With books. With my world.

I want to make time for things that I enjoy. I want to make time for blogging. For trying new recipes. To learn something new. To continue school. To read more. To visit somewhere new. Go to museums, performances, aquariums, battlefields. I want to find a way to volunteer - as a family.

As a family - I want us to pray more together, eat more dinners together sitting down at the table, have more game nights and bonfires. To make precious memories. To be more supportive.

Happy New Year to all.



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Friday, September 7, 2012

Five Question Friday

Friday has definitely surprised me this week. With Labor Day and all, I've been behind all week!! I've been so busy, I've only done Friday posts this week.Yikes. I had promised myself upon my returning to Bloggyville, that I would post more than once a week at least.

1. What is your favorite fall family tradition?


Going to a corn maze!! There's not a lot of fall activities in Florida and I really miss that since it is my favorite time of year. I do decorate the house with fall colors at least. When we lived in NC, there was a great local fair and when we lived in MI, we always did the apple cider mill with the mini doughnuts.

2. If money weren't an issue, how many kids would you have?




Um, five. We have five now and I can't imagine life without any of them. Or with any more of them. 

 
3. If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?




I can't imagine that I ever would get a tatoo but if I absolutely had to, it would be something like the infinity sign with mine and hubs names with wedding date I guess. It would have to be small. Or maybe something with all the kids' names/dates...nah, with five kids, that would be bigger than I want. I just think tatoos look ridiculous when you get old.
 
4. What condiment is a must in your house?



It would be a fight between ketchup and ranch dressing. But ketchup will probably win. Or is it catsup?
 
5. How did your spouse/fiance propose?


I know I should remember every little detail, but I don't. He is not very romantic and the earth didn't move or anything like that. I remember it was drizzling rain and I wanted to go inside. We were standing in my parent's driveway. He had just told me he had joined the Army. I remember thinking that I didn't want to be left behind while he was away. I said I would think about it. It's not like he had a ring then or anything. I think he was really just testing the waters. I don't think you should be allowed to do that. Anyway, he decided to just go in the National Guard instead and I said yes.
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Homeschool Week Recap Sept 7



In my life this week...
 I cannot believe it's already Friday!! Labor Day messed us up completely. I have been so off schedule and then this was a "down" week for me anyway since most of the week I have suffered from migraines! Hubs came home today for the weekend so I am hoping to get some home projects completed. I've also been very busy working on a surprise that I will share whenever it's completed. Probably around Christmas, which will be here before you know it.... I've also played around with digital scrapbooking again.

In our homeschool this week...

Remember I just said we've been off schedule? This week we've done school but it just didn't seem to "flow" well. We are continuing our regular studies. Jeremiah will be adding soccer soon; I signed him up this week and he got fitted for his uniform yesterday. Wednesday, our local homeschool group held its annual Back To School Park Day. The kids each got to stand up and do a short presentation of what they did over the summer or what they are learning now. Connor helped Jeremiah tell all about animal facts he has learned. Jared was planning on discussing a book he read, but at the last minute, shared some origami. (Wished I had better pics...of course the ones of everyone else's kids turned out better!) Jeremiah got to meet a new friend who is only one year older and also lives very close to us.




My favorite thing this week...

We spent Labor Day in Orlando with friends from NC that we haven't seen in a long time. Their daughter just moved here and will be about an hour and half from us. We took the kids to Downtown Disney. I've only been there two or three times before. I got spend some time holding the baby and finished the day off eating at Rainforest Cafe.
 

What's working for us...

I spend some time during our homeschool group meeting this week discussing how we do school. It is really helping teaching history, science and geography together. I don't feel so scattered. I make it more difficult for Connor and he is required to do much more and of course, much easier for Jeremiah.

I'm reading...

Haven't had time to read much this week. I did finish listening to Hunger Games on audio. I had already read the book. Even though I enjoy the series okay, the first book is hard for me to swallow. It just goes against my grain the entire concept of kids fighting to the death. Even though it is considered young adult, I only allow myself and my girls to read the books and/or watch the movie. Btw, my girls are 20 and 23. 


What's inspired me this week...

 
Music. This song in particular. There's two parts that have really been speaking to me:

 "You may be knocked down now
but don't forget what He said, He said
I won't give you more, more then you can take
and I might let you bend, but I won't let you break"

and
"Who you are ain't what your going through
So don't let it get the best of you
Cause God knows everything you need,
so you ain't gotta worry"

A photo (collage) to share...



(left to right, top to bottom) Jeremiah got a new soccer ball for practicing (word of advice: do not take a 5 yr old shopping with you..spent a little more than I wanted for his favorite color!), Tara had to carefully take the butterfly off Jeremiah's shirt, Jeremiah was thrilled when a butterfly landed on his shirt...although it refused to leave on its own, playing with friends in front of a wavy mirror (Goofy's candy store @ Downtown Disney), Jared and Jeremiah trying out hats at the Toy Co. (also Downtown Disney), we loved watching the train travel around the top of the store (still there..), I got my baby holding fix for awhile, the soccer fields where Jeremiah will play.

This post is also shared at Collage Friday
Homegrown Learners
 


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