Sinfully Delicious

Turn your New Year's day brunch into something unforgettable with this amazing recipe. (Thank you Mrs. O!!! I miss our days together at OHS :)  )

Coolrise Cinnamon Rolls

5 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons dry active yeast
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 eggs

*Caramel
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves

Filling
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

YouTube Video Link

https://youtu.be/fo1tRZtvIu8

1. Using an electric mixer, combine 2 cups flour, 1//2 cup sugar, salt and yeast.
2. Add 1/2 cup soft butter
3. Add 1 1/2 cup hot (120 degrees F) water gradually.  Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  Scrap bowl often.  Mixture will be a thin liquid.

4. Add 2 eggs and 2 cups flour.  Beat 2 minutes at higher speed.  Scrap bowl.  Dough will be very soft.
5. Add 1 more cup of flour.  Mix slowly.
6.Turn onto floured surface.  Knead dough until smooth and elastic.

Form dough into large  ball.  Cover with a dry towel and allow dough to rest about 15 minutes.

7. Roll dough into a 16" X 8" rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar cinnamon mixture (1/2 cup sugar + 2 T cinnamon.)

8.  Roll from long side as for jelly roll. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Place in prepared 13 X 9 pan cut side up. (Greased for plain rolls or over caramel for pecan caramel rolls.)

9. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate over night.
10. To bake:  uncover rolls and let stand for 10 minutes.  Place in a 200 degree oven to proof until double in size.  Remove from oven.

11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 20-25 minutes. (Internal temperature of 190 degrees F.)

12. Caramel rolls:  cool for 5 minutes and then invert pan--allow pan to sit on rolls for two minutes so that caramel drips onto rolls.  Remove pan.

13.  For frosted rolls glaze with icing.

*To make the caramel topping combine butter and sugar in a saucepan--heat and stir until sugar in dissolved (about 2 minutes.)  Remove from heat and stir in the corn syrup.

CINNAMON ROLLS WITHOUT THE CARAMEL

Butter the pan and place the rolls equally spaced in the pan.  Bake. When cooled top with icing if desired.
Cream cheese frosting (copy cat version of Cinnabon frosting)
http://www.copykat.com/2009/03/27/cinnabon-frosting/

Holiday Traditions

The mouthwatering aroma of butter cookies wafting from the oven while we mixed, baked and decorated hundreds of Christmas cookies is one of my favorite childhood memories.  My older sisters kept  the tally as the sheets were pulled from the oven—a thousand or more???  Rolled, sliced, formed and dropped cookies covered every inch of available counter space and table.  Baking Christmas goodies and sharing them with our friends and family is a tradition that I have passed on to my children!   

Traditions are like glue.  They help to bind people together providing a basic human need--a sense of belonging.  They provide a venue to teach values and build a sense of identity and security.  So if you are looking to start a family tradition or making memories--baking  is fun, easy, and tasty too!  

Jewel swirls, cream cheese cookies,  pecan shorts, donuts and cinnamon rolls are a few of my favorites that we make during the holidays. Cream cheese cookies were one of my mother’s specialties. They are a type of kolacky (or kolache--coming from my Czech and Slovak heritage, they are a pastry that holds a dollop of fruit.) My children were always excited when Grandma arrived with a box of these pastries when she visited. 

With only four ingredients it a simple pastry to master—here is the recipe!

     1 cup of butter, softened

     1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

     2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

     2 cups flour

     Prepared filling (apricot, raspberry, cheese, poppyseed etc.)

Have the butter and cream cheese at room temperature. Cream together the butter, cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Stir in the flour until combined.  Gather into a ball and refrigerate for two hours.

Roll out on a surface dusted with confectioners sugar to a uniform thickness of 3/16", cut into circles and place on a cookie sheet.

 



Use your thumb to make a dent in the middle of each cookie. Fill with a dollop of filling and sprinkle with strusel* if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown on the bottom.

*Strusel Recipe

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Or, place the ingredients in a bowl and work ingredients together using a fork or your fingers.



More Reading....

5 Reasons to Observe Family Traditions

http://parentingteens.about.com/od/familylife/a/familytradition.htm

Do Kids Get the Importance of Family Traditions?

http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/family-traditions/kids-understand-importance-of-family-traditions.htm

Family Traditions: The Ties That Bind

http://www.genealogy.com/9_famtrd.html

Protein--For Health & Performance

High Protein—Low Protein diets, just how much protein do we really need?  Most researchers, nutritionists, and the USDA recommend that sedentary to moderately active people consume about .4 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. Active people require between .5 to .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Some research suggests that highly active people and athletes may need even more.  A few years ago (lol) when I was a competitive athlete I doubled the amount of protein I was consuming to provide for the repair and maintenance of my muscle mass and to help build strength (I was a powerlifter J .) Protein is an essential nutrient that you need to consume every day!

Through our daily diet we get protein from both plant and animal sources such as: nuts, bean, grains, meats, poultry, fish and seafood.

“Find a recipe for a main dish that uses a variety of foods to provide 10-20 grams of protein per serving”—that was the challenge I presented to my Performance Foods classes this week.  The results were fantastic! Students made a  variety of tasty dishes including  rice and bean burritos, ricotta and flax seed pancakes, macaroni and cheese and chicken and corn stir-fry. These healthy dishes were within our budget too! J

The following are links to a few of their favorite recipes. Try them! Let us know how they turned out or what variations you made.

Fiesta Chicken Soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fiesta-Chicken-Soup/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=dinner&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe&scale=4&ismetric=0

Tip:  Season to taste.  You may want to add some cumin, jalapeno pepper or salsa to give this dish a little extra zip.  Enjoy the lime! Homemade pita wedges or tortilla strips go well with this soup.

Ravioli with Tomatoes, Beans & Spinach

http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001046868,00.html

Tip: Season to taste. The recipe uses little salt or spice--the students thought is was bland and added salt and pepper. You may want to add a little more oregano and basil too.  

Chicken Pesto Florentine

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pesto-chicken-florentine/

Tip:  One of the class favorites!  A low-fat version of the Alfredo sauce helps to keep the saturated fat down (I suggest to make your own.)

 Christmas-Brunch Casserole

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hashbrown-breakfast-bake/

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Christmas-Brunch-Casserole/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Tip:  Both of these recipes turned out great.  You can vary the meat and vegetables and the amount of cheese used.  We left the cheese off the Christmas Brunch recipe and it was still really good.

Shrimp (or Chicken) & Corn Stir-Fry

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/shrimp-stir-fry-recipe/index.html

Tip:  We used chicken instead of the shrimp which cut the cost of the dish and still tasted great.   Be creative--add black bean or spice to your taste! This dish can be served with a side of  rice or pasta.

Helen's High-Protein, Low-Carbohydrate Pancakes



http://www.food.com/recipe/helens-high-protein-low-carb-pancakes-448497

Tip:  A great recipe for those looking for low carb recipes. These have a quiche like flavor (lots of eggs.)  There are a number of recipes online for ricotta pancakes that incorporate oatmeal or wheat flour in the recipe which changes the texture. A little syrup or fruit and yogurt topping completes these pancakes.

Happy, healthy eating!!!

References:

Protein Quality, Quantity and Timing

http://blog.nasm.org/nutrition/protein-quality-quantity-and-timing/

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/protein-foods-amount.html

http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

http://thepaleodiet.com/

What are Proteins and Why do we Need Them?
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=348&utm_source=rss_reader&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_feed