Yesterday, we covered making whole wheat bread.  I used 1 loaf of bread dough to make 2 pans of cinnamon rolls.  Yum!

The process is easy and not scientific at all.  You’ll need the whole wheat bread dough first, of course.

Roll it out to about the thickness of pizza crust.  It should look like this: 

Generously spread butter over the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Then roll lengthwise, like this:

Slice into 1″ thick slices.  This made 2 pans of rolls.  Place in a greased pan and cover loosely with a cloth.  Let rise about 30 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

I made a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk to put on top.

I baked one pan right away and saved the second pan for the next morning.  Just put the unbaked rolls in the refrigerator overnight.

I was so excited to find Quaker Steel Cut Oats on the grocery shelf the other day.  They were over a dollar less expensive than the brand my store usually carries, making them pretty affordable.  I like to use steel cut oats in the slow cooker, because they hold up better.

I wanted to make something more interesting than a normal bowl of oats, so I checked out the Quaker site.  Lots of recipes over there, but none for steel cut oats.  I couldn’t believe it!

Since I didn’t find any recipes, I created my own.  Actually, the idea comes from Good Life Eats.  Katie created Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal using old fashioned oats.  I didn’t follow her recipe, but the idea came from her.

Here’s what you’ll need:  

Do you eat a hot breakfast everyday?

The other day, I posted a list of 28 Muffins You’ll Want to Try and Terri left this comment:

Hi,
I was looking at your muffin recipes. They look yummy! I’m also looking for a coconut muffin maybe with mini choc chips added. Have you ever heard of something like that? I thought maybe replacing the liquid with coconut milk then add either maybe a streusel with toasted coconut and a drizzle of chocolate. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions? I have tried a couple of your recipes and passed on your site to some friends.
Thanks,
Terri

Oh, what a good idea!  I went into the kitchen and got creative right away.  These are the result.  The muffin is infused with coconut flavor and studded with mini chocolate chips.  The streusel topping has cocoa and coconut.  Oh yeah!

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. baking powder
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Stir the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, coconut extract and milk and mix until well blended.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a spoon.  Stir gently, just until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Fill greased muffin pan with batter.  Top with Streusel Topping before baking.

For Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup coconut
• 5 Tbs. sugar
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 2 tsp. cocoa
• 5 Tbs. flour

Combine all the ingredients with a fork or your fingers to make crumbs.  Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with topping.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I love muffins.  I love them even more than cupcakes.  Probably because they are so quick to make.  It’s almost instant gratification from the time the muffin idea pops in your head until you’re pulling them from the oven.

Of course, not all muffins are the sweet variety.  They are delicious savory versions that can round out and stretch a meal.

Here’s a list of muffin recipes gathered from this site and all around the web too.  Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Muffins – Just like the cookie, only in muffin form.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Cranberry Muffins with Orange Marmalade Glaze – The glaze would be really good on other kinds of muffins too.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Blueberry Muffins with Orange Glaze

Apple Brown Betty Muffins

Poppy Seed Muffins

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

Graham Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins

Argan Banana Muffins from Maroc Mama

Sweet Potato Spice Muffins from The Jammie Girl

Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping from Hoosier Homemade

Banana Muffins with Tart Lemon Icing from Addicted to Recipes

Apple Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins from Barbara Bakes

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins from Mommy Hates Cooking

White Chocolate Pineapple Muffins from Mommy Hates Cooking

Grain Free Banana Nut Muffins from Community Cucina

Mocha Banana Muffins from The Happy Housewife

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Muffins from The Happy Housewife

Whole Wheat Banana Millet Muffins from The Happy Housewife

S’more Muffins from The Happy Housewife

Pear Muffins from The Happy Housewife

Cheddar Muffins

Cornbread Muffins

Make Your Own Cornbread Muffin Mix

Goat Cheese Biscuits – Not really muffins, but muffin-like and oh, so good.

How to Make the Best Muffins Ever + One Bowl Oatmeal Muffins with variations from Simple Bites

Some of you wonderful readers recently introduced me to the blog, Picky Palate.  The first post I saw there was Peanut Butter and Jelly Skillet Monkey Bread.   Heavens to Murgatroyd!  That looks delish!  And you know how I love peanut butter.

But as I read the recipe, the words “jelly of your choice” caught my attention and all I could think of was apple jelly.  Which pairs perfectly with cinnamon and brown sugar.  So I took the original recipe and did a bit of tweaking to come up with this:

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tube refrigerated biscuits
• 1/2 cup apple jelly

Melt the butter in a small bowl.  Stir the brown sugar and cinnamon together.  Cut the biscuits into 4 pieces each.

Pour the melted butter in a gallon size zip top bag.  Add the biscuit pieces and gently squish to coat them with butter.  Pour in the brown sugar and flip the bag to coat the pieces of biscuit with the sugar.

Spray a 9″ or 10″ iron skillet with cooking spray.  Dump the biscuit pieces into the skillet and arrange in a single layer.  Warm the apple jelly, till it thins.  Pour over the top of the biscuits.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Devour with a glass of milk.

They scraped the pan clean!

I still want to try Picky Palate’s Peanut Butter version.  I also thought about making it with peach preserves.  Mmmm…

What kind of flavor would you make?

Have you noticed grocery prices racing up?  Yikes!  It’s gotten crazy.

This month we’re going to be focusing on saving money on food.  We kicked it off yesterday with a new Low-Cost Meals Menu.  Today, I’m sharing a list of the least expensive recipes I have.  Nearly all of my recipes are budget friendly, but these really counteract those rising prices.

You may notice a lot of rice, beans, pasta and eggs in this list.  Basing meals on these ingredients is a great way to keep the cost low.

Main Dishes

1. Bean and Bacon Soup
2. Bramble Beans
3. Ham and Potato Chowder
4. Refried Bean Quesadillas
5. Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
6. Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce with Two Cheeses
7. Vietnamese Style Chicken Noodle Soup
8. All Veggie Vegetable Soup
9. Loaded Baked Potatoes with Homemade Cheese Sauce
10. Pasta Soup
11. Ham, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
12. South of the Border Skillet
13. Potato Soup
14. Mac & Cheddar with Broccoli
15. Baked Spaghetti
16. Creamy Potato Soup
17. Ham & Pineapple Fried Rice
18. Chicken Tortilla Soup
19. Lentil Tacos
20. Red Sauce DiPaola
21. Grandma’s Spaghetti Sauce
22. Vietnam Fried Rice
23. Shaker Village Tomato Soup
24. Chipped Beef Gravy over Cornbread or Biscuits
25. Mexican Beans and Rice
26. Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil
27. Egg Salad Sandwiches
28. Asian Noodles with Stir Fry Veggies and Chicken
29. Calico Bean Soup with Smoked Sausage
30. Hamburger Vegetable Soup
31. Crockpot Chicken Soup
32. Corn Chowder
33. Taco Soup

Breakfast for Dinner

1. Western Omelette Casserole
2. Scrambled Eggs, Ham and Muenster
3. Scrambled Eggs and Peppers
4. Garden Frittata
5. Bread Eggs
6. Whole Wheat Pancakes
7. Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes
8. Cheesy Eggs and Ham

Meal Stretchers

1. Depression Era Bread
2. Corn Bread
3. Biscuits
4. Graham Muffins
5. Cornbread Muffins
6. Whole Wheat Biscuits
7. Hoe Cakes
8. Cheddar Muffins

Desserts and Snacks

1. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Snickerdoodle Muffins
3. Moosehunter Cookies
4. Apple Brownies
5. Wacky Cake
6. Apple Crinkle
7. Peach Crisp in the Slow Cooker
8. Apple Brown Betty Muffins
9. Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
10. Pumpkin Muffins
11. Butterscotch Cookies
12. Simple Coffee Cake
13. No Bake Cookies
14. Amish Oatmeal Cookies

This post is linked to:

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned Beginner Recipe Link Up

For Christmas morning, I wanted to make a different type of breakfast casserole than the egg/sausage one I usually make.  We have to have some kind of protein to counteract the cinnamon rolls, frozen fruit cups, and hot cocoa.

I set out on a search to find a recipe that suited me, but since I’m picky, I couldn’t find the perfect casserole.  So, I created one based on several recipes.  I knew I wanted ham, peppers and onions.  And it needed to be something I could make the day before and pop in the oven on Christmas morning to bake.

The result was exactly what I hoped for.  The green and red pepper made it look Christmasy, but it would be good for any brunch.  It would also make a good breakfast-for-dinner meal.  I didn’t get a photo of the ingredients, but here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/2 – 2/3 loaf of French or Italian bread
• about 1/8 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1-2 cups diced ham
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 10 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

Butter a 9×13 casserole dish.  Tear the bread into pieces and place in the dish.  Scatter the peppers, onions, ham and cheese over the top of the bread.  Beat the eggs with a whisk.  Stir in the milk, dry mustard, salt and pepper.  Pour over the other ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Last month when I went to the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter test kitchens they fed us some delicious foods.  Lots and lots of food.  All made with ICBINB, of course.

Leave it to me to pick out the simplest idea to share with you.  In a room full of cheesecake, stuffed mushrooms, truffles (I may still have to share those) and scones, I zeroed in on toast.   I love simple, easy, manageable, effortless recipes.

Grab that tub of ICBINB and get ready to transform your morning toast.

I tweaked the original recipe a bit.  I increased all the amounts so there would be enough for my family to eat for several days.  I also decided French Toast demands syrup, so I added a bit to the mix.

• 1/2 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spread
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbs. pancake syrup
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well combined.  Spread on hot toast.

Store the extra in the fridge.  I have noticed that they syrup separates a bit after storing, but it’s easy to give it a quick stir before serving.

Do you eat a big breakfast on the weekend?  What do you like to have?

When I was contacted about the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Holiday Bake-Off trip, I quickly agreed to participate.  Then I realized I would need to come prepared to bake something. (Pictures from the trip are at the end of this post.)

Cranberries are a natural holiday food, so I created two recipes featuring these beautiful gems.  Cranberry Muffins with Orange Marmalade Glaze is the recipe I chose to enter, only because I was afraid the roll dough in this recipe would not have time to rise in the 2-hour time limit.

But the rolls are a cinch to make and have all the sticky-sweet goodness you expect from a sticky roll.  As a bonus, they’re studded with tart, red cranberries making them perfect for the Holidays.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 10 frozen dough rolls, thawed
• 1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 stick I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Spray a large pie plate with cooking spray.  Place the roll dough in the pie plate.  Sprinkle the nuts and cranberries over and around the rolls.  Let the dough rise until it’s double in size, about 1 hour, depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Melt the ICBINB! in the microwave.  Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Drizzle over the top of the risen dough balls.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the rolls are done.  Turn upside down on a plate to serve.

Here’s how they looked before I flipped them over:

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Holiday Bake-Off

Nine bloggers were invited to take part in the bake-off.  It was such a privilege to meet all of them.  {Left to right, front row: Barbara, Barbara Bakes,  Amanda, Fake Ginger, Aly, Aly-tude. Back row: Jenn, BeanTownBaker, Sara, Average Betty, Anna , Cookie Madness, Liz, Hoosier Homemade, Alison, Ingredients Inc, and me}

Most of the bloggers were new to me, but I have stalked read Cookie Madness for a very long time.  Her Frito Candy is legendary around my house.  Anna knows her stuff when it comes to baking.

I was also excited to meet Liz of Hoosier Homemade.  We know each other from Twitter and we worked together on the Virtual Progressive Thanksgiving Dinner.

Our day started with a limo ride to the Unilever Test Kitchens.

We were fed breakfast and later, a lunch of appetizers and dessert.  It was all delicious!

And we baked!  The test kitchens are very much like the kitchen you have at home, if you had 6 of them all in one room.  They want to replicate the appliances and pantry of the average home cook, so the recipes will work for everyone.

I was very surprised to learn that one of the most popular desserts to bake at this time of year is cheesecake.  Because of this fact, the test kitchens created Holiday Pumpkin Cheesecake which has a gingersnap crust. Yum!  Seeing the kitchens where back-of-the-box recipes originate was interesting.

Here, Liz is working hard on her Homemade Twix Bars.  Sarah from Average Betty had the winning recipe – Snow Ball Cupcakes.

See that counter full of desserts? That was some of the goodness baked up by us.

I had a wonderful time and learned that I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! is more than just a product to spread on your toast.  There are a ton of recipes on the ICBINB! website, if you’re looking for more information.

Some of the photos in this post were taken by Paul Gelsobello, who was there to take photos of everything.

Disclaimer: I received an all-expense paid trip to the Unilever Test Kitchens for the ICBINB! Holiday Bake-Off.  I was not asked to write this post and all of the opinions are my own.

One of you brilliant readers left this recipe in the comments section.  I can’t remember which post now, so I can’t find out who it was.  If you’re the wonderful person who shared this recipe, please let me know so I can thank you!

If you’re looking for easy, homemade Christmas gift ideas you’ll want to consider this apple butter.  It makes a lot, which is good, because you’ll want to keep some for yourself too.

It starts with a couple jars of store-bought applesauce and a slow cooker.  The result is fragrant deliciousness that’s heavenly spread on a warm biscuit.  It will even perk up a plain old piece of toast.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 8 cups applesauce (I used 2 – 46oz jars)
• 4 cups sugar
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. allspice (not in photo)
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp. cloves

Stir all the ingredients together in the slow cooker.  Cook uncovered on high for 6-7 hours.  Don’t stir during that time, just enjoy how wonderful your house smells.

The apple butter will cook down quite a bit.  After the cooking time, put it in a metal bowl and set in a sink or bowl of ice water to bring the temperature down.  Store in jars or zip top plastic bags in the refrigerator or freeze for later.

I put the apple butter in my stand mixer bowl to cool it down.

Do you make Christmas gifts?  What are your favorites to make and give?