Homemade Buns

First - In a small saucepan combine, milk, water and unsalted butter. I put on medium heat so it would not scald the milk as much.

Next - I combined 1.5 C flour, 1 (.25 ounce) instant yeast packet, 2 TBSP white sugar, kosher salt; mix well using the paddle attachment.

Once the butter mixture reaches 120° remove from stove top and slowly pour in the mixer.

Now you will need to mix in the eggs. 

Once the eggs are mixed in switch to the dough hook attachment, then you will need to mix the rest of the flour. I found it best to mix in 1/2 C at a time; beating well after each addition. 

Once the dough becomes elasticity, smooth and has pulled together you have made the dough. Woohoo! 

Place your dough into a greased bowl; cover with a light cloth (I use cheese cloth) and let the dough proof for 30 - 45 minutes.

Now that the dough has doubled in size. 

Here comes the fun part; now you can start forming your buns by rolling them into a ball and when you place them on the greased parchment paper lined cookies sheet flatten just a wee bit. 

I only made 6 buns, they were rather larger though so you can easily make 8 - 12 average size buns (depending on what your definition of average is) with this recipe. The rolls will need to proof again, this time 45 minutes to 1 hour (be sure to cover them with the cloth again). 

After and hour place them in your preheated oven. I am not sure the actual time it took for the buns to cook; I am guessing around 18 minutes. I set my timer for 10 minutes though and just kept watching them after that. Once they reached a golden brown color I took them out of the oven.

I made half plain buns and half dried minced onion buns. 

For the onion buns I  mixed about 1/4 C into the dough mixture (once the plain buns were already formed); once I rolled them into a ball I brushed only the onion buns with egg whites and sprinkled more dried minced onion along with onion powder on top of them. 

To compliment the buns I used Chris's step dad's brisket recipe. It takes 10 - 12 hours (depending on the size of your brisket) so I had to wait a whole day before I was able to try these delicious rolls. 

This is what the brisket looked like when it first started cooking.

Tada, this brisket sandwich was greatness! 

Here is the bun recipe I used

Ribbon Wreath Tutorial

Ribbon wreaths are super duper easy and way cute. You can make one in about 2 hours from start to finish and they  are affordable to make (less than $20).

I got excited when making this wreath a skipped over a step by accident as you will see in the tutorial. Oops! 


Supplies 
1. 12" wreath (I used a straw wreath); you can make a larger wreath, you will just need to figure out how much more ribbon you will need.
2. Ribbon - I used 22 different ribbons; 24"/per ribbon cut into 3" strips  (some of the ribbon I used were the same patterns they were just different sizes). You will have a total 176 3" pieces of Ribbon. Be sure to have some extra ribbon though in case you see hole between the fabric or you fill you wreath in more than I did..
3. Straight Pins
4. Scissors 
5. Hot Glue Gun (Optional)
6. Fabric or Ribbon to wrap the wreath in before you start. 

Step One - 
Wrap the wreath using the bottom layer of ribbon or fabric (Step 6 on the supplies list).
As you see in the picture I got excited about this craft and forgot to take of the plastic wrapping around the wreath and I forgot to wrap the wreath. It does not affect the wreath, it just exposes the wreath color and everywhere you did not place ribbon when you look at in closely...oops! 


Step Two - 
Cut approximately 176, 3" strips of ribbon (I use various sizes of ribbon so you may need more or less depending on what you are using).


Step Three  (Optional) - 
For extra security, hot glue the ends of the ribbon together to make a curl (I skipped this step and just pinned the ends of the ribbon together).

Step Four - 
Now here comes the fun part; start pinning your ribbon on the front of your wreath (you can pin more than just the front if you want though).


Step Five - 
Add a piece of ribbon to the back of your wreath that will be able to handle the weight of the wreath once it is hung up.

Step Six - 
Hang up your wreath and enjoy the creation you just made. 

Sticky Nut Brittle

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast

Penne Mozzarella Salad

For dinner this evening I was wanting a pasta dish that was cold since it is so hot outside. 

I had some mozzarella left from when I made the Hawaiian pizza so I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the dish. 

I went with a penne mozzarella salad, it is not too heavy of a dish and you can easily add shrimp, chicken or another type of meat to make it more filling.
   

Ingredients:

1. 1 (12 ounce) package penne pasta
2. 1/4 cup olive oil
3. 1 TBSP minced garlic
4. 1 cup  cherry tomatoes
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. 5 ounces mozzarella cheese, diced
7. 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8. 3 TBSP dried basil

Directions: 

1.    In a large pot of boiling cook pasta as directed on box.

2.    Heat olive oil in a small saucepan, stir in garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. 

3.    Add pasta, tomatoes, salt, and pepper; cook over low heat to warm through. 

4.    Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and basil.

5.    Place in the refrigerator for at lease an hour before serving. 

Lettuce Taco's

Taco's are always a hit at our house so today I decided to add a twist to what I think of as the "standard" taco (taco shell with the fixings inside) and use a lettuce leaf in it's place. Not to mention it may be slightly healthier to omit the shell.

Ingredients:

1. Head of lettuce
2. Ground meat (I used ground turkey)
3. Taco seasoning packet
4. Shredded Cheese (optional)
5. Tomatoes, Onions or any other toppings that you prefer (optional).
6. Salsa, Sour Cream or Guacamole (optional). 

Directions: 

1. Brown the meat in a skillet on top of the stove.
2. While the meat is "browning" wash and pull apart the lettuce.
3. Shred the cheese.
4. Once the meat has finished cooking; follow the directions on the seasoning packet and add it to the meat.
5. Fill the lettuce shells with the meat and any desired toppings. 

There you have it; a simple alternative to the standard taco and they are simply delicious. 

Crock Pot Pork Chops

Homemade Pizza

I have been wanting to make my own pizza for a while now, and since I purchased the Pizza Que Grilling Stone yesterday I figured what better time to make my own pizza then now.


Chris loves hawaiian style pizza so I decided that I was going to make my own version.


I started with the pizza sauces since the seasonings need to marinate for about 1 hour. 


For the sauce I used, tomato paste, minced garlic, honey, basil, marjoram, onion powder, oregano red pepper flakes, cayenne, Parmesan cheese, and pepper. 

1. I dusted my work surface with cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking. 

2. I patted down the dough with my hands to give it the round shape and to slightly flatten.

3. Using a rolling pin I rolled out the pizza until it attained the thickness I desired.



4. I folded in the edges of the pizza dough to form the "crust".


5. Using a fork I pierced the pizza to help prevent any air bubbles from forming while it is in the oven baking.

6. Using a spoon I poured on the pizza sauce and smeared it around on the pizza.

7. I had some extra seasoning I had made earlier in the week for garlic bread, so I decided to use that the flavor the crust. 

I sure am glad I did because it was delicious. 

8. I added one layer of ham on top of the pizza sauce.

9. Then, I scattered some sliced pineapple on top of the ham.

10. Next, I added both types of mozzarella cheese and shredded Canadian bacon to finish it off. 


11. Finally it is time to bake it. 
Per the directions on the Pizza Que cooking Stone I baked the pizza on 425°.

Let's talk about an amazing pizza; it turned out perfect and was absolutely delicious.

Pizza Que Grilling Stone

I am super duper excited about a purchase I made today at Williams-Sonoma. 


I bought a Pizza Que Grilling Stone; it came with a heavy weight (my opinion) porous clay stone and the stainless steal base. The base has a built in temperature gauge to monitor the temperature if you are cooking with it on the grill. 


Now I need to figure out what kind of pizza to make on it tomorrow. I will let you know how what I decide to make and my reviews my purchase. 

Coconut Chicken Tenders

Oh the flavor! Coconut chicken tenders are always a hit at our house.

Adding coconut to the breading helps jazz up the chicken and it is simple to cook with.

How I made it:

1. Season the chicken tenders with seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper.
2. Mix together egg and condensed milk in a small bowl until well incorporated.
3. In another small bowl, mix Panko crumbs with sweetened flaked coconut.  
4. Fully coat the chicken tender in the wet mixture followed by the dry mixture.
5. Place chicken on a foil lined cookie sheet (be sure to grease the foil so the chicken does not stick).
6. Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Personally I am not a coleslaw fan or cabbage of any sort. Chris likes coleslaw though so I did some online research, read a handful reviews and decided to make Paula Deen's, The Lady's Coleslaw .
It has 107 reviews and 5 stars which is awesome and the reviews that I read sealed the deal for me.

I made the recipe exactly the way she has it and it looked good.  I was excited for Chris to taste it since it had such great reviews. 
He tasted it and that was about it; he did not like it. I did not try myself since I do not like coleslaw already, I'll take his word for it though and not make that recipe again. 

Oh well, I knew there was going to come a day where I made something that he did not like and today was that day. 
In addition to the coconut chicken tenders and coleslaw,  I also cooked sweet potatoes fries along with cheesy cauliflower so he didn't go hungry. 

How to make a fabric banner

I have been wanting to make a fabric banner to use for various occasions we may have at our house. I think it is a fun, creative way to add additional color to any decor or theme.

I purchased 8 colors of fabric; quarter yard of each (there are only 7 colors in the picture as I had to go back to the store to the the orange fabric after I took the picture).

Material - 

1. 8  pieces of fabric (quarter yard of each)
2. scissors
3. Craft rope to tie the fabric around

Step One - I folded each piece of fabric in half once.

Step Two - I cut the fabric in a straight line down the center of the fold I just made.

Step Three - I folded each piece individually the I just cut in half once more then cut straight down the center again.

Now I have four 2" wide and 36" long strips.
I repeated steps one - three for each fabric.


Next I made four rows and layered the fabric so that each row only had one of each pattern/color. That just made it easier for when I tie the fabric around the rope.

I did not take a picture of the fabric being tied around the rope.
What I did though was placed a piece of fabric approximately 2" above the rope and then tied it in a knot (I repeated that step until the banner was complete).

Chicken Wrapped Bacon

This is a super simple way to change up you ordinary baked chicken recipe into something that extra tasty. 

Breakfast Hamburgers

Who doesn't just love chocolate for breakfast? Chocolate gravy ("breakfast hamburgers") may not be one of the healthiest breakfast; it is delicious though and that is why this is one of my top 5 favorite breakfast recipe.

It is not what it seems, and defiantly one of those recipes that you question the first time you eat. Once you try, I am certain that it will become one of your favorite recipes too.

Cinnamon Swirled pancakes with Cream Cheese Syrup

There are numerous things you can create to change up the way a normal pancake or even waffle taste. Many people use maple syrup, others add fruit, some may use whipping cream; there are tons of possibilities.

Today I decided to add the cinnamon mixture that I use when I make my cinnamon bread.
I took a pancake recipe that I already loved and added a twist to it. I swirled in the cinnamon mixture; that made for an extra delicious pancakes.

Step One - After preparing the batter poured it on the griddle and let it sit for approximately one minute just to firm up so the cinnamon mixture would not run out when I swirl it in.

Note - I cook the pancakes on low so that they will not cook too quickly.

Step Two - I put the cinnamon mixture in a pastry bag and swirled it onto the pancakes.

Note - you can use a plastic zip bag if you do not have a pastry bag and just snit the side after you pour the mixture into it.

 Step Three - I waited approximately 2 minutes before flipping sides (I could see the bubbles starting to pop on top on the pancake) . As you can see, the cinnamon mixture did not go through to the other side since in "Step One" I waited a minute before swirling in the mixture.

Once the pancakes are finished you can see how the cinnamon mixture baked in the pancakes perfectly making it look crispy and caramelized.

Now comes the topping; I mixed together melted butter, melted cream cheese, confectioner sugar and vanilla bean paste to make the cream cheese syrup.

                                   
My boyfriend said "these are the best pancakes he has ever had." Now that is a huge compliment and made my day that much better. I will defiantly be making these again.

Melt in your Mouth Cinnamon Cupcakes

Yesterday I was craving homemade cinnamon bread and could not get it off of my mind. As some of you may already know, making bread from scratch is a tad time consuming. There was not enough time remaining in my day to make some so I came up with an alternative plan.

Instead I decided to take my homemade vanilla bean cupcake recipe and add  2 TBSP of ground cinnamon and see if that would do the trick for my craving. Oh my it did, they were absolutely define with just enough cinnamon.

I could have served the cupcakes as muffins; I knew if I made cinnamon cream cheese frosting though that would top it off nicely.

Half way through mixing in the confectioner sugar into the wet ingredients for the frosting I tasted to see how the flavor was coming, I stopped right there. Wow, it was already perfect and I had not finished adding the remaining amount of sugar that I typically use. With that I knew the consistency would not be as stiff, so the frosting would run more then I typically prefer it to. I did not want to touch that deliciousness that I had just created and I am glad I didn't.

The frosting still turned out nice. I topped it off with crushed graham cracker on some and other I added half of a graham cracker and a piece of chocolate.

Needless to say these cupcakes were a big hit and I will be making theses again.

If you have a favorite vanilla bean recipe try adding 2 TBSP of ground cinnamon like I did, it is scrumptious.

We all scream for ice cream...cupcakes

Texas summer are just a tad hot, okay more like sweltering so it makes me want to eat or drink a something cold to keep cool. 
I thought about making some homemade banana ice cream after I finished decorating the cupcakes I baked last night. Then a light bulb went off; I remembered seeing an ice cream cone cupcake somewhere before and I decided that is how I was going to decorate them. 
Isn't this just a fun way to display cupcakes? This is perfect for any occasion or event and is rather simple. 

Creative Message

My boyfriend has to travel for work some so when he does I try to do something sweet for him to see when he arrives at the airport or his destination. 
Today he had to go out of town so I made him this hand message card a slipped it into his laptop bag. Some may think this is cheesy; I love doing things like this though. 


How I made it:
I took 2 sheets of 8x10 scrapbook paper a sharpie and double sided tape.
With the first sheet I folded it in half and traced my hand; next I cut out the traced shape.
Then I cut a strip long length wise of the second sheet of paper and folded it like stairs. 
After that I wrote the messages on each piece of paper and finally I used double sided tape to make it all stick together (you can use glue or another adhesive, I just had double sided tape on hand). 


There you have it; a creative message. 
This would also be a creative way for you child to send a personal card to someone too. 

"Arrgh, Matey" Simple Pirate Cake

I have been wanting to make a pirate cake for a while now and finally did. 

This is a simple pirate cake; you can always make it more elaborate though by adding additional touches such as finishing the bandanna, adding ears or an earring since some pirate in movies have them. You can add more detail to the face just by changing the features. Also, I used a black ribbon on the bottom on the cake outlined in icing at the base, in addition too or instead you could make gold coins using fondant, the chocolate wrapped in gold foil ,or even buy the plastic gold coins and to arrange in front of the cake (just remember to tell the others about the items you have added that are not edible). I know there are many more possibilities out there to dress this cake up so be creative and have fun with it.