Thanksgiving is coming! It's the time of year that everyone is thankful for everything they have, even if they were just crabbing about those very things the day before. Family comes....and we'll just leave it at that. And everyone pulls out all the stops for a delicious meal.
Our favorite part of Thanksgiving food is the leftovers. I have sweet potato casserole for breakfast for a week. It's wonderful! But even better is homemade rolls with leftover turkey and some mayo. Delish.
I got this recipe from UrbanHomemaker.com, a wonderful website. The recipe calls for all whole wheat flour, but my family finds that just a little too much for them. These are so easy to make, cook partially, then thaw and finish baking on Thanksgiving day at the last minute.
Enjoy!
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 dry powdered milk
1 Tbsp yeast
1 egg
3-4 cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half all-purpose)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil (I use butter sometimes)
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (optional if you're not doing all whole wheat flour)
Combine warm water, honey, powdered milk, and yeast in mixing bowl. Allow yeast to activate. Add eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until thoroughly mixed; dough will resemble cake batter. Let rest until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Add salt, oil, and remaining flour. Knead for 6-10 minutes or until until gluten is developed and dough is soft and pliable (I use my Kitchenaid mixer for this part - it should probably be punishment for some disobedient child...but I digress...). Pour out onto a lightly greased surface. Grease baking sheets. Pinch off 2" round portions, and roll out to an 8" rope. Tie rope in a single knot. Place in rows on baking sheets, cover, and let rise until double. Bake in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes (if you're doing these ahead, don't cook them all the way!). Brush with melted butter if desired (I don't), and remove to a cooling rack. Makes about 24.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
New Twist on Cookies
One night for our homegroup, I was looking for a snack to make. I always like to do something a little different if I have time. After all, you can only have chocolate chip cookies so many times.
All right, that's not true. I just like to have something different.
I searched through my binder, where I keep every recipe that I think I might make. As an aside, my dessert notebook is the fattest one. No surprise there!
I found a recipe from King Arthur Flour called Dutch Chews. They looked interesting and I finally had all the ingredients. Cornflakes, coconut, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Sounds yummy, right? They were!
Oh, and be sure to use a mixer - or be in really good shape. These are pretty tough to stir by hand.
Dutch Chews
2 sticks butter (I use salted even when it calls for unsalted - I just like the salt in with all that sweet!)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp molasses (I know it seems like too much to bother, but if you have it, it does make it taste good)
3 large eggs
1 cup (4 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz) whole wheat flour (let's pretend this ingredient makes them healthy, shall we??)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups (3 oz) cornflakes
2 cups (7 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats
2 2/3 cups (7 oz) sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375F. Use parchment paper, silicon sheets, or grease your pans.
Cream butter, sugars, and molasses together. Add the eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Mix in flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add cornflakes, oatmeal, coconut, and chocolate chips, stirring until evenly blended.
Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons (I used a scoop a bit smaller than a tablespoon and found they were a good size) onto prepared baking sheets and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes for softer cookies, or up to 16 minutes for crisper cookies.
Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen 4" cookies (since mine were smaller, it was probably about 72). As a bonus, the smaller cookies I made worked out to only about 100 calories each.
All right, that's not true. I just like to have something different.
I searched through my binder, where I keep every recipe that I think I might make. As an aside, my dessert notebook is the fattest one. No surprise there!
I found a recipe from King Arthur Flour called Dutch Chews. They looked interesting and I finally had all the ingredients. Cornflakes, coconut, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Sounds yummy, right? They were!
Oh, and be sure to use a mixer - or be in really good shape. These are pretty tough to stir by hand.
Dutch Chews
2 sticks butter (I use salted even when it calls for unsalted - I just like the salt in with all that sweet!)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp molasses (I know it seems like too much to bother, but if you have it, it does make it taste good)
3 large eggs
1 cup (4 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz) whole wheat flour (let's pretend this ingredient makes them healthy, shall we??)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups (3 oz) cornflakes
2 cups (7 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats
2 2/3 cups (7 oz) sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375F. Use parchment paper, silicon sheets, or grease your pans.
Cream butter, sugars, and molasses together. Add the eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Mix in flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add cornflakes, oatmeal, coconut, and chocolate chips, stirring until evenly blended.
Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons (I used a scoop a bit smaller than a tablespoon and found they were a good size) onto prepared baking sheets and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes for softer cookies, or up to 16 minutes for crisper cookies.
Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen 4" cookies (since mine were smaller, it was probably about 72). As a bonus, the smaller cookies I made worked out to only about 100 calories each.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Rib Rub
For those of you who don't know my family very well, I have one picky eater. I figure that's pretty good out of four. And he's really not even THAT picky, compared to other kids. He eats split pea soup, sloppy Joes, and tacos. He loves pulled pork, too....but not if it has sauce. I was stumped for awhile as to what to do with that, but I have been won over to the dry rub side of life. It's nowhere near as messy and you really get to taste the pork.
Oh....did I not mention we're talking pork?? Sorry, Texans.
I often use "country style" pork ribs when they're on sale, but pork butt can also be used. If it's ribs, then rub each individual rib. If it's pork butt, then you have to cut them into steak-sized pieces, otherwise the cooking time is changed, and so is the flavor (not as good).
And the rub is from.....you guessed it....Cooks Illustrated. I can't tell you enough how much I love their recipes. I almost always tweak them just a TINY bit, but I can safely make any of their recipes for the first time and KNOW it's going to turn out right. Each batch is enough for about 7 pounds of pork.
Here's my ever so simple method:
Rub ribs (with rib rub - and the longer you can let them sit, the better - 8-12 hours ahead is great)
Wrap ribs (in foil)
Roast ribs (300F for at least 3 hours)
And the spice rub. Make lots, because it'll go fast. All these spices should be ground, obviously.
4 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp table salt
1 Tbsp white pepper
1 Tbsp oregano (well, THIS one shouldn't be ground!)
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (obviously this one can be scaled up or down to your taste)
After the meat cooks and cools a little, I pull it apart with forks or fingers. You might like to grill it afterwards. I serve it with homemade rolls, coleslaw, and cowboy beans. Those are other recipes I'll put up later!
Enjoy!
Oh....did I not mention we're talking pork?? Sorry, Texans.
I often use "country style" pork ribs when they're on sale, but pork butt can also be used. If it's ribs, then rub each individual rib. If it's pork butt, then you have to cut them into steak-sized pieces, otherwise the cooking time is changed, and so is the flavor (not as good).
And the rub is from.....you guessed it....Cooks Illustrated. I can't tell you enough how much I love their recipes. I almost always tweak them just a TINY bit, but I can safely make any of their recipes for the first time and KNOW it's going to turn out right. Each batch is enough for about 7 pounds of pork.
Here's my ever so simple method:
Rub ribs (with rib rub - and the longer you can let them sit, the better - 8-12 hours ahead is great)
Wrap ribs (in foil)
Roast ribs (300F for at least 3 hours)
And the spice rub. Make lots, because it'll go fast. All these spices should be ground, obviously.
4 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp table salt
1 Tbsp white pepper
1 Tbsp oregano (well, THIS one shouldn't be ground!)
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (obviously this one can be scaled up or down to your taste)
After the meat cooks and cools a little, I pull it apart with forks or fingers. You might like to grill it afterwards. I serve it with homemade rolls, coleslaw, and cowboy beans. Those are other recipes I'll put up later!
Enjoy!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Tomato, tomah-toe...oh, and pesto, too
Summer is here and with it, an abundance of tomatoes and basil. I don't know about you, but I could live on those two things (well, and hummus, but that's another post).
My very favorite way to enjoy those veggies is in an Insalata Caprese. Get some "whole" mozzarella (those balls) and slice into 1/4" rounds. Slice the tomatoes the same thickness. Pinch off basil leaves. Arrange in a pretty circle like in the picture. Sprinkle some extra-virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar over the whole plate. Be cautious with the balsamic, as too much can be too strong. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and some salt. Enjoy!
If you prefer something a little less fancy, just chop up your tomatoes, as well as an onion and some basil, toss with some Italian dressing, and eat as a "chopped salad". You can add chopped mozzarella, but it soaks up a lot of dressing, so that's up to you.
Finally, one of my daughters' favorite foods is pesto. You need quite a bit of basil, and be sure you have a nice fresh baguette sliced thinly. The "original" recipe calls for pine nuts, but we much prefer almonds.
1/4 cup slivered almonds (or some type of almonds with NO skins)
3 medium cloves garlic (don't peel them yet!)
2 cups packed fresh basil
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (do NOT use the stuff in the green can!!!)
Toast the nuts in a heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about five minutes; set aside. Add the garlic to the empty pan and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and the color of the cloves deepens slightly, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly, then peel and chop.
Process nuts, garlic, basil, and olive oil in food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary, about 1 minute. Stir in Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.
If you prefer something a little less fancy, just chop up your tomatoes, as well as an onion and some basil, toss with some Italian dressing, and eat as a "chopped salad". You can add chopped mozzarella, but it soaks up a lot of dressing, so that's up to you.
Finally, one of my daughters' favorite foods is pesto. You need quite a bit of basil, and be sure you have a nice fresh baguette sliced thinly. The "original" recipe calls for pine nuts, but we much prefer almonds.
1/4 cup slivered almonds (or some type of almonds with NO skins)
2 cups packed fresh basil
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (do NOT use the stuff in the green can!!!)
Toast the nuts in a heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about five minutes; set aside. Add the garlic to the empty pan and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and the color of the cloves deepens slightly, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly, then peel and chop.
Process nuts, garlic, basil, and olive oil in food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary, about 1 minute. Stir in Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.
Monday, June 18, 2012
And in the mornin'....I'm makin' WAFFLES!
We have an extra kid tonight....the neighbor boy is spending the night. My boys are SO excited. They had originally asked if he could stay from Sunday til Thursday, lol!
I asked them to discuss what they wanted for breakfast and after about three seconds, my oldest came flying back upstairs and said, "WAFFLES!"
I love waffles. I love the crispy-ness, I love the fun shape, I love that you can cut on the lines (yes, I know that's weird), and I really love the maple syrup that goes on them. REAL maple syrup, not corn syrup with maple flavoring. Ick.
I digress.
My very favorite thing is that I can make the batter the night before, stumble down to the kitchen, pull it out of the fridge, and make a delicious breakfast before the coffee kicks in. Here's the recipe I used. I put together a couple of recipes that we sort of liked and made a recipe we just love.
You'll notice it's a huge amount of ingredients. Well, of course it is. I have four kids and they love breakfast at breakfast. I prefer to make breakfast for dinner as I'm NOT a morning person. The way I get around this is to make this amount of waffle batter (it's a quadruple batch, fyi), make it all up, and freeze what we don't eat. Although you'd probably be surprised at how many waffles we can put away. I freeze them in zip-top bags and the kids can all get their dang breakfast for the next week or so. It's a win-win situation.
Big batch of waffles - make 12-24 hours in advance
7 cups milk
1 pound butter
4 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons yeast (that's approximately 3 pouches - but be sure to measure!)
4 teaspoons vanilla
8 eggs
Melt the butter slowly in a saucepan with about a cup of the milk. When the butter's all melted, take the pot off the heat and add the rest of the milk. You want to cool down that mixture so it doesn't kill the yeast when you add it to the mix. You could wait for an hour for it to cool down by itself, but I'm guessing you don't really want to do that. :-)
While the butter is melting, mix the flours, salt, sugar, and yeast in a big bowl. Mix the eggs and the vanilla in another bowl and set aside. When the butter/milk mixture has cooled to just warm, add it to the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Then add the egg/vanilla mixture. Stir until smooth.
Cover (not tightly) and set in the fridge overnight. The next morning get up, start the coffee, heat up your waffle irons (you have two, right? that you found at a yard sale for $3 because they didn't know you had to flip the grids OVER to make waffles? I thought so), and start a-cookin'.
If you'd like everyone to eat at the same time (or have a late riser), put them on cooling racks in a low oven (250F or lower) to keep warm. Crack the oven door so they don't get soggy.
Pour the coffee, put a couple of waffles on your plate, butter if you feel you must, cut them, then add the syrup. And yes, I cut them first. I don't like them to get too soft. Yes, I KNOW, I'm weird.
Enjoy!
I asked them to discuss what they wanted for breakfast and after about three seconds, my oldest came flying back upstairs and said, "WAFFLES!"
I love waffles. I love the crispy-ness, I love the fun shape, I love that you can cut on the lines (yes, I know that's weird), and I really love the maple syrup that goes on them. REAL maple syrup, not corn syrup with maple flavoring. Ick.
I digress.
My very favorite thing is that I can make the batter the night before, stumble down to the kitchen, pull it out of the fridge, and make a delicious breakfast before the coffee kicks in. Here's the recipe I used. I put together a couple of recipes that we sort of liked and made a recipe we just love.
You'll notice it's a huge amount of ingredients. Well, of course it is. I have four kids and they love breakfast at breakfast. I prefer to make breakfast for dinner as I'm NOT a morning person. The way I get around this is to make this amount of waffle batter (it's a quadruple batch, fyi), make it all up, and freeze what we don't eat. Although you'd probably be surprised at how many waffles we can put away. I freeze them in zip-top bags and the kids can all get their dang breakfast for the next week or so. It's a win-win situation.
Big batch of waffles - make 12-24 hours in advance
7 cups milk
1 pound butter
4 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons yeast (that's approximately 3 pouches - but be sure to measure!)
4 teaspoons vanilla
8 eggs
Melt the butter slowly in a saucepan with about a cup of the milk. When the butter's all melted, take the pot off the heat and add the rest of the milk. You want to cool down that mixture so it doesn't kill the yeast when you add it to the mix. You could wait for an hour for it to cool down by itself, but I'm guessing you don't really want to do that. :-)
While the butter is melting, mix the flours, salt, sugar, and yeast in a big bowl. Mix the eggs and the vanilla in another bowl and set aside. When the butter/milk mixture has cooled to just warm, add it to the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Then add the egg/vanilla mixture. Stir until smooth.
Cover (not tightly) and set in the fridge overnight. The next morning get up, start the coffee, heat up your waffle irons (you have two, right? that you found at a yard sale for $3 because they didn't know you had to flip the grids OVER to make waffles? I thought so), and start a-cookin'.
If you'd like everyone to eat at the same time (or have a late riser), put them on cooling racks in a low oven (250F or lower) to keep warm. Crack the oven door so they don't get soggy.
Pour the coffee, put a couple of waffles on your plate, butter if you feel you must, cut them, then add the syrup. And yes, I cut them first. I don't like them to get too soft. Yes, I KNOW, I'm weird.
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Experimentation
I was gone this past weekend to the Home Educators Association of Virginia's annual conference. It was great. One of the greatest things was not having to cook or clean up after myself. However, that also meant that I was at the mercy of the cook at whatever restaurant I visited.
The first night, I ate in the hotel restaurant. Meh. It was edible. I wouldn't eat there again. The next day I had Thai food. I loved it. I'm not sure how authentic it was, but it was delicious. I had crab wontons and lettuce wraps. I want to try making them at home. How hard could it really be? I have wonderful lettuce in the garden, and the basic ingredients for the filling can't be that hard to find, right? Stop laughing at me...I really want to try it!!
The next evening I had a yummy burger for dinner. However, even though it was tasty, it did leave much to be desired. Of the two slices of bacon, only one was really cooked all the way. The cheese had fallen off. The bun was much to big for the burger. Now I'm thinking of all the different burgers I could make at home. Burgers with onion rings (skinny) and barbecue sauce and pepper jack cheese. Or a mushroom, onion, and provolone burger. My mind is racing!
Part of my experimentation train of thought comes indirectly from a speaker at the convention. She was talking about decreasing your grocery bill. Her first suggestion was to make a budget. <sigh> I don't do them. BUT, what I did do was take the amount I spent per month (yay, Quicken!) and divided it by six (the number of people in our family) and then by 90 (the number of meals we eat in a month. I discovered I spend approximately $1.48/person/meal. I think that's awfully good. And we eat WELL.
All that to say I think I'm entitled to a bit of experimentation. Especially if it saves me $15 a meal for ONE person for Thai food and $10 for ONE burger.
Do you experiment? Have you had any really good ones? How about bad ones? Let us learn from your mistakes!
The first night, I ate in the hotel restaurant. Meh. It was edible. I wouldn't eat there again. The next day I had Thai food. I loved it. I'm not sure how authentic it was, but it was delicious. I had crab wontons and lettuce wraps. I want to try making them at home. How hard could it really be? I have wonderful lettuce in the garden, and the basic ingredients for the filling can't be that hard to find, right? Stop laughing at me...I really want to try it!!
The next evening I had a yummy burger for dinner. However, even though it was tasty, it did leave much to be desired. Of the two slices of bacon, only one was really cooked all the way. The cheese had fallen off. The bun was much to big for the burger. Now I'm thinking of all the different burgers I could make at home. Burgers with onion rings (skinny) and barbecue sauce and pepper jack cheese. Or a mushroom, onion, and provolone burger. My mind is racing!
Part of my experimentation train of thought comes indirectly from a speaker at the convention. She was talking about decreasing your grocery bill. Her first suggestion was to make a budget. <sigh> I don't do them. BUT, what I did do was take the amount I spent per month (yay, Quicken!) and divided it by six (the number of people in our family) and then by 90 (the number of meals we eat in a month. I discovered I spend approximately $1.48/person/meal. I think that's awfully good. And we eat WELL.
All that to say I think I'm entitled to a bit of experimentation. Especially if it saves me $15 a meal for ONE person for Thai food and $10 for ONE burger.
Do you experiment? Have you had any really good ones? How about bad ones? Let us learn from your mistakes!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Grillin' and chillin'
We love when the weather warms up. The kids get to play outside a lot more, the windows can be opened, and I don't have to cook as much. We still eat a yummy home-cooked dinner, but I can usually con hubby into grilling it for me.
One of our favorite meals is kebabs, couscous, and salad. So easy and so delicious.
Take chicken breasts, cube them, and marinate them in....wait, this is my secret recipe, so don't let anyone see... Kraft Zesty Italian dressing. Yup, that's what I said. Or, if you prefer red meat (we love venison!), cube some beef and marinate in 3/4 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup soy sauce. Add some crushed garlic if you'd like. Don't marinate the beef any longer than an hour or it will be too salty. As far as what cut of beef, I wouldn't go with anything that you would roast for several hours - it will be too tough to eat after the brief grilling time.
About a half-hour to forty-five minutes before you want to start the food, start skewering. Go ahead and put the meat nice and close on the skewer - I find it keeps it from drying out when your hubby (or you!) forgets about it and it gets a bit charred. I skewer pieces of onion and red pepper, too, but I often make just meat kebabs because the kids don't appreciate grilled veggies. One thing that seems to work well is to pre-cook the veggies, so they aren't so crunchy when you pull them off the grill. Put the chopped veggies (with some of your reserved marinade) in a lidded container and cook for about five minutes in the microwave, tossing half-way through the cooking time.
Grill the kebabs over med-hi heat until nice and yummy brown. Check the temp if you'd like, or poke the chicken and make SURE the juices run clear. Let rest a few minutes and EAT. While you were grilling, I'm sure you got some chicken broth boiling, right? Then remove from the heat, toss in the couscous (the exact proportions will be on your container of couscous), stir, cover, and let sit for five minutes. Fluff with a fork and you're ready to have with your kebabs and salad (I'm sure you had someone else chopping for your salad while you were busy setting the table, right??).
One of our favorite meals is kebabs, couscous, and salad. So easy and so delicious.
Take chicken breasts, cube them, and marinate them in....wait, this is my secret recipe, so don't let anyone see... Kraft Zesty Italian dressing. Yup, that's what I said. Or, if you prefer red meat (we love venison!), cube some beef and marinate in 3/4 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup soy sauce. Add some crushed garlic if you'd like. Don't marinate the beef any longer than an hour or it will be too salty. As far as what cut of beef, I wouldn't go with anything that you would roast for several hours - it will be too tough to eat after the brief grilling time.
About a half-hour to forty-five minutes before you want to start the food, start skewering. Go ahead and put the meat nice and close on the skewer - I find it keeps it from drying out when your hubby (or you!) forgets about it and it gets a bit charred. I skewer pieces of onion and red pepper, too, but I often make just meat kebabs because the kids don't appreciate grilled veggies. One thing that seems to work well is to pre-cook the veggies, so they aren't so crunchy when you pull them off the grill. Put the chopped veggies (with some of your reserved marinade) in a lidded container and cook for about five minutes in the microwave, tossing half-way through the cooking time.
Grill the kebabs over med-hi heat until nice and yummy brown. Check the temp if you'd like, or poke the chicken and make SURE the juices run clear. Let rest a few minutes and EAT. While you were grilling, I'm sure you got some chicken broth boiling, right? Then remove from the heat, toss in the couscous (the exact proportions will be on your container of couscous), stir, cover, and let sit for five minutes. Fluff with a fork and you're ready to have with your kebabs and salad (I'm sure you had someone else chopping for your salad while you were busy setting the table, right??).
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Too long...
I'm still cooking (obviously - otherwise I'd be STARVING!!), but haven't been inspired to post lately.
I did have a request for Cinnamon Swirl Bread, though. Caveat - this is not MY recipe, but Cook's Illustrated. The only real changes I have made are to put the dough through the bread machine to start, and then into a loaf pan.
Enjoy!
BREAD
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/4 - 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I always use the higher amount - you have to pay attention to how the dough is.
FILLING
1/4 cup sugar
5 tsp cinnamon
milk
I put everything for the bread into the bread machine and run it through the basic dough setting (for my machine, that's 1 hr and 50 minutes). When it's done, turn it out onto an unfloured work surface, and press into an 8"x6" rectangle. Then, with the short side facing you, roll the dough with a rolling bin into an 18"x8" rectangle (flouring work surface LIGHTLY if it sticks).
Brush the dough liberally with milk and then sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2" border on the far side.
Start rolling it (not too tightly, not too loosely - you'll get it after a time or two!), pushing ends in occasionally as you roll to keep it the right width. When you're done, pinch seam tightly to secure it, push in the center of both ends and pinch together to keep the filling from oozing out the sides.
Place seam-side down in a greased loaf pan, cover lightly with plastic wrap (sprayed with cooking spray!) and let rise about 1 1/2 hours, or until it's about 1" above edge of pan. As the dough gets close, heat oven to 350.
Cook for about 30-35 minutes, until the temperature of the center of the bread is 185F-190F. Remove from pan and rest sideways on a rack AT LEAST 45 minutes! It's torture, but definitely necessary!!!
ENJOY!
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