So Valentine's Day, the day of love and chocolate and roses and romance, Right? Well maybe for most people, but us, its another day in the neighborhood. Joey still has to work and I still have to stay home and play mom. Joey works from morning until night, so me and the littles celebrate at home with extra hugs.
In our house we do not believe on spending money just because it is a "holiday". We like to save up our money for vacation where memories can be made. So for Valentine's Day, what other way can we show our love? Through food of course! This is a food blog remember, not relationship advice. I joke!
Joey LOVES cinnamon rolls and I thought perfect as he has to come home in between jobs. So i used good old Paula Deen's recipe as I love how she cooks and could care less about all that mubo jumbo last year. The kids helped me make these for daddy so there was some extra love put into it. G even kissed the dough as he made it with me, my sweet little boy. Here is the link to the recipe that I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cinnamon-rolls-recipe.html.
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional
Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.
Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
All I can say is these turned out AMAZING and I would make these again. Let's say hubby was VERY happy and devoured about 4 of them at once.
My next thought was Valentine's Dinner. What is something that I can make that will warm up the house and taste delicious all at the same time. Chicken French it is!!!
Chicken French
4-5 pieces of boneless chicken
flour
egg
lemon
sherry wine/white wine
2 cloves of smashed garlic
olive oil or vegetable oil
Start by cleaning the chicken and slicing the breasts in half then pounding it out into thin cutlets. Start a frying pan with oil and get it nice and hot. then add the garlic and a splash of wine. Take the chicken cutlets and douse in flour and then dip in egg then into the oil. Slice the lemon and squeeze some over the chicken and then throw in the slices. Once it is cooked take out and lay on a paper towel on a plate to soak up the oil. Make a side of pasta with butter, oil, wine, and lemon sauce. Top with oregano.
And lastly.....the romantic strawberries and chocolate. Just fill a pan halfway with water and a glass bowl on top and turn on high then add chocolate chips. Allow them to melt and you now have chocolate to dip your strawberries and share with your sweetheart.
In our house we do not believe on spending money just because it is a "holiday". We like to save up our money for vacation where memories can be made. So for Valentine's Day, what other way can we show our love? Through food of course! This is a food blog remember, not relationship advice. I joke!
Joey LOVES cinnamon rolls and I thought perfect as he has to come home in between jobs. So i used good old Paula Deen's recipe as I love how she cooks and could care less about all that mubo jumbo last year. The kids helped me make these for daddy so there was some extra love put into it. G even kissed the dough as he made it with me, my sweet little boy. Here is the link to the recipe that I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cinnamon-rolls-recipe.html.
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional
Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.
Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
All I can say is these turned out AMAZING and I would make these again. Let's say hubby was VERY happy and devoured about 4 of them at once.
My next thought was Valentine's Dinner. What is something that I can make that will warm up the house and taste delicious all at the same time. Chicken French it is!!!
Chicken French
4-5 pieces of boneless chicken
flour
egg
lemon
sherry wine/white wine
2 cloves of smashed garlic
olive oil or vegetable oil
Start by cleaning the chicken and slicing the breasts in half then pounding it out into thin cutlets. Start a frying pan with oil and get it nice and hot. then add the garlic and a splash of wine. Take the chicken cutlets and douse in flour and then dip in egg then into the oil. Slice the lemon and squeeze some over the chicken and then throw in the slices. Once it is cooked take out and lay on a paper towel on a plate to soak up the oil. Make a side of pasta with butter, oil, wine, and lemon sauce. Top with oregano.
And lastly.....the romantic strawberries and chocolate. Just fill a pan halfway with water and a glass bowl on top and turn on high then add chocolate chips. Allow them to melt and you now have chocolate to dip your strawberries and share with your sweetheart.