BETTER THAN CINNABON CINNAMON ROLLS

They're easy to make and can be prepared the day before and left to rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Servings 12 Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough:

1 cup milk warm (105 degrees F)

½ cup + 1 TBS granulated sugar divided

1 TBS yeast

2 large eggs room temperature

6 TBS butter melted

1 tsp vanilla

4 to 4 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 ½ TBS cinnamon

6 TBS butter softened

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter softened

2 cups powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Make the Cinnamon Roll Dough:

Warm milk in the microwave milk for 45-60 seconds. It should be warm but not hot to the touch (about 105 degrees F).

Place milk into the bowl of your standing mixer, then add 1 TBS sugar and 1 TBS yeast to the warm milk. Stir and let it sit (proof) for five minutes or until it becomes foamy.

Add the ½ cup sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla to the mixture in the bowl of your standing mixer. Use a dough hook to stir until combined.

Add 4 cups flour, salt and cinnamon and stir the dough hook, starting on low and increasing to high.

Knead dough in the standing mixer until a large ball is formed. The dough should be smooth and only slightly tacky to the touch. If the dough seems too sticky and is not forming a ball, add more flour 1 TBS at a time until a smooth ball is formed.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead with your hands until it is smooth and elastic (about 3-5 minutes). Form it into a ball. OR – KNEAD IN KITCHEN AID ON SPEED 2 FOR 2 MINUTES.

Grease a large bowl and place the dough inside.

Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel and put the bowl in a warm place to rise.

Let the dough rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Make the filling:
While the dough is rising, make the filing. In a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout). Set aside.

Assemble Cinnamon Rolls:

Sprinkle a large work surface with flour.

Gently press the gas out of the dough and form it into a rectangle.

Roll the dough into a 24x12” rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the filling all over the dough using greased hands or a greased spatula. This process can seem difficult but it gets easier as you spread it.

Roll up dough & cut into 12 equal sized rolls MEASURE FOR EVEN SIZE ROLLS!!!

Line a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease. Then place rolls in 4 rows of three, evenly spaced.

Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Bake Cinnamon Rolls:
Once rolls are doubled in size, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. (original recipe said to cook 18-20 minutes but mine were still doughy.  I ended up cooking mine for about 28 minutes).

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Do NOT chill the frosting. Keep it at room temperature until the cinnamon rolls are baked.

Once the cinnamon rolls have bene removed from the oven, spread the cream cheese frosting on them while they are still warm.

Let cool and serve warm.

TO MAKE AHEAD:

After the cinnamon rolls have been assembled in a baking dish, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and cover with a tea towel or aluminum foil and place them in the refrigerator.

In the morning, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature and finish rising (this takes about 30-40 minutes).

Then bake according to recipe instructions.

Cracker Barrel's Broccoli Cheddar Chicken

 4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

1 cup Milk

1 Can of Cheddar Cheese Soup

1TBL dried chopped onion

Salt & Pepper to taste

8 oz of chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen)

6-8 oz of cheddar cheese – shredded

1 cup of crushed Ritz cracker (28-30 crackers)

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Place chicken in greased casserole dish

3. In a bowl whisk milk, soup, onion and salt & pepper

4. Pour soup mix over the chicken

5. Put broccoli on top of chicken

6. Sprinkle on cheese then cracker crumbs

7. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes (until juices run clear)

BIG BATCH RICE KRISPY TREATS

1 ½ sticks real butter (12 tablespoons)

22-24 cups mini marshmallows (divided)

12 cups rice krispie cereal

1 tsp Vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Butter or spray with non stick spray, a Jelly Roll Pan and set aside.

In a very large mixing bowl add rice krispies and 6-8 cups mini marshmallows, set aside.

In a LARGE stock pot over medium heat melt the 12 TBL of butter and add 16 cups marshmallows. If you feel your pot isn’t large enough, add half the marshmallows at a time and let them melt down a bit before you add the rest. Melt completely and stir in vanilla and salt.

Once melted, quickly pour over cereal/mallow mixture and stir well until all cereal is coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Spray your hands with non-stick spray (or rub with a little butter) so you can gently press down mixture to the edges of the pan.

CHEESY CHICKEN FRITTERS

Fritters

1½ lbs chicken breasts (cut to very fine dice) (about 3 large breasts)

2 large eggs

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 oz mozzarella cheese (1 1/3 cups shredded)

1½ tsp dried dill (but 1½ TBL fresh dill chopped)

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp Extra light olive oil for cooking (or any high heat cooking oil)

Garlic Aioli Dip (Optional)

Mix the following together until smooth.

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 garlic clove pressed

1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Mix all fritter ingredients together.

2. Refrigerate 2 hours to overnight.

3. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add the chicken mixture in mounds, 2 tablespoons at a time.

4. Slightly flatten out the tops with the back of your spoon or spatula.

5. Cook 3-4 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook 3 minutes on the second side or until outsides are golden brown and chicken is fully cooked through. (To test for doneness, cut a fritter in half and the chicken should be completely white inside. If your fritter is browning too fast, adjust your heat down).

6. Repeat with remaining fritters adding more oil as needed.

7. Serve with Aioli if using!

CRAZY CRUST PIZZA

CRUST:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

TOPPINGS:

Whatever your heart desires

Pizza Sauce (12-20 ounces)

Shredded Mozzarella (2-4 cups) (3 cups is perfect for our family)

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 10x15-inch rimmed baking sheet. (jelly roll pan)

2.  Mix all the crust ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
Pour crust mixture (batter) into prepared pan and tilt pan around until bottom is evenly coated.

3.  Put any meats or raw veggies on top of the dough. *see suggestions below*

4.  Bake for 20 minutes.

5.  Remove from oven and drizzle with pizza sauce.

6.  Add any additional toppings. **see suggestions below**

7.  Sprinkle evenly with cheese.

8.  Put back into oven and bake 10 minutes.

*Suggested toppings to add on top of batter:

Cooked meats: pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham, etc.

Raw veggies: mushrooms, onions, green peppers, etc.

**Suggested toppings to add on top of sauce:

Artichokes, olives, pickled peppers, sautéed onions, tomatoes, pineapple, etc.

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

3–4 lb. corned beef brisket with spice pack

4 cups of beef broth or Guinness

1 small onion

6 cloves of garlic

1 small head of cabbage cut into 6 pieces

3–4 large carrots, cut into large chunks

6 medium sized red potatoes cut into large chunks

1. Place steamer basket in Instant Pot.

2. Add broth/Guinness, onion, garlic & spice packet. (put spices into a tea ball if you don’t like crunching into them later)

3. Place the corned beef brisket on top, fat side up.

4. Set to cook high pressure for 90 minutes. (usually take about 20 minutes to come to pressure)

5. Natural release for 10 minutes, then manually release the rest of the steam.

6. Remove the corned beef, wrap in foil to keep warm.

7. Add in the cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

8. Set to cook high pressure for 7 minutes.

9. Quick release.

Slice the brisket and enjoy!

BASIC JELLO FLUFF

1 sm (4 serving size) jello; regular or sugar free
1 cup boiling water
1.5 cups ice cubes
4 oz cream cheese (any fat content) softened and whipped until smooth

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Stir in ice cubes until jello starts to thicken, then remove remaining ice.

Whip 2 TBL of the jello liquid into the whipped cream cheese until smooth and creamy.

Add the remaining jello into the cheese mix.

Whip until foamy.

Chill until set.