Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I love a good piece of toast, slathered in butter and sprinkled with a mound of cinnamon and sugar. Imagine this delicacy on a piece of cinnamon bread. Heaven!

Or you could use it to make the most AMAZING french toast, as I did here. I do recommend leaving out the raisins if you are going to make french toast though.

This cinnamon swirl bread is absolutely delicious. I know that I will be making it again. It freezes well and makes for a great breakfast or midnight snack.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread (Print)
from Taste of Home
Prep: 30 + rising / Bake: 30-40 minutes
Yield: 2 loaves

5-1/4 to 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups quick oats
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 packages (4-1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3 teaspoons salt
2-1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, milk powder, brown sugar, yeast, and salt. In a small saucepan, heat water and butter over medium heat until 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients, beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. Stir in raisins.

2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour.

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half with a pizza cutter. Roll each portion into an 18-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside 2 tablespoons for topping. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon and sugar over rectangles to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up, starting on the short side; pinch seams to seal.

4. Place seam side down into two greased 9-inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved cinnamon and sugar.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Homemade Waffles

Jeremiah and I tried an elaborate waffle recipe a while back, and let me just say that the work was not worth it in the end. The waffles weren't great, they kind of tasted like eggs. I decided to give homemade waffles another try. This recipe is more simple, and tastes better. However, I was skeptical; why is there no sugar in these things?? But that's where powdered heaven (aka powdered sugar) comes in!

You'll have to excuse the uneven edges. I may have found a better waffle recipe, but I have yet to master my waffle iron. It is designed for Belgian waffles and uses a ton of batter. I always feel like I'm pouring too much batter, and then when it's done, the batter didn't even make it to the edge! The first time we used the waffle iron, we thought the issue was because our counter is crooked. This may have contributed somewhat, but the fact is, I'm just not using enough batter. I'll get it right sometime.

And by the way, our counter is crooked. It slopes downward; I know this because I almost lost a few eggs last week as they were rolling toward their death. Thankfully, I caught them. But hey, the crooked counter fits right in with my 3 crooked stove burners that I mentioned in my favorite things post from Monday!

Homemade Waffles (Print)

from Taste of Home

Total time: 20-30 minutes

Yield: 4 waffles

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter melted

1. Turn on waffle iron to preheat. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, and melted butter. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

3. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter. To test for soft peaks, stop your mixer and lift the beaters up. The peaks of the egg whites should curl down.

4. Bake in waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. Top with powdered sugar, fruit, syrup, peanut butter, whipped cream, or anything else you can think of!

These waffles made for a great Saturday morning breakfast! They aren't very difficult and can easily be frozen too! As a tip, turn your oven to warm, or between 150 and 200 degrees before you start. Then as each waffle is done, put it on a plate in your oven to keep it warm. While the waffles will lose some of their crispiness, they stay warm so that everyone can eat at the same time. If I discover a way to keep them warm and crispy, I will definitely let you know! Read more for my complete review, and have a great weekend!

Stuffing Casserole

I found this recipe online last week and I wanted to share it with you because it's a great way to use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey! This casserole is very easy and quick, making it a good choice for busy weeknights.

Stuffing Casserole (Print)
from Taste of Home online
Prep: 20 minutes / Bake: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

1 box (6 ounces) chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 cup turkey or chicken, shredded or cubed, cooked or raw
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can 98% fat-free condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the stuffing mix according to package directions and set aside. Meanwhile, if you are using raw poultry, cut it up and cook it on medium heat, with a small amount of oil, in a skillet.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the meat, vegetables, soup, water chestnuts and 2 tablespoons of water.

3. Transfer to an ungreased 2-quart or 8x8-inch baking dish. Top with the stuffing . Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

My Review

• Preparation: 4
• This casserole was very easy to put together; I started with raw chicken and it would be even faster if your meat was already cooked. It takes about 50 minutes start to finish.
• Taste: 4
• This recipe was very good. The stuffing gives it a nice flavor and made me feel like I was already enjoying my Thanksgiving meal. I will probably make it again sometime.
• Cost: 5
• I don't think the ingredients for this cost more than $5.00, and it gives you 6 servings! It's a great way to use leftovers too.
• Clean-up: 4
• I had a pan for the stuffing, a skillet for the chicken, the mixing bowl, and the baking dish.
• Changes
• You could probably use some of your leftover Thanksgiving stuffing too if you have it!
• As mentioned above, you can use chicken or turkey, leftovers or raw.
• I wrote 98% fat free cream of chicken soup because that's what the can said, but it's probably equivalent to a light cream of chicken soup. I have also used the Campbell's Healthy Request soup too, but if my memory serves right, the 98% fat free had less sodium and fat than the healthy request.

Classic Cheesecake

Ahhh cheesecake! I accomplished one of my culinary goals this week by making my first cheesecake! It was so much fun! And I'm happy to say that in spite of a few oopses (I think I just made that word up), it turned our great!

Classic Cheesecake
adapted from Taste of Home Cookbook
Prep: 35 minutes / Bake: 45 minutes + chilling
Yield: 12-14 servings

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 T butter, melted
3 packages cream cheese (24 oz. total), softened
1 cup sugar
2 T flour
3 eggs
2 T heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine first 3 ingredients. Press into bottom and 1 inch up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 8 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Combine sugar and flour; add to cream cheese and mix well. Add eggs all at once, beat on low speed until just combined. *Don't overbeat the eggs. If you do, the cheesecake will puff and then crack when it cools.* Stir in cream and vanilla, pour into crust.

3. Place springform pan on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. *To check if cheesecake is done, remove from oven and tap the side of the pan with a spoon. The cake is done when the center (about 1 inch in diameter) jiggles slightly when tapped with a spoon. Note: My cake didn't really jiggle, but I could just tell by looking at it that about a 3 inch area wasn't cooked, so I put it back in for 5 more minutes. Do not test with a knife because it will crack the cheesecake. The remaining middle will cook while the pan cools.*

4. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen cheesecake. Continue to cool on rack for 1 more hour. Refrigerate, uncovered for at least 3 hours. When cheesecake is cold, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. This helps the cheesecake set and will make it easier to cut.

5. Remove cheesecake from fridge at least 15-30 minutes before serving time. Unlatch pan and carefully lift the rim straight up. *Letting the slices sit at room temperature brings out maximum flavor.* Top with strawberries and whipped topping if desired.

Nutrition facts: Very unhealthy and bad for the hips but very delicious!
*These tips are from my Taste of Home Cookbook*



The crust. Note to self: make crust even!



The filling. My batter was lumpy, I was nervous, but it worked!





I baked it a little too long, it cracked :(

  

But it still looked pretty good!



My Review

• Preparation: 3
• This took about an hour and a half start to finish, but there's down time while it's baking.
• Taste: 4.5
• It was really good! My crust got a little overdone, so we didn't eat the edge. The filling was delicious, my husband said it was just like Cheesecake Factory (This would be the ultimate compliment, I'm not sure if he somewhat joking, I don't think he was, but I didn't pursue the doubt in my mind, so we will assume that he really meant it)! BUT, I do think that I could do better, so I couldn't give it a 5. And the crust flavor wasn't my favorite.
• Cost: 5
• This surprised me. The ingredients seemed expensive, but after I divided it by the 13 servings we sliced, it was only $1.29 per serving! Cake ingredients (that I had to buy) cost $11.30, toppings cost $5.50.
• Clean-up: 3
• A foothill of dishes (see review scale). 3 bowls and the springform pan, plus some measuring cups and such.
• Changes
• The crust, it wasn't my favorite. Not sure what I would change but I will try a different one next time. I would make sure that the edges were even, see photo. The recipe I adapted from said to bake it for 10 minutes but it got too done, so I reduced it to 8 minutes on this post.
• My filling was lumpy. I admit my failure in this area. My cookbook says to soften cream cheese at room temp for at least 30 minutes, which I did, but it was still lumpy after I mixed it. And the book says that it cannot be de-lumped (another word I made up, I'm on a role) after blending, this is true. SO, I had lumps; a big globby lump of cream cheese at the bottom of my mixing bowl. Yikes! Upon discovering the lump I grimaced, withheld the ominous blob (which I soon devoured...it still tasted good!), and hoped that my cheesecake would not turn out too weird. In the end, I never even noticed!
• I baked it for 40 minutes, checked it, and there was about a 3-inch center that was jiggly/not done. I put it back in for 5 minutes. This time there was about a 2-inch(ish) undone looking area, so I put it back in for 4 minutes (I was paranoid about having a runny, gooey cheesecake, eww). But after those 4 minutes were up, I pulled out my cheesecake and it was cracked! I whimpered and whined, it had been perfect until then! So I think I could have done without the last 4 minutes. Good thing is that the crack sort of resealed itself a little bit once the cheesecake cooled. Cover it with a big dollop of Redi Whip and you won't even notice!
• Summary
• This is a good cheesecake for the first-timer. It was still super delicious, even with some mess-ups! I hope to try out more cheesecake in the future, so keep your eyes open!

Autumn Chowder

Nothing says autumn to me like a delicious bowl of soup. This chowder is savory and delicious! Perfect for a cozy fall evening!

Autumn Chowder
adapted from Taste of Home online

1/4 cup chopped onion
1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2/3 cup water
1/2 chicken buillon cube
3/4 tsp rosemary herb seasoning mix*
1 cup milk
2/3 cup frozen corn
1/8 tsp pepper
2-1/2 tsp flour (optional)
2 T cold water (only if using flour)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Saute onion with a small amount of cooking oil in a large saucepan, until tender. Add potato, carrot, water, chicken buillon and rosemary. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the milk, corn, and pepper. Cook, covered, on medium for 5 minutes. If thicker soup is desired, mix flour and water until smooth, add to soup. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.
Yield: 2 servings

Nutrition facts: 473 calories, 30 g fat, 16 g saturated fat, 77 mg cholesterol, 810 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 19 g protein.

My Review

• Preparation: 4
• This soup took about 40 minutes start to finish, very simple to make.
• Taste: 5
• I will definitely make this soup again! It was thick and savory. My husband loved the corn, he said it added a sweet pop to the soup!
• Cost: 5
• This is a budget-friendly recipe. Simple and inexpensive ingredients definitely will not disappoint your taste buds!
• Clean-up: 5
• This was an easy clean-up meal. All cooked in one pan and only a cutting board besides that!
• Changes
• I altered the soup from the original recipe. I did not have bacon but I read on the reviews that it didn't really add much to the soup. I also added more veggies and seasoning.
• *The rosemary herb seasoning mix is from Pampered Chef. I absolutely love it! I use it all the time in soups, broth, chicken, roasted vegetables, really anything! I honestly don't think I could live without it, and I'm not even being paid to say that! Click here to see it on their website.
• I baked some french bread a few weeks ago and had frozen a loaf. I set the bread out in the morning and it was thawed and ready by lunchtime. I stuck it in the oven at 350 for about 7 minutes, it tasted fresh and it was a great compliment to the soup!
• Summary
• This is truly a delicious chowder! It is super easy to make and it smells so good! I will definitely be making it again; give it a try yourselfand let me know what you think!

Scalloped Potatoes

I'm bound to love anything with the word potato. Thus the reason I had to try these and subsequently loved them!

Scalloped Potatoes

from Taste of Home Cookbook

3 T butter, divided

1 T flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-1/2 cups milk

4 cups potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

3/4 cup shredded cheese

In a small saucepan, melt 2 T butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 mintues or until thickened.

In a greased 9x9 inch baking dish, arrange half the potatoes, onion and green pepper in layers; cover with half of the sauce. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Melt remaining butter; combine with bread crumbs and sprinkle over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition facts (1/2 cup): 250 calories, 28g fat,  8g saturated fat, 36mg cholesterol, 97 mg sodium, 27g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 8g protein.

My Review

• Preparation: 2
• Preparing the dish is easy enough, it's the lengthy baking that gave this a 2 rating. It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes from start to finish, but there's lots of down time while it's baking.
• Taste: 4
• I will make this dish again. It had great flavor, and as I said before, I love anything potato!
• Cost: 5
• This is less than $1.50 per serving. It's an estimate but I think it's pretty accurate. Potatoes are dirt cheap and the only other ingredient I had to buy was the green pepper.
• Clean-up: 4
• This was a molehill of dishes (see review scale tab if you are confused and think I'm strange); cutting board, chopper, sauce pan, baking dish and a few utensils.
• Changes
• I would use less onion next time, there was a little much for me but it was still good.
• I made a loaf of bread last month and froze half of it. I thawed that out and let it dry to use as bread crumbs. The store bought ones are so small, I like them a little chunkier. I would probably use more bread crumbs too.
• I use Pampered Chef stoneware, so I don't have to grease the baking dish. The recipe called for a 1-1/2 quart dish, I don't have that so I used my 9x9 inch stone.
• Summary
• Great recipe! The creamy homemade sauce goes nicely with the potatoes, onion, and green pepper. My husband's favorite part was the cheesy, crunchy topping. Good as a main or side dish. Definitely a keeper!

Sunshine Halibut

Sunshine Halibut
from Taste of Home Cookbook

1/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 T fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
4 (4-6 oz) halibut steaks
1/4 cup orange juice
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning

Saute onion and garlic until tender; remove from heat. Stir in parsley and orange peel. Place halibut in a 11x7x2 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with onion mixture. Combine orange and lemon juices; pour over fish. Sprinkly with salt and lemon-pepper. Cover and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition facts (4.5 oz size): 202 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 36 g protein.
______________________________________________________________________________

My Review

• Preparation: 5
• Just a little chopping and a quick saute, put it all together and bake; easy!
• Taste: 3.5
• This was hard for me to determine. I loved the fish, I had never had halibut before. It is very mild and lean and I really liked it. The citrus flavor was present but light, just enough to make itself known. The onion mixture was good but something about it kind of made me want to scrape it off, which I did tonight when I had the leftovers. The flavor was good, I think it might just have something to do with the fact that we were both burping (eww, gross I know, sorry for the details. Don't worry, little burps, not nasty belches) the taste all evening.
• Cost: 1
• The only ingredients I had to buy were the orange juice, an orange, halibut and lemon-pepper. Halibut is a more expensive fish, the kind we got was about $11. With 3 servings (we only had 3 steaks, but I didn't really modify the recipe except reduce the onion) it comes out to about $5.00 per serving, not too great at all.
• Clean-up: 4
• I like to judge my dishes by the big items, the ones that don't fit nicely into my little dish rack. So I had 4; two cutting boards, a skillet, and a stone. Not too bad.
• Changes
• I have a garlic press (love it), so I always press my garlic instead of mince it. It saves me from stinky hands and it's way easier.
• I used dried parsley because I already had that. When substituting dried herbs for fresh, simply divide by three. This recipe called for 2 tablespoons (which is 6 teaspoons) so I used 2 teaspoons dried parsley. Another easy way is to just change tablespoons to teaspoons; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley equals 2 teaspoons dried parsley.
• I don't have an 11x7x2 inch dish, I didn't even know they existed. The point is to just use a dish with an edge so your liquid doesn't spill. So I used my 9x9 pampered chef stone.
• Summary
• This recipe was good, I just experienced some unpleasant aftermath for some reason. The onion mixture with the citrus flavor produces a surprisingly pleasant taste, and you can't go wrong with a good piece of fish. It is a very health-friendly dinner too. Enjoy!

I Love Cookbooks

There are hundreds of cookbooks out there, how can I ever choose just one? Well, I haven't been able to that, which is why I have many cookbooks. But I value and use them all quite frequently. Among my favorites are Taste of Home, Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook, Fast-fix One Dish Meals, Pampered Chef All the Best, and Crock Pot Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes.

Recently, I have become a huge fan of Taste of Home. I received their Cooks Who Care edition cookbook as a wedding gift and have quickly fallen in love with it. It really is an all-in-one cookbook, with recipes for every occassion, budget, skill, and time frame. It is full of cooking techniques, tips, food storage information, and photographs. One of the best things about Taste of Home is that they have recipes from people all around the country. I love to read the little stories about the recipes and their family traditions. I have the Taste of Home Baking cookbook on my Christmas wishlist.

I must admit that I have a slight obsession with cookbooks and recipes. With the Taste of Home cookbook, there was a free year-long subscription that I just mailed today. I was so excited when I saw that! Their magazine is great too. Take me to a bookstore and I will be content in the cookbook section for hours. I'll just sit on the floor and try to remember as many recipes as I can so that I can make them later. I love to cook and I love to collect as many recipes as possible! I have to practice self-restraint when browsing the cookbook section, I would love to buy many of them!