This recipe is for a batch of 14 plus two ugly yet still yummy end pieces.

Poppy Seed Rolls

1 cup whole wheat flour

3- 3 1/2 cups bread flour

2 1/2 tsp dry yeast

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2  eggs

1/4 tsp fiori di sicilia (optional) substitute 1 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp poppy seeds

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour and yeast, set aside. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, 1/3 cup sugar and butter until it is almost completely melted.  Add to the dry mixture and set on low speed. Add eggs one at a time and the fiori di sicilia or vanilla. Once it is all combined beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Change to the dough hook and add as much of the remaining flour as you can keeping the dough soft. In other words, add less and not more if you can, just enough so it isn’t sticking to the bowl too much. Once the flour is in turn the mixer on low/medium speed to knead the dough for about 5 minutes. It should be smooth and elastic. As it is kneading, lightly grease a bowl for the rise, and two 9″ cake pans to bake them in.  Once the dough has been kneaded turn it into the greased bowl and let rise for at least an hour. It should double in size.

Punch down the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle shape about 1/4 of an inch thick. Brush on the 3 tbs butter. I actually ran out and made my own butter.

This is where I remembered to start taking pictures.

Give a healthy coating of poppy seeds, and about a 1/2 cup sugar.

Pay no attention to the fruit. I was also prepping to juice…

Roll the dough up, jelly roll style.

Then slice 1 inch sections.There are different methods to this. You can use thread to wrap around it and pull it but I prefer my serrated bread knife. The knife is conveniently an inch wide so I lay it sideways to measure and cut the pieces evenly.

Place your rolls in the greased pan. This is normally where I cover them with plastic wrap and throw them in the fridge.

In the morning, I pull them out of the fridge and let them rise to double in size. (leave the plastic wrap – or cover with a damp towel or they tend to dry out) It usually takes an hour depending on the temperature of the house. This particular morning it was cold, so I pulled out my dehydrator and set it on the lowest temp and set them in it to proof. It worked like a charm! They could have used a little more time but we were in a hurry.. While they are rising, I make the citrus icing to go on top and preheat the oven to 375.

Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes.

2 packages of cream cheese, bring to room temp

2 cups of powdered sugar, give or take to taste

2 small limes

1-2 tbsp of milk

In a stand mixer cream the cheese and powdered sugar. Squeeze the juice of the 2 limes in. Add milk if it is too thick one tablespoon at a time to the desired consistency. Zest the two limes into the mixture. Viola! Citrus Icing!

This icing goes great on my poppy seed rolls!

I am making this for 7 people so if you are making it for less, you will want to scale way back. If you omit the ice you can put leftovers in the fridge to save for later and add a little ice when you are ready to drink it. Because we drink smoothies most every morning, I do this for my late sleeping kid. The one who doesn’t like kale at all *teehee..

Kid Friendly Green Smoothies

1/2 a bunch of kale – stems and all. ( although I think if you take the thicker woodier bits off it tastes better)

1 cup of apple juice

I go ahead and blend it up a little to make room for the other good stuff now.

2 medium bananas

1 pear

a couple of handfuls of green grapes

1/4 of a whole fresh pineapple

1 cup of frozen peaches

1/4 cup coconut – fresh or unsweetened flakes

1-2 cups of ice

Blend again for at least 1 minute, you want to get all the coconut pieces pulverized.

Take a little taste, if it still tastes a little “green” add a little more banana.

ENJOY!

Juliana thinks they are great.

Even my most picky eater loves the green smoothies.

She drank the whole cup and went on to a second one! But she wasn’t about to touch those green beans!!

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale (any type)

1-2 tbsp olive or grapeseed oil (I prefer grapeseed because it is very mild and stands up well to heat)

a few shakes of Italian seasoning

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 300* F

Wash and dry the bunch of kale and snip or tear into chip sized pieces. You want to rid them of stalks and any thick stems. Toss them in a bowl with the oil and use your hands to coat all the pieces.  You could also add a couple of teaspoons of vinegar for a little extra flavor.

Cover a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper to keep it from sticking and spread out the chips. Sprinkle them with salt and Italian seasoning and bake for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them and if they aren’t quite crisp give them a few more minutes.

Store in an airtight container- if they last that long.

Amelia wanted to see if it tasted as good raw. She smiling, but that was the only bite she took.

Cinnamon Creme Syrup

1/2 cup pure maple butter or pure maple syrup

1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small microwavable measuring cup. Microwave at 15 second intervals and stir in between. Heat until warm and well combined.

4 to 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (you can also replace 1 cup whole wheat for 1 cup of all-purpose)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1 cup milk

1/8 tsp fiori di sicilia

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

6 tbsp poppy seeds

I use my KitchenAid Artisan 5-qt. Stand Mixer for this recipe. I also always make these the night before and put them in the fridge before the second rise. I pull them out first thing and let them sit on the counter for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. If I am making the cream cheese icing I will set out a block of cream cheese as well.

In the mixer’s bowl combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir the milk, the 1/3 cup sugar and the 1/3 cup butter and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. (120-130 degrees). Add milk mixture to yeast mixture along with the eggs and fiori di sicilia. Put the paddle attachment on the mixer for this step. Beat on low for 30 second until well combined. Scrape sides and beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes. Replace paddle with the bread hook attachment and add as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Using the dough hook, knead the bread at low speed for 3-5 minutes, until elastic. Shape dough into a ball. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or doubled in size.

Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 9×1 1/2 in. round pans. Roll dough into a 12×8 rectangle. Brush with the melted 3 tbsp butter. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup sugar and the poppy seeds over the butter. Roll up jelly roll style starting from a long end. Slice into 12 equal pieces. Place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake in a 375 oven for 20- 25 minutes. Makes 12 large rolls.

For the icing;

1 block of cream cheese, softened.

2 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tbsp orange juice

Mix ingredients in the mixer at medium speed slowly adding orange juice until it reaches the desired consistency. Spread over cooked rolls.

In an effort to save time and money (and effort) I have tried different menu planning techniques . I have tried the once a month freezer cooking, both alone and with partners. It was helpful but didn’t give us the best solution. I have tried pre-prepared food delivery. Easy but very expensive and we didn’t like the food very much and ended up tossing a lot of it. The pre-prepared foods are also very unhealthy. Making my own meals to freeze is definitely the healthiest most cost effective way to go. So this week I am going to try something new. For every dinner I make this week, I am going to double, triple or quadruple the recipe to split and freeze for future meals. I will also do the same thing for breakfast: pancakes/waffles/muffins /breads ad gravy. That way at the end of the week I should have at least 1 week’s worth of dinners and breakfasts cooked or at least prepared and ready to cook and frozen for later use. My goal is to have yummy, healthy meals that save me from cooking when I don’t feel like it and save us a ton of money without having to spend all day or more in the kitchen.  I am looking forward to the final days of this pregnancy and the postpartum period when I am not feeling like cooking to be able to pull something from the freezer.

Here is what I have in store for this week:

(with links to some recipes at the bottom)

Breakfast:

Sausage Gravy

Bonnie’s Best Biscuits

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Cream Syrup

Citrus Poppy Seed Rolls

Baked French Toast

Farmers Casserole

Dinner:

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican Rice

Meatloaf

Chicken Soup

Stuffed Peppers

Beef Stroganoff

Green Chili Chicken

Chicken Pot Pie

]]> http://www.suburbangranola.com/2010/03/21/freezer-cooking-march-22-28th-menu/feed/ 0 http://www.suburbangranola.com/2010/03/21/cinnamon-rolls/ http://www.suburbangranola.com/2010/03/21/cinnamon-rolls/#comments Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:36:39 +0000 admin http://www.suburbangranola.com/?p=675 My family prefers this recipe over all others that I have tried. I have adapted it from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (Better Homes & Gardens Plaid).

4 to 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (you can also replace 1 cup whole wheat for 1 cup of all-purpose)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1 cup milk

1/8 tsp fiori di sicilia

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

I use my KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers for this recipe. I also always make these the night before and put them in the fridge before the second rise. I pull them out first thing and let them sit on the counter for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. If I am making the cream cheese icing I will set out a block of cream cheese as well.

In the mixer’s bowl combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir the milk, the 1/3 cup sugar and the 1/3 cup butter and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. (120-130 degrees). Add milk mixture to yeast mixture along with the eggs and fiori di sicilia. Put the paddle attachment on the mixer for this step. Beat on low for 30 second until well combined. Scrape sides and beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes. Replace paddle with the bread hook attachment and add as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Using the dough hook, knead the bread at low speed for 3-5 minutes, until elastic. Shape dough into a ball. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or doubled in size.

Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 9×1 1/2 in. round pans. Roll dough into a 12×8 rectangle. Brush with the melted 3 tbsp butter. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the butter. Roll up jelly roll style starting from a long end. Slice into 12 equal pieces. Place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake in a 375 oven for 20- 25 minutes. Makes 12 large rolls.

My cinnamon creme syrup recipe makes the perfect topping for these or you can use the following recipe for a cream cheese icing.

For the icing;

1 block of cream cheese, softened.

2 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients in the mixer at medium speed slowly adding milk until it reaches the desired consistency. Spread over cooked rolls.

This is the best Mexican rice that you will ever put in your mouth. Guaranteed.

All you need is long grain rice, salsa, catsup, water and a little oil.

Start with a heavy bottomed sauce pan that has a tight-fitting lid. Pour a thin coat of oil in the bottom and heat it on a high heat setting.

Once the oil is good and hot add 2 cups of long grain rice. Make sure that the oil lightly coats the rice. Keep stirring the rice constantly so it will not burn. You are going to keep stirring until the grains start to turn light brown and it smells like popcorn.

Then you will add 1 cup of salsa.

Keep stirring until the moisture from the salsa is soaked into the grains. Then quickly add 3 1/2 cups of water. Have it ready and close by to prevent the salsa from starting to burn.

Add 1/2 cup of catsup.

Once it returns to a boil turn the heat down to a slow simmer and cover with the lid. Let it cook for 20 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before lifting the lid. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Here is how you make it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pull all of the chicken from the bone and roughly chop it.

In a bowl mix 1/2 of the container of sour cream, 4 cups of shredded cheese, 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 finely diced onion.

To assemble the enchiladas start with a tortilla and spread 2 tbs of refried bean on top.

Next spread 2 tbs of the sour cream mixture on top of the beans.

Last of all place about 3 tbs of chicken on top of the sour cream mixture.

Roll it up and place it in a 9×13 inch baking dish.

Once you have a full dish pour over a can of red enchilada sauce.

Bake for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly all the way through.

This is great with my Mexican Rice Recipe!

Enjoy!