Hello October!

Hi. It's October. This makes me happy. October means lovely fall weather, sweater/boots attire, my birthday, Halloween, and any and all things pumpkin. My first pumpkin baked good of the season is a real doozy. And by doozy, I mean awesomely AWESOME. Yes, "awesomely AWESOME." Pumpkin cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. Hello, I'll take five please. Thank you. My lovely friend, Jade, helped me make these. Thanks, friend! :)








Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1/3 c. milk
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 pkg. dry yeast
2 c. bread flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. melted butter

In small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tbsp butter just until warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.

Add half of flour to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly.

Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle. Roll dough into 12X10 inch rectangle.

In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut roll into twelve 1-inch slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 11X17 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.

Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Frost with cream cheese frosting. (The original recipe uses a caramel icing, which is totally delicious as well. But I prefer cream cheese frosting!)

Hunting, Gathering...the "Caveman" Diet

Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Grapefruit. All "popular" diets at one time or another, that many Americans have picked up. I personally, have never tried to be on a diet...until now. I introduce the Paleoithic diet a.k.a the "Caveman" diet.

My brother has been raving about this diet for months now. He swears by it. With the caveman diet, you only eat lean meats, fruits, lots of veggies and nuts. No dairy, grains, legumes, starches, processed sugars and processed foods and no alcohol.

The overall idea is, "If you can't hunt or gather it, you can't eat it." Slightly strict, but isn't that the point of a diet?

So now my diet consists of grilled chicken, tuna, veggies, fruits, and nuts. However, I am making a few minor exceptions. I still have the occasional alcoholic beverage and I still get my peanut butter, duh. And one, ok, two, alright three of these...

Oh my gooooodnesssss. Danishes, kolaches, whatever, I looooove them dearly. Growing up we had a bakery in town, run by some Mennonite women, that turned out these delicious pastries. So darn yummy. And I took a crack at 'em and succeeded! Set aside a day to make these, you'll be happy you did.

I think I've actually heard of wild Danish herds up north. Maybe they can be hunted? ;)

I love cherry...

and cream cheese is by far my favorite, but...

together, it makes my heart (& tummy) very, very happy.

Cherry Cheese Danish (Kolache)
adapted from pete bakes!

Dough:
1 package instant dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 cup shortening, divided
1 cup warm milk
3 eggs

Cream Cheese filling:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cherry filling:
1 can cherry pie filling

Glaze (optional-I just like a sprinkling of powdered sugar, personally)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla


In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1/4 cup shortening, sugar, 2 eggs, salt, lemon peel, vanilla and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth an elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 24×16 inch rectangle. Dot half of the dough with 1/4 cup shortening; fold dough in half lengthwise. Dot with shortening and fold lengthwise into thirds. Dot with remaining shortening and fold widthwise into thirds.

Roll dough into a 16×15 inch rectangle. Cut into 8×3/4 inch strips, coil into spiral shapes, tucking end underneath the coil to form a bottom. Place on a greased baking sheet and cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat remaining egg, make a depression in the center of each roll and brush with egg. Fill each with the cheese filling, cherry filling, or both.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. While baking, combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla to form the glaze. Drizzle over the danishes while they are still warm.

Sleep, Puppies and French Toast

There are many things that I will never grow tired of...

For instance, sleeping in. Oh dang, that extra 2-3 hours in my warm, comfy bed is a gift from the sleep gods.

Puppies, dogs in general and their ridiculously cute faces and wet noses. I wanna cuddle with this guy and this guy and this gal.

And breakfast food. Biscuits & gravy, pancakes, waffles, omelets, eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, breakfast burritos, muffins, danishes, must I keep going?

But you know what just really hits the breakfast spot? A couple of slices of good ol' french toast. Mmm...

And you know what makes french toast even better? Turning it into a giant casserole.


This casserole is top-notch. It's easy to prepare, cheap and delish. And it can feed a ton of people.

Slap some peanut butter (shocker, I know) on top and douse it in syrup and you are good to go.

Now perfect case scenario...sleeping in that extra 2-3 hours, cuddling with the puppy and then waking to this.

All from the comfort of my warm bed. Ah, now that would be the life...

French Toast Casserole
adapted from Frugal Upstate

1/2 c. butter

12 slices white bread

1 c. brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter & pour in a 9X13 pan. Mix together brown sugar & cinnamon. Whisk eggs, milk & vanilla together. Layer bottom of pan with half the bread. Sprinkle half brown sugar mix over the bread. Layer second half of bread. Pour egg mixture over all then sprinkle remaining brown sugar. Cover & refrigerate overnight. (Totally optional) Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes (should be browned and set).

Almond Joy Bread Revisted, Because I Love My Brother

I'm about to get a little emotional. Bear with me...

This is my brother.

(Note the baking skills. I'm trying to teach him.)

He had been relentlessly hounding me to make Almond Joy bread since Christmas break began. Our convos went a little something like this.
"Dude, make me Almond Joy bread."-Brother
"Ehhh, not now. Later. I promise."-Me

Later turned into days which turned into weeks which turned into a good month and a half. About a week ago I was messing around on my computer, going through and deleting unnecessary files and what not. I'm a proud Apple owner and use those handy "Stickies" on my desktop. I've got "Stickies" for many things; To-do list, Music list, Baking list and a Bucket list. I like to go through and read my bucket list every once and awhile, revamping and tweaking here and there. I opened it up and found this at the bottom...
Just a simple note, but it brought tears to my eyes.

Over the last couple of years I've realized how much I cherish my relationship with my brother. Four years older than me, he was my playmate for a long time growing up. Sure I was probably conned into playing "Deer and hunter" (myself being the deer and being pelted with rolled-up socks), but nonetheless I got to play with "Brother."
Soon he was in high school, discovered girls, and spent a majority of his time out of the house. Being a typical teenager he wanted to be with his friends and deciding to join the Marines after high school, he seemed to spend every waking moment with them. I don't blame him, I probably would have done the same thing.
He left for boot camp after graduation and for the next four years he did and experienced more than anyone will probably do and experience their entire life. Boot camp, SOI (School of Infantry), two deployments and traveling all around the world. Needless to say, my family and I did not see him very often. Letters, phone calls, occasional e-mails and short visits home were all the contact we had with him for those four years.
He missed my years of high school. Missing basketball games, track meets, music programs, and my first dating experiences. For me personally, I felt that our relationship had grown distant. He was my brother and I loved him, but it just wasn't the same. I take a majority of the blame, knowing I could have done more. I beat myself up when I think of his deployments. I rarely wrote him and to this day regret not writing more.
His four years of duty were up in 2007, just in time for him to make it back for my high school graduation. For the next few years, my brother and I began to build that brother-sister bond we once had as young tykes. We lived in the same town, went to the same college, and hung out all the time, catching up on the years we had lost.
My brother will graduate come May and become a commissioned officer for the United States Marine Corps. He's a great son, an awesome brother, and a loving father. I'm so proud of him and all his accomplishments and don't tell him that enough.


Nate, you're the ideal "big brother" and I thank God everyday He has blessed me with you in my life. Even though we don't agree on a lot of things and I blame you as "the reason why Hannah, Harlee, and I will never get married," I wouldn't trade you for anything or anyone.

Love you too...-Al

P.S. I will make you Almond Joy bread anytime. ;)

An Anniversary Dinner

Check out these crazy kids. Meet Poppa B. and Momma B. They kind of like each other if you couldn't tell. And check out the cake! My first ever attempt at a homemade buttercream icing. This was three years ago when they celebrated 25 years of martial bliss. My Grandpa Jack renewed their wedding vows right in our living room, my siblings and I were witnesses and I cried my eyes out. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I've ever had the opportunity to experience. Ok, I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic...and a sap.

Their 28th came this last December and I wanted to make a special dinner for them while I was home over break. Here's what my siblings and I did...

Entree:
Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Onions and Pineapple

(One of my bro's signature dishes)

Let me tell you, I'm not a big fan of the "other white meat,"

but I'd eat this everyday if I could. Sooo good.

Side dish:
Whipped Sweet Potato Casserole

Bread:
Homemade Dinner Rolls

Super easy to make, hardly any prep time needed.

And delicious.

Dessert:
Flourless Chocolate Cake


Seriously, what do I have to say?

Mmm....

Love you, Mom and Dad.