Cinnamon Rolls and Applesauce

Cinnamon and sugar filled, with maple icing

The lure of cinnamon rolls!

If we happened to have a child in our household that has found it incredibly difficult to get out of bed and get moving in the morning, then let me assure you, the lure of a homemade cinnamon roll with breakfast would work wonders! (Note, I say "if" we had that problem.  I would never post about such an issue on a public blog.  What kind of mother would I be?! *wink*)


Last week, I splurged.  I bought The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl and a set of 3 Goose Berry Patch cookbooks.

Orange marmalade and brown sugar filling with orange icing

One of my boys' favorite treats is a trip to a bakery for a fresh cinnamon roll.  So, when I saw The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe, I knew I had to make them.  (The book gives a variation of the recipe, so I made some of both.  Please note: I cooked mine at 375 degrees and some were brown in as little as 13 minutes.  Also note, that the book states it makes 40 to 50. I made 42 - I will be freezing some today!)  These are so sweet and rich, one-half a roll will be a serving in our home.  They are absolutely delicious!!! Yum!

Espalier Apple Tree (with 4 types of apples)

I also harvested apples from our apple tree to make homemade applesauce!  I used the Brown Sugar Applesauce recipe from the Goose Berry Patch cookbook 101 Slow Cooker Recipes. 

The men in my home have not tried the applesauce yet.  In my opinion, it is a bit too sweet; however, I should note that we normally purchase unsweetened applesauce.  I made it to use in a granola recipe.  I will be sure to let you know how that turns out!

Applesauce - prior to mashing

Today, I will attempt the Honey-Mustard Short Ribs recipe in 101 Slow Cooker Recipes.   We purchased half of a beef, and I must admit that my grilling attempt with the first package of beef short ribs was not a big hit in our home.  (I think we prefer pork ribs over beef ribs; the beef short-ribs seemed so much greasier.)  So, I am hoping for the best tonight!  (However, if my family does not like it, the blame will fall on the particular cut of meat, not the recipe - which sounds yummy!)

He Might Like It

"Why am I starting a cooking blog?"  That is the question of the day.

I have one blog already, that I sometimes struggle to keep updated.  Living My Dream began as an opportunity for me to post my goals and keep myself accountable, but I fear it has turned into an on-line journal of my crazy quilting adventures.

This morning, I was searching for new ideas for a relish tray when I stumbled upon the blog, A Fridge Full of Food... and Nothing to Eat.  (I loved the name!)  The relish tray was a part of a post about a Daring Bakers' challenge to make bagels (yum!)  My curiosity sparked, I googled "Daring Bakers" and discovered it had evolved into The Daring Kitchen. (Of course, I bookmarked the page with the bagel recipe first...)

Did I want to register at The Daring Kitchen and participate with baking and/or cooking challenges with the Daring Bakers or the Daring Cooks?  Yes, yes I did.  Of course, that meant beginning another blog... and the hard part, a name for that blog.  I kept thinking of the variety of foods I would be attempting to make each month, and wondering if my pickiest eater would like any of them - there had to be adventurous recipes he might like, right?  Every time I try cooking something new, I find myself thinking, "He might like it..."

Being the only female in our household of four, I figured there would be three "he's" that might like what I make.  A Google search failed to find a similar name... and that is how this blog was born.

And who am I?  My name is Renee.  Though I enjoy writing and sharing on-line, I am still a skeptic when it comes to sharing personal information with the world.  So, my family consists of my wonderful husband, Monkey (our 15-year-old) and Mutt (our 12-year-old.)  Monkey received his nickname when he was only a year old.  He and his dad picked out a stuffed monkey toy, and his daddy made up a fun "Funky Monkey" song.  He does not even mind if we slip and call him Monkey in front of other high school students.  As for Mutt... it is not a nickname that I easily slip into, but he likes it better than my play off his real name.  When he was 7, he asked me to change his nickname to Piggy.  I told him I simply could not and he would understand why later.  He responded by demonstrating how well he could oink,  We settled on Mutt, as he loves ALL kinds of dogs.