Phew

Wow! It is already the end of February, it has flown by. February is a special month in our house, both my birthday and our Family Day fall within a few days of each other. And Beck turned 2 at the beginning of the month.

I had a great birthday. My good friend Sarah invited us over for a yummy lunch. I recently "introduced" her to the Pioneer Woman and I might have created a monster, although I'm sure her family doesn't mind! That evening Ryan and I were able to have a date! We had dinner at La Scala, a wonderful Italian restaurant downtown.

We celebrate Family Day on February 14 (otherwise known as Valentines Day). That was the day 5 years ago, we flew to Guatemala and were united with Brooks forever. I cooked a Guatemalan feast: black beans, rice, corn tortillas, fried plantains, guacamole, and flan. Brooks made a special request for the flan. It was my first time making it and won't be my last. Look for the recipe on Tasty Tuesday. Hudson looooves flan, he might have eaten the whole thing if I let him!

The boys also got to celebrate Valentines Day with a party at school. They loved getting valentines from all their classmates.

Brooks and Hudson have been taking gymnastics for the past month. They really enjoy it. Brooks is getting really good at doing a roundoff.

And me, well, this week hasn't been so great, it started out with a sinus/ear infection and has now gone to this...

Pink Eye! In both eyes! So, I'm home from work today since it's highly contagious. I hope I haven't spread it to anyone else, especially my family.

Here's hoping for a better weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

We're at home staying cozy and warm on this snow day. Here are a couple recipes featuring cinnamon, perfect for a cold icy, snowy day.

Ryan loves snickerdoodles, but I didn't feel like the hassle of making cookies, so I found this recipe. They are really tasty!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Ingredients

• 2-⅔ cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 cups Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Butter, Room Temperature
• 2 whole Eggs Room Temperature
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar For Sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon, For Sprinkling

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 teaspoons cinnamon (for sprinkling) and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; set aside. Beat the butter and brown sugar for 3–5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture and spread in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle combined sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake!! Cool and cut.

Here's a recipe for the best cinnamon rolls ever. Really. Ryan told me never to make another recipe again, this is it.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup Warm Milk (110 Degrees)
• 2 whole Eggs Room Temperature
• ⅓ cups Butter Or Margarine Melted
• 4-½ cups Bread Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ cups Sugar
• 2-½ teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast
• _____
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 1 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 2-½ Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
• ⅓ cups Butter, Softened
• _____
• FOR THE FROSTING:
• 3 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
• ¼ cups Butter, Softened
• 1-½ cup Powdered Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Place ingredients in the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer (if you don’t have a bread machine, scroll down to the instructions by hand). Select the dough cycle; press start.

Once finished, roll out the dough on a floured surface. Let it rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough into a 16×21″ rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Roll up dough, and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 13×9″ baking dish or two 9″ pie plates. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Directions by hand:

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Mix in sugar, eggs, salt and butter. Add flour; mix well. Knead dough into a large ball dusted lightly in flour. Place in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Roll out dough and proceed with directions above.

Note that unbaked rolls can be frozen. Just take them out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator the night before, and in the morning they’ll be ready for the oven. You can also make these ahead of time (like the night before). Just put them unbaked, in the fridge. In the morning, set them out for about 30 minutes before baking.

If you love cream cheese frosting, I recommend doubling the frosting.