Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

My friend Tobie and I share a love of baking. So we decided to try our hands at cinnamon rolls. She got inspiration from a great website called The Pioneer Woman. Tobie used the recipe for her cinnamon roll dough and then we added our own twist to it. We had to limit our creations to just 3 flavors of cinnamon rolls, reserving our other fantabulous ideas for when we open a bakery, after we win the lottery of course.

So Tobie made the dough the night before and then it looked like this in the morning.


Then we made our game plan. Three kinds of rolls: Brown sugar & Cinnamon, Apple Butter & Cinnamon and Apricot-Orange Almond. Really, the possibilities are endless, but like I said we had to limit ourselves. The dough we used was a very light dough, not too chewy either. It had a great texture to it. My favorite were the Apricot-Orange rolls, they weren't too sweet yet had a lot of flavor.

Basic Method for Cinnamon Rolls:
1. Melt some butter in a saucepan on low heat. We ended up using about 1 stick for all 3 kinds. Grease some pans to put the rolls with melted butter- round cake pans work nicely. Sprinkle flour on a smooth surface for rolling the dough. Don't forget to dust the rolling pin too, to prevent sticking.

2. Separate the dough into sections, we did 3 since we were doing 3 fillings. This makes it easier to roll. You will want to roll the dough into a rough rectangle shape until its about 1/4 inch thick.

3. Brush on melted butter all over the rectangle.
4. Add the filling evenly, trying to cover the entire surface. The one pictured is the Brown Sugar and Cinnamon.

5. Next start on one of the long ends, and roll the dough into one log.

6. Using a sharp knife and a sawing motion, cut the dough into 3/4 to 1 inch thick pieces. We started by trimming the funny ends off and then started to cut nice-looking pieces. The funny end-bits became our tasters. Place rolls into the pans, about 1/2 to 1 inch apart since the dough will rise a bit.

7. Let the rolls sit 20 to 30 minutes to rise, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.


And now the fun part....the fillings!!!

#1 Brown Sugar and Cinnamon
Mix together about 3/4 cup brown sugar and 2tbsp ground cinnamon. Add a pinch of ground nutmeg or allspice (or both) and combine.

#2 Apple Butter and Cinnamon
Apple butter can be found in the jelly/jam section of the grocery store-or use any flavor spread you want. Spread the apple butter first on the dough. Then use the leftover brown sugar mix from the first batch and sprinkle it on top of the apple butter.


#3 Apricot-Orange Almond
I had an apricot-orange jam from Trader Joe's that we used to spread on the dough first. Then we took some toasted almonds and chopped them up and sprinkled them on top of the jam. Yummy!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe makes me very proud since it's my very own and always get a lot of compliments. It's very easy too -I have made it for 50 people, and I've made it for 6 people. It freezes well, so you can make a lot now and eat it a month later. I'm still not too sure about the amounts-I usually do a lot of tasting when I make the sauce, so if you need to adjust something, please do. Oh, and did I mention once you put this in the crock pot, you are free to do whatever you want for 8-10 hours! I usually make it at night, while I'm sleeping!


Ingredients:

4 lbs of boneless pork roast, trimmed of visible fat (I always get mine at Winco, its either the Picnic Boneless Pork, usually $1.98/lb or the Pork Sirloin Roast, about $2.40/lb. They are very lean, AND pretty cheap!)
1-2 yellow onion, sliced
2-3 Bay leaves
Hamburger buns/rolls

For the sauce:
1 14 oz bottle of BBQ sauce (I use Kraft-any flavor-since its about $0.89/bottle at Winco)
1/4 Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp Brown sugar
1-2 tsp minced Garlic
1/2- 1 tsp ground pepper
Some Apple juice,orange juice, chicken broth, or water if needed, usually up to 1/2 c
2-3 Bay leaves

Directions:
1. Trim all visible fat off of the pork and place into the crock pot.


2. Slice onion and scatter on top of the pork. Throw in the bay leaves.


3. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. If you have extra think BBQ sauce you might need more juice, broth or water. If not, add less. With the crock pot the liquid should fill at least halfway up the meat or more so it doesn't burn.


4. Once the sauce is mixed, taste and add anything more you think it needs. Then pour over the pork. Throw in the bay leaves.

5. Put the lid on the crock pot and set for the longest time possible. I have an 8 and 10 hr setting for Low, both work well.


6. Once the pork is done, let it cool for a bit with the lid off. Then remove the pork and shred with 2 forks. Make sure to take out the bay leaves, but keep in the onions, they will be falling apart. Once the pork has all been shredded and put into another container, ladle in the remaining sauce from the crock pot to keep it moist.



7. Serve on hamburger buns or rolls. Enjoy!

*makes about 10 servings