Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

WINNER, WINNER Cinnabon DINNER! These are AMAZING. I might actually not go back to Cinnabon again because I have literally conquered the cinnamon roll kingdom! These take some patience in the preparation process but they are so worth it. I made these for Mother's Day as a thank you for one of the girls at work coming in early to relieve me. They definitely went over well! You HAVE to try these! MOM: I finally out-did you! ...and thanks Liela, glad your sweet tooth is back in action! Tip on the prep process: let the dough rise once as the plain bread dough, and then let it rise again after they are rolled and cut in the pan. Full expansion possibilities. If your house is cool, let the dough rise in the closed oven.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls via Food.com:

http://www.food.com/recipe/cinnabon-cinnamon-rolls-76864

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

These are one of those simple delicacies that really make you appreciate the easy things in life! These are great in pasta, as a salad topper, or as a quick snack all by themselves. The recipe says you can use various types of tomatoes. I used grape because I find them a bit sweeter than cherry tomatoes. They worked nicely, but they did take the full three hours of slow roasting. I would venture to say that if you wanted to use Roma they would take far longer than even the stated three hours. These are a lot less oily than the packed sundried tomatoes that I am used to. I can appreciate them for that. For my seasonings I used sea salt, cracked pepper, and an italian seasoning mix.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes via Panini Happy:

http://paninihappy.com/condiment-time-slow-roasted-tomatoes/

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got a baking itch while I was at my Dad's this past weekend, so this is what I came up with given what we had on hand. Not bad for an improvisation. Warm cookies, I have found, aren't ever greeted coldly. My Dad polished off most of these and I took the rest to Shannon... so I'm sure Matthew ate them. P.S. Congrats to the Shatthew engagement! These will be deemed engagement cookies!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies via Crisco:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco

1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cup. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 c. chocolate chips

Cream together brown sugar and Crisco until light & fluffy. Add peanut butter, milk, vanilla, egg, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add in flour in three additions. Mix in chocolate chips last just until combined. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet and bake forr 10 minutes at 350. Let cook for a minute on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Grilled Corn & Chipotle Pepper Salad

PICTURE APOLOGIES! I promise my camera will be back in action very soon. This is another addition to my veggie themed week. I so wish my Blackberry would take better pictures because this salad is so gorgeous. This has an amazing flavor without needing any additions to the original recipe. The only thing I added was some delicious red quinoa to beef up the color contrast and protein. I prepared one cup of uncooked quinoa and just mixed it in with the rest of the ingredients. It didn't even need anything extra. INSANE FLAVOR!

Grilled Corn & Chipotle Pepper Salad via Aaron McCargo Jr.:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/grilled-corn-and-chipotle-pepper-salad-recipe/index.html

Snickerdoodle Blondies

These were a quick, impulse project just because I was in the mood to bake and had everything on hand. If I'm working the next day, it's always a good day to bake. That way I know everything will get eaten! Snickerdoodles are a classic flavor and these were no different. Just a different shape to play with the flavor. I think I still prefer the cookie shape, but either way these were tasty! 

Snickerdoodle Blondies via Tracey's Culinary Adventures:

http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2011/03/snickerdoodle-blondies.html