Cinnamon Rolls

My family loves my cinnamon rolls. But if they want some, they have to help make them.

I have Emma put 1c water, 1c milk and 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan. I heat it until

the butter is melted and the temperature is around 120.Emma added the heated mixture to 2c flour, 2 pkgs. quick rise yeast, 1/2c sugar and 2 tsp salt.

James likes to use the mixer while Emma is adding one egg.

My mixer only has one beater since the other side does not spin anymore.

James adds 2 to 3 cups of flour while Emma begins mixing with her hands.

Once the dough pulls cleanly away from the side of the bowl, Emma dumps
it out on to a floured suface and kneads in maybe 1c more of flour.
If the dough feels firm there is too much flour.
I just like to add enough flour so that the dough is not sticky but still soft.




We let it raise in a warm area next to our wood stove.

Once it is doubled in size, Emma punches it down several times.

I think that is my kids favorite part next to kneading.

Emma rolls it out. I do help every now and then to make sure it is the size that

I want.

Spread butter or a healthier butter spread on the dough, sprinkle with

plenty of sugar and cinnamon. I have no measurement, I just

add as much as I like.

We did make two different doughs so we could make two different kinds

of rolls.


Chocolate Chip

(I know it sounds weird but I wanted to try it.)

Apple Cinnamon

I used dried apples for the rolls. I just let them sit in water

while we worked on the dough.

Then I spread them out over the cinnamon and sugar.

Roll up the dough and slice with dental floss.

Put them in a greased 13x9 or larger pan and let them rise for 30

or 40 minutes.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.
(By now I am doing this myself because my daughter's friend came over to play.)

I had 3 extra rolls so I put them into a pie pan.

These rolls turned out delicious. My husband and I liked the Apple-Cinnamon

better than the Chocolate Chip. Chocolate and cinnamon don't seem

to be compatible like chocolate and mint.

Since making these rolls, the kids and I have had fun making loaves of

white bread, big and small. I did not get pictures this time, I am just

glad they still want to cook with me.

Happy New Year !!!

A Cheese Tortilla

James wants to make his own cheese tortilla. I know its nothing creative but I thought

it was cute.He tried so hard to shred his cheese.

He folded it over the best he could.

He insisted on putting it into the microwave and turning it on all by himself.

He couldn't quite get it in so I had to put down the camera and lift him

up a little. He started the microwave and stopped it before his

dinner got too hot.

I was making chicken enchiladas, which he exclaimed he would not eat. I told him

to make what he wanted and he did.

Scott's First Chicken Pasta Parmesan

I am back with another recipe and help from my son, Scott. This is his first time on the blog

and I'm just glad he agreed.

He is helping me make Chicken Pasta Parmesan. This is a recipe my whole family enjoys, (except for James, he doesn't like anything.).

I got this recipe from my Campbell's soup cookbook. I have had it for 11 years.

A gift from my then-future mother-in-law.We start out by boiling spagetti.
While the spagetti is cooking, Scott is cooking some cut up chicken breast.


When the spagetti noodles are close to being done, I like to add a bag of frozen broccoli.
That way I don't have to cook the broccoli seperately.

Scott is removing the chicken to a plate.

Once the spagetti and broccoli are drained(I took care of that job),

I have Scott add 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of mushrooms....

..then comes the chicken.

Last we add the parmesan cheese.

Mix everything together, heat on low for a few minutes and serve.

I tend to change things around a little bit here and there to accomodate

my family. I did not follow recipe directions exactly so I will add it just

in case.

Scott complained a little bit about dinner but he ended up eating it all.



1lb. boneless chicken, cut into cubes

cook in 2 TBSP oil w/ 1/4c chopped onions on

medium heat.

When its done stir in 1 can Cream of Chicken or broccoli

and 2 TBSP milk.

Add 1c fresh mushrooms, 1c cooked broccoli flowerets &

1/2 c parmesan cheese

Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes stirring ocasionally.

Serve over spagetti w/ sprinkle of cheese

Next week the kids are out of school and I plan to

keep them busy for the first few days helping me bake

cinnamon swirl bread to take around to friends, home and visiting teaching

families and our own family. I can't wait!!

Learning Curve

My kids LOVE macaroni & cheese. We store our Mac & Cheese in the basement. When I

am ready to start dinner or lunch I send James (3) downstairs to get a box.

On this particular occasion he came upstairs with 3 boxes of Mac & Cheese in his

arms. He told me since he was 3-years-old he needs 3 boxes. I told him we would make

just one for now. Once the water started to boil both him and Emma(9) wanted to pour the

macaroni in. I told Emma she could do the second box if we needed it. I left to help Rachel

at the piano. Some minutes later I started smelling a smell I shouldn't have been smelling.

I found my 2-quart sauce pan full of macaroni with no water left over. I called Emma in and

third opened box. I asked her about it. She said she didn't do it. I asked James and he said

he did. So my 2-quart sauce pan had 3 boxes of Mac & Cheese and no water. James said hewas 3 years old and needed 3 boxes of Mac & Cheese, he reminded me.
I saved most of the macaroni and had to throw away the burned bits.

Kids can be helpful in the kitchen. Every once in a while they throw you a

curve ball and you scramble to catch it.

Family Favorite Smoothie

We love smoothies at our house. We make them as often as we can.

They're perfect for dessert or anytime really.

My daughter, Rachel, is helping again. We are letting her put in

most of the ingredients.First comes the ice. No measurement needed. We just add as much as we want.

Chop up the ice.
Next comes the milk, usually about 1 cup.

My favorite ingredient is Tillamook raspberry yogurt. (So good!!)

Blend some more.

Rachel adds the bananas. I love bananas in smoothies, they add the right

amount of sweetness. We usually add about two bananas.
My husband is adding his secret ingredient, orange-strawberry-banana

juice straight from the can but only half the can.

We decided to try something new in this particular smoothie: Vanilla Egg Nog
There was only about a half a cup left so we poured it in.

Blend it all together and there is our family favorite smoothie.

It tasted so good. The vanilla egg nog was a nice addition. The

smoothie was creamy and delicious.

Sometimes we make this for the kids and sometimes we make it

after they go to bed and we have it all to ourselves.

Baked Potato Chowder w/ James

When I came up with the idea to do this blog I was so excited. I imagined

making lots of different recipes with the help of my kids, taking pictures

and then typing about it. This takes alot more time than I thought. I

have 5 kids, three are school age and when they get home there is homework,

piano practice, violin, chores, dinner to prepare and the occaional whiny baby.

There are so many things I want to get done while they are at school that I have a

hard time sitting down at a computer for too long.

I still love this idea and I will keep at it as much as I can. Bear with me.

James is helping me again with this next recipe. He loves to cut, slice, shred, whatever

it takes to help. We are making Baked Potato Chowder, my favorite.

One of the ingredients is shredded cheddar cheese. I'd like to say that James

is the one that shredded all that cheese but he didn't. He certainly tried though.

There's no real measurement of the cheese. We just add as much as we like.

Here is our chowder base. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in the pan then stir in 1/2 cup

flour. Then add 6 cups of milk(2% or 1%)2 cups at a time. Constantly stir on medium heat until it thickens and is a little bubbly.

Before making the chowder base, we prepared the potatoes. James
and I just cut them up in cubes and boiled them, like you would do for
mashed potatoes

Here James is mashing them for me. Only mash a little not too much.


James added them to the prepared base.
We also added salt and pepper to taste.

Nest comes the cheese, chopped green onions,.......

.......sour cream and....

.....REAL bacon bits.

Stir together and serve. You can eat the soup by itself or with

Sour Cream and Cheddar potato chips.

Absolutely delicious!!!

Now, James helped me make the chowder but does he eat it?

No Way!! "I don't like onions."

James and the Giant Cookie

James is my 3 year old and he LOVES to help cook, especially cookies.

Whenever he sees me take out the mixer he knows we are going to cook

something yummy and he just has to help.He unwraps the 1 stick of butter and puts it in the bowl with 3/4 c. sugar and 3/4 c. brown sugar.
He likes to be the one to crack the 2 eggs and I put them into the bowl.

I've made this recipe so many times I don't even measure the 1 tsp. of vanilla.

James likes to help pour it in and I have my hand on the bottle or he'll

pour the whole thing in.

Then he adds the 2 cups of flour plus just a smidge more.

He turns the bowl while the mixer does its job.

His favorite part is adding the semi-sweet chocolate chips.

He makes sure there are plenty in the cookies.

I put them into the oven for him at 375 for 9-10 mins.

And here we have our favorite chocolated chip cookies. One day (when he's older) he

will be able to make these cookies all by himself and all I will have to do is eat them.

Rachel's Flatbread Pizza

Here is a fun, easy and healthy way to have pizza.

My 6 year old daughter helped prepare this yummy meal. It was perfectly simple for her since she is only 6.She put two pieces of flatbread onto an aluminum-lined cookie sheet. (Spray aluminum with a nonstick spray) One is whole wheat and the other is white.

I didn't want to open a huge can of spagetti sauce and I didn't have any pizza sauce so we just used some left over tomato sauce we had in the fridge. Rachel used a spoon to spread the sauce around.

Then she sprinkled on freshly ground Italian seasonings.

Rachel's Flatbread Pizza

Rachels loves cheese and only cheese on her pizza.On the whole wheat flatbread she added some freash baby spinach....


....and fresh tomatoes.



Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until all the cheese has melted.

Voila! It was quick, fun and easy for Rachel and we all loved the pizzas too.

They were really good. Rachel would love to make them again.

I think that's a great idea.