Healthy(er) Cinnamon Rolls- Bread Machine

Cinnamon Rolls are one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast. My children and husband love them just as much, if not more, than I do.  Recently I've been experimenting with making my usual recipe a little bit healthier(I realize it's still not exactly healthy, though!), and I think I've found a winner. Here it is:

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp of warm milk
1 Tbsp Coconut oil
2 Tbsp Butter
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup raw sugar(or regular sugar/honey- if using honey 1/3 cup)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
3 tsp yeast

Filling
2 Tbsp melted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar mixed with a tablespoon of cinnamon

Glaze

1/2-1 tsp milk
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tbsp of butter
1 tsp of vanilla


Pour all ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Put on dough cycle. When done, roll out and spread filling, roll back up and slice rolls. Let rolls rise for about 20 minutes in greased pans, then bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I usually get 16 rolls from this recipe, and usually bake one pan, and freeze the other. If you want to freeze them, just pop them in the freezer right after you've had them rise. Enjoy!

Super Yummy Delicious Afternoon Smoothie

Great name, right? Seriously though, I am in love with this smoothie. I've been drinking it in the afternoons after the kids go down for their naps(yes instead of coffee and dark chocolate- well, ok, maybe instead of coffee, I can't be without dark chocolate!) It's a great pick me up, and as far as I can tell it's good for me.

Super Yummy Delicious Afternoon Smoothie

1/2-1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup old fashioned or rolled oats
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 banana
1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 cup spinach/kale
1/3 cup of ice

Blend until smooth.

I'm thinking this would be a great way to start the morning too, but I don't usually drink smoothies for breakfast because I'm always afraid the blender will wake up the kids. Let me know if you try it, and what you think of it!

Anyone else have any great smoothie recipes?







Linked to Pennywise Platter

Freezer Cooking Follow Up

Yesterday's freezer cooking didn't go quite as smooth as I had hoped. First off our washing machine broke, so I had to spend a little bit of time figuring out what to do about that over the phone with Erik. Then once we found one, I had to get things cleaned up in the laundry room so that when the installers came no one would be embarrassed..;)

I did manage to get almost everything made that I had planned. The only thing I didn't get around to was the chocolate chip cookies. I was getting a little grouchy, and I'm a firm believer that making cookies should always be a fun experience! I'm hoping to make those today.

Anna helping me roll tortillas.

So by the time it was all said and done I made 12 tortillas, 16 hamburger buns, one loaf of bread, and four pizza crusts. The kids love helping me make tortillas, and really any type of bread, probably because I can let them experiment to their hearts content since it's really hard to mess up those things. 

Despite the day not going as smoothly as I'd hoped(but really, does any day go as smooth as hoped?!) I'm so glad I got ahead, and now I shouldn't have hardly any work to do on pizza, hamburger, and Mexican nights for at least a couple of weeks!

Our Favorite Green Smoothie

I mentioned last week that we didn't particularly care for the taste of green smoothies. We are all picky eaters in this house, and the only fruit my husband even likes is oranges. I wasn't sure if oranges would taste all right in a smoothie, but  when I saw a big bag at Aldi for $1.29 I figured it had to be worth a try! Much to my delight, everyone in my family, loves this recipe. I'm a little embarrassed to post this because it's ridiculously simple to make, but just in case you want to try an orange green smoothie, here is the recipe;

11/2- 2 cups of vanilla or regular almond milk.

3 oranges

11/2 cups of spinach

2 cups ice

Blend until smooth. Serves six

See how simple that is? But I'm a simple person, so it makes me happy. :)

What are some of your favorite smoothie recipes?

Linked to Pennywise Platter.