Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Mmmm! These pancakes are sure to become a family favorite. We love breakfast for dinner and pancake night is always popular in our house, but these pancakes were especially loved. I might up the cinnamon the next time I make them and I have seen on other blogs making a cream cheese glaze for on top, but that was a little over the top to me. I just served the pancakes with butter and syrup and it was tasty enough I assure you. This is a fun one to have kids help you with. My kids really loved swirling the cinnamon mixture onto the batter.


Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

a batch of your favorite pancake batter (I use Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used 1, but will use more next time)

In a large liquid measuring cup combine melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir until smooth. Pour this mixture into a squeeze bottle (or you could use a ziplock bag and snip one corner and use like a piping bag). Laddle pancake batter onto your griddle and then squeeze the cinnamon mixture in a swirls right onto the batter. When the pancakes are done on one side, flip them over and finish cooking on the other side. Serve with butter and syrup.

Braided Reuben Sandwich Loaf

My husband absolutely loves Reuben sandwiches so I thought I'd try this yummy looking braided sandwich loaf from the new Real Mom Kitchen Cookbook. It was really good. Sandwich dinners are one of my kids' favorites and they all loved it. I used a batch of my own bread/pizza/scone dough and it worked great, though I did have to use the other half of the dough for rolls (which went great soup the next day), since you only need the dough for one loaf to make this sandwich. You could also use a thawed loaf of Rhodes frozen bread dough, or your own homemade dough for 1 loaf of bread.


Braided Reuben Sandwich Loaf

Dough:
5 1/4 cups white bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 rounded tablespoon SAF yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons liquid lecithin
2 1/4 cups hot tap water

Sandwich Filling:
1/2 lb thin sliced pastrami or corned beef
8 slices Swiss cheese
1/4 cup thousand island dressing, plus more for dipping
caraway seeds, optional, for top of loaf to give it a rye bread like taste


First make the dough. Mix dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer: flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 minutes with dough hook. Check consistency of dough, it should be like a stiff cookie dough, adding a little more water if it's too dry or a little more flour if it's too moist. Mix for 5 minutes. Do not add any water or flour after it has finished.

Spray counter with cooking spray and also spray your hands so you can work with dough. Knead dough into a smooth ball. Cut in half. Set aside 1 half for the sandwich loaf and the other half you can form into equal balls for rolls (place in a greased 9x13, cover with plastic wrap, let rise for 25 minutes, then bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top and bottom) or make a regular loaf of bread (form into a loaf, place in a greased loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, let rise for 25 minutes, then bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden on top and sounds hallow when tapped).

Take the half of bread dough for the braided sandwich loaf and roll out into a large rectangle, about the size of a baking sheet. Put this rolled out dough onto your non-stick sprayed baking sheet and press the dough out the the edges. Cut 3 inch long cuts 1 inch apart along the sides of the dough (refer to picture below). Down the center of the dough place pastrami, 1/4 cup thousand island dressing, and Swiss cheese slices. Braid the strips over the center section to create a loaf. Roll the ends of the dough, seal and pinch to make sure the end don't open when baking. If desired, sprinkle with caraway seeds and press into the dough. Bake at 350 for  25-30 minutes or until golden on top and bottom. When it comes out of the oven brush with melted butter. Allow loaf to cool for a few minutes before slicing. Cut into slices and serve with extra thousand island dressing for dipping.

Pioneer Woman Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ooh these potatoes are so darn good! Decadent as far as mashed potatoes go (yes that is 2 sticks of butter, cream cheese and heavy cream - oh my), but so good. As Paula Deen says, "I'm your cook, not your doctor". You can serve them right away, I see no need to put them in a casserole dish and heat them in the oven if they are already hot, or you can make them ahead of time, park them in the fridge and then heat them up in the oven before dinner. I also have a 8x8 pan of these mashed potatoes in my freezer and I'm going to see how they reheat from frozen - I'll let you know.Look for update below.*

Pioneer Woman Creamy Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs russet potatoes
2 sticks butter, softened (1 cup)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2-1 cup heavy cream

Peel potatoes and cu them into chunks and place into a pot with enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Drain potatoes and put into the bowl of an electric mixer (or you could mash by hand in the pot). With a paddle attachment, mix the potatoes until broken up. Add butter, cream cheese, seasoned salt, kosher salt, pepper to taste and mix. Add enough heavy cream to give the potatoes a nice smooth texture, but don't over mix or the potatoes will become gummy. Serve right away or if you are going to reheat follow instructions below.

To Prepare for Reheating:
Generously butter a 4 quart baking dish. Spread the potatoes in the dish. Place pats of butter over the top. Cover and refrigerate. When ready to reheat, bake at 350 until butter is melted on top and potatoes are warmed through, 20-30 minutes.

*Freezing Directions: So I did freeze and then reheat an 8x8 pan of these mashed potatoes. I just put half of the recipe into an 8x8 foil pan, covered it with plastic wrap, then foil and froze it. I let it thaw for a day in the fridge, then baked it at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it was hot and top browned a little on sides. The texture does change a little, but the potatoes are still great and creamy.

Potato Crusted Quiche

This quiche is so yummy! Kinda like a cross between a breakfast casserole and quiche and you could switch out the ham for bacon or sausage. My kids especially loved this quiche and they and my husband fought over the last piece. As a cook, it was a very validating dinner experience.:)

Potato Crusted Quiche

3 cups frozen shredded hashbrowns, thawed
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup diced ham
1/3 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Press thawed hashbrowns between paper towels to get out as much moister as possible. In a bowl combine hashbrowns and butter and then press into a 9 inch pie plate, pressing into the bottom and up the sides to form crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and starting to crisp.

In a bowl combine eggs and half and half and whisk well. Add ham, green onions, and cheese. When crust is ready pour egg mixture into it, spreading out the ingredients as evenly as possible. Lower oven temperature to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the quiche is lightly golden on top and a knife inserted in the middle shows the mixture is not runny. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.