Home improvement week means easy dinners

I have to admit, having a meal you can toss in a pan and then into the oven while you do some home improvement project, then come back to and it be delicious and a full meal? Kind of awesome. Actually, really awesome. We've had this weird issue with our under-cabinet lighting; it won't get very bright. We've had it installed and working great for a while, then suddenly it wouldn't work right. It's on a switched outlet, so Andy swapped the switch - no luck. Swapped the outlet - no luck. We plugged another light into that outlet - same issue! So, something is wonky somewhere in our 120 year old house's wiring and I'm not really interested in figuring it out right now. I've been researching LED wireless under cabinet lighting and found a solution! I was all excited to install it then we had a flush valve in a toilet go out... so I spent 4 1/2 hours on that instead of the fun lighting project... 4 1/2 hours on one toilet is just wrong... thankfully I got the most of it figured out, after 3 trips to 2 different hardware stores (one where the "helpful hardware folks" was a girl half my age who just googled things and said I wasn't trying hard enough). I was very happy the next night to toss dinner into the oven, then do my lighting project with no issues, everything worked and we had a great dinner, then I went out to do a camper improvement project! I will say I get my Boursin cheese at my favorite weird grocery store for 3 for $1... while at Aldi I noticed they are over $5 each! So, if you are stuck paying over $5 - I'm sorry, but this stuff is good!!

Dump and Bake Creamy Sausage Pasta
1 12-ounce box bowtie pasta
1 12-ounce package frozen broccoli florets or about 3 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 13.5-ounce package smoked Polish kielbasa cut into 1/4 inch coins
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 5.3-ounce package Boursin garlic & fine herbs gourmet cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉.
In a greased 9×13-inch casserole dish, add the uncooked pasta noodles, broccoli, sliced kielbasa, chicken broth, milk, and salt; stir.
Remove the cheese from the package and place it in the center of the dish.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Uncover the pasta, give it a stir, and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the pasta is soft.
Give the pasta a stir and let it set for 10 minutes. This will help the sauce thicken and coat the pasta beautifully!
Stir once again and serve!

Melted cheese, a dream or a nightmare....

It's been a while since I've made fresh bread for dinner - it felt time. This bread needed caramelized onions, which aren't just cooked onions, they take quite a while to cook slowly in a pan not burning or going too fast. Slow and low, and making the house smell amazing. I used my Kitchenaid mixer for this one since my other mixer I normally use for doughs was being used for something sweet. It's been a while since I hauled out the dough hook and used it rather than using it to make the drawer get stuck opening, because usually that's all it gets used for. This dough rose quite a bit, even on second rise - it was all over the place! I rolled the bread in cheese and herbs, and sprayed my pans but oh man did that cheese stick to the pans. I'm not sure what I could have done differently. Now that I think back, it might have been fun to bake this in bundt pan for perfect slices! But oh the mess of that melted cheese... not sure that would be a dream or a nightmare. This recipe made two very puffy large loaves and they were delicious! Let's have another!

Caramelized Onion Cheddar Bread Savory Artisan Loaf
For the Dough
1 packet Active Dry Yeast
1 cup Warm
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 cup Milk
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
4 cups All-Purpose Flour
For the Filling
2 medium Onions Caramelized
1 cup Cheddar Cheese
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme or Rosemary

Sauté Onions: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the finely sliced onions and cook for about 10-15 minutes until softened. Reduce the heat and continue cooking for an additional 45 minutes until they are golden and fragrant.
Activate Yeast: In a large bowl, combine sugar, active dry yeast, and warm water. Allow it to sit until it becomes foamy—this means your yeast is active and ready to work its magic!
Mix Ingredients: Stir in milk, olive oil, salt, and the delicious caramelized onions. Gradually add all-purpose flour until just combined; your dough will be a bit shaggy at this stage.
Knead Dough: Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. This step is essential for developing structure in your bread!
First Rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size—this should take about 1-2 hours.
Shape Dough: Once risen, punch down the dough to release the air. Divide it into two pieces, roll each into a rectangle, and generously sprinkle with grated cheddar and thyme or rosemary. Roll tightly and braid your dough for a beautiful finish.
Second Rise: Place the braided loaves into greased pans, cover lightly, and let them rise until puffy—approximately 1 hour. Your kitchen will smell amazing!
Bake the Loaves: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake for about 50 minutes, rotating halfway through for even browning. If they begin to brown too quickly, cover them with foil.
Cool Down: Allow the loaves to cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Slicing into warm bread is the best part!

Worth the Wait

Summer has been a whirlwind. Trips to plan for and go on, packing to do, camps to get gets kids to, so many fun adventures and weekends away, but very little time to bake and try new things. This recipe has been on my radar for quite a while, printed on my desk staring at me. We had an at home Saturday and wildly got all our yardwork and other chores done in the morning so an afternoon of baking sounded fantastic! I thought this recipe would be harder than it actually was, it honestly was very straight forward and not hard. My measuring was a bit off and I ignored the first tip about cutting a slit in the wide end of the triangle. My first croissant showed my inability to follow directions and it did not fan out very nice, so I went back and cut slits and they all rolled out beautifully and looked just like you'd expect. These croissants are not standard with laminated dough and layers of flakey pastry, they are soft and delicious. Layers of cinnamon and brown sugar filling, with some icing on top. So delicious and they are wonderful as left overs! These were worth the wait!

Cinnamon Roll Croissants
Dough:
3/4 cup (180ml) milk of choice, warmed to 110F
1/2 cup (110g) granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 tsp (9g) active dry yeast
1/2 cup (120g) Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, very softened (almost melted)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
4 1/2 cups (540g) bread flour (substitution: all-purpose flour);
1 tsp (6g) salt
Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, softened (not melted)
1 cup (240g) light brown sugar
2 tbsp (12g) cinnamon
1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
Egg wash: 1 egg + 1 tbsp heavy cream or milk of choice, for brushing on top before baking
Egg Wash (For Brushing on Top Before Baking):
1 egg
1 tbsp (15ml) heavy cream or milk of choice
Cream Cheese Glaze:
4oz (125g; 1/2 a block) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp (28g) salted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (150g) powdered sugar
2 tbsp (30ml) milk of choice
1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
Activate the yeast for the dough:
Start by activating the yeast for the dough. Pour the warm milk into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add 1 tbsp (13g) of the granulated sugar and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Stir and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes, until frothy and activated. If using instant yeast, no need to wait for it to bloom; go straight into mixing the dough together!
Continue preparing the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
Once activated, pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing/kneading the dough by hand). Add the rest of the sugar (1/2 cup minus the 1 tbsp that was used to activate the yeast), Greek yogurt or sour cream, butter, eggs, vanilla, and the flour mixture.
With the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon if mixing by hand), mix on low speed for 1 minute, until barely combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes so the flour can soak up the liquids.
Then, mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth, and is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems a little too sticky, you can add 1 tbsp more flour at a time, until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t be tempted to add too much, you want the dough to be slightly sticky! I ended up adding about 3 tbsp more flour. If you are mixing and kneading by hand, pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes by hand.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm environment for 30-45 minutes. Don’t let the dough rise for too long, or your cinnamon rolls will turn out a little too airy. NOTE: This dough won't double in size in that timeframe, and that's what we want!
Prepare the cinnamon filling and baking sheets:
While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling by mixing together the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla until well combined. Set aside.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Shape and proof the cinnamon roll croissants:
Once the dough is done rising, punch it down and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 20x12” rectangle, ~1/4” thickness. Disperse the cinnamon filling all over the surface of the dough, and spread/smooth it out evenly, leaving a very small border around the edges.
On the long end of the dough, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to divide the dough into 5 equal sections (each 4” in width). This should create 5 long rectangles.
Then, cut a straight line diagonally through each rectangle to create 10 triangles. *This is going to make 10 very large cinnamon roll croissants. If you want them smaller, you can cut smaller sections and triangles (i.e., roll the dough out to a 24x12" rectangle; cut into 6, 4" sections; cut a total of 12 triangles from those sections).
Take a triangle (do not stretch it out too much, or the layers won’t be super fluffy) and make a small slit in the middle of the large end. Then, tightly roll it up into a croissant shape. Repeat with the remaining triangles.
Place the cinnamon roll croissants onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2” apart from each other. Loosely cover the baking sheets with a kitchen towel and allow to proof for 25-30 minutes while the oven preheats, until puffy.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Bake:
Once the cinnamon roll croissants are proofed, whisk together the milk and egg for the egg wash. Then brush the egg wash over the tops of the cinnamon roll croissants.
Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until golden on top. *NOTE: some of the filling is going to spill out just slightly, this is normal. Once they are removed from the oven, it creates a nice gooey and caramelized bottom!
Prepare the cream cheese glaze and serve:
While the cinnamon roll croissants are baking, prepare the cream cheese glaze. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and softened butter until smooth and fluffy. Then whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until well combined and smooth. If you would like your glaze more runny, whisk in 1 more tbsp of milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Remove the rolls from the oven and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes. Then immediately spoon or drizzle the cream cheese glaze all over the rolls

Therapy via ChatGPT

It's peach season at Cedar Road... but our poor sad peach tree is not happy. Last week I had a little therapy session with ChatGPT sharing pictures and my concern. Don't worry, ChatGPT thinks It'll be just fine, I'm not so sure. Since some of the roots were cut for the road construction and all the trauma... it's having a rough year. I have plans in the spring of planting another Red Haven in the front yard just incase this is the way it's going. Oh, I should explain - the limbs are dying, the peaches are very weird shaped, ripening and molding in weird ways. Hopefully next season we'll be back to a bumper crop. I have been able to can some, and hope to can more, but right now it's a sad looking tree. I was able to pull a few when I was canning to make these upside down cakes! Since I can't do pineapple, these peach cakes seemed perfect to try and they were delicious with a scoop of ice cream on top! They even came right out of the pan! One note - Andy and Nicholas (and I) decided we should add some cinnamon to the batter and that was a great decision! So if you can't find me, I'll be talking nicely to my peach tree and hoping a better year for it next year.

Peach Upside Down Mini Cakes
For topping:
1 tablespoon (15 g) unsalted butter cold
6 teaspoons (5 g) light brown sugar
For cake batter:
3 fresh peaches Note 1
1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (130 g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (75 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk at room temperature (Note 2)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177° C). Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
To prepare the topping:
Cut 1 tablespoon of butter into 12 equal parts. (TIP: cold butter is easier to cut.) Place each butter piece in 12 muffin cups.
Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of brown sugar into each muffin cup.
Slice 1-2 peaches into thin slices. Arrange about 3 slices into the bottom of each muffin pan.
To make the cake batter:
Cut the remaining peaches into small cubes. You should get about 1 cup of cubed peaches. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Add egg and vanilla extract and beat it for another 2-3 minutes, or until well combined. The mixture should be fluffy and white. (Note: It's totally normal for the mixture to curdle right after adding egg, but keep mixing and it'll turn nice and fluffy!)
Add half of the flour mixture into the batter, beat for 1 minute on low speed.
Stir in the buttermilk and beat for another minute.
Add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until combined. Don't overmix the batter, or it'll make tough cake.
Fold in the cubed peaches.
Divide the batter into 12 muffin pan cups. (TIP: This large cookie scoop makes this step super easy – one scoop of batter in each muffin cup.)
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes. Then carefully run a butter knife around the edges to release the cake from the sides. Now, place a wire rack over the muffin pan and carefully turn the pan upside down to remove the cakes.
Serve the mini cakes warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Baking for a cause

For the past few years, I've helped provide dinner for our volunteers each night at our church's Vacation Bible School, this year it was renamed to Kids Camp. In previous years I would get catering or do some catering and some homemade food. This year it was all homemade. Lots of preplanning made it not to difficult. Pre-make some parts and pieces, ask for help in other areas. One area I've asked for help - cookies for dessert. I ask people if they are willing to make a batch of cookies. More often than not, the people who offer are people who aren't helping as a volunteer so it's their way to help out. We do get some people who volunteer and bake too, which is great too. Since I won't ask people to do something that I'm not also doing, I decided to give some cookies a try too. I made these about a week earlier and froze the dough balls, they were ready to bake the day I needed them. These cookies include an ingredient I don't see much, Cookies 'n' Creme Bars from Hershey's. Usually, I see these aren't Halloween and that's it! In fact, the big 6 bar pack was on clearance at Wal-Mart! These cookies were full of cookies and cream goodness. The Oreos added lots of crunch and the Hershey bars added that creme flavor. I'll be making these again for sure. I had to ask one of my kids to snag me one to try because they went fast and the plate was empty before I knew it!

Cookies and Cream Cookies
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
15 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (chopped)
9 oz. HERSHEY’S Cookies ‘n’ Crème Bars, broken into pieces (6, 1.55 oz. bars)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: All-Purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cold butter with the sugars. Cream for 3-4 minute, it will look sort of like a paste. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
Then add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix again until combined.
Gradually add in the dry ingredients and then add in the chopped Oreo cookies and cookies and creme bars.
Shape dough into 7-large cookies (~5 oz. each). and bake for 10-12 minutes. Or you can make them much smaller and adjust the baking time.
Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.