Kiss Your Diet Goodbye Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns!

Yup...you read that right!  Go ahead kiss your diet goodbye...at least just for today. Those who know me, know how much I love pumpkin.  You can read about my pumpkin obsession here. But for now, just know that you want NEED to try these cinnamon buns.  I started with a basic recipe, but as usual I changed it to fit my taste buds.  These take a little time, but they are sooooo worth it.  Come on Celebrate the season with me...and let your waistline go a little crazy as you enjoy one of these babies!

You will Need:
2 Packages of active dry yeast
1/2 cup of warm water (110-115)
4 eggs
1 cup of shortening
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 cup of warm milk (110-115)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/3 cup of instant butterscotch pudding
1/3 cup of instant vanilla pudding
1 tsp. of salt
7-8 cups of flour

For the Filling:
1 1/2 sticks of butter (approx.)  Some of this is used to butter your pans
1 cup of packed brown sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon.
*The butter is for spreading on the dough and the pans.  Don't mix with the brown sugar and cinnamon.

For the Icing:
1/4 cup butter melted
3 T. of real maple syrup
1/2 cup of strong coffee
1 tsp. of vanilla
1/3 tsp. of cinnamon
5 cups of conf. sugar
*This is more of a "drizzle" then frosting, so don't be worried if it seems thin.  As it sits, it thickens.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Add the eggs, shortening, pumpkin, warm milk, sugars, pudding mixes, salt and 6 cups of flour.

Beat until smooth.  Mix in enough additional flour to make smooth and elastic.  I used my kitchen-aid but hands work just fine:)

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.

Cover and let Rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down and divide in half.  Roll each portion into a 12-in.X 8-in. rectangle.

Brush with butter and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon filling.  Leave some space around the edges (about 1/2 inch).  Roll up jelly-roll style starting with a long side.  Pinch seams closed.

Cut each into 12 slices and place in buttered pans.  Repeat with other portion.  Cover and let rise until doubled. 

Bake at 350 for 25-28 minutes until golden brown.  Spread icing over warm buns.

Enjoy these warm from the oven with (of course) more icing drizzled on top.  You might want to schedule about 3-4 hours of treadmill time in there somewhere.  Blessings to all!

Healthy Chocolate Milk...It's really good!

Hey there everyone.  It's been a few weeks longer than I like to go before updating my blog, but with homeschooling in full swing and a bunch of other "life" stuff, I just haven't had the time to update.  You will be happy to know that in my mind I have about 20 posts floating around...now just to get them on the computer right?  So just a quick recipe today.  My kiddos love chocolate milk...okay the hubs and I love it to, but I just cringe watching chocolate milk being made with syrup from a bottle.  It is just loaded with all kinds of ingredients that aren't that great for us.  I DO NOT claim to know everything about health food, but making changes here and there really does help in the long run.  This recipe is loosely adapted from a recipe on the Internet, but I changed up the ingredients to suit our taste.  Give it a try.  No fancy or weird ingredients needed.  I Love chocolate and if I say it's good....IT IS GOOD!

You will need:

4 Cups of milk
3 Tab. of cocoa powder
4 Tab. of PURE maple syrup...not the fake stuff!
1 tsp. of vanilla

Add all these ingredients to your blender and mix until thoroughly combined.  Serve right away or refrigerate.  If you dont' use it right away you will have to mix/shake it up again before you serve.  It kind of separates, but don't worry, it still taste great!  This is chocolate milk you don't have to feel guilty about!

Hobby Lobby Heaven!

If there is such a thing as Hobby Lobby Heaven I do believe I've died and gone there.  I really, totally, completely, fanatically love this store.  Besides the fabulous selection of home decor items, there is enough craft items to keep me busy from now until who knows when.  Did I mention they have a really great selection of Harvest/Christmas Items?  They have a really great selection of ornaments and just about anything else you might need for the Holidays.  There is only one problem...whenever I go in there I can't decide what to buy!  I like sewing and go ga-ga for fabrics, I love scrapbooking and card making and lose my mind over cute papers and embellishments!  I usually pick-up and put back a couple of times before I finally decide what to buy.  I almost have to go in with a list or I'm a mess.  With Hobby Lobby only being 15 minutes from my house, I think my husband is getting ready to have my license revoked:) 

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Hold Hands with your Hubby!



I love holding my husband's hand.  When our hands are together it feels like we can face anything.  When I think of my husbands hand I think of love, patience, hard work and sacrifice.  My husband held my hand when we were dating, he held my hand the day we got married, he has held my hand when I 've been sick, he still holds my hand "just because" and I'm sure when we are old and can't do much of anything else he will still hold my hand, and I his.  Holding hands says a lot.  It is such a easy thing to do so why don't we do it more?  You can use your hands for a lot of questionable things, but you can also do so much good as well.  You can care for your children, make a meal for someone, rub your husband's back, give his hand a squeeze when things are tough...you get the idea.  Think of what an inconvenience it would be to not have your hands; now think of all the good you can do with the ones you have.  I forget sometimes too, but today I'm going to make sure I hold my hubby's hand.  Will you?  Click the link below to hear a great song I think you will really enjoy and really reiterates what I am saying. Please make sure you pause my blog music at the bottom of my blog so the songs don't play at the same time.