Thanks Joe!

A few weeks ago, Joe at Culinary in the Desert made these scrumptious sounding cinnamon rolls. I finally got around to making them today. And boy, does my house smell fantastic!! I wanted to make some cinnamon rolls for our neighbors who have been taking Abigail back and forth to school, and then I thought I should make some cinnamon rolls for the host of a Pampered Chef party I have tonight, and then I wanted some for me. Hmm. Well, the recipe makes 24 rolls, so I decided to break it up into thirds, so everyone will get some. Perfect! I am baking off two pans now, and will refrigerate the others until tomorrow morning so I can wake up my family with them. Here is the recipe for them, along with a recipe for an Italian Wedding Soup that I made for dinner last night. Very easy, and very good.

Well, I am busy with some projects around the house today, so I apologize for the short post- but do make these cinnamon rolls. The scent in the house is soooo worth the effort. And really, it was very little effort for so much cinnamony goodness. :-)

* Exported from MasterCook *
Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls

630 g-700g all-purpose flour (4 3/4 to 5 1/4 cups)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 whole eggs
3 tablespoons butter -- melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze
1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk or cream -- (1 to 2)

In a large mixing bowl combine 2-1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, butter, granulated sugar, and salt just until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).
Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 9x1-1/2-inch round baking pans. Roll each half of dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle. Brush rectangles with the melted butter. In a small bowl, combine the 2/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over each dough rectangle evenly. Roll up each rectangle, jelly-roll style, starting from a long side. Seal seams. Slice each roll into 12 pieces. Place, cut sides down, in prepared pans. I find it easiest to cut with unflavored dental floss.
Cover dough loosely with clear plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. Uncover; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. (Or, to bake rolls right away, don't chill dough. Instead, cover loosely; let dough rise in warm place until nearly double, about 30 minutes.)Break any surface bubbles with a greased toothpick.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown (if necessary, cover rolls loosely with foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Remove from oven. Cool slightly. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze. Serve warm.

* Exported from MasterCook *
Italian Wedding Soup

1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 egg -- lightly beaten
2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
5 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups thinly sliced escarole or spinach
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1/3 cup finely chopped carrots

In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil, and onion powder; shape into 3/4-inch balls.
In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole or spinach, pasta, carrot, and meatballs. Return to boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender to bite. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.



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