So, this morning I finished reading Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller. I read it in a day. It was that good. I shouldn’t be surprised that I couldn’t put the book down. All of her books do that to me. They’re so good. So raw. So real.

The Storyteller is about a baker (as soon as I saw it was about a baker, I was hooked!). It’s about forgiveness. It’s about the Holocaust. So, the book is unsettling. Hard to read. Yet I couldn’t put it down.

Anyways, about these Chocolate-Cinnamon Buns. In the book, she talks and talks about these Chocolate-Cinnamon Buns. I couldn’t get them out of my mind. So, last night I made them. And we ate them. And I almost died. Seriously. I may have cried a little bit.

You look at these and think they’re hard to make. They’re not. Seriously. They are so easy to make! There is yeast in this recipe, but don’t let that scare you! They are simple. They are easy. I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed when you make these.

These Chocolate-Cinnamon Buns are filled with sweet chocolate and cinnamon. If you want to be extra awesome, you can put a pat of butter on top of them as soon as they come out of the oven.

Chocolate- Cinnamon Buns

recipe from Sarah Jio who got it from Jodi Picoult

Ingredients:

• 1/2 warm milk
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus a pinch
• 1 large egg, at room temp
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I’m hoping to make these again use whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 T butter, softened and divided
• 1/4 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped or shaved (I used mini chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand. Next time I’m going to use better chocolate.)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat milk in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup (the kind with a spout). You want your milk warm to the touch, but not too hot. Sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over milk, and let sit for 5 minutes or until frothy and bubbly.
2. In a small bowl, whisk egg, egg yolk, and 1/4 cup of sugar together. Add to yeast mixture and whisk together.
3. In the bowl of stand mixer (if you don’t have a stand mixer you can do the kneading by hand), using the dough hook, mix together the flour and salt. Add egg mixture and mix on low until everything is mixed. Add in 3 tablespoons of butter. Knead for about 7-10 minutes or until everything is incorporated well. The dough will be sticky.
4. Put a little bit of oil in a clean, large bowl. Put your dough in the bowl and make sure the oil gets on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
5. In a food processor, add 3 T of butter, the chocolate and cinnamon. Pulse until everything is mixed. Set aside.
6. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. After dough has doubled, punch it down and leave it for 5 minutes. Then on a well-floured surface roll dough out into a large rectangle shape. Sprinkle the chocolate-cinnamon filling over dough, and roll dough into a log, making sure to pinch the ends. Cut dough into 12 pieces and put in greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise for 15-20 minutes. Dough will rise a little bit during this time, but will rise even more during baking.
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until tops are light brown.
10. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

– Jill

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I really love freezer meals. I love being able to not think about what to make for dinner. Taking a meal out of the freezer the night before, letting it thaw in the fridge, and having it for dinner the next day is genius. Seriously. Sometimes it gets to be about 4 in the afternoon, and I start to think about dinner (because on days I don’t want to cook I like to just keep forgetting about it), and then I start making excuses.

“Oh, we just had pasta last night.”

“All we have in the house to eat is eggs. Seriously.”

“I suppose we could have brown rice again…”

Having something on hand really takes away all those games. I don’t have an excuse. And best of all? I can just pop it in the oven without any fuss.

My kids really loved this Pizza Pasta Casserole. Pepperoni. Sausage. Cheese. Pasta. Pretty much the perfect dinner. I bet your kids would love it too!

Pizza Pasta Casserole

recipe from Taste of Home Freezer Meals

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef or sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 jars (28 oz each) spaghetti sauce
• 2 boxes spiral pasta, cooked and drained
• 6 cups shredded cheese, mozzarella and cheddar (or whatever you have on hand)
• 8 oz sliced pepperoni

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta. Mix in about 3 cups of the cheese.
2. Grease two baking dishes. I did a 9×13 and an 8×8. Divide pasta between the two baking dishes. Top with pepperoni and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months.
3. Bake the second casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.
4. To use the frozen casserole: Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
5. Enjoy!

– Jill

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Okay. So, these are not actually “graham” crackers. There’s no graham flour in them. Instead I used whole wheat flour. But they taste like a graham cracker. Better than a graham cracker actually. A little thicker. A little tastier.

I’m always on the lookout to make things homemade. Bread. Cookies. Crackers. Snacks. I’ve been making these graham crackers for awhile, and thought I would blog about them because they are so good.

I rolled these out to a 8×11″ rectangle. Next time I might roll them out even thinner to get more of that cracker feel. Either way they are really good.

Sometimes I like to sub out the cinnamon for cocoa powder and make chocolate graham crackers. This recipe is so versatile. You could do pretty much whatever you want to. And one of my favorite things? Honey is used in the recipe instead of white sugar. (Although I did sprinkle a tiny bit of cinnamon and sugar on top of the crackers before baking. Yum).

Cinnamon Graham Crackers

recipe from a comment over on 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup honey
• a little cinnamon and sugar mixed, to sprinkle on top of the crackers (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the butter and honey. Then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Sometimes I add a tiny bit of milk to get it to all come together.
4. Press dough into lined baking sheet. This time around my rectangle was 8×11 but next time I might try to get it even thinner.
5. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of dough, and bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are turning light brown and the cracker is set.
6. Immediately out of the oven, cut into whatever shape you want, and enjoy!

– Jill

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I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter! We went to church, hung out with family, and ate. A lot. This week’s menu plan consists of leftovers and fruits and veggies. And that’s about it. I’m still full.

I’ve been doing a lot of freezer cooking and baking lately. From Baked Cheesy Pasta to Breakfast Burritos (which I need to make again soon!), I’ve done a lot. What I didn’t have was a bread side. In comes these delicious Whole Wheat Butterhorns.

This recipe makes a ton. 32 to be exact. And they taste delicious. They were a huge hit with my kids. So, yeah, I’ll be making them again.

They were really easy to make, so even if you don’t think you’re good with bread making or yeast you could definitely give these a try.

If you make these, you won’t regret it. Plus, these are perfect for the freezer! Just pull them out and pop them in your toaster oven! Talk about easy!

Whole Wheat Butterhorns

recipe adapted slightly from Heavenly Homemakers

Ingredients:

• 2 T yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 9 cups whole wheat flour, divided
• 2 cups warm milk
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 honey or sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• 3-4 T butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl or Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, mix your yeast and warm water. Let sit until yeast bubbles, about 10 minutes.
2. Add 4 cups of flour, milk, butter, honey, eggs, and salt. Mix until smooth. Then add enough flour to get a nice soft dough. I used my Kitchen Aid with the knead hook and kneaded it for 5 minutes, and then threw the dough on the counter and kneaded it a few times to make sure it all came together.
3. Place dough in a large bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
4. Divide dough into 4 parts, and roll each part out into a large circle, about 12 inches wide. Brush each circle with melted butter and cut each one into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Roll up each wedge from the wide edge to the tip and pinch to seal. Put butterhorns, tops down, on a lined baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Brush with more butter and serve immediately or let cool on a wire rack.
6. Enjoy!

– Jill

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Does everybody have plans for Easter? We do. The typical stuff: go to church and then spend the day with family. I am looking forward to it all!

Since I seem to be obsessed with sweets, I thought I’d put up a few of our favorite desserts just in time for Easter!

Knock You Naked Brownies– best brownies ever. Seriously.

Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake– a really, simple yet elegant looking cake. It tastes fantastic too!

Hanky Panky Cupcakes– one of my favorite cakes in cupcake form!

Chocolate Oreo Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting– can you ever go wrong with Oreos?!

Apparently, I love chocolate. That should be no surprise!

Hope everyone has a blessed week and weekend!

– Jill

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I just came out of this place where I felt really blah. A small part of it was because I’ve been dealing with this cold for what feels like forever. That can zap your energy. But the biggest part was this: I wasn’t seeking God. I was bored with my relationship with Him. I felt good about our relationship even from what we had a year ago. But that’s not enough.

I realized I wasn’t hungry for more of Him. I was complacent. And, honestly, I didn’t really care about any of it.

So, last night, I told Him what was going on. I said, “I’m bored. I know you have more for Me but I guess I don’t care.”

And then I told Him I was sorry. I asked Him to put that hunger back in me. I want to want more of Him.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7, 8 NIV)

And He gave it to me. I can feel the hunger for more of Him starting again.

Is there something you need? Do you need more of Him? Do you need help with something? Are you stuck in a place you don’t want to be?

Tell Him this. He already knows. Ask Him what you need and He’ll give it to you.

I’m so thankful we have a good God who knows us, wants the best for us, will always listen when we speak, and is always there.

Have a blessed week, friends!

– Jill

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I really need to post some recipes here soon. I’ve got a few ideas but haven’t had much time. A couple of days ago I made some really good Chocolate Chip Orange Muffins. Seriously one of the best things I’ve had in awhile. I’m hoping to get those up soon.

Anyways, here’s our menu for the week. Kind of boring, I know.

Monday, March 25th

To do: Thaw baked pasta

Smoothies, banana bread
Leftover pancakes, hash browns, and fruit
Baked Pasta, green beans

Tuesday, March 26th

To do: Make homemade bread

Smoothies, toast, fruit
Flatbread, carrots, grilled cheese (for the picky eaters)
Homemade tortillas, Mexican Brown Rice, Chicken, and some sort of veggie

Wednesday, March 27th

Granola Bars, cereal (for the kids), fruit
Homemade bread, scrambled eggs, fruit and veggies
Church dinner

Thursday, March 28th

Cheesy eggs, toast, fruit
Homemade mac and cheese, carrots, cucumbers
Dinner with friends

Friday, March 29th

Smoothies, cereal, fruit
Flatbread, hummus, carrots, fruit
Dinner with family

Saturday, March 30th

Smoothies, muffins, granola
Tuna melts, tortilla chips, veggies
Pizza, salad

Well, friends, that’s all I’ve got. I’m sure my meal plan will change as the week goes on. I always have a list but I find that things come up now and then and we have fun improvising. I hope everyone has a blessed week!

– Jill

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