>> Monday, September 27, 2010

A drizzly, chilly, cuddly, homemade cinnamon roll kind of day.



-Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls-

Ingredients:

For The Dough:

¾ cup Cottage Cheese (I use fat free, they turn out great.)
⅓ cup 1/2 mixture of plain yogurt, 1/2 mixture milk
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) Unsalted Butter, melted
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
9 oz. (2 cups) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour; More For Rolling
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Table Salt
¼ tsp. Baking Soda

For The Filling:

¾ oz. (1-½ Tbs.) Unsalted Butter, melted
⅔ cup Packed Light Or Dark Brown Sugar
1-½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp. Ground Allspice
¼ tsp. Ground Cloves
1 cup (4 oz.) Chopped Pecans

For The Glaze:

2-½ oz. (scant ⅔ cup) Confectioners' Sugar
2 To 3 Tbs. Cold Whole Or Low-Fat Milk
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract


Directions:
Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Make the dough:

In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, yogurt/milk concoction, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (don’t overprocess). The dough will be soft and moist.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12x15-inch rectangle.

Make the filling:

Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a ½-inch border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the nuts over the sugar mixture.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.

Delicious.







I ate SIX of these today...


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6 Months

>> Monday, September 13, 2010



TOOTH!

She has started to sprout her lower left tooth. We noticed it last Wednesday when we couldn't find a pacifier, so Joe stuck his finger in Q's mouth to let her chew. Little ridged chomper struck gold on ol' daddy's finger.

Started solids yesterday with amusing results and can't wait to feed her more grub.

Not sure how much she's weighing these days, but we'll get to find out on Wednesday when we go in for her 6 month party at the doc's office.

Definitely interested in grabbing anything around her and sticking straight into her mouth.

Loves laying outside on a blanket in the backyard, then sitting up to pull up grass.

Has started interacting and playing with our sitter's little lady, Karli. Karli (12 months) and Quinn were sitting on the couch together one afternoon, and apparently, Karli reached out to hold Quinn's hand. Freakishly adorable.

We're starting to ponder Halloween costume ideas...... So. Many. To choose from.





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Mush

>> Sunday, September 12, 2010


Q had her first go at consuming something "solid" today. Steamed apples, baby. She kept making pretty hilarious faces of disgust, but would keep reaching for the spoon, wanting more. Crazy girl. (more pictures of disgust within the Flickr link to the left) : )

Gonna be baking some sweet potatoes and pears later today. Let the games begin!

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