Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

 

I love this recipe.  First of all, it's a hands off breakfast.  Make a batch in the afternoon and you've got breakfast for a couple of days that your kiddos can just grab and eat.  Second, it's packed full of veggies and that's always a win.  Third, they're SOOOOO good.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup zucchini, shredded

chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. 

In a medium mixing bowl, add the oil, milk, egg, and vanilla and whisk well.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Add the zucchini and as many chocolate chips as you like.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

For a different variation, omit the cocoa powder and add 1 tsp. cinnamon.

White Sandwich Bread

 

I have a fantastic Bread Machine White Bread recipe  that will blow your mind.  My problem is that my bread machine finally broke after years of heavy use and I haven't found a new one yet.  Because of that, my bread making has been done in my stand mixer and while it does take longer and it's way more hands-on, it's absolutely delicious.  This recipe will yield you two loaves of amazing bread for sandwiches and toast.

I use a combination of all-purpose flour and freshly milled soft white wheat but you don't have to.

2 cups warm water

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp. salt

5 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup freshly milled soft white wheat 

(or 6 cups of all-purpose flour)

In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer add the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir to combine.  Allow the yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast is nice and foamy.

Mix in the melted butter and salt.

Begin adding the flour slowly, 1 cup at a time.  

Knead the dough with the dough hook attachment until it is smooth and elastic; 6-7 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp dish towel.  Place in a warm place to rise until doubled; approximately 1 hour.

Grease two 9x5 loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and knead for a few minutes.  

Divide the dough in half and shape each piece into loaves.  Place each loaf in a loaf pan and allow it to rise for a second time until the dough has passed the tops of the loaf pans by about 1 inch.

Place the loaves into your 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Puff Pastry Braid

 

Lately this has been my go-to dessert for everything!  It's SO versatile and the easiest thing ever to make.  My most recent one was an Apple Cinnamon one and it was DELISH!  I'll put more suggestions at the bottom of the recipe, but the possibilities are endless.  This recipe is enough for two braids.

2 puff pastry sheets, thawed (I buy the Pepperidge Farm two pack, found in the freezer aisle)

1 block cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 can of pie filling

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Set aside.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, lay out one sheet of puff pastry.  Cut slits on the outer thirds as shown in the picture. 

Place half of the cream cheese mixture down the center third of the puff pastry.  Top with half of a can of pie filling.

Take the pastry slits and begin placing them on top of the fruit filling, alternating each side to give it a braided look.

Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl.  Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the pastry.

Repeat the process for second puff pastry.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

If you want it to look extra fancy you can drizzle it with a topping of your choice.  You could make a powdered sugar glaze or drizzle caramel or nutella over it depending on what flavors you're going for.

Filling Ideas: (Keep in mind the cream cheese mixture stays the same.)

Apple Pie Filling (sprinkled with cinnamon)

Cherry pie filling

Blueberry Pie Filling

Raspberry Pie Filling

Strawberry Pie Filling

Peach Pie Filling

Lemon Curd

Nutella

Chocolate Chips

Biscuits and Gravy

 

My family's favorite breakfast food is Biscuits & Gravy!  I usually make it for dinner and we have enough leftover for everyone to have some in the morning for breakfast too.  These biscuits are SO flaky and tall and buttery and the gravy is rich and creamy.  It's the ultimate comfort food.  

Biscuit Tips

-It's SUPER important that you keep your milk and butter as cold as possible.  To begin, pop 2 sticks (1 cup) of butter in the freezer for at least 20 minutes prior to making your biscuits.  

-Keep your milk in the fridge until the minute you're ready to mix it in.

-Of all the kitchen gadgets I have, I do not own a biscuit cutter.  I never think to buy one.  Maybe one day I'll think of it.  But until then, I always use the ring of a wide mouth canning jar.  They make the perfect size and this recipe will make approximately 12 biscuits using this size of a jar ring.

-When you're cutting your biscuits, push strait down into the dough and do not twist.  Twisting will seal off the edges of the biscuits and keep them from rising.

Biscuit Recipe

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

4 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, frozen

2 cups milk (or buttermilk)

Place your butter in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees with the rack positioned in the upper third of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Whisk together until well combined.

Use a box grater to grate your frozen butter.  Add the butter pieces to the bowl and gently mix it into the dry ingredients using your hands until the dry ingredients have coated each piece of butter and the butter is  evenly distributed.  Be careful to not let the warmth of your hands melt the butter.  Work kind of fast to get them all coated yet remain frozen.

Pour the cold milk into the bowl and stir until the dough comes together.  It's fine of there are a few bits of flour not yet incorporated.  However, if your dough seems very dry and is not coming together as much as you'd like, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk until it does.  Your dough will be on the dry side though.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat the dough into a 1 1/2 inch thick rectangle (or as close to a rectangle as you can get).  Fold the dough in half on top of itself and pat it down into another 1 1/2 inch thick rectangle.  Repeat this folding process 4-6 times. (This is where all of your delicious flaky layers are made!)

After your last fold, press the dough down into a 1 inch thick rectangle.

Use your biscuit cutter (one that measures approx. 2 1/4 inches) or the ring of a wide mouth jar, and press straight down into the dough without twisting.

Once you've cut out as many biscuits as you can, gather your dough scraps, and pat the dough back into a 1 inch thick piece.  Continue until you've used all of the dough.  Place the biscuits onto your prepared baking sheets.

I have the best results if I bake one sheet at a time.  Place one baking sheet of biscuits into the oven and bake for 14-17 minutes.  My oven takes more around the 17 minute mark but start checking them at 14 minutes.  You want a golden brown bottom and a slightly golden top.

Sausage Gravy

1 lb. ground sausage

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups milk (whole is best)

salt and pepper to taste

Begin by browning and crumbling the sausage in a skillet.  Do not drain the grease.

Once the sausage is fully cooked, sprinkle the flour over the sausage and cook for approximately 1 minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Slowly whisk in the milk.

Stir constantly until the gravy is thick.  

Season with salt and pepper to your liking.  Serve over biscuits.

Banana Nut Muffins

 

Do your kids ever go through bananas like they're the best snack EVER so then you buy more and then they're totally over them?  Yeah, mine too.  I had six...SIX bananas in our fruit basket that no one would touch.  So I decided I wasn't going to make breakfast for the next few days and pumped out 3 dozen of the most delicious banana nut muffins I've ever made.  I was able to use all 6 bananas and everyone had grab-and-go breakfast for several days.  Win WIN!

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

6 very ripe bananas 

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon 

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 cups chopped walnuts

*Optional Topping (but you should totally do it!):

additional chopped walnuts

about 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Fill 3 muffin tins with cupcake liners (I ran out and just sprayed the muffin tins with cooking spray and it worked just fine).

In a large bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

Using a paddle attachment cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes.  

Add in the bananas.  No need to mash them before hand.  Let the paddle attachment do all the work.

Once the bananas are incorporated (the mixture will be runny), add in the vanilla and eggs.  Mix until well combined.  

Add the dry ingredients and the walnuts to the wet ingredients and allow the mixer to stir the ingredients together until just mixed.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to add the batter to the muffin tins.  I used a heaping 1/4 cup.  Just make sure the muffin cups are 3/4 full.

If you're doing the topping (DO IT) sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. of granulated sugar to the top each muffin and sprinkle with a few more chopped walnuts.  I just eyeballed it.

Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Mine are never done by 30 minutes so I continue baking in 3 minute increments until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tins and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Dinner Rolls

 

Y'all.  These are melt-in-your-mouth AMAZING and a bread machine makes them so super easy.  The bread machine does all the work of mixing, kneading, and rising.  All you have left to do is a short knead when the dough cycle is done, portion them out, let them have a second rise, and bake.  

1 cup warm/hot milk

1 tsp. salt

1 egg, room temp is best

3 tablespoons sugar

3 cups flour

2 tsp. yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened but not melted

Place all of the ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed, except for the butter.  Select the Dough cycle and press start.

After a minute or two, open the lid and begin adding the butter 1 tablespoon at a time.  

After another 10-15 minutes, lift the lid again and check your dough.  It shouldn't be wet, but it also shouldn't be dry.  You want a dough that is a smooth ball and just barely sticks to the sides as it kneads.  If it's too wet, add additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time.  If it's too dry, add additional milk or water 1 Tablespoon at a time.  

When the Dough cycle is finished, the dough should be doubled in size.  Remove the dough from the machine and place onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes and form into a ball.

Divide the ball in half.  Then take each of those halves and divide them into 8 equal pieces each (you should have 16 rolls total).  To make them round and uniform, pull the dough toward the bottom while turning the dough.  

Place the rolls into two greased 8 or 9 inch baking pans, 8 rolls in each pan.  You can use cake pans, pie plates, cast iron...whatever you have.  I place 7 rolls around the perimeter and 1 roll in the center.  Cover with a tea towel and place them in a warm, draft free place until they've doubled in size.  (I preheat my oven to 350 and put the pans on the back of my cooktop.  It gets very warm and allows the rolls to rise nicely.)

Once they've doubled in size, bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.  Serve warm with nice salty butter.

*Note: if you're not going to serve all of them at once, remove the rolls from the baking pan onto a wire rack.  The steam they produce can make them soggy if you leave them in the baking pan too long.

White Bread Dough

Here's another great dough recipe for your bread machine!  This is just a plain, white bread dough that you can use for a variety of things.  I use it for my Sausage Bread, but you could also put it in a bread pan and bake it as a loaf, roll it into strips and make breadsticks, roll it into balls and make rolls....whatever you want.  But I highly recommend the Sausage Bread.  

1 cup hot water

1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons raw, organic honey

2 tablespoons organic sugar

1 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

3 cups organic flour

2 tsp. active dry yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order listed.  

Select the Dough setting on your bread machine and let the bread machine to make your dough for you over the next couple of hours.  

Once the dough cycle is complete, remove your dough from the bread machine pan.

Here's where you can do whatever you want with it.  

If you just want to make a loaf of white bread, put it in a greased loaf pan, allow it to rise in a draft free area for 30 minutes and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

For breadsticks, section the dough out into your desired size, roll into long lengths, allow it to rise for 30 minutes and bake at 350 on a parchment lined baking sheet until golden brown.  If you want, you can brush it with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or garlic salt before baking.

If you want to use it for Sausage bread, click here and follow the recipe.

Sausage Bread

Every time I think about this bread I crave it until I have it.  This is my mother-n-law's recipe and it's amazing.  I remember going to her house after school and she'd have a loaf of this ready sometimes.  

Fun fact: My husband and I are middle school sweethearts.  They lived just a few miles from our middle/high school and sometimes between school and football games, a group of friends and I would go to their house.  She fed *a lot* of us throughout our high school days.

Be warned...this bread is v addicting.

1 loaf of white bread dough, frozen + thawed or fresh homemade

1lb. Jimmy Dean Sausage (I love Sage.)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and set aside.  

Have your dough prepared ahead of time.  Either thaw a store bought frozen white bread dough loaf, or prepare your homemade dough in the bread machine.  

Sausage
In a medium skillet, cook and crumble sausage.  Drain any excess grease and set aside to cool slightly.  You don't want to scramble the eggs.  Add cheese and eggs and mix thoroughly.

Bread

Roll out bread dough into a rectangle.  

Spread sausage mixture onto rolled out dough.

Roll up the dough like a jelly roll or cinnamon roll and pinch the seams together.

Let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.  

**If you don't have time for that full 30 minute rise, no worries.  I've thrown it right in the oven before and it's come out fine.  It's pretty forgiving. 

Bread Machine Cinnamon Roll Dough

I have two fantastic Cinnamon Roll recipes on my blog already.  A Keto version and a Traditional version.    If you haven't made either of them, you totally should.  They're incredible.  If you're just not feeling kneading that dough though, I get it.  I love for my bread machine to do the work for me.  If that's your jam today, here you are my friends.  All that is required is for you to dump all of your ingredients into the bread machine, turn it on, and let it go.  When it's done, I use the filling recipe already posted in my Homemade Cinnamon Roll post.  I'll link it here for your convenience.  This recipe makes a slightly bigger sheet of dough but the filling is still enough.  

1 cup warm milk

1 large egg

4 tablespoons grass fed butter

3 1/3 cups organic flour

3 tablespoons organic sugar

1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

2 tsp. active dry yeast

Add the milk, egg, and butter to the pan.

Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the pan.  Tap the pan to settle and level it off with your finger, if needed. 

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast.

Lock the pan into your bread maker and close the lid.  

Select the Dough function on your bread machine and press Start.

When the dough cycle is done, remove the pan from the bread machine and place the dough on a floured surface.  Knead the dough by hand for 1 minute, then let it rest for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a 15x10" rectangle and continue with the filling, slicing, second rise, and baking instructions found here.  *Note: use a 9x13" baking dish for this recipe.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bread

This is a super yummy breakfast bread!  I love to have it toasted with lots of grass fed butter.

1 1/4 cups warm milk

2 tablespoons grass fed butter

2 3/4 cups organic flour

3/4 cup quick oats

2 tablespoons organic brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 cup raisins **

Add the liquid ingredients and butter to pan in the order listed.  

Add the dry ingredients in the order listed, except yeast and raisins.  Tap the pan to settle the dry ingredients and level off with your finger, if needed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the bread machine pan into place and close the lid.  

Program your bread machine for the Basic setting, choose the crust color you like, and press Start.

On my machine, there is a beep during one of the knead cycles.  If you have that feature on your machine, add the raisins when the beep sounds.  Once it's finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before shaking the bread out of the pan to cool completely.  

Parmesan-Italian Herb Bread

I absolutely love herbed breads.  They're amazing with any Italian dish but man do I love them for bread dipping.  I also love French Bread for bread dipping!

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 tablespoons grass fed butter

3 1/3 cups organic flour

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon dry milk

1 tablespoon organic sugar

2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1 3/4 active dry yeast

Add the liquid ingredients and butter to pan in the order listed.  

Add the dry ingredients in the order listed, except yeast.  Tap the pan to settle the dry ingredients and level off with your finger, if needed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the bread machine pan into place and close the lid.  

Program your bread machine for the Basic setting, choose the crust color you like, and press Start.

Once it's finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before shaking the bread out of the pan to cool completely.  

Dill Bread

This is a very light textured bread with j just a hint of Dill.  It's great for any dinner meal, but I really love it for a summer lunch as a Cucumber Sandwich.  

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 tablespoons grass fed butter

3 1/3 cups organic flour

1 1/2 tablespoons organic sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1 tablespoon fresh Dill or 1 heaping tsp. dried Dill

2 tablespoons dry milk

1 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Add the liquid ingredients and butter to pan in the order listed.  

Add the dry ingredients in the order listed, except yeast.  Tap the pan to settle the dry ingredients and level off with your finger, if needed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the bread machine pan into place and close the lid.  

Program your bread machine for the Basic setting, choose the crust color you like, and press Start.

Once it's finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before shaking the bread out of the pan to cool completely.  

French Bread

You don't get the classic, long, scored, baguette look when you make this French bread in the bread machine...but it's ok.  It's still crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside, just the way it should be. And perfect for slathering in butter and dipping in your favorite soup or sauces.

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon grass fed butter

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 1/3 cups organic flour

1 tablespoon organic sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Add the liquid ingredients and butter to pan in the order listed.  

Add the dry ingredients in the order listed, except yeast.  Tap the pan to settle the dry ingredients and level off with your finger, if needed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the bread machine pan into place and close the lid.  

Program your bread machine for the Basic setting, choose your crust color (I like Medium) and press Start.

Once it's finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before shaking the bread out of the pan to cool completely.  

Garlic Bread

This is a fun bread to throw together on pasta night!  Or any night...who are we kidding.

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 tablespoons grass fed butter

3 1/3 cups organic flour

2 tablespoons dry milk

1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 1/2 tablespoons organic sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder or granulated garlic

1 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Add the liquid ingredients and butter to pan in the order listed.  

Add the dry ingredients in the order listed, except yeast.  Tap the pan to settle the dry ingredients and level off with your finger, if needed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the bread machine pan into place and close the lid.  

Program your bread machine for the Basic setting, choose the crust color you like, and press Start.

Once it's finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before shaking the bread out of the pan to cool completely.  

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is my all-time favorite bread to use for just eating.  It's *amazing* fresh out of the bread machine and also *amazing* toasted.  Slather some fresh grass-fed butter and homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam on it...so good.

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water

2 1/2 Tablespoons raw organic honey

2 Tablespoons grass fed butter

2 1/3 cups organic flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

2 Tablespoons dry milk

1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

Dump all of the liquid ingredients and the butter into your bread machine pan in the order listed

Dump all of the dry ingredients, except the yeast, into the bread machine pan in the order listed.  Tap sides of the pan to settle the dry ingredients.  Use your finger the level it off if needed.

Make a little well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to the well.

Lock the pan into the bread machine and close the lid.  Use the One Hour setting on your bread machine and press Start.  

Once finished, remove the pan from the machine and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the bread. 

Easy Bread Machine White Bread

Friends, this is the easiest food you'll ever make in your life and it tastes like you spent all day on it when really your bread machine does literally everything.  All you need to do is dump the ingredients in, turn it on, and walk away.  I use as many organic ingredients as I can because the the flavor is SO incredible and it's so much better for you. If you don't, totally fine, use what you have.  It will turn out delicious!

1 cup hot water

1/3 cup cold milk (organic, whole milk if you can)

3 Tablespoons butter, melted (Kerrygold or organic raw if possible)

3 Tablespoons organic sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast 

3 3/4 cup organic all-purpose flour

Dump all of the ingredients into your bread machine pan in the order listed.  

Close the lid and choose your settings.  My bread machine is old and doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles so I choose the basic setting and select medium crust.  Some machines have an option for you to choose a 1lb. loaf or a 2lb. loaf.  If yours has that, choose the 2lb. loaf setting.  

Press Start and let it do it's thang.

Once your bread is done, remove the bread pan from your machine and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes.  Once it's cooled slightly, carefully dump the loaf out and place it on a wire cooling rack until you're ready to eat it.  Store in a plastic or linen bread bag for up to 2 days.  

Keto Cinnamon Rolls

Alright.  Time to lighten things up again.  I've sampled too many quarantine baking projects and I'm starting to feel it.  Before this COVID mess started I was on a really clean diet and lost 20lbs!  I don't want to relapse!  Time to make some goodies that mama doesn't feel guilty about.  

These little guys are a combo between a cinnamon roll and a pecan swirl?  Remember those?  Tasty Cake, or something like that, made them?  I remember my dad sneaking a sweet on occasion and he really likes pecan swirls.  This reminds me of them a lot!  Only these are guilt free, sugar free, and low carb at only 2 net carbs per roll.

For the Rolls:

2 cups shredded mozzarella

3oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup almond flour

2tsp. baking powder

For the Filling:

4 tablespoons softened butter

1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated Swerve

For the Icing:

2oz. cream cheese

3 tablespoons powdered confectioners Swerve

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 8 cups in a muffin tin with non stick spray.

In a microwave safe bowl combine the mozzarella and cream cheese.  Microwave for one minute then stir to combine.  Add the almond flour and baking powder, stir until somewhat incorporated and return to the microwave for an additional 30 seconds.  Combine the mixture until a soft ball forms.

Place the mixture on a sheet of parchment paper and top it with another sheet of parchment.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until you have a rectangular sheet that measures roughly 13x10.  Remove the top piece of parchment paper and discard.

Now the filling!  Spread the softened butter all over the sheet of dough making sure to get all the way to the edges.  Combine the cinnamon and granulated swerve and sprinkle liberally on top of the butter.  Sprinkle the chopped pecans all over the top of the cinnamon and Swerve.

Then, starting on a long edge, begin to tightly roll up the dough into a log.  Cut the log into 8 pieces.  Place one piece per muffin cup.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.

Once they've cooled slightly, it's time for the icing!  Place the cream cheese in a 2 cup measuring cup or small bowl.  Microwave the cream cheese for 15 seconds or so, until it is creamy and can be stirred easily with a fork.  Add the powdered Swerve and heavy cream.  Stir vigorously with a fork until the powdered Swerve is dissolved.  The icing is pretty thick.  If you like it thinner, thin it out with some more cream.  If you like it thicker, add some more powdered Swerve.  Add a generous plop of icing on top of each cinnamon roll and serve!

Matza + Matza Pizzas

Quarantine has made people do things they've never considered.  One of my favorite things about this whole experience is that I'm seeing people explore sourcing their own food.  I'm in a few facebook groups about keeping chickens in Alaska and those groups have exploded recently with people learning all about chickens so they don't have to depend on a store for their eggs.  The gardening groups are booming with new members learning everything they can about harvesting their own food and it makes me happy.  You can't find yeast anywhere right now because people are baking their own bread in their own ovens for their families.  Flour is hard to come by!  Instagram has a fantastic hashtag #socialdistancingsourdough with people of all ages and all backgrounds all of the sudden baking the most beautiful loaves of sourdough!

Another one of my favorite things about this quarantine experience is that although I now live in Alaska, my church in Virginia has started live-streaming their services.  Every year, on the Wednesday before Easter, they hold a special Remembrance Service and we partake in communion.  I didn't have a single saltine cracker in this whole house.  And I wasn't about to go out to the grocery store just for saltines when all I needed was about 1/4 of a cracker.   So I started googling and found a recipe for Matza and I had all of the ingredients for it!  Whew!  The only "problem" was that it made 8 sheets of Matza and literally only needed two small pieces about the size of your thumbnail.  What in the world do you do with a TON of leftover Matza?!?!  

The answer is PIZZA!!  And not just plain 'ol pizza...I got creative!  We haven't been to a restaurant in weeks and we were so craving our favorite pizza place here in Fairbanks.  So I decided to make a bunch of different, personal size pizzas for us all to have a delicious pizza buffet at home.  

So first I'll put the recipe here for the Matza.  Then I'll list all of the different pizzas I made and their ingredients.  The possibilities are endless.  You can put anything and everything you want on these Matza sheets...they're a blank canvas!  Leave a comment with what you toppings you did!

Matza

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup warm water plus a splash more if the dough is too dry

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I eyeballed it and probably used close to 4...delicious!)

1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt

More extra virgin olive oil for brushing

Preheat an oven or a griddle to 500 degrees.

(If you're using an oven, you're going to cook these on a baking sheet that you've flipped upside down. Stick the upside down baking sheet in the oven while it preheats...you want the baking sheet screaming hot.) 

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  If the dough is too dry, add a splash more water.  My dough felt like a tough, yet cohesive, ball that was not sticky.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces.

On a floured surface, roll out each piece until it's cracker thin.  Mine looked v rustic.

Use a fork and prick holes all over each piece.  This will keep it from rising too much.

Brush a coating of olive oil on top of each piece.

I cooked these two at a time.  Slide dough piece onto a large spatula and slide it onto the cookie sheet or griddle.  Cook for 2 1/2 minutes on one side, flip with a pair of tongs, and cook it on the other side for another 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 minutes until they're starting to turn golden in places and a hard, cracker like sheet.  Remove from the oven to cool.  Continue until all pieces have been cooked.  

Now, if you're using these for communion purposes, you're technically supposed to do all of the mixing and cooking in less than 18 minutes.  After 18 minutes the dough and the water begin to react with the natural yeast and bacteria in the air and fermentation begins which, if you're familiar with communion practices, you need an unleavened (unfermented) bread.  (P.S. Christ took care of all of this on the cross for us and we do this out of remembrance for His sacrifice for us...it's all about the heart attitude you have as you partake.  If all you have is a piece of sandwich bread...or WHATEVER...that's fine.  It's not about the bread.)  We can talk more about that if you want.  Shoot me an email.  Also, these are not technically Kosher so if that's important you, you'll need to find a different recipe.  

Ok.  So you've had quarantine communion.  Now what do you do with the other 7 8/10th's of Matza sheets?  PIZZA!!!  Amazing, restaurant tasting, pizza!  I made 5 different pizzas and had 2 Matza sheets left that my kids ate plain (it's actually really good).  

Just build these pizzas as you would any other pizza.  Sauce and toppings, pop on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in an oven at 350 degrees.  I got kind of impatient and cooked them under the broiler...whatever works for you.

Dilly Dilly Pizza

Ranch dressing

Johnny's Garlic Spread (buy it at Costco)

Shredded Parmesan cheese (the real kind, not the green shaker...the green shaker kind comes later)

Sprinkle of dried dill

Cover every inch of the cheese in dill pickles

Bake until cheese is melted and warmed trough

As soon as you take it out of the oven, sprinkle with more Johnny's Garlic Spread, parmesan cheese (in the green can), and a tiny sprinkle of more dried dill

Taco Pizza

Spread Jacks Cantina Salsa over the crust

Cover in leftover taco meat

Top with shredded cheddar

Bake

Serve with sour cream

3 Cheese Garlic

Olive oil

Johnny's Garlic Spread

Shredded Parm

Shredded mozz

Shredded Cheddar

Sprinkle of pink Himalayan Salt

Bake

Greek

Olive oil

Johnny's Garlic Spread

Parmesan cheese (in the green can)

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Halved kalamata olives

Bake

Egg & Cheese

Olive oil

Shredded mozzarella

Shredded cheddar

2 eggs cracked on top

salt and pepper

(ham or sausage would've been amazing on this too, but I didn't have any on hand)

Bake

Banana Bread

Day 13727239 of quarantine has lead to baking.  Boredom baking.  Need to use up the bananas baking.  And it makes me a rock star with my family so I'll take it.  I love using my bread machine for this recipe because it does all the work for me.  Obvi you don't need to use all organic ingredients if you don't have them but it does make a difference in the taste, IMO.  

Dump into the bread machine:

-2 cups organic flour

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-3/4 cup organic sugar

-pinch of Himalayan pink salt

-3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil

-2 organic eggs

-2 organic bananas, mashed

-1 glob of raw local honey

-1 drop of YL Cinnamon Bark essential oil (or 2 tsp. ground cinnamon)

-A splash of vanilla extract

-Optional: chopped nuts such as chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, or sliced almonds

I use the "quick bread" setting on my bread machine.  My quick bread setting runs for 2 hours.  It beeps at 1 hour and 30 minutes and that's when I take it out.  If I leave it in there the remaining 30 minutes, the outside is too dark for us.  A friend of mine's quick bread setting isn't long enough and she has to bake hers an additional 10 minutes.  So there seems to be some differences between bread machines and how long each quick bread setting runs, so just keep an eye on it.  When your bread is golden around the edges and slightly soft but not gooey on the top, you're done!  Let it sit in the bread pan for 10-15 minutes to cool slightly, then remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.  We like to eat ours warm out of the bread machine with a thick layer of grass-fed butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

"Fat Head" Dough

I don't know why it's called Fat Head.  I'm just glad I can still have pizza and it be 100% guilt free.  See, my family and I have been eating "keto" for the past few weeks and WE LOVE IT!  We're about 90% on plan and feeling so much better.  We're probably seeing such great results because we can still have pizza.  So, what is it?  It's basically a dough made primarily from cheese.  Glorious.cheese.  (I love this "diet"!)  It's a very versatile dough.  You can leave it as one big batch of dough and spread it out like a pizza.  You can portion it out into smaller pieces and make personal size pizzas.  You can cut it down to bun size and have an alternative for your burgers and breakfast sammies.  You can make them even smaller and stuff sausage, egg, and cheese in them for a breakfast bite.  You can wrap hot dogs in them for pigs in a blanket.  Hop on Pinterest and see what you can find.  It's super quick to whip up which makes it perfect for a late night quick dinner.  Below are the directions for pizza.  If you want to use it for something else, you'll just need to adjust the thickness as you're rolling it out (bun, biscuit, etc.) and also the baking time.

3/4 cup almond flour

1 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tbsp. cream cheese

1 egg

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning (if using it for pizza dough)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Combine almond flour and mozzarella cheese in a microwave safe bowl.

Add in cream cheese and place it in the microwave for 1 minute.

Stir well and microwave an additional 30 seconds.

Add the egg, salt, and Italian Seasoning, if using, and combine well.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it between two sheets of parchment paper.

Roll the dough between the parchment paper until it's about 1/4-1/8" thick (however thick you like your pizza dough)

Remove the top piece of parchment paper.

Keeping the dough on the bottom piece of parchment paper, slide the dough onto a pizza stone or baking sheet.

Use a fork and pierce the dough all over.

Place into the preheated oven for 12 minutes.

Once it's been baked, add your favorite pizza toppings and bake an additional 5 minutes or until your toppings are heated through.