Dairy free Egg free Corn free nothing but gooey goodness Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

So, I've been working on this recipe for a while. It's getting pretty close now. Since making a basic glaze for cinnamon rolls was proving, well, not very tasty, I decided maybe caramel was the way to go. The big problem? Caramel has dairy and corn as it's main ingredients. The big challenge was to change that AND still have it taste like caramel. These have gone over pretty good! : ) Since today is like -25 cinnamon rolls seem like the way to go, so I made some promises to people to post this so they could spend the day covered in sugar and yeast too! Special thanks to my friend Christy for coming up with the basic roll recipe that I've used -- it was the perfect base!

Jessica's Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

2 c water

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c olive oil

1 tsp salt

6 c flour

2 T yeast

Additional olive oil (a couple tablespoons...)

about 1/2 c sugar and 3-4 T cinnamon

Halved pecans if desired

Combine 4 c flour and yeast in large bowl (or kitchen aid bowl). In large microwave safe bowl add water, sugar, oil and salt. Microwave until sugar is dissolved and water is warm (I use the "finger test" -- if you can keep your finger in the water 10 sec, it's the right temp. If you can't, it needs to cool.) Add to flour and mix well until completely combined. Add remaining flour and mix to form a soft dough (dough should clean sides of bowl -- if it is too sticky add a 1/2 c more flour). Oil bowl with a little olive oil and let rise, covered, in warm place (I heat the oven on the lowest temp and then turn it off and put it in there) til double -- 30-45 min. Meanwhile, make caramel.

Caramel (I've started doubling it and like it a lot more!)

1/4 c coconut oil

1 T rice syrup (or corn syrup or other sugar syrup -- I'll post one I found, but haven't tried yet)

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 T coconut cream (I skim the top thick layer off of regular canned coconut milk)

Bring to a boil. Boil about 1 min. Remove from heat. Pour into a 12x18, greased pan or 2 9x13 greased pans.

Roll dough out into a rectangle, roughly 18x20ish. (This is what happens when I make stuff up...). Brush with olive oil (you don't want it dripping, just a coating). Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (if you want, normal people mix the cinnamon and sugar together first...I literally have never measured this part. I just use the "sprinkle" side of my cinnamon jar and put a layer, than sprinkle a generous layer of sugar on top of that. I'm guessing on the amounts I've given. Feel free to add more or less as needed! Roll up jellyroll style. Cut into roughly 1 inch thick discs and set into caramel in pan. (for pecan caramel rolls, sprinkle in pecans before setting dough in). Preheat oven to 375. Let rise in warm place until roughly doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 20 min or until just beginning to turn golden brown (to keep them soft, do not let them get crispy brown). Remove from oven and immediately invert over a cookie sheet to let all the caramel goodness ooze down the sides. Try not to eat them in the first 5 minutes -- you'll burn your fingers. Highly recommend adding a cup of coffee while you wait for them to cool enough to eat...

Now, I have played around with other oils in the caramel, but eh...the coconut oil is, a)way healthier and b)adds a flavor that makes people really confused when you tell them there is no butter...I think the most common question is "how do you get them so buttery then?". Same with the coconut cream. Regular cream would obviously work (if you can have dairy...). I would imagine 1 T of any milk would work, though not quite as rich of a taste. I plan on making these myself today, so I'll add a picture later on...I think I'll play around with making some wheat free too.

If you don't have rice syrup, you could substitute 100% maple syrup, agave nectar or the sugar syrup below...

2 c sugar

3/4 c water

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Bring to boil and cook to softball stage. Cool -- stores at room temp up to 2 months.

Back to the basics...

It's that time of year again. Resolutions, lists of things to do better. Mine is simple. Just get serious about keeping up with the ideas I already have tried to implement. For example, things just work better if I have a menu. I don't like to plan by day. It works better for me to plan 10 days worth of meals and have everything I need sitting here. That way if I wake up and don't feel like making homemade pizzas, dumping a chicken in the crock-pot is still an option. And, it really helps the grocery bill too! So...here is my 10 day meal plan. My goal is to try 1 new recipe each rotation. That should help me remember to post here once in a while too! And...wow! Lots to post now that we've gone public with the whole adoption thing! I've been keeping a diary of things as we've gone and I'd love to share some of those thoughts with you!

But back to food! Yummmmmm. Foooooooood. Sorry. I like food.

10 days:

1. Grilled Rosemary Lamb chops with roasted root veggies and potatoes

2. Turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, brown sugar glazed carrots and cranberries

3. Spicy Lentil and Sausage soup with bread

4. Burgers with homemade fries, baked beans and vegies

5. Fish, potato chips and fruit smoothies (that's our standard 'fast' meal for Wednesday nights to get to church on time!)

6. Chili

7. Lentils and Rice with caramelized onions and onion tomato salad (thanks to Yasso for introducing us to this Lebanese meal!)

8. Homemade Pizza and fruit

9. Pot Roast with Potatoes and carrots

10. Coconut shrimp with roasted red potatoes and pineapple

Now the way this works, some of these dishes, such as the lentil soup, use broth. We have to have homemade broth as Isaac is allergic to celery -- it's in every store bought kind! So, for example, if I make pot roast before I plan on making the soup, I know I'll have the broth sitting there. ANY time I make a roast or turkey or chicken, I always make broth so I have it on hand. I know it's not "technically" how you should make it, but I just throw all the bones and bits and pieces that aren't worth using for leftovers into the crock-pot with some onions and pieces of carrots and slow cook it all day. I just freeze mine in 2 c amounts to use whenever.

We also eat lots of leftovers. I know that there will leftover lentils and rice, leftover chili, turkey, etc. So, 10 meals is really more like 12, plus a few lunches as well.

Tonight is Pot Roast -- the super simple kind. I sprinkle mine with garlic and a generous amount of black pepper and sear it in olive oil on all sides, then toss it in the crock-pot all day with onions and potatoes and carrots. Easy, easy, easy and one of the few ways my boys will eat carrots and white potatoes and actually like them!

Yesterday was coconut shrimp -- I make it simple for the boys. I toss a handful of coconut in the food processor and break it down a little, then toss the shrimp with it, garlic salt and red pepper flakes, then fry it in coconut oil. Kind of a short cut version, but it works. Sometimes we eat with rice. This time I had lots of potatoes that were on their last legs, so I threw red potatoes cut up in chunks in with olive oil, rosemary and sea salt and roasted them at 500 for about 40 min. Chopped up a pineapple and dinner on the table in less than half an hour so we could make to church on time!