ahhh the changes...

Well... I'm sure it has become apparent that I have no longer been cooking through the country cookbook... Things really got expensive... But that doesn't mean that i have completely stopped my cooking or baking...oh no... quite the contrary... I have been trying to save more money and become more frugal, and I must say> It is definately WAY FUN!!! I love the feeling of making something completely from scratch! In fact, I try to find ways to do everything just like that! Here are some things i have been doing:

Homemade cinnamon rolls> yeah they tasted pretty amazing! Since i used the bread machine, it was really simple and had very little clean up!



Dough:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups flour (Add a bit more if dough seems too wet after first few minutes of kneading in the bread machine.)
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling:
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 3-4 tablespoon cinnamon

Icing:
1 teaspoon milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons (or less) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
(You dont necessarily need the butter if you are wanting it to be less fattening, but it sure does taste good!)

*Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread it with filling, butter first, then sugar & cinnamon mix.

*Roll up and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned. Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.

You can also cover the unbaked rolls with plastic wrap, stick them in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake in the morning.
I froze half of them and they held their wonderful flavor, but they didn't raise quite as big as the others had.

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I have also started making my own yogurt! It is so easy too & it turned out pretty good! There are so many methods to making yogurt, and this is just one of the many, but it worked and it tastes great! If you eat yogurt like my husband and I do, this is worthwhile and saves quite a bit of money :)

It’s this easy:

*Heat the milk in jars to 180 degrees in pot of boiling water.
*Take jars out of water and screw on lids, put in fridge for 45-50 minutes. Let it cool to 110. Put pan full of hot water with lid on in a picnic cooler (put a towel under so if it touches it doesn't melt your cooler). This keeps the water hot.
*When yogurt gets to 110 degrees, stir in 2 Tbs plain yogurt per quart of milk.
*Put it in cooler next to pot of hot water, take lid of pot and close the cooler for 4-24 hours.
*Put in fridge till cool and has a layer of whey, either stir in whey or use in soups (its good for you).
*Done. $10-$20 worth of yogurt for $3, and that’s if the milk is regular price.