Super Easy And Fast Cinnamon Buns

I"m going to be straight with you readers...I LOVE bread! I love homemade bread, homemade yeast rolls, scones and, especially, cinnamon rolls. Now, I'm not some high baker snob. It is NOT beneath me to crack open a can of cinnamon rolls when the moment strikes me. Heck, I even buy generic rolls, that just my way. However, nothing beats baked goods made from scratch. I do have my favorite recipes that I've tried over the years. I have one recipe from a 1960's baking cookbook which is very involved and takes hours, but the end result is worth it. Once in a blue moon, I'll indulge and a bake those. I've been craving cinnamon rolls, lately, but it's also 90 degrees (fahrenheit), so I need another option. 

This summer, I discovered an amazing recipe for homemade hamburgers buns. I found it after being dissatisfied with store bought buns and not being super excited to go to the store. The buns can be made in less than and hour! I know and they make gorgeous buns. I wish I hadn't deleted my photo of my burger buns, but this isn't so much about burger buns and more about how I made cinnamon buns, but I needed to include my story about burger buns, because it's important to the story.

So, after making the buns a few times and craving cinnamon buns during a heat wave, I decided to experiment and see if I could adapt the recipe for cinnamon buns. The end result was beautiful! So, you begin with the original recipe for hamburger buns, which can be found on the Taste Of Home webpage. I'll include the link here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/40-minute-hamburger-buns?keycode=ZPIN0414. Side note: I adore the Taste Of Home website and magazine. I have one of their cookbooks, and it is fantastic!

So, following the burger bun recipe up to the point where you form the dough into balls, here is where you use the dough for cinnamon rolls. Rather than forming the balls, I rolled the dough out into a 10x12 rectangle. Then, I added 1/4 cup melted butter and spread it over the dough. Then, I sprinkled 1/2 cup of sugar (white, but brown would work nicely). Next, I sprinkled ground cinnamon over the sugar and then topped it off with 1/2 a cup of raisins. Then, I rolled the doll into a log and cut the cough in eight pieces. I placed the buns onto a prepared cookie sheet, leaving enough space for expansion, and I covered the buns to rise for 8-10 minutes. Finally, I baked the buns according to the hamburger bun recipe. It was THAT easy! They came out beautifully, huge and tasty. You might need to bake a few extra minutes so the centers are fully baked, just keep an eye on them.

 I love recipes like this that are so versatile and can be adapted to use for a number of treats. If you need fantastic hamburger buns for a bbq, or you really want to impress your friends, make the hamburger buns, you won't be disappointed. I'm going to pull some out of the freezer to have for burgers tonight! Until Next Time~ Toodahloo!

Maine Girl Doesn't Like Lobster

Two weeks ago, my husband and I decided to take a day trip down to the coast. We felt that a trip to a coastal town for an overnight followed by a mini road trip up the coast, finding lighthouses would be fun. It was tremendously fun, but exhausting. Ever since childhood, I"ve visited at least one lighthouse each summer. The first lighthouse that we visited happens to be my favorite. It is at Pemaquid Point. I was very surprised to see so many seagulls present. It made me think of my mother, who is terrified of birds; I knew she would not be happy with this picture (above). When I was a child and a teenager, it was nothing or me to walk along the rocky edge, the huge granite the leads to the Atlantic was always fun to walk on, although I always used caution. Now that I'm older and disabled, I kept a safe distance. It didn't matter, I still enjoyed myself.

This is the lighthouse at Pemaquid Point, it is still open to the public to view. I didn't bother, since I've seen it so many times, and I still had a lot to do that day.

The next lighthouse that we visited was in Owls Head, you can almost see the lighthouse in the photo. I had a very hard time getting a picture of the lighthouse without snapping a random tourist in the picture, too. These lighthouses are very popular with tourists during the summer months. After visiting this lighthouse, we went to the lighthouse in Rockland, but I didn't get any photos of that. There were far too many tourists that would have landed in the picture. Also, the breakwater, leading to the lighthouse is a bit difficult for me to walk, so I really needed to pay attention to my steps and keep my eyes on my feet. That made it tricky when it came to photographing the lighthouse.

One final box from my summer bucket list needed to be checked. My husband convinced me to try a lobster roll. Now, I should explain, I've never had a lobster roll before. I know that might sound strange, considering I'm a New England girl. However, growing up, I was never big fan of seafood. The occasional whitefish is okay, but I don't like shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, oysters, squid, octopus, and most certainly NOT lobsters. I know that sounds terrible for a lot of people. I have tried lobster several times throughout my life and I've never liked it. So, I thought that I would give this a try. The last time that I'd tried eating lobster was back when I was in college. Since my husband made the lobster roll sound so alluring, I decided to try it out. The Maine lobster roll is a VERY popular summertime treat. We searched a few towns and looked online to find a reasonably priced lobster shack. We located one that was nearby and made our way to it. I was very happy to see that it didn't have a huge line, so I would need to wait long, I was hungry. I stepped to the window and placed my order.  I had a bit of a palpitation when I saw that the sandwiches were $15.00 each! I've never spent that much on a sandwich before. However, since this was meant to be about an experience, and less about lunch, I let it go and decided to enjoy myself. After we were handed our lobster rolls, we sat on a bunch that overlooked the harbor and began our picnic.

 My husband delighted in his sandwich the moment he sunk his teeth into the mayonnaise/lobster blend. The crispness of the lettuce crunching between his teeth made it all seem so delicious. So, I took a deep breath and took a bite. With the Mr. looking on, eagerly awaiting my reaction, I chewed. He asked me what I thought of it. I grinned and nodded my head, but he could tell that it was a nightmare, for me. I was determined to enjoy the lobster roll; it was $15.00, after all. After consuming about $7.00 worth of the sandwich, I handed the rest to my husband, who was more than happy to eat the lobster roll. So, it wasn't the sandwich or the lobster shack that made it that was at fault. I just don't like lobster, it's gross. I love whoopie pies, blueberries, potatoes, red hot dogs, and Moxie, but I just can eat lobster. I hope that doesn't make me any less of a Mainer. Sigh.

Until next time~ Toodahloo!