Another weekend gone, but there was pie

Ahh, its Monday again! November is already almost half over. Somebody please tell me, where did the year go?!

This weekend went by way to fast, like most of them do. Friday was my birthday, but in all reality, it was just a normal Friday. Saturday, we had a nice big dinner and Sunday I did pretty much nothing. It was nice to get caught up on some reading and I finally got to watch Magic Mike, so it had it high points.

Laundry was done, dishes were cleaned and floors were mopped. That was the extent of my weekend. I did make a yummy pie on Saturday. Apple pie is a favorite here, but we aren't having it on Thanksgiving, so I made one on Saturday. I have a great recipe for apple pie, I'll share it below.

I like to make everything home-made when it comes to pie. Crust is super easy. The easiest way to make a crust is to use a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, it's still pretty easy. For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cup flour, plus extra for rolling dough
• 1 stick of butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ice water

In a food processor, mix the flour, salt and sugar. Pulse it a few times. Add butter and pulse until it's all incorporated. Add water slowly, until a dough forms. Use a bowl and a pastry or dough cutter if you don't have a food processor. Put the dough on a floured surface, and make a ball out of it. Throw it in the freezer to get cold while you work on the rest of the pie. Make two if you plan on making a pie with a top crust.

I like to use two different kinds of apples for pie, just to switch it up a little bit. I like to use a sweet kind mixed with a more tart one. I usually use a few Fuji or a Gala apples and a few Granny Smith. That's just what we like, experiment and find what works for you.

For the pie, peel and core the apples. Cut them into slices and put them in a big bowl. Add 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of flour. Toss it all together and let it sit for about 15 minutes. While it's sitting, I roll out the dough

On a floured surface, roll out the dough and add it to the pie tin. Press down gently and poke a few holes in it with a fork. Now to pre-cook. There are a few ways to pre-cook a pie crust so it doesn't poof out of the pie tin. You can use beans to keep the crust in place. If you don't have beans(I never do), you can use an oven safe dish or pot that fits into your pie tin. Anything oven safe that fits works. Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes then add the apples.

Dab the outer pie crust with water. Add the top crust and press the edges together either with a fork or with your fingers to seal the pie. Add a little egg wash on top to make the shell nice and brown. I add a little cinnamon and sugar to the top crust too and then cut out a few steam wholes. Cook at 425 for 15 minutes, then at 325 for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and you see the yummy goodness coming out of your steam wholes.

A crumb top is easy and good too. For that I use:

• 1 cup of flour
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Mix all of them together in a bowl with a fork and add to the top of the apples. That's all. So easy, and so good!

I have a lot more recipes coming up for the holidays. This is defiantly one of my favorite times of the year!

And then, my kids grew up

I was looking at baby pictures today and a thought hit me. My kids are growing up, and they are doing it way too fast!

When you are a new mom, its hard to imagine your child as a teenager. You anxiously await that first smile, the first tooth, first steps....ect. You can't wait for them to sit up on their own, or to start to walk and talk. But what you don't think about when your child is up all night crying from teething, is how your going miss this time so much. Sleepless nights, tantrums, potty training...its not always fun that's for sure.

When you have babies, you hear so often to cherish this time when they are young. They grow up fast, its true. Too fast in fact. You'll miss the days when mommies kisses made the boo boos better or just a cuddle made the tears stop.

My babies are 12 and 14. I have no idea how that happened because I'm pretty sure I  was just a teenager myself and now I'm attempting to raise 2! And let me tell you....its rough! If you thought being a teen was hard, wait until you are trying to raise one.  I was a horrible teenager, given way to much freedom and way to little supervision. Now I'm trying to raise my kids to be productive members of society that will grow up, get great jobs and be able to survive on their own.

Somehow along the way, my oldest got the idea that its OK to blow off homework if you don't feel like doing it. And my youngest seems to think being a hoarder is a great way to live his life, and refuses to throw out anything when he cleans his room. I have no idea if I'm making the right choices when I discipline them. I can only hope they grow up with a minimal amount of scaring from my parenting mistakes.

Now that they are getting older, nothing is getting easier but it is changing. My oldest babysits, so sometimes she's responsible for other little humans...kind of scary. My son still needs a lot of help with his homework, but he's at the age now where he will start to want to do more of his own thing. Its hard to let go, that's for sure.

I still remember taking each child home from the hospital. Of course I knew they would grow up, but I didn't think it would happen this fast. Time flies people! I know you hear this way to much, but don't take a single moment for granted. One day you'll blink and your 8 pound baby girl will be taller than you and thinks she's has the answers to everything. Sigh...

I'm just feeling a little nostalgic today I'm afraid. Looking at baby pictures will do that to a person. And while I do miss my kids being little, and as hard as it is sometimes, its great to see them grow. To see them mature and make good choices. I just sometimes miss when a hug and band-aide made all the pain go away.

Sunday Breakfast, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Weekends are a great time for baking. One of my favorite Sunday breakfasts has to be homemade cinnamon rolls. They are pretty easy to make and taste so much better than the ones that you pop out of a can. They do take a little practice and a few hours from beginning to end, but they are well worth it.

I've been making these a few times a month lately. Not to long ago, I won a great prize pack from @RedStarYeast that included 36 packets of yeast, so I've been doing quite a bit of baking!

For these cinnamon rolls, I use:

• 1/2 warm tap water
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 stick(1/3 cup) butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups of flour, plus extra kneading surface
• 1 packet (1/4 ounce) of yeast

Working with yeast can be tricky. I think a lot of it has to do with having everything warm. I use hot tap water, and that works well for me. For the milk, I scald it and let it cool until feels warm to the touch. Neither the water or milk should be cold.

First thing I do is dissolve the yeast in a small bowl of warm water. Stir it until all the yeast is dissolved, you will see bubbles start to form...this is what you want to happen. Next, in a large bowl, mix milk, sugar, melted butter, egg and salt. Add 2 cups of the flour, and mix until smooth. Add the water and yeast mixture, then the rest of the flour. Mix until the dough is easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes. This is the fun part! Kneading dough is easy, but if you don't know how to do it, YouTube has a bunch of great videos. If the dough becomes to sticky, add more flour and keep kneading. Place dough in a well greased bowl and cover it with either plastic wrap or a cloth, or even a paper towel. Leave in a warm place and let it sit until it doubles in size. This can take an hour to an hour and a half.

When its done rising, pour dough onto a lightly floured surface again. Punch it down and roll it flat into a rectangle shape. I use a pizza cutter to trim the edges so it's a perfect rectangle. Now for the filling. I use:

• 1/2 melted butter
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• raisins or walnuts

Spread melted butter on the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Add raisins or walnuts if you want them. I personally love raisins in my cinnamon rolls. Starting at the long end of the rectangle, roll the dough tight and press ends together to seal. Cut into 12-15 slices and place them in a buttered 13 x 9 inch pan. I sprinkle some left over cinnamon and sugar on the pan before I add the dough.

Let them rise again, in a warm place for about an hour, or until they double again in size. Cook at 350 for about 1/2 hour. Cool completely then frost with a homemade glaze, that I make while they are cooking. Glaze is so easy and so much better than anything you buy in a store. What I use is:

• 3 tablespoons of butter, softened
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of milk, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Put the softened butter in a mixing bowl(I love my Kitchen Aide mixer for this!) and add the powdered sugar. Mix on low-speed until is well incorporated, then add milk slowly until it looks wet and shiny. Whip on high-speed for a few minutes then add vanilla. Keep mixing until all the sugar lumps are gone. If glaze is to thick, add a little more milk. This is also makes a great butter cream frosting, you just add less milk for a thicker frosting. Once you make this, you'll wonder why you ever bought frosting at the store!

I make these the night before for breakfast. These are perfect a lazy Sunday morning breakfast that everyone will love.