It's all on you, icing everywhere

I'm no cinnamon roll snob, won't catch me bragging left and right about my accomplishments that everyone's so jealous of and wish they'd attained in their own lives, being free to be me is my primary goal here, and always has been.  Whether I'm making Giant cinnamon rolls or those infused with Vanilla pudding, I'm the last person you'll meet who'll spend their lifetime achieving in the workplace, I'm more of a sidelines girl, letting success splatter upon me from those knit close around me, while I simply feed them and enjoy the rest of my day, delighting.

Being a millionaire without even trying hard is kind of how my parents raised me, which is why going the buttermilk route and skipping all the drama associated with gym rats and wine party enthusiasts alike, fits me perfectly.  I mean sure, one-hour caramel apple cinnamon rolls serve a purpose in society, a very valuable one I'd suppose if looking square at it and agreeing.  Instead, I go where God puts me, standing there so strongly others miss what I'm seeing.  It's all about bounty in my neck of the woods, with a few trials decorating the long run, which glitters in the mornings and shines a very undeniable shade of merciful gold.

Crudités and Pizza Rolls

Homemade caramel apple cinnamon rolls it is, all risen.  I can not get over how easy it is to make Cookie Dough fudge, keep it in your fridge, and nibble on it here-and-there waiting for it to run out so you can make chocolate.  My Grandma's recipe and my aunt's, both including marshmallows and chocolate chips, I'm thinking.  But these caramel apple cinnamon rolls are the highlight of my weekend...both the assembly and the leftovers that will last for days, into the school week.

Unrelated, more cilantro rice must be awakened, needing another whole batch of Mel's perfected recipe, wrapped up in a corn tortilla with shredded pork and black beans, beyond amazing, amazing.  Even better.  Well, there is this buttermilk ranch I can't get enough of, once you get over the whole mayonnaise being the primary ingredient in most dressings issues you have, use Light.

Spicy black bean salad

Falling in love was the easy part, when it comes to black bean dips and all, but it's the curiosity about the dressing, that most intrigued me.  Two cans of black beans was like beckoning me to respect it (I already did!), a can of corn I'd replace with bagged frozen, a diced red onion (LOVE!), three quarter cups salsa...suit yourself with the quantity.

Three minced cloves of garlic are doused in olive oil (3/4 c) and swirled with 1/2 cup cilantro, dashed with cumin, salt and pepper. 1-1/2 t, 1 t, 1/4 t  Are not left to your imagination, working overtime to secure 2 T lemon juice and 1 T red wine vinegar.  As always.

Pork digest

Since when can you go wrong with a pork roast in a crockpot, providing enough shredded goodness after 5 hours on high to supply these Sweet Pork burritos, with extra for pork sandwiches, nachos, there are no limits.  You can amuse yourself with post-workout InstaGlam photos all you like, while your peers laugh on, and there still won't be enough reason to not invest in 2 1/2 to 5 lbs of pork butt or shoulder, bone-in is where I'm leaning.  The options are as endless as witty Facebook comments, but can Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin truly call itself a relationship when visits to the table are few and far between, unless non-existent enters your vocabulary.  From a distance pork maintains whatever illusion the ego desires...it's succulent and will someday become trendy, I'm certain.  Up close, it's a little harder to admit and explain, but pork, my friend, hates talking on the phone, can't remember faces, and has walls aplenty that will never come down.

Soak it up

If you're going to go so far as to make bread pudding for your family, you'll thank yourself.  Part of it is the ease of whisking 3 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt.  I mean c'mon!  Having purchased (or made) a couple of loaves of cinnamon swirl bread, one for your freezer because God knows you'll make bread pudding at least twice, if not many, many more times than that.  Trust me.  You'll cut the loaf up, or at least 12 slices, into 3/4 inch pieces, and then soak it in your slurry for ten minutes flat, give or take.  Spreading the soaked cinnamon swirl bread in a buttered glass dish, 8 x 8 or larger if you prefer more carmelizing, your choice.  You'll want to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top, say a tablespoon (or two) of sugar blended with 1/4 tsp (or 1/2). Three-seventy-five for 35-40 minutes should do you.

Nightly battle

Salad-making has become my forte whether I like it or not.  Blending organic mixed greens with organic romaine creates just the delicate or crunchy texture I'm in for, with a plethora of opportunities to unite both Mexican and barbecue.  Take the dressing for instance, basically a mayo/buttermilk/barbecue sauce trio, accentuated with lime juice, white vinegar, cumin and cayenne if I were naming any names.  It's the vegetables dressing the salad like confetti that bring my heart into being.  Craving avocado chunks anyone?  How about sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cubed into small squares, red onion sliced almost as thin as is humanly possible, but not quite.  Oh I threw in the can of rinsed black beans, the cup and a half of frozen corn she recommended, certainly the minced cilantro.  Grilled shredded chicken soaked in barbecue sauce is the clincher.  Don't remind me of the tortilla strips sprinkled upon this glory, sucker punched by a warm, waiting cinnamon-sugar-encrusted bread pudding on the stove.

Nacho season

I used the whole onion, my mistake.  Digging in my produce drawer for the leftover half from Cowboy Pasta Sauce, I recalled no, I went for the full cup, having doubled the sauce recipe.  No problem when I whip together this one-minute literally divine salsa (at least I'm hoping).  Finding good use for an overabundance of tomatoes, slightly short on cilantro, but alas lime juice, pickled jalapeños, and garlic cloves are a dime a dozen around here.  Don't even have a bag of chips, I thought, then recalled quartered corn tortillas crisp up in a 350 oven after about twenty-five minutes, liberally sprayed with oil, of course.