For fans of "The Office"

This is hillarious. There are three segments of this on hulu.com, but I wanted to post this one. Kelly and Erin formed a girls singing group called "Subtle Sexuality" and decided to make a music video, starring Andy and Ryan. I can't drink while I'm watching this, especially the parts with Andy. Hope you think it's as funny as I do:

Fall Smells Like Cinnamon and Vanilla

It's no secret that I love to bake. It is extremely cathartic for me to make sweets and nibbles, so I wanted to share a couple of the staple nibbles we have in our house this time of year. Each one smells so good when you walk in the door that it instantly reminds you of fall. Enjoy!




Crunchy Spiced Nuts
Yield: 5 cups

(You can use any variety of unsalted raw nuts. To double the recipe, adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and bake the nuts on 2 baking sheets, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.)

1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound unsalted raw nuts
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander

1. COAT NUTS Adjust oven rack to upper-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Whisk egg white, water, and salt in large bowl. Add nuts and toss to coat. Drain in colander thoroughly, 4-5 minutes
2. SEASON NUTS Mix sugar, cinnamon, ginger and coriander in large bowl. Add drained nuts and toss to coat. Spread nuts evenly on prepared bakind sheet and bake until dry and crisp, 40-45 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking time. Cool completely. Break nuts apart and serve. (Nuts can be stored in airtight container for 3 weeks.)





Gooey Chex Snack Mix

1 cup butter
1 ½ cups light karo syrup
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 box rice chex
2-3 cups fancy mixed nuts
1 cup chocolate pretzels or holiday chocolate chips

In large heavy pan, melt butter. Add sugar and karo syrup. Stir and bring to boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Take off heat. Add vanilla. In a large bowl, mix cereal and nuts. Pour hot syrup over mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly coated. Pour onto 2 jelly roll sheets lined with parchment paper. Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Add pretzels or other chocolate. (Leave out on cookie sheets until candy coating hardens, or it will all stick together and be impossible to pull pieces off.) Store in an air tight container.

********These are the best Cinnamon Rolls that I have ever had in my entire life. Seriously.



Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 40 rolls

3 cups whole milk (or evaporated milk 1 ½ cup and 1 ½ cup water)
½ cup butter
¼ cup shortening
1 cup instant potato flakes
¾ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
4 eggs
1 ½ Tablespoons yeast
7-9 cups flour


Cinnamon Roll Filling

¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup softened butter

Frosting

1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese
½ cup softened butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 pounds powdered sugar


1. Heat milk 125-130 degrees. Add butter and shortening. Stir to melt in hot milk. Add the potato flakes, sugar and salt and let sit.
2. Beat eggs and add slowly to the milk mixture, stirring the whole time. Make sure the mixture is not too hot. Add yeast. Mix milk and eggs on low speed and slowly add flour. (Add just enough flour for dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Sides of bowl will be clean). Mix about 5 minutes.
3. Let rise for one hour. While dough is rising, in a small bowl mix: brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon for the filling.
4. Divide the dough in half. Roll out a large rectangle fairly thin (about ¼ inch). Spread ½ the softened butter on surface. Sprinkle ½ of the cinnamon mixture on the rectangle. Beginning with the front long edge of dough, roll it away from you into a jelly roll. Using string or floss cut the roll into twenty equal pieces. Place on a jelly roll pan sprayed with cooking spray. (These will grow huge so make sure you use a jelly roll pan.) Repeat process for the other half of the dough. Cover rolls with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Bake 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven.
5. Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar, adding milk a teaspoon at a time to thin. Frost rolls while still hot.

Half Recipe: Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 20 rolls

1 1/2 cups whole milk (or evaporated milk ¾ cup and ¾ cup water)
¼ cup butter
1/8 cup shortening
½ cup instant potato flakes
¼ + 1/8 cup sugar
½ Tablespoon salt
2 eggs
¾ Tablespoon yeast
3 ½ -5 ½ cup flour


Cinnamon Roll Filling

¼ + 1/8 cup brown sugar
¼ + 1/8 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup softened butter

Frosting

1/2 - 8 oz package of cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar

My Sensitive Boys

Today I stayed home from church with 3 "sick" kids. (Runny noses are justification for missing church because I don't want them passing them on.) Anyway, Jackson asked to watch the "dog" movie we had borrowed from Grandma, so I put in "Where the Red Fern Grows", then went upstairs to clean up my bed room.

When I finally came back downstairs, movie was just about over so I sat and watched the sad ending from behind the Sawyer and Jackson who were sitting on the couch. I went to turn off the DVD player and turned around to see Jackson with tears streaking down his face. I went and sat with him on the couch and gave him a hug. He said, "Was that a real story?" I told him no. (I know it's based on a true story but a heartbroken 6 year old doesn't need to know that.) We talked and he was really crying hard. I was hugging him, and turned to check on Sawyer but before I could even ask if he was OK, he quickly got off the couch and went into the kitchen with his back to us saying, "Aww man, I've got something in my eye." He didn't turn around for a while. So, I turned back to Jackson and told him that I cry in movies all the time and it's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Sawyer seemed to have composed himself, so he came and stood behind the couch to listen to what I was telling Jackson. Jackson said, "But the dogs are up in Heaven, right? So he'll get to see them again someday, right?" and before I could answer, Sawyer said, "Yeah, just like Bean (our deceased frog)." His voice broke while he was saying it and rather than letting us see him cry, he said, "I gotta go get something upstairs." So stinking cute!

Sometimes I am amazed by how sensitive my boys are, but I am so thankful for it. It was so sweet to see Jackson, who is my tough one, crying over the poor dead dogs. And Sawyer, who is the most affectionate child I've ever seen, trying to be tough. They really do surprise you sometimes.

Just call me "the pie maker..."

Jeramy had his 33rd birthday yesterday and he requested an apple pie for his treat. I've mentioned before how much I adore the show "Pushing Daisies" and I decided to take a lesson from the pie maker himself and add cheese into the crust. I was nervous for the outcome, but I can't help but say it was absolutely the best apple pie I have ever tasted! So, Here is the recipe for you all to have for your baking pleasure!



Apple Pie

The pastry can be pressed into the pie plate and refrigerated for up to 2 days or double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month. Once baked and cooled, the shell can be wrapped tightly in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
4 ounces cream cheese , softened but still cool

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated

Pie

4 Granny Smith apples (about 1 ¾ pounds), peeled, cored, and sliced thin
4 Golden Delicious apples (about 1 ¾ pounds), peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Glaze

1/2 cup reserved apple juice ( from filling)
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter , softened
3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1. For the pie: Combine apples, 1 cup sugar, and salt in colander set over large bowl. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until apples release their juices, about 30 minutes. Press gently on apples to extract liquid and reserve 3/4 cup juice.
2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. For the Crust: Lightly coat 9-inch Pyrex pie plate with cooking spray. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in bowl.
4. With electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl, stopping once or twice to scrape down beater and sides of bowl, until completely homogenous, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture and combine on medium-low until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until dough begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds. Reserve 1/2 of dough. Turn remaining dough onto lightly floured surface, gather into ball, and flatten into 6-inch disk. Transfer disk to greased pie plate.
5. Press dough evenly over bottom of pie plate toward sides, using heel of your hand. Hold plate up to light to ensure that dough is evenly distributed. Grate 1 ½ tablespoons Parmesan Cheese over the top. With your fingertips, continue to work dough over bottom of plate and up sides until evenly distributed.
6. On floured surface, roll out reserved dough, cover with remaining parmesan. Set aside.
7. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
8. Lightly prick bottom of crust with fork.
9. Toss drained apples with tapioca, cinnamon, and lemon juice and arrange evenly over bottom crust, pressing lightly to flatten. Brush edges of bottom crust with water, and arrange top crust on pie. Press crusts together and use a paring knife to trim any excess dough. Use fork to crimp and seal outside edge of pie, then to pierce top of pie at 2-inch intervals. Bake until pie is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 1 hour.
10. For the glaze: While pie is cooling, simmer reserved apple juice in saucepan over medium heat until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and butter and let cool to room temperature. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and brush glaze evenly over warm pie. Let pie cool completely, at least 1 hour longer. Serve.
Make Ahead: The pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Happy Halloween