Chicken and Artichoke Turnovers

I originally chose this recipe with the idea that it would be a great way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Only, for the first time that I can remember, we didn't have any leftover turkey. I mean sure, we had enough turkey that we ate the leftovers the next day, but usually I have so much turkey leftover that I make casseroles and quesadillas and then I still need to freeze it and use it later. I ended up using a couple of big boneless skinless chicken breasts for this instead. These were a big hit! The whole family liked them and the leftovers heat really well. The ingredients and flavors put me in mind of a Southwestern dish...except for the artichokes. When I read the recipe, artichokes seemed out of place. However, they really were yummy with the artichokes in there.

Here's how they came together:

First, I chopped a couple of chicken breasts. Then I seasoned them with salt and pepper and cooked them in a little olive oil, just until they were no longer pink. (if you're using leftover roast turkey or chicken you can obviously skip this step.) Then I stirred in some chili powder, minced garlic, lemon juice, green chilies, and green onions.

Add in sour cream and Mexican blend shredded cheese. Oh yeah, and I had some bacon leftover from another recipe in my fridge, so I tossed that in too! (I held off on the artichokes until after I'd made a couple of turnovers without them for the kiddos.)

The recipe called for patty shells, but I had a package of pre-made pie dough in the fridge.

I cut it into approximately 6 inch circles. After I cut the first bunch of circles, I balled up the scraps and rolled them out again.

Scoop some filling onto each circle, like 1/3 to 1/2 cup. You want the turnovers nice and full of filling....

But you also want to be able to seal the edges. I brushed a little water around the edges before folding the turnovers in half over the filling and crimping the edges with a fork.

Once I'd made a couple of kid-friendly turnovers, I grabbed for the artichokes. These were packed in water, but the marinated kind would be good too.

I stirred about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of chopped artichokes into the filling mixture.

Then I made up the rest of the turnovers, 9 in total, and placed them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Prick with a fork and brush with milk before baking at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

They came out all golden brown and flaky and bubbly.

You could serve these with a side salad for a more balanced meal. We were in a hurry for dinner, so these were it. Trust me...they were enough! Loved them!

A cross-sectional view. Mmmm.

Here's what I love about these turnovers: you can change up the flavors. Stuff them with any combination of meat and veggies and spices and cheese! The possibilities are endless. Toss in some spinach or broccoli and make them a bit healthier. I used a pre-made pastry, but you could certainly make your own. Another bonus: these re-heated really well in the microwave for lunch today, even maintaining their crisp around the edges. Certainly better than any Hot Pocket that I have ever eaten. My kids ate the leftovers too...the ones with the artichokes. I guess I didn't need to leave them out after all. Oh well, better safe than sorry!

Here's the recipe, adapted by me from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

Chicken-Artichoke Turnovers
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen patty shells (6)or pastry dough for a double crust pie
1/4 cup light dairy sour cream
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/4 cup crispy, crumbled bacon (if you've got it)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican Blend cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup coarsely chopped, drained
artichoke hearts (half of a 14-oz. can
1 4-oz. can diced green chilies, drained
3 green onions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
Milk

Thaw patty shells; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together sour cream, chili powder, garlic, and lemon juice. Add chicken, cheese, artichoke hearts, chilies, and green onions; stir to combine.

On a lightly floured surface roll out each patty shell to a 6-inch circle. Or cut pie dough sheets into 6-in. circles. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup filling on half of each circle. Moisten edges with water; fold other half of circle over filling. Press to seal with tines of a fork.

Place on ungreased, foil-lined baking sheet. Prick tops with a fork to vent. Brush tops with milk. Bake in a 400 [degrees] oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till golden.

Makes 9 servings.

Enjoy!

Scenes from My Down Home Thanksgiving, Some Shopping Suggestions, AND Caramel Croissant Bread Pudding

Hello friends! I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I just returned from our Thanksgiving trip last night and now that the bags are unpacked and each and every tub containing Christmas decor has been carried up from the basement, I've decided to take a break from "the hanging of the greens" to share a few shots from our Thanksgiving dinner.

Here's the kid's table. What you don't see in this picture is the giant plastic tarp covering the floor under the kid table. With 6 grandchildren, all 6 years of age or under, I'm surprised that my parents don't just cover their whole house in plastic during the holidays. There's actually another baby on the way, so we may witness a complete vaccuum sealing of the house next year. That might be fun to watch...as long as I'm not enlisted to help.

I love the embroidery on the table runner my mom used this year. If you're interested, she picked this up at The Pottery Barn. Sure, Thanksgiving is over, but you might just be able to find one of these on clearance and use it next year. Looking ahead, I just found this Tag Whimsy Ornament 60-Inch Runnerthat would be perfect for the kid's table when we all get together again at Christmas. So cute!

Here's the "grown up" table.

A closer look at the place settings....my mom puts chargers under her plates to dress up the table.  Gold or silver chargers are versatile and give the whole tablescape a "rich" effect. I just found these for a steal on Amazon.com:   Charger Set of 12 - Gold
Oh, and if you're in the market for napkin rings, check these out: DII Gold Finish Scroll Napkin Ring, Set of 6



The centerpiece. I was diggin' her pumpkin centerpiece. A nice change from the traditional cornucopia. And since I'm in the shopping mood, coming into Cyber Monday and all...I was thinking that this Christmas Gingerbread Lighted Centerpiecewould look really nice on my mom's table at our Christmas dinner...especially with her gold chargers. : )

This is the dessert table. I waited a bit after stuffing myself full of the appetizer and main course favorites, sitting at the table and visiting...just biding my time...so that I could treat dessert as a whole separate meal. It was strategic. I mean, after all, how could I be expected to choose between Grandma's Pecan and Sugar Cream Pies, my sister's Cherry Delight, my Pumpkin Whoopie Pies and Cranberry Blondies, and my mom's Peter Pumpkin Dessert?

Oh yeah, and I forgot one more....the Caramel Croissant Bread Pudding that I made this year. Here it is, full of caramel and cream and Kentucky Bourbon! I first saw this recipe on The Seventh Level of Boredom. Not only do I enjoy Beth's recipes, I am also SO entertained by her writing. I forgot all about her post until I found the recipe again, while flipping through the pages of Food and Wine Magazine. I decided that this was the year to try a new bread pudding recipe.

I have to say, that I did my best to really mess this up, but luckily, I finished strong and our family scraped the dish clean by the end of Thanksgiving night.

As it always seems to be, Thanksgiving morning was a busy time in my mom's kitchen. The oven was fired up and all of the pre-made casseroles and side dishes were being rotated in and out. We were doing last minute prep work and trying to find time for a shower and making sure the kiddos were staying out of trouble.(At least on the farm you can send the kids out to the barn to play with the kittens.)

A skill that I learned early on from my mom is to delegate. And if you delegate to the young 'uns, then you can keep them out of trouble and keep an eye on them at the same time. In this time-honored tradition, my daughter was enlisted to follow in my footsteps by helping in the the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning. I have to say that she was excited to help out and very focused on the task of tearing up stale croissants for this dessert. Really. I promise.

However, she was much less excited about having her picture taken while she helped out. Man, this look is priceless.

While my daughter tended to the croissants, I measured out the sugar and water to make the caramel. I put it on the stovetop and then walked away to help with something else. A little bit later, I returned to find it boiling like crazy. Weird. I hadn't turned on the burner. But the time I found it the sugar was almost completely dry and re-crystallized. I could barely stir it. I added a little water and stirred trying to break it up and re-dissolve. I stirred, added a little more water. Stirred, added a little more water. Adjusted the heat. Stirred, added a little more water....and so on. I was trying to get it to caramelize and smooth out, but it was so clumpy that it wasn't cooperating. You see, you're supposed to stir the sugar and water over moderately high heat until the sugar dissolves, THEN cook without stirring until a medium amber caramel forms, which takes about 5 minutes. Only, I never stirred mine. I had planned to, when I got back to it, but while I was distracted with other tasks, my efficient mom had turned on the burner. I have no idea how long the stuff had been boiling and I NEVER stirred it. As I was explaining what had happened to my grandma, my mom overhead me from the other room and called out, "I told you that I was turning it on." Clearly, I did not inherit her super-sonic hearing ability, because I could swear I never heard her tip me off to the fact that my sugar water-intended-for-caramel was heating up. Oh well.

As my brother-in-law joked when my sister became frustrated with him a some point during our Thanksgiving festivities, "Babe, let's focus on the HAPPY in Happy Thanksgiving, okay?"

Of course, we all laughed. But he made a good point. Don't sweat the small stuff. We were all together and healthy, induldging in a ridiculously extravagant meal by the world's standard. And after all, my mom was just trying to help.

Here's my sugar water a-boilin'.

It finally turned a pretty amber color.

I stirred in heavy cream, milk, and bourbon to the caramelized sugar.

Here's the bourbon that I used in this recipe. As I was perusing the selection of bourbon in my local grocer's liquor store I came to the realization that bourbon is EXPENSIVE! Another shopper pointed out that there was additional (and possibly cheaper) bourbon available behind the counter. Apparently, bourbon needs to be a controlled substance. I quickly spotted one that was less expensive than the others. After some discussion with the guy behind the counter, I was assured that just because this particular brand was less expensive, it was still of the best quality. He placed it in a little brown bag and I handed over the cash. Some of the other shoppers teased me, "Sure, it's for a recipe." I have to note that everyone was in super spirits as I shopped for my Thanksgiving dessert ingredients. There was a sense of camaraderie as I cruised the aisles of two stores. Everyone seemed extra happy and talkative. Perhaps thankful? Maybe it was just that fact that everyone was looking forward to a loooong weekend....

I can assure all of you that this bourbon was definitely for my recipe. I can't touch the stuff. One "whiff" from an opened bottle sends me into a full body twitch complete with a funny little cough that unintentionally escapes me at the end. I'm not sure what's up with that. I have a girlfriend that was born and raised in Kentucky and she loves bourbon. Many of the men in my family enjoy it too. Heck, they can even drink it all by itself, over just a few ice cubes. But I don't get "it". The intrigue of a "smooth" bourbon is completely lost on me.

I may have accidentally added an extra "glug" of this bourbon to the bread pudding. You could definitely taste it in there! Luckily, I liked the bourbon in this recipe.

Unfortunately, no amount of stirring would eliminate all of the sugar lumps from the negligence that had occurred early in this recipe. I ended up straining the mixture through a sieve. Check out these sugar lumps that I extracted.

I was supposed to gradually whisk the eggs into the hot caramel mixture. However, since the caramel was in a bowl from the straining, I lightly beat the eggs in the saucepan that I'd used to heat the sugar. No way was I adding another dish to the growing pile next to the sink....

I gradually whisked the hot mixture into the eggs.

Once it's all combined, pour the caramel mixture over the croissants.

Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Then bake for 20 minutes until puffed and golden. I pulled this out of the oven just as my family was sitting down to dinner, so it was perfectly warm by the time we were ready for dessert.

The verdict: This bread pudding was a hit! However, I still prefer the Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce that I made last Christmas. I like a sauce on my bread pudding. Luckily, my mom came to the rescue for this one. I was far too full from dinner to cook anything else by the time that I realized that this bread pudding might be enhanced by a sauce. She had a jar of Robert Rothschild Farm Old-Fashioned Caramel Sauce that we warmed up and served over the dessert. It was pretty spectacular!

Here's the recipe:

Caramel-Croissant Pudding

Ingredients
2 stale all-butter croissants, coarsely torn
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 large eggs, beaten

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 1-quart shallow baking dish and arrange the croissant pieces in the dish. In a small saucepan, stir the sugar and water over moderately high heat until the sugar dissolves; wash down any crystals on the sides with a wet pastry brush. Cook without stirring until a medium amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, milk and bourbon. Cook over low heat just until any hardened caramel dissolves.

2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Gradually whisk in the hot caramel. Pour over the croissants and let stand for 10 minutes, pressing the croissants to keep them submerged.


3. Bake the pudding in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Let cool for 10 minutes, then serve.

A couple more notes:
*I doubled this recipe for our Thanksgiving dinner and prepared it in a larger baking dish.

*If you haven't wrapped up your shopping after all of those "sweet" Black Friday deals or you have no desire to brave a crowded shopping mall ( the traffic and parking can be a nightmare!) remember, tomorrow is Cyber Monday! You can access some great deals by clicking the link right under my search bar in the top right-hand corner of this blog. Happy Shopping!

Cranberry Blondies

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you! I hope that you all have a wonderful day, surrounded with warmth and love and friends and family and great food and...of course, a time for reflection and gratitude.

And if you have any leftover cranberries after making the traditional relish or sauce, then please take a few extra minutes to make some cranberry blondies. Even if you don't have leftover cranberries....go out and buy more and THEN make these blondies. I promise that you will have one more thing to be thankful for....

I have had my eye on this Cranberry Blondie recipe since November of 2007 when it appeared in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The recipe gives an option for serving with Cinnamon Whipped Cream. Wow. How good would that be?! I haven't tried it yet, but if there is any leftover whipping cream after I make the bread pudding in the morning, I am SO using it to top a few of these blondies! Even without the whipped cream, these blondies are pretty amazing all on their own.

Here's the play by play:

First, beat 1/2 cup of butter until softened. Then, add in white and brown sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Next, mix in eggs and vanilla.

Then, beat in the flour on low speed until combined.

Stir in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Spread the batter into a 9X9X2 in. pan lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Then sprinkle with 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries and press them down into the batter...just a little. I used my hands, but a spatula would work fine too.

Then bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Full disclosure: This toothpick step did NOT happen in my household. I put these blondies into the oven and then headed upstairs to read our daughters a bedtime story, say prayers, and tuck them into bed. I asked my husband to please remove the blondies from the oven when the timer went off....if they looked "done". Which he did perfectly. Because after all, don't these look "done"? Sort of? Maybe? Well, they weren't.

 They were still pretty gooey on the inside, but by the time I made it back to the kitchen to check, they were well into the cooling stage. These wouldn't win a baking contest, but honestly....gooey blondies are a-okay with me. They just don't cut into super-pretty squares for your holiday dessert trays, that's all.

You can see that these puffed up nicely all around the edges, though. Given about 5 more minutes, I'd say the whole pan would have been just about right.

A testimonial: 90 minutes after we had safely arrived at my parent's house on this Thanksgiving eve, my whole test plate of blondies was GONE. No one really cared that they were too gooey in places or unevenly sliced....because they are THAT good!

Here's the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens November 2007:

Cranberry Blondies
Makes: 12 bars
Prep: 30 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes
Cool: 1 hour

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup fresh cranberries
1 recipe Cinnamon Whipped Cream (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 11x7x1-1/2-inch or a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl beat butter with wire whisk or electric mixer until softened. Whisk or beat in sugars, baking powder, soda, and salt. Whisk or beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. With whisk, or with electric mixer on low speed, beat in flour. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate. Spread butter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with fresh cranberries; press in lightly with a spatula. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

3. Cool on wire rack 1 hour. Lift with foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars. Serve with Cinnamon Whipped Cream. Makes 12 bars.

4. Cinnamon Whipped Cream: In a chilled medium mixing bowl combine 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 12 barsCalories246, Total Fat (g)11, Saturated Fat (g)7, Monounsaturated Fat (g)3, Polyunsaturated Fat (g)1, Cholesterol (mg)57, Sodium (mg)175, Carbohydrate (g)35, Total Sugar (g)25, Fiber (g)1, Protein (g)2, Vitamin C (DV%)2, Calcium (DV%)5, Iron (DV%)5, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

The Meal Plan Takes a Thanksgiving Break...And Some Thanksgiving Recipes

Hello friends!

I have to admit that this week, planning what my family will eat every night for dinner for the next 7 days has been pretty far from my mind. (We'll be gone 4 of those 7 nights, anyhow.) My focus is on Thanksgiving Day, of course! And for the first time in 5 years, I am NOT cooking Thanksgiving dinner! Hooray!

Not that I mind preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, I love to cook for the people that I love. Shoot, truth be told, I even love cooking for strangers. If you know me or have been reading this blog for any amount of time, then you know that cooking in sort of "my thing". : ) But, Thanksgiving is extra-special, because I am cooking for some of the people that I am most thankful for in this whole wide world. It doesn't seem like a chore...more like a labor of love.

But this year, it finally works out that we are able to celebrate at my parent's house. They are actually going to be home, we are finally within a reasonable driving distance, no one is too pregnant to travel, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Between my mom (the woman who taught me how to cook), my grandma (the woman who taught my mom how to cook), and my sisters (those chicks that attended the same cooking school that I did), they all have it covered. Since my husband, the kids, and I are the only family members who will have to travel, my mom asked what I wanted to bring...and then she mentioned about 3 times how much she loved my bread pudding from Christmas last year. So...I will bring a bread pudding, BUT I'm trying a new recipe this time. (I will probably post the results of that new recipe sometime this week.) At the request of my oldest daughter and one of my sisters, I will bring the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Fluff Filling.

That's all! 2 desserts. Although, I make throw in another dessert (Cranberry Blondies!) and maybe some cranberry sauce too (there's a new recipe that I want to try). Clearly, I have "issues" and won't be able to stop at just 2 desserts...

It's weird not rushing around right now, not making grocery lists, not polishing silver or ironing linens, not writing a timeline to-do list for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning so that dinner is perfect and on the table in time. But it IS good to take a break.

Through the holidays, my meal plans may be sporadic or even non-existent. I've made a rough meal plan for the next two weeks, consisting of meals that I can make from ingredients that I have on hand. I'm also planning for at least 3 new leftover turkey recipes...assuming that there will be leftover turkey (there always is!) I've also got a spaghetti squash that's been staring at me for weeks that I need to use up- it's definitely on the menu. But that's all I've got today. No day to day meal plan... and no grocery list.

I seem to have been less focused on meals and more focused on holiday treats over the last few days. Recipes for holiday candies and cookies and homemade gifts...recipes with titles that include words like "eggnog", "peppermint" and "buttered" are my un-intentional focus. I spent a good part of my Saturday pulling and stacking holiday recipes from my files- both favorites and new recipes that I want to try this season. I'll certainly keep you posted on how all of these recipes turn out, complete with notes and recipes.

But for this week, here is the link to my Thanksgiving Recipe post from last year: Thanksgiving Recipes.

And here is the link to some of my favorite recipes to use up leftover Turkey and Mashed Potatoes: Leftover Turkey.

I'm sure I'll be checking in before Thanksgiving, but in the meantime, Happy Cooking, everyone!

Pumpkin-Spiced Cinnamon Rolls

When I saw these Easy Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls on The Ungourmet last week, I knew that they would make an appearance in my kitchen in the near future. By the way, if you haven't visited Kim's blog, please give it a look for some excellent baked goodies (her cupcakes are SO creative!) and delicious meals. I already had all of the ingredients needed for pumpkin-spiced cinnamon rolls, so they were an easy choice for this morning's breakfast. Besides, what's not to love about cinnamon rolls...especially pumpkin -spiced cinnamon rolls...especially at this time of year!? This is the perfect easy Saturday morning recipe, a morning that no on needs to rush off to work or school and you can all sit down together and enjoy it with glasses of cold milk or a cup of steaming, fragrant coffe. Make it in your p.j.'s...cartoons playing in the background...savoring the haven of your warm, cozy kitchen. Smile out at the cold, hard, gray November morning as the smell of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon fill the air. The holiday hustle and bustle is just around the corner, but today it's just a low-key Saturday morning with the family and these yummy pumpkin-spiced, cream cheese and maple topped cinnamon rolls on your plate...

I began by combining the filling ingredients: pumpkin puree, a little butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until smooth.



Then grab an 16-18 oz package of refrigerated pizza dough. Kim, from The Ungourmet used Trader Joe's pizza dough that comes in a bag, not a tube. I went with what I already had...Pillsbury in a tube. I still haven't figured out where Trader Joe's is in this town...



You're supposed to roll it out into a 12 X 10 inch rectangle. Since I used the thin crust version of Pillsbury pizza dough, I simply needed to unroll it onto a floured surface.



Then I spread the filling over the rectangle, leaving about an inch on each side.



Kim commented that these rolls aren't overly sweet, which was good for her because super sweet goodies just aren't her cup of tea. Me on the other hand, I'm all about the sugar high! I sprinkled another layer of sugar-cinnamon blend over the filling mixture.



Then, starting with the long side, I rolled the rectangle up, jelly roll style. Pinch the seams to seal.



Then, using a sharp knife, slice the roll into 1 to 1-1/2" portions. Mine were a little "smooshy", partly because I used pizza roll from a tube and partly because I didn't roll it as tightly as I should have.



It was all good, though...they still turned out okay. Transfer them to a greased, 9-inch baking dish. I used my 9-inch springform pan, but a regular 9 in. round or square pan would work out just fine. Depending on the type of pizza dough, you might need to let these rise until doubled for about 45 minutes. Using pizza dough from a tube, I found that the rolls do not expand much when left to rest on the counter. I think that I let mine sit for about 30 minutes with no change. Next time, I might not even bother. Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.



While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients: butter, cream cheese, maple syrup, and a little orange juice.



Sift in a cup of powdered sugar and stir until combined and smooth.



Spread the icing over the rolls while they are still warm.



The recipe makes plenty of icing...feel free to smother em'! Mmmm. These were great fresh from the oven, but I liked them even better, hours later, with an afternoon cup of coffee.




Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from theUngourmet

1 16-18 oz package of refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp room temperature butter

Icing
2 tbsp room temperature butter
1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp orange juice
1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Roll dough into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Combine the pumpkin, spices, syrup and butter. Spread filling onto the rolled dough, leaving 1 inch on each side. Carefully roll dough jelly-roll style, starting at the long end (this will be a bit messy). Pinch seam to seal. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut 12 1 inch slices. Place rolls into a greased 9 inch baking pan. Cover and place in a draft free area and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Combine icing ingredients and beat until smooth. Spread over rolls while they are still warm. Enjoy!

Notes: I used pizza dough from a tube. It didn't really need time to raise. If you use homemade dough or refrigerated pizza dough from a bag, it will a) need time to raise and b) probably yield a lighter, fluffier cinnamon roll.

I liberally sprinkled cinnamon-sugar over the filling before I rolled up the dough for a sweeter product.