The Cheating Cooks Guide to Cinammon Bun LOVE

I love to bake and will try just about anything, however, when it comes to bread dough, I feel like I am circling the drain a bit.  So when I had the urge to make cinnamon buns, I was looking for a way to skip the dough making part and get right to it.

My solution is pizza dough.  Almost every grocery store now sells fresh pizza dough chilled in a poly bag. (you can even buy an uncooked frozen bread dough and defrost it.  Here's what you need.

1 Pizza dough

1 stick (4ozs) Salted Butter

1 1/2  cups Brown Sugar

Cinnamon 

Raisins, Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, Pecans or WHATEVER you like to sprinkle on them

On a floured board roll your dough to 15" x 12" rectangle

Spread butter over dough with spatula.

Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon

Toss on raisins, nuts or whatever.

Roll the dough from the 15" side into a roll.

Slice the roll into 1 1/2 " slices

Lay flat 1/2 inch apart on baking dish or cookie sheet (must have an edge to stop oozing melted sugar)

Baked at 350 F for about 15 minutes or until the dough is golden and cooked.

Remove from pan and place on parchment paper or cooling rack. you will have some yummy melted butter and sugar in the pan,  Spoon it off and drizzle over the hot buns.

Mix 3/4 cup icing sugar with 1teaspoon vanilla and a little milk until it is smooth and runs easily off the spoon.  Drizzle 1 tsp of icing  over each bun while still warm.

The kind you buy at certain Cinnamon Bun shops taste good, but they are made with shortening and artificial vanilla, not butter. The butter makes all the difference in the taste here.  These are amazingly gooey and buttery and vanilla-y.  Only a few minutes to make and a wonderful Sunday morning treat.

The "Desperate for a Cure Housewives" Halloween Bash

Who is this gorgeous Bollywood Star?......oh that's my Girl!

Last night there was a big bash put on by my friends

the "Desperate For a Cure Housewives"

Every year, they raise a ton of money for Breast Cancer.  One of their most popular fundraisers is the annual Halloween bash.  I applogise for the lousy photos, but it was dark and full of boisterous people who just won't stand still for a second to get a good photo.

Mad Hatter and his Wife. 

The women did seem to find the Pirate sexy 

The always lovely Princess Caroline. 

Sumo?  this one had a battery operated fan that kept Sumo inflated 

Sometimes a Professor just wants to be a Pricess for a Day. 

I know Who it is, but I don't know Who it is????

The beauty of this party, is it is multi-generational. And it has become a community event.  Although run by the ladies of the group, all their kids come and their friends.  It a mixed party of parents and kids and their friends, all wanting to do something for the cause and have a blast doing it.

Pit Stop? 

Homer 

Barry Bonds. 

Ride around Sally

Me with Sumo Guy in my cowgirl attire...... 

Some men just love dressing as a woman........Bet you hope your Hooters waitress doesn't look like this. 

Beauty Queens..... 

The Donald 

Who needs a costume when your that cute!

If you've got it flaunt it.....Our guest from LA Ink... Kat Von-Whatever 

Betty Rubble 

Typical Canadian Man at a bar. 

Haven't a clue..... 

Who knew that Fried Eggs could have so much fun. 

Jail Birds and Whatever WWF guy this is....

Great job girls, organizing this one....

Happy Halloween.

Jail Bird steals Ballerina.....

For more Halloween goodness, stop on over Here to the Tablescaper to see a lot more Halloween ides.



Photo Challenge- Architecture

This week the photo challenge was ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT.

I must admit, I picked this topic because I knew I was to be in Montreal and it would be easy as pie.

Montreal is such an old city and the gorgeous architecture has been preserved most beautifully and is key to the feel of the City.

Blogger and Stone Carver Tom Stephenson would be quite at home here with all the magnificent stone carving.

Tom has been writing a bit about his carving HERE on his blog and HERE on his other Compact but Adorable Lifestyle blog.  He's not for the faint of heart.  It's not all pink and frou-frou over there, and he has been known to throw some LANGUAGE around, but definitely worth a read.

This wonderful domed roof captured my attention, sparkling as it was in the sun.  Look at how the windows are so beautifully arranged around the dome.  This is such a beautiful part of the skyline.

It looks simple and charming, but look at all the detail carved into this store front. Or is it carved??  Maybe they are poured concrete.  Does anyone know?

Again, lovely details.  I don't know what those pediments above the windows are called, but they are quite intricate.  Imagine building this.

I spotted these tiles outside a restaurant. 

Layer upon layer of carvings. 

Passage under a building.

Add your photo by clicking on the Linky Thing below.

Next weeks Challenge.  SHADOW.  Capture a shadow.

I've been featured

My cottage was featured yesterday over at Remodelaholic

Thank you Cassity.

Cassity's blog has such a variety of content, and she posts several times a day, so there is always new and fresh things to see.

I was having major issues on this blog yesterday, I think it had a virus.  I hope this is sorted now.

Brilliant News!

We had the most exciting news tonight.  My son Brandon and his girlfriend Tracy, got engaged this evening.

  Not only is Tracy and incredible woman, she has great People.  I couldn't have chosen a better match for my son.

I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I AM SO EXCITED AND HAPPY? 

Good Witch...Bad Witch....Caught in the act of re-gifting. Power of the Internet

Have you ever found out someone regifted something you gave them or got rid of it?

One time I made some wooden boxes, cut out Xmas trees on the front, painted them and filled them with handmade candles. They were for the co-workers at hubby`s office.  All but one.  One I made with a star of David for a Jewish person.  Two years later we received a gift from someone else in the office and it was lovely.  A handmade wooden box with a Star of David and homemade candles. 

So that was a double regift.  We gave to Person 1, who gave it to person 2, who gave it to person 3 (us). 

I had something funny happen on the weekend, although I was so fuming mad about it at the time, I was ranting.  Now I can laugh.

I dabble in fiber art.  I have sold a few pieces and have had 3 pieces accepted into a juried show.  A family member bugged me and bugged me to make a piece for them.  I happily obliged and spend dozens and dozens of hours on it.  I gave it to them for Christmas.

Now as families sometimes do,  a Divorce happened.  The person I had gifted to, called me to see if they could keep the art since it was given to them and they loved it soo, so much.  I was thrilled, still wanting this person in my life. I called the other divorced party and they agreed it should stay with the giftee.

On Saturday, I got an email from a person in a certain state saying that a piece of my art had showed up in a thrift shop. They didn`t feel that it was a thrift shop piece and they said it spoke to them and they  just had a `feeling about it``  They googled my name and found me and asked it I wanted it back.

To me, the Divorced Party  #1, if they could no longer bear to look at it, should have offered it back to  Divorced Party  #2, which would bring it back into my family.  It was after all, not a mere caserole dish or a book or some other purchased gift.  It was made with love. Anyway after stewing on it for a day or so, the Divorced party #2 and I have been thinking up ways to let DP1 know that we know they dumped it.

Wouldn't it be so funny if I called them and said

"Someone called me because they bought a piece of my art at an auction for $10,000 and wanted to know more about me and my techniques, and it turned out to be your piece"

or

"We could hang it back up in the DP1's house exactly where they had taken it down.  They would think they were haunted"

You never know when something will come back and bite you in the ass.

Montreal- Peak at the Old Port

Bonjour from Montreal in La Belle Province Quebec.  Quebec is Canada's French speaking province.  When you leave Ontario the signage turns immediately to French and French only, and the road rules change too, so you have to be aware.  We spent the afternoon in the Old Port, the oldest part of the city.  And the most beautiful.  The architecture is fabulous, quaint shops, the most amazing restaurants in the city and old world charm.

Gorgeous stone buildings.

Fleur De Lys

Street Artist

You can take a carriage ride around the city.

In every city

Always street performers.

Cobbled streets.

Here they are filming a movie.

Finally a moose they let me photograph.

Fur Trade 

Bear skin?