Cinnamon Sugar Bread

Look! I managed to clear off enough of my counter to start back to cooking and baking! :D

Not my recipe, but I see myself adapting this soon to be a little less heavy on the sugar and to spice it up. But trust me this stuff is AMAZING as written. It's super easy to prep, so it's a great treat (just ignore the mound of sugar you pour in).
Recipe from  A Whisk and A Prayer.

1 1/3 cup white sugar, separated
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9" loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup of the sugar. Add to it the egg, milk, and oil. Mix with a whisk until combined. It's okay to have some lumps.
In a small bowl mix the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon.
Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle most of the cinnamon-sugar mix on the batter. Top with the rest of the batter. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mix on top (a tablespoon or so will do).
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to finish cooling.

Original recipe calls to wrap in foil after it's cool and eat it the next day. 

HA HA HA HA HA! 

We didn't even wait for it to cool before cutting and eating.

Obviously since I didn't remember to take a picture till half the loaf was gone. 

Half a Menu

Better than none, right?

We finally are in a house and have furniture! I can almost see my kitchen counter tops. I was hoping to have them visible, but toddlers are fun like that.

Monday we went high class with frozen processed lasagna, canned green beans, and pre-baked rolls. Won't call it my best culinary moment, but it sure beat eating out (and besides we still didn't have any of our household goods at that point).

Tuesday - out to eat

Wednesday - Spinach burgers and tater tots

Thursday - Teriyaki chicken with broccoli and rice

Friday - southern apple tuna salad; whole wheat mac and cheese with zucchini, tomatoes, and carrots

And if I find my counter tops I want to try making some cinnamon bread.


As usual if I haven't linked to the recipe, I'm either trying something new or still working it out. I'll come back and link later if I find successes. :)

Food Fails

Have any food fails recently? Love to hear about them (really!). :)

Cooking and baking are a continuous experiment as far as I'm concerned. I've learned that every time I move that I have to adjust for that particular oven and again for that particular environment (dry or humid environments make a huge impact)!

Menu Pause

It's that time again...that's right, moving time! Aka, every military family's favorite part of the lifestyle. Ha ha. Right now we're packing our stuff up and eating interesting meals in attempt to finish off most of our freezer and pantry. Menus will resume as soon as we have a place to live at our new station (anywhere from 3-6 weeks), but in the meantime I will post as I have new recipes and as I have new ideas to add to the Toddler Lunch post.

And if you haven't yet, check out my ramblings and see why you don't get more photos on here. :p

Pasta Alfredo with Shrimp, Peppers, and Broccoli

1 pound dried pasta
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup fat free half and half (or heavy cream)
1 cup grated parmesan and/or Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces uncooked shrimp (I went for medium shrimp with tails off for ease)
1 teaspoon original old bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 head of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
Fresh parsley, for garnish


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Add in the broccoli to the cooking pasta for the last three minutes. Cook until the pasta is al dente and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan place shrimp and pepper slices. Sprinkle with the old bay, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasonings. Cook on medium for several minutes, until shrimp are cooked throughly (usually 3-5 minutes). If needed, add 1 teaspoon of butter to the pan. Once the shrimp are cooked and the peppers are hot but still crisp, remove from pan.
Add to the pan the 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Bring temperature up to medium-high. Melt butter. Use a whisk to deglaze the pan from the shrimp and peppers if needed (yummy seasoning there!). Then add the 1 cup of half and half. Bring to a boil. Stir in the 1 cup of shredded cheese. Add the cooked pasta and broccoli and the 1/2 cup of reserved cooking water. Continue stirring. Add the shrimp and pepper. Stir more until cheese is melted and the dish is uniformly hot. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the parsley. Serve immediately.

Don't mind the Christmas plate. It's all we've got for a few more weeks thanks to the military.