2011 was probably the biggest and most eventful year of my life thus far. I got engaged, finished college, got my nursing license, found a full-time job and I got married– just to name a few highlights ;)
I usually set a bunch of goals slash resolutions for my year, but I’ve decided to just make monthly goals instead of yearly resolutions. I think i’m more likely to remember what exactly I resolved to do that way! So to begin, here is an update on the goals I set for December.
1. Finish a book
I have a really bad habit of starting books and not finishing them. I get so excited about reading books that I esctatically flip through the first few chapters and then I get excited about another book and start the new one without finishing the other. In the process of breaking this rather bad habit of mine.. and I succeeded with this book! This book is pure awesomeness. I love Rick Holland and how his teaching, preaching and writing makes me love Jesus more. I would highly, highly recommend this book :)
2. Make Cinnamon Rolls
{Disclaimer: I cheated on this one..}
My original goal was to make it out of scratch, but the dough-making portion was so tedious and time-consuming, I opted for the easy way out. (Don’t judge me!) but I’m glad I did because I found a really quick and easy way to make “mini” Cinnamon Rolls in just 10 minutes! (YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!) Here’s the recipe that’s not really a recipe. (Does that make sense?) Here we go..
Grab your ingredients:
I told you I cheated..
Roll out your crescent rolls on a lightly flour-ed surface. Pinch the seams together and roll it out with a rolling pin.. but not too much! (Don’t make the same mistake I did..)
Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a bowl and brush it on one side of the rolled out dough. You can be generous if you use low-fat butter like I did (hehe..)
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon! This isn’t really a “recipe” because you can use as much or as little sugar/cinnamon as you want! I would suggest putting more brown sugar than cinnamon though.. and mix it before spreading it (unlike I did..)
Roll it up as tightly as you can. Cut off the ends and hide them from your husband so they don’t try to sneak up and eat it (like mine does..) Then cut into equal pieces (usually about 6-8 depending on how big/small you want them to be.
Grease a mini-muffin pan (if you have one! a regular cupcake pan is okay too) and place each piece in its home. Brush butter on top– this is VERY important!
Pop it in a preheated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until you see the top of the roll starting to golden. Let it cook for a bit before taking it out. Meanwhile, make your frosting!
Add a little splash of milk (like..1-2 tbs) and spoonfulls of powdered sugar (about 3/4 cup). Keep mixing until you get it into a thick gooey frosting consistency.
Spoon over. and take little bites and enjoy! Mine look funky because me & Eugene got too excited rolling the dough. Refrain from over-rolling! It’s an easy, cost-effective and quick comfort dessert when you’re on the run. We (Eugene & I) decided to start some traditions and this was our first: to eat Cinammon Rolls on Christmas morning!
We ate our cRolls while opening our Christmas present, which was also very exciting. Sadly, I wasn’t aware that we had absolutely no butter this morning, so I couldn’t brush my cRoll babies with butter before putting it in the over and this is the damage that was done. Sad, butterless baby cRolls… never again. Don’t forget to brush them.. it’s VERY IMPORTANT! Anyway– this means I fulfilled goal #10 & #17 from my 22 before 23 list. YAY!
For my last two goals, I cheated again (kind of, not really..)
3. Find an opportunity to meet and serve our neighbors
4. Make something pepperminty!
I decided to just make a pepperminty dessert for my neighbors! :) Packaged and all– nothing like bringing some more Christmas cheer even after Christmas is over! My fave.
I attempted to make peppermint white chocolate chip cookies at first, but I underestimated and I ended up only making enough to give 2 cookies per house. Sad.. because they looked really cute!
Sad…but I decided to make peppermint white chocolate dipped pretzel rods instead. (Can you tell that I really love peppermint and white chocolate? My favorite holiday drink @ Starbucks is peppermint white mocha, and I think this combo reminds me of the drink so I love it more..) Here’s the “How To”.. It’s actually REALLY easy.
Get your Pretzel sticks/rods.. I found these cute treat sacks @ Target so I had to break the pretzels in half so they’d fit in the baggie.
Get your White Chocolate to melt and your peppermint sticks.
Put your unwrapped peppermint sticks in a ziplock bag (preferably a Freezer kind since those are thicker). Crush away!
Take one block of white chocolate at a time… melt for 1 minute in the microwave. Add shortening if you must. You don’t need it though!
Use a spoon to coat 3/4 of the pretzel stick and another spoon to pour the peppermint pieces over it.
Lay on a baking sheet, preferably parchment paper– or foil if you don’t have any like me! and put it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes until the chocolate completely hardens.
I realized I didn’t have anything to seat the baggies with so I just cut up some thank you cards I never used and stapled it closed.
Then added a little more love and holiday cheer!
That’s all folks!
I’ll update sometime this week or early next week with my January goals. I’m working 5 out of 6 days of the week starting tomorrow.. so I’ll be gone til then. Have a victorious week everyone!
Give thanks – days off to spend with Eugene, time with the Lee girls (my sisters + mom), sweet Starbucks sessions before a night of work, Jesus – through whom I’ve received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3)
Eugene and Sharon 