Mmmmm Cinnamon Rolls…. Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. You have to excuse my drooling, but I just love Cinnamon Rolls. I’m not talking about the cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon, where the buns are caked with a massive amount of frosting and loaded with an absurd amount of calories.  The cinnamon rolls I happen to like are pretty simple and satisfying for every sweet tooth out there! Cinnamon biscuit rolls is a rocket science-free recipe.  It does not require any rising or waiting overnight. You can just whip them up, toss them in the oven, and viola! An instant sweet treat for any day. All I can say is that these decadent rolls will be gone within days. Just ask Hurley!

Cinnamon Biscuit Rolls

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup sugar

Filling

• 1/2 cup butter, melted or softened
• 1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Glaze

• 1 cup powder sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
• 5 teaspoons milk
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Making the dough:

In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients

Cut in 4 tablespoons of the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs

Stir in milk just until moistened

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 8 to 10 times. You will need to add some more flour in order to get the right dough consistency where it’s not too sticky or too dry. Roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick

Whipping up the Filling :

In a bowl combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until a paste develops

Making the Glaze:

Combine powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla extract

Give it a nice whisk until the glaze becomes smooth and glossy

Prepping the Cinnamon Rolls:

Spread the brown sugar cinnamon paste all over the dough

Roll up the dough into a log roll style

Cut into 12 equal slices and place into a greased baking dish

Bake at 450 degrees  for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown

Cool for about five minutes before adding the glaze. Pour the glaze over warm biscuits and serve immediately!

I love Chinese take out and one of the things I like to order sometimes is pepper steak. Pepper steak usually consists of peppers, onions, and well, you get the idea: steak. Spiced Pepper Steak is pepper steak taken to a whole level with a blend of spices and sauces such as ginger, red pepper flakes, tomato, and soy sauce. All of these ingredients work their magic in the crock pot resulting in flavorful and moist soft slices of meat. I find spiced pepper steak is best served with rice. I made some garlicky brown rice in my trusty rice cooker. This meal is quite simple and right to the point. It satisfies one’s tastes buds while filling those hungry bellies!

Spiced Pepper Steak

• 1 pounds beef round sirloin steak, cut into 1/4  inch strips
• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 1 cube beef bouillon
• 1  cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 large green bell peppers, sliced
• 1 medium spanish onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 teaspoons ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Cut the sirloin steak into 1/4 inch strips and set aside

Combine soy sauce, garlic, pepper, and ginger in a bowl

Then add the crushed tomato sauce and whisk away

Set the sauce aside. This will be poured over the meat once they are placed in the crock pot.

Mix beef bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved, set aside

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the corn oil and season the beef strips with some pepper and brown on both sides for 2-3 minutes

immediately transfer the steak strips to the crock pot

Pour the tomato- ginger soy sauce mixture over the meat and then add the onions, green peppers, and a couple of more dashes of soy sauce

Lastly, pour the bouillon mixture and pour over the onions and peppers

Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours. During this time go run some errands, watch a movie, drink some hot cocoa, and relax!

Serve with some garlic-y brown rice! Yum

Pizza, an Italian classic, an American favorite take out food. We have done a handful of recipes dedicated to pizza here at Simply Scrumptious. The most memorable one is Sausage and Veggies White Pizza which was a popular favorite here, but this homemade gourmet pizza takes the cake. Caramelized Onion, Salami, Mozzarella & Gorgonzola Pizza is inspired by gourmet specialty pizza shops, and is a simple pie with many different flavors happening on one plate. Usually most people go for sausage or pepperoni as their topping choice. We instead used, the often overlooked, salami. It makes a great choice for this pizza because of it’s perfect marriage of taste with the caramelized onions and Gorgonzola cheese.  Next time you’re in the mood for some gourmet pizza, make this no hassle, yet oh so yummy, dish!

Caramelized Onion, Salami, Mozzarella & Gorgonzola Pizza

• 1 rustic ciabatta flatbread (I bought it from Trader Joe’s)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 slices salami, sliced
• fresh mozzarella, 6 chopped slices
• 2 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

In a large skillet over medium heat add a tablespoon of olive oil and saute onions until they are soft and caramelized, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Place the Ciabatta flatbread on a baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil

Spread out the mozzarella cheese

Then add the strips of salami

Followed by the caramelized onions

Then crumble about a palmful of Gorgonzola cheese  all over the pizza and lightly season with parsley

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cheese has melted

Enjoy yourself some homemade gourmet pizza!

I’m going to let you in on a well known fact about me. I was supposed to post this last night, but I was distracted by my obsession in a show with former CTU Agent named Jack Bauer. You see Jack Bauer is simply the man who kicks major arse.

For those of you who do not know who Jack Bauer is… shame shame on you! If you’re a huge “24″ fan like myself,  you know that you need to make a fast and easy dinner in order to mentally prepare for what is going to happen on the next episode.   Here’s a no fuss recipe that is done in a instant, just in time before the time ticker on “24″ goes off.  Campanelle with Onion, Turkey, and Goat Cheese is ridiculously easy to make and has a light creamy subtle flavor from the herb goat cheese which makes it a light dinner fare.

The following takes place between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm…

Pasta with Onion, Bacon, and Goat Cheese

• 1 pound campanelle
• 4 slices honey turkey, chopped
• 4 medium red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon basil, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• ground pepper for taste
• 4 ounces or 1/2 cup soft chèvre herb coated goat cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook turkey until browned, 5 to 10 minutes

Add onions, garlic, and basil to turkey in skillet

Season with basil and pepper. Cook the onions until they begin to soften and caramelize about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to the package and drain

Add onion mixture to the pasta

Then crumble goat cheese and toss to combine.  Season once more with basil, parsley, and pepper.

Serve immediately and Enjoy!

I don’t know about you, but I sure do love biscotti They make an excellent dipping sweet treat for a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate or coffee. If you caught my latest photo over at facebook, you can tell I’ve been busy in the kitchen baking up these awesome Chocolate Chip Biscotti! Biscotti can be found in just about any gourmet coffee shop.  I recently had an amazing biscotti at the La Lanterna Caffe in Greenwich Village and since then, I’ve been having biscotti on my mind. These twice baked crisp Italian treats are fairly easy to make. The best part is that since these cookies are dried out, they can be stored for a long time in a air-tight container. Grab a cup of java joe or hot cocoa and have a biscotti

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold margarine or butter
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup semisweet-chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt

add the butter into the flour

Use a hand mixer on low speed to cut in butter until the mixture resembles a fine crumb texture

Spoon 1 tablespoon of beaten eggs into a cup and set aside

Add vanilla and remaining beaten eggs to flour mixture

lastly add the chocolate chips.  Go ahead and have a few chips, I had one or five chips, but shhhh

Beat until evenly moistened. Here’s where it got really messy and I could not snap any photos.  Sorry!  Use your hands to knead the mixture a few times in a bowl until a doughy ball forms

On a floured surface, with floured hands,rRoll the dough into a large log about 15 inches long

Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper and place log in the middle. Press down into the dough to form a rectangular oval like shape

With pastry brush, brush the tops and sides of the log with the reserved egg. It should look glossy and semi-shiny

Bake for 25 minutes. There may be some small cracks in the baked dough, but do not worry about it. They hold up really well once you slice them. Cool the log for about 10 minutes.

Using a sharp knife, cut the warm log into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices

Place slices upright, 1/4 inch apart  on the cookie sheet

Bake slices for 8-10 minutes to allow the biscotti to dry out. Keep an eye on them to make sure that they do not burn. I would say 8 minutes tops, but every oven is different. Cool completely,the biscotti will harden as they cool down.

Go have some of these chocolatey biscotti with a nice glass of milk!