Mom's Awesome Caramel Rolls

This is my Mom's caramel roll recipe, they are definitely a family favorite!  And they are the easiest caramel rolls I have ever made!

This recipe makes 2 - 9 x 13 baking dishes of caramel rolls, so they are great for making when you're going to have company!  Or just so you have leftovers to warm up for breakfast, snacks or dessert throughout the week.  

You assemble everything the night before, let them sit at room temperature overnight and bake them in the morning!

Enjoy, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

-2 1 lb. loaves of frozen bread dough, partially thawed  

{or you could make  your own dough and freeze it before cutting; I have tried white and wheat, they are both great}

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 tsp cinnamon

Ingredients for Caramel:

-1/2 cup butter

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/2 cup vanilla ice cream  

{I've even substituted vanilla strawberry swirl ice cream}

Process:

1. Cut each partially thawed dough in half lengthwise and then in half again lengthwise.

2. Then slice each piece into 8-9 pieces; yielding 32-36 pieces per loaf.

3. In a medium-small bowl combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.  Mix well.

4. Toss a few dough pieces at a time in cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated on all sides.

5. Place cinnamon-sugar coated dough pieces into a well greased 9 x 13 baking dish {1 dough loaf per pan}.  Repeat until all dough is coated and in baking dish.

6. If you have leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture sprinkle it over the dough pieces.  Set aside.

7. Now its time to make the caramel sauce; in a small saucepan heat together butter, sugar and brown sugar, until melted and well combined.

8. Now add the ice cream and stir to melt and combine.

Here I substituted vanilla strawberry swirl ice cream,
it didn't noticeably change the flavor of the caramel.

9. Pour the hot caramel mixture over the prepared cinnamon-sugar coated dough pieces dividing evenly between both baking dishes.

10. Cover pans with a clean kitchen towel and allow to sit at room temperature overnight.

This is what the rolls look like in the morning, all risen and ready to bake...

11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake rolls for 20-30 minutes.

12. Immediately place a dish larger than the baking dish over the top of the caramel roll pan.  Hold the dishes together tightly and quickly flip over, allowing caramel and rolls to be inverted out of the baking dish onto the other larger dish.  {BE CAREFUL!  The caramel and rolls will be very hot!}

13. Allow rolls to cool slightly.  Enjoy with or without a little spread of butter!

{The leftovers are always tasty, just warm slightly or enjoy right out of the fridge.}

Swingset Trellis

For a long time I have wanted to grow gourds; specifically gourds that I could use for something after the drying process.  So, last year I bought and started a packet of Bird House Gourds.

I didn't have a great yeild in the plants that survived the weather and the chickens periodically finding them on the porch.  But I did end up with enough plants to do something with.

And the next thing I had to decide was how and where was I going to grow them where they could climb and thrive all summer.

This year I bought a packet of Bushel Gourds from Everwilde Farms.  I'm sure you could use any climbing plant on a trellis like this... think green pole beans, other beans, peas, cucumbers, some squashes, climbing flowers, etc.

I love that this could be used anywher; you could do it in a small yard, or even with a smaller A frame over a pot on a porch!  Enjoy!  Use the space you have to grow your own food or other useful items!

Materials Needed:
-1 to 2 inch screws {I just used some sheetrock screws}
-aluminum wire {I don't know the gauge of the stuff I used but I would compare it to the size of angel hair pasta.}
-drill with a bit that fits the screws you're using
-gourd or other climbing plants
-wooden swingset or other wood open A frame

Process:
1. Drill screws into the ouside of the swingset frame, about 1 1/2 inch from the inside of the frame.  But DO NOT drill them all the way in; leave just enough space between the screw head and the wood to wrap the wire.

I spaced the screws approximately 6 inches apart;
although I ended up only using everyother one,
so I could have screwed them in about every 12 inches.

2. Twist the starting end of the wire to one of the bottom screws; twist well.

3. Zig-zag the wire back and forth from screw to screw, pulling a tight as you can at each screw, until you reach the top.  
*You want them to be taut, so they'll hold up the climbers. 

4. Once you reach the top wrap and twist the wire to secure it.  
{I was planning to zig-zag back down to the bottom, but I ran out of wire and the single zig-zag worked perfectly.} 

This is what my finished swingset trellis looked like...

5. Now take some time to plant the climbing plants.  Place them evenly.  I ended up with 5 plants total.

Now if you have chickens or other animals that love fresh dirt you may want to protect the plants in some way.  

My chickens liked to dig their dirt baths right next to the plants; I placed some larger rocks on either side of the stems of the plants and that solved it.

Now, sit back and relax and watch your plants grow.  

TIP: You may have to occasionally train them to the wire in the begining.  Once they are going well, they'll do it on their own.

As the summer goes on the plants grow and grow!

And eventually the beautiful flowers begin to turn into georgous gourds...

At the end of the summer some of the lower leaves may begin to brown and fall off, because they are shaded more; but thats fine since the plants are now getting all of their sunlight from the outside and top.

The kids loved swinging on the swing set and watching the gourds grow!

Don't worry about the kids swinging and playing on the swingset; the plants vines should be strong enough to withstand the movement from the wind and weather.

Our gourd trellis ended up being a great place for shade.  Almost like a fort!  

Enjoy and let me know if you try this and what you think!