Lost Maples State Park

This past weekend we took a drive to Lost Maples State Park to see some fall leaves since we don't really get to experience fall here in San Antonio. It was about an hour and a half drive, but was so pretty! The weather has been so nice! It's cool, but not cold enough to need gloves or even a jacket really. We had wanted to camp there, but the only tent camping they had you needed to backpack in, 1-3 miles, and our camping gear is not really backpack friendly. Hopefully someday soon we will have gear we need for that! We still had a fun time exploring the area and taking lots of pretty pictures. They said that this fall, the leaves weren't very vibrant, and it seemed that lots of them had blown off, but I will still pleased with the colors that were there.

And a happy birthday to this handsome Bear of mine! I'm so grateful for all of our adventures together. I'm so grateful for him and all he does for us! I'm so blessed and I can't wait to see what many adventures the future holds! 

Pillows of Heaven {Easy, Fluffy Rolls}

With Thanksgiving just this week, I figured I would share my favorite roll recipe. I am not good at making rolls or really breads of any kind. Even if I follow the recipe as close as I can, I usually seem to botch it up. But luckily, this is one recipe that I can successfully make time and time again! These rolls are really just little pillows of heaven. So tasty and so easy. And require no kneading! They do take some time to rise, so plan ahead!

What you need:

1 cup water
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup cold water
4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs, beaten
7 1/2 cups flour

In a 6 quart pan bring the 1 cup water to a boil.
Add butter, sugar and salt. Remove from heat.
Add the 1 cup cold water.
Dissolve yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water (not hot).
When first mixture is luke-warm add yeast mixture and beaten eggs. Stir briefly.
Add flour and stir together.
Cover with lid and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, divide dough into fourths.
Roll out each section of dough into a circle on a floured surface. 
Cut into wedges (like how you would cut a pizza) and roll up, beginning with the wide end, to form a crescent shape. Place each on a greased baking sheet, about 12 per sheet. 
Let rise for at least 4 hours, or freeze to rise and bake at another time.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until just slightly golden brown.
Makes 3-4 dozen rolls.

Uncooked rolls, waiting to be baked! 

The uncooked crescents can be frozen. Store in freezer bags until ready to use. To use, return them to greased cookie sheets and rise at least 6 hours. Bake as normal.

Rolls in the freezer, wait till solid before transferring to zip lock bags.

Before baking them I brush butter on each one. My aunt brushes them before, and after baking, but that's up to you! And I have found it's best to use salted butter, the only time of year I buy the stuff! 

And my sole baking sheet was being used for something else, 

so I used my cast iron pan, and they baked up beautifully! Best pan ever!  

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Sweet Potato Burritos

I've had sweet potato tacos on my meal plans for probably a near month now but kept putting off making them because I was scared I wouldn't like them. I had a few different recipes I considered making, but I was worried they wouldn't be flavorful enough. 

But I finally decided to make them, and they were pretty good, they weren't super flavorful, and being tacos, they were rather difficult to eat. But the next day I rolled up burritos with the leftovers, which were much easier to eat, and found that they were much more flavorful. I guess the flavors had more time to marinate? But honestly, I ate them for lunch and dinner every day for like 3 days. I was obsessed and am still craving them! These were really quite easy, and I certainly will be including them in my usual meal plan. 

So after some tweaking here is what I would recommend you mix it up either the night or at least the morning before so the flavors have time to marinate, reheat and serve. 

Here's what you will need;

1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne 
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 medium onion, chopped 
2 bell peppers, chopped
3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
4 tablespoons olive oil
Tortillas

And extra fillings, all optional;

Pico De Gallo
Diced Avocado
Hot Sauce
Cheese* 
Sour Cream*

Directions;

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Toss diced potatoes in 2 tablespoons olive oil and all the seasonings, coating evenly, and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. 
While potatoes are baking, heat a large skillet with remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic, and caramelize, about 5 minutes.  
Once the potatoes are done, add them to the pan with the veggies, as well as adding the corn and black beans, tossing it all together.

To serve, as I said above, lots of recipes I saw served these as tacos, but I found it far easier to eat as a burrito. So I took a large tortilla, spread some sour cream on, sprinkled shredded cheese, add about 3 spoonfuls of potato mixture, as well as pico, avocado, and hot sauce, and wrap tightly. {Optional} I then popped it in my mini George Forman grill to get those beautiful grill marks and heat it up. (PS; BEST PURCHASE EVER, more on that in another post!)

*This meal can easily be made vegan! Just leave out these items! 

Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Classy