Yummy recipe

Before making this recipe make sure you have friends nearby who are not on a diet LOL. This makes a lot of cinnamon rolls (about 65-70) so get ready to share.... or get instant diabetes :)

Vicky's Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
4 C (1L) milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast (or 2 tablespoons)
9 cups all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 "scant" (less than a full) teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping tablespoon salt

Filling:
1 ½ - 2 cups melted butter
2 cups sugar (white or brown)
1 cup cinnamon
Non-stick spray

Frosting:
2-3 packages cream cheese
2 cups margarine
1 kg bag powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in 2 packages Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute so the yeast gets all warm and moist and happy. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for at least an hour.

Note: if making frosting, pull margarine & cream cheese out of the fridge after the dough has risen but before moving on.

Add the final cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it—overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to splurge out of the pan, just punch it down. Or, of course, you can just go ahead and make the rolls.

Sprinkle counter surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Rectangle should increase in both width and length as you roll it out.

Drizzle ½ melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite (long) end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Some of the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture may ooze out toward the end, but that’s no big deal. Pinch the seam to the roll to seal it.

Spray non-stick spray in seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. This recipe makes approximately seven pans of rolls (9 rolls per pan).

Let the rolls sit for 20 to 30 minutes to rise, then bake at 400 degrees F until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

While the rolls are in the oven, make the “cinnabon-y” frosting. Put the, now room temp, margarine and cream cheese in a bowl. Beat together with a mixer. Slowly add in all powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar is in the bowl, mix for AT LEAST an additional 12 minutes. When almost done, add in the vanilla extract and lemon juice.

Generously spread frosting over warm rolls after you pull them out of the oven (frosting will melt so if you prefer, cool before frosting).

Enjoy :)

7 Random things (tagged by Sarah)

Seven random things about me:

1. I am the largest fitness instructor I've ever met. I weigh alot but am in excellent health and can teach and participate in a kick-ass class. I get nothing but compliments and am often told how much better I am than the "other" instructor. :) I just have to accept that god gave me a shot-putter's body rather than a ballerina's body. I'm cool with that (not really but I'm working on it LOL)

2. When I'm in the office, I hate taking the time to go to the bathroom. I'll wait until I'm absolutely desperate - nearly exploding - before I'll go to the bathroom. I'm not entirely sure why.

3. I love cross-stitching but hate having cross stitch art in my house. If I make a really big & difficult one that I'm particularly proud of (like the Rapunzel I made and was hanging in Valerie's house) and it's framed and protected under glass then I can maybe see hanging it up in my house.... but only one or two of them max. I hate the little cutesy ones in the hoop frames... they are great to do but I hate seeing them on the wall.

4. I can only wear a certain running shoe when I work out... New Balance 1008's. They are kept under lock & key and cherished to extend their life as long as possible.

5. I haven't been to the dentist in about 3 years.

6. I am proud of my career but hate my current job. I'm working on fixing that.

7. I dislike using pens that have a cap. My favorite are the clicky tops but I don't mind the twisty bottoms. The key is to have the pen be all one unit. The lids are just an extra hassle I don't need in my life. They are necessary for markers and highlighters... I get that and can deal with it. But for pens we have options that negate the need for caps... let's take advantage of the options.

Tag seven people:
1. Kelly
2. Louisa
3. Scott
4. Ben
5. Random person that may read my blog
6. Sarah to do it again but with new random facts
7. My new imaginary friend Bernard (don't call him Barney - he hates that!)

Louisa tagged me! 8 Things.....

I'm supposed to list 8 things in each of the following categories, but I'm lazy so I'm only doing 2 of each. Actually I was going to do 1 of each but I'm too lazy to change all the plurals below to singular, lol.

I'm so lazy I'm not even going to change that paragraph that came directly from Louisa's blog!

2 Things I am passionate about... my step classes and project management

2 "words" or "phrases" I say way too often... "seriously" (that seems to be a popular one) and "my bad"

2 Things I want to do before I die... work at IBM as a PM and pay off my house

2 Things I have learned from my past... just because someone (especially a loved one or someone you trust) tells you something is true doesn't mean it is and always wear new running/fitness shoes around the store for at least 10 minutes before buying them.

2 Things I currently need or want... a better job and a massage

2 More people I tag... my imaginary friends Vanessa and Luke

Sarah's Contest - free stuff!

Sarah is having a contest and giving away free stuff to a randomly selected entry. Go to her blog at http://callhermum.blogspot.com/2008/10/100-posts-contest.html and in your entry say that you found her from Vicky's blog and I'll get an entry too :) It's a win-win!

Good luck! :)