Recycled Recipes and Ebola. Tasty? You Betcha!

This past week's project was a bit hard to decide upon. Again. Hmmm. Gotta UP the creative thinking. After re-reading my last post I realized that that phrase sounds hauntingly familiar. I had an EXTRA tough week at work, covering for my boss who was away on vacation. We always plan and prepare for the worst, but SOMETHING always happens that we didn't think of. Someone in another state decides to get Ebola and be out indefinitely or an Executive decides that the week everyone is on vacation is the BEST time to do a surprise visit. Greaaaaaaaat. I can't even tell you how many times I felt like burying my head back under my bedsheets at 6am and calling it quits. God Bless my Boss for being on vacation. She really needed some time off. It was just one of those weeks--I know we all have them. Because of my foggy head, I had a hard time coming up with something I had the energy to create....Everything I have stored in my brain to make, came slowly dripping out in a mush pile. One day it was an idea to make an artisian-style bread, with sun-dried tomatoes and kalmata olives. Another fleeting thought was "Ooooh! Profiteroles! With ice-cream!" NOT exactly easy to tote to a store for my co-workers to sample. I had a dream early on in the week that I was supposed to make an apple pie but I kept burning it in the toaster oven. A. I will EVENTUALLY make a pie..(or even minis...those are cuter and more fun...hehe) and B. Why the Heck would I be using my TOASTER oven to bake a pie?? I have a nice giant gas oven! Clearly my brain wasn't functioning.
A few months ago I had gotten a request from someone I work with, to make cinnamon rolls. Up until this point I had never attempted a yeast based dough or even considered that. So...that first time...I cheated. Yep. Out and out used a celebrity chef recipe for Cinnamon rolls that used....*gasp*...frozen dough. I was slightly ashamed. My co-workers seemed to love them, but somehow I knew I could do better.
This past week I decided to try them out, from scratch. I prepped a yummy cream cheese frosting the night before. Super Easy. Super Tasty. I also prepped my dough that night. I was pleased that it rose the way it was supposed to. Smelled SO good. I stuck it in the fridge overnight and pulled it out at around 4 am so it would be nice and room temp for the rolls. Cinnamon, sugar, and butter...then let the rolls proof for another hour before I baked them off. I was a bit sad that both of my roommates were away/already at work that day. The smell that they would have woken up to was incredible. (Sorry Ladies!)

I need to really better my camera skills but these are RIGHT out of the oven.

Love the caramel that melts on the bottom of the rolls.

Perfection.

Right before I left for work I slathered on the cream cheese frosting. Nummers.

Even though I was tired, these little babies turned out pretty well. SO much tastier and moister (is that a word?) than the ones with the frozen dough. (Duh)

This week WILL be markedly different. I've already decided what to make, using inspiration from another blogger that I have found in my travels.

Time to power through another long week. Lets hope no one gets decapitated or stranded on a desert island, so I don't have to finagle the schedule for staff coverage. :)