Hocus Pocus, or "Resurrection" Rolls

I had been seeing this pin float around Pinterest, but I resisted pinning it for quite a while. Lord knows why, because I love bread. Anyway, once I did pin it, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I had a certain idea of how these rolls would taste, and I just had to cook them.

Recipe

I've seen these rolls called two things: "hocus pocus" rolls because a marshmallow supposedly disappears inside of them, or "Resurrection" rolls because you can tell the story of Jesus's resurrection as you prepare the rolls with your children. The story is detailed in the blog I linked to the above picture, but off the top of my head I remember the dough representing the Jesus's tomb, and Jesus is represented by the marshmallow. When you break the bread open after it's cooked, you'll notice there is no marshmallow anymore. Just like Jesus wasn't in the tomb after three days. Love the idea of the story, but there was no way I was waiting until Easter to make these rolls. My baby is only eight months old, so she sat in her high chair while I explained the story of Jesus to her...because I felt bad about making something related to a Bible story and not including it!

Well, mine didn't turn out quite like the above. And I COULD see the marshmallow after I baked it, because it leaked out everywhere, even though I was careful to pinch the dough together. Also, I learned that I don't really like cinnamon. My fingers were coated with the melted butter/cinnamon mixture while I was preparing the rolls, and it smelled like I had dug around in a piggy bank. My husband wouldn't try a roll, and I was disappointed with mine. Not like I had imagined at all.

My Version

Are you disappointed because you had the ingredients and wanted to try it? Here are the croissants I blogged about a while back:

Here's a better recipe with similar ingredients!

Verdict: Pintastrophe
-Betsy

"The World's Best Chicken"

I don't have any pictures of this chicken from what I made, but it looked just about spot-on to what the picture from the pin looked like. (Don't get all excited, though, it doesn't look particularly pretty!)

"The World's Best Chicken"

This recipe was very easy to follow, although the ingredients seemed a little odd to me. Maple syrup and dijon? On chicken? Really? Anyway, go HERE for the original pinner's blog to find the recipe.

The Verdict: Pintastic, although I would not go as far as to call it "The World's Best Chicken". It graces the pages of my recipe book under the title "Dijon Syrup Chicken". 

Crockpot Mac and Cheese

If you don't mind a curdled mess, this tastes great... I tried it twice...

http://crockpot365.blogspot.ca/2008/06/crockpot-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe.html

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Paula Deen, oh you tempt me with your buttery goodness filled recipes.  I have always wanted to try my hand at poundcake, since I love the Sarah Lee version so.  I figured today was as good a day as any.  So here is the Pin as well as the link to the Food Network recipe:

Pin

sour-cream-pound-cake-recipe

I followed the directions exactly as they are written & here's what happened:

I used a standard Pyrex clear loaf baking dish (as you can see in the background) & the batter overflowed from the pan.  I would suggest perhaps splitting the recipe & making mini loaves instead.  The part that overflowed (which of course I had to taste) tasted pretty good, so I wouldn't call this recipe a Pintastrophy, but MY finished product certainly looks like one.  I haven't cut into this bad boy yet, but as soon as I do I will reply with how it tastes.

UPDATE:  so it tastes pretty good, so it's only a Pintastrophy in the looks department.

Mirrors and Tiles

You see this? See how easy this is supposed to be?

WRONG.

You see the painter's tape holding up the topmost row of tiles? See how nicely it sticks?

Screw that.

Let's say you moved into an old house with one of those construction-grade giant mirrors stuck to the wall above the fireplace.

You've just repainted the living room, and this raw mirror edge looks terrible. Pinterest some ideas, and bam. There it is. "I can do this, looks easy!"

Now let's add you're really short, and very pregnant. And all you have is a wobbly step-stool. And a very short fuse.

If you attempt this project, make sure you get the adhesive mentioned in the blog. Tile grout is not an acceptable substitute, unless you like pain.

Start off with the bottom row of tiles so you can have a more accurate top row, and you're not stuck with an inch-and-a-half gap, debating whether or not to forcefully shove another tile in there or leave the gap like an anger-inducing elephant in the room.

The top row.

This is what happens when there's so much frustration, there's nothing left to do but take a photo.

Test painter's tape on something light stuck to your ceiling to MAKE SURE THE TAPE STICKS. Otherwise, you'll have tiles with bad adhesive sliding down the mirror every time you look away because that tape refuses to do its job.

Then you get mad.

At this point, you will do anything just to MAKE THEM STOP SLIDING. Once the bad adhesive finally gets tacky enough to set, you can move the pen/pencil/Sharpie apparatus over to the next section.

Nine hours later, you're finally done. And in the worst mood you've ever been in.

AND YOU CAN'T EVEN HAVE A DRINK.