Teeny Tiny Baby Cinnamon Rolls in Mason Jars To Go

I'm leaving on a jet plane and when I get back I will be in the thick of packing my children's lunches for school. Here we go again, and so soon. If you have been my friend for a while, you know that I go into Fall kicking and screaming, I think it is the routine that sends me into a spin. Monday through Friday, the same shtick over and over again. Routine is good for my personality style (flight-of-ideas, very random/abstract), but I don't enjoy it. So I need a new game to keep me going, a new plan, a new toy. Ma and Himself are rolling their eyes in that here-she-goes-again gaze. I know they are!


Mason Jars. They're my new gig for packing Himself's and my kids' lunches. Over 3700 lunches in the last 8 years packed for my kids alone, I think I can finally call myself an expert in this realm of motherhood. I have tried just about every container, hot and cold gizmo, and varieties of food, that I should have some sort of medal. The next 2 pics are with my iphone because I let my camera battery run out. See, totally unfocused am I.


Himself has even enjoyed Breakfast Mason Jar Meals. Homemade Sausage Gravy at the bottom, topped with pan fried taters, and scrambled eggs. A cute little jarred Cinnamon Roll, and a jar of mixed fruit.


Breakfast for lunch fit for the Laird of our wee clan!

And how will my kiddies get these Mason Jar Meals (MJMs) to school?


Yup. A double wine bottle carrier. Their Klean Kanteen on one side and MJMs on the others. Or gin in one and tonic in the other- for the teachers of course.

Well how about that Cinnamon Roll recipe, hum?


Teeny Tiny Baby Cinnamon Rolls in a Jar To Go!
2 cups unbleached AP flour
2 T. white sugar
1 1/4 T. baking powder
3/4 t. Kosher salt
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cups buttermilk

In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients then cut in butter and mix until the dough is crumbly. Add buttermilk and mix until a nice dough forms. Place dough on a floured surface, knead a little, and roll into a big rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.

Filling
1/4 cup butter very soft
1 cup brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon

Mix the filling ingredients together and spread evenly over rolled dough. Roll the dough length-wise away from you and slice into 12 evenly sized buns. Place in greased 4 ounce jelly mason jars that are on a jelly roll pan. Bake for 18 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until golden and baked through. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Top with icing.

Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
cream
vanilla

Place sugar in a bowl and whisk in small amounts of cream until the icing is thick but spoonable. Stir in a few drops of vanilla. Spoon over Cinnamon Rolls and let set a bit before adding lids. Refrigerate up to one week or freeze for 6 months. Makes 12. If you would like you can add a bit of cream cheese to the icing. Yum.

Have a great rest of your summer and I will see you all again in September. Tschüs!

How to Make Mason Jar Meals- Part 1
How to Make Mason Jar Meals- Part 2
Scroll through these other Lunch Packing and On the Go Eating Posts.

Robin Sue

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How to Make Mason Jar Meals: Part 2

Hmmm, I think I am on to something here, this whole Mason Jar Meal idea that is. I have combed every store in my area for a variety of Mason jar sizes because my brain has gone into over-drive with ideas. I saw a cute quote that other day that sums up my thought life perfectly, "I can't sleep because my brain keeps talking to itself." In this post I will share some of the meals and their recipes used to make Mason Jar Meals- MJMs.

Benefits of these MJMs are...

1. No more wasting food
2. No more not knowing what to have for dinner
3. No more cooking every night
4. No more blah food
5. No more messy refrigerator
6. No more plastic containers
7. No more unhealthy food- well maybe. Wink.
8. No more coming home from CrossFit ravenous, but too comatose to cook.
9. No more eating out every day for lunch.

WHY MASON JARS?
1. Dishwasher safe
2. Re-usable
3. Not plastic
4. Clear
5. Stain-proof
6. Make food look delicious
7. Stackable and packable
8. Lids and jars can be purchased separately
9. Help control portions
10. Inexpensive


In yesterday's post, How to Make Mason Jar Meals: Part 1, I instructed you to lay out all the ingredients you would be using for your MJM. Here is my list...

Proteins
Organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Organic eggs
Wild-caught sockeye salmon
Uncured Bacon

Vegetables
Broccoli slaw- never again- smells gassy
Onions
Baby mixed greens
Green beans- Haricot verts
Fresh Dill- for roasting on the salmon
Fresh cilantro
Fresh basil

Tubers- not Paleo
Red New Potatoes
Yams

Fruit
Melon
Cantaloupe
Red grapes
Cherries
Lemons
Mandarin oranges
Black Olives
Cherry tomatoes
Strawberries

Legumes- not Paleo
Chick Peas

Cheese- not Paleo
Feta

Nuts and Seeds
Quinoa
Almonds
Sesame Seed

Healthy Oils
Extra virgin olive oil
Coconut oil

Other
Balsamic Vinegar- for roasting the green beans
Vinaigrette dressings for the salads
Sea Salt
Black pepper

THE MEALS I MADE
Yam and Chickpea Salad x 2 quarts
Chicken Ramen Salad x 2 quarts
Salmon Niçoise Salad x 4 pints
Chicken Cobb Salad x 4 pints
Greek Quinoa Salad x 4 halfpints
Fruit Cups x 9 halfpints






Chicken Ramen Salad- Divide the dressing evenly between 2 quart-sized Mason jars then layer the chicken, slaw (I used broccoli slaw which was too smelly-never again!), and the other ingredients ending with the almonds. Wrap the ramen noodles separately and store with the jar in the refrigerator.

Yam and Chickpea Salad- Divide the dressing evenly between 2 quart-sized Mason jars then layer the chickpeas, sweet potatoes (I roasted mine this time mixed with olive oil and pumpkin spice with a bit of salt and pepper), then the onions, finishing with the cilantro.


Salmon Niçoise Salad- In a pint-sized Mason jar add 2 tablespoons of your favorite vinaigrette dressing, then layer roasted green beans, one half hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, black olives, roasted new potatoes, and roasted salmon. This was my favorite salad!

Chicken Cobb Salad- In a pint-sized Mason jar add 2 tablespoons of your favorite vinaigrette dressing, then layer roasted chicken, chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped bacon, cherry tomatoes, and mixed baby greens. I left the avocado out of this salad since I figured it would brown and look gross.

Quinoa Greek Salad- In a halfpint jar layer 1 tablespoon vinaigrette dressing, cherry tomatoes, cubed Feta cheese, quinoa, and fresh basil leaves. These made great mid-afternoon snacks.


And lastly, Fruit Cups. If I do not wash, peel, cut, chew, and spit fruit into my children's mouths, they will not eat it. These little fruit cups are colorful and appealing and did a great job with keeping me on track with getting my fruit in each day.


Some of you have asked how I stay so trim. I do so by following a modified Paleo diet, sometimes going strict, and going to CrossFit. The side effects of this lifestyle in the last 18 months have been a 25 pound weight loss, being the fittest I have ever been in my entire life, and having more energy now than I did during my college years. I did not go into CrossFit to lose weight, I did it to get in shape and feel stronger, then in the long run I lost the weight. I am not perfect but I try, and I think these MJM's will keep me on track.


Related Posts: How to Make Mason Jar Meals: Part 1
More Mason Jar Meal Ideas Part I
More Mason Jar Meal Ideas Part II

Robin Sue

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