Elk Chili & Homemade Cinnamon Rolls!

The absolute best comfort food when the wind is whipping and the temps are dropping. Nothing warms your belly up quite like this hearty combo! I know cinnamon rolls can be kind of scary and time consuming, but truly, they are not hard once you get the hang of it! And I'll walk you through it step-by-painful-step! Kidding about the painful part! I mean seriously, if I can pull these off then so can you! The elk chili is about as easy as you can get! I make a double batch so I can freeze half of it for when I have to come up with dinner quick or I'm just being lazy and don't feel like cooking! This happens a lot! Whatever, work smarter not harder! Am I right? I also always put my Cinnamon Rolls in disposable pans because I love to freeze them and take them with us when we go hunting or fishing. That way they are super easy to warm up on a camp fire or bbq grill.

If your making both recipes at the same time start with the cinnamon rolls first. They take longer and need time to rise and bake. Anyway keep reading below for both of these yummy recipes. And no licking your screen!! That's just gross!! #elkchili #cinnamonrolls

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

So like I said, I know Cinnamon Rolls can be terrifying so before I get into the recipe I have some pointers for you to help them turn out every time! One of the most important things is how you handle your yeast. I have never had good luck with instant yeast so I've always stuck with the old fashioned stuff. This is uber important!!! Make sure your milk is warm enough to activate your yeast, but not too hot because it will kill the yeast (105-110 degrees F) Don't add anything cold to the yeast and milk mix because it will also wreck the yeast. I always make sure my butter is at room temp and my eggs are not cold before I get to work so take them out of the fridge early. I put my eggs into a bowl and of warm water let them sit on the counter to take the chill off.

The Dough:

- 1 Cup Warm Milk (110 degrees F)

- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

- 2 Eggs

- 1/3 Cup butter

- 4 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

- 1teaspoon salt

- 1/2 Cup Sugar

Pour your warm milk into a stand mixer bowl and sprinkle your yeast on top and walk away!! I usually let my milk and yeast sit for at least 5-10 minutes until the yeast is all dissolved and its bubbly and frothy. I usually take this time to make my filling. (See the next steps below) When your yeast is good and frothy, bubbly then add the eggs, butter and sugar. Don't forget to get your butter and eggs at room temp! Add the flour and I always let it sit for a second so the four can soak up the wet ingredients. Then mix them with the beater blade (that's the flat paddle blade for a kitchen-aide mixer) Just mix the ingredients enough to put them together then take the beater blade off and let the ingredients soak together again. Put the dough hook on and beat for about 5 minutes until your dough is smooth and elastic. The dough will be sticky and some will be stuck to the sides of the bowl. DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR! Spray another large bowl with cooking spray and use a spatula to move the dough from the mixing stand bowl to the sprayed bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and I always put my bowl by the oven to rise. I turn it on 200 degrees and that warms my counter next to my stove enough to help the dough rise really well. Your dough should be double in size in about 30 minutes, don't let it rise too much longer or get larger than double in size because then your cinnamon rolls will be full of air instead of doughy and gooey. If you didn't mix your filling already do it while your dough is rising.

Filling:

-1/2 Cup of butter (melted)

-1 Cup packed brown sugar

- 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

- 1 Cup Liquid Sweet Cream or French Vanilla Coffee Mate Creamer

* You pour this over the rolls after they have risen before you pop them in the oven to bake and it adds a little sweetness and lots of gooeyness to your cinnamon rolls!

Mix all these ingredients up in a bowl using a spatula and set aside.

Rolling Out Your Dough

Sprinkle your counter top with a little bit of flour lay your dough down and then sprinkle the top of the dough with a pinch of flour. Rub some flour on your rolling pin and get to rolling. You want to roll the dough into a rectangle. Use your rubber spatula to spread the filling mixture all over the rectangle. Then starting at the long end of your rectangle start rolling your dough into a jelly roll, like your rolling up a carpet or something like that. Cut your jelly rolled carpet into 12 slices and put them in a 9x13 baking pan. Cover the pan with your towel and let the rolls rise for about 20 minutes. You want them to double in size again. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then warm the Coffee Mate Creamer until it is warm. Once your rolls have risen pour your cream over the center of all of the rolls. Let it soak in for a minute before you put the rolls into the oven. Bake them on 350 for 17-19 minutes, until they are just barely golden brown. While the rolls are cooling you can make the frosting.

Frosting

- 6 ounces of cream cheese

- 1/3 Cup Butter

- 2 Cups powdered sugar

- 1/2 Table spoon Vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. When they are well mixed add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Spread all the frosting over your cinnamon rolls and enjoy!!

Now for some Elk Chili!!!

You can use ground elk or steaks. I use both! It's also amazing when you can add diced elk kielbasa if you are lucky enough to have some of that!!

You will want to brown your steak and if your using burger then make sure it's cooked through.

Ingredients

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 Can Black Beans (Drained & Rinsed)

- 1 Can Kidney Beans (Drained & Rinsed)

- 1 Can White Beans (Drained & Rinsed)

- 1 Can Tomato Sauce (Whatever flavor you like) I like to use Prego Market Garlic and herb

- 1 Can Yellow Corn (Drained)

- 1 Can diced green chilles

- 1 Package Taco Seasoning

- 3 Tablespoons of chili powder

- 2 teaspoons Cumin

- 1 yellow onion chopped

- 4 cloves finely chopped garlic

Chili Toppings

- Shredded cheese

-chopped onion

-chopped jalapeño

- Sour cream

- Tortilla chips

I always have my little helper in the kitchen

In a large sauce pan add olive oil, onion and garlic after a few minutes add in your burger or steak. If your using steak you can just brown the steak before adding other ingredients. If your using burger make sure it's cooked through until there is no more pink. After this is done you can add the rest of your ingredients to your pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Serve with all the yummy topping and a side of gooey cinnamon roll!!