Today I Made Time

As I take a look around my house this evening I see scattered toys, a pile of dishes and the mountain of laundry that was supposed to be done today...on laundry day. I see towels and bath toys on the floor in the bathroom, yogurt smeared all over a highchair and pastel colored high heeled shoes tossed over by the bookshelf.

Then I take a closer look and instead of scattered toys I see the Duplo cake my middle daughter made me and the stuffed bear my son dragged around hugging today, I see the book I read to my son and the kitchen items my daughter "bought" and tucked into a bag.

Instead of a pile of dishes I see the remains of the homemade lunch my daughter happily brought to school and the dinner my kids all sat down at the table together and enjoyed. 

Norwegian Sweet Rolls (Boller)

Ok, so time and time again I have tried to make these traditional Norwegian sweet rolls and most of the time they have turned out rather blah. But, this recipe might be the key to success....at least this last batch was fluffy and soft and perfect in my opinion! They are not overly sweet, but they are not meant to be savory dinner rolls either. 

And sorry, but the measurements are metric....

Boller

Ingredients:

500g all purpose flour (plus a little extra if dough is too wet)
100g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
100g salted butter, a little soft
3 1/4 dl milk (2% or whole)
6 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Creamy Beef and Bellpepper

I was in the mood for Beef Stroganoff last night but did not quite have the right ingredients, so I came up with this alternative recipe. It was flavorful and creamy and I will definitely make it again! It also works well with chicken cut into thin strips.

Creamy Beef and Bellpepper

Ingredients:

Canola or Olive oil for sauteeing
1 lb lean beef cut into strips (stirfry cuts are great)
2 large bellpeppers (I used red)
1/2 large leek
12 oz fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth, divided