Individual Monkey Bread (5 indgredients!)

There is nothing better on a Sunday morning than having a cup of coffee and a warm gooey cinnamon bun with lots of frosting!  I cheat a lot of times and use the ones in a can...you know what I'm talking about.  They do usually hit the spot, but I would like them to be a little more ooey gooey!  

In search of how to create an easy cinnamon treat for breakfast at the lake, I found a recipe for individual monkey bread.  When I was little, I loved helping make monkey bread because you knew it was going to be all kinds of goodness when it was done.  Monkey bread is pretty easy to do, but I thought the individual part would be pretty cool.  The recipe I saw actually made them with crescent rolls, but I thought I would take it up a notch and make them with the cinnamon rolls in a can...What?!  I know...crazy!  

The great thing about these is that you have the icing from the canned cinnamon rolls left to put on top of your individual monkey bread once they are out of the oven.  Oh yeah!  That's what I'm talking about!  

These really did turn out pretty good, so you should try them yourselves and let me know what variations you've tried.  The individual ones made it really easy to grab and go in the morning.

Here's the recipe:

2 cans cinnamon rolls 

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter

Directions:

Lightly spray a 12 muffin pan with non-stick spray.

Cut the cinnamon rolls into quarters.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl (but big enough to roll the dough around in).

Pour the milk into a small bowl.

Dip the 1/4 of the cinnamon roll into the milk and then lightly roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place the dough into the muffin pan, and continue to do this until all the dough is cut, dipped, rolled and placed in the muffin pan.

Mix remain milk, cinnamon, sugar and the melted butter in one bowl (I put into a liquid measuring cup to pour easier), and pour over each of the muffins...try to do evenly, until the mixture is gone.

Place in a 350 degree pre-heated oven and bake for 15 - 18 minutes (until the top is just done for more gooey-ness). 

Let cool, then remove from the muffin pan and place icing on each of the muffins. 

Enjoy the ooey - gooey yumminess and wait for the compliments to rain upon you!

Nosh away!
Dee

BLT Pasta Salad Recipe

I love summer and all the fresh food that comes with it.  My family has an obsession with fresh tomatoes from the garden and this recipe combines two of my favorite things from summer....pasta salad and BLT's.  This is another recipe from my favorite cooking subscription...Cuisine at Home.  This turned out to be a real keeper and will be made over and over!!!! The red "jelly bean" tomatoes were from my Dad's garden and the orange were from a local farmer.....added great color to the salad.

Cook
1 lb. dry campanelle pasta (in large pot of boiling salted water, drain and cool with water)
1 lb. thick-sliced bacon....then diced (reserve 3 Tbsp. drippings)

Whisk in a large bowl:
1/2 C mayonnaise (Hellmann's Original)
2 Tbsp minced shallots
2 Tbsp minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp cooled bacon drippings
Add salt and pepper to taste

Just before serving stir in:
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
4 cups halved grape tomatoes (fresh ones are a must)

This salad is easy to make....and has great flavor....as well as being different from the usual pasta salad.
Great potluck dish that looks fantastic!

Salmon Goat Cheese wraps

A little while ago, Mary and I took a class at a local grocery store from the store's fish monger.  The class was for party foods using seafood, and one of the items we had was this recipe of a wrap with salmon in it.  It was a wonderful contrast of the salmon with goat cheese, and a black bean compote.  

These were made with the soft taco size tortillas, and then wrapped in foil so people at a party can pick them up and walk around mingling while eating them.  

This recipe is super easy, and tastes great!  You can make ahead for a party or make for dinner on a night that you don't have a lot of time.  

Recipe:

10 soft taco size tortillas

5 - salmon fillets 

1 - can black beans

1 - 10 oz can of Rotel

10 oz goat cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

Place the salmon fillets on a cookie sheet (put aluminum foil down first) and bake for 200 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cut in half to create 10 servings.

Place the black beans and Rotel in a saucepan and heat.

Heat up the tortillas in the microwave to make them easier to wrap; about 1 min. 

Mix the goat cheese and sour cream together in a small bowl.  

Now assemble the wraps by spreading an oz. of the goat cheese mixture on the tortilla. 

Place the salmon on the tortilla and spoon some of the black bean and Rotel mixture on top. 

Fold the tortilla into a wrap and wrap in aluminum to keep warm for your guests.

As you can see in the pictures, I forgot to put the goat cheese first, but they still look pretty and taste great!  

Enjoy!

Dee

Easy Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake

I love chocolate.....so when asked to bring a cake to a picnic....I chose the one with lots of chocolate and great reviews on my favorite recipe website....allrecipes.com.

This was super easy...almost too easy.....and I had everything but the cake mix on hand.

L

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
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• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
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  • In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, milk, oil, water and eggs. Beat for 4 minutes, then mix in 2 cups chocolate chips.
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Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

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• To make the glaze: Melt the butter and 1 cup chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave oven. Stir until smooth and drizzle over cake.

For an easy and very pretty recipe....this one turned out great...and tasted good.  If in a pinch for a quick dessert that travels well.......here is your recipe.

Hope you enjoy it as much as my family did!!!

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