Mini Caramel Monkey Bread

Okay so I'll admit it.  I am on a bread/carb craze right now.  I made banana bread last week.  Made these monkey breads on Saturday.  Then on Sunday I devoured orange rolls made by my mom and amazing cinnamon rolls made by my mother-in-law.


And these monkey bread rolls..... they were AMAZING.

 

The "caramel" sauce of brown sugar and butter that you put at the bottom of the muffin pan (then is inverted onto the top of the roll- mine dried a little bit because I didn't take them out soon enough) is SO good!  These will definitely become a tradition in our new home for Saturday breakfasts.  My husband and I ate all of them throughout the day.  

Okay, so it actually only took a few hours.... I'll just blame it on my recent carb craze...

Mini Caramel Monkey Bread

from Pillsbury

 1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 7.5 cans Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits

Grease or spray 12 regular-size muffin cups.  Mix melted butter and brown sugar; spoon 1 tablespoon into each muffin cup.

Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a 1-gallon bag.  Separate dough into 20 biscuits; cut each into 6 pieces.  Shake pieces in bag to coat.  Place 10 pieces in each muffin cup.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool 1 minute; turn upside down.  Serve warm.

Not-Yo-Average Banana Bread

ALAS- my first recipe post in a while!  And to be continuously repeated.
To start, there are a few things I grew up eating that I don't think I could ever part with.  These recipes were courtesy of my lovely mother who can cook well and has her share of prized recipes that our family loves and requests.

1. My mom's apple crisp.  Seriously, NOTHING else compares.  It has the most amazing crumb topping that is to die for.  In fact, you can find that very crumb topping here- my blackberry-peach crisp is almost equally amazing.
2. Christmas morning breakfast casserole. 
3. Mom's delicious spaghetti- sooo meaty and good! I should post the recipe sometime...
4. Chocolate chip cookies. 'Nuff said.
5. My mom's BANANA bread!

I had forgotten how incredible this bread smells while baking in the oven.  It seemed just surreal that I was baking in my own, very kitchen in my own, very house!  And, with only my husband and I living here.... to eat two whole giant loaves of banana bread?!?

Luckily I visited my family that evening so I brought them a loaf... it was a huge hit, like always!

And my husband loved it too.  But then again, he loves anything that's put in front of him.

Banana Bread

Makes 3 large loaves

Combine in order:

6 ripe bananas mashed (the riper the better- I like them black), 4 eggs, 1 1/3 cup oil, 3 cups sugar, 2/3 cup sour cream.

Add:  4 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 1/2 tsp. soda, 2 tsp. vanilla, 2 cups chopped nuts (optional- I leave them out).

Pour into 3 greased and floured loaf pans.  Bake at 325 for 45 minutes- 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.  

 

EXPLANATION. A GOOD ONE.

NO; I did not fall off the face of the earth.  NO; I did not quit blogging.  NO; I did not stop cooking or baking.

Then what WAS I doing the past 4 months? Holy smokes... 4 months.. that's longer that I thought it was.  Well, you see:

 

I was a bride!!! 

Shortly after my last post, my now husband proposed to me when I was visiting him and my family in Mesa, AZ for Thanksgiving.  Immediately following, wedding plans were in full force.  In order for our March wedding date to happen, we needed to act quickly- in my mind, it seems like there were a million things to decide.

 I moved back to Mesa, my hometown, for good just before Christmas.  Since then, it has been a whirlwind of appointments, photo shoots, invitation addressing, living arrangement searching, and just about every other decision to be made for a wedding.

 The most amazing wedding at that.  Our date was March 10th and it could not have been more blissful.  I am married to the most wonderful, amazing man- he is perfect for me. 

 I do not regret our short engagement one bit... we are now happily married and living in Mesa, AZ (both of our hometowns), just 15 minutes from both of our families.  We love our new home and our new life.

SO.  That is the explanation for my absence of blogging.  I know, I know. The DRASTIC effects that have occurred on so many of you.... it makes my heart break.

HA.  I am well aware that although I may have few readers, I am re-starting this blog simply as a way to post my adventures in the kitchen- now I really have a motivation to cook and bake- I have a cute little husband who depends on my cooking!!  So, why not blog about it as well?? :)  That way I can have an online resource, if just for me, of all my recipes and experiences. 

My lovely new kitchen!!!!! Well, at least a part of it.  The most important part, though.  Duh.  I have already taken my new kitchen by storm and I'm so excited to share these fun recipes with you lucky ducks!

Food, cooking, and nutrition will always be a major part of my life.  Just so you know.

I will see you soon with an amazing recipe for..... BANANA BREAD.  Coming soon...

A Cyber Thanksgiving Round-Up

 I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week!  Honestly... where does the time go?  It is almost 2011.. which means I will be 20 a couple days later!  :) 

I am SO excited for Thanksgiving.  After Christmas, it is probably my favorite holiday.  (So, basically it's my second favorite)  This will be my first Thanksgiving where I am bringing a rather-serious boyfriend to the family get-together (not to mention I get to go to his as well!) which is making me even more anxious for next week to get here so I can fly home to see them all!

Anyway...I've been seeing a LOT of pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, stuffing and other Turkey day recipes on the blog world/Internet ever since it was socially acceptable (that would be the day after Halloween...)  Since all of the foods have already been divvied out to all of my family members, I don't have to worry about new recipes or anything, but I still love looking at the mouth-watering pictures and getting ideas for future holidays... so here is a round-up of some of the yummiest-looking Thanksgiving recipes I've seen.. I think they all sound and look amazing!

 

1.  Very Pumpkin Pie by the Blue-Eyed Bakers

2. Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing by Our Best Bites

 

3. Green Bean Casserole by Brown-Eyed Baker

 

4. Deep-Dish Caramel Apple Pie by Sugar Plum

5.  Pecan Pie Squares at MyRecipes.com

 

6. Creamy Spinach Gratin by Mel's Kitchen Cafe

 

7.  Pumpkin Streusel Muffins by The Peppered Pantry 

8.  Cranberry-Lime Galette by My Baking Heart

 

9.  Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole at MyRecipes.com

10.  Cranberry Cinnamon Chip Bars by Our Best Bites

YUM.  Can't wait for Turkey Day!

Do the Monster Munch!

Yeah, yeah, I know! I can be a bit of a slacker when it comes to blogging.  Especially when college demands that all your waking hours be effervescently devoted to tests, papers, abstracts, quizzes, research applications, more tests, studying, busy work, study guides, ETC, ETC.  This last week has been probably the busiest, most insane, hectic, crazy, STRESSFUL week yet this year.  But, alas, I am almost through it! Tomorrow is Friday.  And, even better- it is almost Halloween!

Do you like Halloween? I'll be honest... I love it!  I'm not the biggest fan of all the crazy dance parties where everyone in sight is dressed... scantily (to say the least).  BUT, I love the feel of the fall, with the cool air, and yummy treats, and the fact that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.  Plus, who doesn't love candy.  Don't even try to say you don't.

 This "Monster Munch" is courtesy of the blog, Our Best Bites- they've got a lot of really yummy-looking stuff!  It is super Halloween-y, YUMMY, and easy, easy, easy.

 

The reason some of it is white, and the some is brown-ish is because I tried to get creative and add chocolate chips to half of the batch while mixing (I doubled it).  I wasn't really thinking... the melted white almond bark definitely caused the chocolate chips to partly melt.  But taste-wise... both kinds are equally delicious and I kind of liked the addition of the caramel color!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Monster Munch

1 lb. almond bark

12 cups popped popcorn (I used natural, with no butter flavor)

1 cup candy corn

1 cup dry roasted, salted peanuts

1/2 cup Reese's Pieces

Pop popcorn (discard kernels) and place in a large bowl- the largest you have to make mixing easier.  Pour peanuts, candy corn, and Reese's Pieces on top.  Take a large knife and break up almond bark.  Melt according to package directions.  (Best to just chop up and microwave in intervals, stirring as it goes)  Pour over popcorn mixture.  Stir until everything is well coated and then spread out onto waxed paper, parchment, or foil.  Let sit until completely dry, and then break into clumps.   

OIAJ

Have you heard of the new blogging-world craze??  Well... let me tell you about it.  

OIAJ= Oatmeal in a Jar.  I've recently seen a lot of other bloggers raving about how amazing it is to cook your oats, pour them into an ALMOST-empty peanut butter, stir it around, maybe add some extra fix-ins, and then eat.  Frankly, I didn't see what was so fabulous about it.  I mean why not just put your peanut butter INTO your oatmeal?

Well about a week ago I had an almost-empty Skippy jar.  And since I love to eat oatmeal for breakfast, I thought I'd give it a whirl- I mean, peanut butter is, in fact, one of my favorite foods.  

I cooked 1/4 cup regular quick-oats with 1/2 cup water in the microwave, added a packet of Truvia sweetener, then added it to my jar that had about 1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut butter left in it.  OH. MY. GOSH.  This almost the best thing I have ever eaten!! It was the creamiest concoction my tongue has tasted and I could not get enough of it.

And regarding the part about just adding it to your bowl instead- well, a few days later I tried the same oatmeal base with a tablespoon of peanut butter stirred in, and it was NOT the same!  There's just something about the jar, using up every last bit of the peanut butter and eating it out of the jar... dreamy.  

Can't wait until I run out of peanut butter again.  *Sigh*

Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread

In case you weren't aware, it is almost mid-October.  Halfway through! It seriously blows my mind and I often wonder where the heck the time goes.  If you're any kind of baker at all, you know very well that the fall baking hype is in full swing- with pumpkin this, caramel apple that- not that I am complaining!

I LOVE fall desserts.  

Maybe I should have waited until farther until the fall season to post this recipe. I mean, the leaves are just barely starting to change colors.  But then again, who am I kidding?! It's not like this is the only seasonal baking I'll do this year.  This month.  This week.  (Okay, maybe not this week, but you get the point.)

My mom has a killer pumpkin bread recipe that she's made for as long as I can remember (and by killer, I mean the BEST I have ever and will ever have- I will have to post that later...) but I wanted to try this new, pumpkin bread infused with a cinnamon-pumpkin-spiced cream cheese from Jessica at How Sweet It Is.  Ummm can you say decadent?!

It was very delicious, however the only thing I think I'd change is: 

1.  Use my mom's pumpkin bread recipe instead of this one (even though it is a good, standard recipe)

2.  Add a little more sugar to the cream cheese than the recipe calls for (it needed just a touch of sweetness!)

Spiced-Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread 
from How Sweet It Is

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix pumpkin and sugar together until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, oil, and vanilla and continue to mix.  

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Alternate adding dry-ingredients and buttermilk to pumpkin mix- beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Pour into 3 mini loaf pans or 1 regular loaf pan, just halfway to the top.  Spread cream cheese mixture over first layer, then cover with more pumpkin batter, leaving about 1/2 an inch to the top.  For mini loaves, bake 35-40 minutes.