Monkey Bread

I wanted to make something to take to our Sunday School class and Monkey bread is always a breakfast favorite. I have made it several time before and finally twiched the recipe till the monkey bread come out just perfect!

Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 tubes refrigerated biscuits (I used Philsbury Flakey Biscuits that come 8 in a can)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar

1. Coat bundt pan evenly with oil.
2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl and then mix in the brown sugar.
4. Cute each biscuit into fourths. (I like to use a pizza cutter to cut the dough.)
5. Dip each piece of dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Place half of the dough in the well greased Bundt Pan. (Do NOT press the dough together.)
7. Pour half of the butter/sugar mixture over the first half of dough.
8. Put the rest of the biscuit dough into pan and then pour the rest of the butter mixture of dough.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 35 minutes.
10. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Then turn pan over onto plate.

This monkey bread just pulls apart with your fingers and melts in your mouth!

Note: I sometime make this recipe the night before. I just put the bundt pan in the fridge after finishing with the dough. Then just stick it in the oven in the morning!

Now here is a couple of pictures of my sweet little monkeys!

From mud pies to Fudge Pie

Thank goodness we are finally having some pretty weather!  This week we stayed outside as much as possible!  Campbell is a happy camper in the great oudoors.  She especially enjoys playing in the dirt!

Campbell had to drag all this out just to make sure that Adeline had enough toys, bibs, clothes, etc.  Oh! And a tiolet just in case!

Easy Fudge Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter (melted)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 of flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TB cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate)
• 1 preprared pastry pie crust

1.  Mix butter, eggs, sugar, flour vanilla and cocoa powder until evenly combined.
2.  Pour batter into prepared pie crust.
3.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until toothepick inserted into middle comes out clean.

Note:  This recipes doubles really well!  Great to take to a friend or church event!

Served warm with ice cream..yummy!

Spinach Artichoke Dip and Cream Cheese Pecan Pound Cake

So I need to make an appetizer and dessert for our last MOPS meeting of the year.

This Spinach Artichoke Dip is my favorite! And the pound cake..well, I just wanted to try something different.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 box Chopped Frozen Spinach
• 1 small jar of Artichoke Hearts
• 1 small jar of pimentos
• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonaise
• 1 1/2 cups or 2 cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup or 1 cups shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Thaw and drain spinach.
3. Chop artichoke hearts. I recommend using a food processor if you have one. I believe a blender would work also.
4. Drain jar of pimentos.
5. Mix spinach, artichokes and pimentos. Add sour cream, mayonaise, 2 cups Parm. cheese and 1/2 cup of Pepper Jack cheese. Mix well.
6. Sprinkle extra 1/2 cup of Pepper Jack cheese on top of dip.
7. Put in oven for 30 minutes.

-Serve with your favorite cracker or chip!

Note: I make this recipe ahead of time and stick it in the fridge until ready to serve!

Cream Cheese Pecan Pound Cake

This recipe is a variation of a couple of recipes

that I have liked in the past.

Not the greatest picture.. I know..

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter (softened)
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 3 cups of sugar
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/2 cup of shredded coconut (plus some to sprinkle on top)

1. In a mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Then gradually add sugar.
2. Add eggs, one at a time just until the yellow disappers. Add vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. Sift flour and salt together. Add flour mixture and milk alternativley to the cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Add chopped pecans and coconut. Mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Pour mixture into a oiled and floured tube pan.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes (until long toothepick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.)
7. Let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
8. Remove cake from pan onto wire rack to cool.
9. Sprinkle coconut on top of cake after taken out of pan.

Note: I would have liked to make a glaze for the cake but did not have all the ingredients. It would have made the cake much prettier and slightly tastier!

Note to self.. Never leave cake on the table! As soon as you turn your back to do the laundry, your two year old will climb onto the kitchen table, open of the cake case...and DIG IN!!!