Grandma's Monkey Bread

There's something about smell that evokes memories....the smell of sweet cinnamon bread and freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air, calling you from your bed and into the kitchen.  Such smells not only beckon us now, but trigger fond memories of times past. I'll never forget when my own Grandma came to our house just to make cinnamon rolls with me.  No, memories made in a Grandma's kitchen won't soon be forgotten. Our own kiddos always look forward to coming to Grandma B's house and waking up to Grandma's Monkey Bread....a simple and quick recipe that they had the chance to make with Grandma this morning for the first time.....and with the children, it took about 45 minutes from start to finish.



Ingredients: 

1 15oz tube refrigerator biscuits (or 2, 7.5oz tubes);

1/2 Cup (or 1 stick) of unsalted butter;

1/2 Cup brown sugar;

1/2 Cup granulated sugar;

1/2 Cup chopped pecans;

1 tsp cinnamon;

1/4 tsp salt

(Note: Grandma uses Immaculate Buttermilk Biscuits, which are non gmo, and free of artifical preservatives, hydrogenated oil and bleached flour. You can find them in the natural foods section of Fred Meyer. However, any refrigerator biscuits will work.)

Open biscuit tin and cut biscuits into 1 inch pieces.

(This is approximately 6-8 pieces per biscuit for a large biscuit, or 4 pieces each for smaller tubes)

Mix together granulated sugar, cinammon, and salt.

Roll biscuit pieces in the cinammon sugar mixture and drop into bundt pan.

(Grandma uses the Demarle Fluted Bundt Mold, saving herself an hour of soaking and scrubbing!

If you are not using a Demarle Flexipan - you will need to heavily grease the pan.)

Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top of biscuits.

Combine butter and brown sugar in bowl and place in microvave on high to melt butter. (Approximately 40 seconds)

Pour evenly over cinnamon-sugared biscuits.

Sprinkle chopped pecans over top.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and invert onto plate.

 Grandma's "Little Monkeys" getting ready for their bread! :-)

 Now, go make a memory!!



Tuscan Pizza Bowl

Last night's dinner was pretty exciting.  I've been wanting to try this pizza bowl recipe for a while, and finally the ingredients in my refrigerator aligned with the recipe to make for a quick dinner that the boys were excited to help me make during the girls' nap time.  Well, I should rephrase.  The boys were thrilled at the idea of making a pizza bowl.  (Who wouldn't be?!)  However, when I mentioned it was going to be filled with veggies and no meat, they were not at all pleased.

Yet....there is some magic in having children help you prepare a meal.  Slowly, there is a transfer of ownership.  By the end of our 15 minute preparation time, Caleb had changed his tune from "No!  Not veggie pizza....I can't stand veggie pizza!"......to "Oh boy! This looks delicious!  I can't wait until it gets out of the oven!"  (I am not making this up!)  The boys ate half the pizza themselves.  Next time, I will make two!

Ingredients: 

Herb Pizza Dough (For instant gratification, Trader Joes has a great herb dough, ready to roll out. Demarle kitchens also has a good dough mix you can keep in the pantry, or lastly - make your own!); 1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil, divided; 

6 stalks asparagus, chopped; 

1 each red and yellow bell peppers, chopped; 

1/2 bunch of green onions (6-8), chopped; 

1 Cup baby spinach; 

1/2 Cup fresh basil leaves, chopped; 

2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese;

1/2 tsp sea salt (I use Sel Gris);

1/4 Cup parmesan cheese;

1/2 Tablespoon Roasted Garlic and Chive Herb Blend

(You could experiment with herb blends too)

Balsamic Vinegar to drizzle

(I love experimenting with flavored balsamics...tonight - Mediterranean & Fig)

Place dough on Roul’Pat or other rolling surface.  

(Note:  I do not use extra flour with the Roul'Pat, for it is completely non-stick....but if needed, add flour to your work area.  Also, I find that a rolling pin well oiled from many uses also doesn't require much additional flour, especially with an oily dough such as pizza.  I used none.)

 Put your children to work! :-) Roll out the circle large enough so that it will drape over your bowl.  If it pools at the bottom like ours did, just roll the edges for a nice thick edge.

Measure it out to make sure it's exactly the right size! (Just kidding - Caleb, like me, prefers precision!)

 Place mold upside down on perforated baking sheet. I used the Demarle Tart Mold. 

Transfer the dough to lay over the inverted "bowl".  

(Note: With the Roul'Pat, it peels right off.  This is how I do pie crust too.)

Trim or roll edges.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes until crust is beginning to brown. 

 

While dough is baking, chop veggies and mix with salt and 1-2 T extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.

 

Flip the baked dough over, and peel out or remove bowl form. 

Place baked dough directly onto perforated baking sheet.

Brush inside of bowl with approximately 1 T extra virgin olive oil using a pastry brush.

Dump veggies into pizza crust bowl.

Mix cheeses and herbs together, then sprinkle cheese over the veggies. 

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Return pizza to oven for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Applaud the proud little chefs!

 Dinner is served. Enjoy!

(And you just might have enough veggies in this one, you can skip making a salad!)

Recipe adapted from Demarle at Home 2011/2012 Catalog.

Baked Egg & Ham Cups

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day....the one that lights the "kindling" for the metabolic fire that is to burn and sustain us for the rest of the day.  Because of this, it's best to start off with a balanced meal including both complex carbohydrates and protein. 

Yet, around our house, (and I'm guessing we're not alone here), mornings are a bit rushed and hectic! We scramble about trying to get 4 kiddos dressed, fed, and in the car to drop our oldest off to 1st grade, and my husband tries to beat the rush out the door.
 
Enter..Baked Egg & Ham Cups! Taking less than 5 minutes to prep and get into the oven, and 20 mintues to bake...a batch of these can get the family through a couple of breakfasts...(more if you're not a family of 6!).  The best part of this is - it's a super simple recipe that the whole family will eat.

Ingredients:  a dozen eggs, 3 pieces of sliced ham (or 12 pieces of deli meat), & garlic powder. 

(Possible Accompaniments: Whole Grain English Muffin, Laughing Cow Cheese, Favorite Sauce, Spinach, or Arugula)

I cut the ham into 4 pieces/slice, and place 1 slice in each cup of my Demarle Straight Muffin Tray;

Crack 1 egg into each of the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with garlic powder;

 

Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes;

Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from pan and serve! (I like them on a toasted whole grain English muffin with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese.  It is also delicious to take this base and add some arugula or spinach and drizzle with your favorite sauce.)

 Left overs stored for tomorrow's breakfast on the go!

Enjoy!!

Note: While you might be tempted to add salt before baking, I find the salt makes the egg whites a bit tougher when baked in this way.  Hold off on adding any salt until you are ready to serve.  I find the garlic and ham go a long way in flavoring the eggs, and I often don't add salt at all.