Monkey Bread Goodness

Monkey bread. Warm, gooey, sticky goodness. Yum.

I was craving something sweet this morning and wanted to work with what I already had in my kitchen. Monkey bread is super simple to make and is deliciously addictive.

Ingredients needed:

• 1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 TBS Ground Cinnamon
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 can of small biscuits (non flaky)
• small ramekins or cupcake pan

*This recipe made enough for four small ramekins.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the stick of butter in a heat resistant bowl. I used the microwave, but you can easily do this on the stove in a small sauce pan. Once the butter is melted, add in the 1/2 cup of brown sugar and stir. While you're working on the biscuits, stir the butter and brown sugar sauce occasionally, the brown sugar and butter form almost a caramel like sauce after a bit.

In a gallon sized zip top baggie, combine the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon together, close the bag and give it a good shake. Remove the biscuits from the can and cut each biscuit into fourths. Put the cut pieces in the bag of sugar and cinnamon and shake them up until completely coated. I used small ramekins to make my individual servings, they're perfect for serving right out of the oven. 

I was able to make four ramekins filled with the makings of monkey bread goodness. The two pictured above got an extra sprinkle of brown sugar. I was experimenting to see if I could add a bit of crunch to the top of the monkey bread, and this method proved successful. So if you want a bit of extra crunch definitely add a bit of brown sugar to the top. Once you've gotten your sugar and cinnamon covered biscuit pieces in your vessel of choice (you can also use a muffin pan or a cupcake pan), it's time to drizzle on the butter & brown sugar sauce.

Doesn't that look delish? Mmmm, I want to make another batch already! Once you've put the sauce on top of each serving, it's time to put 'em in the oven. 

I know it looks like they're drowning in the sauce, but I promise they aren't. I used about half of a small ladle in each. The sauce is thick and stays on top and melts down to the bottom in the oven. You can add as much or as little as you please. They'll need to bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown and crunchy. Keep in mind times can vary depending on what you make your monkey bread in. Mine took 20 minutes and came out looking like this:

Yummers. Let it cool for a few minutes before you dig in. Sugar out of the oven is always extremely hot. My hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed this little tasty treat and I hope that you do as well! :)

Oh So Yummy Marinated Steak

I found this recipe in one of my Taste of Home cookbooks recently. I tweaked it a little and used a thinner cut of meat than suggested to turn it into more of a stir fry type of dish.

What you'll need:

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar

2 tsps Ground Ginger

1 tsp Garlic Powder

A thin cut  or two of Top Round Steak

Cook top

Frying Pan

Mix first five ingredients together in a zip top bag or container of your choice. Mix well and add the steak. Let the steak rest in the marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Once the steak was done marinating I cut my steak into stir fry style strips for easy cooking. Add the steak to a pan and cook at medium temperature for a couple of minutes on each side. Thin steak doesn't take that long to cook...so don't over do it! I paired this tasty steak with white rice and fresh steamed broccoli sprinkled with a little fresh lemon juice for a delicious dinner. In fact, as we were eating my fiancée told me I should definitely add this one to the blog! This was super easy to make and I think I'll be adding it into my go-to dinners since I always have these ingredients on hand. Enjoy!

Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Chicken

What I used:
One Whole Chicken
3 decent sized sprigs of Rosemary
10-12 fresh Garlic Cloves
1/2 Stick of Softened Butter
Roasting Pan
400˚ Preheated Oven

This my friends was de-lic-ious! I haven't had much experience roasting chicken. In fact, this is my second attempt. The first was some what bland, but we won't talk about that. ;)

The fun thing about buying a chicken whole is all the fun stuff that you find inside. Make sure you remove all "extra parts" from the chicken's cavity. These extra parts are good for making chicken stock so don't throw them out! Just put 'em aside for now. We'll tackle homemade chicken stock soon. Now, you can rinse your chicken or not - some people feel like rinsing the chicken increases the chance of spreading bacteria, so go with your gut and do as you please. Once you're done rising/not rinsing place your chicken in the roasting pan.

Okay, so we've got our chicken, ready for stuffing! Insert your garlic cloves and two of the sprigs of rosemary  in the chicken's cavity. Next, take the half a stick of softened butter and smooth over the entire out side of the chicken, don't forget the bottom! Don't be afraid to use your hands, just make sure you wash them throughly after your done spreading the butter. Chop up the third sprig of rosemary and sprinkle all over the outside of the chicken. Your chicken is now ready for the oven! For my four pound bird it took about and hour and twenty minutes to bring it to 180˚. I have a handy dandy wireless digital thermometer thanks to my awesome fiancée that I used to make sure my chicken was throughly cooked. If you don't have a digital one at least get yourself a regular meat thermometer. Definitely an essential when cooking any kind of meat, especially poultry! Also, make sure to take the temp in the meatiest part of the thigh!

Once the chicken is done cooking. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for a good 5- 10 minutes to rest. Then carve and enjoy!

** Adding veggies is always an option and makes for a great side! I added a cup of water, diced potatoes, sliced carrots and broccoli about 30 minutes into cooking. 

S'more Brownies Please!

This is adapted from one of my all time favorites! My mother's Graham Brownie recipe. Oh my goodness, if you've never had a Graham Brownie, I suggest you make these right away! My version has marshmallows and brings me back to summer evenings, sitting around a camp fire, roasting marshmallows and making...well, you know...S'mores!!

On to the good stuff! Here's what you'll need:
2 cups Crushed Graham Crackers (any brand will do)
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Chocolate Chips (I used the mini kind, but regular and jumbo work too!)
1 cup Marshmallows
1 8x8 non stick baking pan

Preheat your oven to 325°. Now that your oven is preheating, it's time to get to work! Crush your graham crackers. I usually either put mine in the blender or a zip top bag and use anything heavy (rolling pin, meat tenderizer, etc) I can find to crush them. We're looking for crumbs here people! Although, a few bigger "crumbs" will be fine too...don't try and crush every last one of them. That's just too much work! Okay, now that you have your two cups of crushed graham crackers, add them to your mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients.
It'll look something like this:

Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer ingredients to your 8x8 non stick pan. Pop in the oven for about 20-25 minutes and voilà a yummy treat that is sure to put a smile on your face! Enjoy!

** You can make Graham Brownies by simply omitting the marshmallows.