Monkey Muffins

I am going to take no credit for these balls of buttery goodness topped with sweetened condensed milk (yes, read that again...YUM!).  You can see the original recipe with pictures at The Pioneer Woman

Like Monkey Bread, but personalized and even gooier.  Mine are in the oven right now.

INGREDIENTS

• Refrigerated Biscuit Dough, Cut Into Thirds.....**I did the large ones and cut them into fourths (She also says you can used leftover bread dough, but we're white trash, we use dough from a can that pops)
• Butter
• Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Sweetened, Condensed Milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to muffin tins. Sprinkle in sugar and cinnamon. **She originally says "a scant" (meaning a little less than) a tsp of sugar per cup...to be a little more healthy ;)

3. Roll dough into walnut sized balls (or cut refrigerated biscuit dough into thirds). Place three into each muffin tin.

4. Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle on more sugar and cinnamon.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

6. **My Favorite Part**  Remove from oven and immediately drizzle plenty of SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK over the top of each one. Be generous! Allow rolls to sit for a little while to absorb sweet, sticky milk.

 7. Scoop out with a spoon and serve to hungry humans.

Apple Cake and Butter Sauce

My friend found this in a Taste of Home magazine and served it at a baby shower.  This stuff is heavenly. 

INGREDIENTS
Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large Granny apples, peeled and grated

Butter Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half or cream
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in apples.

2. Pour into a greased 13x9-in. square baking dish. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in sugars and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over warm cake.

Cheesy Meatball Soup

My kids love those frozen meatballs you get in a huge bag from Costco so I am always looking for new recipes to make with them (you can only do Grape Jelly and Chili sauce so many times.)

I decided to try making a soup with them one day and this is what I came up with.  Surprisingly, it was really good!

INGREDIENTS
**Disclosure:  I threw this together, measurements are estimates...use your best judgment**
4-5 red potatoes cut up into bite sized pieces (I didn't bother peeling them but you obviously could)
3 tbls butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green pepper, diced
1 can sliced carrots, drained
1 cup chopped broccoli
6 cups broth or water with bouillon (I did beef, but chicken would be fine)
20 or so meatballs (however many you'd like)
2 tsp Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 jar of processed cheese or 1/2 of the large package of Velveeta cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil potatoes for about 10 minutes until softened a little bit. Drain and set aside

2. In large pot, sautee onion and peppers (you can add celery, too) in the butter until onions are transleucent

3. Add potatoes, carrots, beans, broccoli (and any other veggies you'd like, i.e. corn, beans, etc.) , broth,, meatballs and bring to boil.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

4. Add Tabasco sauce and cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.

ENJOY!

Pumpkin Cobbler

My sister mentioned pumpkin cobbler on her blog the other day and my mouth started watering.  It is that time of the year, and this is one of my favorites. 

INGREDIENTS
1 package yellow cake mix  (save 1 cup for topping)
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or your choice of spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg)
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk

Topping:
1 cup yellow cake mix (dry)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine all but 1 cup of the cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter and press into 9x13 pan

3. Mix pumpkin, 2 eggs, spices, 1/2 cup sugar, and milk. Pour pumpkin mixture over the cake mix crust.

4. Combine 1 cup cake mix and 3/4 cup sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture on top of pumpkin mixture.

5. Bake for 45-55 minutes (do not overbake...should have a slight jiggle.)

EAT!  This is awesome warm or cold, with Cool whip, ice cream, or plain.  I saw a recipe that "frosted" it with a cream cheese/cool whip spread, which sounds heavenly!  I'll have to try that and will update if I think it's worth the extra effort.

Ummm, Wow Dip

Not sure what to call this stuff but it is yummy!!  Serve with crackers, celery or tortilla chips...it will be gone!  And don't tell anyone what is in it, just make them eat it.

INGREDIENTS
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded (or 2-3 cans of shredded chicken)
1 jar of Litehouse chunky blue cheese dressing
1 jar of buffalo sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce seems to be the favorite)
1 lb. bag shredded cheddar cheese
1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese

DIRECTIONS
Throw it all in a Crock Pot on low for a few hours. Stir occassionally. (You can also mix all together and bake it for 30 minutes or so)
Serve with celery, crackers, or chips. Or french baguettes. Or whatever.
It's good.

Quiche Tarts

Let it be known that I don't love quiche, but I was once assigned to bring something for breakfast for a group of ladies and found this recipe for "Quiche Tarts" from Allrecipes.com, made a few changes, and quickly learned that they are basically mini-WT quiches that even I like.

I have made them several times for groups and they seem to be received very well.  Best thingabout this recipe is it is easily adaptable...one time, I added chopped tomatoes and jalapenos for a little kick, and it was great! You can also add/substitute sausage, or ham, or take out the meat completely and add some chopped broccoli and tomatoes for a vegetarian version.


INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese (obviously, beinga  quiche, the original recipe calls for swiss, but I prefer cheddar)
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated flaky biscuit dough (if you use the big ones, I suggest halving them)
3/4 cup (or so) crumbled bacon (being W.T., I like mine from a bag, but you could cook 5 or 6 slices of bacon and crumble it your self)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups.  (I use Butter flavor Pam and it works great)

2. Place the cream cheese, milk, and eggs in a medium bowl, and beat until smooth with an electric mixer set on Low. Stir in cheddar cheese and green onion, and set aside.

3. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Press into the bottom and sides of each muffin cup, forming 1/4 inch rims. Sprinkle some bacon into the bottoms of the dough-lined muffin cups. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into each cup.

4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until filling is set and rims of the tarts are golden brown. Sprinkle with the remaining bacon, and lightly press into the filling. Remove from pan, and serve warm.
 
Enjoy!

Golden Graham S'mores

I bought Golden Grahams on sale today for $1 and in the midst of all of the excitement of such a screaming deal I realized I have never shared one of my very favorite treats!

You've been forewarned that these disappear fast...once you start eating them, you can't stop :)

INGREDIENTS


-3/4 cup light corn syrup
-3 tbsp butter
-1 package chocolate chips
-3 cups mini marshmallows
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 (12 oz) box Golden Grahams cereal

DIRECTIONS
1. Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan and set aside.

2. Over medium heat, heat syrup, butter, and chocolate chips, stirring constantly until chocolate chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

3. Place cereal in a large bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and mix until completely coated. Fold in marshmallows, 1 cup at a time.

4. Press into pan and let sit 1 hour.  Best if kept in fridge! 
 
YUMMY!!