Sunday, August 7, 2011

Monkey Bread




A few weeks ago, I was craving for something sweet and I didn't want to make cupcakes again. I wanted something different and that I have not had in a while. I stared at the items I had in the fridge for a few minutes and the Pillsbury biscuits caught my eyes. I suddenly thought about the monkey bread I had at a friend's bridal shower for breakfast. I remember exactly how it was made by the maid of honor and I got excited and checked if I had all the ingredients. I was disappointed that I didn't have butter!!! I always have blocks of butter in my fridge and I realized that I have not been to the store lately. So I had to wait the next day to ease my craving because I was too lazy to step out of the house! So the day after, I bought my butter and made these amazing easy to make dessert! I also made individual serving so that they are easy to serve. These can be served for breakfast or as a dessert.

Ingredients:

1 tube of Pillsbury Grands Biscuit dough
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a bundt pan or mini bundt pan (6 individual serving) with a cooking spray. In a large ziploc, mix white sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 8 biscuits and cut into quarters. Shake in ziploc bag to coat with cinnamon sugar. Arrange dough in pan and pack all dough inside. If using the mini bundts, arrange 5-6 pieces of the dough in each mini pan. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter and brown sugar. Pour over the biscuits.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning upside down onto a serving plate. Scrape down the sides of the pan with a butter knife or spatula to loosen the bread so that it comes out in one piece. Serve warm and pull apart to serve or individually if baked using the mini bundt.

Fresh Fruit Bruschetta


We were invited to attend a BBQ party today and the host asked that we bring a side dish or an appetizer. I knew about this a few weeks ago and I still couldn't make up my mind on what to bring and finally told my husband that I will just prepare a tomato salad or bruschetta. On our way to church today, I have decided that I will just make Bruschetta since I wasn't able to go to the Farmer's market and get the heirloom tomatoes I needed for the tomato salad. I thought it'll be nice to make something different than typical bruschetta (tomato/basil). I used fruit instead and they came out very tasty! Try making them for your next party.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of french bread (2-3 days old) or regular baguette (sliced thinly)
1 cup of red grapes (sliced in halves)
1 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup finely diced cucumber
10 fresh mint leaves (minced)
1 large nectarine (seeded and chopped in tiny pieces)
1/2 cup fig jam (or any fruit jam)
1 block of cream cheese

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the thinly sliced bread/baguettes on a flat cookie sheet and bake until slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Heat the jam in a small pot and liquify in low heat then cool for about 5 minutes. 



















Mix the cream cheese and half of the mint. Spread the cream cheese on each sliced bread/baguette carefully with a butter knife

Mix the fruits and cucumber in a big bowl with the other half of mint. Pour the cooled liquid jam in the fruit bowl and mix thoroughly.
Top a spoonful of the fruit mix on each bread/baguette. ENJOY!