Monkey Bread

I have always loved monkey bread, but I had never made it until a few weeks ago. It's an easy and fun breakfast to make when you have company. Some of my family were in town and my 13-year-old brother is a great cook. He offered to help me make it and did an excellent job! This recipe is from Pinterest and I thought it was the best. Enjoy!

Chef Reeve ;)

Turned out great.

Time to eat!

Ingredients:

3 (8-10.5 oz) cans buttermilk biscuits

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heavily grease a Bundt pan, set aside.
• Cut each biscuit into four equal pieces.
• Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Drop dough pieces into bowl and coat them in the mixture. Place in Bundt pan when coated.
• In a sauce pan, combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture, and butter. Bring mixture just to a boil and then remove from heat. Carefully drizzle warm mixture over dough in the Bundt pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. 
• Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then cover Bundt pan with a large plate and invert bread.

Serves: 6-8    Total time: 40 min

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden copycat)

I have like 4 recipes I need to post. Oops! The Thanksgiving holiday was very busy for us. Christian and I had both sides of our family here and we also celebrated our son's first birthday. I made several things over the last week and this was one of them. 

This recipe reminds me of my Mimmie and my mom. They both make this perfectly every time, so I hope I did it justice. My in-laws had some leftover soup a few days after I had made it and my MIL thought I bought the soup from Olive Garden. It made me laugh! 

I only had time to snap a quick photo. 

(On a side note, these amazing antique brown dishes in my photos were given to me by my Mema. I love them and they remind me of her every time I use them.)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground breakfast sausage (hot or mild)

2 Tbs all purpose flour

6 slices bacon, cup into small pieces

4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 sweet onion, diced

1 cup chopped celery

2 Tbs garlic, minced

32 oz chicken broth

1/2 bunch fresh kale, stems cut off and leaves cut into small pieces

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

• Heat large pot on stove to medium-high heat. Cut bacon into bite-size pieces. Add bacon and sausage to pot and brown.
• When meat is halfway cooked, add celery and onion and cook until translucent. 
• Add flour and stir. Cook for two minutes, stirring frequently. 
• Add chicken broth, garlic, and potatoes to pot. 
• Add just enough water in pot to cover vegetables and meat.
• Cook for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
• Add cream and kale to pot and stir.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve soup with grated parmesan on top and bread on the side.

Serves:6-8      Total time: 30 minutes