Easy Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

Looking for an easy morning breakfast idea that will surely be a hit?  I found this recipe and couldn’t wait to make it.  It was super easy and boy was it DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

  • 3 cans of cinnamon rolls
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1/2 c butter
  • 1/2 brown sugar
  • 2 T honey

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 375 and grease a bundt pan well.
  • Combine cinnamon and sugar in a large Ziploc bag.
  • Open cinnamon rolls and cut each roll into bite size pieces.
  • Put cinnamon roll pieces into the Ziploc bag and shake to coat each piece.  You will want to do this in groups so as to coat each piece well.
  • Put the cinnamon roll pieces into the bundt pan.
  • In a bowl, microwave the butter, brown sugar, and honey for one minute.  Stir well making sure sugar dissolves. Pour this over the dough pieces.
  • Bake covered for 20 to 35 minutes until the dough is brown on the outside and the dough feels set. I think mine took closer to the 35 minute mark.
  • Allow to stand for five minutes and then invert onto a plate.  Drizzle the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls on the top before serving.

Lightly adapted from Something Swanky!

Blueberry Glazed Donuts

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 My very best friend (Lisa) sent me a picture of these blueberry glazed donuts she made….yum!  I was wishing she had made them for me:)  I immediately asked her to share the recipe with us….go enjoy making some donuts today! Thanks Lisa!

For the recipe and instructions, click here!

A note from Lisa: I didn’t use buttermilk, but did use my french vanilla coffee cream with the vinegar in it. They were amazing!!! 🙂

 

How to make a tutu

I started making tutus about a year ago! It’s so much fun and pretty cheap too! Here’s how you too can make a tutu….

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You will need:

Elastic or a headband

Spools of tulle (6 inch width, 25 yard roll)

Needle and thread (if you make your own elastic band)

*I buy my tulle from Hobby Lobby when it’s on 50% off (which is usually every couple of weeks). I typically use one to two rolls of tulle per tutu. If you want a fuller tutu, you will use more.

Directions:

1. Let’s cut the tulle into strips first. Here’s a quick trick to cutting the strips. Grab a piece of cardboard (I use a diaper box). Measure out a rectangle that is twice as long as you want the tutu. For instance, I make my four-year-old’s tutu 10 inches, so I cut a cardboard rectangle that measures 20 inches. Here is a picture of my cardboard rectangle I use to make 9-inch tutus…it’s 18 inches long and about 10 inches wide. Grab a couple of rubber bands to help you hold the tulle in place.

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2.  Take the tulle and wrap it around and around this cardboard rectangle until you get to the end of the roll.

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3.  Grab a couple more rubber bands and secure the tulle to the cardboard. Then cut at each end. You now have strips of tulle each measuring the same measurement!

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4. Now for the elastic band. You can do a couple things here. When I first started making tutus, I just bought elastic. I would measure the child and cut the elastic accordingly. Sew the ends of the elastic together so you have a closed circle. Lately, I have decided I much prefer using the pre-made headbands. See pics below!

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5.  Let’s get started tying the tulle. First wrap the headband or elastic band around a book.  Take one piece of tulle and fold it in half. Pull tulle through the hole on the headband as shown above. Next place your finger in the loop and pull the tulle ends through and pull tightly to complete knot.  Kinda hard to explain but maybe a few pics will help?!

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6.  Keep going all the way around the headband until you have completed the entire bottom row.  If you want a fuller tutu, go ahead and repeat this process on the next row up.  I usually only do one row.  Here’s the completed tutu on the pre-made headband.

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* If you are using a piece of elastic that you have sewn, the process is exactly the same.  Just tie the knots onto the elastic. The elastic has a tendency to twist so be careful when tying knots. You don’t want to pull the knots too tight.  The tighter knots will create a fuller tutu that will use a ton of tulle but also tends to stretch the elastic band which increases the size of the tutu. Might end up with a tutu bigger than you expected.  Just a few reasons why I prefer using the pre-made headbands now instead of making my own bands.

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White Sandwich Bread

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Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
  • Mix together the yeast, sugar, and water. Add in the oil. Let it sit for about five minutes.
  • Using the dough hook, add in the flour little by little until incorporated.  Add the salt.
  • Knead dough for 10 minutes.
  • Lightly grease the dough and bowl using olive oil and cover with saran wrap.
  • Let rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
  • Punch dough down and roll out into a rectangle that is slightly smaller in length than your loaf pan.  For example, if your pan is 9 inches you will make the rectangle about 8 inches.
  • Roll the rectangle into a log and place in loaf pan.
  • Turn oven on to 425 and let the bread rise in loaf pan for 10 more minutes.
  • Using a serrated knife, cut three slits into the loaf before baking.
  • Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
  • Turn oven down to 350 and bake an additional 5 to 15 minutes.
  • You want the top to brown well!
  • Let cool and enjoy!

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*Original recipe found here!