Mini Monkey Muffins

First of all, this post is in large part thanks to Nikki, who told me about Ree Drummond's cooking blog http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. The recipes here are ones that are based on hers. If you like eating really fattening food and beautiful photography check her blog out. Also, she's really funny, homeschools her kids and lives on a working ranch, so those of you who know me, know that this appeals to me on so many levels!

On to the recipe. My family was in need of a pick-me-up last week, so I decided to look for a comfort food recipe that was fun and the kids could help me make. My mom had made monkey bread a few times when I was a kid, and it was exactly the right thing for a Friday that ended a week of frustrations. We made a large batch that looked like this after it came out of the oven:
And it looked like this about 5 minutes later:

We have had a much better week this week, but I still had one tube of biscuits left over. So this morning I decided to make mini monkey muffins! Here's the scoop.

You'll need 1 tube of biscuits, each cut into 6 wedges and placed in a zip-loc baggie along with 2 t. cinnamon and 1/4 c. sugar. (No dishes to wash--perfect!)

Seal and let your oh-so-excited child shake the bag.

It will look like this, with all of the biscuit bits perfectly encrusted with beautiful little cinnamon sugar crystals.

Place the little biscuit bites in the muffin tin, 4 to a muffin round. Then melt 1/3 c. butter with a few shakes of brown sugar in the microwave and pour a little over each of the 12 lovely cups of goodness. Because everything's better with butter.Bake at 350 degrees for between 15 and 18 minutes (our oven runs cool, so I'm never quite sure how it compares with others).

They come out gooey and sweet with a slightly salty dough. Absolutely perfect with coffee or milk. Here are the responses:

Matthew, AKA The Shirtless Wonder, all fingers and thumbs up

Soren, AKA Super Dad, two thumbs upAnnika, AKA Mama's Little Helper, big smile and thumbs up

I liked the large loaf presentation better than the mini-monkey-muffins because I enjoy picking one bite off and then another, and another and another (you get the picture). Also, I cut the biscuits into only 4 pieces with the larger loaf. The larger loaf seems to work best with the sauce, too; it just seemed gooier. But as a mom, it was nice to give each child one muffin and leave it at that, so nobody completely lost control and gave him or herself a stomach ache. Portion control.

Mysteriously, though, when I returned home after spending the morning out, ALL of the mini-monkey-muffins had disappeared!

Mini Monkey Muffins

First of all, this post is in large part thanks to Nikki, who told me about Ree Drummond's cooking blog http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. The recipes here are ones that are based on hers. If you like eating really fattening food and beautiful photography check her blog out. Also, she's really funny, homeschools her kids and lives on a working ranch, so those of you who know me, know that this appeals to me on so many levels!

On to the recipe. My family was in need of a pick-me-up last week, so I decided to look for a comfort food recipe that was fun and the kids could help me make. My mom had made monkey bread a few times when I was a kid, and it was exactly the right thing for a Friday that ended a week of frustrations. We made a large batch that looked like this after it came out of the oven:
And it looked like this about 5 minutes later:

We have had a much better week this week, but I still had one tube of biscuits left over. So this morning I decided to make mini monkey muffins! Here's the scoop.

You'll need 1 tube of biscuits, each cut into 6 wedges and placed in a zip-loc baggie along with 2 t. cinnamon and 1/4 c. sugar. (No dishes to wash--perfect!)

Seal and let your oh-so-excited child shake the bag.

It will look like this, with all of the biscuit bits perfectly encrusted with beautiful little cinnamon sugar crystals.

Place the little biscuit bites in the muffin tin, 4 to a muffin round. Then melt 1/3 c. butter with a few shakes of brown sugar in the microwave and pour a little over each of the 12 lovely cups of goodness. Because everything's better with butter.Bake at 350 degrees for between 15 and 18 minutes (our oven runs cool, so I'm never quite sure how it compares with others).

They come out gooey and sweet with a slightly salty dough. Absolutely perfect with coffee or milk. Here are the responses:

Matthew, AKA The Shirtless Wonder, all fingers and thumbs up

Soren, AKA Super Dad, two thumbs upAnnika, AKA Mama's Little Helper, big smile and thumbs up

I liked the large loaf presentation better than the mini-monkey-muffins because I enjoy picking one bite off and then another, and another and another (you get the picture). Also, I cut the biscuits into only 4 pieces with the larger loaf. The larger loaf seems to work best with the sauce, too; it just seemed gooier. But as a mom, it was nice to give each child one muffin and leave it at that, so nobody completely lost control and gave him or herself a stomach ache. Portion control.

Mysteriously, though, when I returned home after spending the morning out, ALL of the mini-monkey-muffins had disappeared!

Grandma S. Angel Food Cake Pudding Interpreted

I am not a person comfortable in the kitchen, but I found this months challenge inspiring and thought I would give it a go to show my Mom and Grandma's all the time trying to teach me to cook wasn't completely wasted. For this recipe, I use the term cook loosely, I actually did not have to even turn on the microwave for this dish. My Grandma's Angel Food Cake Pudding is my favorite dessert, like a hug from the inside it is so delicious. As simple as it is, I decided at the last minute to make this dish, not giving myself enough time to actually call her and make sure I had the steps right, so I winged it and added a couple of modifications of my own.

I bought a mix with the intention of making an angel food cake, until I got it home and read the directions, got scared, and went back to the store and bought a pre-made cake. After talking to my Grandma today, I'm glad I did, I don't think I am ready to make something that has to be propped up and cooled upside down . Also, I left out the blackberries, I decided as I was mixing that it would be fruit overkill and ruin the coloring of the final product. If it doesn't taste good, it should at least be pretty. In an effort to make it less guilty, I used a small box of fat free lemon and fat free vanilla pudding, Fat Free whip cream, pineapple in natural juice (no sugar) and skim milk. Grandma's version is with Vanilla pudding, no lemon. Her version also has cherries, but I since fruit is so delicious right now, I decided to use Strawberries and Raspberries.

Simple to do: I made the pudding in a metal bowl and chilled; as the pudding chilled I found that I actually had a large rectangle glass dish (added by my mom at some point I'm sure) and tore the Angel Food Cake into small pieces and lined the bottom of the dish. Then fold into the pudding 2 tubs of whipcream, 1 20oz can of pineapple, and a random amount of strawberries and raspberries. Pour it over the AFC, and chill. I tried it after an hour in the fridge and it was ok; I tried it after 3 hours, and it was much better.

I spoke to Grandma today, after it was all done, and learned that I added the entire can of pineapple; juice and all, found out she drained it. Adding all the juice made it runnier, and too tangy with all the raspberries too. Definitely drain. Also, I will probably do just a large box of fat free vanilla pudding, the lemon was unnecessary and I think just served to dilute the creamy balance the vanilla would offer to the tangy fruit. I am happy with the strawberry raspberry substitute to maraschino cherries for the summer, it was delicious.

Final verdict: Tasty. Morgan who opted not to be photographed thought there was too much pineapple but liked it otherwise. Since I forgot she doesn't like pineapple at all and still ate it, it is a testimony to the goodness. Grandma also recommends for a Christmas dish use the red and green maraschino cherries. Yummy.

My version:

1 Angel Food Cake

2 Tubs Fat Free Cool Whip

1 Box Fat Free Lemon Pudding

1 Box Fat Free Vanilla Pudding

1 20 oz Can of Pineapple drained

Fresh Strawberries (I used 1/2lb at least)

Fresh Raspberries (I used 1 pint)

Grandma

Angel food Cake mix

1 Large tub Cool Whip

1 Large box Vanilla Pudding

1 20oz Can of Pineapple (drained) **Do not mix pineapple in pudding, spread on top before chill

1 Can Maraschino Cherries

Grandma S. Angel Food Cake Pudding Interpreted

I am not a person comfortable in the kitchen, but I found this months challenge inspiring and thought I would give it a go to show my Mom and Grandma's all the time trying to teach me to cook wasn't completely wasted. For this recipe, I use the term cook loosely, I actually did not have to even turn on the microwave for this dish. My Grandma's Angel Food Cake Pudding is my favorite dessert, like a hug from the inside it is so delicious. As simple as it is, I decided at the last minute to make this dish, not giving myself enough time to actually call her and make sure I had the steps right, so I winged it and added a couple of modifications of my own.

I bought a mix with the intention of making an angel food cake, until I got it home and read the directions, got scared, and went back to the store and bought a pre-made cake. After talking to my Grandma today, I'm glad I did, I don't think I am ready to make something that has to be propped up and cooled upside down . Also, I left out the blackberries, I decided as I was mixing that it would be fruit overkill and ruin the coloring of the final product. If it doesn't taste good, it should at least be pretty. In an effort to make it less guilty, I used a small box of fat free lemon and fat free vanilla pudding, Fat Free whip cream, pineapple in natural juice (no sugar) and skim milk. Grandma's version is with Vanilla pudding, no lemon. Her version also has cherries, but I since fruit is so delicious right now, I decided to use Strawberries and Raspberries.

Simple to do: I made the pudding in a metal bowl and chilled; as the pudding chilled I found that I actually had a large rectangle glass dish (added by my mom at some point I'm sure) and tore the Angel Food Cake into small pieces and lined the bottom of the dish. Then fold into the pudding 2 tubs of whipcream, 1 20oz can of pineapple, and a random amount of strawberries and raspberries. Pour it over the AFC, and chill. I tried it after an hour in the fridge and it was ok; I tried it after 3 hours, and it was much better.

I spoke to Grandma today, after it was all done, and learned that I added the entire can of pineapple; juice and all, found out she drained it. Adding all the juice made it runnier, and too tangy with all the raspberries too. Definitely drain. Also, I will probably do just a large box of fat free vanilla pudding, the lemon was unnecessary and I think just served to dilute the creamy balance the vanilla would offer to the tangy fruit. I am happy with the strawberry raspberry substitute to maraschino cherries for the summer, it was delicious.

Final verdict: Tasty. Morgan who opted not to be photographed thought there was too much pineapple but liked it otherwise. Since I forgot she doesn't like pineapple at all and still ate it, it is a testimony to the goodness. Grandma also recommends for a Christmas dish use the red and green maraschino cherries. Yummy.

My version:

1 Angel Food Cake

2 Tubs Fat Free Cool Whip

1 Box Fat Free Lemon Pudding

1 Box Fat Free Vanilla Pudding

1 20 oz Can of Pineapple drained

Fresh Strawberries (I used 1/2lb at least)

Fresh Raspberries (I used 1 pint)

Grandma

Angel food Cake mix

1 Large tub Cool Whip

1 Large box Vanilla Pudding

1 20oz Can of Pineapple (drained) **Do not mix pineapple in pudding, spread on top before chill

1 Can Maraschino Cherries

Meatloaf Muffins--May 2009-- Nikki

When the challenge for May was announced, I was stumped for awhile. Did I want to tackle the macaroni and cheese that my mom's mom made? Maybe the beer potatoes from my paternal grandmother? Then, I remembered my very favorite of all my cookbooks: my dad's Betty Crocker Kid's Cookbook circa 1955. I loved to page through and see the streaks of chocolate on the fudge page, a favorite of my dad and his brothers. And I giggled at the "real kid" reactions and suggestions found at the bottom of every few pages. So fun.



My grandma gave it to me when I was a little girl, and expressed an interest in helping in the kitchen, and it was to this book that I turned when I started cooking meals for our family when I was 12. My go-to recipe was always the meatloaf.


It was simple, and tasty, and I could put it together and get back to the television. If I served it with baked potatoes, it was nearly effortless.

The best thing about meatloaf is that it's so easily modified. You can tweak it any way you like. (Jay's dad used to put a can of mixed veggies in his meatloaf-- excuse me while I shudder with disgust.) As the years have gone by, I've settled on this particular recipe, based on Betty C.'s standby:



1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 slices of bread
2 eggs
1/4 C milk
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp sage
kosher salt
ground pepper

Mix all the ingredients together, add the ground beef, and stir. So, so beautifully simple.



Recently, I hit upon a new method of meatloaf presentation-- the meatloaf muffin. This was created in an effort to interest the small person in meatloaf, and to cut down on the cooking time. (I'm constantly running late with dinner prep, and I'm always looking for ways to accomplish dinner in 35-40 minutes.) So, once the ground beef is mixed properly with the rest of the ingredients, scoop the mixture into the muffin tin, and squiggle some ketchup on top of each muffin.



Bake these in a 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. They will look like this when they're done:



And how did they taste?



Jay and I approved.

Natalie SAID she liked it...


Then she actually tasted it, and changed her assessment...



I believe her exact words were, "It's DIRT, Mom." Ah, well. Maybe next time. As Becky says at the bottom of page 122 of the Betty Crocker Kid's Cookbook, "Leftover meatloaf makes the most WONDERFUL sandwiches." Amen, Becky. Amen.

Meatloaf Muffins--May 2009-- Nikki

When the challenge for May was announced, I was stumped for awhile. Did I want to tackle the macaroni and cheese that my mom's mom made? Maybe the beer potatoes from my paternal grandmother? Then, I remembered my very favorite of all my cookbooks: my dad's Betty Crocker Kid's Cookbook circa 1955. I loved to page through and see the streaks of chocolate on the fudge page, a favorite of my dad and his brothers. And I giggled at the "real kid" reactions and suggestions found at the bottom of every few pages. So fun.



My grandma gave it to me when I was a little girl, and expressed an interest in helping in the kitchen, and it was to this book that I turned when I started cooking meals for our family when I was 12. My go-to recipe was always the meatloaf.


It was simple, and tasty, and I could put it together and get back to the television. If I served it with baked potatoes, it was nearly effortless.

The best thing about meatloaf is that it's so easily modified. You can tweak it any way you like. (Jay's dad used to put a can of mixed veggies in his meatloaf-- excuse me while I shudder with disgust.) As the years have gone by, I've settled on this particular recipe, based on Betty C.'s standby:



1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 slices of bread
2 eggs
1/4 C milk
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp sage
kosher salt
ground pepper

Mix all the ingredients together, add the ground beef, and stir. So, so beautifully simple.



Recently, I hit upon a new method of meatloaf presentation-- the meatloaf muffin. This was created in an effort to interest the small person in meatloaf, and to cut down on the cooking time. (I'm constantly running late with dinner prep, and I'm always looking for ways to accomplish dinner in 35-40 minutes.) So, once the ground beef is mixed properly with the rest of the ingredients, scoop the mixture into the muffin tin, and squiggle some ketchup on top of each muffin.



Bake these in a 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. They will look like this when they're done:



And how did they taste?



Jay and I approved.

Natalie SAID she liked it...


Then she actually tasted it, and changed her assessment...



I believe her exact words were, "It's DIRT, Mom." Ah, well. Maybe next time. As Becky says at the bottom of page 122 of the Betty Crocker Kid's Cookbook, "Leftover meatloaf makes the most WONDERFUL sandwiches." Amen, Becky. Amen.