Cream Cheese Stuffed Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

This morning my alarm went off at 5am. Yes. 5. A. M. I had politely set my phone alarm on the vibrate setting so as to not wake my hard working hubby before he was ready. As soon as I heard it shaking on my dresser, I quickly shut it off. This was a mistake as I began to snooze again, starting several crazy dream segments that made me feel like I had been sleeping a long time. Perhaps they were a quick summary of the entire nights' dreams. Who knows. The point is that 30 minutes later I awoke with a start. You see, I had the best of intentions of trying this delicious sounding recipe for a special breakfast this morning. I needed to get it put together and in the oven as close to 5 as possible to ensure it had enough time to bake and be ready for said hard working hubby to enjoy before having to leave for work. I flew into the kitchen and quickly began opening cans of Cinnamon Rolls (being startled every time they Popped), flattening them, stuffing with a piece of Cream Cheese, and tossing into my fluted pan. As hard as I tried, they didn't bake as quickly as I hoped and were not ready for my hubby to try. Hey, I had good intentions, right?! I did make a fresh pot of coffee ;).

At any rate, Justin doesn't always like really sweet things for breakfast, so he can enjoy this as a snack later today; if I don't eat it all.

This was so easy to throw together and has all the gooey fatty goodness I look for in a Good Morning Treat! Instead of posting the whole recipe, or shall I say shopping list, here, I will direct you to a fabulous website.

www.cookiesandcups.com

I simply love the stuff she posts and am usually rolling with laughter while reading her posts, which is great since laughing helps me burn off some calories before diving into the yummies. :)

My plate is now empty. As is my mug. My fingers are sticky. I do believe that means it is time for seconds and for me to sign off. T.G.I.F!!

Crock Pot Cake

I absolutely LOVE my Crock Pot!! I know, I know, I say this a lot, but it is so very true. I have grown to love it even more with the discovery of such easy desserts that can be made in it. DESSERTS?! I always just thought of pulling it out for dinner, never for dessert. I found this Chocolate Lava Cake recipe for the crock pot on the Crockin' Girls website and it was amazing and so simple. I have made several variations and have decided to share my latest one with you lucky readers! It is my version of Pineapple Upside Down cake, but in the Crock Pot.

You will need the following ingredients:

• 1 Box Pineapple Cake Mix
• 3 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 2/3 Cups Water
• 1 (3.9oz) Box Coconut Creme Instant Pudding
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1 (8oz) Can Crushed Pineapple
• 1 Jar Maraschino Cherries

Directions:

• Mix cake mix with eggs, oil and water. Pour into your crock pot.
• Mix instant pudding with milk. Pour over cake batter.
• Chop up however many maraschino cherries you want and sprinkle them, along with the crushed pineapple, over the top of the batter. Will look something like this:

• Cook on High setting for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Let it cool. If you can. It will smell so yummy that you will most likely dive right in and possibly devour it all without sharing. Please, don't burn your mouth. :) ENJOY!!!

**FYI: As I mentioned, you can very this multiple ways, simply by changing the type of cake mix, pudding, and topping. The original Chocolate recipe is linked above and here, again, for your convenience.**

Smothered Meatloaf in the Slow Cooker

I love meatloaf!! My Mom didn't care for it too much so it was a special treat if she made it for me. Thankfully, I married a man who also loves meatloaf! And I love my crock pot, as many know, so this recipe was meant for me, LOL!! I have made it once before and it was delicious!!! It is on the menu for Thursday's dinner at our home so I thought it should be highlighted in my What's Cookin' section. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups Potatoes O'Brien
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 1/4 pounds Ground Pork
• 1 box Garlic Herb Shake & Bake (I use Garlic Breadcrumbs and just wing the measurement, LOL)
• 1 envelope Beefy Onion Soup Mix
• 1 (4.5 oz) jar Sliced Mushrooms, drained
• 1 Egg
• 1 can Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup, divided
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1 can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 Onion, sliced thin
• 1 (8oz) package Fresh Mushrooms, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

• Place potatoes in the bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker.
• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, shake & bake, onion soup mix, sliced mushrooms (jar), and egg. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup cheddar cheese soup and evaporated milk. Add to meat mixture.
• Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, mix thoroughly and form into a loaf. Place in slow cooker on top of the potatoes, making sure that the meatloaf doesn't touch the sides.
• Stir together the remaining cheddar cheese soup with the cream of mushroom soup and pour over the meatloaf. 
• Top with the sliced onions and fresh sliced mushrooms.
• Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 1 hour. Reduce the temperature to LOW setting and cook for an additional 5-6 hours. 

**Recipe by Sandra Lee, host of Semi-Homemade on the Food Network.**

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'?

One of the things I have decided to share through my blog are yummy recipes. I know I will often share a post or a status on Facebook where I talk about something I am making or have made and people ask for the recipe, and then I forget to share it. So goes my life sometimes, forgetting ... Anyways, I have made it my goal to post a recipe here every Tuesday. If you have been one of those people who have requested a recipe which I forgot to share, please kindly remind me and I will get it on here! I am going to Kick-Off this new goal with a Fabulous recipe for Sugar Cookies, just in time for Valentines Day. Enjoy!!

Lola's White Sugar Cookies

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, softened
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk

Step 1: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

Step 2: With electric mixer on med-high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar together until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Reduce speed to med. and add in the egg and vanilla, beating until combined.

Step 3: Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 2 batches, beating until incorporated.

Step 4: Press the dough into a 4-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Step 5: When ready to cut out and bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thick circle and cut out desired shapes (it is recommended to stay at a 2 1/2 inch size or smaller). Place on your baking sheet and sprinkle remaining sugar lightly over the cookies.

Step 6: Bake on the middle rack, approx. 12-15 minutes, or until edges are just golden brown. (NOTE: These cookies bake up, not out, so you don't have to leave a lot of space between them.) Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 7: Re-roll dough and repeat cutting and baking steps. :) In my recipe book, it says that this will make 24 cookies, but it really depends on the shapes/cutters you use. I made these for Christmas and had way more than 24 cookies. It also recommends baking these cookies one batch at a time and to use a fresh or cooled baking sheet for each batch.

Step 8: Once cooled, you can decorate as you wish. They should be stored in an airtight container, for up to 3 days according to the book. I stored mine in the fridge for about a week (gotta remember it has the buttermilk) .. if they last that long ;).


I absolutely loved these Sugar Cookies because they don't have a lot of sugar!! Yet, they still taste sweet and yummy!! They bake up and taste a lot like scones (which I really like) and make a great coffee companion. Happy Baking!

**This recipe is from the wonderful cookbook, America's Best Lost Recipes. Wanna Buy it? Check it out on Amazon, http://amzn.com/1933615184.**