What do monkeys eat for breakfast?

Have you ever wondered what monkeys eat for breakfast?

I don’t mean the monkeys you’ll find at the zoo.

I mean the monkeys you’ll find if you visit my house!

Curious?

Well, most, days, the monkeys have exciting things like Carnation Instant Breakfast served with side of toast or pop tarts.

But on Fridays, we mix things up a bit. SuperMan is off on Fridays, so I have a little more time in the mornings. Less rush-rush-rush and more nurture-the-family time.

So, I make things like this

Yep, you guessed it!

Monkey Bread!

The kids were not sure they were going to like it – Little Bit was afraid there were monkeys in the bread. Big Girl said it didn’t sound good.

But they LOVED it.

And SuperMan (after telling me I was ruining his diet) ate some, too.

Even Mr. Droopy-Pants had a taste.

And I sent them all away for the day, full of sugar and carbs and bouncing off the walls.

I’m sure their teachers appreciated it.

I’m such a good mom.

If you’d like to indulge in a little sugary goodness one morning, here’s the recipe. I am most definitely not a morning person and this wasn’t painful to make, even though it was five-stinkin’-thirty in the morning. I’ll do it again for sure. It was worth the effort.

Monkey Bread

It’s what monkeys eat for breakfast!

2 packages Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
1 cup sugar (I used 1/4 c Splenda 1/2 c sugar)
2 tbs ground cinnamon (I just dump a bunch in)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup, packed, brown sugar (I used 1/2 c Splenda/brown sugar blend)
1 tsp vanilla

OPTIONAL:
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c raisins
(the monkeys at my house don’t like raisins or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 9 or 10 inch tube/Bundt pan.
Note: if you use a tube pan with a removable bottom, put a cookie sheet on the oven rack below it to catch any drips of the caramel sauce that may seep through and be careful when you dump the bread from the pan.
In a gallon zip lock bag, mix the sugar & cinnamon.
Cut the biscuits into quarters and drop them into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
(I cut mine into sixths because the Grands are such big biscuits)
Shake to coat and then drop the coated biscuit pieces into the tube pan.
Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in the pan.
If you are using nuts/raisins, don’t forget to sprinkle them in as you are adding the biscuits to the pan.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together.
Add the vanilla.
Let it simmer for about a minute.
Pour over the biscuits.
Bake at 350 for 35 – 40 minutes.
When you take the bread out of the pan, let is sit for a few minutes to allow the caramel to set.
Turn out onto a large plate and let your hungry monkeys pull it apart (carefully) and enjoy!

Print the recipe here

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Silliness

Recipes

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Menu Plan Monday – 1 Aug

Happy Monday, everyone!

I hope you had a great weekend. I sure did. What was planned as a quick day-off-work trip for the girls and me to Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium turned into an overnight getaway with the entire family. We had so much fun, in spite of the heat, and really enjoyed being together as a family one more time before school starts.

I’ll share more on that trip (and pictures) later this week. Right now, I want to share with you my Menu Plan for the week. If you were here last week you’ll know I am starting to get my family back on track (after our lazy summer eating habits) and planning menus for a week’s worth of meals.

After church yesterday we made a quick trip to Publix (love that place) and picked up the few items we needed for the menu this week. I let the girls help me decide on some of the dinners (and SuperMan, too). Monday night we’re having sleepovers (we have friends w/ two daughters the same age as ours – we’re swapping one kid for the night so each set of girls gets to hang out with their friend with no big/little sisters to harass them) so, that night we are doing frozen pizzas for the kids and the grownups will do leftover baked potato and salad.

Here’s what we’re having:

BBQ Pork – I cook a huge pork roast in the crock pot. Little Bit likes it plain. The rest of us eat it w/BBQ sauce. I will take the juices and add some water and make a big pot of “sticky rice” to go with it. Yummy.
Grilled Chicken & veggies – Publix had boneless, skinless thighs on sale. I got a pack and they are marinating right now in my secret marinade. (I’ll have to post that one day) I’m planning to cook that broccoli recipe for this one and probably some more grilled corn. (love that stuff)
Stuffed Pork Chops w/ veggies
Low Country Boil

I probably need one more dinner, but I’m sure I’ll be at the store later this week. I’ve got to get school lunch goodies, so I will probably pick up whatever is on sale for Fri/Sat/Sun dinners then. I also have a couple things that I didn't cook last week (because of our little impromptu trip) that I can use as well.

What are your plans for the week? Link up with us over on orgjunkie.com.

Penny for Your Thoughts?

I've got a little survey started over on my Facebook page – I would be so grateful if you would stop over there and take a minute to give me your input.

I'm hoping to see what the more popular topics are on my blog so I can better tailor content to the areas you're most interested in.

So, stop on by, would you please?

Weekly Wordle on Wednesday

I’m having lots of fun with this – interesting to see the trends in a big picture.

You can try making your own Wordle here.

Doing my civic duty

I have jury duty this week. No telling what the week will be like, but I do know that it has certainly turned my week's plans upside down!

I have lots to share – we had a busy, fun weekend. But that will have to wait until this evening. Hopefully, I can get back online and post some photos from our fun.

Happy Monday everyone!