Iced Monkey Bread

Last night I made this totally fantastic version of Monkey Bread. Most recipes call for canned biscuits. I didn't have any around, but I did have some frozen bread dough. I thought I remembered my MIL making hers with frozen bread dough, but I couldn't find any recipes calling for it. So, I made up my own!

Because I used 2 loaves of frozen bread dough instead of the 3 cans of biscuits most recipes call for, it just didn't have quite as much caramel gooiness going on as I remembered that it should. So...I decided to ice them! You know, like a cinnamon roll? Oh my, they were perfect. This baby came out of the oven around 10 pm last night and was gone shortly after breakfast. Next time I think I will just drizzle the icing over the loaf. I wasn't sure how everyone would like the icing with the Monkey Bread so I decided to serve it on the side. Everyone ate theirs with though!

2 (1 lb.) loaves frozen white bread dough

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

Icing:

2 Tbsp. butter

2 c. powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. milk

Thaw bread dough in refrigerator for 12 hours.

Cut each loaf of dough into 24 equal portions. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Roll each portion of dough in sugar mixture, and layer dough in sugar mixture, and layer dough in a 12 c. Bundt pan coated with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt butter and combine with brown sugar. Pour mixture evenly over dough balls in Bundt pan. Cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, 35 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Place a serving plate, upside down, on top of pan, and invert bread onto plate. Remove pan and drizzle any remaining syrup over bread.

Melt butter for icing. Combine with milk and 2 c. powdered sugar. Drizzle over Monkey Bread.

Anyone There?

Yes, we are still here, alive, & kicking. Who even knows where to start with what has been going on around here. I am going to give a short recap, mostly in photos.

These pictures are in the order most recent, to oldest. (This fact really annoys me, apparently I will never figure out how to properly upload photos to blogger.)

This is Grace, today doing some yoga. She is so funny.

This is Quinn today, getting his XBOX fix. It has been broken for the past few months, so it is the hot item right now around here. Tony and I are really loving it too. Especially since we figured out how to stream movies from Netflix to our big screen via the XBOX. Very cool!
Can you believe it? I am the mother of a handsome 10 year old. I couldn't be prouder of him. He is such a sweet kid. Not to mention an awesome hockey player! This is just a little family party we had for him. We are still planning on letting him have a friend party, either at home or at Raging Rivers.
Hmmm....what should I wish for?
He is always SO embarrassed when he is in the spotlight.
Gracie all hot, sweaty, and high on sugar at the parade over the 4th.
Quinn at the parade.

Shrinking Days of Summer, Week 1

Today is the first day of the biggest loser challenge with the Sisterhood! I am really looking forward to it. This time of year tends to be at least as hard for me (weight-wise) as Christmas. Between my birthday, the 4th, and all of the margaritas/beer I like to sip on those warm summer nights, the scale usually tends to go up.

I am hoping having a team is going to keep me accountable. I should have some good motivation anyway, considering I am on the verge of weighing the least I have weighed since my pre-baby days (10 years ago).

I have never shared my weight on this blog, but (gasp!) I am going to do that now.  

Current Weight: 165.6

Goal for challenge: lose 10 pounds

Ultimate Goal: 145

Good luck everyone!

Tagged!

My cuz, Melissa, at Whoo's That Girl tagged me & I thought I would give it a whirl!  

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Finally having the lower level of my house completed!  Doors!  Trim!  Wet bar!  Can't wait (especially to finally have doors).
2. Running my first 10K over the weekend of the 4th.
3. Success in the biggest loser challenge over at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.
4. Our mini-vacation with the kids this weekend (to Watertown, SD)- actually for a wedding but I got a room at a hotel with a slide for 2 nights & I am calling it a vacation;).
5. Summer evenings spent with friends & family.
6. Garden veggies.
7. My favorite group fitness instructors return from vacation.  How dare she leave me.
8. My kids not fighting ALL SUMMER.

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Cycling Class.
2. Muscle Work Class.
3. Took kids to the summer reading kick-off at the Heritage Center.
4. Took Quinn to his first day of swim lessons.
5. Had a contractor out to get an estimate for our basement trim work.
6. Made hotel reservations.
7.Talked to grandpa on the phone.
8. Updated my facebook status.

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Definitely have more patience.  Who couldn't use that?
2. Explore the world with my husband.
3. Strike it rich so I can do #2.
4. Run a 1/2 marathon.  I am getting there.
5. Find the determination to lose my last 20#.
6. See certain loved ones find some type of fulfillment. 
7. Take my kids to fantastic places.
8. Have more faith in myself.

8 shows I watch:

1. House

2. The Office
3. Lost
4.Today
5. News
6. Iron Chef
7. House Hunters
8. Kitchen Nightmares

*I actually only really watch the first 3.  The others are just an occasional hit or miss deal.  I don't watch much TV.

8 people tagged:

1. Pam at It's Time for More Coffee....
2. Jen at Life in the Left-Turn-Only Lane.
3. Kristin at The Krumwiede Six.
4. Emily at A Day in the Life.
5. Kate at You Do the Math.
6. Sarah at Blog, Blog, Blog.
7. Nancy at The Dutch Scandies.
8. My new facebook friend & fellow Team Yellow member, Jolynn at Life Lessons Learned.

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I made this last week & it was so dang good.  Tony & I both really loved it.  The kids loved the tenderloin but scraped the glaze off.  Whatever, they don't have any taste buds anyway.  I got this out of a cookbook I checked out from the library and I have been trying to remember to blog it before returning the book.  Tonight is the first time I have really gotten a chance. 

 Lord, help me to survive the summer!  I love hanging out with the kids, doing the activities, etc.  But the fighting.  Good God.  Anyway, they are in bed & I'm not going to think about that right now.  I am going to think about this mouth-watering pork instead.  You know, the other white meat???  

This recipe calls for 1 lb. of pork. For our family, I have to make closer to 2 lbs. of pork.  I have some real carnivores around these parts.  

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

5 POINTS per serving

Ingredients

	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp black pepper
	1 pound(s) Pork, tenderloin, raw
	2 item(s) rosemary sprig, (I skipped this)
	1/2 cup(s) Smucker's Pineapple Preserves
	1 tbsp Kraft Prepared Horseradish

Instructions

Combine salt and pepper; rub over pork. Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Place one sprig of rosemary under the pork and one on top. 
Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat preserves and horseradish until preserves are melted; stir until blended. Remove top rosemary sprig. 
Brush pork with 1/4 cup pineapple sauce. Bake 10-20 minutes longer or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. 
Serve with the remaining sauce.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

I made this for dinner tonight.  Kade & Tony both really liked it.  I think the rest of us did too, we just weren't very hungry because we had Space Aliens for lunch.  

It was very quick & easy to make although it wasn't the lowest fat dish.  We all really like bacon though & this combined lots of things the kids love: ranch, chicken, bacon, & noodles.  I just lightened the recipe up in a couple of other areas to accommodate for the bacon grease.  Life is all about compromise, right?

Creamy Ranch Chicken

POINTS® Value: 8 Servings:  5

Ingredients

	5 oz bacon, uncooked (6 thin slices)
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
	2 tbsp all-purpose flour
	1 serving(s) Ranch Salad dressing and Seasoning mix, 1 oz. package, (2 Tbsp. ranch mix)
	1 1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk

Instructions

1. Cut bacon into narrow strips. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings.

2. In the same skillet cook chicken in reserved drippings until tender and no longer pink, turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over the chicken in the skillet; stir well. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in bacon. 

Serve chicken mixture with noodles.  I like the Smart Taste Rotini.  Healthy but no one knows it;-)

Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Fun & Safety Day

Today, Grace & I chaperoned yet another field trip. This time, it was Fun & Safety Day with Kade's 3rd grade class. I only found out I was chaperoning it yesterday. Kade mentioned me coming yesterday morning. I told him that I hadn't volunteered, but he said his teacher said I had. When I picked him up from school I asked her, and sure enough! I had somehow volunteered myself! I do enjoy doing these things, but I know I wouldn't have volunteered to do 2 long ones like that one day after the next. Grace was exhausted after today's trip! I think what happened is that the teacher gave a reminder for those that hadn't returned permission slips for the field trip. I couldn't remember if I had (I had though) grabbed the first signature required paper I saw (in our mad dash trying to get out the door) and volunteered myself. I really need to be more careful about what I am signing! At least it was a fun field trip for Grace!

Here are some pics from our day!

Here are some pics by Kade of his friends being goof balls on the bus.

The Karate Lady taking Kade down.

Waiting

Ready to run.

Kade booking it through the timed obstacle course.

The boys having some fun hulaing.

Gracie & the her doting new friend. I think she would just like to move in with his family. During hockey season she follows the same boys older sister around EVERYWHERE. Very nice people.

Dontcha just want to pinch his cheeks!? I do. I can't believe he is going to be entering the Double Digits in 2 short months. I'm not going to think about it, or I might cry.

My group of boys that I was fortunate enough to explore with today. Same as yesterday, very good kids! This would have been such a cute picture! Dang it Kade, OPEN YOUR EYES!

Does this grin look devilish, or is it just me?

Grace loves a boy that will do what she says. Carry me. Push me. And he listens. If only she could get her own brothers to do the same.

I think the poor kids arms were about to fall off. That rug rat is heavy for me.
Until next time!

Love,

Megan