I've got more Monkeys up my sleve.

This is seriously one of my all time favorite recipes! (I say that a lot, am reflecting on WHY we need to diet!) And since we are on a diet program that graciously includes a day off to eat whatever you want, WE DO, and we've recently started having this delightful delicacy EVERY Saturday morning. We used to treck out to duncan donuts on Sat. mornings but honestly we're really too lazy to keep that up, and the donut quality is not really that stellar anyway.

So back to the recipe, well almost... I need to mention, now, that its Wed. and we officially only have 3 more "sleeps" (nights, if you don't speak baby talk) in the apartment. I am so excited about moving and getting started on the rennovations that I can't sleep at night and can't sit still during the day. Today, however, I have an excellent diversion. My boss (my brother) sent me to DC for a workshop on SmartGrid and the internet (yeah I know you are jealous) and I'm writing this post from a Starbucks in Bethesda while I kill time and plan my attack of parking and public transit to get me to said conference on the NIH campus. After the workshop Sean is taking the train from Philly to DC (I still think the public transport up here is really cool!) and we're having dinner with his grandfather before we turn around and drive back to Delaware. I THINK I might actually sleep well tonight!

So seriously, this is the kind of recipe thats great for a lazy Saturday, or if you have guests over for the weekend and has been featured at many a Collins family Christmas breakfast. You actually put the ingredients together the night before and just pop it in the oven the next morning about 20-30 minutes before you are ready to eat.

MONKEY BREAD:
18-14 Frozen Yeast Rolls (Kroger has their own brand if you are in TX and up here I get Bridgeford Rolls)
1-2T Cinnamon
1 pkg. Cook and Serve Vanilla pudding
1 Stick Melted Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1) Place frozen yeast rolls in a zip lock bag with cinnamon and shake to coat. (Some recipes call for the enitre package of frozen yeast rolls, I don't think this works quite as well. I try to make a layer of 1 -2 frozen rolls of the bottom of the pan)
2) Pour cinnamon-y rolls into a bundt or tube pan.
3) Dump contents of pudding packet evenly over rolls, do the same with the brown sugar and then the melted butter. Your pan should look something like this.

4) Cover your pan with a towel and let rise overnight (while you sleep!)

Your rolls should double in size and be approaching, if not puffed over the edge of your pan by morning.

 5) In the morning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then bake Monkey Bread for 20 - 30 minutes until tops of the rolls are golden brown. (I highly reccomend setting your bundt ban on a larger cookie sheet for baking as they can sometimes bubble over creating a difficult mess to clean in the bottom of your oven!)
6) Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges of the pan and then invert onto your baking sheet.

All the pudding, butter, and brown sugar bakes into a delicious carmel like sauce and you have fun pull apart rolls to serve. AWESOME!

Savory or Sweet?

I really started this blog as a place to show my decorated sugar cookies, to show the steps and the variations etc that having a plain website didn't let me show. I've, obviously, since decided that its OK to sneak in a few lot of other dessert recipes, and more recently, a cocktail. I've been debating for a while now whether or not I should post a savory recipe here and there. Its seems just plain wrong because the theme has always been sweet, but seriously people I'm on a diet so I don't cook as much dessert as I used to, and I DO have a few savory and dare I say low-cal recipes that Sean and I enjoy. So I've decided I'd leave it up to you, my faithful readers and commenters, to let me know if you want to see copious pictures of the savory dishes that occasionally come out of the Flour Blossoms kitchen.

I even considered starting a "Savory Saturday" special entry, kind of like cakewrecks does with "Sunday Sweets" but lets face it, I am NOT that consistent, and I HATE schedules.  Its just never going to happen that way with me.  But if you guys/gals are interested, I'll photograph and post our favorite savory meals on occasion.

Also in the near future look for installments of the NEW! Flour Blossoms kitchen remodel. We move in HERE:

In less than 2 weeks, and I have a detilaed plan for a $500 (kitchen) makeover to start IMMEDIATELY upon taking posession of the house. And, well, sweet readers, you're going to see it whether you want to or not!

THIS is the current Kitchen wallpaper. FAIL!

I'm feeling a little pink these days... (just the pink background. thats all!)

And want to share another Kay recipe... This one is really a Kay and Sean recipe, which they perfected over Christmas at my request. You see, in our house, there only one type of liquer purchased with any regularity, and for that matter only one brand... Beefeater Gin. Sean and I both enjoy Gin and Tonics, and generally dislike other varieties of liquer. I, however, can tolerate a little bit of vodka or tequila because I am more than willing to mix them with something sweet and fruity (Sean not so much). But at Christmas this year, a new cocktail was introduced into my repertoire that harkens back to the late 90's and sex and the city, but tastes all the better for actually being a GIN Cosmo.

This one is particularly pink because I used Cran-Pommegranite juice instead of straight cranberry.

2 ounces cranberry juice 

1½ ounces gin
½ ounce cointreau
¼ ounce Roses Sweetened lime juice (because I have cranberry juice cocktail I use fresh lime juice)