I can’t even turn on the news anymore. I am limiting my time on Facebook. I love social media but it is too dark and depressing lately. The little boy in Walt Disney World, which is my favorite place in the world, killed by an alligator. The 49 people killed and 53 injured in the shooting in Orlando. A singer killed after a concert. A family swept over the falls in Letchworth State Park, NY. Seven killed and 35 people injured by gun fire last weekend in Chicago – one of whom was a 5 year-old girl. It makes me sad. It makes me wonder what is becoming of our society.
Then I hear this song. It makes me cry because after 33 years it is still the same thing. Change the names. Change the places. It is still the same. Thirty-three years….
So, we went out to eat last night. I couldn’t, can’t even cook dinner right now. We went out for appetizers – Tex Mex Egg Rolls, Beer Boiled Shrimp, Potato Skins and salads. A delicious steak and fried potato salad and a Cobb salad were split by the four of us. I even let the kids get dessert, which I NEVER do. So, hug your loved ones a bit closer this weekend, tell them you love them and just enjoy being together!
So, we need happy food here! I have been looking at this Pinterest recipe for weeks. It looked very easy but I thought I could tweak it a bit and make it even better. We had this for breakfast and it was AMAZING!!!! I started with this recipe for Cream Cheese Monkey Bread from P&E Yummilicous. (click for link to original recipe).
Verdict:
This was so good! The kids have requested that I now make it once a month for a special treat. It was so easy I just may have to do that! It was gooey and flavorful and fun to pull apart and eat.
Caramel Pecan Monkey Bread
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 Tubes of Buttermilk Biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grands – 8 rolls to a tube)
- 1 1/2 – 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese cut into 32 cubes.
- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup of melted butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 12 cup Bundt pan and set aside.
- Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Separate each of the 8 biscuit dough from each of two 12-ounce tubes of refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits. Then separate each of the 16 biscuits in half for a total of 32 rounds. Set the discs on a flat surface and place one cube of cream cheese into the center of each piece of dough.
- Wrap the dough up over the sides of each cream cheese cube to make a small cup. Place 10-12 of the cups right side up, meaning that the cream cheese center is facing you, in the bottom of your Bundt pan. Pack them fairly tightly but give them room to expand. Sprinkle 1/2 the topping mix over the dough. Slowly drizzle 1/2 of the butter over the topping mixture and then sprinkle 1/2 of the pecans over the butter.
- With the remaining dough/cheese cups turn them upside down so that the cream cheese opening is toward the bottom of your pan. The bottom of the dough cup should be facing you. Pack them carefully around the inside of the Bundt pan. Making sure you leave a bit of room for the dough to rise.
- Cover with rest of topping mix, then drizzle rest of butter over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the pecans.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until top is golden brown and well set. Let rest for 5 minutes before turning bread out onto a plate. Caution! This is very HOT and sticky. Please be careful!
This looks awesome and I agree with you about the news. All these tragedies bring tears to my eyes.
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Thank you.
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this looks so yummy! Love the song, such sad times Marci!
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It is. I can’t decide whether there really is more sadness and violence or it is the media. Whatever it is it makes me cry all the time.
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yes that is so true!
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…and this is where parents step in and teach their children right from wrong in this world… it’s sad that that there are too few parents such as yourself Marci. As the adults, we ALL need to step up to the plate! Oh, and I love the bread too 😀
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🙂 Thank you. Someone once said to me when my babies were little remember you are raising future citizens of this world. It has stuck with me ever since.
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HERE HERE!
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My sweet-tooth-loving husband and daughter would love me if I made this for them! It looks pretty darned easy too. Our hearts break over all these recent (and senseless) tragedies. Hugs to you and your kids, Marci, I’m so glad you are steering them along the right path. xo
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It is a yummy bread. Thank you for your sweet words.
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Yum! PS what’s beer boiled shrimp?
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Shrimp boiled in beer! Best thing ever!
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Hmmm! I’ll google it. We have gulf shrimp in our freezer from vacation. Sounds like the perfect Father’s Day meal! Thanks so much!
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Unfortunately, we live in trying and destructive times. May they rest in peace.
The bread looks fantastic! I almost licked the screen! 😀
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Lol. Thanks for making me laugh.
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You’re welcome!
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Oh Yumm and quick an easy too:))
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It was!
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This looks good. I can see why your kids want you to make it often. All of the sadness in the news is awful. It seems to come in droves. Let’s hope for better news soon.
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I agree. County fairs and cute cat videos in the news tomorrow#
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