Cinnamon Roll French Toast

Cinnamon rolls turned french toast! This recipe was very tasty. My french toast did not look as fluffy as the picture on the Pillsbury website, but I thought it was still very good. It also was very easy to make. I added cinnamon to the french toast egg mixture just to add another kick of cinnamon. If you can't already see from my blog already I love cinnamon! I think kids would love to see their favorite cinnamon rolls turned into french toast. This is not very healthy but a great treat to start the morning! I loved the icing. I would to use this recipe to top on regular french toast or pancakes.

Ingredients
1 can (12.4 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing (I used Cinnbon rolls and had cream cheese icing)
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

dash of cinnamon 

Directions
1. Bake cinnamon rolls as directed on package. Let rolls cool completely.
2. Spray griddle or 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat griddle to 375°F or heat skillet over medium heat. Slice each roll in half crosswise.
3. In shallow dish, whisk eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup, the vanilla and cinnamon until blended. Dip each cinnamon roll slice into egg mixture, turning to coat completely. Place on griddle. Cook about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
4. In small bowl, whisk reserved icing, the remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup and enough warm water to create a pourable syrup consistency. Serve over French toast.

Pillsbury Recipe

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

 I love cinnamon rolls but wanted to add a twist to the store bought can. This recipe did the trick. With the pecans and orange zest it added a punch of flavor to ordinary cinnamon rolls.I loved the orange flavor that was infused into the rolls. Unfortunately, the brown sugar mixture stuck to the bottom of the pan. It tasted delicious but was difficult to scape off the bottom. The edges were a bit crunchy, but I didn't think this impacted the dish much. I would make these again, but I might not melt the brown sugar for as long as I did. I also thought maybe I could pour the sauce over the top.

Ingredients 
2 Tablespoons margarine, melted
6 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
6 Tablespoons chopped pecans
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can (17.5 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8X8-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In small bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and orange peel. Pour butter mixture into pan; top with 1/2 of the pecans.
3. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 10 rolls. Cut each into quarters. Place dough pieces in sugar mixture; toss to coat. Arrange in single layer in pan.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Drop icing by teaspoonfuls over top of coffee cake; sprinkle with remaining pecans. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve warm.


Pillsbury Recipe

Sausage and Potatoes Italiano

My next experiment in the kitchen was all about meat and potatoes; a staple in my diet!  I already had 1/2 lb of hot sausage in the freezer so this recipe came together pretty easily. I choose to half the recipe. After reading reviews of this recipe I was a bit concerned it would be too salty, but I didn't see how I could alter the recipe to fix this problem. I choose to just stick with the recipe as written. I found it a bit salty but not overwhelming. I actually thought it to tasted better when I reheated it the next day for lunch.  This recipe was outstanding and is a quick go to dinner. And great for lunch the next day.

Ingredients

1/2 lb bulk Italian pork sausage
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 box (4.7 oz) Betty Crocker® au gratin potatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onions (2 medium)
1 tablespoon sliced green onions (1 medium)

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 8x8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain.
 
2. In large bowl, mix water, milk and margarine. Stir in pouch of Potatoes and pouch of Sauce Mix. Stir in sausage and 1/4 cup green onions until well blended. Pour potato mixture into baking dish.

3. Bake uncovered 35 minutes. Top with 1 tablespoon green onions. Bake 5 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 minutes before serving (sauce will thicken as it stands).

Betty Crocker Recipe

Pizza Biscuits

 This recipe was so quick and easy to make. I didn't have any pepperoni so instead I added peppers and onions. I also didn't make two cans of biscuits so I couldn't make a wreath like in the original recipe. I decided to make a fun shape instead. I would recommend making this recipe for a party and using the wreath design. You really could get creative with this recipe and put in any of your favorite pizza toppings.

Ingredients 
1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits ( I used homestyle so I only had 8)
4 sticks (3/4 oz each) Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, each cut crosswise into 4 pieces
1 egg, beaten
1 jalapeno pepper 
1 slice of onion diced
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 can (8 oz) pizza sauce

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Separate can of dough into 8 biscuits;  Press each biscuit into 3-inch round
2. Place peppers slices and 2 pieces of cheese on each dough round. Wrap dough around filling, pinching edges to seal and form ball.
3. Arrange balls, sides almost touching (I made an S shape- if you used two cans I would stick with the original recipe and make a wreath)  Brush rings with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave pizza sauce, loosely covered, on High 45 to 60 seconds or until warm.


Pizza Biscuit Wreath recipe from Pillsbury

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Loaf

I love monkey bread and figured I would try out a different recipe. This one was okay. I had to use a bit more butter and extra cinnamon and sugar to cover all the dough. I decided to use a bundt pan to jazz it up. It only took minutes to prepare which is part of the reason I liked this recipe. However, when baking the top was baking much faster than the bottom. I covered the top with tin foil to keep it from over baking. Overall, this recipe is super easy to make but I wouldn't say it's the best monkey bread I ever had. One night I decided to eat some for dessert and melted a spoonful of frosting on top- that was pretty delicious!

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar 

2 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon 

1/3 cup of butter  

1 (12-oz.) can  refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

 

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Generously grease 8x4-inch loaf pan (do not use dark-coated pan). In small shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; mix well.
2. Separate dough into 10 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Dip each quarter into melted margarine; roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Arrange in greased loaf pan.
3. Bake at 400°F. for 19 to 27 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Loosen edges; remove from pan. Place on serving plate. Serve warm.

Pillsbury recipe  

Potato and Sausage Quesadillas

 My next experiment in the kitchen was a twist on a quesadilla using a potato and sausage filling. I was surprised how good it tasted. Make sure you don't over fill the quesadilla or the filling may explode out of the sides. I made a few adjustments to the original recipe. I used hot sausage instead of chorizo just because I already had ground sausage on hand. I also left out the parsley simply because I didn't have any. I also used jalapeno cheese to kick up the heat a bit more. You could easily make a lot of variations on this recipe to better fit your liking.

Ingredients
1/2 lb ground sausage (used Jimmy Dean hot)
1 cup hot milk 
2/3 cup Betty Crocker® Potato Buds® mashed potatoes (dry)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
cooking spray
10 flour tortillas (6 inch), warmed
10 slices of jalapeno cheese 


Directions
1. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown; drain.
2. In medium bowl, thoroughly stir hot milk, dry potatoes, onion, melted butter, garlic and salt until consistency of stiff mashed potatoes. Stir in sausage.
3. Spray griddle with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Place 2 tablespoons filling on half of each tortilla; top filling with 1 slice cheese. Fold each tortilla over onto filling. Heat on griddle, turning once, until cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite salsa, if desired.
Betty Crocker Recipe

Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Squares

My next experiment in the kitchen was a chocolate chip-peanut butter square. I found this recipe on Pillsbury and figured I'd give it a try since I already had all the ingredients. I wish the directions from the recipe were a bit more clear. I wasn't sure if I should melt the peanut butter first and then blend in. Also, should I use a mixer or not. I chose not to melt the peanut butter and mix it by hand. I don't think the filling turned out the way it should have. It was crumbly. There also was not a lot of filling as compared to the picture in the original recipe. Also I only cooked mine for 20min. The cookie on the top browned pretty quickly. Even with all that being said I still thought it tasted pretty good and so simple to make.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 roll of cookie dough

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, peanut butter and vanilla until well blended.
2. Cut cookie dough in half. In ungreased 8- or 9-inch square pan, break up half of dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan. Press peanut butter mixture evenly over dough. Crumble and sprinkle remaining half of cookie dough over peanut butter mixture. Carefully spread as evenly as possible.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chilled. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 3 rows. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Recipe from Pillsbury