monkey bread

Monkey bread could be the best food on earth.  No joke.  What could be better than ooey gooey cinnamon bread straight out of the oven?  That's right, nothing!

Since I could eat the whole bundt pan on my own, I have deemed it a "special occasion" only food.  Mother's Day is right around the corner and this would be perfect if you are hosting brunch for a crowd or cuddling in bed with your kids. You do the prep work the night before and simply enjoy the goodness in the morning.  {You could even hand the recipe to your husband and have him make it with the kids!}

Ingredients:

20-30 Frozen Rhodes Classic Dinner Rolls {Found in the frozen section of the supermarket.}
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butterscotch pudding mix (dry)
2 Tbls. Cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (1stick) melted

1. Grease bundt pan and add frozen rolls.  Mix dry ingredients and sprinkle over rolls. Pour melted butter over the top.

2. Cover with a damp cloth and turn out the lights!

3. The rolls will rise over night.

4.  Bake 350 for 25-30 min.  Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn the bread onto a large serving plate.

The pieces will easily pull apart.

a quick switch

When life gets busy and you are rushing out the door to get the kids to school or practice, who has time to painstakingly move all the contents from your purse into another so that it will coordinate with your outfit?  Not me.

However, with the help of a small pouch that holds all my essentials [like hair ties, lip gloss, Advil, hand sanitizer] and a trinket box for small miscellaneous items I can make the switch in less than 30 seconds.  I don't use any of the pockets in my hand bags for storage.  Except for my cell phone,  everything goes into the zip pouch for safe keeping and easy transfer.

Hand Bag #1

 A zippered pouch in a fun print + macron shaped trinket box

Hand bag #2

A quick switch in 30 seconds and nothing is lost or left behind!
Where are you going today?

mom uniform:: seattle spring

seattle spring by juneheartsfashion

A Seattle spring day.  We can have rain, hail, gloom, and glorious sunbreaks all within the matter of a few hours.  Dressing for this unpredictable weather is a bear.  Layers remain the key, but the fleece and down give way to lighter pieces. 

I am totally crushing on the idea of a bright [and not too expensive] raincoat.  The hood is key for school runs, errands and baseball games.  It is a total bummer to get caught in a downpour with no coverage.  Around here, I could wear this outfit everyday. 

an after school snack: golden nugget mandarin

I may be late to the party, but we are loving the new Gold Nugget mandarin oranges in this house.  They are larger than your typical mandarin orange and look a bit odd with an extremely bumpy rind.  However, they are easy to peel and extremely sweet and juicy [plus no seeds].  Big W ate 3 in one sitting.

I will be serving up a Golden Nugget mandarin with cheese and cashews for a quick "fill-me-up" before a baseball game today at 5pm. 

Look for Golden Mandarins the next time you are in the supermarket.
What are you serving for an after school snack?

in the kitchen- a weekly plan

This week included leftovers and a kid chosen meal.  Not everything is gourmet in this house.  I hope you have a great week ahead and can find at least one meal to make for dinner.  I made two recipes from America's Test Kitchen magazines.  Unfortunately, they don't allow you to access recipes online unless you have a paid subscription.  I had to type the recipes, thus the long post today:

Meal 1::  Weeknight Turkey Bolognese (recipe after the jump)
This was a great recipe but very much a Sunday meal.  Took over 40 minutes, which I consider too long for a weeknight.  There were tons of leftovers, so this will give you one additional meal during the week.

Meal 2::  Italian Cobb Salad
I posted about this salad earlier this week.  Great for a night when you are making dinner at 8pm.  

Meal 3:: Mom's Famous Sliders
Not really famous, except with my family.  I add low sodium soy sauce and Lawry's seasoning to the ground beef.  This recipe's high note is to serve the sliders on King's Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls.  Who can resist?

Meal 4:: Chicken with Butter Beans and Chorizo (recipe after the jump)
This one skillet meal is easy and tasty.  I used chicken chorizo from Whole Foods, but any link sausage would probably work.

be creative this weekend

photo challenge: 3.0/fridge art.
I really do love that Little Man brings art home for me to display.  Fridge art is the best.  This one might make it into a frame. 
next week:: happiness

Remember when we were all artists?  Find a way to be creative this weekend.  How about in the garden, the kitchen, with a camera, or maybe with sidewalk chalk?  xoxo-denise

A few links to share:

WATCH::
Wringing out a washcloth in space.  too cool!
A parody of the Dove beauty sketches. genius [and hilarious to boot.]

ORGANIZE::
The answer to all of my LEGO organization woes?

GET AWAY::
An Airstream camper hotel in Santa Barbara?  Yes, please.  Tomorrow!

LEARN::
My boys are insane about Minecraft.  A 1 minute video to help explain the hype.  #minecraftcrazed

ANTICIPATION::
Gatsby.  Oh, so good.  May 10th.

What is for dinner? italian cobb salad

In the next few hours every mom will be asking herself the very same question, "What is for dinner?".  If your schedule is as hectic as ours this week, sometimes a quick and easy salad is the answer.  How about an Italian Cobb Salad?

a quick list of ingredients:

Romaine lettuce

Basil 

Grape tomatoes

Rotiseerie chicken from the deli

Gorgonzola cheese

Pancetta

Eggs [hard boiled]

Olive Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

Easy dressing:  1/4 cup olive oil, 2 T red wine vinegar.  Whisk in some of the cheese to add an extra flavor boost. 

Crisp the pancetta on the stove for about 5 minutes.  Also saute the grape tomatoes until the skins are wilted.  Build your salad in a large bowl.  Pour dressing on top.  

Dinner is served.  Happy Wednesday!  [It feels like it should be Friday.]

You can also check out my weekly plan for more meal ideas.  

{Image by Where is June?}