Monkey Bread

• 3 can's Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Dough (Pillsbury) (or standard buttermilk biscuits)
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease a bundt pan well or spray with Baking spray. Combine cinnamon and sugar in 1 quart plastic bag. Open cans of dough. Cut each dough section in half and roll each piece into a ball. Place several at a time into bag of cinnamon sugar and toss until well coated.  Once coated drop into bottom of bundt pan. Repeat until all dough sections are used. In a small pan melt butter and brown sugar and cinnamon together stirring until sugar is dissolved (once it begins to bubble around the edges cook about 2-3 minutes). Pour over dough balls in pan.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before inverting onto a plate. Add 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) milk (or almond milk) by half teaspoons to frosting that comes with the dough until it's of drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over top of monkey bread before serving. Omit this step or make your own drizzle if using buttermilk biscuits. This is also wonderful if you drop in pecan pieces in the bottom of the bundt pan and around dough balls.

Pizza Buns

• 1 pound ground meat
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1  package small dinner rolls (split horizontally to make 24 tops and bottoms)
• 1 jar cheese whiz or 8 cheese slices (quartered)
• 1 jar pizza sauce
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Place about 1 tablespoon oil in fry pan and heat. Dump chopped onion in pan and let sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add ground meat and brown as usual. In the meant time separate tops from bottoms of dinner rolls. Place on cookie sheet cut side up. Spread each bun half with Cheese Whiz or top with 1/4 slice piece of cheese. Top each half bun with a 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon of sauce (more or less) in the center of each half, until all sauce is used. top with heaping teaspoon spoon full of meat mixture in the center of each half bun on top of the sauce. Sprinkle each half bun with grated Parmesan cheese. Preheat oven to 350°F bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until buns are golden and crunchy.

Be creative, these can be topped with any type pizza toppings.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

• 1 pound sliced bacon cut into thirds
• 2 -8 ounce cans whole water chestnuts drained
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1 – 2  teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Slice bacon into thirds. With round tooth picks secure 1 piece of bacon around each water chestnut.  Place in a sprayed 9″x 13″  pan.  In small sauce pan mix last three ingredients stirring just until it reaches the boiling point.  Pour on top of water chestnuts.  Cover pan with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about one hour.  Remove from oven. ** See note

Remove water chestnuts to plate using slotted spoon allowing the grease and sauce to drain well from them.  Pour sauce into 2 cup measure and place in refrigerator so that layer of grease forms on top.  Once cooled remove the layer of grease. Add water chestnuts to crock pot pour sauce over water chestnuts and reheat on high 1/2 to 1 hour prior to serving. 

 **(If you don’t mind the grease you can serve immediately without draining.  I hate the grease so I make this ahead of time and do it in two steps.)

Mexican Tortilla Roll-Ups

• 1 – 8 pack of large tortillas
• 1/3 cup minced onion (1 small fresh or dry or about 3 green onions chopped small)
• 1 – 4.25 oz can chopped olives
• 1 -4 oz can chopped green chilli’s
• 1 – 8 oz package room temperature cream cheese
• 1 – 8 0z container sour cream
• 1 package or ¼ cup taco seasoning

Cream cheese until fluffy, blend with sour cream. Add taco seasoning blend until creamy. fold in onions, olives, and chilli’s until well incorporated.
 Put a thin spread of ingredients on a tortilla shell leaving a bit of space at the bottom for the oozing spread.
 Roll tightly making sure seam is sealed with spread.  Repeat for all shells until spread is gone.  Place in Tupperware seam side down and chill for several hours.  Just prior to serving remove roll from container and cut into bite sized pieces, placing each on a plate.  Insert toothpicks if you desire.

**I’ve also made these roll-ups in a variety of other ways placing a single piece of sliced lunch meat, such as ham, pastrami or turkey on top of an appropriate flavored herb cream cheese.  Use your imagination, mix it up and enjoy.