Monkey Muffins

My little guy turned 2 earlier this month, but we didn't get around to throwing his "friend party" (because we have a bajillion family parties) until last night. It was a blast, and I'll be doing a whole post about it soon on my regular family blog. He absolutely adores Curious George, so the party theme was obviously easy to put together. What I love is figuring out fun foods to go along with parties.

You already know I love me some pioneer woman (did you see her Food Network debut this weekend?! She's so cute). So when I saw these on her cooking site, I knew they'd be perfect.

And they were.

They were a TOTAL hit. Everyone kept saying how incredible these tasted. One guest didn't realize I had made them. She thought I'd bought them. Yep. She made my night.

Anyways, do yourself a favor and bring these to your next party or bake them as a gift. Or just have a completely sinful weekend and make them for yourself. :)

Monkey Muffins

(Original recipe by Ree Drummond) 

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Ingredients



Leftover Bread Dough (or Refrigerated Biscuit Dough, Cut Into Thirds)

Butter

Sugar

Ground Cinnamon

Sweetened, Condensed Milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to muffin tins. Sprinkle in sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into walnut sized balls (or cut refrigerated biscuit dough into thirds). Place three into each muffin tin.
Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle on more sugar and cinnamon.
Allow dough to rise, if applicable, or just go ahead and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
Remove from oven and immediately drizzle plenty of sweetened condensed milk over the top of each one. Be generous! Allow rolls to sit for a little while to absorb sweet, sticky milk.
Scoop out with a spoon and serve to hungry humans.

Yield: 12 servings

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

So I made this last night.

I didn't have any major expectations. It seemed pretty simple. The real reason I tried it was because I already had everything on hand. And you can never go wrong with combining this group of flavors.

But honestly? I was really, pleasantly surprised.

It ended up being so good.

I halved the recipe, since it was only going to be the two of us, and it ended up being the perfect amount. I also sauteed some mushrooms and garlic in some olive oil, mixed it with some angel hair pasta, then served the shrimp on top. You definitely must try it.

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

(Original recipe by Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough.

Adapted by Reenie)

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Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices and other half into wedges
• 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed
• sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
• spaghetti/pasta, couscous or rice for serving
• 1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off
• 5 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9x13 baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Meanwhile cook pasta, couscous or rice.

2. Remove pan from oven, add shrimp, garlic and the thin sliced lemons (don't squeeze them), toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and start to curl. Serve over pasta, couscous or rice tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon with additional lemon wedges for serving.



Basil Butter

This summer has been awesome to the basil in my garden. Seriously, my basil sings praises to the sun, it's so happy. It's gotten a little out of control, actually.

This has left me scrounging around for new recipes to try out... something besides the obvious pasta and pesto. I found this recipe allrecipes.com the other day and had to try it out.

I love flavored butter. I mean, I love butter in general, but I especially love it when it's got a fun flavor. Whether it's apple butter, garlic-herb butter, or whatever... I'm a big fan.

This one didn't disappoint. The best part is that you can freeze it and use it again later. It'll give you that fresh basil taste in the middle of the winter. Awesome, right??

I'll definitely be making this recipe again when I need to use up the last bit of my basil before the frost hits. But you don't need a garden as a reason to try it out. Grab some basil next time you're at a local market or at the grocery store. It's worth trying it out, because you don't have to use this with just bread. Try it on chicken, fish, or cooked veggies.

The best part?

As one reviewer put it, this recipe is only limited by your imagination. You can sub the basil for cilantro and the lemon for lime juice. Use dill or chives for a different flavor. The possibilities are endless. Have some fun with it!

Basil Butter

(Original recipe by Emily Chaney.

Modified by me.)

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 pound butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Directions

In a food processor, chop basil and parsley. Add butter, lemon juice, pepper, salt, and garlic; blend until smooth. Drop by half-tablespoons onto a baking sheet; freeze. Remove from baking sheet and store in freezer bags.

Veggie Bites

Last weekend, I hosted a baby shower for a friend.

Throughout the shower, my mom and I (she helped me with the food) kept getting told, "This is the best shower food I've EVER.HAD."

One of the favorites happened to be this recipe.

From across the room, I saw one woman literally holding one of these up in the air, examining it to see if she could figure out how it was made. Cracked me up! And of course, I then gave them the recipe.

These are great for showers, but really, they're perfect for any kind of part (especially in the summer).

I don't remember where we originally got this recipe. Actually, it was passed on by friends of ours who were hosting a home party (for candles and lotions and stuff).

We loved the appetizer and have used it tons of times ever since.
There are a million variations of this, so feel free to experiment.

Veggie Bites

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz) can of refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
• 1 (1 oz) package Ranch dressing mix
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 finely chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out crescent rolls onto a large non-stick baking sheet. Stretch and flatten to form a single rectangular shape on the baking sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool.

Place cream cheese in a medium bowl. Mix cream cheese with 1/2 of the Ranch dressing mix. Adjust the amount of dressing mix to taste. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange carrots, bell peppers, green onions, and broccoli on top. Chill the refrigerator approximately 1 hour. Cut into bite-sized squares to serve.