Pull-Apart Maple Pecan Sticky Buns

I enjoy having a breakfast that I can make ahead of time on the weekend. These are really easy to make and I know the kids would love to help with this one. The downside…..mine stuck really bad to the pan and it had to bake 15 minutes longer after I dumped them on a cookie sheet pan. Otherwise they are good and I would make again, except maybe not with the cream cheese. Hubby and I both thought it was raw dough or something because of the funky texture. I also screwed up when I bought the biscuits and got one buttermilk and one butter flakes. Stick to the buttermilk they are less greasy and tasted better.

Pull-Apart Maple Pecan Sticky Bun
(Adapted from Kraft Foods)

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3/4 cup PLANTERS Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup  (1 stick) butter, divided
1/3 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1/2 cup  sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cans  (12 oz. each) refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cut into 20 cubes

Heat oven to 400°F.

Sprinkle nuts onto bottom of 12-cup fluted pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in small microwaveable bowl.

Stir in syrup; drizzle over nuts in pan.

Melt remaining butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon in shallow dish.

Separate dough into 20 biscuits; flatten each to 1/4-inch thickness. Roll cream cheese cubes in cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated; place 1 in center of each biscuit.

Gather up sides of dough to enclose filling; press edges together to seal.

Roll each into ball; dip top in remaining butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

Arrange half the balls, cinnamon sugar-sides up, in prepared pan.

Repeat with remaining balls to form second layer. Top with any remaining butter and cinnamon sugar.

Bake 30 min. or until golden brown.

Cool 1 min. in pan; invert onto serving plate. Remove pan. Top buns with any remaining nuts in pan; cool slightly. (Here’s where it got messy for me.)

Mediterranean Shrimp Fettuccine

You all know how I love my pasta and I love a quick meal even more! Our local HEB has monthly magazines that I always pick up (If you don’t have an HEB visit their site to find all of their recipes). I like the coupons they have and I like the quick menu ideas they also share. Usually they have samples in the store where they do their cooking demos to also promote the items.

Overall I really loved how quick and easy this dish is to make. The only change I would make is to grill the shrimp instead of boiling them to add some more flavor. We had to add seasoning to it, but that’s just us and out love for spicy food.

Mediterranean Shrimp Fettuccine
(Adapted from HEB)

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1 bag (12 oz.) H-E-B Wild Brown Jumbo Shrimp, thawed
1 c. H-E-B Sour Cream, low fat or fat free
1/2 c. H-E-B Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/4 c. H-E-B Sun Dried Tomato Strips
1/4 c. fresh basil leaves, thin sliced
1/4 tsp. Central Market Organics Red Pepper
3 cloves H-E-B Ready, Fresh, Go! Garlic, chopped fine
* salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. H-E-B Fettuccine Pasta, uncooked (1/2 pkg.)
1 bag (6 oz.) H-E-B Ready, Fresh, Go! Baby Spinach Leaves

Peel and devein shrimp. Place in a small bowl, set aside.

In a large pasta bowl, combine sour cream, feta cheese, sundried tomato strips, basil, crushed red pepper, and chopped garlic. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Cook pasta according to package directions, but after the first 8 minutes of cooking, add spinach and shrimp to boiling pasta. Bring water to a boil, cook 2 more minutes. Drain thoroughly. (I sautéed the shrimp in a separate pan and added additional seasoning to spice it up. When they where close to being doing I added the spinach and let it wilt down.)

Add to pasta bowl with sour cream mixture.

Toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

The Final Day’s of Rodeo….

Another year has come to an end. This year was the perfect weather, it wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold, it was just right. I know sounds like a story book tale, but it really was fantastic weather for once.

Saturday night was Brad Paisly. How could you not love this guy? Since I had to volunteer that day I didn’t bring my camera.

Sunday Jason Aldean closed out the show. Hubby wasn’t feeling well so I went with my neighbors who have the most adorable kids. We did A LOT of walking! They wanted to see the animals so we saw plenty of them. They got to pet Elsie the cow, posed with a long horn, visit the new born animals, watch the chickens, pet rabbits (did you know they have ones that are up to 14 pounds?!), watch baby chickens hatch, see other kids showing their cows, among lots of other things.

I love me some Jason Aldean! Sound was fantastic and he played all he big hits.

Now to get back to a normal routine!

Salsa Mix Review

Have you made salsa from a packet like this? I got a free sample in the mail so I thought I would give it a shot. Hubby likes the warm cooked salsas as well as the fresh so I thought it would be an easy last minute sub for when we wanted salsa and I didn’t wanna make it all from scratch.

I wasn’t too impressed with this. I mean yes it’s easy, but I don’t know if it was the combination of seasonings they had or what, but we ended up tossing it out we didn’t like it at all. I felt bad wasting it, but the flavor just stuck in your mouth sound bad that there was no way I could have used this in another dish to sneak it in.

Overall I would never buy this again, but I would give Ball another try, because their a company who’s been around for a long time. I guess it’s back to making my one from scratch. (Click HERE for my recipe.)

Lemon Alfredo

For Sunday steak night I changed up the side dishes instead of making a potato or vegetable I had some home made pasta to use up so I tried a quick and easy recipe from the Food Network magazine.

Lemon-Pepper Fettuccine
(Adapted from Food Network Magazine)

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Kosher salt
12 ounces fettuccine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/3 cup grated pecorino cheese, plus more for garnish
Freshly ground pepper
Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook as the label directs. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking water.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes.

Whisk the cream, egg yolk and lemon zest in a bowl.

Reduce the heat to low and add the cream mixture and cheese to the skillet.

Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and 2 to 3 teaspoons pepper.

Add the pasta to the skillet and toss, adding enough of the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce.

Divide among bowls and garnish with more pecorino. Serve with crusty bread, if desired.