Wicked Winter Calls For Comfort Food

I really do enjoy winter, but this winter has been a doozy!  Typically winter allows us to enjoy snowmobiling, skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing, but not so much this year.  We started the winter with a wicked ice storm.  The ice storm was more destructive than any I can remember.  We were very fortunate and didn’t lose our power, but many people in the surrounding counties did lose power for several days.

No sooner did the ice melt and we got dumped on with snow!  Frigid temperatures, blustery winds, and deep snow made taking care of chores outdoors difficult.  Thankfully Brad does all of the outside chores while Claire, Cody and I stay cozy inside J  But, even though I’m not working in the bad weather it still is difficult to get out of the house to run errands, and after a while we all go a little stir crazy!

The good thing about this weather is it gets me in the comfort food mood!  One of my favorite dessert brunch foods is monkey bread.  I have seen many variations of this yummy bread, but this is my favorite and dangerously easy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

·         24 Rhodes Frozen Rolls, thawed but still cold

·         1 small box of non-instant butterscotch pudding mix

·         ½ c. pecans, chopped

·         ¾ c. butter

·         ¾ c. brown sugar

 

Directions:

·         Cut rolls in half then roll in dry pudding mix.

·         Place coated rolls in Bundt pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

·         Layer pecans on top of rolls.

·         Sprinkle remaining pudding mix on top of pecans.

·         Combine brown sugar and butter.  Heat in microwave until syrup is formed.  Pour over rolls.

·         Cover pan with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

·         Let rise until double in size or until the rolls are at the top of the pan.

·         Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes.

·         Cover with foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes.

·         Immediately after cooking invert rolls onto serving plate.

·         Enjoy!  And try to eat just 1 roll J

I thought it would be fun to look through the recipe and figure out exactly how each product ties back to agriculture.  Where did all of those ingredients come from?  They came from the grocery store…..but how did they make it there?

Ø  Pecans grow on trees.  Today the USA produces between 80- 95% of the world’s pecans.

Ø  Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk.  It takes 10 quarts of milk to produce 1 pound of butter.

Ø  Brown sugar is produced by combing sugar and molasses.  The molasses and sugar come from sugar cane.  Sugar cane is a stout fibrous stalk that can grow to be 6- 19 feet tall.  In the USA sugar cane is grown in Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and Louisiana.

Ø  Pudding mix is made up mostly of gelatin and sugar.  Gelatin is a protein that comes from animal bones or connective tissue and has been used especially in desserts since the 1400’s.  Butterscotch flavoring is made after combining brown sugar and butter.

Ø  Frozen bread dough is made up mostly of flour, sugar, butter and yeast.  There are a variety of flours, but most are made with wheat.  Wheat is a grain grown in many parts of the world including the USA.

So there you have it…now you can picture where all the monkey bread ingredients are coming from J