We've Gone Ape

Remember how I mentioned I was trying to come up with all sorts of new things to feed my family in the mornings?

It's still going well.  No major complaints, except for quiche (Cael), Johnny Cakes (Landry), breakfast meat (Cael), German pancakes (me)... but seriously, it's going really well.

Then I hit a snag.  I didn't have any ideas for today and I didn't plan ahead last night, so come this morning, at 6:30, I was trying to decide what to make.  Then I remembered a Young Women's activity we had a couple of months ago.  So, I thanked the world for my friend Susan, and her friend Paula Deen, and we had Gorilla Bread - the ever-so-decadent cousin of Monkey Bread.

Do you have refrigerator rolls? Check.
Do you have cream cheese? Check.
Do you have sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter? Check, check, check and check.

(seriously, if you do not have these ingredients in your pantry/refrigerator I will cry for you)

In the time it took me to cook some eggs and bacon to accompany our centerpiece it was baked and ready to eat.  Perfect for a rainy (Yes, rainy!) Thursday school day.  Just like oatmeal, but so much better!

GORILLA BREAD
(Originally found here at Paula Deen)
italics indicate changes by me

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon (at our house we have a shaker full of cinnamon sugar, already mixed that I use)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese
2 (12-oz) cans refrigerator rolls
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, and at our house, never used...)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. (today I used a 10-in. tart pan, because I wanted it flat instead of molded to cook faster, it worked great)

Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.  In a saucepan melt butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.  Cut cream cheese into 20 equal cubes.  Press biscuit dough out, place cube of cheese and cinnamon sugar, wrapping and sealing cheese inside dough.  Layer biscuits, nuts and sauce.  (I simply wrap a cube of cheese inside a biscuit, lay them all out, sprinkle tops of wrapped biscuits with cinnamon sugar, then pour sauce over the entire thing.  It's alot easier and tastes the same...)


Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Invert pan and serve.