CinnaBread!

Happy Friday everyone! What do you guys make on a Saturday morning breakfast?? Are you a fan of french toast? What about Chocolate Chip Pancakes? Or, do you make bacon and eggs? I have to admit, I love breakfast food, but I'd rather go out for breakfast than make it at home. I do make a  big breakfast from time to time, but most of the time is cereal, oatmeal, bagels or frozen waffles. And, most of the time, it's  that exact set up because each kid wants something different than the next... Except when I make this  amazing cinnabread that I am going to share with you today.  I Love the new Pillsbury "Simply" line of biscuits.. they have no trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial anything! I came up with this recipe and it's a family hit. You can pull it apart like monkey bread or slice it to see the brown sugar swirl. Put it on a cake plate, and serve it at your next brunch. Have a great weekend! xo



CinnaBread

Bliss n Tell

1 can Simply Buttermilk Biscuits
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. Cinnnamon

 For Glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 to 2 T. milk or cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract


Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and heat your over to 350
stretch biscuit a little bit and start tolayer on the bottom of the loaf pan.

 Brush melted butter on the biscuits and sprinke each biscuit with brown sugar and 1 T. of the cinnamon

repeat layer with the remaining biscuits and butter, sugar and cinnamon.. pour any  remaining butter over top.

Bake for 15 minutes @ 350 and check to see if cooked through-- if not, bake  for a few more minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Pour glaze on top while warm! Enjoy!

pulling apart!

the loaf

pouring the glaze!! mmm

Dipping in the glaze.. ahhhh!

Sliced

Homeade Hamburger Helper

Remember the old "Hamburger Helper, makes a great meal... commercial... I can hear it now, can you? This recipe reminds me of that, but with no box ingredients of course! I feel like most kids will eat this meal because it is straight forward meat, cheese and pasta. There is nothing gourmet to this meal. It is catered to the busy mom or dad, (or working individual) who would rather make homemade instead of a box dinner and really only has under 45 minutes till it reaches the mouths of  hungry kids. Enjoy!

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

It's cake slice time again! We are baking a cold oven pound cake made with cream cheese... now if you follow my blog you should know that I have referred to my self as a "pound cake snob", and it might be snobby to say, but this pound cake was not moist enough for me. I thought it would be because of the cream cheese, but I was wrong. Now, don't let that discourage you from making it because it was quite good, my husband especially like it with the homemade blueberry sauce I made for it. I froze it and on Easter I'm going to  serve it sliced alongside some homemade whip cream and strawberries.. a deconstructed strawberry shortcake if you will... ENJOY and HAPPY EASTER!

Makes one large Bundt cake

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)
Ingredients
3 cups cake flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2½ cups sugar
6 eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Method
Adjust the oven rack to the lower – middle position. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, ginger and lemon zest.
Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, half a cup at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Then mix of 30 seconds on medium speed.
Spread the batter into the Bundt tin and place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 65 to 80 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

before baking

after baking

after slicing!

with fresh blueberry sauce! YUM

Trendy Tuesday... butter, for your LIPS!

Not sure about you BUT, I am picky about lip balm. I know, it's kinda weird, but if its too sticky, or smells bad or has a strong taste, I don't like it. I'm not talking about lip gloss, I'm talking about lip balm... So, I found one that I really love, and I keep one in my nightstand and one in my purse. I have the jasmine color and the guava. What is it???? It's Koress Lip Butter! It is creamy and   contains the great Shea Butter. 


Shea butter is a solid fatty oil from the nuts of wild shea trees in Africa. The moisturizing and healing properties of Shea Butter have been a mainstay of African pharmacology for centuries to protect, heal, and smoothe the skin. High in unsaponifiable fats as well as Vitamins A and E, Shea Butter is recognized for its amazing healing effects on skin conditions, dryness, and cell regeneration.  The Lip butter is $10, I enjoy their lip gloss as well -- Enjoy!

not my average post-- a handwriting meme

People always ask me why  I do a cooking blog, with all that I have to do on a daily basis.. it is not easy juggling everything and baking and cooking all the time, but the truth is, I  LOVE to cook and bake and I do it all the time anyways, so why not document the recipes I create and regular recipes I try and post them for people so they have a place to go and get ideas for great food that I have tested! Also, I have met some great people through blogging. It is a whole community out there, and it's lots of fun. I have never met these people face to face, but communicate with them through their blogs. Which brings me to this post. Courtney from cookingmisadventures  http://cookingmisadventures.wordpress.com/ had tagged me in a handwriting meme. Courtney, thank you so much for explaining what that was because I had NO idea!!! The deal is you must hand write the answers to the questions.... to read about what the heck a handwriting meme is.. visit Courtney's blog, and look at her yummy food too!

1. What's your blog name/bloggers name? Nicole/ Bliss n Tell
2. What's your Blog URL? www.blissntell.net
3. write this quote" The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
4. Favorite Quote? "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother" Abraham Lincoln * dedicated to  my personal angel mother RIP
"Tis Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" Alfred Lord Tenyson
5. Favorite Song? Check it Out
6. Favorite band/ Singer? Black eyed peas
7. Anything else? Nope
Tag 4 ladies to participate!

I tag:

Jennifer from Indigo's Sugar Spectrum
Tootie Foodie
Lizzie from Your Cup of Cake
Becca from Beccas Bakedgoods

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

 These would look so nice on your Easter dessert table or brunch buffet. They are very simple to make and you can dip them in all kinds of toppings.  I hope you have fun.. get you little ones involved in dipping the strawberries in the toppings, they will have a blast!


Chocolate for dipping Strawberries

quart of premium long stem starwberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 tablespoons Heavy Cream

heat the chocolate on low heat over a double broiler, add the cream and whisk together.

dip strawberries and let cool to harden on parchament paper....

Pink Popcorn Surprise

Happy Friday Everyone! I have a great treat for you to whip up and surprise whomever you are watching a movie with this weekend. I originally saw the recipe from your home based mom, however I changed it a little bit.. I made mine into "pink popcorn" by adding a little food dye to my melted white chocolate. Then proceeded to drizzle it with the white chocolate. It was Pinkolicious, delicious! Have a great weekend!

Birthday Rainbow Cake

 I can't believe that my baby boy is already 2, the time goes by so fast. The pregnancy seems to take forever, and then once the baby is born, the time just doesn't seem to stop. They hit milestone after milestone and before you know it, they are toddlers, walking and talking!  He actually is talking so much, as I was frosting his cake he said "good", as he tasted the frosting.  This cake is so much fun, and would be a great cake to make on easter. You can make nice pastel colors and shape the cake in an easter egg shape. Whatever the occasion, this cake is easy, colorful, moist and delicious. It is a real crowd pleaser and kid pleaser, I hope you enjoy it!

Trendy Tuesday!

Cupcake and Cake Taker


I just love my cupcake taker from tupperware. I can take cupcakes to school or flip it over and take a sheet cake to a friend. It is sturdy and fits 18 cupcakes... sometimes I need to use an additional tray to take the cupcakes to school depending on the class size. I have seen a double decker cupcake taker from Costco, so that is another place to look for one. I'm sure you will find it very useful!

Click here to see the Cupcake and Cake Taker