Carbs, Glorious Carbs

Remember this picture??

Yeah, me too. Especially as I'm trying to eat only "good" carbs right now. Sigh.

But I did promise the recipe, so I shall share. This comes to you courtesy of my wonderful cousin Michelle. We stayed the night at her house a couple of years ago and she made this delightful breakfast treat for us the next morning. I typically make this about once a year for Christmas morning. However, due to lots of guests and parties over the holidays, I have made this 3 times in 2 months. And that is the story of why I'm eating pecans and avocados and calling it breakfast this week.

The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made the night before. In the morning you merely pre-heat your oven to 350, start your coffeepot, then pop this in as you're savoring your first cup.

We have called this a variety of things over the years...Monkey bread, Pull-Apart Bread, Tastes Just Like a Cinnamon Roll Bread, Wish We Could Have This Every Morning Bread, Etc.

2 loaves Rhodes bread, thawed
(my grocery store sells these in packs of 3 in the freezer section, so I will then have an extra loaf for a dinner somewhere down the line. (When bad carbs go good again.)

1 package cook n' serve vanilla pudding
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk

Cut bread into bite size pieces and layer in a greased 9x13 pan. Melt butter and then add rest of ingredients, stir until well blended. Pour evenly over bread, bake for 18-20 minutes. Let sit about 10 minutes, then invert onto platter with some room on the sides.

Now here is the fun and truly naughty part. The "bread" (can we just call it heavenly goo at this point?) is delicious on its own, but to give it that "fresh from the oven cinnamon roll" taste you will need to mix up a quick batch of icing. I'm not very precise at measuring for frosting, but here is about what I do:

2 cups powdered sugar
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
Milk - start with about 2 TBSP

(You can also mix this the night before, refrigerate, then put it on the counter while bread is baking so the frosting will be easier to work with.)
Put cream cheese in bowl and, using a mixer beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and milk, slowly add powdered sugar. You may need to add more/less milk as you will want the consistency to be easy to pour, but not so runny that is will fall down the sides. Of course, if this happens - grab a spoon and eat it. It's for the good of all, really.

Put it on the table and serve yourself first because it will be gone in 30 seconds flat. Have second cup of coffee and slowly savor.