Leftover Cinnamon Roll Sweet Potato Casserole

Cinnamon rolls, a vacation treat for hubby and me. We never indulge in cinnamon rolls at home, but there is always at least one morning when we treat ourselves on vacation. We may treat ourselves to cinnamon rolls, but how each of us treats our cinnamon rolls is different. Hubby likes his dry, in fact just burn them and he’ll think they’re perfect. That’s it–no icing, no cream cheese, nothing else, and the rolls don’t even have to be hot. I on the other hand, like mine soft, hot, and gooey, and don’t go light on the cream cheese or icing for me.

We recently rented a beautiful cabin in the north Georgia mountains to experience the total eclipse. The cabin sat high in the treetops and had a small deck off the master bedroom. I just love a balcony or deck off the bedroom. Maybe because I am not a morning person, waking to coffee and nature only steps away makes it an easier transition. While at the cabin, hubby volunteered to make breakfast-a first! Let’s just say hubby is a griller, not a cook or a baker, but I couldn’t refuse his offer.

I woke to the smell of cinnamon rolls and brewing coffee (what a wonderful smell-o-clock alarm). He brought me a cup of coffee and said he had to rush back to the kitchen for he was busy baking. (Cute, huh!) He arrived with a plate of cinnamon rolls, his dry ones on one side so they didn’t touch my dripping iced ones on the other. The rolls were perfect. But what I enjoyed more was hubby’s story of how his kitchen adventure began–the exploding can of dough that shot out like a snake at him. I’m glad he survived and I’m sure glad he only ate two of his cinnamon rolls leaving us with leftovers to make this casserole.

It was a little cooler in the mountains and the local stores already were decorated for fall. I could not help but think of fall flavors, especially two of my favorites-sweet potatoes and apples. Remember Sweet Potato Stuffed Apples?

Put your TO COOK IS TO CREATE thinking cap on: Prefer a sweeter casserole? Add brown sugar and pecans to the cinnamon roll crumbs before topping and make sure to drizzle the apple core glaze- Like in Apple Crumble Muffins Have another leftover cinnamon roll? Make the crumbs and add to pancake or waffle batter or add them to Panko or bread crumbs and use a cinnamon enhanced coating for salmon, chicken, or pork chops. Think about what else the cinnamon roll crumbs could top-carrot soufflé? Fruit pies How about using the crumbs to make a pie crust? Want a treat for ice cream? Gently toast the cinnamon roll crumbs and sprinkle on ice cream. Toasted cinnamon roll crumbs are also good in yogurt and oatmeal!

FOOD FUN: American writer and journalist, Daniel Handler, said, “Anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is a friend for life”.  Makes you want to bake a batch of cinnamon rolls and share. Sure glad hubby shared with me.