Vanessa Lachey makes this breakfast casserole on Christmas morning

It's amazing how many ways there are to transform a humble can of biscuit dough into delicious culinary creations. Television host and actress Vanessa Lachey is joining TODAY to share a few of her favorite biscuit-based recipes from her cookbook, "Life from Scratch: Family Traditions That Start with You." She shows us how to make sweet cinnamon monkey bread with raisins and a sausage, egg and cheese brunch casserole.

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Monkey Bread by Vanessa Lachey

Monkey bread is a kid favorite in our household, but it's also a Nick favorite! When a friend realized I was making biscuits and pancakes and cutting them into small pieces, she said, "You should try monkey bread! The kids will love the pieces."

Brooklyn's Brunch Casserole by Vanessa Lachey

I have made the same breakfast casserole for Christmas morning ever since Nick and I spent our first winter holiday together. We started dating during the summer of 2006, and that December it was just the two of us at his house in California. It was actually the first Christmas I'd spent with a significant other, and I wanted to make something special for Christmas morning — something that didn't require a ton of work so we could relax and snuggle in bed, and I wouldn't be stressed out trying to make something crazy like a soufflé!

If you like those easy recipes, you should also try these:

Meatball-Stuffed Biscuits by Molly Yeh

4-Ingredient Breakfast Stuffed Waffles by Chungah Rhee

This article was originally published on TODAY.com