Double Streusel Blueberry Coffee Cake

Cookbook recipe #58

You know those recipes where as you are making them they look all wrong the whole time, then they come out great? This is one of those recipes. I have never made a coffee cake before so I did not know what to expect. The dough in the recipe gets really really thick and seems all wrong as your making it. But it came out really good so sometimes I have learned to just go with it and wait and see if it comes out. This time my instinct was right. The only thing I changed about the recipe was that I added blueberries. They are still on sale for good prices here so I had some in the fridge I needed to use up. This recipe was super easy as you just use Bisquick baking mix. It literally took no time at all to make. My kind of baking!

Double Streusel Blueberry Coffee Cake

Adapted from Best of Betty Crocker 2010

Streusel 

2/3 cup Original Bisquick mix

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons cold butter

Coffee Cake

2 cups original Bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray and 9 inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

Make the streusel in a small bowl by mixing all but the butter. Then cut in the butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Set aside. 

Next mix all the ingredients for the coffee cake in a large bowl. 

Spread half of batter in pan. Then top with half the blueberries. Then top with half of the struesel. Then repeat with the rest. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Cookbook Recipe #49


Happy Mother's Day!

My mom got gave me this cookbook a while back. It is a collection of recipes from Iowa Bed and Breakfast's. My mom's best friend and my other mom growing up Kristy has a bed and breakfast in the town I grew up. She makes delicious breakfast food to. This cookbook came out before she had the bed and breakfast though, so her recipe's are not in it. There are a lot of great recipes in this book including the recipe I chose to make from it. Or should I say Phil's mom chose. I had Phil's parents over for brunch today and I could not decide what to make so I gave his mom Linda a few choices and this is the recipe she chose. Everyone loved it. I don't really know what is creme brulee about it but it was good nonetheless. I love breakfast casseroles that you can make the night before and then just pop them in the oven in the morning. Such a time saver when you have guests coming over.

Creme Brulee French Toast
Adapted from Discover Iowa

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3 teaspoons triple sec
1/4 teaspoon salt



In a small saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and syrup over medium heat. Cook until smooth and then poor into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Cut bread into 1 inch slices and arrange in pan.

In a large bowl whisk eggs, half and half, vanilla, triple sec and salt. Pour over bread in pan.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Take french toast out of refrigerate to bring to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday,  Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons,  Rediscovering Lost Arts From Our Mothers,  Mix it Up Mondays, Melt in your Mouth Mondays,  On the Menu Monday,  Show me Your Plaid Mondays, Mop It Up Monday

Breakfast Sandwiches with Mango Chutney

This was my first encounter with  mango chutney. I was a little unsure about it but it was actually quite tasty. It was a nice compliment to the breakfast sandwiches. I told Phil I was putting mango chutney on the breakfast sandwiches and he thought it sounded strange also, but he really liked it too. This recipe is a much healthier version then its McDonald's cousin. I used whole grain English Muffins, fat free cheese slices, and Canadian bacon. One thing I did that wasn't the best was that I decided to throw on a sausage patty. It just sounded good. The sandwiches were really good and quite filling. Served along side some fresh fruit, it was a nice balanced breakfast.

Breakfast Sandwiches with Mango Chutney
Adapted from Cooking Light

8 slices Canadian bacon
4 pre-made sausage patties
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
Salt
Pepper
4 slices fat free cheese slices
8 teaspoons mango chutney
4 whole grain English Muffins

In a large skillet cook sausage patties according to package directions. Last few minutes add canadian bacon slices to heat about a minute a side.

Preheat broiler to high heat.

With 5 minutes left, start eggs.

In a bowl whisk eggs, water, salt and pepper. Add to saucepan and cook over medium low heat for about 3 minutes. Whisking to scramble. Set aside.

Split English muffins and place on a baking sheet. Top one side with a slice of cheese. Spread chutney on the other side.

Layer with eggs, Canadian bacon and sausage.

Broil for 2 minutes.

Place top halves of muffins over the bottom halves.

This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Saturday, Rediscovering Lost Arts From Our Mothers,  Think Pink Sunday,  Cream of the Crop, Mix it Up Mondays, Melt in your Mouth Mondays,  On the Menu Monday,  Show me Your Plaid Mondays, Mop It Up Monday, 

Breakfast Pancake Roll

My mom is in town for Easter and I wanted to make a fun breakfast. I saw this recipe in Sandra Lee's March/April issue of her magazine. I thought it looked fancy, which I always like when I have people over. It was really fast and easy to make. The original recipe called to use Egg Beaters for the eggs, but we used just regular eggs and scrambled them. I also decided to use diced ham in the eggs instead of bacon. I think next time I will use the bottom side of the pancake for the outside because it is a little browner. I think the presentation would be better with a browned outside. It was really good though. A nice way to get a whole plate into one dish. You could always switch it up to and make it spicier by adding peppers and onions in the eggs. Although I was not 100 percent happy with the presentation I did like the dish nonetheless.

Breakfast Pancake Roll
Adapted from Sandra Lee

1 1/2 cups pancake mix
1 1/4 cups milk
10 eggs, divided
2 teaspoons sugar
1 package diced ham
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Maple syrup

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Stir together pancake mix, milk, 2 eggs, and sugar. Pour into jelly roll pan and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes.

Invert cake onto a kitchen towel. Carefully peel parchment paper off of cake. Starting with short end roll up cake, jelly roll style in the towel and set aside.

With remaining eight eggs cook in skillet with salt, pepper and diced ham until scrambled. Add cheese and cook to melt.

Unroll cake and spread egg mixture evenly onto cake. Roll cake back up jelly roll style.

Serve with maple syrup.

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This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friday, Saturday Show and Tell, Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Super Saturday Show and Tell, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons,  Foodie riday,  Weekend Potluck,  Think Pink Sunday,  Cream of the Crop,Melt in your Mouth Mondays,  On the Menu Monday,  Show me Your Plaid Mondays

S'Mores Oatmeal

I am obsessed with the Hungry Girl's oatmeal breakfast bowls. And I am obsessed with anything S'mores related. So this recipe was a win win for me. The only thing bad about the Hungry Girl oatmeal recipes is that I did not have a lot of the the ingredients on hand at first. But once you get them, they are almost every oatmeal recipe. Like the 25 calorie pack of hot cocoa mix. I have regular hot chocolate mix in my pantry but not the 25 calorie pack version. And I still did not find that kind, I got a 50 calorie package, which to me was fine. She also calls to use Almond Breeze almond milk in all the oatmeal recipes. One good thing about this is that it lasts longer than regular milk in the fridge. This oatmeal is awesome and you do not miss the sugar or calories. I am sure you will be seeing lots of these recipes from me.

S'Mores Oatmeal
Adapted from Lisa Lillien

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup water
1 packet 50 calorie hot cocoa mix
Dash salt
1 cup Vanilla Almond Breeze
2 teaspoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons mini marshmallows
1 tablespoon graham cracker crumbs

In a small saucepan mix oats, almond milk, salt, water and cocoa mix.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer to a bowl  and top with chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs and marshmallows.

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This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday,  Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday

Banana Split Oatmeal

Cookbook Recipe #32

Lisa Lillien is one smart lady. Especially this day in age when everyone is trying to eat healthier. She has found a way to make everyday dishes that are usually full of calories, much healthier. Now you know me, I am not a health nut by any stretch of the imagination. But Phil is usually trying to eat better so I do try to make things that are not way over the top bad for you and try to do stuff that is more middle of the road. What I like about Lisa's recipes is that you do not really feel like you are eating something healthy. She does use a few ingredients that scare me a little bit, like egg substitute and tofu noodles. But for the most part everything is just using low fat and sugar free ingredients, and flavor is not compromised.

This is the first recipe I have made from Lisa's cookbook of over 650 recipes and it did not dissapoint. It tasted very similar to a banana split! The original recipe called to use sugar free preserves but I did not have preserves but a sugar free strawberry spread. I think next time I will make sure that I have preserves because I think the strawberry pieces would have been a nice addition to the oatmeal but it was still very good. This dish was also extremely satisfying, which is another thing that you do not expect with a healthier dish.

Banana Split Oatmeal
Adapted from Lisa Lillien's Hungry Girl to the Max

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
Dash salt
1 cup water
1 cup Vanilla Almond Breeze
2 tablespoons sugar-free strawberry jam or preserves
1/2 banana sliced thin
2 tablespoons fat free whipped cream
1 teaspoon mini semi sweet chocolate chips



Combine oats and salt in a medium saucepan. Add Almond Breeze and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 12-15 minutes.

Transfer oatmeal to a medium bowl to let cool slightly. Add jam. Top with bananas, whipped cream and chocolate chips.

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This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck,  Think Pink Sunday, Church Supper, Cream of the Crop, Sundae Scoop 

Biscuits and Gravy

Cookbook Recipe #30

One of Phil's all time favorite breakfast foods is biscuits and gravy. Usually when we are back in Iowa he always orders biscuits and gravy. We have a truck stop back home and he thinks biscuits and gravy is the perfect truck stop breakfast. I have never had it before and have always thought that it looks terrible. I thought that it would be a good, but bad for you, breakfast before the new year. Phil was really excited when he came home from work and saw that I was making it. I found the recipe in the Cook's Country cookbook. Just the cookbook name itself says comfort food, so when I saw this recipe in here I figured it would be good. I was a little nervous because you know there is always recipes that you have at restaurants that you just can't seem to replicate and make it as good at home. I thought this was going to be one of those recipes. I was wrong though, Phil said it was awesome and was better then some that he has had in the restaurant. I actually liked it as well. Not something I would want all the time but definitely good. And there is something to making homemade biscuits. Much better then with a mix for sure!

Biscuits and Gravy
Cooks Country



Biscuits:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Sausage Gravy:

1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 pound pork sausage
3 cups whole milk
Salt

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor pulse flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter and shortening until it resembles course meal. Then mix in a medium bowl with buttermilk.

On a lightly floured surface knead dough until smooth. Pat dough into a 9 inch circle, about 3/4 inch thick.

Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut 8 biscuits and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake an additional 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile brown sausage in large skillet until no longer pink.

Mix flour, ground fennel, ground sage and pepper in a small bowl. Once meat is browned add in the flour mixture and mix constantly until combined.

Slowly stir in milk and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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This recipe is linked on:   Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons,   Cream of the Crop

Ham and Egg Bake

 Christmas morning we went to my mom's house. She makes a big brunch on Christmas. Always a big spiral ham, my favorite, and this ham and egg bake. This year she also made a baked french toast that was really good that I will most likely be posting one of these days. My mom always makes the egg bake on Christmas. I never liked it growing up. I had a thing with soggy bread. But I have been making baked french toasts, which are similar and I like those now, so now I like the egg bake. I asked her to write down the ingredients and steps for me as she made it so I could post it on the blog. I really like the breakfast dishes that can be made the night before. They are great for when you are having a lot of people over. The morning does not leave for a lot of time when having brunch, so being able to assemble the main dish the night before really saves time. This is a nice savory version of a baked french toast.

I also requested to take a family picture with my mom as well. Here is how it turned out:

Ham and Egg Bake

12 slices white bread, cubed
3 cups diced ham
12 eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1/3 cup butter, melted
Salt
Pepper

In a large bowl combine, eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Cover bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with half of cubed bread.

Top with half of diced ham and cheese.

Top with the rest of sliced bread, then the rest of ham and cheese.

Pour milk mixture over sliced bread.

Let stand in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake uncovered for one hour.

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This Recipe is linked on: Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck,  Church Supper, Cream of the Crop, Sundae Scoop 

Meatlovers Scramble

Phil and I made the trip to Iowa for Christmas on Saturday. And what a trip that was. Iowa just had a blizzard 2 days before and the roads where still a mess. We counted 196 cars in the ditch, all on I-80. 2 hours longer then normal, we made it safe and sound.

We had the Miller family Christmas tonight. We always take a family photo every year. My aunt Kathy has a really fancy camera so she gets it all set up on the tri-pod and sets the timer and runs to get into the picture. I got to partake this year because I have my new camera. I was really excited to be able to take a family picture for the first time. This is how it came out:

Last night my dad picked up a huge prime rib for dinner with my dad's side of the family. It was awesome! There was some left over so we decided to add it to eggs in the morning. I am not a big scrambled egg fan, but anything that has prime rib, I have got to try. It was really good. Phil threw in ham and bacon as well, so it was full of yummy goodness. We have prime rib occasionally so now I know what to do with the leftovers next time.

Meatlovers Scramble

1 cup leftover cooked prime rib, cubed

1 cup leftover cooked ham, cubed

1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon

6 eggs

4 tablespoons milk

Salt

Pepper

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl whisk milk and eggs together thouroghly.

Pour into greased skillet over medium heat. Cook stiring often until done about 5 minutes. Add cooked prime rib, ham, bacon, tomatoes, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well and serve.

Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I have a really good recipe that I make for Phil and I for breakfast all the time called Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, which I have posted previously on here. As much as I love that recipe I have wanted to try a different version for a while. When I found this recipe for Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal I thought it would be a perfect new version to try. It has a sugary, buttery crumble topping on it that just completes the dish. It is pretty sweet though. Phil said it tasted more like a dessert than breakfast. But nonetheless it was really good!

Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Adapted from Jamie Cooks it up

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups milk

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Into a large mixing bowl combine oats, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Mix well.

Add vanilla, butter, canned pumpkin and milk. Mix well. 

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the pan. 

Bake for 12 minutes.

While the oatmeal is baking make the topping. 

Mix all topping ingredients together with a pasty blender. 

After 12 minutes top oatmeal with crumble topping.

Bake another 10 minutes. 

Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

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This recipe was linked on: :Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck,  Think Pink Sunday, Church Supper, Cream of the Crop, Sundae Scoop 

Nutella Banana Stuffed French Toast

My husband Phil is a firefighter and works 24 hour shifts, so on the weekends when he gets off shift I like to make breakfast. I am always looking for new breakfast ideas in my cookbooks and magazines. I found this recipe for Nutella Banana Stuffed French Toast in The Picky Palate Cookbook by Jenny Flake that I just got recently. I recommend this book, if you are a cookbook fan like me, there is a lot of simple but not everyday recipes in it. This is the second recipe that I have made from it already and they both have been great.  Phil loves nutella, as do I recently so I figured this recipe would be a big hit with him. He came home from work and said "why is there nutella and bread on the counter?" I told him what I was making and he said "WOOAAHHH!" He was super excited about it. And for good reason because it was awesome! I definitely used more nutella then was called for in the recipe. The recipe called for a tablespoon per sandwich and I probably but 1 tablespoon and a half to 2 tablespoons per sandwich. Nutella has been is so many recipes that I have been seeing recently. I love it!

Nutella Banana Stuffed French Toast
Picky Palate Cookbook, By Jenny Flake

4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 slices bread
3-6 tablespoons nutella
2 medium bananas, sliced 1/8 inch thick
Powdered sugar

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Add eggs, milk, brown sugar and vanilla to a large bowl and whisk together to combine. Dip the bread in the egg mixture on both sides.

Add bread to skillet and cook about 2-3 minutes per side over medium heat.

Once bread is browned spread 1/2 -1 tablespoon of nutella on each bread slice. Top 3 of the bread slices with the sliced bananas. Top the bread slices that have bananas with the remaining bread slices.

Top with maple syrup and confectioners sugar if desired.

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This recipe is linked on: Foodie Friends Friday,  Foodie Friday, Full Plate Thursday, Link it up Thursday, Creative Thursday, Fantastic Thursday,Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck, Wicked Good Wednesday

Berry Dutch Baby

My mom and her best friend (my other mom growing up) Kristy came into town this weekend to go to a big jewelry show that we have here several times a year. The jewelry show is like an auto show of jewelry, purses, accessories, perfume, clothes, scarves...just to name a few items. It is always a fun time and I have gone with friends in the past, but I knew it would be something my mom and Kristy would love so I told them to make a weekend out of it and we would go together. Kristy owns a bed and breakfast in the town I grew up in Iowa. She always made really good breakfast food, so I wanted to make a fun breakfast for her when she came.

I decided to make a dutch baby because they are really impressive but super easy at the same time, which is really cool because people think that you went to a lot of work to make it. Dutch babies are also very versatile and easy to switch up to your liking. I have done this berry one several times. I really like it because the fruit is really refreshing and light. You do not feel disgusting after you eat it which is always nice. I have also done an apple one before too which is really good, but the berry is definitely my favorite. One thing that you have to keep in mind when making this is that you have to get it to the table to eat right away when you take it out of the oven because they do deflate quickly and do not look as fancy anymore. So be sure to have your timing down good when making this.

Berry Dutch Baby
Adapted from the Taste of Home

2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons triple sec
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) if using frozen, thaw them
Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place butter in a 9 inch pie plate. Place pie plate in preheated oven to 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk.

In another bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Whisk into egg mixture until well blended.

Pour into prepared pie plate.

Bake for 14-16 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in orange juice and triple sec. Bring to boil over medium heat and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Mix berries and sauce together and pour over pancake.

Dust with confectioners sugar.

Serve immediately.

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This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friends Friday,  Foodie Friday, Full Plate Thursday, Link it up Thursday, Creative Thursday, Fantastic Thursday,Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck, Sunday Link Party, Think Pink Sunday,Scrumptious Sundays, Church Supper, Cream of the Crop, Sundae Scoop

Chunky Banana Bran Muffins

 I was looking for something that I could make to work for snacks throughout the day. I was watching Ina Garten on the Food Network this weekend and she made these muffins, so I decided to give them a whirl. I really like bran muffins because they help keep me full longer which is always nice while at work.

I have never made bread or muffins with chunks of bananas before, they are always the old bananas that you mash up. The chunks made the muffins heartier, which was a nice change. The only thing I did not like about these was that they are hard to get out of the muffin wrappers. I am guessing because of the sticky molasses that is in them. Other then that, they are a nice hearty muffin.

Chunky Banana Bran Muffins
Adapted from Ina Garten

2 cups unprocessed wheat bran
2 cups buttermilk
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups raisins
2 cups bananas, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the bran and the buttermilk in a bowl and set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl, then add the molasses and vanilla. Then add the bran mixture and combine.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix into the the bran mixture with the mixer on low. Fold in the bananas and raisins.

Put muffin liners in muffin tins. Fill each muffin cup full with mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins

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Pumpkin Pie French Toast

I really enjoy making breakfast food. It is definitely my favorite meal to cook for. I am always looking for different versions of waffles and french toast. I found this recipe on the Closet Cooking blog. I really like Kevin's blog because he has a lot of recipes that are similar to my style of cooking. I found this recipe in his 25 outstanding pumpkin recipes post. This is going to be the first of many pumpkin recipes to come I think because I have been printing out so many pumpkin recipes recently.

I definitely do not have the patience to scoop out the pulp in a pumpkin so I used can pumpkin for this recipe. All the spices in this recipe make the french toast really savory. I really liked this one a lot. For the small amount of pumpkin that is in this recipe it is packed full of flavor.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast
From Closet Cooking

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
6 slices of bread

Mix all ingredients except for bread in a shallow dish.

Dip bread into mixture on both sides until covered completely.

Grill in a pan until lightly golden brown about 2-3 minutes per side.

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This recipe is linked on:  Foodie Friends Friday,  Foodie Friday, Full Plate Thursday, Link it up Thursday, Creative Thursday, Fantastic Thursday,Show and Tell Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Foodie Friday, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Weekend Potluck

Zucchini Bread

My friend and coworker Nicole brought in Zucchini Bread last week to work. I had never tried it before and was a little apprehensive because zucchini in bread just does not sound good. The bread was delicious and you could not taste the zucchini at all. So I asked Nicole for the recipe because I thought it would be a great recipe to make for Phil's fishing trip.

Every year Phil, his dad, his uncles and some of their friends go on a fishing trip in Northern Minnesota for a week. They always go the same week in September and for the past few years they have been going to their friends resort in Minnesota. This is only the second year Phil has attended so I have not been around to hear all the crazy talk that goes down the year before the fishing trip. I guess the guys used to nonstop talk about this fishing trip for a whole year, so the wives finally decided that they could not breath a word about it until the 4th of July. The ladies felt as if the guys were wishing their whole summer away looking forward to the trip. I think the guys are bursting at the seams until the 4th over this trip! So in recent weeks many pictures of fish have been texted, dozens of emails sent about who is bringing what, who is driving whose cars and making sure they have all the supplies they need. 

Because Phil is so new to the trip we are not asked yet to provide a dish. I decided to make the Zucchini Bread anyway because I thought it would be a nice quick breakfast for them in the wee morning hours. The recipe is from Weight Watchers so it is a healthy version, but you would never know it, which makes it even better! The recipe makes two loaves, which I thought would be a good amount for their trip. But I could not let them take all the bread and have none for myself, so I doubled the recipe and made four loaves. Some for the freezer for later! The recipe below is the original recipe for two loaves. 

Zucchini Bread

Weight Watchers

2 cups whole wheat flour

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 egg whites

1 egg

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 cups uncooked zucchini, peeled, grated and drained

1/2 cup raisins

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Coat two loaf pans with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl sift together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer beat egg whites until frothy. Add egg, sugar, vanilla, oil, and applesauce and mix well. Add in zucchini. 

Add the dry ingredients to mixer and mix well. Add raisins. 

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake 50-60 minutes. 

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This recipe is linked on: Full Plate Thursday, Tastetastic Thursday, Link it up Thursday, Thriving on Thursdays, Creative Thursday, Fantastic Thursday

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Today was my boss and my coworkers birthday. So I decided to make a cinnamon roll cake recipe that I have seen now on several blogs and Pinterest. I thought it would be a good breakfast cake because you have cinnamon roll's for breakfast. It tasted just like a cinnamon roll. It was awesome! I only had a couple pieces left which I snatched up for Phil to have a taste.

I liked this recipe because I got all the goodness of a cinnamon roll without all the waiting around for the dough to rise, then the rolls to rise.

I love that with this blog I can make all the desserts I have been wanting to make and not have to leave it on my counter at home to eat because I can just bring it in to work to get eaten by everyone else!

Cinnamon Roll Cake
Adapted from Chef in Training

3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray and 9 x 13 glass baking pan with cooking spray.

In a stand mixer add flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add butter on low and mix well.

Pour mixture into baking pan.

In a medium bowl mix together topping ingredients. Using a cookie dough scoop, or tablespoon, drop mixture evenly over batter in pan. Using a knife to marble the mixture through the cake.
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Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

For the glaze mix together sugar, milk and vanilla with a whisk. Pour evenly over warm cake.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Cookbook Recipe #8

I love the Southern Living Annual recipe books. They all have over 900 recipes in them and they are all about comfort foods. My favorite! The books have all the recipes from Southern Living Magazine throughout the year. I like that they also put the book together by month because when you are trying to make a recipe with ingredients that are in season you can look at that month. From this book I decided to make Blueberry Baked Oatmeal.

I am not really a big oatmeal person but I really like this baked version. I make this recipe a lot on the weekends because I usually have a lot of leftovers for during the week at work. I love the combination of blueberries and brown sugar together. When I make this in the winter I use frozen blueberries but in the summer I use fresh blueberries. I need to get in the habit of buying a bunch of blueberries when they are on sale and freezing them so I can enjoy good summer blueberries all year long.

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Southern Living Annual Recipes 2007

2 cups fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
1 18oz container regular oats
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In a small bowl toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Pour and spread out into baking dish.

In a large bowl combine oats and next 9 ingredients until well blended.

Pour mixture evenly over blueberries.

Bake, covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

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Caramel Sticky Buns

Some of my favorite cookbooks that I have are annual cookbooks. I have a few annuals in my large cookbook library. Pillsbury has a general annual book and a Christmas annual book. My mother in law Linda has gotten me both the past few years. I really like these books as they are a collection of recipes from  contestants in the cook and bake offs that they have. The recipes in these books are always very simple and kind of semi-homemade recipes as you can use ingredients like Pillsbury biscuits, pizza dough and crescent rolls to make the recipes, which I like because I am still intimidated by making my own dough, although I think I am going to make myself do it one of these days. I am sure there is a dough recipe somewhere among my near 300 cookbooks!

This recipe was one of the semi-homemade versions as it used Pillsbury grand biscuits to make the sticky buns. This recipe reminded me more of Monkey Bread than a sticky bun, but it was pretty good anyway.

Caramel Sticky Buns
Adapted from Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2012


1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 12oz can Pillsbury Grands Jr Golden Layers refrigerated biscuits


Heat oven to 375 degrees.


Grease 12 muffin cups with shortening.


In a small bowl mix butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture into each muffin cup.


In a large resealable plastic bag mix granulated sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 6 pieces. Place pieces into the plastic bag and mix well with the sugar to coat the dough. Place 5 biscuit pieces into each muffin tin.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool for one minute. Invert pan onto wax paper. Serve warm.


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Stuffed Challah Bread French Toast

Happy Forth of July to everyone today!

Everyone is trying to stay cool in the Midwest this week as it has been well over the 90's all week. But that didn't stop me from making a hot breakfast this morning.

If you haven't had the chance to try Challah bread you definitely need to. There is a strong Jewish community in the northern suburbs of Chicago and close to where I work. There is a Jewish Deli called the Original Bagel and Bailey that we go to once in a while for lunch at work and they have awesome Matzo ball soup and sandwiches. With every order you always get a Challah bread roll. It  has a slightly sweet taste and it is thicker than regular bread.  I was looking for a nice thick bread to make french toast at the grocery store and I saw the Challah bread and thought it would be perfect.

Stuffed Challah Bread French Toast


Ingredients:


Loaf Challah Bread, sliced into thick slices
Cream Cheese spread
Blueberry Preserves
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries
Powdered Sugar for dusting


You will need 2 slices of bread for each french toast sandwich. On one slice of the bread spread a heavy amount of cream cheese. On the other slice of bread spread a heavy amount of blueberry preserves. Put together spread side of bread slices to make a sandwich. 


Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet at medium high heat.


In a shallow bowl beat 2 eggs and 1 cup milk together. Dip both sides of french toast sandwich in the egg mixture. 


Once butter is melted in pan cook french toast sandwich on each side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.


While toast is cooking in a small saucepan combine water, cornstarch and sugar. Stir in 1 cup of blueberries and heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook another 2 minutes, stirring often until thickened. 


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Barefoot Contessa at Home: Oven Omelet

I love making breakfast. It is probably my favorite meal to cook. Another one of my weird food dislikes is that I am not a big fan of eggs. I am trying to like them more so I have been eating them more and more. Currently I only like them in an omelet style dish because I can stuff the omelet full of other ingredients so I really don't taste that much egg ( I know, silly right?) What can I say. I used to be the pickiest eater on the planet. I am sure you will see as you follow this blog all the things that I dislike, but it used to be so much worse. I didn't like any vegetables except those in the starch category, corn and potatoes. I would really only eat anything that was very plain. I am still not a major spice person, but I have come along way.

For my second cookbook recipe I made Ina Garten's Oven Omelet for Two. I have made this recipe several  times. I have to confess I have never made an actual omelet (maybe have to find one in another book for this project), but this seems to be an easy way to make them. I do change up the recipe quite a bit, especially to fit my no onion rule ( too hard to pick onions out of an omelet).

Oven Omelet for Two
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home


Ingredients:


2 cups shredded  refrigerated Simply Potatoes
4 slices pre-cooked bacon, cut into small pieces
4 small slices ham, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


In an 8 inch oven proof skillet combine potatoes, ham, bacon and cheese.


In a separate bowl whisk eggs. Add milk, salt and pepper to eggs. Whisk until well combined.


Pour egg mixture over top of potato mixture in skillet.


Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until done. 

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