Breakfast Apple Cake

I saw this recipe on allrecipes front page this morning and decided it would be a nice breakfast treat for the kiddos. It came together really quickly and I stuck it in the oven. Twenty minutes later, I checked on it only to discover that nothing was happening. My oven wasn't working.

I ended up carrying it over to my sweet neighbor & she let me bake it in her oven. It was nice to catch up with her.

The kids surprised me by devouring it ALL when I got home. My neighbor tried it too and said it was very good. I will definitely be making it again (well, if my oven will let me, that is).

I altered the original recipe a little.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour (I subbed all purpose flour + 1 Tbs baking powder & 1 tsp salt)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled, cored, and chopped tart apple (I used golden delicious, because it was all I had)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (left these out)
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour and cinnamon. Mixture will be thick. Fold in apple and nuts. Spread in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with butterscotch chips.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

French Toast Sticks

I posted this recipe on my Savoring the Circus blog over 2 years ago! I can't believe it's been so long ago...

Anyway... this is a really good recipe and I hadn't taken a picture of it since I got my new camera last August. I love the recipe because it makes french toast sticks that are sweet enough to be enjoyed without syrup. I do love syrup, but somehow it always seems to end up all over the table, floor, hands, hair, dog, cat, etc... whenever we eat it.

Anyway, I digress... here's the recipe:

1 loaf bread (The first time I made this I used homemade whole wheat bread & cut it into thick strips. I thought it was better than the store-bought loaf I used the second time.)
4 eggs (I used 5 because my chickens are laying small eggs right now.)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbs pancake syrup
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
butter

Combine everything except the bread. Cut the bread (I recently used homemade sour dough bread & boy was it good!) into thick strips. Dip each strip into the egg mixture and cook them on a lightly greased griddle, turning every so often so that each side is browned.

Makes about 10 servings.

Overnight Coffeecake

We've been going to the early service at church on Sunday mornings. Getting eight people fed, dressed & out of the house by 7:45am is no easy task! This recipe is great, because I can make it at night, stick it in the fridge and then bake it in the morning. Mmmm... and with all that sugar & cinnamon, everyone is bound to love it.

Overnight Coffeecake from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts [I had none, so I left these out]
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon [I crumbled the brown sugar with 3Tbs of butter before sprinking]; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over warm coffee cake.

Apple Strudel Muffins

I love muffins! And especially ones with struesel/strudel (or whatever that sweet, crumbly stuff is called) on top! This is another yummy one that I found on allrecipes and tweaked a little. It makes your kitchen smell so good when they're baking, too!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apples
• 
  
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Very Light Biscuits

Growing up with my great-grandma meant I ate a lot of biscuits. I never did figure out how she made hers -she wasn't the most patient teacher - but I do remember spending time with her in the kitchen, patting the biscuits into shape and begging for bits of dough to eat (maybe that's why she wasn't so patient?). Mmmm... Now my kids do the same thing to me! They hang out next to me under the guise of "helping" because they want a nibble or two, or better yet, a chance to scrape the bowl of all the leftover dough.

This recipe is really good. It is fairly simple and makes deliciously light biscuits. The key to light, flaky biscuits is to work the dough as little as possible.

Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter, cut into cubes
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until the dough is crumbly. It's okay if some of the crumbs are lima bean size and some are petite pea size. The butter pieces melt & create flaky, airy biscuits. Stir in the milk, just until combined. Turn onto a floured surface and pat just enough to hold it together. Pat it to about 1" thickness. Cut with a floured biscuit cutter, and place 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425F for about 10-13 minutes or until golden on the bottoms. Serve hot & with jam or gravy. Makes about 3 dozen 2" biscuits.

Cranberry Orange Almond Muffins

This is one of my favorite flavor combinations for a muffin. I love the sweetness of the orange paired with the tartness of the cranberries. I must admit, though, my kids really didn't go for them, but they're not too crazy about cranberries to begin with. (That's okay, it just means more for me! :)

(The recipe originally came from allrecipes & I tweaked it a tiny bit.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Grated peel of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 cup dried cranberries
  
• 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg. Add orange juice, peel, butter and hot water. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold in cranberries and almonds. Spoon into muffin tins or liners. Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Makes 12 muffins.

Glazed Cinnamon Breakfast Scones

We have another name for these in our house: Lazy Buns. Glazed Cinnamon Breakfast Scones sounds a lot nicer, though, doesn't it? I invented them one morning when I wanted to make cinnamon buns but didn't feel like it. They're like a cross between biscuits & cinnamon buns, except they're a lot faster and don't require all the rolling & cutting (and messing up of countertops). My kids love them and so do I because they are so easy to make.


Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tbs sugar

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbs milk


Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening until the mixture looks crumbly. Stir in the milk until everything is combined, but do not stir it too much or the lazy buns won't be as tender.

Combine the 2 tsp of cinnamon and the 2 Tbs of sugar and stir/fold these into the dough. You don't want them to spread throughout the dough, but rather be in streaks or veins throughout it.

On a lightly greased baking sheet, pat the dough into a large circle about 1" thick. Cut into wedges and separate slightly. Bake at 400F for 13-15 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden.

While baking, combine the glaze ingredients. Drizzle over hot buns & serve immediately. Serves 6.

Honey Wheat Pancakes

If you're looking for a 100% whole wheat pancake that is delicious and easy, look no further! This one is really good and is my personal favorite.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp salt
3-4 cups milk (depending on how thick you like your pancakes)
5 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until it's all thoroughly mixed up. Cook on a hot, lightly greased griddle. Serves 6 - 8.

Streusel Topped White Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. It is easy to whip up & makes a great dessert, snack or breakfast! It is really moist & sweet.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (may substitute milk w/1 tsp lemon juice)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Streusel Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs brown sugar

Combine all except streusel ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the streusel ingredients together until crumbly. After baking the bread for about 30 minutes, sprinkle the streusel on and bake until the bread is no longer gooey in the middle (about 5-10 more minutes).

Note: the white chocolate chips usually sink to the bottom while baking, but we don't mind. :)

Popcorn Soup

This really isn't a soup, it's more like a breakfast porridge. We call it popcorn soup, because we ground popcorn kernels to make it. (That 25lb bag of popcorn from Sam's takes a long time to use up, even for a family of 8!) Maybe it should be called Cream of Popcorn, or Sweet Polenta or, yeah - Sweet Polenta. I like the sound of that. Anyway... here's how you make it:

Ingredients:

1 cup polenta (or coarsely ground corn meal -or coarsely ground popcorn, in case you have about 20 pounds too many, like we did)

3 cups cold water

2 cups milk

dash salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine 2 cups of the cold water and 2 cups of milk in a medium saucepan. Slowly bring it to a low boil. Stir the polenta into the remaining cup of water. Once the milk mixture is boiling, add the salt and slowly stir in the polenta/water mixture. Keep whisking it so that it doesn't get lumpy. Simmer for several more minutes while stirring, or until it is thickened. Remove from heat & stir in the sugar & vanilla. Ladle into bowls and serve with milk, if desired. (Which, around here, it always is.)

Serves 5-6.

Overnight Caramel Sticky Buns

This recipe came from allrecipes.com. The buns are so sticky, gooey and delicious [how could they be otherwise, with all that butter & sugar?] and make a great special breakfast (i.e. Christmas!). The best part is that you do all the work the night before, so that in the morning all that is left is to stick them in the oven. I changed the recipe to double the caramel goo, because they weren't quite gooey enough for me.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 
  
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, egg and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Heat brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter until melted. Remove from heat; stir in corn syrup. Divide mixture between two 9x13 inch baking pans. Sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans in each pan.
4. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle and spread with butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Starting with the long side, roll up the rectangle into a log, and slice into 1 inch wide rolls. Place the rolls slightly apart in pans. Wrap pans with aluminum foil and refrigerate at least 12 hours but no longer than 48.
5. Remove rolls from refrigerator and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. Bake uncovered in preheated oven until golden 30 to 35 minutes. Immediately invert pan on heatproof serving plate. Wait for 1 or 2 minutes before removing pan, so that caramel drizzles over rolls.

Hakuna Matata Breakfast Frittata

Hakuna Matata Breakfast Frittata

Ain't no passin' phrase!

It means no worries, for the rest of your days.

Breakfast - problem free, with eggs and cheese...

Hakuna Matata, Breakfast Frittata!

I love this recipe, because it is easy and simple. You can make it plain or dress it up. When I make it for the kids, I make it plain, but I think adding some sauteed mushrooms, red onions & swiss cheese would make it even better!

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tbs melted butter (I subbed 1 Tbs of the leftover grease from the bacon instead of the butter - bad me!)

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup finely diced ham or crumbled bacon

1 cup shredded cheddar

Beat the eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Pour it into a greased 9x9 pan. Sprinkle with ham or bacon and then the cheese. Bake at 350F for about 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted near the middle comes out clean. Serves 5-6.

Pizza Roll

Pizza. One of the best inventions ever known to man. Tasty. Portable. Easy. Fairly cheap. And it contains all of the food groups, right?

We eat pizza at least once a week in one form or another. This recipe is a tasty changeup from the ordinary version. It also allows the eater to control the amount of sauce, which is a big plus if you have people in your family who don't like sauce.

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cup flour
1 pkg yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs oil
1 1/2 cups warm water

2 cups mozzarella
4 Tbs grated parmesan
8 ounces pepperoni

pizza sauce, for dipping


Make dough with the first 6 ingredients. Let it rise for 1 hour. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Roll each half into a large rectangle, about 1/2-3/4" thick. Spread with pepperoni & sprinkle with the cheeses. Starting with a long side, roll the dough and pinch the seams to seal. Bake at 350F on a greased baking sheet for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Serve with warm sauce, for dipping.

Note:
You can use almost anything for filling - like salami, or turkey & swiss, olives, spinach, etc... Or make it a breakfast roll, by using cooked sausage and cheddar in place of the pepperoni and mozzarella.

Like the Boxed Stuff Pancakes

There is a certain someone living in my house who is a pancake snob. To protect the guilty, I won't name any names, but while the kids and I willingly eat a variety of homemade, whole wheat, oatmeal, etc... pancakes, this person repeatedly tries to sneak home boxes of Aunt Jemima or (gasp!) Hungry Jack.

However, this certain nameless someone does like this recipe. It produces fluffy white pancakes, just like Jemima's and Jack's. I found the recipe on allrecipes and once again, tweaked it to suit our tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbs sugar

3 eggs

2 to 2 1/2 cups buttermilk*

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. If you want thinner pancakes, just add a little more milk to make the batter runnier. Brown on both sides on a hot, greased griddle. Serves 8 generously.

*I rarely have buttermilk on hand, so I substitute regular milk mixed with 2-3 tsp of lemon juice.

Sausage Balls

These are so simple and good. I've brought them to potlucks and church breakfasts & they are always gobbled up.

1 pound ground pork sausage (hot/spicy is best, in my opinion)
1 cup biscuit mix*
1 pound sharp cheddar, shredded (the sharper, the better)
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)

Combine all of the ingredients and shape into walnut-sized balls. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 350F for 20 minutes, or until golden. Makes about 4 dozen.

*I never have biscuit mix on hand, so I use 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp salt instead.

Creamy Apple Crisp

I don't really know if this qualifies as a crisp, but whatever it is, it is good. We really liked it for breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oats (though I think rolled would work as well)

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 sticks butter/margarine

4 large apples, peeled & sliced (tart apples work best)

1 cup cream

Combine the first 5 ingredients, using only 1 cup of the sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Press half of it into a 9x13" pan. Layer the apples and sprinkle them with the remaining sugar. Crumble the remaining mixture on top. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Pour the cream evenly over the crisp and bake for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Granola

Brown Sugar Granola is a staple in our kitchen. It is inexpensive and easy to make, using ingredients that I almost always have on hand. You can spruce it up a bit by adding nuts, coconut, raisins, dried cranberries, etc... but my family seems to prefer it just as it is.

Ingrdients:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

4 cups oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Melt the margarine and sugar in a large pot. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined. Spread the mixture onto a large baking sheet and bake at 375F for about 10 minutes, or until golden. (Stir occasionally to prevent the edges from burning.) If you let it cool in the pan without stirring, you will have more chunks in your granola. My kids seem to like it better when it is chunky.

Either rolled oats or quick cooking oats will work in this recipe. Rolled oats produce a chewier granola, and quick are slightly more crunchy. Makes 8 generous servings.

P.S. I did add some sliced almonds to this batch. Shhh!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

In searching for a recipe for pancakes that I could make the night before, I found a version of this one that halfway fit the bill.

These pancakes were delicious & had a great texture. The oatmeal made them more nutritious & filling as well. I will definitely be using this recipe again.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

2 cups buttermilk (I substituted 2 cups milk with a Tbs lemon juice)

1/2 cup flour

3 Tbs sugar or honey

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine oats & buttermilk. Refrigerate overnight. Combine the next 5 ingredients. (You can do this at night to save time in the morning.)

Mix all ingredients together in the morning and fry on a hot, lightly greased griddle.

One batch makes enough for 6 young-ish children. Their mama prefers coffee for breakfast.