Sausage and Potato Bake

Sausage and Potato Bake

From: Real Mom Kitchen

2 pkgs. brown and serve sausage patties or links, thawed
3 1/2 cups frozen hash browns (I used the cubed kind)
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1  cup of milk
6 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. dried mustard
1/4 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Cut thawed sausage into slices or patties into quarters.  Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Pour into prepared dish.  Bake 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Mom's Rice Pudding

Mom (also known as Ruthie) asked me to post this recipe for the well-being of man. Truly. There's not a problem in the world that a big bowl of mom's warm rice pudding can't solve... or at least make you so full you can't remember. I added it to the Breakfast category because it really does make a lovely breakfast... in fact, I think we'll have it tomorrow.

Mom's Rice Pudding
½ c uncooked rice
1 cup water
½ c sugar
1 T. cornstarch
Dash of salt
2 eggs
2 ½ c. milk/cream
1 T. lemon juice
½ c raisins
1 tsp.Cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg

Cook 1/2 cup rice in the 1 cup of water or however you normally cook your rice. Mom always cooked it over the stove, but I use a microwave rice cooker.
Heat oven to 350 deg. Blend ½ sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to beaten eggs. Stir in rest of the ingredients. Pour into an oven safe casserole dish. Place in a pan of water. Bake for about 1-1/2 hours. Do not overbake. When the middle is just set it is done. Stir about every 15 min.

Note from Mom:
How much cream do I use? About 1/3 ratio. Or whatever I have on hand. This is not exact science guys. Of course, when I make this I x5 it.

Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche

This is simple and oh so very yummy.Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche

From: Kraft Foods

1 cup green onions, sliced
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
12 slices of bacon
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
12 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Reserve 2 Tbs. of the onions and tomatoes. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel covered plate, reserving 1 Tbs. of the bacon drippings in the skillet. Add the mushrooms to the skillet, cook and stir 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Chop bacon and add to the mushrooms along with the onions and tomatoes, mix well.

Beat egg and sour cream with a wire whisk until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with bacon mixture and the cheeses. Bake 30 minutes or until the center is set. Sprinkle with reserved onions and tomatoes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into pieces to serve.

Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

I think that the pictures say how amazing these are.
Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

From: My Kitchen Cafe

Rolls:
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs. active dry yeast
2 Tbs. sugar
1 (3.5 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
6+ cups flour

Filling:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tbs. milk

In a small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.

In a large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Add pudding mixture to yeast mixture. Blend.

Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not over flour! It should be very soft but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Then roll our on a floured surface to 34" x 21". Take 1 cup of soft butter and spread over the surface. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top. Roll up very tightly. Using a serrated knife or thread (I always use dental floss, because that is what my mom did... lol.) cut ever 1 1/2". Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet 1" apart. Cover and let rise until double again.

Bake at 35o degrees for 15-20 minutes. remove when they start to turn golden brown. Frost warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting.

Combine butter and cream cheese; mix well. Add vanilla and sugar, mix again. Add milk until desired consistency.

Blueberry Muffins with Struesel Topping

These are by far the yummiest blueberry muffins ever.To Die For Blueberry Muffins

From: Jennie Chappuis

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Wow. These are all kinds of good. I can now justify the fact that I like to eat cookies for breakfast because they are put into the form of a breakfast food. Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

From: Joy the Baker

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
heaping 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
lg. pinch nutmeg
2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbs. pure maple syrup
4 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
oil or cooking spray for cooking

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add buttermilk, butter, maple syrup and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Fold in raisins and let batter set for a few minutes.

Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil to pan or spray with cooking spray. Poor 2 Tbs. of batter onto the pan. (I always use more than this because I like my pancakes to be bigger) Cook on the first side until buubles that form start to pop. Flip pancake and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all of your pancakes are done!

French Toast with Pears and Pomegranate Sauce

Wow, this was just beyond yummy. We had this as a breakfast for dinner a while back and I was in sweet tooth heaven. No need for dessert. The boys certainly thought they were having a treat!French Toast with Pears and Pomegranate Sauce

From: Tarah's Food Reviews

5 lg. eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom, divided
4 3/4" thick slices of egg bread (I just used french bread)
4 Tbs. butter, divided
2 unpeeled red Anjou or Bartlett pears, halved, cored and cut into 1/3" thick slices
1 cup pomegranate juice
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. cardamom together in a 15x10x2 in glass baking dish (I just used a metal cookie sheet. Add bread slices; let stand until egg mixture is absorbed, turning bread slices occasionally, about 10 minutes. (I think this was too long.)

Meanwhile, melt 1 Tbs. butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears; saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer pear to a plate. Add 2 Tbs. butter to the skillet; stir to melt. Add pomegranate juice, sugar and remaining 3/4 tsp. cardamom; simmer until liquid is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.

Melt remaining 1 Tbs. butter on griddle or a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bread slices and cook until golden grown, about 3 minutes per side. Cut french toast slices in half diagonally; divide among plates. Top with pear slices and pomegranate syrup. Serve.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

From: Mom aka Ruth Solter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 lemons (use grated zest and juice)

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup half and half

1/4 cup poppy seeds

Glaze:
juice of one lemon
a little zest (optional)
powdered sugar

Muffins: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat eggs thoroughly and add to butter mixture. Add poppy seeds, lemon zest and juice from one lemon to butter mixture.  Combine flour and baking powder and add to butter mixture, stirring until combined.   Add half and half and stir until well blended.  Spoon into well greased muffin tins or use muffin liners and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Don't let the muffins get too brown.

Glaze: Combine the juice of 1 lemon, additional zest if desired , and about 1/2 cup or more of the powdered sugar to brush on as a lemon glaze while muffins are still hot.  It works best if you just dip the tops of the muffins into the glaze for a nice even coating!

Eggs with Fried Tortillas & Tomatillo Salsa

This was absolutely amazing. The tomatillo salsa was fantastic. We ate the leftovers with chips the next day. Yum.Eggs with Fried Tortillas and Tomatillo Salsa

From: Eat Make Read

2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 flour tortillas
4 eggs
1/4 cup tomatillo salsa
cilantro

For Tomatillo Salsa:
1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos
1/2 cup white onion, choppe3d
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbs. lime juice
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and chopped
salt to taste

Heat oil in a frying pan. Roll tortillas like cigars and cut into thin slices, about 1/4" thick. Toss in the frying pan and let them get crispy, about 5 minutes. Toss garlic in the pan after the tortillas have been cooking for a few minutes.

In a small bowl, scramble the eggs. Pour over the tortillas and garlic. Add salsa over the eggs. Cook egg mixture for a few minutes and take if off of the heat while the eggs are still shiny. They will continue to cook in the pan, but will retain their moisture. Garnish with cilantro and additional tomatillo salsa.

To make Tomatillo Salsa:

Rinse tomatillos. Cut the tomatillos in 1/2 and place cut side down on a foil lined cookie sheet. Place under the broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.

Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, jalapenos and sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse until all of the ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool in refrigerator.

Cranberry Scones

This was seriously the most delicious thing ever. I wouldn't recommend making it unless you have plenty of people to share with, because it'll go straight to your hips. I'm fairly certain, this is what we'll be having for breakfast on Christmas morning.



(The above picture does not contain the orange glaze. I hadn't put it on yet.)
I do have to give a shout out to my friend Sarah, the source of this delicious recipe. Thank you for bringing this obsession into my life.

Cranberry Scones
2 c flour
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, at room temperature

Mix till crumbly.

1/2 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in small bowl. Add to dry ingredients. Mix just until everything is moistened. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Spoon onto a greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a circular mound. Lightly press 1 pint or less of fruit into the surface of the scone. (I used cranberries, but you could use blueberries, etc.)

Streusel
1/4 c flour
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T butter
1 tsp orange zest
1-2 T chopped pecans

Pour onto the top and lightly press all around onto the mounded scone. Cut into 8 pieces before baking. Bake at 400 degrees for 22 minutes.

Orange Glaze
1 T butter
1.5 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tsp orange juice
2-3 Tbsp milk

Combine ingredients to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over scone when it comes out of the oven. Try not to die of gluttony.

Pumpkin Butter

This was absolutely fantastic on toast. I had it every morning for breakfast and a few times in between for a snack because it was so yummy.Pumpkin Butter

From: The Pioneer Woman

1 cup plain yogurt (vanilla works too)
1 cup pumpkin puree (I used pumpkin that I had cooked and pureed and the texture was awesome)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup powdered sugar, heaping

In a small bowl add together all ingredients. Add more pie spice if desired. Serve over hot buttered toast.

Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast with Peaches

This was amazing. We occasionally like to have breakfast for dinner and this one was perfect for it.
Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast with Peaches

From: AllRecipes.com

8 fresh peaches
1/2 cup sugar
4 pinches ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 loaf french bread
1 cup mascarpone cheese
6 Tbs. powdered sugar
1 lemon, zested
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. butter, or as needed
2 tsp. vegetable oil, or as needed

Peel peaches and slice into a heavy saucepan, catching all of the juices. Stir in sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon; cook over medium heat until bubbly. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the sauce reaches a syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cut off and discard the ends of the bread. Slice bread into 1 1/4" thick slices. Lay slices flat on your cutting board and slice a pocket in each, leaving 3 of the sides intact.

Stir together the mascarpone, powdered sugar and lemon zest until smooth. Scoop mixture into a small Ziploc bag. Cut off the tip of the pag and pipe as much filling into the pocket of each slice as will fit without overflowing.

Whistk together eggs, milk and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Melt butter with oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Dip each stuffed piece of bread into the batter, add to the skillet and cook until browned on both sides. Serve hot with the warm peach sauce.

Danish Puff

Hey Look, two recipes from Mom in two days! She must be famous.

And she is, round these parts. Especially for certain foods. Things like Coffee Cake, Sauerbraten & Spaetzles, Chimichangas and the list goes on. Perhaps we'll get around to making these recipes, but the reason my mom is famous for them is because they're so labor intensive that only SHE will undertake them. And only for special occasions.

Danish Puff is one of her special occasion foods. It was usually made for Christmas Breakfast. As my brother Andrew put it, "I always thought that Danish Puff required hours and hours of work because Mom would get up SO early in morning to make it. Turns out, Mom just likes to get up early, and Danish Puff is a cinch."


My husband claims Danish Puff is NOT a breakfast food. He strongly believes it to be a dessert and will only eat it as such. But not in my family; not with our history of sweet tooth.

Danish Puff
from Mom aka Ruth Solter

Crust:
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c flour
2 Tbsp water

Topping:
1/2 c butter
1 c water
1 tsp almond extract
1 c flour
3 eggs
1/4 c sliced, lightly toasted almonds (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 1/2 c butter into 1 c flour until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle the 2 Tbsp water over flour mixture. Mix until pastry gathers into a ball. Divide into halves. Pat and press each half into a rectangle approximately 12 inches by 3 inches on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place about 3 inches apart.

Heat 1/2 c butter and 1 c water to a rolling boil, and remove from heat. Quickly, stir in almond extract and 1 c flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about one minute. Remove from heat. Add eggs. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Spread half of topping over each crust rectangle. Bake until topping is crisp, puffed, and brown. About 40 minutes. Cool slightly. Topping will fall. Spread with Powdered Sugar Glaze. Sprinkle with almonds if desired.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1.5 c powdered sugar
2 T butter, softened
1.5 tsp vanilla
2 T warm water

Mix together the powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. Add water 1 tsp at a time to desired consistency.

Potato Pancakes

My mom makes amazing food. There are several meals that I remember from growing up as being amazing. This is one of my very favorites. I will purposely make too much mashed potatoes for dinner just so we can have these the next day.

Potato Pancakes

From: Mom

4 cups mashed potatoes left over from last night's dinner
1/4 cup flour
2-3 Tbs. onion, minced
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste

Mix together all ingredients. If batter it soupy add more flour. If it is too thick add a little milk or another egg. Melt margarine in the bottom of a skillet and press potato mixture in a pancake shape and fry until browned on the outsides and hot in the middle.

Pop-Up Pancakes

This is another recipe that comes from my blogless friend Melinda. She had us over for dinner on Friday night and made these, which I'd never before had the pleasure of having. I'm told they're also referred to as "Popeye Pancakes" or "German Pancakes." When I made them, I had two VERY ripe peaches to use up. They were perfect on top of these. And the real shocker here is that I actually made them for breakfast. Yes, we had a hot breakfast. It was a miracle.

Melinda says you can make them in a 9x13 pan or other high sided baking dish, but I loved the way they looked in the muffin tin. Little bites of happiness.


Pop-Up Pancakes
from Melinda

6 eggs
1 c flour
1 c milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 c butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs till frothy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix till smooth. Pour into well-greased muffin tins or 9x13 pan. For muffin tins, only fill about 1/2 to 2/3rds full. Bake 15-20 minutes for muffin tin or 25-30 minutes for 9x13 pan.

Top with whatever makes your mouth happy. We did pancake syrup, powdered sugar and peaches.

Strawberry Muffins

These were so delicious. The strawberry butter really makes these muffins. The original recipe called for toasted pecans, but I had a 3 year old helper in the kitchen and I got sidetracked and burned my pecans, so I just substituted in some oatmeal for the pecans in the streusel and I'm convinced that it was meant to be.

Strawberry Muffins

From: Blogchef

1 3/4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped and lightly tossed in 2 Tbs. flour

Streusel:
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs. butter, melted

Strawberry Butter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease muffin tin. Mix together all streusel ingredients and set aside.

Mix together for the muffins the cups flour, cup sugar, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl mix milk, melted butter, beaten eggs and vanilla. Gently mix this into the flour mixture. Fold in the lightly floured strawberries.

Pour batter into muffin cups and top with streusel mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare strawberry butter by thoroughly mixing butter and powdered sugar. Fold in chopped stawberries. Chil until needed and soften before serving. Spread on inside of halved muffins.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

It is a common tradition at our house to have Brinner on Sunday nights. Standard fare includes pancakes, or french toast, sausage, bacon, juice, whatever else we happen to have on hand. See, I just never have the energy in the mornings to make an actual hot breakfast, and frankly, we LOVE hot breakfast. So, Sunday nights are the perfect time for us. It's easy, comes together quickly, and makes EVERYONE super happy.

This week we (whenever I say "we", I mean me) decided to go fancy on the pancakes. I saw this recipe this past week over at The Sister's Cafe. I have to tell you that it was fabulously delicious. The lemon zest in the batter had me sniffing and drooling. And the pancakes themselves were amazing, despite my stove's inability to heat to anything but scorching. So, my picture is the LEAST burned of the bunch. The burned ones were still good. My girls each ate THREE. I had (gulp!) five.




Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
1.5 c flour
3 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 c sour cream
3/4 c plus 2T milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
2-3 ripe bananas, diced

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt in a medium bowl. In another larger bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the dry ingredients to wet and mix only until combined.

Once you've poured your pancake (3-4 inch) into your heated, buttered skillet, add about 1 T of diced banana to each pancake. When the bubbles have mostly popped, flip your pancake. Serve with warm maple syrup, and extra bananas.

Mushroom, Pepper & Sausage Frittata

A couple of notes about the recipe below. We used pre-cooked chicken sausages. Also, I doubled this recipe and cooked it all at once in my favorite pan.
I'm still at a loss with what to do with unused yolks. I just toss them, but I'm sure there's something I can do, right?

Mushroom, Pepper and Sausage Frittata
adapted from Baking Bites

1/2 tbsp butter or veg. oil
1/2 cup diced red peppers
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 cup sliced [cremini] mushrooms
1 medium-large sausage, sliced
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
salt and pepper
Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat an 8-in oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Melt butter or oil, then add in red peppers, green onions and mushrooms. Saute for 2-3 minutes, then add in sliced sausage and cook until sausage is browned. Drain excess grease, if you are using a fatty sausage.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper (estimate - you know your tastes better than I do!). Pour into skillet over filling. Add parmesan cheese on top.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.

Cook frittata on the stove until the top edges have begun to set, about 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to broiler and cook for 3-5 minutes, until set and lightly browned.
Slide onto a plate for serving and slicing.

Serves 2


I'm sure I'll be adding other frittata recipes as this blog goes on, because I like the versatility of the frittata, and there are so many enticing recipes out there. Stay tuned.

Buttermilk Banana "Muffin Mans"

My boys love zucchini and banana bread. So a while back I found a new banana bread recipe using buttermilk, so I decided to try it and loved it. Well, fast forward to this week and I couldn't find it. So I did a google search and found a new recipe and it is exorbitantly better than the first one I found. These are amazing.

I call them muffin mans because that is what Tab, my 3 year old calls them. If I were to call it banana bread he would whine that he doesn't want banana bread, but that he wants muffin mans. Ever since he first heard the "Do you know the muffin man?" song, he has called them this. So I obligingly make them into muffins and a loaf, which to get him to eat we call muffin man bread. My kid is weird.

Buttermilk Banana "Muffin Mans"

From: Seattle Bon Vivant

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 3.4 flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter loaf pan and lightly dust with flour.

In mixer bowl beat eggs with sugar on med-high until thick and light, about 5 minutes. Add mashed bananas, buttermilk, honey, oil, remaining butter and vanilla.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients and beat just until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake about 1 hour.