French Toast

This recipe is an original of mine. I've liked it so much over the years that I've never felt a need to find another recipe. It's flavorful and simply delicious. Hope you like it too!

Ingredients
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 loaf of bread

Directions
Heat skillet to medium heat. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend till mixed through. Pour into a container. Dip both sides of the bread into the mixture and brown each side on a greased skillet. Swirl the mixture periodically to keep cinnamon and nutmeg from settling at the bottom of the container.

Blueberry Muffins

My little 2 year old was given blueberries somewhere, I have no idea where.  But one day that's all he was asking for so I went out on  limb and bought a huge box of them at Costco. I've never really bought fresh blueberries so what the heck was I to do with all those blueberries?! We had pancakes and blueberries, salads with blueberries, and blueberries. Wow there were so many blueberries! So I decided to make muffins. I've never made blueberry muffins from scratch and now I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering WHY??? They were absolutely delightful. I will never make them from a box again.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups blueberries

Notes / Directions
Combine butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add milk. Mix dry ingredients together, then add to batter. Mix until just moistened. Fold in blueberries (fresh or frozen). Pour into prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden on top.

Makes 12 muffins.

*Instead of milk I used almond coconut milk and it was delicious.

Savory Ham and Gruyere Cookies

 Adapted from Delish

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped black forest ham
1 1/2 cups finely shredded gruyere cheese, divided

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a sauce pan, bring butter, salt, and water to a boil.  Reduce heat and quickly stir in flour.  Continue stirring until a film starts to form on the bottom of the pan, about 30 seconds.  Transfer dough into a bowl and allow to cool for a minute.  Stir in eggs one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated before adding the next.  Stir in pepper, ham, and 1 cup of cheese.  Scoop dough out into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch star on it.

Grease 2 cookie sheets and squeeze dough out in 1 1/2 inch circles, leaving 1/2 inch between each cookie.  Place cookie sheets in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, rotating sheets half way, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of gruyere cheese on top.  Cook for 3 more minutes or until cheese is fully melted.  Serve warm.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup dried cranberries

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, and almonds. Pour the warm oil and honey mixture into the oat mixture and stir until combined.

Spread the mixture evenly on two 12X17 inch rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring several times, until the granola is a deep golden brown. Cool completely before adding the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.

You can vary the dried fruit: dried figs, raisins, blueberries, apples, etc.

Crepes

Is your mouth watering??? Mine is. There is nothing like a crepe with Nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream. It's our Saturday morning tradition, that is, until I picked up running :(  Now it's more of a Sunday morning breakfast tradition. At least until church is at 9:00 instead of 11:00.

Ingredients
6 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tablespoon butter, melted
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Notes / Directions
Put everything in a blender and blend till smooth.  Heat skillet to medium heat.  Pour on and use a spoon to spread and thin them out (thinner is better).  Once the bottom is browned and the top is no longer liquid, flip and gently cook other side.

Serves 4-6 people. For 2-3 people, half the recipe.

Toppings:
Nutella
Bananas
Strawberries
Whipped Topping 

 

Nutella Syrup

Adapted from Picky Palate

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 heaping tablespoons Nutella

Notes / Directions 
Heat butter, sugar, and buttermilk on medium heat until butter is melted and it starts to boil.  Reduce heat and add baking soda and vanilla.  It will start to bubble and rise from the baking soda.  Stir.  Remove from heat and add Nutella.

I made IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes and added pureed strawberries in the batter.  It would also be really yummy on Whole Wheat Pancakes with strawberries or bananas on top.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil

Notes / Directions
Mix dry. Mix wet. Mix together.

Su’s variations:
Mix flour and milk with 1 tsp vinegar, yogurt or whey the night before to neutralize phytic acid, etc.
Next morning mix in other ingredients. I use coconut sugar in place of brown . Cook on melted
coconut oil.

Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
Additional milk

Notes / Directions
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside.  In separate bowl, whisk liquid ingredients.  Combine dry and liquid ingredients until well blended.  Spoon into a greased 9-in. square baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 or until set.  Serve warm with milk.

To reheat leftovers, cook in oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

Sauteed Apples

A fine thanks to Allrecipes.com!

This is what I make when I have a bunch of apples lying around that need to be eaten!  And it makes a delicious breakfast too. 

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
4 large tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Notes / Directions
1. In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.

2. Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve warm.

German Pancakes

 

Ever had these?  They are kinda weird looking...  But they are so yummy!  You can serve them with so many different toppings!  I've listed a few of my favorites at the bottom.

Ingredients
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter

Notes / Directions
Set a clear glass pie plate in oven on bottom shelf. Turn oven on to 400 degrees. Mix flour and milk until smooth.  Add eggs and mix for 5 minutes on low setting. Remove hot pie plate from oven and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Rotate around until butter is melted. Add batter immediately. Bake for 20 minutes.

 Nutella

 Powder sugar

 Fruits

 Chocolate syrup 

 

IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes

I used to buy pancake batter from the store but it just was never that good!  Naturally, I began my quest for the best recipe out there and came across this copycat recipe and it is absolutely delectable.  I can only eat one pancake though because for some reason, they are extremely filling.

IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 pinch salt

Notes / Directions
1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Mix all of the ingredients til combined.
3. Melt a little bit of butter in the pan.
4. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles.
5. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes.
6. They should be golden brown.
7. Cook the pancakes on the other side until they are also golden brown.
8. Enjoy.

Sweet & Salty Granola

This is like the perfect combination of sweet and salty.  I now make a batch a week for breakfast and it is wonderful.  I do leave out the berries though.

Ingredients
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup almonds, sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a bowl mix the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a saucepan warm the oil and honey. Whisk in vanilla.

Carefully pour the liquid over the oat mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon; finish mixing by hand. Spread granola in a 15x10 inch baking pan.

Bake 40 minutes, stirring carefully every 10 minutes. Transfer granola-filled pan to a rack to cool completely. Stir in raisins or cranberries. Seal granola in an airtight container or self-sealing plastic bag. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.

If you find that you'd like it crispier, try cooking it for longer. 

Yoplait Triple Berry Smoothie

 

You know the yummy Yoplait Triple Berry Smoothie packs you can buy in the freezer section that are so good??  Well, I didn't want to pay the money for it when the concept was so simple.  So, I stole their idea and created my own recipe for it!  I go and buy a big huge bag of frozen triple berries from Sam's club and a bunch of little Yoplait yogurts.  I fill my ice trays with the yogurt and once I have lots of frozen yogurt cubes, I transfer them to a Ziploc bag.  And wallah!!  I can have a smoothie whenever I want!  The best thing is that it's VERY healthy!  I buy the light yogurt because in a smoothie I can't taste the difference and use vanilla soy milk because is really good for you and the added vanilla flavor is delicious.  Over all, one smoothie has about 240 calories and is nutrient filled.

Ingredients
1 regular Yoplait light very vanilla yogurt
1 hand full frozen triple berries
1 cup vanilla soy milk

Notes / Directions
1. Spoon yogurt into and ice tray and freeze for about an hour.

2. Put all of frozen yogurt, a hand full of berries, and soy milk into blender and blend till smooth. Makes one big smoothie, I usually split it with my husband.

-Can use any kind of milk, I just like the added flavor of the vanilla soy.

Easy Pull-Apart Orange Rolls

My grandma always makes these when I go to visit her.  Mostly because they are my FAVORITE and I devour the whole plate but also because she's getting old and tries to keep things as simple as possible.  And these rolls are SO simple!

Ingredients
2 pkgs regular sized biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
orange rind, grated

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place biscuits standing up in a bundt pan. Boil sugar and butter together. Place orange rind in the mixture. Pour over biscuits. Bake 15-20 minutes. turn over onto plate and serve warm.

Lion House Quiche

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2-3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup bacon strips, crumbled
1 cup ham, cubed
1 cup swiss cheese, grated
5 eggs
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/8 teaspoon lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon dry mustard

Notes / Directions
In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

Fit pastry into 9in. pie pan and sprinkle with green onions, green peppers, bacon, and ham. Sprinkle on cheese. In a medium bowl, whip eggs with half and half, lemon peel, salt, and mustard. Pour over other ingredients in crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.