Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 packet or 8 grams yeast
2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup margarine, melted

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese,softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Place warm milk & yeast in the bowl of stand mixer and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.  Add eggs, margarine, flour, salt & white sugar.  Attach the dough hook and allow to mix & need for about 10 minutes (or until the dough is stretchy and not too sticky).  Remove bowl and cover, allowing the dough to rise in a warm dry place for about an hour.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Once complete, place a cookie sheet on top of your pan and turn the rolls out upside down and allow them to cool for a few minutes.  While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving. 

To make the night before, complete recipe through step 3, then cover and refrigerate.  In the morning, allow rolls to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then complete step 4.

To freeze, complete through step 3, cover & freeze.  The day before you want to cook them, move them from the freezer to the fridge.  When ready to cook, allow rolls to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then complete step 4.

Sour Cream Potato Casserole

adapted from allrecipes.com

2 (28 ounce) package frozen cubed hash brown potatoes with onions & peppers, thawed

2 cups sour cream

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup French-fried onions

In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Pour into an ungreased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Sprinkle with onions; return to the oven for 10 minutes.

We used the leftovers to make some pretty awesome breakfast tacos :)

Cranberry Orange Bread

 From Joy of Baking

1/2 cup (50 grams) pecans or walnuts, optional

1 cup (120 grams) fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

1 large egg, well beaten

3/4 cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon orange zest (outer skin of orange - about 1 1/2 oranges)

4 tablespoons (57 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. 

If desired, toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.


In a small bowl, combine the beaten egg with the orange juice and vanilla extract. 

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chopped cranberry and nuts. 

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely before slicing. This bread can be frozen.
 
Makes one - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Freezer Cooking: Egg Muffin Sandwhiches

I don't do much freezer cooking.  I don't have much freezer space nor the desire to actually cook in bulk.  However, having a husband who leaves the house before dawn (commuting 1 1/2 hours each way) for work, has led us to discover that freezer cooking for his breakfast benefits everyone.  He needs something more substantial than cereal and milk or yogurt, so we've gone to making egg muffin sandwiches.  This way he has a hearty breakfast, that he can heat quickly (and quietly) & I don't have to get up 4 hours before the kids to make it.  I spend about an hour a month preparing them & he's got enough to get him through almost every morning for the entire month!

18 English Muffin

18 eggs

1 package of Canadian Bacon (there are only 15 pieces in the pack I buy, so he has 3 that don't have meat)

18 American Cheese slices

I have this adorable little egg frying pan and it works perfectly!  I spray a little non stick cooking spray, crack the egg into the pan, break up the yolk with a tooth pic & cook it.  Since I'll be using the entire carton of eggs, I just put the cracked shells back in the carton :)

As each egg is cooked, I place them on a wire rack to cool. 

As the eggs are cooking, I get out my bread knife and begin to the cut the muffins in half.

Go ahead and toss the box, but keep the bag the box comes in for later.

Then I begin assembling the sandwiches.  I start with the bottom of the muffin, then add an egg, a slice of canadian bacon & the top of the muffin.  We have found that adding cheese at this point is really not the best idea since it heats so much more quickly than the rest of the items.

Once all the sandwiches are assembled, I individually wrap the sandwiches in seran wrap.  Once they are all wrapped, I place the individually wrapped sandwiches into the bag from the english muffins, secure the top of the bag and place in the freezer.

In the morning, my sweet husband takes out a sandwich, unwraps it, wraps it in a paper towel and microwaves the entire thing for 1 minute & 15 seconds.  While it's cooking, he grabs a slice of cheese out of the fridge.  Once it's cooked, he opens it, adds the cheese, lets it sit for a minute or so and enjoys a nice, hot, filling breakfast.

Best part is, there is an entire month of drive thru style breakfasts for about 10 bucks...can't beat that!

Classic Waffles

 From allrecipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.

Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

Rancheros

From allrecipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup shredded coconut

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped peanuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.

Cream together shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and coconut.

Add sifted ingredients and mix well. Stir in oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix thoroughly.

Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8--12 minutes until golden brown.

I used 1/2 cup of flour (all I had...oops!) and 1 1/2 cups wheat flour, only a little over 1/2 cup of brown sugar (all I had left as well), left out the coconut all together and used pecans (I only had 1/4 cup) instead of peanuts. At 8 minutes, I flattened the cookies down with a fork and it seemed to help them cook through a little better.

The hubby was not a fan (he's not a fan of oatmeal in cookies) but the boys and I liked them. They are a bit on the crumbly/dry side, but I found them just about perfect with a cup of coffee. They are more of a breakfast than a dessert cookie in my opinion.

Apple Walnut Sticky Buns

from Sandra Lee

Ingredients

1 Granny Smith apple
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 (8-count) tubes refrigerated cinnamon rolls
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 to 4 teaspoons water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously butter a 12-count muffin tin.
Peel, core and dice the apples into 1/2-inch cubes. In a medium bowl stir together the diced apples with the walnuts and brown sugar.
Divide the apple mixture evenly into the muffin tin. Put 12 cinnamon buns, cinnamon side up, on top of the apple mixture. Put the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake until the tops are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Bake off remaining 4 buns per package directions)
Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Put a clean baking sheet on top of the muffin tin and flip to remove the sticky buns.
In a small bowl, combine the vanilla frosting with the pumpkin pie spice and 2 to 4 teaspoons of water. Mix until very thin and of pourable consistency. Drizzle over buns and serve.

Banana Oat Muffins

Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas

Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.

I made mini muffins, cooking for 12 minutes

Simple, Old-Fashioned Pancakes

adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, wisk together the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar until well combined. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, vanilla and butter. Wisk until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or fry pan to medium heat. Poor or scoop the batter onto the pan using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown each size and serve hot.

Quiche

From: Alicia Lovell

1 unbaked pie crust

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard (optional)

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 - 1 1/2 cups meat and/or veggies

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper & mustard. Add cheese and meat/veggies. Place pie crust in pie pan, fill with mixture, bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Cover edges only of the crust for first 30-45 mins with foil. Remove foil in time to get to a golden brown crust.

This recipe can be changed any way you like. All meat, all veggie, use several kinds of each, however fits your fancy or what you happen to have on hand.

Monkey Bread

From: Mom's Who Think

Ingredients:

4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (these are optional, it's great with or without them)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-10 inch tube pan.

2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into halves or quarters and place six to eight biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Shake well.

3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the greased pan. Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are coated and in the pan. If you are using raisins, place them among the biscuit pieces as you are layering.

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.

5. Bake for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Adapted from: allrecipes.com

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped pecans or oatmeal

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
1/3 cup oil or unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.
2. To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.
3. For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.*I used oatmeal in place of pecans and just sprinkled a pinch on top of each muffin just before putting them in the oven.*
   
4. For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pies spice, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, oil/applesauce and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.
5. Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

I could not get #5 to work for me, so I just put a small amount of batter and then layered the cream cheese mixture followed by batter and then the streusel.

Eggs & Bread

This was a favorite of Seth's Grandpa Turner!

2 slices of white bread (or soft wheat)
4 eggs
Pepper

In a bowl, break bread into bite sized pieces and set aside. Cook all eggs over easy (see below) and add to the top of the bread. Use a fork to break up the egg and mix with the bread. Pepper to taste.

**To cook eggs over easy, get frying pan hot (non-stick works best). Use oil or butter/margarine and add to pan. When hot, crack egg into pan. Let egg set up, whites should be firm. Loosen egg, flip over and take off heat. Over easy means flip over, and cook shortly.**

Oatmeal Banana Bread

From: Weight Watchers

Makes 10 servings / 4 points each

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg, beaten
2 medium egg whites, beaten
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 ripe large bananas
1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients (except oatmeal). Add whole egg, egg whites, and oil; mix thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas and oatmeal to batter.

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes.

Breakfast Biscuits

Adapted from: Rachel Ray
(click the link above to watch a video of how easy these are to make)

5 eggs, divided (or egg substitute)
Salt and ground black pepper
2 1/4 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk for mix
1 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese

Yields: 4 servings

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Beat 4 eggs in a small mixing bowl. Add the eggs to a greased frying pan, season with salt and pepper, and scramble them lightly. Transfer the eggs to a plate and reserve.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the baking mix, milk and remaining egg to make the batter. Gently stir in the reserved scrambled eggs and shredded cheese.

Deposit dollops of the batter onto a greased baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

This is a great base recipe. Made as is, they are a little bland, but they work well for kids. You can add cooked bacon, ham, broccoli, green chilis...really anything to create a filling, easily portable, and delicious breakfast.

Cheesy Egg Scramble

Egg Substitute (or eggs)
Red bell peppers chopped
green bell peppers chopped
onion chopped
cheese

Spray a small amount of nonstick spray in a fry pan and add eggs, bell peppers and onion. Cook thoroughly. Add cheese and cook until melted. Place in bowls or on plates and pepper as desired.

We have made this many ways. We have added chicken (both fried and boiled), bacon, hash browns, etc. We eat it straight out of the bowl (Seth likes it with ketchup) or in tortillas (good with some salsa). The possibilities are really endless with this one!

Red, White & Blue Scones

Adapted from: Hungry Girl

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup uncooked oatmeal

2/3 cup Bisquick Heart Smart Baking Mix

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. light whipped butter

2/3 cup non-fat milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup blueberries

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Set oven to 400 degrees. Mix first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Fold in berries & chocolate chips. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and form 8 mounds of batter on sheet (leave room in between 'em -- they expand!). Bake for 10 minutes.

Makes 8 large scones.

This is an amazing (and healthy) scone recipe! You can substitute the berries and chocolate chips for whatever your little heart desires :)

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

I am pretty picky about what I feed my kids, especially at breakfast. I like to make sure they start off the day right with something filling and nutritious. My boys, and their daddy, love pancakes. After a little trial and error, I have found a way to pack my pancakes with nutrition, but still keep it quick and simple. The boys enjoy these blueberry pancakes almost every Wednesday morning, but ask for them all week long.

1 cup Bisquick Heart Smart pancake mix
2/3 cup of non fat milk
2 TBS egg substitute
1-2 servings of Motts Healthy Harvest (no sugar added) Blueberry Applesauce
3/4 cup dry oatmeal

In a small bowl, wisk together Bisquick, milk and egg substitute until well mixed. Add applesauce and oats; stir well. Pour batter by slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls onto hot greased griddle. Once edges start to look cooked, flip and cook until golden brown.

These do take a little longer to cook through than regular pancakes and have a softer consistency due to the applesauce.

Pumpkin Bread

From: Sierra Schmidt

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ginger)
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups canned pumpkin (16 oz)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix last 4 ingredients in a separate (large) bowl. Gradually stir pumpkin mixture into dry mixture. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan. Bake time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Recipe yields one large loaf

My boys love this bread. I make it for them with whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar (instead of 3) and unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and it is super tasty. The recipe says 1 large loaf, but I have a mess when I try to just make one. I split it and have 2 descent size loafs. It also freezes really well.