Throw-together Mini Quiche

Audra Simpson cracked us up with this one. She claims it was just a bunch of leftovers thrown together, but it was so good! With that in mind, the ingredients are all kind of estimates... So, good luck!

ABOUT:
1 C fresh spinach
1/2 C diced tomatoes
1/4 C carmelized, chopped onions
1/2 C mozzerella cheese
2 eggs
salt and pepper
1 can crescent dough

Line mini muffin tin with crescent dough. Mix remaining ingredients. Spoon 1-2 tbsp of mixture into muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned.

Easy Fruit and Cream Cheese Danish

I am loving following my cousin's blog- http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/! They recently posted this tasty recipe, though it looked SOO much better in the picture. It was quite lumpy when I made it, but it tasted AMAZING! Here's the original recipe{and the much more attractive picture!}. I was just gripping about trying to find a decent danish recipe and I love the slight cheating of using crescent roll dough for that soft, flaky wrap around a creamy and fruity filling. The filling could be awesome in the Drop Danish that I was griping in! This will be a regular special breakfast around here more often!

1 tube crescent roll dough {I really think the filling would fill 2 tubes worth...}

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 C fresh fruit or pie filling {originally calls for blackberry, but we relished the apple I used}

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla. Set aside. Pop open crescent roll dough and unroll, leaving crescents in rectangles. On an ungreased baking sheet, lay the crescent roll rectangles together, lining them up width wise. Dough should be almost the entire length of a half sheet pan. Press edges together to even out edges and seal any holes. Cut 1/2" diagonal strips up each side of the dough. Carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough to be about 2-3 inches wide. Top with fruit. Fold 1/2" dough pieces up over filling alternating sides to get a braided pattern. You may have excess dough once you reach the end of the danish, so fold it in as best you can. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until filling is set and crescent dough is golden.

Icing:

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 tbsp heavy cream {I used 1% milk, cause it's what I had, then used a little extra powdered sugar to thicken it up}

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Cool before removing from baking sheet. Once danish is cooled, remove to serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, cream {or milk} and vanilla to create icing. You may need to add more cream/milk or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish. Cut into pieces and serve.

Drop Danish

Ya know how it's impossible to get good pastries at home? Why is it that every bakery from here to Timbuktu can have these light, fluffy pastries just taunting you, but they cannot be duplicated at home??? Well, this may not be light and fluffy, but it will certainly give those evil tempters a run for their money! Sweet, crumbly danishes with jam centers all covered in a sugary glaze. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me so well- Sugar to start my day right!

1/4 C butter
2 tbsp sugar
2 C Bisquick
2/3 C milk
1/4 C jam
2/3 C powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk

Cut butter into Bisquick and sugar until crumbly. Stir in 2/3 C milk until dough forms. Beat 15 strokes. Drop 2" apart onto slightly greased cookie sheet. Make a dent in the top of each with a spoon and fill with 1 tbsp jam. Bake until golden; 10-15 minutes. Stir powdered sugar and 1 tbsp milk together, drizzle over warm rolls. Serve warm.

*Strawberry or blueberry cream cheese spreads are a tasty alternative to jam.

Cinnamon Muffins

Brianne Westberg made it to her first exchange, but couldn't stay long with her squirmy baby. She impressed us with these yummy little bites, even if she did get the season wrong! ;) She brought these as mini muffins, so I'm not sure if this recipe {and baking time} is for mini muffins or regular sized- just keep an eye on them as they cook...

3/4 C softened butter

3/4 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 3/4 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 C sour cream

Topping: 1/3 C sugar mixed with 3 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Blend in vanilla and eggs. In another bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour flour mixture and sour cream into butter mixture. Stir batter by hand until blended. Add a splash of milk. Grease tins. Prepare topping. Drop some batter into tin, sprinkle with topping. Add more batter and sprinkle more topping. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Stuffed Baked French Toast

So, I'd made Sheree Mowers' crepes for breakfast the other morning and they were DELICIOUS!! But then, I had a bunch of filling left over. What to do, what to do??? So I blended her crepe filling found here (added some crushed pineapple) and my fav baked french toast recipe from here and put them together! It was... I mean... There's just... Wow. It's a little more work that I like for make a head breakfasts, but I will certainly plan this for special occasions or double up the filling recipe whenever I make it. I sprinkled it with cinnamon then topped it with some strawberries that I'd cut up and sprinkled with sugar the night before. Craving...

Tropical Beignets

We recently went out for breakfast to Denny's. They had these Hawaiian Tropical Pancake Puppies that were ok, but they got me thinking... I bet I could make a pretty sweet variation of my Applesauce Beignets! I was so right! Now, I'm sure this is in no way authentically Hawaiian, but I LOVE the tropical flavors all fried together! Plus, I didn't over cook them like the applesauce ones, so extra bonus!


2 1/2 C flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1/2 plus 2 tbsp milk
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 C sour cream
1 1/2 C crushed pineapple, mostly drained
1 C coconut, plus some for topping
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Blend well. Heat oil on Medium heat and drop by teaspoonful into oil. Fry to desired brownness.

I attempted to roll them in coconut after, but it didn't stick. I'd still suggest at least sprinkling some on top...

Applesauce muffins

Ohhh... good thing I just added Mom's recipe! This muffin recipe is so versatile and so delish! They can be made and frozen for a latter time, so handy!

1 egg

1/2 C milk

1/4 C oil

1 1/2 C flour

3/4 C sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat egg slightly, stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan immediately.

Variations:

Fruit: Stir in 2/3 C drained fruit with the milk. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar if desired. i.e. applesauce, crushed pineapple, chopped apricots, chopped cherries, blueberries, whole cranberry sauce, mashed banana, etc.

Cereal: Decrease flour to 1 cup. Stir 3/4 C crushed cereal into milk and egg before adding dry ingredients. i.e. raisin bran, wheaties, any fruit and nut cereal, instant oatmeal, crushed graham crackers, etc.

Applesauce Beignets

I have been craving a good beignet recipe ever since I watched The Princess and the Frog where Tiana has them as her specialty dish. I had this recipe which I'd made before but wasn't as impressed as I'd hoped to be. It had been ages since I'd tried it, so I thought I'd give it another go. I made one important addition to it (sour cream) and they went from ok to fantastic! I used my mom's homemade applesauce which I'd picked up while we were back home for vacation last month (THANK YOU, Mom!). My mom's applesauce is chunky, so there were tasty bits of apples waiting to surprise you. But, if you aren't lucky enough to have my mom within applesauce-stealing distance or don't wanna make your own, you could just use store bought applesauce and if your really determined dice some apples to add... Anyway, here it is!

2 1/2 C flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 C applesauce
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sour cream

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Blend well. In another bowl, mix eggs, applesauce, milk and sour cream. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Heat oil on medium heat and drop batter by tablespoonful into oil. Fry desired brown-ness- about 3-5 minutes each side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Eat immediately.

*** Tip! To check if your oil is hot, dip the handle end of a wooden spoon into it. If it bubbles around the wood, it's hot! Thanks to my hubby for that tidbit!
I bet these would be good topped with syrup, honey, more applesauce, etc. Or just as is.

Crepe's ala Sheree Mowers

Sheree brought some tasty chocolate chip cookies with her to the exchange, but since she got the recipe off a bag of chocolate chips, she didn't feel it warranted passing on. I thought they were great! If you want the recipe, I guess you'll just have to buy your own bag of Kroger brand chocolate chips! ;) I won't give her a hard time though, because she did get me the recipe for her crepes from our breakfast exchange. This is a little thicker filling than the crepes that Jayme had brought. They were both equally good, but you can try them out and see which you like better. I also liked that she served things separated- that way you can build your crepe just how you want it!

Crepes:

1 1/2 C flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 C milk

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients. Add the rest. Whisk until smooth.

Filling:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 10-12 oz carton of Cool Whip, thawed

1/2 C powdered sugar (She adds more because she likes is sweet, but you can add more or less depending on how you like it)

Blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar, then add the Cool Whip. You can add lemon or orange zest for more flavor variety or you can add vanilla or crushed pineapple. Serve with your favorite fruit.

Fruity Crepes

We voted that Jayme Welly won first prize for presentation the night we did breakfast. Add to it the fact that she was about 35 weeks pregnant and just let off bed rest... I've been dying for this recipe to make for my family. It is sooo dang good! Crepes take a little time, but are certainly worth the effort.

1 1/2 C flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 C milk

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients. Add the rest. Whisk whisk whisk.

Filling:

1 box instant vanilla pudding, prepared according to box directions. Stir in your favorite fruit (bananas, strawberries, etc), then roll in prepared crepes! Serve with additional fruit, whipped cream, and chocolate and caramel sauce.

Fruit Filled Breakfast Cake

Remember when I said I had another recipe I was also planning on bringing to the breakfast themed Exchange? Well, I couldn't just keep it all to myself just because everyone didn't get a sample that day! This is why breakfast is so great- it is the only meal where people don't think twice about the bulk of the meal being called 'cake'. Think about it. What cake would you feel good about feeding to your kids for dinner? Yet I have multiple breakfast cakes that I whip up to kick start my family's day without a second thought. Breakfast is awesome.

1 pkg white cake mix
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 C sour cream
3 eggs
1/4 C water
1 can of your favorite pie filling {peach is pictured above}
1/2 C sliced almonds, toasted
1 C powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat first 5 ingredients with a mixer until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan. Gently spoon pie filling across the batter. Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and cool 10 minutes. Mix sugar and milk; drizzle over cake. Serve warm or cool completely.

By the way, I went into my kitchen to grab this recipe and ended up with a leftover piece of this... I am, at this very moment, picking almonds out of my teeth and hoping you give this a try!

Breakfast of Champions!

Wow. That's all I've got to say. Wow.

This Exchange has been my favorite yet- even over desserts! Of course, the food was amazing. That's a given. But more than that, I was so impressed with the women that showed up and how incredible they all were! Nothing against those of you who have made it before and couldn't this time, but I was at the tail end of a pretty traumatic family incident, having just earned 'Worst Mother of the Year' award. I was even wavering on making it that night! I would certainly have missed out! The women who came all made me feel so much better and my crazy experience opened up a whole evening of conversations that most people don't have, but everyone needs to hear! I really appreciate how much everyone opened up. I feel so much closer to you all and it was good to know I'm not the only one to have such miserable mom moments! Having a bunch of incredible food to drown my worries in certainly helped, too! I'm still waiting on a couple recipes. Patiently. Waiting. So I can make them again as soon as I have them. Patiently. ;) Teaser of what's coming... Jayme Welly's crepes.

Audrey Maycock's Scones

Jennifer Fulton's Spinach and Egg souffle.

Sheree Mower's Crepes.

Don't forget to check out past breakfast recipes as well... Just click on the "Breakfast" label link to the right of the blog and all the breakfast posts will pull up.

We are postponing our next gathering a bit. Since we're hitting summer, there are a lot of people heading in and out of town. With that in mind, we voted to skip the third Thursday of June and make up for it the first Wednesday of July. Normally, we draw to see what theme each gathering will be, but since it's the middle of summer and right after the 4th of July, I thought it would be fun to do BBQ foods. Potato and pasta salads, baked beans, grilled anything! Whatever recipe you think of when you are invited to a barbecue! Check out the link for Grilling posts for some ideas. I might have to send my hubby this time, since he's The Grill Master... Nah, I just don't see him enjoying talking about postpartum depression as much as I would! ;) Mark your calendars for July 6th!

Ham and Egg Souffle

I am so proud of Brooke for making two different things! I usually can't help myself from bringing an extra dish and had one planned, but as those of you who were there know, it was just not in the cards for me that day. So, yay, Brooke, for stepping in for me without even knowing it! I couldn't get enough of this. It was so moist and fluffy and just the right kind of salty. I was surprised when she told me her secret was soda crackers! Genius! This will definitely be at the next brunch I host!

2 C coarsely chopped ham

4 eggs

20 soda crackers

2 C milk

2 C sharp cheddar cheese

Roll crackers into crumbs and set aside. Mix ham, cheese and cracker crumbs together. Beat eggs and milk together. Add all together and pour into a oblong, glass baking dish. Set a pan of water in the oven with the souffle. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Sticky Buns

Brooke Anderson was awesome to host for us this week. One of the best perks of hosting is that your family gets a sampler of the different dishes that are brought. Brooke's boys were so excited about these sticky buns, I wouldn't have been surprised to see them sneaking back in to swipe some! I wouldn't blame them! Some of you may remember these. The recipe is pretty similar, but it's the small differences that matter! Brooke, I gotta say, looking back at the picture of the other ones I see what you mean; cook and serve pudding is the way to go!

Pecans(optional)
20 frozen Rhodes rolls
1/2 pkg cook and serve butterscotch pudding powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C butter

Grease bundt pan and sprinkle pecans in bottom. Place rolls in pan. Sprinkle pudding powder, then cinnamon over the rolls. Melt brown sugar and butter together and drizzle over the rolls. Cover with a wet cloth and let rise 8 hours or overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Turn over onto serving platter and ENJOY!

***TIP*** A 12 cup bundt pan works best. If you have a 10 cup pan, ya might wanna reduce the number of rolls you put in and maybe put a piece of tin foil under the pan in the oven to catch any spillage. I discovered that I had a 10 cup bundt pan when I made sticky buns...

Baked French Toast

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. It was my favorite until I had a few of the things from the exchange. Like Brooke's Egg Bake, or Jayme's Crepes, or Audrey's scones... Way too much good stuff to choose from! This is prepared the night before so it's super nice to wake up, throw it in the oven, and go back to bed for another half hour. Admittedly, the apple topping takes more time than the Baked French Toast itself, but I've never made it without. The topping adds SOOO much more to the goodness. Trust me. Or be lazy and just put syrup on top. I'll never know. ;)

1/2 C butter

1 C brown sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 loaf texas toast (bread sliced 1" thick){I've used regular sized bread in a pinch before and just put 3 layers instead of 2. Still incredible!}

5 eggs

1 1/2 C milk

1 tsp vanilla

Grease a 9x13" pan. Mix together melted butter, brown sugar and maple syrup. Pour into greased pan. Arrange bread slices into 2 layers on top of mixture. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour over bread slices, being careful to not miss any areas. Cover and refrigerate over night. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Prepare apple topping while baking.

Topping:

4-5 green apples

3-4 tbsp butter

3-4 tbsp brown sugar

Core and slice apples. Saute in butter and brown sugar until soft. I like mine really soft, and if I start cutting the same time I put the toast in the oven, it's all done about the same time.

Spoon the apple topping over the baked french toast when it's done cooking. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Serve immediately.

Whole Grain Blueberry Waffles and Buttermilk Syrup

Michelle Kleinman made her debut with grand style! She got the blueberry waffle recipe from eatbetteramerica.com citing it as a healthy AND tasty way to make waffles. Lest you start to wonder if Michelle is a health nut, check out her Buttermilk Syrup! The Buttermilk Syrup is what she had growing up and swears she'll hardly touch maple syrup any more! I'm going to have to introduce my family to this!

Waffles:
3/4 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C quick cooking oats
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 C skim milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
1 C blueberries, rinsed (if using frozen, thaw and drain)

Lightly spray waffle iron with cooking spray; heat waffle iron. In large bowl, stir together flours, oats, baking powder and sugar. In small bowl, stir together milk, oil and egg. Stir into dry ingredients, stirring just until large lumps disappear. Gently stir in blueberries.
Pour slightly less than 1 cup batter onto center of hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Close lid of waffle iron. Bake 3-5 minutes or until waffle is golden brown. Carefully remove waffle. Serve immediately.

Buttermilk Syrup:
1 stick butter
1 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
1 tbsp Caro Syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil. Let boil 1 minute and remove from heat. Add baking soda and vanilla. Stir and serve!

Crustless Ham and Egg Tarts

These look super elegant- like something you'd pay $40 for and still be hungry after eating. But they are actually pretty simple and quite filling- Not to mention delicious! Jenn Fulton brought these and I've noticed that trend with her food- very sophisticated looking and tasting, but simple enough for real life! These would make a beautiful offering for any brunch buffet or as an hors d'oeuvre for a party.

2 tsp olive oil
12 thin slices ham {Jenn says deli ham rounds are the perfect size}
12 large eggs
12 medium cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil all the cups in a 12 cup muffin tin with the olive oil (cooking spray would also work). Line each muffin cup with a slice of ham. Leave the ends of the ham sticking out over the top slightly. Break one egg into each ham slice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with one sliced cherry tomato, a sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of chives.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until the egg has set. Let cool 5 minutes before removing tarts from the tin. Run a knife around each muffin cup to loosen and remove. Serve.

Note: This recipe can be done with scrambled eggs. Just scramble the eggs before pouring them into the ham.

Lazy Maple Pull- Aparts

First of all, if LAZY is in the title, the recipe is worth exploring! These are like a lazy day Butterscotch Sticky Buns or Sticky Buns- In my opinion, those are both better, but with this one you don't have to plan ahead! If you haven't already decided to keep crescent rolls on hand, I think I've provided enough recipes to justify starting to do so! Just a heads up, the picture makes these look bigger than they are. If you are feeding more than 4 or 5, I'd suggest doubling it.

1/4 C butter or margarine

1/4 C packed brown sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 C chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In ungreased 8 or 9" round pan, place butter, brown sugar and syrup. Place in oven for 2-4 minutes or until butter melts. Mix until well blended; sprinkle with pecans. Remove dough from can. Separate long roll into 2 shorter rolls at the center perforation. With a serrated knife, cut each roll into 6 slices.

In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon. Dip each side of each slice into the sugar mixture and arrange over butter mixture in pan. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. Bake 17-23 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute. Place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan. Turn plate and pan over; remove pan.

Breakfast Cake

aka Coffee Cake, except we don't drink coffee. This is what my hubby ALWAYS requests for Father's day, birthdays, no good reason... The sweet cake topped with a brown sugar crumble topping... Oh, yeah... We like to double the topping. If you have more than 4 people you are feeding, you may wanna consider doubling the whole recipe. In which case, I recommend quadrupling the topping. That's right. Quadruple the goodness! When there's a little extra, it tends to seep down into the cake and make little pockets of brown sugary heaven. Matt likes to dig out the middle of the cake wherever it looks like one of these pockets may be. Then I punch him in the stomach and steal his piece. ;)

Cake:

1 1/2 C flour

3/4 C sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 C shortening

3/4 C milk

1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together. Add shortening, milk and egg. Beat vigorously until smooth. Spread in greased 9x9 {or 9x13 if you doubled it} pan.

Topping:

1/3 C brown sugar

1/4 C flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp firm butter

Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

Now, go ahead and smear some more butter around the top and sides of that piece and be grateful that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! BTW- joking about punching my husband. So... don't call the cops. Thanks.

Breakfast Bake

It really is amazing how many different egg bake recipes I seem to have! And they are all so very tasty and unique! My brother doesn't even like eggs and he likes this one! Just make sure to knife test this one- I pulled it out when the timer went off, but ended up having to cut off the edges to feed my starving family, then put the middle back in the oven! That doesn't usually happen...

1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 pkg smoked ham, chopped
6 eggs
1/2 C cold milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 C mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll dough into the bottom of a 9x13" pan; press to cover the bottom of the dish, firmly pressing holes and seams together to seal. Sprinkle ham over crust. Beat eggs, milk and pepper with whisk until blended. Pour over ham and top with cheese. Bake 25 minutes or until center is set.

Again, we like to serve with maple. We also like maple on our spaghetti, topped with marshmallows and m&m's. {If you didn't catch that one, pick up the movie "Elf"}