Category: Breads

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

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A sweet friend who lives across the street brought some of this amazing coffee cake over Monday night. I wish I would not have scarfed it down before taking a picture, but as soon as we ate one bite…well, lets just say that we didn’t wait until after dinner to eat the whole plate she brought over. Thank you Patty for a new dessert which has put our cholesterol levels in a brand new category.
This coffee cake is almost a cross between a bread pudding and a cake. Peter Pumpkin just stood at the counter and between bites, kept asking me if I would make us a whole pan. It is that good.

Makes 16 servings, yeah right! more like 4 the way we eat.

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1 teas vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teas baking powder
1 cup sour cream

Pumpkin Filling
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1 teas ground cinnamon
1/2 teas salat
1/2 teas ground ginger
1/4 teas ground cloves
2 eggs
1/2 cup half & half or 1/4 cup heavy cream plus 1/4 cup milk

Topping
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teas ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans (very finely chopped)

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9×13″ pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again. Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Stir the sour cream and then pour half the batter into the prepared pan.
Stir together the pumpkin, sugar and the spices. Add the eggs and then the cream and stir to combine. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the cake batter and spread across the pan with the back of a spoon. Drop the remaining cake batter over the pumpkin in small spoonfuls and then smooth it across the pumpkin layer. Don’t worry about making it look perfect.
Stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle the topping mixture across the top of the cake.
Bake for 50-55 min until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool before cutting.

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit · Uncategorized

Browned Butter Banana Bread

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Is there anything that doesn’t taste better than browned butter? I remember the first time I tasted it. So much added nutty flavor and such an addition to already wonderful butter flavor. The praline frosting that is on the blog, which is made with browned butter is still one of my favorites. So when I saw this in an old magazine from Paula Deen, I instantly knew what I was going to bake next when the new bananas ripened.

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 teas baking powder
1 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
1 1/4 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teas rum extract (extra, so since I don’t like rum flavor, will use vanilla)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter begins to foam. Continue cooking, without stirring, until butter is golden brown and has a nutty aroma. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl, discarding any remaining solids. Let cool to room temp, then refrigerate for 30 minutes or until butter has solidified but is not cold.
Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 10×5″ loaf pan with Pam baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with mixer on medium until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and next 3 ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together banana, buttermilk, and extract. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined after each addition. Stir in nuts, if using them. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until bread tests done. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Stor in airtight container for up to 3 days or wrap tightly and place in plastic bag to freeze up to 3 months.

Breads · Breakfast · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Apple Fritters

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On the back of some of my cooking magazines, come these lovely little recipes from Sevierville, TX, advertising Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant This little gem is perfect for those mornings or late evenings when you don’t want to get back out of the house, but a donut sounds really good with a cup of tea or coffee. Simple and quick, this will not disappoint.
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
4 tables butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teas salt
1 orange rind with juice
1 cup apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 teas baking powder
1 teas vanilla

Combine ingredients and mix well.
Drop 1 tablespoon at a time into 350 oil until brown and cooked in the middle, Drain and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Desserts · Fruit · Uncategorized

Blackberry, Browned Butter & Almond Tart

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Taken from Southern Living Magazine, this recipe caught my eye and with a sack of blackberries already in the fridge, it sounded too good not to try. It is also one of those rare moments when I have almond flour in the house, which I had purchased to make another batch of french macaroons.

1 1/2 cups (12 oz) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

8 large egg whites

3 1/4 cups unsifted powdered sugar, plus more for dusing

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1 cup plus 1 tables all purpose flour, divided, plus more for pan

1 tables vanilla bean paste

1 1/2 cup fresh blackberries

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 12 ” round tart pan with removable bottom; place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high and cook, stirring often, until butter releases a nutty aroma and milk solids are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Immediately transfer butter to a bowl; ;cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

Beat egg whites with a heavy duty electric mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add powdered sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add almond flour and 1 cup of the all purpose flour; beat on medium low speed until incorporated. Add vanilla bean paste (if you don’t have vanilla paste, add 2 teas vanilla) and browned butter. Beat on medium-low speed until incorporated. Spread batter in prepared pan. Toss blackberries with remaining 1 tablespoon all purpose flour and sprinkle over the batter.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 42-45 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan and cool 30 more minutes. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

appetizers · Breads · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Za’atar Pita Bread

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Yesterday Randy and I were on the last leg of our trip coming back from Dallas. We stopped in Tucson for lunch and because Randy is always so sweet to let me end our trips with a new restaurant which we have never been, we began to think about Lebanese food, so as I drove, he looked up different places which served Middle Eastern food in Tucson. Well, we stumbled upon a place which was absolutely fabulous. After reading the reviews, we knew that was what we wanted. So we headed over to Zayna Mediterranean over on Speedway Blvd in Tucson. If you are ever there, you have got to go. As we pulled into the empty parking lot, we looked at each other and he said, “did you read the reviews and  they were good?” I pulled up the reviews again and read a few to him so we ignored the empty parking lot and went in. As soon as we walked in, we could smell the flavors which always go along with Hummus, tabouli and pita bread. About 5 minutes after we arrive, the crowd began to come. By the time we left, there was only 2 empty tables. Apparently, this is a local favorite. As soon as they put our veggie plates in front of us, we knew we had a winner. The pita bread which adorned our plates was something I have never had at any Middle Eastern restaurant. When i ask the server what it was, she told me that it was with a paste of sesame seeds, olive oil and thyme. Last night after unpacking, I looked up a recipe for this and promised myself that I would be making it before the week was out. So here is the recipe I found. Cannot wait to have more, as the one piece that was sitting on our plate, was certainly not enough.

1 cup of za”atar (middle eastern spice mix consisting of dried oregano, thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and salt)

Pita bread (as many as you need or want to serve)

Fresh tomatoes, sliced

Black Olives

Mix the za’atar and olive oil in a bowl and set aside.

Use as many pita loaves as you want and spread some of the za’atar over each piece. Heat in a 425 degree oven until bread is warm. IF desired, place some sliced fresh tomatoes and black olives over the top and  serve. The restaurant did not use the olives or tomatoes, they heated their bread first and then just spread some of the mix over the warm bread and folded in over to serve. I think I will spread a little butter or olive oil on warm pita and then spread some of the za’atar paste over the warm bread. Serve it with some tabouli and hummus….it is delicious.

 

 

Breads · Breakfast · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Muffins & Toast

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IMG_4880This week, I have had the blessing of being invited to two different friends homes, one for lunch, the other for breakfast. At both homes, I came away with great recipes that I wanted to share. Debbie, who had the luncheon served cheese muffins which were just so good. Actually, anything with 3 cups of cheese is good, but these were gooey and ever so yummy. She served them with cucumbers with dill and cherry tomatoes and fruit.

Today, I was at  Connies, a new friend,  for breakfast where she served blueberry stuffed french toast.  Walking into her home, the aroma of grilled bread permeated the house and we sat down to warm blueberry syrup as she carried a platter of the scrumptious french toast over to us. Because Randy and I tend to usually eat toast with peanut butter in the mornings, or a bowl of cereal, this was a real treat. Unless we are celebrating something special like, we went for 2 days without eating dessert, or we actually walked past the fridge without opening it for 1 whole hour the evening before, when we will allow ourselves to splurge on toasts, sausage, eggs and hash browns.

Connie and Debbie, thank you both for serving dishes which were both new to me. Am excited to post them to share with others.

Cheese Muffins (taken from Pioneer Woman)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tables sugar

1 tables baking powder

1/2 teas salt

3 cups shredded colby-jack cheese

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter (let it cool for a few minutes before using)

(I did add about 1 tables parsley flakes, 1/2 teas dry mustard and 1/2 teas garlic powder to the dry ingredients)

Whisk together dry ingredients, then stir in cheese.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk and butter together. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir with a spoon to combine. Divide mixture between 12 greased (well greased) muffin tins. The hostess used paper liners but the muffins tended to stick to the paper liners, so when I made these last night, I just eliminated the liners and heavily greased (with Pam) the muffin pan. After about 5 minutes of taking out of the oven, they came out very easily after running a knife around the edges.

Bake in a preheated 375 oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Makes 12 and I could have eaten all 12 with a slab of butter on top of each one.

Blueberry French Toast

As I sit here writing the recipes, it just dawned on me that if you are a busy mom who is always in a hurry in the mornings, you could even buy the frozen french toast and use it.

Make your french toast according to your favorite recipe. When you have the amount of slices you need to serve the number of people who will be gracing your table, spread about 1 teas of softened cream cheese on half of one side of the toast. Place about 4-6 blueberries on the cream cheese and using the spatula, fold the piece of french toast in half covering the cream cheese and blueberries. Allow to sit in the skillet or griddle for a minute to allow the cream cheese to almost melt. Serve with heated blueberry syrup.

 

 

Breads · Breakfast · Daily Thoughts · Starches · Uncategorized

Baked Oatmeal

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A friend of mine yesterday remarked how much she loved oatmeal for breakfast. During our conversation (yes, most of my conversations are centered around food) I ask her if she had ever had baked oatmeal and she replied that she had never heard of it.

When we lived in California I had the blessing of being a mentor mom to a group of gals in the MOPS (moms of preschoolers) study at our church. One of their favorite things to bring for snacks were these baked oatmeal bars. I’m not a huge oatmeal person, but these were really good. So I promised Marilyn that I would post the recipe today. Try it…you might be surprised how good they are!

 

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tables granulated sugar

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas ground cinnamon (I will add a little more than that as I like more cinnamon flavor)

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs

2 tables canola oil

1 teas vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8″ square pan.

Combine oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Whisk the milk, eggs, oil and vanilla together in a separate bowl. and stir until eggs and mixture are well combined. Set aside until flavors blend about 20 minutes. Add to oatmeal mixture and stir until thoroughly blended. Spread in prepared pan and bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool and cut into squares.

I might add about 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips before baking.

A great breakfast on the go meal!

*Taken from Allrecipes.com

Breads · Breakfast · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Meats · Uncategorized

Easter Breakfast Green Chile Casserole

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Needing to take a breakfast casserole Tuesday morning for about 20 ladies, I began to scroll through the internet and came across this one. I had never made one with canned biscuits before so decided that it sounded really good and different. It was really really good. I did a little modifying but basically kept the basic ingredients. A neighbor came over and took home the leftover 4 squares to reheat for their breakfast this morning and she texted and said it was still delicious. So if you are wanting a very easy breakfast casserole that can be made the night before to pop in the oven the next morning, this is your recipe.

1 large can of biscuits (I used Grand Brand, see what I did there>)

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage (the store was out of all the original so I bought the sage, it was great) (of course, you could use chopped up ham, or crumbled bacon instead or go for it and use a little of each, your physical isn’t until summer)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or mild if that is your preference)

1 or 2 small cans of mild green chiles (I used one and it had enough green chile flavor for us)

8 eggs (I used 9 because I didn’t want just one egg left over in the carton)

1/2 teas dry mustard

1/2 cup milk

salt, pepper and about 1/2 teas garlic powder (to taste)

1 packet of McCormick Cream gravy mix

1 1/2 cups water

Fry sausage until no longer pink and crumble into small pieces. Set aside.

Grease a deep 9×13″ baking dish (if you have the large Paula Deen casserole dish, it worked perfect).  Using a pizza cuter, cut each biscuit into 8 pieces. Spread them onto the bottom of the baking dish.  Sprinkle cooled sausage over the biscuits. Cover the sausage with the cheese.

Mix the eggs with the dry mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Whisk with the milk until milk and eggs are blended well. Pour over the cheese. If you are going to bake it in the morning, this is where you cover it and place in fridge. If you are baking now, mix the gravy mix with the 1 1/2 cups water. Pour over the egg mixture and bake, covered for about 45 to 6s0 minutes. Check for doneness and be sure biscuits are completely baked.

The directions on the recipe which I was making said that you might need to uncover it the last 10 min of baking  to get that pretty golden color. I did not need to do that, it browned very nicely still covered.

If you bake it in the morning, it will need a little more baking time, as it will be cold. Before baking, mix the water and gravy mix and pour over the top. Cover and bake as directed above, and remember to  add a little more time to allow for it being cold. Serve with picante sauce, and fruit compote (which there is a great one on the blog). A perfect easy and quick way to serve for brunch.

Serves about 12 depending on size of portions you need per person.

 

appetizers · Breads · Daily Thoughts · Super Bowl Recipes · Vegetables

Bruschetta Melts

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One of my favorite foods is bruschetta. Sometimes on a Friday or Sunday evening, instead of making dinner, we choose to just have a plate of bruschetta. When I saw this in a Taste of Home magazine from 2015 (ok, I have been kinda busy and am just sitting down to go through some old magazines) I knew this would be our dinner next time we went for a little healthier dinner than running to Baskin-Robins for a hot fudge sundae. Yes we do that about once a month, nothing like a gorgeous hot fudge sundae for dinner….try it sometime. It will make your heart sing.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teas lemon juice

1/2 teas seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s)

1/2 teas pepper

1/4 teas garlic powder (I will use probably about 3 cloves as we just cannot get enough garlic, hum…I wonder why we don’t have many friends?)

4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

2 tables minced fresh basil

1 carton (8 oz) spreadable chive and onion cream cheese

24 slices French bread (1/4″ thick)

2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Additional minced fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425. In a small bowl, wish the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder until blended. Stir in tomatoes, onion and 2 tables fresh basil

Spread cream cheese over French bread slices and place on greased baking sheets. Top with tomato mixture; sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake 7-9 min or until mozzarella cheese is melted. Sprinkle with additional minced fresh basil if desired.

Breads · Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

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If you know me you know that I’m not a very healthy baker or eater. But I figure that if I can run around with a couple of healthy people, some of their good cholesterol and vibes just might rub off on me. Cecilia is probably one of my most healthy friends. She walks and pushes her Fitbit to the limit. Her recipes are ones in which the folks on the biggest loser would be proud to serve. She and I are complete opposite in our cooking but she puts up with and indulges me when they come to see us. This recipe is one she sent when she read that I was going to post at least 2 healthy recipes this month. I have been so busy baking strawberry pies,chocolate almond pies, lemon and orange cakes that I almost forgot that I said I would post a healthy recipe. So before I go to the kitchen to make cream cheese frosting, here for you crazy, healthy size 4 people is my second healthy recipe. Cecilia assures me that they are delicious. I have to admit, everything I have eaten that she made has been wonderful. She got this recipe from her niece Rebecca. Thank you Rebecca for allowing me to share this.

Makes 12 muffins

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2/3 cup honey

2 eggs

1 teas vanilla

1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree (canned)

1 heaping cup oat flour (directions on this below)

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teas salt

1 teas baking powder

1 teas baking soda

3 tables unsweetened almond milk

a Splash of Apple cider vinegar

Handful or 2 of mini chocolate chips (she used Enjoy Life brand which is dairy, soy, and gluten free)

You can also add a handful or walnuts or pecans.

Preheat oven to 350. She said that she just lightly greased the muffin pans because the muffins will stick to muffin liners.

First, you need to make your oat flour if you don’t have any on hand.

She just took gluten free rolled oats and pulsed them in the blender until they turned into a powder (very easy and quick)

In a small bowl, mix the almond milk and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix coconut oil and apple sauce together well. Add honey. Then add the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla. Mx until all are combined.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: oat flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Then slowly mix your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients.

Gently fold in your almond milk mixture until well mixed.

Last, throw in the chips and gently fold into mixture.

Fill the cupcake pan about 2/3 of the way. Bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes or until muffins tests done. Remove from oven and let sit about 5-7 minutes. Remove to a baking rack to cool completely. It is at this point I would probably take one of the warm muffins and cut it in half to poke a big slice of butter on it. Of course, that would ruin the “healthy” part but it sure would taste good.

Thank you Cecilia and Rebecca. These do sound really good and I do plan to make them. I even have Trader Joes Gluten free oats on hand because I use them in our favorite oatmeal cookie recipe that isn’t healthy, but the oats make amazing cookies.