Coffee Cake

When we were living in Rochester, NY for business school, my good friend JoAnna and I would randomly make dinner for each other's families. She brought this cake one night and I fell in love. I have been making it ever since. Even Marc likes it--and that is saying a lot, since he really doesn't eat any dessert that isn't chocolate!

This can also be made for breakfast, brunch, a baby shower, etc.

Coffee Cake

(thanks JoAnna!)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

3 Tblspn. vegetable oil

1 1/3 c. water

Mix all ingredients and pour ½ of batter into greased & floured 9-inch square cake pan.

Crumble:

½ c. flour

½ c. brown sugar

2 Tblspn. cinnamon

3 Tblspn. butter

Mix above ingredients and cut in butter to make a “crumble.”

Sprinkle first layer of batter with ½ crumble mixture.

Pour remaining cake batter on top of crumble and then top off with remaining crumble.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

Breakfast for dinner...one of my most favorite things! :)

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

(MS EveryDay Food, Sept/Oct 2009?)

6 large eggs

1 c. ricotta cheese

1/4 c. grated Parmesan

coarse salt and ground pepper

5 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

5 red potatoes, boiled and quartered

fresh spinach

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Set aside.

2. In a medium, nonstick ovenproof skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, 6-7 minutes. Drain all but 1 tsp. fat from pan. Add potatoes and cook until warmed through, 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and toss until barely wilted, about 30 seconds.

3. Add egg mixture and stir until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until center is set, about 15 minutes.

Strawberry Ricotta Muffins

I actually made these muffins for Easter--sorry it's taken me so long to post. Man, I am seriously slacking off. Thanks to Courtney for giving me a kick in the you-know-what and getting me going again. I have been in a serious rut--so much so, that I had to post on Facebook and ask for dinner ideas. Sad. Anyway, I made these muffins back at Easter. They were delish. They taste more like a scone---they are quite dense. After "dehydrating" my strawberries, I realized I could have skipped this very lengthy step and just used some of my food storage dehydrated strawberries! Next time...because there will be a next time!

Strawberry Ricotta Muffins
found the recipe online: http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/r/StrawberryMuff.htm

2 cups medium strawberries
3/4 cup ricotta
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
10 Tbsp. butter melted and cooled, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lime zest
2 cups flour
2 tsp.baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently wash, hull, and cut strawberries into quarters. Place berries on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Bake until strawberries are partially dried, about 45 minutes. Let cool.
Increase oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 12-mold muffin tin with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining butter.
In a large bowl, use your fingertips to rub together sugar and lime zest until sugar is moist. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Use a spatula to gently but quickly fold ricotta mixture into dry ingredients. Don’t overwork it. The batter will be thick and heavy. Stir in strawberries and spoon batter evenly into muffin tins. Bake until tops of muffins are golden and springy to the touch, about 20-25 minutes.

Elusive Blackberry Cake

When our husbands were in business school, my friend JoAnna McAllister and I used to bring each others family dinner once a week--just to give each other one night off from cooking. She brought me this cake one night. I have since made it for brunch, too. It's especially good with fresh picked berries!

Elusive Blackberry Cake
(thanks to JoAnna McAllister)

1 stick butter
1 c. sugar (reserve 1 Tblspn. for sprinkling on berries)
2 eggs
1 tsp. lemon extract
Sift together:
1 c. flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
2 baskets blackberries (raspberries are good, too!)

Beat together butter and sugar until light.
Add eggs and extract and mix well.
Add flour and baking powder—mix lightly.
Turn into buttered 8 inch square pan.
Top with berries and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tblspn. sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.
Garnish with powdered sugar.

**The cake will rise up and bake around the berries, so there is no need to push them down in the batter. Just lay them on top and sprinkle the sugar. Guess that's why it's called "elusive"!

Christmas Eve Appetizer

Marc's family tradition is for everyone to bring an appetizer for Christmas Eve dinner. Even though we weren't with family the past two years, we have gotten together with friends who carry on this tradition. This year, I made these:

Cheesy Spinach Pinwheels

(thanks to Pillsbury.com)

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

6 Tblspn. garlic herb spreadable cheese (I found this in the deli section)

6 slices cooked deli ham

24-30 fresh spinach leaves

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate dough into 4 rectangles; press perforation to seal.
Spread rectangles with cheese to within 1/4" of edges; top with ham and spinach.
Starting at shortest side, roll up each rectangle; press edges to seal.
Cut each roll into 6 slices.
Place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 12-18 minutes, until golden brown.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Cake

We went up to Flower Mound to visit some friends from business school and Jessica served this one morning for breakfast. Jessica originally got the recipe from another business school friend, Catherine. Seems like most of my good, tried and true recipes have come from business school friends! Anywa, this was YUMMY! Even Marc, who doesn't like cake, breakfast, or anything sweet but not chocolate, loved this! I made it myself this weekend and took it to an evening baby shower.

(Disclaimer: I tried to do some serious multi-tasking and doubled this recipe--one for the cake walk at Fall Fest and one for a baby shower and did it all while hosting playgroup at my house. Guess with 5 little ones running around, I was bound to make a calculation mistake. I did. I put 1c. of extra flour in--oops. So to those who were at the baby shower and thought the cake was quite dry.....it was. But I promise, if you follow the directions and can do math better than me, it will turn out great. It really is yummy!)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Cake
(thanks to Jessica--and ultimately Catherine--for sharing!)

Crumble and set 1 cup aside:
2 ¼ c. flour
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. butter

Mix:
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ c. sour cream
1 tsp. almond extract
1 egg

Use a 9” pie pan; push up a little on the sides.

Filling (Catherine 1 ½ times following recipe and so did I!)

Beat, add to center:
8 oz. cream cheese
¼ c. sugar
1 egg

Top with:
½ c. rasp preserves (swirl)
frozen raspberries

Sprinkle 1 cup of crumble on top.
Add almonds to top (optional).
Bake @ 350º for 45-55 minutes.
Cool to room temperature

(or serve warm so that the cream cheese "filling" oozes out, makes a mess and tastes that much better! :)

Berry Muffins

These muffins are REALLY good. Feel quite hearty due to the oatmeal in them. Ellery isn't a huge fan of blueberries, so we split the batter and made 1/2 blueberry and 1/2 raspberry. The raspberry were my favorite!
P.S. They freeze well, and that's a good thing considering this recipe made 30 muffins!

Berry Muffins
(Wondertime, June 2008)
http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/blueberry-muffins.html

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
16 ounces sour cream
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)
2 tablespoons sugar

Heat oven to 375.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with muffin-cup liners. This recipe won't work without them. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with sour cream until thoroughly combined. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt together butter and brown sugar, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then beat this mixture into egg mixture. Stir in oats.

Fold in flour mixture and then — very gently — fold in berries. Fill muffin cups about three-quarters full. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar onto the top of each muffin.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until edges are medium brown and tops are firm.

Cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins (in their papers) and finish cooling on rack.

Sausage & Cheese Strata

Marc thought this was just OK, I liked it, and Addison LOVED it. She had 3 helpings for dinner (yes, we had breakfast for dinner) and then asked for it for breakfast again the next morning. For that reason alone, I felt it worthy to put on this blog. My only note is that this is a breakfast food, but takes quite a bit of prep, so it definitely needs to be put together the night before.

Sausage & Cheese Strata
(Wondertime magazine, June 2008)
http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/sausage-and-cheese-strata.html

6 English muffins, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or 8 thick slices of Italian bread, cubed
1/2 pound bulk sausage (or breakfast sausage with the casings removed)
12 ounces Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, grated
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

At least two hours before you'll be baking the strata, heat oven to 350. On a cookie sheet, in a single layer, bake English muffin or bread cubes for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are dried out and beginning to brown. Turn oven off, remove cubes, and let cool while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

In a skillet, brown and break up sausage and transfer it to paper towels to drain. Brush a 2-quart soufflé or casserole dish with about a tablespoon of the fat from the skillet. In the dish, arrange layers as follows: 1/3 English muffin cubes, 1/3 cheese, all the sausage, 1/3 English muffin cubes, 1/3 cheese, 1/3 English muffin cubes. Press the contents of the dish down firmly.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce; pour mixture over strata. Top the dish with remaining cheese, and drizzle the top with melted butter.

Chill, covered, at least an hour, or overnight.

Let dish stand at room temperature for 45 minutes before you bake it. Heat oven to 350. Bake strata for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until it's golden brown and puffy.

(NOTES: At the last minute I realized I didn't have sausage in my freezer like I thought I did, so I used cooked bacon and diced ham instead. Worked great! I also didn't have cayenne pepper, so I used a dash of tabasco sauce)

Breakfast for dinner!

I was able to talk Marc into having breakfast for dinner last night. It was a hit!

Early Riser Oven Omelet
(I have no idea where I got this recipe)


10 egg whites
5 eggs
1 c. milk
¼ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
1 ½ c. cubed ham
1 c. chopped fresh broccoli (or torn fresh spinach)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
3 T. finely chopped onion

In a bowl, beat the egg whites, eggs, milk, seasoned salt and pepper. Pour into a 10-inch ovenproof skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with the ham, broccoli, cheese, tomato and onion. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are almost set. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until the eggs are set and top is lightly browned.
Serves 6.

Finnish Pancakes
(thanks to my brother-in-law Doug, who served his mission in Finland)

Put a half a stick of butter in a roasting pan in the oven set at 425.
In a blender add: 5 eggs, milk until 3 cups, a wee bit of sugar and salt and 1½ cups flour. Blend and pour into the pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until brown.

Serve with syrup, jam, powdered sugar, etc.

Bacon-Chicken Crescent Ring

I made this for breakfast this morning and got a 10 out of 10 rating from both my dad and from Marc. Guess it's a keeper! OH, it presents VERY well and would be great for a baby shower brunch (or something like that)!

Bacon-Chicken Crescent Ring

(Simple & Delicious, Nov/Dec 2007)

2 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 can (10 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Italian salad dressing mix

DIRECTIONS
Grease a 14-in. pizza pan. Unroll crescent roll dough; separate into 16 triangles. Place wide end of one triangle 3 in. from edge of prepared pan with point overhanging edge of pan. Repeat with remaining triangles along outer edge of pan, overlapping the wide ends (dough will look like a sun when complete). Lightly press wide ends together.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over wide ends of dough. Fold points of triangles over filling and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible).

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 servings.

3 Brunch Dishes

Butterscotch Bundt Rolls
(thanks to Juli Miller)

18 frozen dinner rolls (Rhodes work well)
1 (3 oz.) package butterscotch pudding (not instant)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/2 c melted butter

Arrange frozen rolls in greased Bundt pan. Sprinkle pudding, brown sugar, and pecans over rolls. Drizzle butter over all. Cover Bundtpan with a dishtowel, plastic wrap, or waxed paper and let rise at room temperature overnight, or about 10 hours. Bake at 350 for 20-25minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before inverting to a serving plate. Serve warm.

Veggie Pizza
(allrecipes.com + my own variations)

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
Fresh, raw veggies of choice (I used finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower and matchstick carrots--but you can use peppers, celery, onion, whatever!)
Cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a jellyroll pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Pat crescent roll dough into a jellyroll pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce with fork.
Bake for 10 minutes, let cool.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, dill weed, garlic salt and ranch dip mix. Spread this mixture on top of the cooled crust.
Sprinkle "pizza" with veggies of choice and top with a sprinkling of grated cheese.
Cover and let chill. Once chilled, cut it into squares and serve.

Breakfast Casserole
(thanks to Allison Hancock, wife of a mission companion of Marc's)

enough frozen hashbrowns (shredded) to fill a 9 X 13 pan--usually one small bag or a portion of a Costco size bag

8 eggs

1/4 c. milk

salt & pepper

grated cheese

chopped ham

Grease 9 X 13 pan and arrange frozen hashbrowns in pan.

Beat eggs and mix in milk, salt & pepper and then pour over hashbrowns.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and chopped ham.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Fruit Pizza

Despite the chest/head cold that makes me want to do nothing more than lay on the couch, I had to rouse myself enough to make fruit pizzas for the teachers at Addison's school. I am one of two people on the Teacher Appreciation Committee, so this is what we are putting in the breakroom for Valentine's Day:

Fruit Pizza
(originally from my sister, Rebecca)

2 rolls sugar cookie dough--roll into a large circle and bake according to package directions

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 can crushed pineapple, drained WELL
powdered sugar, to taste

Mix together and spread on top of cooled sugar cookie "crust"

Top the "pizza" with various fruits. Strawberries (or any berry), sliced kiwi, mandarin oranges, etc. all work well. If you arrange in a pattern, the pizza can be quite a pretty presentation--a real show-stopper!

Another variation:
I made some with a brownie base (baked according to package directions) and then used the following as the frosting:

2 c. white chocolate chips, melted
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. heavy cream

Top with the same fruit patterns.

DELICIOUS!

NOTE: I have made individual sugar cookies, frosted with cream cheese/pineapple frosting and then put a slice of kiwi and an orange slice/1/2 strawberry on top. They present well and are my nieces/nephew's favorite cookie!

Great White Punch

A friend asked me for this recipe for a party I went to yesterday. She made it, but when I tasted it for the umpteenth time, I was reminded of just how good this stuff is. Almost seems too simple to be great, but believe me, it's worthy of sharing...

Great White Punch
(Marilyn Hulme, my YW advisor growing up)

1 small can limeade
11 c. water
3 c. sugar

Combine all 3 ingredients and freeze at least 24 hours in advance (but obviously can be done LONG in advance).
Remove from freezer one hour before serving.
Break/cut into chunks and serve in punchbowl with 7-Up (1-2 liters)
**Can add food coloring before freezing if you want it to be a specific color to match "theme"