Breakfast Recipes and Breads

photo courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net

Banana Bread
• 1 2/3 C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 C. plus 2 T. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C. oil
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 2 T. sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 C. walnuts, toasted and chopped

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Blueberry Muffins
• 2 cups flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 T milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12-cup muffin pan with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt. Add blueberries and toss until coated. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg. Add sugar, butter, sour cream and milk. Whisk until combined. Fold into dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 mins.

Breakfast Stromboli
• 1 dough ball (I buy these at Sam's for really cheap, but sometimes I also make them in my bread machine. Either way, super easy!)
• 1 lb. spicy breakfast sausage
• 3 C. Colby Jack cheese, shredded
• 6 eggs, scrambled

Roll out dough in a rectangle on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Sprinkle cooked sausage on the rectangle, leaving a 1 inch border around the outside. Sprinkle eggs and cheese on top of the sausage. Roll up, pinching the ends together and placing the pinched side down on the cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Breakfast Taco Casserole
• 1 lb sausage, browned
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 bag of tator tots
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup grated cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Beat eggs, milk and seasonings together. In greased 9x13 pyrex, layer half the tator tots, half the sausage, & sprinkle with half the cheese. Pour half of the egg mixture over layer. Repeat for second layer. Refrigerate overnight. Bake, uncovered for 45-60 minutes at 325 degrees. Serve with tortillas.

Chile-Cheese Bake
• 1 small can green chilies
• 2 C. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 large eggs
• ¼ C. flour
• 1 ½ C. milk
• ½ tsp. salt, pepper
• Dash of Tabasco and paprika

Grease 13 x 9 baking dish. Layer half of the chilies, half of Monterrey Jack cheese, half of cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Blend the eggs, flour, milk, and spices. Pour mixture over top of the layers. Bake at 335 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until firm and golden.

Cinnamon French Toast
• 8 slices of Texas Toast sliced diagonally
• 1 c. flour
• 1 1/2 T sugar
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1-3 T cinnamon - depending on how much you like cinnamon
• 1 c. milk
• 1 beaten egg

Combine all dry ingredients. Mix milk and egg together and add to dry ingredients.
Dip slices of bread into mixture and cook in skillet with lots of oil! Top with syrup and powdered sugar
Not your average French Toast!!!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
• 1 pkg. dry yeast
• 1 C. warm milk
• ½ C. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 C. flour
Filling:
• 1 C. packed brown sugar
• 2 ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 C. margarine, softened
Icing:
• 8 T. margarine
• 1 ½ C. powdered sugar
• ¼ C. cream cheese
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, margarine, salt, eggs, flour and mix well. Knead dough into a large ball, using hands lightly dusted with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until dough has doubled in size. Roll dough out onto lightly floured surface, until approx. ¼” thick. Preheat to 400 degrees.

For filling, combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread softened margarine over the surface and then sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the surface. From the long edge, roll dough slowly down to the bottom edge. Cut dough into 1 ¾ “ slices and place in a lightly greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

Beat icing ingredients until fluffy. When rolls are done, cool and spread generously with icing.


Eggs in a Hole
• Sliced bread
• Butter
• Large eggs
• Salt and Pepper

With a biscuit cutter, cut a hole in the center of bread. Heat 2-3 T. butter in a skillet over medium to low heat. Place bread in the skillet and allow it to soak up the butter. After 1 minute, crack egg into the hole. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for another minute. With a spatula flip to the other side and sprinkle that side with salt and pepper. Take it out when its all good and buttery.

Friendship Bread
I keep these starters in my freezer. Did you know you can do that? Just so you know how much I despise waiting, I let these go until day 10 and then I freeze the extras. That way, I can make Friendship Bread whenever I want to without waiting for 10 days.

Do NOT refrigerate starter. Let air out of bag as the batter rises and ferments.

Day:
1. Do Nothing.
2-5 Mash the bag
6: ADD to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk - Mash the bag
7-9 Mash the bag
10. Follow instructions below:

Pour contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl. Add:
• 1 ½ C. sugar
• 1 ½ C. flour
• 1 ½ C. milk

Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into 4 Ziploc bags. Keep a starter for yourself and give the other 3 to friends with a copy of this recipe.

Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325. To the remaining batter in the bowl (approx. 1 1/2 cups) ADD first:
• 3 eggs,
• ½ C. milk
• 1 C. oil
• ½ tsp vanilla

Hand mix with wooden spoon. Do NOT use electric mixer. Then add:
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 C. sugar
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 C. flour
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 lg. or 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding
• 1 C. raisins or chopped nuts (optional)

Hand mix with wooden spoon. Grease 2 large loaf pans or 1 bundt pan. In a separate bowl, mix an additional ¼ tsp cinnamon and ¼ cup sugar. Dust the greased pan(s) with half this mixture. Pour batter evenly in to pan(s). Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the top. Bake 1 hour. Cool 5-10 minutes, then turn pan(s) upside down and gently ease the bread loaves out.

Make Ahead Country Breakfast Casserole
• 1 roll sausage
• 6 bread slices
• 6 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 C. water
• 1/2 C. milk
• 2 pkg. Gravy mix (Pioneer is the best)
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 T. melted butter
• Paprika/Tony Chachere’s to taste

Brown sausage. Remove and drain on paper towel. Spread over bottom of greased 11x8 baking dish. Wisk together eggs, water, milk and gravy mix. Sprinkle cheese over sausage. Pour mixture over cheese. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and arrange evenly over mixture. Drizzle butter over bread. Sprinkle with seasoning. May refrigerate up to 2 days. Bake at 325 degrees, uncovered for 40 min.

Make Ahead French Toast Casserole
• 1 loaf French bread
• 8 large eggs
• 2 C. whole milk
• 2 C. half and half
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 1 1/2 C. brown sugar
• 3 T. corn syrup
• 1 1/2 C. pecans, chopped

Heat to 325 degrees. Arrange bread, slice 1/2 inch thick on baking sheets and bake until golden. Cool. Grease baking dish with butter. Layer 2 layers of bread in dish. Wisk eggs, milk, half and half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and pour evenly over bread. Press to soak bread. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees, and make topping. Mix butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together and stir in pecans. Spoon topping evenly over casserole and bake 60 minutes, until golden.

Maple Cinnamon Rolls (makes a LOT, half if necessary)...this is the Pioneer Woman's
Dough:
• 1 Qt. Whole milk
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 Pkgs. Active dry yeast (4 ½ teaspoons)
• 9 C. flour
• 1 heaping tsp. baking powder
• 1 scant tsp. baking soda
• 1 T. salt
Filling:
• 2 C. melted butter, plus more as needed
• ¼ C. ground cinnamon for sprinkling
• 2 C. sugar, plus more if needed
Maple Icing:
• 2 Lbs. powdered sugar
• ½ C. whole milk
• 6 T. butter, melted
• ¼ C. strongly brewed coffee
• Dash of salt
• 1 T. maple flavoring or maple extract

Heat milk, oil, sugar in saucepan over medium heat without boiling. Set aside and cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit on milk for 1 min. Add 8 C. of flour, stir until just combined, cover with towel and set aside to rise for an hour.

Remove towel and add baking powder, soda, salt and 1 C. flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Roll out half of dough on floured surface to 10” X 30”. Pour 1 C. melted butter over surface of dough. Generously sprinkle half of cinnamon and 1 C. of sugar over the butter. Roll up the rectangle and when you reach the end, pinch the ends together. Cut with a sharp knife, making 1 ½” slices. Place sliced rolls in greased baking pan.

Repeat rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set pans aside to rise for 20 min. before baking. Bake for 13-17 minutes until golden brown.

For the icing, whisk together sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. When rolls come out, drizzle icing over hte top and all around the edges.

Monkey Bread ( I make these whenever I don't have enough time to make homemade cinnamon rolls but want a similar yummy result)

• 3 packages biscuits
• 1 T. vanilla
• 3/4 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 T. butter, melted

Preheat to 350 degrees. Grease tube or bundt pan. Melt butter and vanilla on stovetop. Toss sugars, cinnamon and salt together in separate bowl. Cut biscuits in fourths and roll in butter mixture then sugar mixture to coat and arrange in pan. Drizzle remaining butter and sugar over the top. Bake until golden, 30 minutes or so. Top with drizzly cream cheese icing if you want to make it really special. Just heat the icing a bit to make it drizzly.

No Knead Knot Rolls
• 2 pkgs. Active dry yeast
• 2 C. warm water (110-115 degrees)
• ½ C. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 6-6 ½ C. flour
• 1 egg
• ½ C. shortening
• ½ C. butter, softened

In bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt and 2 C. flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 min. Add egg and shortening; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form soft dough (do not knead). Cover and refrigerate overnight. You can refrigerate for several days, freeze or use right away. I usually use one right away and freeze the other 3. This comes in handy on days that I am cooking a meal for company. Just pop it out of the freezer and focus on the rest of the meal.

After refrigerating, punch dough down and divide into 4 portions. Cover 3 with plastic wrap. Roll remaining portion into a 14x12 rectangle. Spread 2 T. butter over dough. Fold in half lengthwise; cut into 12 strips. Tie each strip into a knot; tuck and pinch ends under. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cover and let rise until doubled; about 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until brown. Makes 4 dozen.

Orange Bread
• 3/4 C. of sugar
• 1/2 C. of chopped pecans
• 1 T. grated orange rind
• 2 cans of buttermilk biscuits (11oz can)
• 1 pack of cream cheese
• 1/2 C. of butter, melted
• 1 C. of sifted powdered sugar
• 2 T. of orange juice

Combine the first three ingredients in small bowl and set aside. Separate biscuits twice (take them apart first then half them- like you are buttering it). Cut cream cheese in 20 squares then put one square in between two halves of the biscuit and pinch edges. Dip in melted butter. Dip in small bowl mixture. Grease bundt pan then stand biscuits up beginning around the edges. Drizzle and sprinkle remaining butter and sugar over the biscuits. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden. Flip onto serving plate then drizzle orange juice and powdered sugar mixture over the top.

Quiche Lorraine
• 1 pie pastry, deep dish
• 12 slices bacon
• 1 C. shredded Swiss cheese
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 C. cream
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white sugar
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place bacon in a large skillet, and fry over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then chop coarsely. Sprinkle bacon and cheese into pastry shell. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt, sugar and cayenne pepper. Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Allow quiche to sit 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Sausage Egg Casserole
• 1 can crescent rolls
• 1 lb. sausage
• 2 C. mozzarella cheese
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 C. milk

Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press crescent rolls into bottom of pan. Brown and crumble sausage. Drain. Spread over crescent rolls. Add mozzarella cheese over sausage. Beat eggs with milk and pour over sausage and cheese. Bake 20 minutes at 365...or until the thing looks done.

Spicy Home Fries
• Yukon gold potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil
• 3 T. butter
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne to taste

In microwave-safe bow, toss potatoes with oil. Cover with Saran and microwave on high 5-10 minutes, shaking every 3 minutes. Drain. Melt butter in skillet over medium high heat, adding potatoes and cooking until golden on one side (about 5 minutes). Turn potatoes until well browned, 10 or 15 more minutes. Season and serve.

Sour Cream Pancakes ( I think this is Pioneer Woman, too. Even if you don't like sour cream, which we don't, this is very good and you can't taste it!)

• 1 C. sour cream
• 7 T. flour
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• Butter
• Syrup

Heat griddle. Place sour cream in a medium bowl. Dump in flour, sugar, soda and salt. Stir together gently. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl and add vanilla. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir together gently. Melt butter on the griddle. Pour batter ¼ C. at a time. Cook for 1-1 ½ min. then flip. Repeat with remaining batter.

Zucchini Bread (my husband still doesn't know that there is zucchini in this bread. He loves it!)

• 2 C. sugar
• 1 C. oil
• 3 eggs
• 3 C. flour
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. soda, salt, cinnamon
• 2 C. grated zucchini
• 1 C. chopped nuts
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Mix ingredients together as listed. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Makes 2 - 9x5 loaves.