Jenn's Favorite Cinnamon Rolls

I have perfected my family's favorite way to enjoy cinnamon rolls.

Dough

I use the same dough recipe as this one. I usually use half the dough for the cinnamon rolls and finish the other half as regular rolls for dinner. The amounts for the filling and frosting will need to be doubled if you use all the dough for cinnamon rolls. This makes a dozen cinnamon rolls if using half, two dozen if using all of it.

• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons yeast
• 2 cups of warm water
• about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
• at least 1 cup of butter

Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl by cooking on high for 3 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.

Stir in 2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.

Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture.

Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in 7-8 additional cups of flour (including the cups you already added there will be a total of 9 - 10 cups of four). Add 2 cups at time and stir in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand. 

At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it raise until doubled in size.

Filling

After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, split in half, and then roll out the dough into a large rectangle on a floured surface. Lightly butter the dough. Mix the following ingredients together: 

1/2 c. butter, softened but not melted

1/2 c. brown sugar

2. T. ground cinnamon

1/8  tsp. salt

Mix well and spread evenly over the dough. Roll up the rectangle and cut into equal sized rolls. Allow to rise again on a greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

Frosting

14 T. butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and cream cheese together until creamy. This is important to avoid lumpy frosting later. Blend in milk and vanilla, and then powdered sugar and salt. Put a thin layer of frosting on all the rolls when they are hot out of the oven. Then reserve the rest for when the rolls have cooled.

DIY Oatmeal Packets

We love eating oatmeal for breakfast, but I don't like buying the individual packets. Way too expensive for such a small amount. I also don't love making it homemade every morning. Too much work on busy school days. But I've discovered the secret to making your own individual packets that everyone can make on their own: you have to blend some of the oatmeal into powder. That's it! That's the creamy difference between the kind you buy in packets and the kind you spend 10 minutes cooking on the stove.

I've been making these DIY Oatmeal Packets at home. My family likes them, they only take adding water and cooking 2 minutes in the microwave, and they are fast and easy to assemble.  And they cost about 1/4 the price of buying them in the store. It's a win-win for us all!

INGREDIENTS

• 10 cups quick oats 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (Katelee likes to add a bit more brown sugar to hers after she has warmed it up.)
• 1 cup powdered milk 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 21-24 snack-size zip bags 
• Other toppings if you desire (dried fruit, nuts, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS

Put 6 cups of the oats into a large bowl. Place the remaining 4 cups of oats into a blender. Blend until almost powdery, then pour into the large bowl.

Add the salt, brown sugar, powdered milk, and cinnamon into the large bowl. Mix well until everything is combined.

Measure 1/2 cup of the oatmeal mixture into each snack-size plastic baggie and seal.

TO USE DIY INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS: Pour the packet into a bowl, and add 1 c. water. Heat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Stir and serve.

NOTES: Because the plastic bag doesn’t get wet or dirty, you can reuse it.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

"My kids gobble these up." -Melissa

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar 
• 2 cups flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 3 tablespoons sour cream 
• 2 eggs 1/2 cup butter, softened 
• 2 or 3 ripe bananas - I always use 3 bananas 
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips 

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together until moistened. Add chocolate chips by sprinkling on the tops of the muffins before baking. Pour into greased muffin baking tray or use muffin paper liners. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Recipe makes 12 muffins.

Recipe found HERE.

Brittany's Easy Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 T. maple (Don't use maple extract, it won't taste as strong. Use real maple.)

Mix together sugar and water and stir constantly over heat. Right when it starts to boil, remove from heat and add the maple extract. Tip: Make sure you are watching and stirring or it will boil over.

Banana Muffins

This is a easy, quick banana muffin recipe that makes moist and delicious muffins!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3 large bananas, mashed 
• 3/4 cup white sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 1/3 cup butter, melted 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, mixing only until combined - don't over mix! Scoop into muffin pans. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 20 to 25 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Quick and Easy Breakfast Granola

One of the hardest things for me when it comes to making healthy choices is breakfast. I LOVE breakfast cereal. Right now I am doing a challenge where I am trying not to eat as much sugar, and if sugar is listed within the first three ingredients on an ingredient list, I am avoiding that food. Sugar is within the first three ingredients on EVERY breakfast cereal I like to eat. So, what to eat for breakfast?

Here is a good recipe that you can whip up in 2 minutes and that I think is delicious!  I usually half this unless I am sharing, as half is plenty for me and this is not a low calorie recipe.

Quick and Easy Breakfast Granola

• 1/2 Oats, either old-fashioned or quick
• 2 T. nut butter (almond, walnut, cashew) OR organic peanut butter
• 1 T. honey
• salt

(optional add ins: cinnamon, chopped nuts, dark mini chocolate chips, dried fruits or ginger)

Stir together in a bowl until well blended. Eat plain, on yogurt, or (my favorite!) over fresh peaches or berries.  

Perfect Oatmeal

I don't do a traditional list of New Year Resolutions, but each year I choose a theme to work on  throughout the year. My theme for 2015 is Physical Health. It's kind of hard for me to say this to others, because if I fail everyone is going to know. But I have decided I can handle being a little vulnerable, so there it is! Since the beginning of the year I have been working on consistently changing life habits. No crazy crash diets, or anything extreme that I cannot see myself doing for the rest of my life. Just little, good healthy habits that I plan to maintain forever, not just for a short time.  And I've already lost 9 pounds, woot!

As part of my efforts, I have been discovering and trying out some new recipes that I will share on here. These recipes are healthier alternatives to what I was eating before. Not all are low calorie or gluten free or sugar free, but all are a better choice than what I was eating before. For me, it's all about balance and moderation in all things.

Here is an oatmeal recipe that I found that I can enjoy. I am not really a fan of cooked oatmeal, usually because of the texture, but this recipe comes out with a really perfect, soothing texture every time. A great, healthy, comforting breakfast!

• 1 1/2 cups milk 
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats 
• 2 tablespoons white sugar (I personally have left this out, as I am trying not to eat sugar right now. It wasn't sweet, but it was still good without the sugar!)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg 
• 1 pinch salt

Combine milk, oats, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Recipe found on allrecipes.com.  You can find the original recipe here.

Chocolate Waffles with Berry Sauce

We like to make special breakfasts on General Conference weekends, and we tried this new and delicious recipe today!  It was a hit as breakfast, but you could easily turn these waffles into a dessert by topping with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. 

This recipe comes from Our Best Bites.  Click here for full instructions, photos, tips, etc. 
 
Double Chocolate Waffles

• 2/3 C flour 
• 1/3 C corn starch 
• 1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 t baking powder 
• 1/2 t baking soda 
• 1/4 t salt 
• 1/8 t cinnamon 
• 6 T granulated sugar 
• 1 C milk 
• 1/3 C vegetable oil 
• 1 egg 
• 1 1/2 t vanilla 
• 1/2 C mini chocolate chips 

Berry Sauce & Topping

• 3 C berries, fresh or frozen, diced if large 
• 1/4 C raspberry or strawberry jam
• 2 T hot tap water 
• optional: powdered sugar to taste, sweetened whipped cream, or cocoa powder for dusting

Start by making the berry sauce since it can sit while you make the waffle batter. Combine jam and warm water and whisk until combined. Add in the berries and gently stir until combined. Gently smash with a fork to break up larger berries an leave as chunky as you like. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, you can add a little powdered sugar if you’d like. I don’t add any; I think the jam adds plenty and I prefer it on the tart side to balance the sweetness of the waffles. However my husband likes it sweeter, so go with what you like! You might want to try the sauce on the waffles first and then just sprinkle powdered sugar on top if you’d like it sweeter. Set berry sauce aside and make waffle batter.

Waffles: Preheat a waffle iron. Combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk for a minute so it gets a little frothy. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry a little at a time, whisking to combine. Just stir until they’re combined and don’t overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips. This is a pretty thin batter, so don’t be expecting something that looks like a pancake batter. It’s supposed to be thin. Lightly butter waffle iron. I have one with non-stick finish and I actually don’t grease mine at all. You may not need to. Place batter in and cook according to your iron. A tip: Instead of pouring batter, use a ladle and spoon it in, making sure to stir the batter each time. Otherwise the chocolate chips won’t be distributed. It’s a little harder to tell when chocolate waffles are done because you can’t go so much on color. Go by smell and touch and realize that they will crisp up after they come off the iron.

Bran Muffins

I have been looking for a good bran muffin recipe, and found this one in Josi Kilpack's culinary mystery novel, "Rocky Road."  She called this recipe Mormon Muffins and said it came from The Greenery Restaurant in Ogden, UT.  We LOVE these!

• 2 cups boiling water 
• 5 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1 cup shortening 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 4 eggs 
•  1 quart buttermilk 
• 5 cups flour 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 4 cups All-Bran cereal 
•  2 cups bran flakes 
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped 

Add soda to boiling water and set aside. Whip shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs slowly; mix well. Add buttermilk, flour, and salt; mix again. Very slowly add soda water. Gently fold cereals and walnuts into the mix. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight or longer - this is a MUST.

In the morning, spoon 1⁄8 cup batter into greased muffin tins. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 5 minutes.

The batter will last one week, covered and refrigerated, so you can bake fresh muffins every morning if you wish.  Or, we have found that these muffins freeze really well, so you can bake all the batter at once and then freeze the leftovers.  Pull out 1 or 2 for breakfast each morning. Coupled with a fruit smoothie this makes a delicious breakfast!

The recipe says it yields 3 dozen muffins, but it was more than twice that for me.

Maple Drizzled Apple-Cinnamon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Oh, these sandwiches are heaven.  I found these on the OurBestBites website this afternoon while trying to think of what to make for dinner.  We made them tonight for a quick and easy dinner, and the blend of different flavors was amazing.  I love when food is easy AND delicious!!



Photo from OurBestBites.com

Measurements are approximate. These are sandwiches- don’t overthink it!

Ingredients

• 4 slices rustic sandwich bread 
• 8 slices sharp cheddar cheese (or enough to cover all the slices) 
• 1-2 sweet, crisp apples 
• ground cinnamon 
• kosher or sea salt 
• 3-4 tablespoons real butter 
• 100% real maple syrup 

Instructions

Butter each slice of bread and place slices butter-side down on a cutting board. Place cheese on each slice of bread. Core apples and slice into 1/8 inch slices. Place apple slices on 4 slices of bread and lightly sprinkle them with ground cinnamon and salt. Put sandwich halves together and grill in a hot skillet, or on a Panini grill, or broiled in the oven, flipping sandwiches and cooking until each side is golden brown and cheese is melted. Drizzle with maple syrup, or serve on the side for dipping. Makes 4 sandwiches.

This would also be delicious for breakfast, lunch, snacktime, whatever!   :)  

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

I am lucky enough to have an electric wheat grinder.  This means I can buy wheat (which is cheaper and stores forever!) and then grind it quickly and conveniently when I need wheat flour.  Freshly ground wheat tastes better and is more nutritious.  So, I grind my wheat fresh when I bake bread, rolls, whatever.  I highly recommend a wheat grinder.  :)  That is my little lecture for the day. Ahem.

Even if you don't have a wheat grinder, however, you should make these pancakes!



I am trying to add even more whole wheat into our diets, and have started to make these Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes from Our Best Bites.  We really really love them!  They are healthy and keep us full until lunch.  And the best part for me is that one batch of these serves us for two meals, so I can freeze the leftovers and pull them out for a great breakfast on a hectic morning.

• 3/4 C whole wheat flour 
• 3/4 C all-purpose flour 
• 3 Tbs sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 1/2 C low-fat buttermilk * 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 Tbs canola oil 
• 1 large egg 
• 1 large egg white 
• Cooking Spray or butter for pan 

*As a substitute for 1 C buttermilk, place 1 Tbs lemon juice (or vinegar but I prefer lemon juice) in a 1 C measuring cup and then fill the remainder with milk. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 C buttermilk, so do the same thing with 1/2 Tbs lemon juice and remaining 1/2 C milk.  I do this with any recipe that calls for buttermilk, as it is not something I ever have in my fridge.

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined. Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Make sure it's heated up before pouring the batter on.  Coat pan with non-stick spray or a little butter and then pour on pancake batter. Use about 1/4 C batter for large pancakes (5-6″) and 2 T for kid-sized ones (2 /2-3″).

Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip. Makes 12 large or 24 small pancakes.



Freezer Instructions: These pancakes freeze wonderfully. Just lay out pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet or other pan. Freeze until solid and then place in a zip-lock bag. To serve, just warm up in the microwave or toaster.

Navajo Fry Bread

We enjoyed making Navajo Tacos for dinner recently.  I haven't made these in a long time, and I'm not sure why, because my family really loves them.  Here is a good recipe for making the fry bread.

• 2 cups flour 
• 1 TBSP baking powder  
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 3/4 - 1 cup hot water 
• oil for frying

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in mixing bowl. Add the water a little at a time to make a soft dough. Knead a few times then let rest. You can actually let this rest for up to an hour but we cooked them right away.

Pinch off balls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll out each ball on a floured surface with a rolling pin until dough is about 1/8 thick. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a deep pan to about 375 degrees. Fry dough one piece at a time until golden. Turn to cook other side. Drain on paper towels. If done correctly the fry bread will puff up with several bubbles in the dough. Makes about 6-9 pieces of fry bread.

If serving for dinner: Pile them high with toppings to make Navajo tacos.  Our favorite way to eat these is with this beef recipe, beans, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sliced olives, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa. Ground hamburger taco meat or chili is also a yummy idea!

For dessert or even a special breakfast you can slather these with honey and butter, and they are scrumptious.

Homemade Granola

I really like granola.  I love it in my yogurt, sometimes with milk, or just plain.  But the brands I tend to like can be EXPENSIVE.  So, I've been looking for a really good granola recipe to make at home.  And I think I found one I'll stick with!

This recipe if from the book Worldwide World Christmas Cookbook, which my sis-in-law gave me for Christmas a few years back.  The recipe was submitted by Jenna Smith from South Carolina.

• 10 C. regular oatmeal
• 2 c. almonds, slivered or sliced (today I used chopped pecans, and they are delicious, too!  Use whatever nut you prefer.)
• 2 c. coconut (note to all you coconut haters: you can't see the coconut in the end or feel it's texture.  It just adds very subtly to the flavor.  Even if you think you don't like coconut, I highly recommend you leave this in.  Katelee hates coconut, but has no idea it's in this granola, which she loves!)
• 2 C. packed brown sugar

 Mix these together in a large bowl.  Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat:

•  3/4 c. oil
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 3/4 c. honey
• 3/4 c. water
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Heat and stir until the peanut butter is completely melted.  Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.  Spread onto two large cookie sheets.  Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring once during baking.  Let cool.  After it's completely cooled, stir in

•  assorted dried fruit (I really like Craisins.  Other good ideas would be dried apricots, raisins, berries of any kind, etc.)

Serve with milk or yogurt, or even enjoy plain.  Makes about 16 cups. Put in an airtight container, and this would last for several months.

Egg & Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

We had a delicious Christmas morning breakfast this year, and the best part of it is that I didn't have to do anything Christmas morning other than bake the already made casseroles.  We served the Overnight Caramel French Toast with this egg casserole, and they were both scrumptious, easy, and complimented each other well.  This recipe is definitely a keeper that we will use all year round!  

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed 
• 1 pound pork sausage 
• 1/2 small onion, diced 
• 5 eggs 
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
• salt and ground black pepper to taste 
• 6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Place the hash brown potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish.

2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook and stir the sausage and onion until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink; drain. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, milk, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and pour over the potatoes. Layer with half the Cheddar cheese, the sausage mixture, and the remaining Cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. If making the night before, refrigerate now until morning.

3. Bake, covered with the tinfoil, in the preheated oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour. Remove foil cover; return casserole to the oven and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Overnight Christmas Caramel French Toast

We had a church Christmas party this morning, and I was asked to make a couple of these casseroles for the breakfast meal.  They were simple to assemble, made my house smell heavenly and tasted simply delicious!  I think we are going to make this and an egg casserole for our Christmas morning breakfast this year!  Make it the night before and then just throw it in the oven in the morning - PERFECT for Christmas morning!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 T. light corn syrup
• 1 loaf of French Bread, cut into 12 slices
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

The night before:

Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Cut your french bread into 12 equal slices.  In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and pour into the greased baking dish.  Top with 6 slices of bread.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar mixture over the bread.  Place remaining 6 slices of bread on top of the first 6 slices.  Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the bread.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Pour over the bread.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning:

Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake, uncovered, for 30 - 35 minutes.  (You may need to bake it longer, depending on how much it "jiggles." 

Top with your favorite syrup and enjoy!

Homemade Hot Chocolate - 1 serving

It is a yucky, stormy morning at my house today.  On a morning like this, it's nice to give my family a warm cup of hot cocoa with their breakfast before going out in the cold.  I don't generally have cocoa mix on hand, unless it's been a gift, so this is my 'quick and easy' hot cocoa that I make for my family on a cold and busy morning.

Heat:

• 1 cup of milk 

I do this in a mug in the microwave.  I stir it about every 45 - 60 seconds and check the temperature until it's as hot as I want it.

Meanwhile, while it's heating up, mix the following ingredients together in a small bowl:

• 2 T. sugar
• 2 T. baking cocoa (I always buy the Hershey's brand.  Don't know how much difference this makes; other baking cocoas may have slightly different strengths or flavors?)
• dash salt

After the milk is heated to the right temperature, stir in the sugar/cocoa mixture.  Add:

• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract and stir well.  

Top with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired and enjoy!

I've also been experimenting with adding less (or no) vanilla and substituting other extracts.  Peppermint, mint or almond extracts are yummy!  My personal favorite combination is 1/8 tsp. vanilla and 1/8 tsp. orange extract.  Gerald likes raspberry extract; Katelee likes strawberry extract.

So if it's cold and stormy at your house today (or even if it's not!), go make a cup of hot chocolate and cozy up. 

This recipe is found on the can of Hershey's baking cocoa.  Also, I borrowed this image from http://www.gfcfrecipes.com/miscellaneous.htm.

Stuffed French Toast

Looking for a delicious breakfast to make for general conference weekend that won't mean slaving in the kitchen all morning?  Look no further!

One of my favorite breakfasts ever is french toast.  This stuffed french toast recipe takes a really good thing and makes it extraordinary.  This is a great breakfast to serve to guests, because it's not difficult or expensive to make, but it looks fancy and it tastes soooooooooooooooo delicious!

Just look at this beautiful picture that I stole from the Tasty Kitchen website:

Yes, that is pretty much exactly how mine look, too!  It's not one of those scrumptious looking photos that are impossible to duplicate in real life.  :)

I found this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website.  You can click HERE to see step-by-step instructions with pictures.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French or Italian Bread 
• 6 Tablespoons Any Flavor Fruit Spread (You Can Also Use Jelly, Jam, Or Fresh Fruit) I used my homemade strawberry jam
• 1/2 cup fresh fruit (optional) I used 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries, mixed with a little sugar
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 
• 2 whole eggs 
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 
• ½ cup skim milk 
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Heat skillet or electric griddle to 325 to 350 degrees. Cut french bread into 2-3 inch wide slices. You should get about six pieces from a loaf of French or Italian bred, minus the end pieces.  Then, with a paring knife, go back and cut halfway into each slice, in the center, creating a ‘pocket’ that your fruit mixture can be stuffed into. In a bowl, place the room temperature cream cheese and fruit spread of your choice. Combine well. In a separate bowl, break 2 eggs; add cinnamon and milk and combine well. Now, take the fruit and cream cheese mixture and stuff into the ‘pockets’ of your french bread slices. If using fresh fruit, stuff a couple Tablespoons in as pocket as well.  Place on a plate or baking sheet. Put 2 tbsp (you can use less!) of butter into a hot skillet and melt completely. When done stuffing each piece of bread, completely dip each piece in the egg mixture for about 20 seconds on each side.. Make sure all sides are covered. Fry each piece immediately after dipping.  In other words, don't dip until you're ready to put it on a hot skillet; it'll get too soggy!  Add all of the bread to the skillet and cook roughly about 3-6 minutes on each side, until it reaches a nice golden brown. You want to make sure the cream cheese mixture heats through. When done cooking, serve immediately.

I always reserve a few sliced strawberries to place on top with some slivered almonds.  Then I dust the tops with powdered sugar, as shown in the picture.  They look so pretty!  Finally, my favorite syrup to serve with stuffed french toast is my homemade syrup I use for pumpkin waffles.  You can find the recipe here.  I think this syrup is the perfect flavor to compliment the french toast and leave your family and/or guests raving!  Enjoy!!

English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas

I am always on the lookout for new breakfast ideas.  I like to send Gerald to work and Katelee to school most mornings with a hot meal in their stomachs, but mornings can be crazy.  So I love it when I find more quick and easy breakfast recipes to add to our usual line up.

This recipe we tried last week, and we LOVED them.  I found this recipe on from Our Best Bites, and like everything they do, it's WONDERFUL!

Ingredients:

• 6 whole wheat English muffins at room temperature 
• 4 eggs, at room temperature 
• 2 tablespoons milk 
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 
• About 10 dashes Tabasco sauce (I didn't have this on hand, and so didn't use it.  I'm sure it would add some kick, but they were still yummy without it!)
• 12 thin deli slices of ham or 10-12 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled 
• 3/4-1 c. shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese 
• Optional: Chopped vegetables like green onions, tomatoes, sliced olives, mushrooms, green peppers, etc. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray or brush with oil or melted butter. Set aside. In a pie plate, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and Tabasco sauce. Gently pull apart each English muffin and soak each side (like you would for French toast) in the egg mixture–you want the egg mixture to soak into the bread, but you don’t want the English muffin to be completely falling apart. Place the muffin, cut side up, on the baking sheet. If using ham, slice the ham into thin strips and then place on top of the English muffins. If using bacon, just sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top. Add any additional desired toppings and then sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and serve immediately.

THIS IS THE BEST PART!!  You can make these and FREEZE them for another busy morning.  AWESOME! 

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: After baking, loosen them from the baking sheet with a spatula and then allow them to cool completely. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer. When the pizzas are solid, transfer them to a large Ziploc freezer bag. To reheat, place on a plate and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes at a time until the pizza is heated through (actual time will depend on how powerful your microwave is).

Grandma's Buttermilk Caramel Pancake Syrup

Caramel? Buttermilk? Syrup?  How can this not be heavenly?  Oooo this was TASTY!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. Buttermilk 
• 1/3 C. brown sugar 
• 1/3 C. white sugar 
• 2 TBS. butter 
• 1/3 tsp. baking soda 
• 1/3 tsp. vanilla 

Directions:

Bring first four ingredients to a boil, constantly stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat, whisk in soda and vanilla. The syrup will bubble up and then thicken as it cools.

Note: For a vanilla or white syrup use all white sugar. Both are delicious.

Mini German Pancakes Recipe

Source: momathonblog.typepad.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Saw these on pinterest. We love German pancakes and thought this sounded like a fun idea! They were awesome! Tasted just like our usual German pancakes, only it doesn't take as long to bake. And Katelee loved having her own personal pancake. ;)

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk (you can use skim or low fat milk if you want)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Toppings: jam, powdered sugar and lemon juice, or maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425. Spray cupcake pans with no-stick cooking spray. Mix eggs, milk, flour and salt just enough to blend. (Do not over mix. Batter will be lumpy.) Pour batter in cupcake pans. Makes approx. 12-16 mini German pancakes. Bake 18-25 minutes depending on type of cupcake pan and the amount of batter in each cupcake tin. Remove from oven. Let cool for just a minute or two. Remove mini pancakes from pan. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can also serve with jam or maple syrup if you prefer instead of using lemon juice. Enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!