Reindeer Breakfast!

Can you think of a better way to ring in December?  Didn't think so!  No recipe needed!  Your favorite pancake recipe, some whipped cream, sausage links, and a few candies make this special breakfast possible!  Make your little one (or big one!) smile this morning! 

Glazed Cinnamon Donut Muffins!

Thursday Morning Treats!  Here we go again!  Hosting a small group is a great way for me to try out some recipes I've been wanting to try!  Each week is a new excuse to make a new recipe!  These muffins were a hit!  ( FOR SURE with my kids!!!)  They'd have gobbled up the whole batch if I would have let them! 

Glazed Cinnamon Donut Muffins!

MUFFINS:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk

GLAZE:
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup powder sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Line 12 to 14 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

3.  Beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

4.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.

5.  Add in baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined.

6.  Mix the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing until just combined. Do not overmix!

7.  Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups to the top.

8.  Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.

9.  Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.

10.  To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.

11.  When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden then serve.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake!

It's Bible Study Thursday!  (I realize it's really not Thursday, but just play along for the sake of the story.)  And I'm baking up some treats!  I am hosting a Women's Small Group in my home on Thursday mornings and what's a ladies group without treats?!  You've gotta feed the people!  I am so excited about this group, and we have had such a great time getting to know one another!  One of the things that I really enjoy about this group, is that we're all from different churches and different faiths!  It's incredible that we can all get together in the name of Jesus, and just fellowship over some treats and a GREAT book!  

Not that I want to hook you on the book, but if you haven't read Not a Fan, you SO need to grab the book and open it up!  It's compelling, it's convicting, and most of all, it's a real eye opener!  I could go on and on about this fun group of ladies, but the real reason I'm here right now is this recipe!

Coffee Cake is just cake.  But if you throw the word "Coffee" in front of it, it becomes a wonderful excuse to eat cake for breakfast.  This recipe is one I've made several times, and we all love it more and more each time we enjoy it! 

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake!

FOR THE FILLING:
2 8oz bricks of cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1.  Combine all ingredients in a mixer, and beat until creamy and delicious.

2.   Set aside and prepare the cake!

FOR THE TOPPING:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
6 Tbsp cold butter

1.  Cut all ingredients together with a pastry blender until crumbly and set aside. 

FOR THE CAKE:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (light or regular)

1.  Combine the flour, powder, soda, and salt.

2.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.

3.  Add in eggs one at a time.

4.  Beat in the sour cream.

5.  Slowly dump in the dry ingredients and mix until moisted.

6.  Stir in the vanilla.

7.  Pour half the batter in a greased and floured 9 x 13 baking dish and spread.

8.  Top with all of the cream cheese filling.  To do this, I usually put the filling into a pastry bag, and evenly pipe it over the cake batter.

9.  Top the filling now, with the remaining cake batter.

10.  Last but not least, top the whole cake with the delicious, sugary, crumb topping.

11.  Finally, bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 to 45 minutes!  This is so good hot, but if you're me, you'll prefer it cold!

Homemade Granola!

So a while back my sister, Kim, made the BEST granola ever!!!! She was kind enough to share that recipe with me, and it's become my kids favorite granola now too! I couldn't find the recipe last night so panic struck me. I called and texted Kim several times, but I FINALLY found it. (At 10:30pm. . .and it took about two hours to bake. . .was a late night!) The original recipe is slightly different, called for lots of nuts, but I didn't have any so I just upped the amount of coconut and oats used. I make a huge batch of this every few weeks, and it's not around for long! Dave eats it with just about everything. . .and also by the handful! It's a pretty basic recipe, leaving room for you to add in just about anything you like! (Raisins, cranberries, slivered almonds, etc!) The kids were thrilled to get up and have Parfaits for breakfast! Vanilla Greek Yogurt, layered with raspberries, a drizzle of honey, and granola! Great way to start the day! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe Kim! 

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

4 cups oats
2 cups coconut
1/4 plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 plus 2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
1Tbsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 tsp salt (if you're not a fan of sodium: leave it out!)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, vanilla/almond extract, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans.
Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, ( had to go for about 2 hours to get it done) stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

 

Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls!

Let me start by saying, that the whole world seems to be on a "Funfetti" kick.  Funfetti cake, Funfetti pancakes, Funfetti ice cream, Funfetti puppy chow, . . .and now. . . Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls.  Why not right?! 

So I have this little routine I do every night.  Before I go to sleep, I always do two thing:  browse Pinterest, and then read the Good Book.  Can you think of a better way to end the day?  Inspiring Ideas followed by the Word of God?  I think not! 

Well, a while back I came across this recipe on the "Six Sister's Stuff" blog and HAD TO MAKE IT!!!!  The only substitution I made was I used Funfetti Cake Mix. . . because I have two little girls who absolutely adore all things sparkly and fun. . and the closest things to sparkles in your food, is of course, sprinkles in your food!  I had to go a little further though. . .and add in another whole container of sprinkles! 

Yeah. . . they were pretty delicious.  It made a rather large batch though. . .so we had some lovely friends who were gifted with a pan of 9 rolls as well!  The texture isn't your typical gooey bread consistency, and it's not really like cake either.  It's right in between.  Just where it should be.  I'm sad to say that I didn't get a picture of these with the frosting on top (and of course MORE sprinkles)  but I was able to snap a quick pick when they came out of the oven!

Now the recipe on the Six Sister's Blog calls for a CAN of cream cheese frosting.  .  . but that stuff don't fly in this house!  I made homemade cream cheese frosting, and there's no comparison to anything you can buy in a can:  and I should admit, that when you make it at home the batch of frosting you get is rather large, so you can freely slather that goodness on nice and thick! 

Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls!

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Rolls:
1 box of white or yellow cake mix
2 packages of active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour

Filling:
2 cups brown sugar
Cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened

1.  Mix yeast and warm water until dissolved.  

 

2.  Combine cake mix, salt and flour in a large bowl.  

 

3.  Add warm water/yeast mixture and vanilla to cake mix, salt and flour mixture.  Mix well.  This may require kneading with your hands a bit to completely combine ingredients.  UNLESS you have a nice big Kitchenaid mixer. . . then it will gladly do the work for you! 

 

4.  Cover tightly.  Let rise for one hour.  Punch down and let rise again for another 30-60 minutes.

5.  On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle shape, approx 1/4″ thick.  

 

6.  Once dough is rolled out, brush with softened butter.  Sprinkle with brown sugar.  Sprinkle with cinnamon – use as little or as much as you like. 

 

7.   Starting at end opposite from you, roll the dough towards you until all dough is rolled into one long piece.  Slice dough into 24 equal sized pieces.

8.  Place rolls in two greased 9×13 pans.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size.  I usually sit my rolls on my stove top while my oven preheats to 350 degrees.  This allows them time to rise and provides a bit of warmth from the oven warming.  

 

9.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown.  

 

10.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  If you prefer your frosting to melt into your rolls, frost after rolls have cooled for 10-15 minutes.  If you prefer your frosting to stay on top of your rolls, wait until rolls have cooled until frosting.  With all that cream cheese frosting I made. . .I frosted once when warm. . .and then did a follow up layer of delicousness!

 

Vanilla Puffed Pancake!

There are not many things that I think taste better than vanilla.  I love vanilla in everything!  I'd take a vanilla cake over chocolate any day, vanilla frosting over chocolate as well!  This recipe is Oh So Vanilla!   (Which may be why I love it so much!)  It's super easy to make, and something that looks so much more special than just your plain old pancakes.

It's only a handful of ingredients, all mixed together, and baked!  I always dust it with powdered sugar. . . and then I top it with fresh sliced strawberries!  In the wintertime, when strawberries are super expensive, I buy a great big bag of frozen berries at Costco or Sam's Club, thaw them, and mix with a few spoonfuls of sugar.  I never serve this sweet Vanilla Pancake with Syrup, always fresh berries.  The Pancake in it self is sweet enough, and to add syrup would be overkill for me, but if you've got a sweet tooth, and think no pancake would be complete without a little Maple, then go for it!

Vanilla Puffed Pancake

3 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk, heated 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting


1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2.  Put the butter in a large, ovenproof, nonstick saute pan and place in the oven. (I just used a pie plate.)

3.  Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the eggs, flour, warm milk, sugar, vanilla extract and pinch of salt, and   blend on medium-high speed until uniform. (If mixing by hand, combine the eggs with the milk until the mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt, and whisk vigorously to remove the lumps, about 30 seconds.)

4.  Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. The butter should be melted. Swirl the butter around the pan to coat completely, and then pour the remaining butter into the batter and pulse to blend. Pour the batter into the hot pan and return the pan to the oven. Cook until the pancake is puffed in the center and golden brown along the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.

5.  Using a spatula, remove the entire Dutch baby from the pan and place on a cooling rack for a few minutes to allow the steam to escape without condensing along the bottom and rendering the pancake soggy. Dust with confectioners' sugar when cooled slightly. Slice the pancake into 8 wedges on a serving platter or cutting board.

Fresh Strawberry Muffins!

Went Strawberry Picking today at Dew Fresh in Cambridge and picked two big buckets full of berries!  Wasn't sure what to do with the berries, went more for the experience with the kids than the berries them self.  HOWEVER by the time we got home about 1/3 of the berries were gone.  Kids ate themselves sick in the car on the way home!  I made strawberry shortcake for dessert. . .and here are the Light and Fluffy Fresh Strawberry Muffins we'll be enjoying for breakfast!  These are just the right amount of sweet, super tender, and very light!  Enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
Additional Sugar


1.  Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well.

2.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture. Add vanilla. Gently stir in strawberries.

3.  Spoon batter into muffin pans.

4.  Sprinkle additional sugar over muffins.

5.  Bake at 475º for 20-25 minutes.

Pecan Praline Baked French Toast

When Dave and I were in Door County we ate at a Restaurant called Julie's Park Cafe for breakfast. Dave ordered this Pecan Praline French Toast and LOVED IT! So for Father's Day I decided to attempt to re-create it for him. He said this was right on! The kids LOVED it too! Which why wouldn't they . . .it's like eating dessert for dinner. Not so much healthy, but it's Father's Day!

Pecan Praline Baked French Toast

1 French bread loaf 
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted 
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 cup chopped pecans
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup half and half
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Cut 10 (1-inch-thick) slices of bread. Reserve remaining bread for another use.

2. Stir together brown sugar and next 2 ingredients; pour into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

3. Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Arrange bread slices over pecans; pour egg mixture over
bread. Cover and chill 8 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake bread 35 to 37 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Swedish "Sweetheart" Kringler

Swedish "Sweetheart" Kringler

FIRST LAYER:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp cold water

1. Mix together all ingredients to form dough.

2. Form dough into heart shape on baking stone.

SECOND LAYER:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract

1. In a saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Remove from heat.

2. Mix in flour.

3. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

4. Add in almond extract.

5. Spread over the first pastry layer.

6. Bake at 375 for 1 hour.

FROSTING:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp softened butter
1 tsp almond extract

1. Mix together all ingredients and spread over cooled pastry.

2. If you'd like, you can top with toasted almonds.

Marinated Ham Sammies

To. Die. For. A few years back I had tasted one of these at a party and couldn't get them out of my head. I came across many recipes, but none measured up. I made them several times and then I found the key: Kings Hawaiian Dinner Rolls.

See, they are a combination of every thing sweet and savory, but if you use regular dinner rolls, and not the Kings Hawaiian, they are just not sweet enough. Trust on me this one, it makes all the difference in the world. Being the Sam's Club shopper that I am, I buy these in a 24 count package for $3.88!

These are great as appetizers, and a must have on Christmas and Easter morning when you wanna pop something in the over without doing any cooking. And I don't know about you, but I am SO OVER all the "egg bakes" of this world.

I have never made them and NOT had someone ask for the recipe. As a matter of fact, once you do make them, not only will people ask for the recipe, you'll be known as "the girl who brought those little ham things" at every future gathering.

I suppose I should mention that there's an astronomical amount of butter involved, but it's the Holidays. . .grab the butter and run with it!

Make them. Seriously. Tonight.

Marinated Ham and Swiss Sammies

24 Kings Hawaiian Dinner rolls, split
24 pieces of ham, folded neatly to fit in dinner roll
24 small pieces of swiss cheese, again, nice and tidy inside that pillowy little roll
3 sticks of butter (take a deep breath. . .you're not eating them every day.)
4 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestishire sauce (if your worried about any ingredient is should be this one. . . made from fermented fish. Not even kidding. Saw it on Dirty Jobs.)
3 Tbsp spicy mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Arrange the bottom of all the buns in a large baking dish. I use a 10 x 15 pan.

2. Top each bun with a piece of ham, a piece of cheese, and the top of the bun. Some recipes say to put mayo on each bun, but the butter has left me feeling guilty enough.

3. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and microwave until melted.

4. Pour over sandwiches, cover with foil, and refrigerate over night.

5. Assuming you were smart enough to make these the night before Christmas, means that in the morning, when the kids are dumping stockings and you want to crawl back in bed, toss these bad boys in the oven, and wait for pure bliss! 350, until everythings melted and gooey. usually about 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

My kids LOVE oatmeal. . .but they get sick of the same old thing every day. I do have to say, they're a bit picky about their oatmeal. Can't be too mushy or too gritty. Can't be too sweet, but has to be sweet enough. And it can't be those individual packets of quick oatmeal. They hate it.

Recently I've become addicted to Trader Joes Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats. It's amazing. (And I HATE oatmeal!) But the texture of the Steel Cut Oats is so good!

Being fall, I decided to combine my kids favorite fall dessert, with their coziest warm breakfast. Hence: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Single Serving

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp pureed pumpkin

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of ginger

Dash of cloves

1/4 cup Trader Joes Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, pumpkin, sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat, and add in the oats.

3. Cover, and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes or until oatmeal is thickened, and tender. Be sure to stir every few minues.

4. Top with a splash of heavy cream, and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

Blueberry Syrup

Way too easy to taste so good!

Blueberry Syrup

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar

1. Toss ingredients into a glass bowl and microwave for five minutes.

2. Puree with handheld blender.

3. Let cool slightly, syrup will thicken as it cools.

4. Serve with pancakes or waffles.

Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

This is the closest I've been able to get to Merlins. Now if you're from Princeton, you know what I'm talking about. They have the best most fluffy and light pancakes. And they're GIANT!!! Plate Size!!! I will say this: The secret to a fluffy pancake is Butter and Buttermilk. No substitutions. If you use regular milk, you can expect a more dense pancake. Leave out the butter, and it doesn't feel the same on your tongue.

Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

4 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl beat eggs.

2. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Mix well until smooth and let batter set for a few minutes.

4. Heat griddle or pan over medium heat.

5. Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle.

6. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat.

7. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone.

Sausage Biscuits and Gravy

Baking Powder Biscuits

7 Tbsp Cold Butter
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
Additional flour for rolling out and kneading
Heavy cream for brushing on top

1. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.

2. Cut in butter until crumbly

3. Slowly add in milk. (Mixture will be sticky.)

4. Turn onto a HEAVILY floured surface and knead until dough is no longer sticky.

5. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut with a 3" round cookie cutter. (I use the top of a children's cup to cut biscuits.)

6. Place on baking sheet, and brush with heavy cream before baking.

7. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes.


Sausage Gravy

1/2 lb ground pork sausage
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp butter
Salt to taste

1. In a medium sized skillet, brown sausage until completely cooked.

2. To sausage, add flour and stir until it's paste like.

3. Slowly stir in milk.

4. Add in pepper and cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

5. Once gravy has thickened, add in a pat of butter for a silky texture and rich taste.

6. Add salt to taste.

7. Serve over baking powder biscuits.

Perfect Fried Eggs. . .(If You're Cooking for Dave.)

As I've mentioned in MANY of my posts before, I am not a breakfast person. But as you know, I am a breakfast-for-dinner person. Which is what this is. We had a GREAT dinner! Eggs, fresh berries, homemade biscuits, and homemade sausage gravy. Dave and Justin were in heaven! I am a fan of biscuits and gravy, could do without the eggs.

I don't know what it is about a fried egg that makes me just say, "eh. .. it's an egg." But that is my reaction to fried eggs. Toss an omelet my way, full of veggies and cheese, and you'll get a far different reaction. Even scarambled eggs, love em! But a fried egg? It's so plain. I guess, for all you egg lovers out there. That's the beauty of it. A simple, perfectly cooked, egg.

I will say this, according to Dave, these fried eggs were absolutely perfect. Yolk was just runny enough, and whites were cooked just enough. I will admit it. Eggs were not always my thing. It took me years to be able to fry an egg the way he likes it. I usually over cooked them. Then, when I was trying so desperately to get the runny yolk he loves so much, I undercooked them. He complained many times about "snotty egg whites." Yuck! If that wasn't enough to make me never want a fried egg again! But I kept with it.

Now I'm not going to do this post in recipe format, instead I'm going to give you a few pointers and tips that helped me along the way.

1. Get the griddle good and hot. I mean piping hot.

2. Don't skimp on the butter. For crying out loud, it's a fried egg!

3. Only flip the egg 1 time. None of this back and forth business. Cook it on one side until the whites look done on the edges, and give it a good flip.

4. Don't forget the salt and pepper. Without it, your eggs, well, just an egg. But with it. . .delicious!

Cinnamon Scones

Ok, so a few years back Simple and Delicious came out with a general scone recipe, and you could add to it whatever you'd like to make different flavors. There was a Raisin Cinnamon version that caught my eye. . .minus the raisins. I like raisins, but not in baked goods. It just grosses me out. It's the idea of a chunky chewy thing in my food. So when I made these, I omitted the raisins. When Dave came home from work he grabbed one right away and gobbled it right up. Said it was "so good!" Then, he said, "The only thing that could make these better is raisins." Ugh. I guess next time we do half with, and half without.

Cinnamon Scones

SCONES:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cup of heavy cream

TOPPING:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

GLAZE:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

2. Slowly mix in heavy cream to create a soft dough.

3. Divide dough in half, and roll each half into a ball.

4. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each dough ball into a disk.

5. Score each disk into eight wedges.

6. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes at 350.

7. Cool completely.

8. Brush with melted butter

9. Mix together cinnamon and sugar for topping and sprinkle over scones.

10. Whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze.

11. Drizzle over the scones.

Mini Donut Muffin

Mmmmmm. . . Mini Donuts. I have to admit, I haven't had real mini donuts in several years, but they ALWAYS sound delicious. Over Christmas, Dave and I stayed at my parents house and my Dad ordered some Mini Donuts from Schwanns. They were good. Sugary. Mouthwatering. Since then, been craving. Came across this recipe on the Baked Perfection website, and had to try them. It's like the real deal, or at least as close as you can come in a healthier way.

Mini Donut Muffin

MUFFIN:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla

TOPPING:
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

2. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla.

3. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry.

4. Scoop, by Tbsp, into mini muffin tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

5. Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

6. In a small dish, melt butter.

7. In a separate dish, combine sugar and cinnamon.

8. Dip each muffin in butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

Eggs and Toast

Ok. . . Iknow. EVERYONE makes these, but in case you don't, here goes. I remember my mom making these easy eggs for breakfast when I was younger. I never ate them. Hated eggs. Boy how things change when you grow up. Now they are a favorite in our house. However, they are "custom made" here. Dave likes his yolks super runny, (which totally grosses me out.) I like them fairly solid, the girls like theirs yolk-less, and Justin likes his yolk and cheese free. That's right folks. . . cheese free as well. Who doesn't like cheese? It's such an odd thing to not like. So the toast in the picture. . . .was my breakfast.

Eggs and Toast

1 piece of bread, buttered on both sides
1 egg
1 piece of cheese
salt and pepper

1. Place bread on hot griddle and cook until slightly browned on one side.
2. Flip bread, and cook on the other side.
3. Cut a hole in the center of your toasted bread.
4. Crack an egg, and pour it into the hole of the bread. The yolk will snuggle down in there to cook. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. After cooking a few minutes, flip over and let the other side of the egg cook.
6. Once egg is cooked to desired doneness, top with a piece of cheese, and eat!

Twisted French Toast

This recipe is an original of my Dad's. . .that my husband revamped a little bit. As I've said before, on anything "breakfast" that I post, I tell you that I am not a "breakfast" person. I am however, a "breakfast-for-dinner" person. SO tonight for dinner, we had sausage, hashbrowns, and french toast. Dad's recipe, with Dave's twist. . .Hence the "Twisted" in the "French Toast." It's SO GOOD!

I think what makes this recipe insanely delicious is the fact that you butter both sides of the bread before dipping it in the egg mixture. Then it's cooked at a low temperature for a long time. It gives it a super crispy texture on the outside, and a soft pillowy center. Not the healthiest french toast you'll ever eat, but surely the tastiest.

Twisted French Toast

8 pieces of Texas Toast Bread
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon (I never measure, just toss in what looks and smells delicious.)
1 Tbsp brown sugar (Dave's twist.)

1. Start but getting your griddle nice and toasty. I keep the temp at about 300 degrees.

2. Butter both sides of each piece of bread.

3. Whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar.

4. Dredge the bread into the egg mixture. Let the bread set in the egg for a few seconds to absorb a little of the egg.

5. Set on griddle and cook low and slow until the edges are crispy.

6. Turn, and continue cooking on the other side.

7. Serve with additional butter and syrup. . .or if you're like my kids. . . slather on the peanut butter too!

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

This idea came from my sister Kim. She makes it for breakfast every day. One day when I was visiting her she made it for me. I'm not a huge egg person, and typically, I would not get up and make myself eggs for breakfast. This however, I make almost every day now. The kids love it too. It's your typical "McMuffin" style sandwich, but without the fat and calories. Today I made mine using a Pepperidge Farm Deli Sandwich Round, but typically I use a Thomas's Triple Health English Muffin. Low Cal. . .High Fiber. And here's another little side note: Kim has tried all the different brands of the Fat Free American cheese slices, and they all seem to have a weird texture, aftertaste, or tang to them. That is all but one brand. Borden. It's the only one I buy. It melts great, tastes great, and has no weird fat-free taste to it.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
2 Weight Watchers Points without Bacon Pieces, 3 Points with Bacon Pieces

2 egg whites
1 Tbsp Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces
1 English Muffin or Deli Sandwich Round
1 Slice of Fat Free Cheese
Salt and Pepper

1. Using non stick cooking spray, spray a frying pan and turn on heat to medium. Let pan get hot.

2. Pour egg whites into the pan and cook until bottom of eggs are set.
3. Sprinkle the bacon pieces, salt, and pepper over the egg whites.
4. Cook until whites are set.

5. Fold egg whites until they will fit on your sandwich.
6. Pop English muffin into the toaster and toast.

7. Put the eggs whites onto the muffin bottom, top with cheese, and top of English muffin.