Sunday, February 21, 2010

Breakfast With A Twist

A Big thanks goes to Natalie for the great cooking class yesterday! The food was delicious and creative and I can't wait to try out all the recipes! For those of you who were at the class or those who were not here are some of the recipes. There are more to come.

~FRENCH TOAST CUPS with SAUSAGE and APPLES~
Natalie Littlefield
FRENCH TOAST CUPS
6 slices of whole wheat bread
3 eggs
1 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
APPLES & SAUSAGE
1 cup diced apples
1 cup (8 oz) breakfast sausage
1/2 cup butter
3 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a muffin pan.
Using a cookie cutter, cut circles out of bread slices about 3 inches in diameter. (I do not have a cookie cutter so I use the lid to my tub of orzo pasta and just cut around the edges ;D) Whisk eggs and spices together. Dredge bread circles in egg mixture and remove any excess egg.
Press bread circles into the muffin pan, bake in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes, until brown.
While bread is in the oven prepare breakfast sausage. In another hot skillet melt butter, stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Add apples to brown sugar mixture and cook until apples begin to soften and sugar mixture caramelizes. Combine sausage and dripping with apples, stir.
When french toast cups are done, allow to cool for a few mintues, remove from pan using a knife to separate from the pan. Fill french toast cups with apple and sausage mixture, drizzle with maple syrup and serve.

~TOASTED EGG MUFFINS~ Ian & Natalie Littlefield

6 slices of bread
3 eggs scrambled season with spices salt, pepper (I like Tony’s Creole seasoning)
Shredded cheese
Optional choices to put in – chopped onions, chives, peppers, jalepenos, bacon, sausage, ham, chopped spinach
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a muffin pan.
Cut off corners bread slices. Whisk eggs. Butter one side of the bread and press down into muffin tin put in optional choice of cheese, onions, peppers, etc. then pour in egg mixture. When the eggs are puffy, cups are done, allow to cool for a few mintues, remove from pan using a knife to separate from the pan.
Top with ketchup or salsa –

~EGG MUFFINS~ Natalie Littlefield
Scramble eggs
Seasoning of choice – salt, pepper, Tony’s Creole, Seasoning
Choice of cheese, onions, peppers, bacon, sausage, ham, bacon, spinach
Spray muffin tin with PAM, pour eggs in ¾ full add choices, bake on 400 degrees until firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes, remove from pan using a spoon or knife.

~HASHBROWN POTATOES~ Natalie Littlefield
Dehydrated potatoes from Costco
Hot Water
Butter and Olive Oil
Chopped Vegetables - onions, peppers, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes
Choice of seasoning (we used Tony’s Creole Seasoning)
Meat of choice – sausage, bacon, ham (PRE-COOK MEAT)
Shredded cheese
Fill carton of dehydrated potatoes with hot water. Set for 10 minutes. Squeeze our excess water. Heat olive oil and butter in fry pan until melted and bubbly. Add your choice of vegetables sauté slightly, add potatoes and season with. Add vegetables – onions, peppers, spinach, meat – Lightly mix in. Brown potatoes, vegetables, meat on medium heat til crispy – turning over sparingly. Optional – add scrambled egg mix with seasonings (Tony’s) mix in lightly. When potatoes are crispy sprinkle with cheese, put lid on pan to melt. When cheese is melted it is ready to serve.

~QUICK N EASY CINNAMON ROLLS~ Natalie Littlefield
1 pkg. of refridgerator biscuits
½ cube of Butter
½ cup Sugar & 2 teas. ground Cinnamon
Optional-Walnuts, Pecans, Raisens, Chocolate Chip
Optional-Powdered Sugar
Melt butter in microwave or on stove. Open refrigerator biscuit, Poke hole in the middle and turn in one side into the hole and pull slightly. Dip in butter then in sugar & cinnamon, place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.

~CINNAMON BREAKFAST ROLLS~ Natalie Littlefield
1 tbsp. soft butter
2 tsp. orange marmalade
2 tbsp. chopped nuts
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 (10 oz.) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 c. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bundt pan with 1 tablespoon soft butter. Place orange marmalade in bottom of pan and spread around center as best you can. Sprinkle nuts over this.

In small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Separate biscuits. Dip biscuits in 1/2 cup melted butter, then into sugar mixture, coating well. Stand biscuits on end in pan, spacing evenly. Sprinkle biscuits with remaining butter. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until brown. Cool upright for 5 minutes and invert onto serving plate.

OVEN PUFFED PANCAKE Suzi Hyte

½ cup flour
2 Tbs. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbs. butter

Topping:
½ cup sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
½ cup plus 2 Tbs. orange juice
3 cups sliced fruit or berries

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In bowl combine all pancake ingredients, except butter. Beat with wire whisk until smooth. Place butter in pie pan and melt in oven just until the butter sizzles (2-4 minutes). Remove pan from oven and tilt to coat bottom with melted butter. Immediately pour batter into the hot pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 14-18 minutes or until puffed and brown.

Toppings:
Combine ½ cup sugar and cornstarch and mix well. Stir in the orange juice. Cook and stir over medium heat 5-7 minutes or until thick. Remove pancake from oven and immediately arrange fruit on top. Drizzle with sauce and cut into wedges. Serves 2-3

Green Smoothie Nanette Hilton

2 C. kale, washed; 1/2 C. or more of liquid of choice (water, juice, non-dairy milk); 1 frozen banana; 1 C. frozen fruit of choice.

Put kale & liquid in blender and liquify. If your blender binds up simply add more liquid. Turn off motor & stir & then blend again until kale is liquified. Add frozen fruit and blend until smooth.

TIPS:

* The whole purpose of this smoothie is to be healthy, so the first goal is to DRINK IT. If you're new to the green smoothie scene and skeptical about whether you'll like it or not, add a bit of honey or agave nector to sweeten the deal. This is good for introducing the drink to children, too. (My kids regularly, happily drink this at breakfast.) Then as you grow accustomed to the appearance and taste, back off on the sweetener until you no longer add any sweetener. Sometimes I'll throw in some dates as a sweetener if I've got some tangy peaches or strawberries that make me pucker.
* When choosing your liquid, consider its health benefit/detriment. Juice is often high in added sweeteners and increases the calorie load. Just consciously consider the glycemic index when you choose sweeteners instead of being ignorant about them. I use water and occassionally almond or rice milk.
* The kale & the liquid are the base and anything else you add is completely optional. Kale is super healthy (Read the back of the kale bag from Sunflower Market to learn just how healthy it is!) My favorite fruit to add are blueberries which are high in anti-oxidants and vitamins.
* Costco sells a huge bag of frozen blueberries at a reasonable price. Sunflower Market sells a big bag of preparred kale in the organic veggies section, near the meat counter in the back of the store. The sweeteners & non-dairy milk are also available at Costco or Sunflower Market.
* The smoothie I brought to Natalie Littlefield's house was made of kale, water, frozen strawberries, ice and a can of pineapple because I hadn't made it to the grocery store yet & was out of other fruits. I don't usually use canned fruit because of the extra sugar in the syrup but I was in a pinch that morning! Paul sometimes throws in a handful of walnuts and that tastes great, too, but makes the texture a bit chunky. Just experiment & do whatever makes you happy.

Lynnae’s Heavenly Buns


1 (3 oz.) pkg. regular butterscotch pudding (do NOT use instant)

1 small pkg. frozen Rhodes rolls (18 rolls)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup nuts, i.e. chopped pecans, walnuts, or sliced almonds



Butter a bundt pan. Sprinkle one third of the nuts into the pan. Set the frozen rolls out on the counter for about 5 minutes until they are soft enough to cut. Cut them into fourths. Place half of the cut rolls into the bundt pan. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and mix it with the brown sugar and cinnamon over medium-low heat until the sugar is melted. Spoon half of this mixture over the rolls. Sprinkle another third of the nuts over the rolls. Pour half of the dry pudding mix over the rolls. Put the rest of the rolls on top of the pudding mix. Pour the rest of the butter/sugar mixture over the the rolls. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on. Pour the rest of the pudding mix on top. Spray Pam lightly onto a sheet of plastic wrap and loosely cover the rolls. Let stand at room temperature for 6-8 hours...or overnight. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for exactly 30 minutes. Take out of oven and immediately turn upside down onto platter. Let the pan stay in position for just a minute to let all the caramel drip out of pan onto the rolls, then carefully remove pan. Serve immediately.

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