Pannukkuku

Kirsten made this custardy Scandinavian version of German Pancake

years ago, and it was so divine. We recently tried it again and loved it.

She doubles the recipe and uses her 12" cast iron skillet;

one and a half times the recipe fits nicely in my 10" skillet.

Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones

recipe from here

For our 4th of July breakfast, I made a new recipe for scones.

They turned out great, and tasty!

festive greetings from Kinley, Zachary and Emry!

Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones
2 c. (250g) all-purpose flour, plus more for hands and work surface
6 T. granulated sugar
1 T. fresh lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
2 and 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 c. heavy cream (plus 2 T. for brushing)
1 large egg
1 and 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1 heaping c. fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
course sugar for topping

LEMON ICING1 c. confectioners’ sugar
3 T. fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)

Whisk flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the blueberries, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.
Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before topping with lemon icing.
Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. Drizzle over warm scones.
Leftover iced or un-iced scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 large scones

Notes from Sally's Baking Addiction website—

Sugar: These scones are sweet, but feel free to increase to 1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar for sweeter scones.
Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.
Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a rubber spatula.

Notes by Dee—

I used our Alaskan uku for cutting the scones. I didn't take time to refrigerate but 5 min., and my scones 'over-spread'...but they were tasty! Next time I'd prep them the night before, and cook in the am. For a group, I would make 16 per batch (1/2 size), and try one of the other flavors such as chocolate chip or pumpkin on the cook site linked above. My guys haven't really liked scone, but liked these because they weren't dry.

I also made potato salad for dinner.

Scott grilled marinated chicken,

and we had watermelon.

He and Ian went out to do a couple fireworks,

and watch the neighbors' as well.

Lots of legal and overhead illegals going off 

in the neighborhood.

Raspberry Croissant French Toast Casserole

More from the FB group Corona Kitchen my friend started. 

It's nice to share ideas. 

We loved how this turned out.
We did think it was a bit 'soggy', 
so the second time I dipped the croissants
but didn't put the remaining egg/milk mix over.
We liked it a lot more and think it could be 
done with 2 or 3 eggs.

Easy Egg and Veggie Breakfast Muffins

recipe and image from here


I tried these this weekend and they were good! 
I added ham, and needed more veggies. Scott thought the spice was too much.
Apparently I missed Scott saying he bought zucchini and asparagus.
We'll have to try them again! The only negative for me was cleaning the pan.
Despite the oil, the eggs 'glued' on. Time for a new non-stick muffin tin I think.

Easy Egg and Veggie Breakfast Muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

8 large eggs
2 T. avocado oil divided
1 garlic glove minced
1/4 c. yellow onion diced
1/2 bell pepper diced
1/2 cup broccoli diced
1/3 zucchini chopped
6 asparagus chopped
3 c. spinach or greens of choice, chopped
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. dried parsley
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 12 muffin tins with one tablespoon of avocado oil and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add one T. avocado oil.
Add onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until slightly translucent.
Add all your vegetables to the skillet and sauté for 4-5 more minutes.
Remove vegetable skillet from heat.


Scoop a heaped T. of sauteed vegetables into greased muffin tins evenly,
using up all the vegetable mixture.
The vegetables should fill up about 3/4 of the cup.
Whisk eggs in a small bowl.
Add in oregano, parsley, sea salt and pepper.
Whisk to combine.
Pour eggs over vegetables in muffin tins evenly, filling almost to the top.
Bake egg muffins in the oven for 18-20 minutes,
or until the eggs have set and puffed up.
Let cool for a few minutes and carefully
remove egg muffins from tin and enjoy hot.
Egg muffins will keep for a week in the refrigerator
in an airtight container.

Bacon Pancake Dippers

image and recipe from here

Bacon Pancake Dippers
1 recipe of the Bisquick pancake batter including the ingredients to make the batter
12 slices center cut bacon
lite syrup

Cook bacon and set aside.
Mix batter according to the package directions.
Pour into a squeeze bottle with a big enough hole for the batter to pour from. I (recipe author) used a cheap picnic ketchup bottle. You know the tall skinny red ones. They also come in yellow for mustard. I cut the tip bigger. Heat griddle. I heat mine to 300 degrees. Squirt batter in a long oval shape a little longer and wider then the bacon and place a slice of cooked bacon in the center. Lightly press bacon into the batter. Squeeze more batter over the bacon. I just did a wiggle line. This is to protect the bacon from the griddle when you turn that pancake dipper over. Cook until the batter starts to bubble then turn over and cook a few minutes longer. Serve syrup in 4 ounce wide mouth mason jars.

Dee Notes:
I surprised Scott and Ian with these one morning and they liked them!

video of process at link below top picture.

I used a pancake mix Scott likes

Buttermilk Pancakes, Buttermilk Syrup

syrup recipe and image from here

Jared, Doug and Brandon came to go fishing with Scott this month.

They had a great time, and were each able to get the 2 salmon limit.

While here Jared told us about these pancakes he loves to make.

I haven't tried them but plan to soon! 

Buttermilk Pancakes
2 c. flour

2 eggs

2 c. buttermilk

1/3 c. melted butter

Beat eggs, buttermilk and add butter.
Then add:

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1/t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

Jared said he likes his batter thick, so add a bit more flour or milk to get the right consistency. He likes his pancakes moist, even slightly doughy in the middle.

by Jared, Barbara's son, the happy fisherman

:::::

The buttermilk syrup recipe Dee tried before may not

have been exactly like the one below. But, like the one she tried before, 

it's caramel-tasting & good enough to drink straight from the pitcher.

Who needs pancakes?!

Buttermilk Syrup
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, and buttermilk and bring to a boil. Once it's at a complete boil, let it boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and whisk in baking soda and vanilla. It will foam up during the boiling, and especially when other ingredients are added. Serve with your favorite pancakes or waffles. Best served warm. 10 min. prep/cooking time.

Avocado Baked Eggs

I thought you might enjoy trying this delicious breakfast. Can I just say YUMMY! Christian got this recipe off the internet and it didn't get very good reviews but it was really tasty to me. He made some slight modifications (cheese & green onions) so I included those changes in the recipe. If your avocado pit hole is small, you will want to enlarge the pit cavity so the egg fits.

The picture I attached is from our breakfast.

Avocado Baked Eggs
1 avocado, halved and pitted
2 eggs
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1⁄4 c. crumbled cooked bacon
1 T. chopped fresh chives or green onions
Shredded cheese

Prep 10 min. Cook 15 min.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place each avocado half in a ramekin. Crack 1 egg into each avocado half; season with 

salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated oven until egg is cooked to desired doneness, about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle each avocado with shredded cheese, bacon, and chives/green onions.

ENJOY!

Karen's Amazing Granola

image from here

I have a recipe for granola that I love,

and another friend just asked for, so here it is:

Karen's Amazing Granola

10 c. rolled oats
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. wheat germ
2 c. shredded coconut
2 c. chopped pecans or almonds
1/2 T. salt
4 T. vanilla
1/2 c. water
3/4 c. canola or coconut oil
2 c. honey

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately, then together. Spread in 2 large shallow pans or cookie sheets. Bake at 250°, rotating and stirring every 30 minutes until almost dry, for about 2 hours. (I turned off the heat and left the pans in the oven to dry overnight and the next day. It may make a difference how the local humidity is.) Cool and store tightly covered, or in the refrigerator. The refrigerator has worked well for me and kept it crunchy! Next time I may add ground flax, etc--You know me! But it's yummy as is!

Note: Steph said she was adding some dried fruit and changing the name from Katie's (Karen's friend) to Karen's Amazing Granola

by Karen, Barbara's daughter

Blueberry Oatmeal and Flaxseed Muffins

image and recipe from here

I found this recipe on a day I had boiled some whole flax seed to make a tea (a cough remedy). They turned out yummy. I was out of ww flour, so used white. I also subbed kefir for buttermilk.

Blueberry Oatmeal and Flaxseed Muffins

2 c.whole wheat flour
5-1/2 c. rolled oats
1-1/2 c/light brown sugar
2/3 c. plus 1 T. ground flaxseed
4 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
4 t. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1c. neutral oil (vegetable, olive, and coconut are good choices)
2 c. buttermilk
2 c. blueberries (or use other fresh berries, or dried berries)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 standard-sized muffin pans with paper liners. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, flaxseed, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add the eggs, oil, buttermilk and 3/4 cup water. Mix until the dry and wet ingredients are just combined, and then fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the muffins cups, filling each cup right up to the top, and bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely before serving. Makes 24 muffins

Buckwheat Pancakes and Blueberry Sauce

This recipe is from yummly.com--
gluten-free vegan buckwheat pancakes. 

I made the full recipe then froze the extra pancakes and sauce,

which works great to pull out later, heat or toast and serve again! 

YUM! Happy 4th of July!!! Love, Karen

Buckwheat Pancakes and Blueberry Sauce

2 c. almond milk
1 c. pitted dates
2 t. vanilla

juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 t. salt
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1-1/2 c. buckwheat flour (I ground my own)

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Place the dates, milk, juice and vanilla in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend til smooth. Stir this into the dry ingredients until you have a relatively thick batter. (I added 1/4-1/3 c. more milk.)

Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat before pouring in about 1/4 c. batter per pancake. When the pancake has bubbled and started to firm up, flip and cook the other side until a deep golden color. (Makes about 10-15 pancakes.)


While that is cooking, make the blueberry sauce:

2 c. frozen blueberries
1/2 c. pitted dates
1/3 c. water

Blend and simmer (or simmer and then blend with a hand blender) a few minutes then pour into a jar. (I warmed them a couple minutes in the microwave then put them into my blender on the soup setting and ran a couple times. I used 1/3 cup water and it was a bit too thick, but yummy! I've since used it as jam also!)

Drizzle the sauce on the pancakes, garnish with a few additional berries and serve! (This recipe is from yummly.com--gluten-free vegan buckwheat pancakes. I made the full recipe then froze the extra pancakes and sauce, which works great to pull out later, heat or toast and serve again! YUM!)

by Karen, Barbara's daughter

Maple Cinnamon Crunch Quinoa Granola, Better Than Grapenuts, KOO KOO 4 COCOA – NUTS, Homemade Muesli

This year I've become better acquainted with a wonderful mom named Tracy. She is a friend of our friend Lotte. She also volunteers at the grade school every morning! She's amazing. Tracy brought me a small jar of her wonderful 'birdseed' for a Thanksgiving gift and I fell in love with it. Before Spring Break this week, she generously brought me a quart-sized jar. I think all of you who try this will love it!

Since I'm still not taking time to keyboard in any recipes I can just scan, 

click on the image for a larger view.

:::::

The owner of the preparedness group I subscribe to—Sally Farb—is also encourages whole foods and nutrition. I've learned much about sprouting grains and nuts, etc. She recently shared three of her healthy breakfast recipes. Her notes are in red. Let me know if anyone gives them a try, as I have not yet.

Better Than Grapenuts!!

6 c. freshly ground flour (we used spelt)


3 c. plain yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, or clabbered milk (use c. water plus 2 TBL lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for dairy allergies) We used homemade milk kefir 

Mix fresh flour and soaking medium of choice in a large, glass bowl.    Cover with a clean cloth and rubber band and leave on the counter for 24 hours. minimum I went over a few hours with no problems

After soaking is complete mix the following into the batter:

3/4 c. coconut or palm oil we used coconut oil palm oil has a strong taste


1 c. Grade B maple syrup or honey since this was being baked we used that cheap honey from "a guy i know"(1/2 c. sweetener plus 5 drops stevia may be substituted)


1 t. sea salt


2 t. baking soda


1 t. vanilla extract


1 t. maple flavoring New Seasons has Frontier remember the 80% rule when you read the ingredients  


1 T. ground cinnamon

Mix these ingredients well into the soaked batter.   Pour into 2 – 9X13 pans and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.   Do not overbake.

Let cool and crumble the coffee cake into small pieces (see video for ideal size) and dehydrate on cookie sheets at 200F for about 12-18 hours.  Ours was done in 5 hours so watch it!!  Turn cereal pieces every few hours to dry evenly. 

Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. if you have any left over! I hope you enjoy this recipe!! 

KOO KOO 4 COCOA – NUTS

Note: These directions assume you are using a dehydrator. If you don’t have one, you can still make them. When it is time to “dehydrate,” instead turn your oven to its lowest temperature. Spread your cocoa-nuts on a few cookie sheets or in a large cake pan and place in oven. After about 30 minutes, flip the crumbles over to ensure even drying. If using a cake pan, stir every 15-20 minutes. See section below on taste-testing to determine when yours are done. Total baking time could take a couple hours. Think about two days ahead for this recipe. If you want it available for snacking by Monday morning, start the recipe on Friday night or Saturday morning.

• 4 . raw almonds 

• 1 T. unrefined sea salt

• 3/4 c. maple syrup

• 3/4 c. unprocessed cocoa powder (or grind up your own cocoa nibs)

• 2 c. shredded coconut (unsweetened)

• 1 t. vanilla

• 3 T. coconut oil

• 2 c. of chia gel

Makes approximately 2 quarts (3 to 4 dehydrator sheets, or 2 to 3 cookie sheets).

Place the almonds and salt in a large bowl. Cover completely with filtered or purified water and soak for 12 to 24 hours. Strain, rinse, then place in food processor. Pulse several times until almonds reach the desired size and consistency you want. 

Place almonds in large bowl. Add additional ingredients and stir well. If doubling or tripling this recipe, you may have to combine in a very large bowl or stock pot.

Place mixture on dehydrator teflex sheets or parchment and spread loosely to 1-inch layers, covering the sheets.

Dehydrate on 115 degrees Fahrenheit for about 24 hours.

When the 24 hours have elapsed, take out a sample and allow to cool to room temperature. Taste to see if they’re done. They should be crunchy — not stale or damp. If they don’t taste quite right, turn the dehydrator back to 115 degrees Fahrenheit and let the crumbles dehydrate for another 2 to 3 hours or until crunchy and the consistency you desire. 

Store in canning jars. 

I’m sure you will think of a million ways to use them, simply as cereal with raw milk, on top of ice cream, yogurt, bananas and PB with chia gel, or by the handful!

If you press them tight together you can make your own crunchy nutty bars using chia gel as the binder. Pile them thicker and cut them into bar shapes and sizes you desire and flip them at least once in the drying process. 

by Dee, wife of Barbara's son Scott

Lemon Cheesecake Fruit-Cup Pancakes, Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Happy 2014!

I thought we could have these delish looking treats for bunch this morning. 

They turned out looking more like little cupcakes, but tasty. 

I'd choose Hootennany over these.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

5 t. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

2 t. butter, melted - divided

confectioners' sugar for dusting

1 t. lemon juice

1/2 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 400 and grease muffin tins. Beat the cream cheese together with the eggs in a bowl until the mixture is almost smooth. Stir in the flour, sugar, and 1 t. of melted butter to make a batter. Fill the tin 1/2 full and it will create the crater when it bakes. Bake them for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top. Use a knife to pop or pry them out, hopefully they were greased well enough and should pop right out. The puffiness will die down as they cool, and they become more like a cup. To serve, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and fill with your favorite fresh berries.

(Notes:  just spraying muffin tin with cooking spray wasn't enough, as they stuck

maybe grease with the 1 t. of butter that the recipe asks for...but doesn't tell you to include?!

this made 8 little cups

made a topping with water, cornstarch, boysenberries and strawberries)

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
2 (8 oz) cream cheese packages, softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
24 vanilla wafers
21 oz. canned cherry topping
24 cupcake papers

Line muffin tins. Put one wafer (with flat side down) in each paper. Mix ingredients until fluffy. Fill papers about half full. Bake 15-20 min at 350 degrees, or until top sets with a satin finish. Cool  with pans on were racks, Top with 3 cherries each (should be 72 in each can) and sauce. Chill at least 4 hrs. (Note: these work great for a party, but with leftovers the cookie crusts are a bit soggy,)


by Dee, wife of Barbara's son Scott

German Pancakes

image from here

one of our family favorites

German Pancakes
1 c. flour
1 c. milk (or kefir)
1 t. salt
6 eggs
6 T. butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in 9 x 13" pan or cast iron skillet, then place in oven until butter melts. Blend remaining ingredients. Pour into hot pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Click here for the recipe a link to the sprouted whole grain flour kefir pancakes that are my favorite of late.

18 microwave snacks to make in a mug

Remember the recipe that circulated for

Chocolate Cake in a mug?

Click here for links to a collection of 18 different items

to microwave in cup,

including the Strawberry Pie pictured above. 

This will be great for the college kids!

Not all the recipes are for desserts. 

Here's the list:

Breakfast

Cup Quiche 

Instant Blueberry Muffins

French Toast in a Cup

“Baked” Oatmeal In A Mug

Cinnamon Roll In A Cup

Snacking

Coffee Cup Coffeecake

Banana Bread In A Mug

Dinner

Mac and Cheese In A Cup

Meatloaf In A Mug

Coffee Cup Chilaquiles

Dessert

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Nutella Mug Cake

Cheesecake In A Mug

Chocolate Fudge S’mores Mug Cake

Cookie In A Mug

Chocolate and Caramel Mug Cake

Sticky Date Pudding In A Mug

Overnight Oatmeal

I saw this posted by my friend Sheri:

"Puttin' this in the crock pot tonight. I'll let ya know how it turns out. One thing's for certain...the house is gonna smell wonderful when we wake up in the morning."

Overnight Oatmeal

Throw 2 sliced apples, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour 2 cups of oatmeal and 4 cups of water on top. Do NOT stir. Cook overnight for 8 - 9 hours on low.

Her comment the next morning?

"Meh. I'd rather just make it on the stove top - texture isn't so great."

I still would like to try it. Waking up to the smell would be nice. And Scott would like walnuts thrown in. Post a comment if you decide to give it a try.

Christmas morning breakfast

Our traditional Christmas brunch consists of cinnamon rolls (Sedro Woolley cookbook, page 42!), ham & cheese omelettes (Scott's the chef), and Orange Julius (from Mom's cookbook, recopied below). This year we celebrated Christmas a little early as we had all in our family together last weekend here in Oregon. It was a bit hard, as Ian came down with croup and we tried to keep him quarantined from all, especially the babies. Despite the difficulties of that and a small house, it was nice to spend time together.

You can also click here to go to a Cinnamon Roll recipe posted before. It's modified by the infamous Sunday School teacher and cinnamon rolls (and scones and more) teacher/baker Karen Christianson. (I decided to cheat by scanning the recipe instead of typing, as I'm not sure anyone checks this blog anyway! You can get bigger picture by clicking on the scanned recipe.)

ORANGE JULIUS
1/2 (12 oz.) can (1/3 c.) frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. (or less) sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
5 or 6 ice cubes  (or more)

Combine all ingredients in blender; cover and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately. Makes about 3 cups.

Scott learned how to perfect his omelette skills by watching a segment by Julia Child on David Letterman way back when. I tried to find it on YouTube, but wasn't successful. If you go to this link, you can hear her saying she'd make omelettes for a dinner party of 300. Yowza! I did find a hilarious bit with the two of them making hamburgers. It involves a blow torch and you won't want to miss it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christmas Day update:

Kyle called us with a recipe for Mint Hot Chocolate made in the blender. We are going to sip it sitting by the fireplace this evening. Merry Christmas!

Mint Hot Chocolate

6-8 T. Nestlé hot chocolate mix
3 c. warm water
1-2 candy canes

Put all ingredients in blender. If you have a Blendtec, use the "soup" cycle. He said it will come out perfectly smooth, and the perfect temperature.

by Barbara's son Scott, and his wife Dee

Baked Stuffed French Toast

Kirsten and Cheryl revised this recipe from Mansion on Main B&B  for the family reunion. 
It was very delicious! We collectively decided that we want to simply meals at the next reunion. Though we had a very organized team approach this time (go teams Grizzly, Salmon and Moose!), we spent more time in prep than we'd like. Especially the team that had a dinner and breakfast (this one!) back to back. We just want to all be together! 
Hmm, catering next time?!  haha! East Coast Reunion 2014, here we come!

Baked Stuffed deliciousness in progress!

Barbara serving cobbler. I don't think there was a meal this lady didn't help with!

Cheryl, Kirsten, Brenda and Stephanie working on a meal. Was this Cafe Rio Salad?

Baked Filled French Toast

Spray a 9x13" baking pan or dish with non-stick butter spray. Line bottom of pan with 1" thick slices of French or Italian bread - day-old really works best!

Add small dollops or slices of cold cream cheese over bread, liberally. For a variation also spread a fruit preserve (we used raspberry jam), or other cooked fruits (peaches, baked cinnamon apples, pears, etc.) Add second layer of bread.

(We tried this original recipe and it was VERY custardy… so we cut the ingredients below by about ½ & then dipped the entire ‘stuffed French toast’ creation into the egg mixture & put back into the pan)

Beat together 6 large eggs

1-1/2 c. half and half

1-1/2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/8 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. nutmeg

You may substitute some of the liquid for 1/4 c. maple syrup.

Pour over bread in pan, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. (We deleted this step because we just dipped the French toast and did it in the morning)

Take out 1/2 hour before baking to warm - then prepare and add topping (YUM!):

1/2 c. melted butter or margarine

2 T. dark corn syrup

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

Spread over top of soaked bread. Bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes, or until clearly set in middle - it will puff up - put a cookie sheet underneath to avoid spills in oven.

Take out of oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes or so before slicing and serving to aid in preserving shape of slice. Keeps well on hot serving plate. This will serve six easily, especially with other foods for breakfast. It is very tasty! It also works as a dessert with ice cream with the leftovers!

by Cheryl & Kirsten, Barbara's daughters 

snacking?

William grilling

lunching?

William, Cheryl, Scott B., Dad, Max, Brenda and others dining alfresco

~~~

 

Just for fun: the B&B is in Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas

Breakfast in a Cup + Coconut Oil

We tried this for breakfast. It was quick, easy and great!

Breakfast In A Cup
Servings: 2

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
2 frozen bananas
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk (use more or less to adjust to desired consistency) or use kefir
1/2 cup coconut peanut butter or peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil*, melted
dash cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup spinach (optional)

Place all ingredients in a good blender. Blend until smooth and well mixed. Pour into 2 glasses and drink immediately. [We used kefir, added about 1 T. of agave, and didn't put in spinach. Next time I want to try it with less peanut butter.]

got the recipe here

~~~~~~~~~

Popcorn with Coconut Oil

1/2 c. popcorn kernels

1/4 c. coconut oil

Put in kettle over medium heat on stovetop. When the oil is melted, shake the pan back and forth over the burner so the popcorn won't burn. Don't turn up the heat. When the popcorn is popped, remove from heat and add salt to taste. (We have been using 1/2 of this recipe and it is just right for three of us.)

Coconut Oil

I am in a preparedness group that does group buys on healthy foods, etc. I'm pasting in an email from a couple of the group members. The claims for coconut oil sound pretty amazing, which always makes me skeptical. The best advice we have is 'moderation in all things.' I was introduced to the product (and the group) by my healthy friend Debbie. I've been using it in cooking, and having it on toast for a few months now. Also, Debbie's husband Stan likes making popcorn with it, so I've included his recipe above. We've been enjoying the popcorn too!

Here are some of the claims about coconut oil:

"If you have looked around your grocery store and especially any health food store you will probably have noticed a lot of products that are now available containing coconut, i.e. coconut water, coconut oil, coconut ice cream and coconut milk. There are also lots of skin care products that contain coconut oil.

If you pick up any food item and read the labels (which I always urge that you do) you probably noticed that coconut products are high in fat and high in calories. You may have decided to put it back on the shelf especially if you are counting calories and trying to avoid fat. Well stop, don’t do that, because here is the good news about coconut oil.

Coconut oil will help you lose weight, will keep your joints, hair, thyroid and almost every cell in your body healthy and happy. Coconut oil is healthy for your heart because it contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Coconut oil has the ability to kill viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections and pneumonia, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s food, thrust, diaper rash, etc.

If your joints hurt, you feel sluggish, have allergies, can’t lose weight no matter what you do, then you probably have candidiasis (yeast) overgrowth and coconut oil can rid your body of these nasty little invaders. Start by adding 1 teaspoon a day to your diet and work up to 1 tablespoon. I add my coconut oil to my morning smoothie. You will have some die-off and may have a feeling of flu symptoms or a feeling of unwellness, so don’t go too fast. Drink plenty of water and avoid sugar and sugar products such as juice. (Sugar is what keeps the nasties growing.) As the candida die off you will start to improve your health and you will get your energy back, and be able to shed the pounds.

Coconut oil is great for cooking and if you don’t like the taste then add part organic coconut oil and part organic olive oil to your pan. It can stand higher temperatures than most oil, but if it starts to smoke remove it from the heat, so the high heat doesn’t destroy all the benefits.

Coconut oil helps prevent liver diseases and kidney and gall bladder disease and helps to dissolve kidney stones. It is even believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.

Coconut oil helps control blood sugar and is effective in utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes. It is great for bones and teeth as it helps your body to absorb important minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

Coconut oil breaks down the bad fat and is easily converted into energy. Best of all it does not lead to an accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Athletes love it because it helps to boost their energy and endurance and enhances their performance.

Coconut oil contains Vitamin E, Vitamin K and minerals such as iron.

If your hair tends to be dry then melt some of the oil in your microwave, wait for it to cool down a bit, then pour it on your scalp and work through your hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes for a real treatment. Just shampoo as you normally do, but notice how much healthier and shinier your hair is.

Wow, now that you know it is so healthy, please don’t avoid it. Find the best and most organic coconut oil that you can and add it to your diet."

"We do order Tropical Traditions Virgin coconut oil which is hand made. ALL other coconut oil is expeller expressed, even the virgin stuff. Tropical Traditions is the only coconut oil company in the US that has it own farms. they know everything about their oil. ALL others buy from huge importers who get it from everywhere and repackage, that is why they have so little information to share about their oil. They don't know where it came from. With Tropical Traditions you know your coconut oil farmer!"