Mini Quiche

I had some leftover pie crust to use up from a cobbler that I made and decided to try mini quiches.  I will definitely be making these again.  This is my go to pie crust.  It is so flaky and easy.

CRUST:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup warm water

•  EGG MIXTURE:
•  6 eggs
•  1.5 cups milk
• salt and pepper

• FILLING:
• cheese
• mushrooms
• ham
• bacon
• sausage
• etc 

For the crust, mix all ingredients with a fork.  To roll, lay out a piece of wax paper.  Put dough on wax paper.  Cover with second piece of wax paper.  Roll crust between two pieces of paper.  Cut with a glass.  (Should be able to get 12 with a few dough scraps leftover)  Place one pie circle in each of 12 muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray.  (If you want to make it even simpler, you could use store bought crust...but I like this recipe much better than store bought).


Sprinkle crust with cheese of choice, if desired.

Beat eggs with milk, salt, & pepper.  Add fillings to egg mixture if you are making them all the same.  Otherwise, add egg to each muffin tin and top with filling of choice.  (Customized for each family member's liking...or if making for a brunch, provide a variety...lots of possibilities).  I had some egg mixture leftover.  4 eggs & 1 cup of milk may be enough.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until egg is set.

Pancake Squares

Thanks again Pinterest for providing my family with another "keeper".  Not sure I will EVER make regular pancakes again.  The possibilities are endless!

I ended up doubling the recipe below to fit a 9 X 13.  I sprinkled blueberries on one third, left one third plain and added sliced bananas & chocolate chips to the final third.

HERE is the original recipe found at Big Red Kitchen.

3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
2 Tbl melted butter (I always use salted)
1 large egg
1 Tbl sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, whisk milk, butter and egg.  Then add sugar.  Gradually add the flour. Stir in the baking powder and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serves 4-6.

We cut it into squares and topped with butter & syrup.

(Big Red Kitchen also has a Baked Cinnamon Roll Pancake that looks AMAZING)

Easy "Homemade" Donuts & Holes

Every now and again we make these for a special weekend treat. SUPER simple, but taste like you slaved over them.

1 tube of refrigerated biscuits or dinner rolls
oil for frying
sugar/cinnamon mixture

separate biscuits/rolls

cut out hole in center (I used my apple corer, but the holes really weren't quite big enough)

fry in oil until done

drain on paper towel

roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture

best served warm

"Cinnamon Rolls"

These. Were. Awesome. However, I'm thinking they were more like "sticky buns". My in laws were here to share these. We were splitting 24 rolls between 4 adults & 2 children. I hate to admit that over the course of the weekend, I MAY have had half of them, or pretty close to it. Yep. They are THAT good.

24 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls (the "raw" dough...not "heat and serve")
1 small pkg. regular butterscotch pudding (we assumed "regular" meant the old fashioned "cook and serve")
1 stick butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c brown sugar
pecans
additional melted butter

Grease 9 X 13 pan. Lay pecans over the bottom. Place dinner rolls on top of pecans. In saucepan, bring pudding, stick of butter, cinnamon and sugar to a boil. Pour over the rolls. Cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight. Remove foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Brush top with additional melted butter. Turn over to serve.

I love that you prep the night before and just pop directly in the oven the next day. I also love that you do not need to knead or let rise, but still get that great homemade taste.

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

(modified from Mr. Breakfast)

This seriously is the yummiest breakfast casserole I've ever had. I NEEDED to have this recipe the first time I tasted it.

16 oz day old bread, cubed or torn into bite sized pieces
16 oz sausage (cooked, drained & crumbled)
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
10 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups half & half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard

Grease 9 X 13 pan well. Place bread in pan. Sprinkle with cheese and sausage. Combine rest of ingredients together and mix well. Pour over bread and refrigerate overnight.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Happy Valentine's Day French Toast

Because D and I recently spent 10 wonderful days together in Costa Rica, we didn't go out for Valentine's Day. Instead, I made a kid friendly celebratory meal. Here is my heart shaped french toast. I just used a cookie cutter. (For my batter, I use eggs, a splash of milk, some vanilla and some cinnamon.)

We topped it off with strawberries, whipped cream and Smuckers Red Raspberry Syrup.

Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes

I got this recipe from my friend Kristen. (This is cut down from hers since our family is smaller than theirs) The pumpkin taste is very subtle. The buttermilk makes them so nice and fluffy.

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/8 cup melted butter
1/2 cup pumpkin
chocolate chips (optional)

In mixing bowl combine dry ingredients (not including chocolate chips). In a seperate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Heat griddle sprayed with cooking spray. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix until it is just blended. Scoop onto hot griddle using 1/4 measuring cup. Add chocolate chips to each pancake if desired. Flip and finish. Serve with butter, syrup, whipped cream, etc. We topped ours with pomegranate seeds.

NOT Keeping It Simple = Homemade Waffles

OM Goodness! I got a waffle maker for my birthday and promised the girls we would have homemade waffles today since there was no school. Remember when there was the Eggo Waffle shortage? Well, I certainly could care less now. I will forever be making homemade waffles instead. This batter made 12 and we only ate 6, so I will freeze the rest and make in the toaster just as with store bought waffles. Great to have on hand when the kids want waffles but don't have the time to make them.

You are warned that they are a bit tedious (hence the title) but SOOOOOOO worth it.

Classic Waffles
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cornstarch
2 tbsp cornmeal (optional, but I DID use it)
1 tbsp baking pwd
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp sugar
1 3/4 c milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c melted butter

In large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Whisk together egg yolks, milk and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, stir milk mixture into flour mixture, blending just until dry ingredients are moistened. (There should still be small lumps; do not over mix). Stir in melted butter. Fold in beaten egg whites until combined. Pour batter onto hot, greased waffle maker and bake.

This came from the Oster 4 slice Belgican waffle maker user guide.

Dutch Pancake w/ Buttery Apples

Oh man! This is soooooo good. I think I've found my new favorite breakfast food. Believe it or not, I got this out of a Sesame Street cook book called "C is for Cooking". I changed it up a bit and it is YUMMY!

2 eggs
1 tsp oil
1/2 milk
1/2 c flour
2 tbls sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbls butter
2 large apples, peeled and sliced
brown sugar
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9 inch cake pan.

Crack eggs into a medium bowl. Beat eggs together with oil and milk until smooth.

Add flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir until a smooth batter forms. Pour the batter into the greased dish.

Bake the pancake for 10 minutes. Reduce teh heat to 350 degrees. Bake until the pancake is very puffy and lightly browned all over, about 5 to 8 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the apples. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon & brown sugar (about 1/4 c). Saute, stirring often, until the apples are tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Wait until pancake shrinks down, and pour apples over the top. Dust with powdered sugar if you like (we didn't).

Slice and serve.