The egg casserole with "leaves..."

I made an egg casserole over the weekend.

 

It happened to have fresh spinach in it.

 

 

Preston was sitting at the counter while I was mixing it up.

 

As I added the spinach he creased his forehead together and said,

 

"Why we eat LEAVES, MOMMY???!!!!"

 

 

Dustin and I both laughed so hard.

I love the honesty of a two year old.

 

 

It turned out to be a pretty good egg dish!

Even WITH the leaves in there!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Egg Casserole with "Leaves"

 

1 (32 oz) package frozen hashbrowns

1 lb sausage, cooked and drained

2 cups diced ham

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 cup cheddar cheese

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I threw in a jar of homemade salsa)

12 eggs, beaten

 

Grease a 9x13 pan.

Layer 1/2 the hashbrowns, 1/2 the meats, all of the spinach, all of the mushrooms and all of the onions.

Then add the rest of the hashbrowns, and meat.

Mix the tomatoes and eggs, then pour over the top.

Top with the cheese.

 

Bake at 350 for about an hour or until the eggs are cooked through.

 

 

 

 



Chocolate Pumpkin muffins

These are really GOOD.

 

And Easy.

 

Two of my favorite things!

 

 

 

And they only need 5 ingredients,

 4 if you don't count the water!

 

 

 

Chocolate Muffins

 

 

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 egg whites

1/2 cup water

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Stir it all together.

Line muffin tin with baking cups or spray with cooking spray.

Fill cups about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes.



I thought they would have more pumpkin flavor since there is a whole can of pumpkin in it.
They are definately more chocolate flavored than pumpkin.

Preston and the twins gave them their stamp of approval at snack time!
I should have taken a picture of their faces-they were  covered!

 



Amish Cinnamon Bread

A rainy Sunday with the kids required some baking.

Peighton chose this Amish Cinnamon Bread Recipe  from my Pinterest boards!

She chose well!!!!!!

It was quite yummy with our hot chocolate and coffee!

Monday morning, the twins gave it two thumbs up as well as they shoved it in their mouths!

 

 

 

 Amish Cinnamon Bread

Batter:

1 cup butter, softened (I replaced all of the butter with applesauce)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

 

Cinnamon/sugar mixture:

2/3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar, and eggs.
Add milk, flour, and baking soda.
Put 1/2 of batter (or a little less) into greased loaf pans (1/4 in each pan).
Mix in separate bowl the 2/3 c sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle 3/4 of cinnamon mixture on top of the 1/2 batter in each pan.
 Add remaining batter to pans; sprinkle with last of cinnamon topping.
Swirl with a knife.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing from pan.



Sausage Gravy

Dustin loves biscuits and gravy.

If we go out for breakfast it's what he orders a lot of the time.

 

But I make a recipe that's MUCH better than most restaurants!!!!

 

And it's easy too.

 

 

 

 

I think the first time I made this was when we lived in North Carolina-if you're keeping track that was a LONG time ago!!!!!

It's been made lots of times and the recipe has stuck around so you know it's a good one!

 

 

Sausage Gravy

 

1 lb pork sausage

3 T sausage grease or Crisco

1/3 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 beef bouillon cube

1 T worchestershire sauce

1/2 t salt ( I leave this out, there's salt in the sausage, bouillon and worchestershire so I just don't think it needs it.)

1/4 t black pepper

 

 

Brown sausage in a skillet.

Remove sausage from pan.

Stir the grease or Crisco and add flour.

Stir constantly until golden brown.

Whisk in the milk.

Cook until mixture begins to simmer, then add sausage, bouillon and worchestershire, and salt and pepper.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

 

 

Serve over homemade biscuits.

I often cheat and make Pillsbury biscuits though!

 

Either way, its really good although not at all healthy.

This is definately a treat at our house that only happens a few times a year!

 

 



Banana Oatmeal cups

Preston and I did a lot of baking during our Potty training boot camp.

 

 

We needed some projects to keep us from going crazy!

 

 

We tried out these Banana oatmeal cups today and they were really good.

 

Preston gobbled up two of them as soon as they were cooled off a bit!

 

 

The best part is they were super quick.

And  a great way to use up those last few bananas that no one wants to eat!

 

 

Banana Oatmeal cups

 

3 mashed bananas

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 T baking powder

3 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1 t vanilla

3 T mini chocolate chips

 

Mix everything together and muffin cups almost to the top.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

 

 

It made about 16 muffin cups for me.

I'm going to try freezing a few of them if they last that long!

 

 

 

 



Chewy Granola Energy Bars

The kids LOVE granola bars.

 

I pinned a recipe that looked pretty yummy.

We tried it out and they are quite good!

 

 

 

 

Chewy Granola Energy Bars

 

The original recipe came from HERE.

 

Chewy Granola Energy Bars

 

2 1/2 cups quick rolled oats

1/2 cup Rice Krispies

1/4 cup coconut

1/2 cup mini M & M candies

1/2 cup chopped peanuts ( left these out)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp ground flax ( left this out-didn't have any!)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

 

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a 9x9 pan with Pam.

Combine all ingredients and press into prepared pan.

 

Bake for 18-20 minutes.

 

Let cool for 5 minutes and score the bars.

Cool completely and then cut the bars.

 

 

The kids LOVED these!!!!!!

I have a request to make these again for "Deer Camp."
You know, for when they force themselves to be out in the cold waiting for "the big one" to come by.
At least they'll have something yummy to eat!

Egg Sausage and Biscuit Cups

We have a serious love for breakfast around here.

Especially when I can make them ahead of time and freeze them for another day!

These little biscuit cups are some of our favorites.

I make a dozen of them and freeze half.

Dustin will often grab one on his way out the door in the morning!

Egg, Sausage and Biscuit Cups

1 package Grands Pull apart biscuits

8 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 lb sausage, cooked and drained (I used spicy sausage)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

I used my jumbo muffin pan to make these.

I think they would work in a regular sized muffin tin as well.

Lightly spray the muffin pan with Pam.

Preheat oven to 350.

Wisk together the eggs and milk.

Add salt and pepper.

Technically, the package of Grands biscuits would make 16 egg cups if you pulled each biscuit in half...but I like to do just one round of baking.

So, a few of my cups have a whole biscuit in the bottom because I only have room for 12 egg cups!

Flatten the biscuit and press into the bottom of each muffin cup.

Put the cooked sausage in the bottom.

Top with the egg mixture.

Then sprinkle on the cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the eggs are done.

If freezing, let them cool in the fridge then wrap each one in saran wrap.

I've frozen them for about a month and they were still really good!

You can either thaw them overnight in the fridge or unwrap them and put them straight into the microwave!



Homemade Pumpkin Granola

We bought some granola at the "Horse and Buggy Store"( aka Stringtown.)

It is good but it was pretty expensive!

 

 

I decided to go through my Pinterest boards and make some of my own!

The kids love granola as a snack and I like that it's kinda healthy when I make it.

 

 

 

Preston and I chose a Pumpkin Granola recipe.

We like pumpkin.

 A lot.

 

 

This one didn't disapoint!

 

 

 

I pinned the original recipe from Dashing Dish.

 

Pumpkin Granola

 

4 cups old fashioned oats

2 t cinnamon

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup baking stevia/sugar substiute/sugar (I used the Spenda baking blend)

1/2 t salt

1 t baking powder

3/4 cups pumpkin

1/2 cup applesauce

3 T maple syrup or honey

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 325.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

 

Mix the wet ingredients together in a seperate bowl.

 

Mix it all together until combined.

 

Spread it on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Stir, and then bake another 20-30 minutes.

I did two 20 minute sessions, and then did another 10 minutes to make it a little more crispy.

I think I should have baked it even longer.
The granola that was on the outer edges of the pan got crispy but the rest didn't.
(I will bake it longer next time.)
 

Let it cool completely.

 

You can stir in chocolate chips, teddy grahams or marshmallows like Preston!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

This one was GOOD.

We gobbled it up and there wasn't much leftover!

 

 

Peighton told me it tasted like apple crisp and I'd have to agree!

She often eats like a bird....but she ate two bowls of this!!!!

What a great breakfast to have before I sent her off to Kindergarten.

 

 

Since I made it on a school morning, I combined the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients the night before in seperate containers.

Then I just had to dump it all together in the morning and throw it in the oven.

And since it only bakes for about 20 minutes it was a pretty quick breakfast to throw together.

 

I like that there are lots of chopped apples in it as well as applesauce.

We didn't add any additional toppings but we did discuss what other fruits we'd use for next time!
Bananas, blueberries and pears were on our list!

 

 

 

APPLE CINNAMON BAKED OATMEAL

Recipe from: Here

 

2 cups old fashioned oats-not quick oats!

¼ cup light brown sugar

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups skim milk

½ cup applesauce

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced

Optional Toppings:

brown sugar

raisins

dried cranberries

chopped almonds

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-by-8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, applesauce, butter, egg whites and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until combined. Gently stir in diced apples. Pour oatmeal mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until oatmeal is golden brown and set. Remove from oven and serve warm. Add additional toppings to baked oatmeal, if desired.



Zucchini Jam

Out of control zucchini makes me google things to make with it!

 

I came across Zucchini jam on Allrecipes.com and thought it might be worth a try.

 

And it uses FIVE cups of shredded zucchini!!!!!

 

Mine doesn't LOOK like strawberry jam because I already had a bunch of shredded zucchini in the fridge (just waiting for me to do something with it) and it was not peeled first.

So the green skin is still on it.

Doesn't really bother me.

 

 

It's pretty good considering it's made with zucchini!!!

I think it would make a yummy panacke topping.

 

 

Zucchini Jam

 

5 cups shredded zucchini

5 cups sugar

3 T lemon juice

2 packages (3 oz) strawberry jell-O

Directions

1. Stir the zucchini and sugar together in a large pot over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to boil, about 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and gelatin, and continue simmering 5 minutes more, stirring constantly.
2. Ladle the hot jam into 6 hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rim and jar threads with a clean, damp cloth. Center lid on jar and screw the ring down firmly. Place into a boiling water canner covered by 2 inches of boiling water. Process for 10 minutes. Remove from the canner, and allow to cool to room temperature, and refrigerate any jars that do not seal.                

 



Nutella banana bread

This recipe combines two of my favorite things.....banana bread and nutella!!!!

 

I whipped it up and pulled it out of the oven just before Preston and I walked out to get Peighton off the bus!

She is always starving when she gets home from school so I knew this would be the perfect after school snack.

 

And I was pretty sure Preston and I would enjoy it too!

 

 

 

I found the recipe at Chef In Training .

 

 

Nutella banana bread

 

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter softened (I used 1/4 cup greek yogurt)

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup milk

3/4 heaping cup Nutella

 

 

On her site there are detailed directions of exactly how to mix it up.

 

I'm a "dump, mix and bake" kind of a gal and that's exactly how I did it!

I dumped everything together, poured it into my greased pan and baked at 350 degrees for about an hour.

 

 

It did not dissapoint!

And it put a big smile on Peighton's face when she got home!

This may be our new favorite recipe to make when the bananas get too ripe to eat!!!!!

Glazed Doughnut "Muffies"

Preston LOVES "Muffies" (aka muffins).

He also loves "no-nuts" (aka doughnuts).

When I saw the recipe for doughnuts muffins I knew I had to make them!

We tried out this recipe for Glazed Doughnut Muffies and it tasted as good as it sounds!

I usually let the kids help make them.

Preston loves to mix.

And this is what happens when it's no longer his turn to mix...

GLAZED DOUGHNUT MUFFINS

(AKA No-nut Muffies according to Preston)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I replaced the butter and oil with 1/2 cup applesauce)

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 milk

Mix everything together and bake at 350 for about 15-17 minutes.

Ours had to bake about 17-18 minutes.

For the Glaze:

3 tablespoons butter; melted

1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons hot water-(I added 1 T and thought it was runny enough.)

Dip the cooled muffins into the glaze.

They were both licking their fingers while we ate them!

My Muffie-loving boy!

We tried to let them cool enough so the glaze would stay on but we just couldn't wait.

If they had cooled a bit longer ours may have looked like the original picture!



Blackberry Buckle Coffeecake

My mom brought me a gallon size bag of huge blackberries!

They were begging to be made into something yummy.

And Preston loves him some baked goods...

We chose a Blueberry Buckle Coffeecake out of my "Iowa Master Farm Homemakers" cookbook.

You know the recipes are good when they come from a bunch of farm wives!

I made a few changes to the original recipe and we love how it turned out.

BlackBerry Buckle Coffeecake

1/2 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup homemade applesauce)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh blackberries (or any type of berries)

1/4 cup turbanado sugar (or just sugar)

Grease bottom and sides of 9 inch pan.

Beat together butter (or applesauce) and 3/4 cup sugar until fluffy.

Add egg and beat well.

Mix 2 cups flour with baking powder, stir in alternately with milk.

Beat until smooth.

Spoon into prepared pan.

Sprinkle with berries.

Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Serve warm!



Carrot Cake Waffles .... YUMMY!!!!!

Serving my kids carrots for breakfast?

YES PLEASE!!!!

I saw THIS  picture floating around pinterest and pinned it immediately...mostly because of the picture!

We love waffles and are always trying new recipes.

And throwing some carrots into breakfast was an added bonus!

They did not dissapoint!
They were fantastic and did taste like eating carrot cake for breakfast.

We did not do the cream cheese, didn't think the kids would eat it.

We just used plain old syrup!

One thing I will do differently next time is to chop the carrots a little finer.
I chopped them up in my food processor but should have chopped a little bit longer.
I didn't mind the small chunks of carrots but Peighton thought they were a little too crunchy...

Here's how we made them:

Waffle Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 3/4 cups buttermilk* or 1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk  (I used greek yogurt, thinned with milk)
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (I used applesauce)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped (Left these out because the kids don't like them!)
1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots

In her directions you're supposed to "bloom" the butter or something like that but I skipped that entirely! 

We don't have time for that around here!!!!!

I just threw it all together and mixed-that's how we roll.

They were big and fluffy and so good!

We will for sure make these again!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake....a bit healthier!

My mom gave me a bunch of rhubarb.

I think it's kind of gross....unless you bake with it then it's quite yummy!

Peighton and I tried Rhubarb Coffee Cake!

I swapped out some of the ingredients for healthier ones and it's pretty good.

Both of my monkeys gobbled it up for breakfast this morning!

I have the original recipe below and have also included what I used instead.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Source: Hy-Vee cookbook

1 1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 cup shortening (I replaced this with 1/2 cup applesauce)

1 egg (could have used Egg Beaters if I had some!)

2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 c sour cream ( I used 1 cup plain greek yogurt)

1 1/2 cup chopped rhubarb

Topping:
1/4 c sugar

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c pecans (I left these out-my short people would have complained!)

1 T Margarine ( I did use margarine for the topping-it won't be the same with anything else!)
1 t cinnamon

(I also sprinkled some oatmeal on top of the topping!)

Cream brown sugar and shortening/applesauce. Add egg. Combine flour, soda, salt; add alternately with sour cream/yogurt to the creamed mixture.

Fold in the rhubarb.

Spread into greased 9x13 pan.

Combine all topping ingredients.

Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

In my version, there is only 1 tablespoon of margarine in the whole thing and it was super yummy!
You could certainly leave the topping off entirely but it wouldn't be the same.



Homemade Granola

We eat a lot of cereal at our house.

One of our favorites is Granola...but it's kind of expensive and those small boxes don't last long around here!

I've tried a few recipes for homemade granola and have found our favorite!

Homemade Granola

5 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sunflower kernels (I left these out-don't like them!)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 T canola oil (I used olive oil-didn't have canola!)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I had a bag of like 5 different mixed fruits that I dumped in.)
(apricots, raisins, cranberries, bananas, apples....etc.)

In large bowl, combine oats, almonds, sunflower kernels.

In saucepan, combine brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, salt and cinnamon. Cook and stir over med heat until brown sugar is dissolved, 2-3 min.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Pour over oat mixture to coat.

Transfer to 15 x 10 in baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 min stirring every 8 min.
Cool completely.
Stir in dried fruit.
Store in airtight container.

YUM!

Skinny Chocolate Chip scones

It's really quite fun baking with Peighton.

She's an excellent egg cracker, dumper, and mixer.

And we talk about math while we bake too!

Today we tried out some Chocolate Chip Scones we found on Pinterest.

We love scones.

Peighton has hot chocolate with hers!

The recipe is from Skinny Taste. 

There are quite a few other recipes on there I want to try as well!

Skinny Chocolate Chip Scones



3/4 cup cold buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup all purpose flour (Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup white whole wheat flour (Bob's Red Mill)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp chilled butter (must be cold) cut into small pieces

3/4 cup chocolate chips

cooking spray

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender, or you could use 2 knives, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in chocolate chips. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured hands. Form dough into an 9-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4" thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 12 wedges all the way through.

Brush egg white over dough and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Serve warm.

Peighton just gave them "100 thumbs up."
She's into the number 100 right now...

Mickey Mouse Cinnamon Rolls!

As each day passes we get closer and closer to our trip to meet Mickey!

Peighton is very excited (and so am I!)

For breakfast this morning we made Mickey Mouse Cinnamon Rolls!

So easy and Peighton was very impressed!

All you need is:
1 can pillsbury cinnamon rolls

I unrolled 2 of the rolls and rolled them back together as one to make the face part of Mickey.

Then stuck 2 ears on top.

Bake for 12 minutes and frost.

Preston tends to dig in no matter what is served!

Peighton had 2 ears for breakfast and we talked about all the things we are going to do while at Disney!

Banana Split Pancakes with NUTELLA!!!!

Our second day home in a row called for some time in the kitchen to keep the crazies away!
(technically we CAN get out, it's just that it's SUPER cold (-11 to be exact) and we really have no reason to be out!

We decided on Banana Split pancakes-YUM.  Peighton is a pancake-aholic.  Loves them.  Possibly lives for them. 
She is a great helper too.  She is the official egg cracker and banana smasher.
My favorite part is that you top them with all sorts of yumminess-strawberries, bananas and warm Nutella!!!!!!

Banana Split Pancakes

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 T melted butter

1 mashed banana

1 T sugar

1 cup flour

1 t baking pwd

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

Large pinch of ground nutmeg

Melted butter, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, warm Nutella or syrup for topping

Mix all the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients.

Drop 1/4 cup batter into a hot skillet, flip when bubbles start to form.

Top with your choice of toppings and enjoy!

She LOVED them-said they were "super yummy!"

A yummy pile of goodness.

Just a picture out my front door.  Crazy how much snow we have!

Even Peighton's picnic table on our porch got a bit buried!