Tag: Brunch

Posted in Baked goods, Brunch, Food

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

Posted on by lmc

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Boy, if you don’t like this cake, I don’t know what to say! A bonus…it’s super easy to make. Once again, I started with a basic cake mix.
Years ago, I found a recipe for a cinnamon coffee cake that was a bit time consuming to pull together. It tasted great so I continued to make it for the family. Then, a couple of years ago, I found a similar (but easier) recipe in the newspaper and tucked it away for another day. Yesterday, I had a taste for my original cinnamon coffee cake recipe. While looking through my recipe binder, I found the page ripped from the newspaper that I had tucked away some time ago. I thought…why not give it a try? After altering the recipe a bit, I quickly mixed it up and threw it in the oven.
Well, the smell of the cinnamon and extracts was enough to make me salivate in front of the oven, as I watched the cake rise and take shape. Mmmmm, it sure smelled wonderful! And, after letting it cool and giving it a taste, I was not disappointed! This sweet, moist, cinnamon roll coffee cake is absolutely delicious!

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

1 box yellow or white pudding cake mix
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon softened margarine
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Prepare cake mix as directed on the package. Add extracts to the batter and mix well. Spray, with cooking spray, a 13×9″ baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Pour half of the batter in the baking dish. Sprinkle half of the topping mixture over the batter. Pour on the remaining batter and finish by adding the remaining topping. Swirl through the cake mix with a knife. Bake according to package directions. Cool and top with my powdered sugar icing. Yummy!

Posted in Baked goods, breakfast, Brunch, Food, lunch box

Bountiful Blueberry-Banana Loaf

Posted on by lmc

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I have been complaining for weeks about the price of blueberries. This week, I was thrilled to see that the price has dropped to $1.49 a pint. Wow, that’s a great price!
Naturally, I bought 6 pints with the hopes of going back to the store again today to stock up on several more. I was going to stick with basic blueberry muffins until I realized that I had a few overly-ripe bananas on the counter. This recipe for Bountiful Blueberry-Banana Loaf is moist and delicious. I’m glad I was able to snap a picture of the bread after slicing it because it didn’t last very long. The addition of wheat germ really adds flavor, texture, and a nutritious boost to the recipe.

Bountiful Blueberry-Banana Loaf

1 cup flour
½ cup whole oats
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup margarine or butter, melted
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1½ cup very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh blueberries
½ cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ loaf pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
In a large bowl mix the sugar, margarine or butter, and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix in the bananas. Pour dry mixture into the wet mixture and combine. Do not over mix. Fold in blueberries and nuts.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from loaf pan and continue cooling on wire rack.

Posted in Baked goods, breakfast, Brunch, Food, Homemade Mixes, lunch box

Best Basic Muffin Mix

Posted on by lmc

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This morning, I whipped up several batches of muffins for my family. The girls love basic blueberry muffins, while the boys crave muffins with chocolate chips. In order to save time, I double my basic muffin mix recipe, split the batter in half, and mix in additional ingredients to personalize the muffins. So, for the girls, I used the basic muffin mix recipe and added almond extract and fresh blueberries. For the boys, I added chocolate chips and vanilla extract. What a time-saver! More importantly, everyone is happy! This is my “go-to” basic muffin recipe mix.

Best Basic Muffin Mix

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin pans by adding paper or silicone liners. In a large bowl, combine together dry ingredients; mix well. In a separate bowl, mix egg, milk, and oil; just until moistened. Do not over mix. Pour batter into individual muffin cups. (I use an ice cream scoop to distribute evenly.)

From here, you can fold in additional desired ingredients.

1 cup blueberries and 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup chocolate chips and 1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped apples and 1 tsp cinnamon

Posted in Baked goods, breakfast, Brunch, Food

Mom’s Hearty Biscuits and Gravy

Posted on by lmc

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When we travel, I look for hotels that have an extensive continental breakfast included in the stay price. I’m seeking fresh fruit, whole grains, lean protein…for my active crew. At a recent stay, as we made our way across the lobby for an early morning breakfast, I had to cringe when I heard my son say…”Awesome, they have biscuits and gravy!” Of all things…biscuits and gravy?
So, this past weekend, in the chiily,early morning hours, while most were fast asleep, my kids woke with the birds and headed off to the pool to get in their required morning yards. I felt like I wanted to make something special for their return home on this holiday weekend. The first thing that came to mind was biscuits and gravy. (Along with sunrise smoothies, fresh baked Irish scones, and cheese omelets.)
My mother-in-law gave me this recipe years ago. She had taken a mini-cruise that was meant to showcase the beautiful fall colors along the New England shore. The ship’s cook had shared this recipe with her. I still remember the hand written page that she shared with me over 15 years ago as I transferred the ingredients into a small notebook that I once carried around with me. I’ve only made this recipe a handful of times, but every time I make it, my son is one happy camper!
Mom’s Hearty Biscuits and Gravy

First prepare the biscuits and get them in the oven…

Beautiful Buttermilk Biscuits

1/2 cup cold margarine or butter
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cut margarine into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in buttermilk; stir. Dough will be soft and sticky. Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed lightly about 10-12 times (adding a bit of flour if needed) until dough is not longer sticky. Roll or pat dough to about 1/4″ thick. Use a 2 1/2″ round biscuit cutter to cut the dough. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet; about one inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Mom’s Hearty Gravy

1 roll of pork sausage ( I always use Jimmy Dean’s Premium Pork Regular Sausage)
1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Brown sausage in a large skillet, crumble and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in flour and cook, while stirring, to completely incorporate the flour. Slowly add milk to the sausage mixture. Cook gravy 5-7 minutes more or until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over those beautiful buttermilk biscuits!

Posted in Baked goods, breakfast, Brunch, Food

Triple Berry Cobbler

Posted on by lmc

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When frozen berries are on sale, I buy several bags and throw them in my freezer for smoothies, pancakes, spreads, and cobblers. Yesterday, I found a bag of frozen fruit in my freezer and I decided it was time to make my favorite Triple Berry Cobbler for dessert. This recipe bakes up more like a snack cake than a cobbler because the berries are evenly distributed throughout the moist, flavorful batter. I wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and send them off in lunch boxes so my family can enjoy the cobbler during their lunch hour. A simply delicious treat!

Triple Berry Cobbler

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
2 cups frozen triple berry fruit mix , no sugar added, partially thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ round baking dish or cake pan. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir in butter, milk, vanilla and egg until smooth. Fold in triple berry fruit mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

Posted in Baked goods, Brunch, Food

The Perfect Peach Cake Recipe

Posted on by lmc

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When my children were young, we always enjoyed heading out to local orchards to pick the season’s fruit. In the late spring, we would pick strawberries at Johnson’s Farms. In the early summer, we would pick blueberries from Blue Sky Farms, and in the fall, we would pack up the car and drive across the border to Michigan to pick apples and peaches. I have great memories of us packing up the car with a picnic lunch, making sure we had plenty of bug spray and sunscreen slathered on our faces and necks, and comfortable shoes so that we could pick a long while. I laugh as I think about finding my children plopped on the ground gobbling up the fruit in their half filled buckets, while I continued to pick as many berries as I could before the sun grew too hot. After we carried home our bushels of fruit, I would scour my cookbooks to try new recipes with our freshly picked crop. I found this recipe after picking a load of beautiful, white, Michigan peaches several years ago. Mixing the ingredients together takes minutes and the result is phenomenal. I have even used frozen or canned peaches when I am out of the fresh stuff. Either way, this cake is absolutely delicious!

The Perfect Peach Cake Recipe

3 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups fresh peaches – peeled, pitted, and sliced
½ cup pecans, chopped

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9” baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine all wet ingredients; mix thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and mix well by hand. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until done. Let cool for 20 minutes and ice cake with my recipe for Powdered Sugar Glaze. Ohhhh, so yummy!