No Bake Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

I noticed this recipe and thought was a perfect solution to my desire to have granola bars on hand. I hate coconut and almost all commercially available bars have coconut in them. The thing I really love about this recipe is you can switch ingredients with others and have hundreds of options available. I used cereals that were whole grain but if you could use regular cereal if you'd prefer and still have granola bars that are less sugary then the ones you buy at the store. Also you can leave the nuts out if you want or sub another type. I've made this with cashews, macadamia nuts, and almonds. Sub out the peanut butter for almond butter or hazelnut butter. Same thing for the dried fruit. I've used pretty much every type out there and it still tastes great. Plus these are easy to make for something that tastes much better than store bought bars.

No Bake Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
Women's Day Magazine Sept. 2010

2 cups slightly crushed whole grain flake cereal
2 cups whole grain puffed rice cereal
1 cup dried fruit of your choice (cranberry is what the original recipe calls for)
1/2 cup unsalted nuts of your choice (cocktail nuts is what the original recipe calls for)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (or any butter of your choice, the original recipe calls for reduced fat peanut butter but I much prefer the more healthy natural kind)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Line a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with nonstick foil (let the foil extend about 2 inches above pan at both ends).
Mix cereals, fruit, and nuts in a large bowl.
Mix peanut butter, sugar, honey and butter in 2 qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly; simmer for 1 minute.
Immediately stir into cereal mixture tossing to evenly coat. Coat hands with cooking spray, then use them to spread and press the mixture in prepared pan.  Chill until firm, about one hour.
Holding foil by ends, lift from pan onto a cutting board. Carefully cut lengthwise in 4 strips and then cut each strip in 6; remove foil.

Biscuits and Gravy

Sorry about the long delay between posting recipes. Between blogger being down for me, a broken oven, and a husband that asked for no new recipes I've been busy. However I am back now with a few recipes to share. The first is biscuits and gravy. This has to rank among my all time favorite anytime dish ever. I could eat biscuits and gravy at anytime of the day and it shows up for dinner quite often in our house. The flavor of this dish was so good that I'm drooling as I think about possibly making it again very very soon. I used the homemade breakfast sausage I posted a few weeks back for the sausage in this recipe. I also used my all time favorite biscuit recipe, which if you haven't tried you really need too. It makes the flakiest and most tender biscuits every. I ended up borrowing a neighbors kitchen and making the biscuits for the county fair. I then used the leftovers for this recipe. Also I always top my biscuits and gravy with paprika. I don't know why but it was how I was first introduced to biscuits and gravy and I much prefer them with a sprinkling of it on top.

Biscuits and Gravy
adapted from Cookingbytheseatofmypants

5 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 tbsp. all purpose flour
Approximately 2 cups milk (vitamin D milk, not skim, fat-free, fat-less, or other, and nothing heavier, it won’t work.)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
about 3-4 shakes of Tabasco
1 1/2 pounds breakfast sausage, cooked and chopped (I used my homemade but feel free to use your favorite brand)
biscuits (again I used my favorite recipe but feel free to use whatever you have)

Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add flour and combine. Add ¼ tsp salt and around 10 grinds pepper.

Stir until the flour is about the color of peanut butter and smells nutty. Add ½ of the milk and increase heat to medium.

Allow to come to a simmer, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. On the first run, the gravy is likely to nearly seize, be ready with more milk.

Add milk by quarter or half cups until gravy has thickened considerably. If using a whisk you’ll know the gravy is ready when drawing the whisk through the gravy leaves “tracks” from the wires that remain visible for at least 5 seconds.

Add Tabasco sauce and more pepper to your liking, I like to make it very very peppery. Add the chopped up sausage and serve over biscuits.

Breakfast Sausage

I've been wanting to try this recipe since I first noticed it in Cook's Country back at the first of the year. However my not being a fan of sausage has kept me from giving it a try. I'm not sure why I don't like breakfast sausage but I have a feeling its due to one of the seasonings used in the commercially prepared sausage because I LOVED this sausage. There was no weird flavor for me and even my husband thought this tasted so much better than Jimmy Dean brand sausage. It took me about 5 minutes to mix everything together and another 5 to shape out the patties. Cooking time was about 6-10 minutes total. I used the sausage to make sausage muffins.
If you feel like going all out you can even make your own English muffins (I didn't have time to make my own this time).


Breakfast Sausage
Cooks Country Feb/March 2010

2 pounds ground pork (avoid lean or extra lean)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Combine pork, garlic, syrup, sage, thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne in large bowl. Gently mix with hands until well combined. Form into 2 1/2 inch patties, about 1/2 inch thick (using a 1/4 cup measuring cup makes almost perfect patties). You should have about 16 patties.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook half of patties until well browned and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel lined plate and tent with foil. Wipe out skillet. Repeat with remaining butter and patties.

The raw sausage patties can be refrigerated, covered for 1 day or frozen for up to one month. To cook frozen patties, proceed to second step, cooking patties for 7 to 9 minutes per side.

Cooking Light Challenge Breakfast #2 Blueberry Pancakes

We love pancakes in our house. My husband and I love blueberry but the kids prefer plain. The nice thing about this recipe is you can just skip the blueberries since you don't add them to the batter. The article about the pancakes mention using chocolate chips or bananas too so don't think you have to just use blueberries. These do reheat well so if you make extra you could freeze them then have an easy breakfast through out the week. The batter was thicker than most pancake mixes but the pancakes were still very tender. This is not a sweet pancake but surprisingly the kids really loved them.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. Every time you leave a comment on a recipe during my cooking light challenge you will be entered to win a year's subscription to Cooking Light magazine. Feel free to mention it on your blog, websites you visit, and/or facebook. LMK that you did in a comment and I will give you an extra chance in the drawing.

Blueberry Pancakes
Cooking Light August 2009

2.25 oz all purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
2.38 oz whole wheat flour (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup vanilla fat free yogurt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh blueberries

Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through nutmeg) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine yogurt, and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet. Top each pancake with 2 tablespoons blueberries. Cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Yield: 4 servings (serving size:2 blueberry pancakes).

Calories: 272
Fat: 8.8 g (4.5 g sat, 2.5 g mono, 0.8 g poly)
Protein: 9.5 g
Carb: 40.1 g
Fiber: 3.2 g
Chol: 122 mg
Iron: 2 mg
Sodium: 403 mg
Calc: 192 mg

Cooking Light Breakfast #1 Muesli with Cranberries and Flaxseed

This breakfast was easy to put together the night before with only combining a few things to finish it off. Prep work took me maybe 5 minutes total. Overall the breakfast was quick and easy to make. The taste was surprising good. I really liked the dish and it kept me full for almost 4 hours. The only thing I would do different would be to use vanilla yogurt in place of the plain yogurt. I just think I would have liked vanilla yogurt better or even the Greek honey yogurt that I love. The recipe makes 6 servings.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. Every time you leave a comment on a recipe during my cooking light challenge you will be entered to win a year's subscription to Cooking Light magazine. Feel free to mention it on your blog, websites you visit, and/or facebook. LMK that you did in a comment and I will give you an extra chance in the drawing.

Muesli with Cranberries and Flaxseed
Cooking Light Jan./Feb. 2009

2 cups regular oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups 1% low fat milk
3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
3 tablespoons pumpkinseed kernels, toasted (I left these out cause I could not find them locally)
3 cups plain fat free yogurt
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; pour milk over mixture, stirring to combine. Cover and chill 3 hours or overnight. (I did it overnight)
Combine nuts and pumpkinseed kernels in a small bowl. Spoon 3/4 cup oat mixture into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 1/2 cup yogurt; sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tablespoons nut mixture, and drizzle with 1 teaspoon maple syrup.

Calories: 421
Fat: 12.4 g (sat 2.2 g, mono 4.8 g, poly 4.3 g)
Protein: 19.5 g
Carb: 62.4 g
Fiber: 6.6 g
Chol: 7 mg
Iron: 3.5 mg
Sodium: 162 mg
Calc: 457 mg

Garlic Spiked Homestyle Hash Browns

These hash browns turned out really tasty. They were really simple to make too. I served these for dinner but these would be great for a breakfast side dish. The recipe called for a red onion and I was out so I used a yellow onion. Also to save time you can boil the potatoes up to days before you wanted to make this dish and place them in a sealed container in the fridge. You could also change the herbs some and come up with several different flavor combination's. The exchange for a diabetic is as follows:
2/3 cup serving, 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat; 120 calories, 33 calories from fat, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 19 g total carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugars, 3 g protein

Garlic-Spiked Homestyle Hash Browns
The All Natural Diabetes Cookbook

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup chopped red onion,
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 medium Yukon gold or red potatoes, boiled with peel, chilled and diced in 1/2 inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp ground cayenne red pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

Heat the oil and 1 tsp butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onion for 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned, turning occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter. Sprinkle evenly with salt and red pepper. Stir in parsley and chives.

Banana, Wheat Germ, and Oats

I'm not a big breakfast eater at times and I'm always searching for new recipes that I may want to eat. I stumbled across this one in the latest issue of Cooking Light and had to try it. It was so easy to make and oh so good. I loved the bananas and brown sugar together. According to Cooking Light this dish is 336 calories, 8.4 grams of fat (sat 3.2g, mono 2g, poly 2.3g), protein 12.1g, carbs 59.1g, fiber 8.3g, chol 10mg, iron 3.9mg, sodium 226 mg, and calc 35 mg. This dish makes 3 servings.

Banana, Wheat Germ, and Oats
Cooking Light Magazine Jan/Feb 2010

3 3/4 cups water
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sliced banana (about 2)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 6 minutes or until thick and thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Divide cereal evenly among 3 bowls. Top each serving with 1/2 cup banana, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon butter.

Eggless Breakfast Dish

I'm not a fan of eggs. I don't like eating them and I don't really like the taste of them. Yet I see all those delicious looking recipes that call for them and crave the dish. Sometimes I have success making the dish eggless but most of the time I don't. This was one of the successes. I've made this several times and have perfected the perfect eggless breakfast dish. I used ham in the picture above but I have had success using bacon and chopped sausage links, just precook those before throwing them into the dish.

Eggless Breakfast Dish
1 package frozen hashbrowns (I've had the best luck with the kind that shaped like a cube and the worst luck with the shredded ones)
1 cup of breakfast meat (ham, or cooked bacon or sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (any color would work but I prefer red)
2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese

Heat cast iron skillet, I'm sure other skillets would work but I mainly use cast iron for my cooking, and place either 2 tablespoons bacon grease or 2 tablespoons butter. Add hashbrowns and cook until nicely brown and cooked throughly. Add peppers and onions. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add breakfast meat. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes to warm up the meat. Top with cheese. You can melt the cheese fully or I like to barely start melting the cheese. Serve.

Diner Style Pancakes

The kids love pancakes at the little mom and pop restaurants we frequent. I asked once how they make their pancakes as my kids usually just pick at my homemade ones and was told they add malted milk powder to the pancakes. Luckily for me the King Arthur Bakers Companion book had a good recipe for making these. Not only did the kids love these homemade pancakes they beg for them at least every other day.

Diner-Style Pancakes
King Arthur Baking Companion cookbook

2 large eggs
1 1/4 (10 ounces) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup malted milk powder

Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand mixer. Stir in the butter.

Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and milk powder. Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter relax while the griddle is heating (or overnight in the fridge). The batter will thicken slightly while resting.

Grease and preheat the griddle. The griddle is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately; if you have an electric griddle, set the temperature between 325-350 degrees F. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. Cook on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, then turn the pancakes and cook the other until brown. Turn only once. Serve immediately.

Sausage Muffin

I love McDonald's sausage Mcmuffins. However I am sure their mcmuffin is loaded with ingredients I'd prefer to keep out of my family's diet. I used my homemade muffins for this but you could buy English muffins from the store. I buy the country sausage and shape it into patties myself but again you could buy the preformed sausage patties if you'd prefer. I freeze mine with everything but the egg. I make the egg while the muffin is defrosting in the microwave if the person who is eating it wants the egg. I prefer mine without the egg. These also make great late night snacks or even after school snacks.

1 English muffin, my recipe, toasted
1 slice cheddar cheese (you could use those American cheese slices if you like the processed stuff)
1 sausage patty, cooked
1 fried egg, if desired
Place cheese on muffin followed by sausage, and egg (if using). Serve.
To freeze, leave egg off, build as listed above and wrap in freezer paper then place in a sandwich bag.

Yeast Raised Glazed Doughnuts

Last chance to enter my giveaway for the tubes of tomato paste. 5pm tonight is the closing of the giveaway and I'll announce the winners tomorrow. Click here to enter.

My boys love doughnuts. They are always asking for a doughnut when we go to the store or drive past Krispy Kreme. I think the price of doughnuts are high and hate buying doughnuts. My husband usually treats them to a doughnut once a week or once every two weeks. However now that I've made my own I think our days of buying those overpriced doughnuts are over. These doughnuts barely last one hour in the house. They were that good. They really weren't hard to make. You can even start making these the night before and then refrigerate the dough for hot doughnuts in the morning. Just complete the recipe through the first rise the day before, then refrigerate the dough overnight, then roll, cut, and cook them in the morning.

Yeast-Raised Glazed Doughuts
King Arthur's Baking Companion

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
1 large egg
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups (2 pounds) vegetable oil or shortening (2 1/2 pounds), for frying

Glaze
1/4 cup (2 ounces) milk
2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture, mixing until well combined. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead 6 to 8 minutes by hand or mixer until you have a smooth, soft dough. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, turn it over to grease the top, and let it rise; covered in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

Deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a round cutter (or, using a pizza wheel, cut into strips to make cruellers). Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise again for about 1 hour, until doubled again.

Place oil or shortening in a heavy pan or deep skillet and heat to 350 degrees. Place the doughnuts in the oil, two or three at a time, and fry until golden brown. Turn over and cook the second side. This should take no more than a minute for each side. Overcooking will make the doughnuts tough. Drain on paper towels.

To make the glaze, stir the milk into the confectioners' sugar until it is smooth, then add the vanilla.

When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle (but still warm), dip the tops of the doughnuts in the glaze, then place on a rack or plate to let the glaze drop down.

Corned Beef Hash

We love corned beef hash in our house. I don't know what it is that draws us to it but we just really like it. As such whenever the corned beef gets marked down after St. Patrick's day we stock up on it to use for corned beef hash and Reuben sandwiches. This has been one of the easiest recipes I have tried for corned beef hash and one of the best tasting. I hope you like it as much as we did.

Corned Beef Hash
adapted slightly from Nook & Pantry

2 slices of bacon regular thickness or 1 slice thick cut, chopped
2 C chopped corned beef 1/2 inch cubes
2 potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
A few shakes of Tabasco

Cook the bacon in a nonstick or well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat until crisp and the fat has rendered.

Add the diced onions and potatoes. Add more oil if not enough rendered from the bacon. Shake the skillet and flip the potatoes occasionally so the potatoes can brown on all sides. Cook until the potatoes are nearly cooked through.

Add the corned beef, bell peppers, mustard, oregano, and any additional seasoning. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked through.

Raspberry Honey Rolls

I came across this recipe via the Hive, a blog filled with Utah food bloggers. Kitty at Fahrenheit 350 posted about her blog so I headed on over to check her out. I noticed these rolls and thought they sounded so good. I had raspberries from the CSA pickup so I thought a perfect way to use those raspberries. I was right. These are so truly yummy rolls. They smelled delicious while cooking and it was really hard to wait a few minutes for them to cool enough to eat. They were sweet without being overly sweet. They were easy to make and I see myself using the dough recipe to try other fruit filled rolls.

Raspberry Honey Rolls
from Kitty at Fahrenheit 350

Dough:
Melt 8 oz sour cream & 2 tablespoons raspberry juice over low heat until warmed.
Add:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 package yeast (2 ½ teaspoons)
Stir into sour cream mixture until dissolved and smooth

Pour mixture into mixing bowl, add:
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 egg
Knead together until smooth

Add 1-2 cups additional flour until dough is slightly tacky

Filling:
1 cup raspberries + 2 tablespoons sugar
Let germinate for 1 hour, then add 2 tablespoons creamed honey
Stir to incorporate.


Roll dough out to ½ inch, spread filling over dough.
Roll dough up lengthwise, pinch ends together, cut into whirlpools and press into prepared pans.
Will make 12 rolls when using a standard sized muffin tin.
*I used a muffin tin greased with vegetable oil and butter.

Bake at 375°F, 15-20 minutes, release from pan.

Glaze:
1 tablespoon creamed honey
1 teaspoon whipping cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
Whisk together and smooth, drape over rolls while hot.

French Toast

I'm sure your wondering why I would post a recipe for something as simple as French toast, well its because I can not stand the taste of French toast. It always tastes "eggy" to me and having to look at the pieces of egg that cooked on the bread is not the least bit appealing to me. I found this recipe in a magazine and it promised no "eggy" taste to the French toast. I was skeptical as how can French toast not be "egg." I will admit that this recipe left no "eggy' taste or pieces of egg on my French toast. As an added bonus it wasn't a really soggy bread either. This does take a few extra minutes compared to a regular French toast but I'll take the extra time for something that actually tastes good to me.

French Toast
Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb 2009

8 large slices of hearty white sandwich bread or good-quality challah
1 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Place bread on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Bake bread until almost dry throughout (center should remain slightly moist), about 16 minutes, flipping slices halfway through cooking. Remove bread from rack and let cool 5 minutes. Return baking sheet with wire rack and reduce temperature to 200 degrees.

Whisk milk, yolks, sugar, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9 inch baking pan.

Soak bread in milk mixture until saturated but not falling apart, 20 seconds per side. Using firm slotted spatula, pick up bread slice and allow excess milk mixture to drip off; repeat with remaining slices. Place soaked bread on another baking sheet or platter.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon butter in 12 inch skillet over medium-low heat. When foaming subsides, use slotted spatula to transfer 2 slices soaked bread to skillet and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes longer. If toast is cooking too quickly, reduce heat slightly. Transfer to baking sheet in oven. Repeat cooking with remaining bread, 2 pieces at a time, adding 1/2 teaspoon of butter for each batch.

Serve warm.

Best Raspberry Muffins

I adapted this recipe from "Best Blueberry Muffins" from the June 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated. I had to adapt it because my mother hates blueberries. I don't believe I have ever seen such an old person who has so many picky eating habits. Kids sure, but they grow up and lose most of those. And I feel safe saying that here because I know she doesn't check this blog. Hee. Love ya regardless, I just reserve the right to nitpick your pickiness.


Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

1. Stir sugar and zest in a small bowl until combined; set aside.

Muffins
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/8 cups plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tim with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium heat stir 1 cup raspberries and 1 teaspoon sugar together in a small sauce pan, mashing with the back of a spoon. Heat until berries release their juices and has thickened. Cool mixture for 10-15 minutes.

2. Whisk flour, baking pwoder and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs in medium bowl until thick. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining 1 cup raspberries into flour mixture until just moistened.(Batter will be lumpy with a few dry spots of flour, do not overmix.)

3. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups, batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly. Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using a wooden skewer/chopstick gently swirl berry filling into batter using a figure-eight motion. Sprinkle evenly with lemon-sugar topping.

4. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17-19 minutes. Cool muffins in tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I thought these were quite delicious. They have a cake crumb and are perfect for breakfasts. I did not use all the lemon-sugar topping when I sprinkled them, but I reserved it so I could use it after I buttered them up.

Strawberry Scones

These scones were quick and easy to make. As an added bonus they were very tasty. My husband ate about 4 of them on his own. I did have a few problems while making the scones. The amount of liquid seemed off as I could not pull the mixture together. I ended up adding more cream one tablespoon at a time until the dough came together. The nutmeg and lemon zest added an interesting touch that really worked well for these scones. I found the recipe at the Family Fun magazine website.

	1 cup hulled and finely diced fresh strawberries
	2 cups flour
	1/3 cup sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
	1 tablespoon baking powder
	1/2 teaspoon salt
	1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
	A lemon, for zest
	6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
	1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon light cream
	1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, using a few spots of butter or cooking oil to stick it in place. Set the baking sheet aside.

2. Place the diced strawberries on several sheets of paper towel to absorb their juice. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Zest half of the lemon into the ingredients, taking care to remove just the outermost skin and not the white pith.

3. Cut in the butter with two butter knives or a pastry blender until the flour-coated pieces are the size of peas. Add the strawberries, tossing them gently with a fork to coat them.

4. Make a well in the mixture. Blend the 1/2 cup of light cream and the vanilla extract in a measuring cup and pour them into the well. Using as few strokes as possible, gently stir the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough sit for 1 minute.

5. Clean and flour your hands and dust your work surface with flour. Place the dough on the floured surface and knead it gently three or four times. Transfer it to the large baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle. Using a lightly oiled pizza cutter or a serrated knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges, as you would a pizza. Use a small spatula or pie server to carefully separate the pieces, leaving at least an inch between them.

6. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining tablespoon of light cream, then sprinkle the surfaces with sugar. Bake the scones until the outsides are crusty and starting to brown, about 18 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment and the scones onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes before serving.

Extra Light, Extra Crispy Waffles

I have to admit this recipe has been the best tasting of all waffles recipes I've tried. It did have the crispness that my oldest loves about frozen waffles. The best part was they were no harder to make than regular waffles. I did have concerns that you'd be able to taste the rice krispie's in the waffles but you can not. This was a winner in our house and one we will make again and again. I found the recipe in the August/September 2006 issue of Cook's Country.

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup rice krispies
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat traditional waffle iron to medium. Meanwhile, stir flour, rice krispies, cornstarch, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk egg yolks, milk, vanilla, and oil together in medium bowl.
With electric mixer of balloon whisk, beat egg whites in bowl to soft peaks. Pour milk mixture over dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Whisk in beaten whites until just combined. Do not over mix; a few streaks of whites should be visible.
Pour 2/3 cup batter into center of preheated waffle iron and use back of dinner spoon to spread batter toward outer edges (batter should reach about 1/2 inch from edges of iron before closing lid). Close lid and cook until deep golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Grandma Gadd's cinnamon rolls

I asked my grandmother for this recipe about 15 years ago, not long before she died. I then somehow misplaced it and had given up hope of ever finding it again. Well two days ago I found the recipe and of course had to make it as soon as I found it. I have to say the taste was even better than I remember, granted the last time I ever ate the ones grandmother made was around 1992. I made her frosting and I made some with the cream cheese frosting that I prefer. However I have to say her frosting tasted much better today to me. Maybe because its been so long since I've had them or if its more suited for her recipe. The top roll in the picture is made with grandma's glaze and the washed out one is the cream cheese glaze which for some reason in 20 pictures was always washed out. So here is her recipe for cinnamon rolls, I made 41 rolls with this recipe:

5 1/2-6 cups flour

2 packages of yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 cup water (wam water)

1/4 cup softened butter

2 eggs

Combine all and knead for about 10 minutes. Cover and let rise until double.

Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Spread melted butter over the entire dough. Sprinkle between 3/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups sugar over the butter. Then sprinkle about 1 tablespoon cinnamon over the sugar. Start at one end and roll tightly. Once the dough has been rolled cut into slices, the thickness depending on how big and thick you want your rolls. Cover and let rise until about double in size.

Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes. Time depends on the size and thickness so keep an eye on them. While still hot from the oven ice with the following glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon maple flavor

3 to 4 tablespoons coffee

Pancakes

I made strawberry pancake syrup on Thursday from some strawberries I bought and of course I just couldn't wait to try the syrup to see if I liked it. This recipe is really tasty. My boys who really only like to eat waffles ate these pancakes. Dh who really isn't a fan of pancakes asked for seconds. They taste alot like the good pancakes you buy at a resturant. I've never been a fan of boxed pancake mix anyway and this recipe didn't take long to make at all that I see never buying a box of pancake mix again. I found the recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/ and they are called good old fashioned pancakes.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Cornmeal Waffles with warm peach sauce

Tried these and I liked them. No one else did. The boys, though, did eat the waffles with maple syrup so it must have been the peach topping.

Peach Sauce
2 cups frozen sliced peaches
1 1/2 cups peach nectar
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar Cornmeal Waffles
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
3 Tbs. vegetable oil, divided
1 Tbs. grated orange zest


To make Peach Sauce: Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, or until peaches are very tender and sauce is syrupy. Break up peaches with spoon to make sauce chunky. Transfer to bowl.
To make Cornmeal Waffles: Preheat waffle iron to medium high. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Stir in buttermilk, egg, 2 Tbs. oil and orange zest.
Brush waffle iron with remaining oil. Spoon batter onto waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions. Cook 6 minutes, or until waffle is crisp. Repeat with remaining batter. Spoon Peach Sauce over waffles, and serve.