Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

Powdered sugar topped pancakes.

Maple syrup, butter and powdered sugar.

Mixing batter gently for a fluffy soft pancakes.

Stir gently so gluten won't form.

Adding blueberries and gently folding them.

1 1/2 c. cake flour plus 1T.
1/4T. salt
1T. heaping baking powder
3T. sugar
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk plus more if necessary
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2T. melted butter
1 c. heaping blueberries( fresh or frozen unthawed blueberries)
butter and maple syrup


1. Heat griddle or skillet in a  medium low heat.Combine salt,flour,baking powder and sugar in a medium size bowl.
2. In another bowl combine evaporated milk,lemon juice and zest.Let it rest for 5 minutes.add egg,vanilla and melted butter.
3. Gently combined wet and dry ingredients.Add more evaporated milk if mixture is too thick.Stir in blueberries.
4. Melt a dab of butter in heated skillet.Drop batter by 1/4c. full and cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
5. Serve with softened butter and warm syrup.

Adapted recipe from the Pioneer Woman's Cookbook

Overnight French Toast

melted butter and brown sugar

Day old challah bread

Adding the custard mixture.

Wrap with plastic and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

Baked French Toast with  powdered sugar.

This is  a make ahead breakfast fit for a crowd.Its like a  pancake,leche flan, bread pudding all rolled into one.Yummy!!!!!!

1/4 c. melted butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 loaf Brioche or Challah sliced into 1 1/2 inches thick
1 1/2c. whole milk or half and half
8 eggs,slightly beaten
1T. vanilla extract
1t. ground cinnamon
1/4t. ground ginger/ or nutmeg(I used freshly grated nutmeg)
1/2c, chopped pecans(optional)
1/8t. salt
maple sugar and powdered sugar for topping

1. In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour at the bottom of the pan 9x13 dish.
2. Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping.
3. Combine eggs, milk,vanilla,salt,cinnamon and ginger or nutmeg in a bowl and pour evenly over the bread slices.
4. Sprinkle chopped pecans if you like.(I omit this part.)
5.Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4-12 hours.
6.In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge at least 10 minutes while you are preheating the oven to
  350 degrees.
7.Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes.if it starts browning cover foil loosely over the top of the casserole for
   the last 10 minutes.You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry
   it out completely.

8.Remove casserole and cool slightly before serving.Serve with maple sugar and powdered sugar.

Easy Cheese Danish

Topped with my homemade raspberry jam.

My children liked it plain.

Wonderful dough sheets.

Baked cheese danish.

2 cans refrigerated crescent dough

2-8oz cream cheese at room temperature

1c. white sugar

1-large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a choice of your favorite jam/jelly( optional)

cinnamon sugar for the topping(optional)

1.Preheat oven to 350.

2.Press the dough from one can of crescent dough into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

3.In a bowl,mix cream cheese,beaten egg,sugar and vanilla extract, mix until creamy and lump  free about 5
 minutes scraping down the sides of the bowl.

4.Spread the mixture over the dough.Top with the second crescent dough.

5.This is optional,sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top or spread your favorite jam/jelly. Bake for 30-35
minutes.Let cool in a pan.Serve warm. 

Belgian Waffles

I found this recipe from All recipes .com.The recipe uses yeast instead of baking powder and resulted to a soft dense and really good Belgian waffles that made a lot and freezes very well.This is so much better than
the one from the frozen section  of your grocery stores. Just pop it in a toaster no thawing required.


1(.25 oz.)active dry yeast
1/4c. warm milk(2 % or fat free)
3 egg yolks
2 3/4c. warm milk(110 F/ 45 C)
3/4c. butter melted and cooled or canola oil
1c. white sugar
1 1/2teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
4c. All purpose flour
3 egg whites

1. In a small bowl,dissolve yeast in 1/4c. warm milk. Let stand until creamy about 10 minutes.
2.In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks,1/4c. warm milk and oil or  melted cooled butter.Stir in the yeast mixture, sugar,salt and vanilla.Stir in remaining 2-1/2cups milk alternately with the flour,ending with flour. Beat egg whites until soft peak forms and fold into the batter.Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until double in size about an hour.

Adding yeast to warm milk,let it stand until creamy.

After an hour of rising, the batter will look like this, thick and bubbly!!

Be sure to grease the waffle iron before the batter.

Cooked just right!

My family favorite sausages.

Cool completely before freezing.

3. Preheat waffle iron, spray or brush with oil and spoon 1/2c. of the batter onto the center of iron. Close the lid and bake until stops steaming and waffle is golden brown. Serve immediately  or keep warm in 200 degree oven. Cool completely and separate waffles before freezing.

Deluxe Monkey Bread

Monkey bread

Rolling biscuits dough, notice half of the caramel mixture at the bottom of the pan

Pour remaining caramel on top and sprinkle some cinnamon

1/3c. granulated sugar
4t. cinnamon and extra teaspoon for sprinkling on top
1-8 oz. cream cheese
2- 12 oz. cans of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 stick of butter
2/3c. chopped pecans or walnuts(optional)


Preheat oven to 350F. Mix granulated sugar,cinnamon and cream cheese together in a small bowl. Flatten out one piece of biscuit dough and place a spoonful of cream cheese mixture in the center. Wrap the edges of the dough around cream cheese mixture,sealing to make a pouch. Repeat with remaining dough.

 Melt butter and brown sugar together on the stove or  in the microwave,stirring until well combined in a smooth mixture.Sprinkle nuts(if desired) in the bottom of Monkey Bread pan and  half of the melted butter mixture.Arrange biscuit pouches in pan; they will overlap. Pour remaining brownsugar mixture over pouches and sprinkle some cinnamon powder. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, and invert onto serving plate.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is from Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook. There is a lot of steps to this recipe,the joy of creating homemade cinnamon rolls makes it worth the effort.

1/2c. whole milk
4T. unsalted butter cut into chunks
1 package dry yeast(21/4 t.)dry yeast
1/2c. warm water
1/2c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. salt
31/4c. all purpose flour,plus extra for rolling

Filling:

1/3c. granulated white sugar
4t. ground cinnamon
Milk for brushing, 1/2c. unsalted melted butter

Icing:

1c.confectioners (powdered) sugar
2T. whole milk
1/2 t. vanilla extract

1. In a glass measuring cup,microwave milk and butter until butter melts.
2. In a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed,combine yeast and warm water:let it sit for 5 minutes.Beat in 1/2c. granulated sugar and eggs at low speed until blended. Beat in salt,warm milk mixture and 2c. of flour until blended about a minute.Switch to dough hook and add 1 1/4c. flour and knead in a medium low speed , adding up to 1/2c. additional flour if dough is sticky. Mix until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl about 10 minutes.
3.Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and transfer the dough to a large,lightly oiled plastic bowl.Cover bowl with plastic wrap;let the dough rise until double in size about 2 1/2 hours.Punch dough in the center(at this point you can refrigerate the dough covered overnight)
4.Turn the dough into lightly floured surface and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.Butter lightly a 13x9x inch baking pan.
5.For filling:In a small bowl,mix 1/3c. granulated sugar and cinnamon ans 1/2c. melted butter.
6.Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into 12x16 inch rectangle.Brush with milk and spread filling,leaving a 1/2 inch border. Using fingertips seal edges firmly to form a seam.(do not seal ends).Use a serrated knife,cut dough log into 12 equal rolls and arrange to prepared  pans.

7.Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until double in size about an hour.Preheat oven to 350F.Set oven rack into middle center position.

8.Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.Invert rolls onto wire rack:cool 20 minutes.

Hot cinnamon rolls.

Yeast mixture in bubbling action.

Dough after kneading and proofing

After proofing,rolling to  square size

cinnamon,melted butter and sugar

spreading the filling

rolling tightly

cut into 12 and let it rise until double in size

ready for the hot oven

9. For the icing:In a small bowl,whisk confectioners sugar,milk and vanilla until smooth. Place rack over a piece of wax paper; reinvert rolls onto rack.Using a spoon,drizzle icing over rolls with spoon.

add icing while its hot!

Christmas Chocolate Chips Pancake

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This is our family traditional Christmas breakfast, chocolate chips pancake made from scratch topped with real Maple syrup,ham and whipped cream with extra chocolate chips on top.Fresh fruits on the side with hot cocoa.Yummy!!


2c. all purpose flour
2 eggs beaten
1T. baking powder
3T. sugar
1T. oil
1/2c.-1 c. of milk add some more for desired thiness/thickness of the batter.
1t. real vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Mixing the batter just to get incorporated.

Adding mini morsel chocolate chips.

Cooking- wait when bubbles appear and burst then flip the other side.

Done!

Nestle mini morsel chocolate chips 1/2 of the bag.

 Preheat your flat grill or oil  lightly a flat frying pan in medium  low heat. I used an iron skillet.
Stir all dry ingredient (sugar,flour,salt,baking powder)in a bowl. except the mini chocolate chips. Mix all wet ones(egg,milk,oil,vanilla) . Combine all together, adding more milk  until desired consistecy,  a little lumpy is ok, do not over mix for a  light fluffy pancakes. Mix the chocolate chips about half of a bag.Pour the batter  into the hot pan and wait until all the bubbles appear on top and burst then flip the other side carefully.Wait about a minute,then start another batch. The secret of tender pancake is just cooking both sides for about a minute and just flip it once only on each sides. Always mix the batter before adding  to the hot pan,the chocolate chips tend to settle at the bottom of the bowl.Serve with real Maple syrup,ham,fruits and whipped cream garnish with some mini chocolate morsel on top.

Egg White Omelet With Mango Tomato Salsa

4 egg whites and 1 whole egg beaten

a choice of your toppings(ham,spinach, cooked mushrooms,shredded cheese,tomatoes, onions etc..)

Use a non stick pan and spray pan with oil, heat it on medium heat pour the beaten eggs let the side cook a little before pushing the raw egg in the center of the pan, keep pushing it very gently until firm, gently flip it to cook the other side and start  putting your toppings at the other end of the omelet , flip the other half and cook for about 3 minutes. Done!  I serve this with salsa and toast. Serve 2 hungry kids! (I don't salt the eggs because cheese and ham are salty enough for our taste)

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

1 1/2c. whole wheat flour
1c. all purpose flour
3/4t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
1/2t.baking powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 T vanilla
 3 very ripe bananas (mashed)
1/4 cup yogurt or sour cream

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix all wet ingredients excluding the bananas in a bowl.
2. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
3. Add bananas and pour into greased texas sized muffin pans.
4. Bake for 30- 45 min at 350 degrees