Key Lime Scones

Once in a while we like to get fancy here for breakfast.  The girls love having tea parties with scones, and peppermint tea.  When I woke up this morning I immediately thought of scones, and as I walked into my kitchen I spied my fruit bowl, filled to the top with lemons and limes (I love citrus!) and thought to myself...  I'm going to make key lime scones, they'll be delicious and the girls will love them, I hope.  Not only did the girls like them, but they licked their plates clean.  

Key Lime Scones

Makes 12-16 scones (depending on how big you cut them)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

zest of one lime, or 3 key limes

1 cup chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 - 1 cup mini white chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups milk or heavy cream

for the glaze:

Juice of one lime or 3 key limes

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the bowl of your food processor place flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and lime zest pulse to combine.  Add butter and pulse until it resembles a medium crumb. pour into a medium bowl and stir in chocolate chips.  Stir in milk until just combined.  Divide the dough into two equal portions.  Place one portion on a lightly floured surface and flatten with your hands to form a disc about 1 inch thick.  Using a pizza cutter, cut into 6-8 wedges and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk all ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

Place on a wire baking rack and drizzle the glaze over the scones (I've found if I place the wire baking rack on a piece of aluminum foil it is much easier clean-up).  Enjoy!

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and gravy are the Hubs favorite breakfast.  I think he'd request it every day if I didn't drill it into him each day that it is a "splurge".  It is delicious, I would never say otherwise, and so incredibly easy to make.  Start with my favorite biscuit recipe found here, then follow up with a rich and creamy gravy full of sausage and a kick from black pepper.  YUM... my mouth is watering just writing about it.  Enough waiting, time to share the recipe.

Sausage Gravy
1 lb ground sausage (I love spicy breakfast sausage for this)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3-4 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by browning the sausage, crumble it as you go.  You'll want it cooked through completely.  Drain off the excess fat (doing this makes me feel like it is a little bit better for me ;) ) and return to the heat.  Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir until each crumble is coated evenly.  Slowly pour the milk in, beginning with 2 cups  and whisk it in.  It will begin to thicken as it heats.  Add more milk a little at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot over fresh biscuits.

Hope you love this one just as much as we do :)

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I am a sucker for breakfast foods.  I just love everything breakfast!  My girls have followed suit and we make a lot of delicious breakfast dishes together.  Pancakes are a must, so finding a new recipe, and one that is as tasty as this, is a wonderful thing.  When cooked up these pancakes are kind of a mix between a crepe and a pancake, absolutely delicious!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Serves 4

1 cup Greek yogurt
7 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
butter
syrup

In a medium bow, stir together gently the yogurt, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. 

Whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl, add the vanilla and stir to combine.

Stir the egg mixture into the yogurt mixture.

Pour batter, about 1/4 cup at a time, onto a hot greased skillet and cook.

Top with butter and syrup and enjoy!

You'll find yourself coming back for more of these delicious pancakes!

Best Banana Bread I've Ever Tasted

Banana bread is one of those things you either love or hate.  I myself love it!  I find it makes a wonderful breakfast, with a little cream cheese or real butter smeared across it, YUM!  It is a great way to use up bananas that might find their way in the trash, and it also makes a wonderful gift for a neighbor who may need a little cheering up.

I especially love the little surprises I've added to my "go to" recipe to make it over the top.

Banana Bread
Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup overripe bananas, mashed (2-3 bananas)
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Hershey's Cinnamon Chips (my extra ingredient)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts and pecans are wonderful in this) *optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease an 8x4x3 inch loaf pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle, whip butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.  Add the bananas, milk, and lemon juice, and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined.  Stir in cinnamon chips and nuts.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so to celebrate my birthday I am sharing one of my favorite breakfast dishes.  I know you may be thinking, "but pancakes are so boring".  Truthfully, pancakes are an art.  To get the perfect light, fluffy pancake, you've got to practice, and not get distracted while you are cooking them too (that has been known to happen at our house).  Pancakes from scratch are so much better than they are from a mix, and they really don't take much time to mix up.  Add a little butter and some maple syrup and, mmmm... perfection! 

Whole Wheat Pancakes
serves 4-5


1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (freshly milled is best if you can)
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Whisk in milk, egg and oil until no lumps remain.  Meanwhile, heat your griddle over medium heat.  When pan is heated, pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the pan and cook until large bubbles form in the center of the pancake, turn and cook on the other side.  Serve with butter and warm maple syrup. 

Better than Boxed Toaster Pastries

In honor of my wonderful Hubs, and in celebration of our 10th anniversary today, I am sharing one of his favorite treats, home made Pop Tarts.  I will be the first to admit, I love pop tarts!  Especially the brown sugar cinnamon flavor.  I don't however, like the list of ingredients that I cannot pronounce.  In my quest to provide real food for my family, I have replaced the boxed pop tarts with homemade and my family is thrilled!  We love that we can get creative and make new combinations, or fill them with our favorites.  I love knowing that the fruit filling is just that, fruit.  My kids love the sprinkling of colored sugar or cinnamon sugar that we add at the last minute so we'll be able to tell which is which.  Don't be intimidated by these tasty little treats, the hardest part is the crust, and believe me it is just like making biscuits.

For the crust you can cheat and buy a pre-made pie crust, but homemade really is better.  This recipe is our family favorite and always works.  I love it because it doesn't require refrigeration before rolling it out.  Just mix it up,  roll it out and get on with your day.

Crust:
makes about a dozen depending on the size

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup shortening, butter, or coconut oil (my favorites are butter and coconut oil)
2/3 cup ice cold water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt.  Using a pastry cutter, mix in the shortening, butter or coconut oil, until it resembles crumbled feta cheese.  With a fork stir in cold water until just blended.  split dough in half and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into rectangles with a pizza cutter.  Place a tbsp (or more or less depending on the size of your rectangles) of the filling of your choice in the center of half of the rectangles.  Spread it out, leaving 1/3 inch around the outside edge uncovered.  Dip your finger in cold water and run it around the edge of the rectangle and place a second rectangle over the top and using a fork press the sides together.  Poke a couple of vent holes in the top and place on a cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining crust. 

Bake for 11-13 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Our favorite fillings are:
Strawberry - remove leaves and chop strawberries, place in saucepan, add a tbsp of sugar 1/2 tsp of vanilla and a tbsp of cornstarch.  Bring to a boil and cook until thick.  I like to use a potato masher to break down the berries a little too.  (You can use any berry instead of strawberry in this mixture.)

S'mores: When making the crust, use one sleeve of graham crackers crushed up fine as part of the flour (pour it in the measuring cup and top it off with flour, using it as the first cup of flour).  Fill them with mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.  The marshmallows melt while baking, but leave behind their delicious flavor.  Top these with cinnamon sugar, believe me you'll love it!

Chocolate  Peanut Butter: fill with mini chocolate chips and a spoon full of peanut butter.  I'd love to say this is healthy, but, well... it probably is not.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon:  In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and a tsp ground cinnamon.  Spoon mixture into each rectangle.

If you want to top them with a glaze instead of sprinkles, you can by mixing a cup of powdered sugar, a 1/2 tsp vanilla, and a tbsp of water together until it becomes a thin glaze.  Drizzle over the top of the pastries after they've cooled for a minute or two.

Apple Oven Pancake

Breakfast for dinner, the perfect solution for a hectic day.  Easy prep, and everyone will eat it.  We spent the morning driving back from my parents house and had to hurry to get our oldest back in time for school.  Oven pancakes, German pancakes, puffy oven pancakes, whatever you want to call them, are always a hit at our table.  I have to double the recipe to guarantee enough for everyone, otherwise the girls would have them devoured before we even sit down at the table together. 

Apple Oven Pancakes

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup thinly sliced, peeled, apples
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Melt butter in a 9 inch pie pan in the oven.  Brush the butter up the sides of the pie pan.  When butter has melted, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the pie pan, arrange the sliced apples over sugar. 

Mix eggs, flour, milk, and salt in blender (I've found this makes the pancakes puff up every time).  Pour into pie pan over the apples.  Bake for 30 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown.  Serve immediately sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich

I love breakfast!  I don't know how many times you'll read that on this blog, but I really do love breakfast.  I especially love savory breakfasts.  A few years ago, I started searching for the perfect biscuit recipe to add to my collection.  I tried many different recipes found online and pinterest, and finally I started searching cookbooks.  One of my first stops was one of Paula Deen's cookbooks.  I was surprised to find her recommendation was to buy a bag of the frozen ones, bake them, hide the evidence and claim them as your own.  As good as the frozen ones are, and we all know they are yummy!  I was, and am, trying to steer clear of processed and packaged foods for my family, so the hunt continued.  I came across one book that caught my eye, Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart, unfortunately it was out of stock on Amazon, so I waited.  Believe me it was worth the wait.

A good breakfast sandwich has to start with a really great biscuit.  So far, this recipe is my favorite.

Baking Powder Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled shortening, lard, and/or butter, roughly cut into 1/4 inch cubes
AND
1/4 cup chilled shortening, lard, and/or butter, roughly cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup milk or buttermilk, divided
softened butter, for brushing

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with baking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Scatter the first 1/4 cup pieces of chilled fat (doesn't that sound delicious?) throughout the flour mixture.  Using a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers, work the fat into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles well-crumbled feta cheese.  Add the additional 1/4 cup fat to the mixture and continue to work it in until no pieces remain larger than a pea.  If this process took longer than 5 minutes place the bowl in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to re-chill the fat.

Make a deep well in the center of the flour, pour 3/4 cup of the milk into the well, reserving 1/4 cup, and stir with a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, using broad circular strokes to quickly pull the flour into the milk.  Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the sticky dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  If there is remaining dry flour, add the reserved milk one tablespoon at a time.  If the dough is too wet, use more flour when shaping.

Lightly sprinkle flour on a clean surface.  Turn dough out on to the surface and sprinkle the top lightly with flour.  With floured hands, fold dough in half and pat into a 1/3-1/2 inch round.  Fold in half again.  Repeat if the dough is still clumpy.  Pat the dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round for a normal biscuit, 3/4 inch thick for a tall biscuit, and  a 1 inch thick for a giant biscuit.  Brush off any visible flour from the top. 

Using a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter, cut biscuits very close together, being careful not to twist the cutter.  The scraps may be combined to make additional biscuits (the scraps will make tougher biscuits, but no one in my family ever seems to complain about them).

Bake biscuits on the top rack of the oven for 10-14 minutes until light golden brown.  You can rotate the pan after 6 minutes of baking to ensure even cooking.

When biscuits are done, remove from the oven and lightly brush the tops with softened butter.  Serve hot.

Makes 4-12 biscuits depending on size

*I prefer using butter for both of the fat options.  I've used shortening too, and it works great, but we prefer the flavor that the butter provides.

*Dessert variation - Add 3 tbsp sugar to the flour mixture, replace one or both of the fat options with coconut oil.  When biscuits are done, cut in half, fill with fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries, top with more strawberries.  These make wonderful Shortcakes.

To finish off your Sandwich
Add one or two eggs per person, prepared however you like (we prefer scrambled for these delicious sandwiches), cheese if desired, and a slice of ham, sausage, or a couple slices of bacon.  Enjoy

Cornmeal Pancakes topped with Fresh Blueberries and Whipped Cream

I love shopping with my sisters.  Who wouldn't, right!?!  I am lucky to have 5 of the most amazing sisters anyone could ever ask for.  We all love creating, crafting, sewing, and food!  We often get together to just spend the day laughing and letting our kids play (I also love that my girls have an awesome relationship with their cousins... I think that is so important!) Of course when we get together there is always food involved... so how does this go back to shopping with my sisters?  Well, last weekend my older sister spent the day with my family and I.  We had a busy day planned.  It all started with our 5 year old getting her ears pierced. The Hubs and I made a deal with her that if she read 100 books, she could get them pierced.  Lucky for us she is already a reader, so it was done in no time!  Took her just about 3 months to get it completed.  After the trip to the mall, we did the fun stuff...  shopping for food :)

Before the day was over my head was swimming with wonderful ideas on how to use the newly acquired produce and other groceries that made their way into my cart.  One of those were a big container of fresh blueberries (thanks Sam's Club!).  I knew blueberry pancakes had to make it on the menu this week.  So that is where we start.

Cornmeal Pancakes topped with Fresh Blueberries and Whipped Cream

1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
2-1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 pint blueberries (3/4 lb.), rinsed and picked through
Unsalted butter, for cooking (I used coconut oil... mmmm, my favorite!)
Heavy Cream whipped or a can of whipped cream

---

Make the pancakes In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Gently whisk the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until it’s mostly uniform (a few lumps are fine).
Heat a large stovetop griddle or large (12-inch) heavy-duty pan (like a cast-iron skillet) over medium heat until a droplet of water immediately evaporates upon hitting the pan. Melt a small pat of butter in the pan, pour in the batter (about 1/3 cup for each pancake). Leave space between each pancake so flipping them isn’t a problem. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form on top, the cakes set around the edges, and the bottoms brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until they brown and the cakes become just firm to the touch, about 2 more minutes. Serve immediately topped with fresh blueberries and whipped cream

adapted from finecooking.com

The BEST Muffins in the World

I love muffins! Blueberry, banana nut, chocolate, you name it, I'm sure I'll love it! The reason I love this recipe so much is because you get to be creative, and the possibilities are endless!

(pictured L-R, Chocolate chocolate chip, banana, and Pumpkin)

My younger sister took a foods class in college and this recipe was one that she brought home to share.  It is just your basic plain muffin, but you get to add whatever you want to make it yours :)  You can't get better than that now, right!?!

Basic Muffins

Yield 6 muffins (when you add stuff to them, you can easily get 9-12 muffins per batch)

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 egg

First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  Line your muffin pans with liners or spray with nonstick spray.  

Stir together the dry ingredients.  Stir in milk, egg, and oil.  Stir 12-16 strokes, pour into muffin tins.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

This is where you get creative :)

Add-ins:

3/4 cup Rolled Oats

2/3 cup brown sugar (omit the white sugar when adding this)

Substitute whole wheat flour

1/3 cup shredded cheese

4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

reduce sugar to 2 tbsp

(yes it really is delicious!)

This one is a favorite!

1 chopped apple

1/2 cup apple juice concentrate

reduce sugar to 2 tbsp

omit milk

(I always add a bit of apple pie spice or cinnamon and nutmeg - YUM!)

2 tsp Poppy Seeds

1/2 tsp lemon extract  or 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

zest of one lemon

2 tsp poppy seeds

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

replace flour with:

3/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Any of the following:

1/4 cup blueberries, washed and dried

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped apple (or 1/2 cup applesauce)

1 mashed banana

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup coconut

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

You can reduce sugar to 2 tbsp with any of these add-ins if you are trying to cut back, the flavor is still wonderful!

Crumb topping:

1 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp flour

Stir until crumbly, sprinkle on muffins right before baking.

I'd love to hear the combinations you come up with.  Try it out and post your personalized muffin favorites :)