Little MouseKitchen: Great Mornings

Little MouseKitchen: Great Mornings

Finnish Pancake

Heat Oven to 400. Melt 1/4 cup of butter. Put the melted butter in a 9 inch pie plate

In blender, put:
1 c milk 2/3 c flour
2 Tbsp sugar 2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla pinch of salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Blend well, scrapping the sides. Pour batter in center of the pieplate that contains the melted butter.
Bake 30 min. NO PEEKING! When done, it will be puffed and golden. Serve right away with honey or maple syrup.

Omlettes for a Crowd
Yes, this does work, it's very easy and the omlettes are delicious.

Fill a large kettle with water and bring it to a boil.

Prep your omlette fillings ahead:
Shredded cheddar cheese diced cubes of ham
diced green peppers diced onions
diced mushrooms crumbled cooked sausage
diced scallions diced tomatos
fresh salsa sweet red chili sauce
diced feta cheese

Then in large mixing bowl whisk 6-8 eggs, salt and pepper, and 1/4 cup water. Combine thoroughly and then put by 1/2 cup fulls in resealable plastic bags. You can refrigerate the egg mixture until ready to cook. Open the bags and put in whatever omlette filling you want. RESEAL the bag.

Drop the bags into boiling water. Simmer for 5-8 minutes. The omlettes will cook in the bags and you will see the egg firm. Take the bags out with tongs and allow to cool slightly. Open the bag and the finished omlette wil slide out. You can cook 2 or 3 at a time, depending on how big your pot of boiling water is.

French Toast Casserole
Can be prepped the night before and tastes better if it is.

Take a loaf of Italian bread and break into cubes. (You can use whatever bread you have on hand.) In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spray lightly with cooking spray. Put the bread cubes in the baking dish.

Whisk together in a separate bowl:
2 cups of milk 6 eggs
1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pour over the bread cubes. Dot the top of the casserole with butter.
Mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the casserole.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight (or bake immediatly)

Preheat your oven fto 350. Bake with the foil on for 50 min. Take the foil off for the last 10 min of cooking.

Serve hot with maple syrup or honey

Cheddar Apple Sausage Strata
Can be prepped the night before.
Take 6 slices of bread. Anykind will do. I use Sourdough Italian. Cut the crusts off. Spray a 13x9x2 baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the slices of bread side by side in the baking dish.

Crumble and brown 1 lb sweet turkey sausage in a skillet. Drain off the fat. Put the cooked sausage crumbles on top of the bread.
Add 2 cups peeled, cored, and diced apple
Add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Whixk in a seperate bowl
6-8 eggs
1 cup milk
Salt & pepper
2 tsp Greek seasoning

Pour over the bread, sausage, apple mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate over night.

Preheat oven to 375. Remove foil and bake 50-60 min. Check with a knife inserted. If it comes out clean it is done.

Granola with Dried Cherries
4 cups oatmeal
2 cups slivered almonds
1 cup shaved coconut
1 1/2 cups dried cherries or dried apricots
1/2 cup veg oil
1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg

Mix all together. Pour out onto a baking sheet and bakein 350 oven for 30 min.
Allow to cool and then bag up.

Bills' Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
2 Tbsp melted shortening or veg oil
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Beat egg. Add remaining ingredients in order and beat until smooth. Pour by ladle fulls on greased skillet. Allow bubbles to form and then flip. Cook until golden brown. Serve with LOTS of real maple syrup.

Great Mornings

There is nothing like a delicious breakfast.  Think about it.  It doesn't matter if you are on vacation, if you are home for the weekend, if there has been a sleepover or the night after a party, or if you are by yourself and you have woken up when you WANT to and not when you HAVE  to, a delicious breakfast begins the day and gives you the strength to deal with whatever life decides to hand you.  One of my most memorable breakfasts, was when we were in Bermuda.  Hubby and I had fresh pineapple, bacon, hot tea and coffee.  That was it.  But the pineapple was so fresh, it puckered your mouth while the juice ran down your arm. Served overlooking the beautiful, warm turquoise waters it was breakfast at it's finest.

There are many kinds of breakfasts.  There are the conventional kinds that include  cereal, eggs, and toast to the unconventional and just as delicious kinds that include cold pizza, chicken, or cheese and rice.  Breakfast is just that....breaking your nighttime fast.  On a day to day basis, I'm not a huge, regular breakfast eater.  I enjoy breakfast, but am often content with a scalding cup of freshly brewed  tea.  The experts will tell you that that is not wise and not good for the diet, and I agree.  So as a nod to this I will bring a bag of dry cereal or granola with me to munch on, or a piece of fresh fruit.  Except in the winter, when I will make steaming bowls of oatmeal, and how can you resist hot oatmeal with apricot preserves or maple syrup stirred in.

One of my favorite breakfasts is Sunday morning breakfast.  After church, when we come home, the skillets are taken out, the toaster heated, the tea kettle is on the back burner, and breakfast preparations commence.  It can be anything from toast, bacon, and tea, to french toast and sausage, to omelets with all the fixings, to Belgium waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.  Another favorite breakfast is when we go camping.  Bagels, sliced in half, and buttered thickly, and then cooked over the coals of the fire in a skillet and are to die for.  Buttery, toasted bagels, scalding cups of tea or hot cocoa, ( or coffee in Hubby's case), and thick slabs of ham or bacon fried in the same skillet that we toasted the bagels in.  Delicious!

We often have overnight guests, and I really enjoy prepping and making breakfast.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not at my best in the morning so I do most of the prep ahead, and many of my dishes are already put together the night before so I just pop them in hot water or in the oven while I get a hot cup of tea to get my brain moving.

This morning I found an old recipe from a friend.  It was a recipe from her grandmother and we hadn't had it in a very long time.  It was easy prep, and could be done while I drank my first cup of tea.  It was called Finnish Pancakes, and was prepped in the blender.  When baked, the dish is a delicious, hot, custardy, popover type pancake.  It puffs up beautiful and golden in the oven and is served with honey or maple syrup.  This would be a lovely, impressive, and easy breakfast to make for guests.  I was going to take a picture of it, but it was devoured before I had the opportunity to.  It may sound different, but it's delicious and very easy.  Serve with bacon and fresh fruit and you have a lovely breakfast treat.

This weeks recipes pay homage to breakfast treats...so break out the bacon and the maple syrup!
***Indicates recipe to follow.
Sunday
Finnish Pancakes***

Monday
Omelets for a crowd (YES, you can make omelets ahead, AND give your guests what they want!)***

Tuesday
French Toast Casserole***
Cheddar Apple Sausage Strata***

Wednesday
Homemade granola with dried cherries***

Thursday
My Grandfather's Favorite Buttermilk pancakes***
Bacon

Friday
Breakfast for One
Poached Eggs on Toast
Fruit Yogurt