Cinnamon Roll "Waffles"

I've seen this all over Pinterest, and they're all the same so I don't really have a source to credit. 

Here's what you need:

~ Can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls

~ Waffle Iron

~ Appetite!

What could be easier!?!

Coat your waffle iron with non-stick spray.

(or butter the grates... whichever is your preferred method)

Place the rolls on the iron, close the lid and...

... viola!  Cinnamon Roll Waffles!

Top them however you wish.   Some of us used the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls, and I preferred to use syrup.  Either way, they were a hit and so very easy!!

Try it... I think you'll like it!

Glazed Pumpkin Scones

I love all things pumpkin!  Well, that is all things SWEET and pumpkin.  Not sure why you'd waste perfectly good pumpkin and make ravioli out of it if there are scones to be had. 

I found this recipe on pinterest and knew immediately that I wanted to try it.  These scones are made with pumpkin and have not one, but two different glazes to top it off!  These scones were surpisingly moist, not typically characteristic of most scones, and really really delish!!  The recipe that I followed can be found here.

Let's get started.  You will need:

Scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 6 TBSP cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (we used our fresh pumpkin puree)
• 3 TBSP half-and-half
• 1 large egg

Preheat oven to 425.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet.  Whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half and egg.  Set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Mix well.
Add cubed butter to top and blend together until consistency resembles cornmeal.  Gradually fold the wet ingredients into the dry.
The dough will be very thick.
On a well-floured surface, flatten and form the dough into a 12″ x 4″ x 1″ thick rectangle.
Using a sharp knife, divide the dough into three equal pieces.
Slice each piece into an X shape, resulting in four triangles... 12 total (you can tell by looking at mine that my measurements were off).

 So you will end up with 3 squares, cut like this, side by side.  (Sorry, didn't think to take an actual picture of the dough at this step.  You can see the pictures from the original post here.)




Place your triangles on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 TBSP milk (plus extra to thin down)
• 4 oz cream cheese

Mix the powdered sugar and milk together.  Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth, adding additional milk (1 TBSP at a time) until you reach the right consistency.  It should be fairly thin, but not runny.  Brush onto scones with a pastry brush.  Let dry for about 10 minutes

Spiced Glaze

• 1 cup plus 3 TBSP powdered sugar
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground ginger
• Pinch of ground cloves

Combine all of the ingredients for the spiced glaze and drizzle on top of scones.

I encourage you to try this... they are so good!! 

So grab yourself a cup of coffee (or if you're like me a Diet Dr. Pepper) and ENJOY!!

Banana Muffins

I had several overripe bananas and promised myself that instead of just pitching them I would make something with them.  I found this Banana Muffin recipe on Pinterest and had to give it a try!

I found the recipe here.  

Here's what you'll need:  

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Directions:
Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Notes:  

~ I didn't have vegetable oil and used canola oil instead.  I suppose you can even substitute applesauce if you wish to be more health conscious.  

~ I also added approximately 2 - 2.5 tsp of cinnamon.  

~ I was able to get 24 muffins, instead of the 18 stated in the recipe, and could have probably had 2 more if I had another muffin pan.  I'm not sure why this happened unless the size of my 4 bananas was larger than what was used in the original recipe resulting making more batter.  Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining!  :)

~ After I filled one muffin pan I added mini chocolate chips to the remaining batter.  Mmmm...

These muffins are sooo good!  I think this recipe is a keeper!!

ENJOY!!

Easy Berry Cobbler

Easy... that's about all I can handle these days.  I found a recipe for an Easy Berry Cobbler (that was also short on guilt) that I knew I had to make.  I found the recipe on Living A Changed Life.  Here is what you will need... just 3, that's right... 3 ingredients!!:



                                               Two 12-oz bags frozen mixed berries

1 box white cake mix (no pudding)

1 can of diet 7-up or sierra mist (clear soda)

I did not end up using both of the bags of berries that are pictured above.  The bags of fruit that I bought were 16 oz instead of the recommended 12 oz.  When I put the triple berry mix in the baking pan I thought that that was more than enough,  although you can use more if you would like.

Okay, ready?  Here's what you need to do... 

Place frozen fruit in a 9x13 baking dish. Add dry cake mix over the top. Pour soda slowly over cake mix. DO NOT stir the cake mix and the pop - this will give you a 'crust'.

Bake 350 for 45-50 min.

Serves 16; 4 PointsPlus

With or without ice cream... the choice is yours.  I'm sure you'll love it either way!!

ENJOY!!

Egg McCorby

Well, I can't take any credit for this morning's breakfast.  We have Kristen to thank for the Egg McMuffins that she didn't purchase from McDonald's but created herself in the kitchen.  Let me tell you, they were delish and oh so easy, so I'm told!!  I'm loving that Kristen has a renewed interest in the kitchen... it could be the apron with ruffles and pearls that she got for Christmas, or it could be Pinterest, either way I think it's great!  :)

The inspiration for this mornings undertaking can be found here.

You'll need:

English Muffins
Large eggs
Cheese (about 10 ounces for 12 sandwiches.)
Butter, or olive oil (optional)


Grab a muffin tin and and very lightly oil each spot in the tin with either butter or spray oil.  Next,  crack an egg in each muffin area!  Stick these in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.
Take half of a muffin, add some cheese, add an egg, and apply the top half of the muffin.  Here Kristen improvised and had cooked up some sausage patties to add to the sandwich.  You could add any meat that you want (bacon, ham, canadian bacon) or leave it meatless as the author does.

Thanks, Kristen!  Can't wait to see what's cookin' next!

Spinach and Cheese Strata

The pictures don't do it justice, you'll have to trust me when I say that this is a beautiful, snowy Sunday morning.  Just the kind of morning for a nice hot breakfast casserole.  So glad that I put it together last night to bake up this morning!!

Found the recipe here and knew I had to try it!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1½ cups onion, finely chopped
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. pepper, divided
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 oz. coarsely grated Gruyere (about 2 cups)
2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 2/3 cup)
9 large eggs
2¾ cup milk

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions to the pan and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the nutmeg, and continue to cook for 1 minute more.  Stir in the spinach, remove from the heat and set aside.

Butter the inside of a 2½-3 quart baking dish.  Layer the bottom of the dish with one third of the bread cubes.  Top with one third of the spinach mixture and one third of each of the cheeses.  Repeat these layers twice more with the bread, spinach and cheese.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, the remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper.  Whisk together until blended.  Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and spinach layered in the baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown and cooked through, 45-55 minutes.  Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Viola!  The perfect start to our day!