Cherry Coffee Cake

What is your Christmas morning tradition? When I was a little girl we used to all go to my Grandma "P''s house...she had a huge farm house. Us kids would some times sleep right next to the fully lit and decorated Christmas tree, even though there were enough rooms and beds for all of us I remember waking up in the middle of the night staring at the pretty colorful  lights. Grandma always had the multicolored lights - the more colorful, the better. If we didn't wake up first, my Aunt D would come in checking on us kids to see if we were up yet. I think she was just as excited about the days festivities as us kids were! She's fun and super cool like that...still is! So, once Aunt D and us kids were up at around 5 am, we ran around the house gathering everyone else from bed. Still in our jammies we'd all pile into the living room around the tree and start opening gifts. Aunt D delivering the gifts to the kids and Uncle F with his camera. As soon as we were done, Grandma would head to the kitchen and begin her baking and cooking breakfast...well, as soon as coffee was on! We'd get to play with our toys and Aunts and Uncles until someone grab a bite to eat.

I love this tradition and we carry it on as much as we can in my home. One small difference. I want to spend the morning playing and not in the kitchen, so I usually make my well known cinnamon rolls ahead of time and then warm them up or made this Christmas Coffee Cake the night before. This year I'm making Cherry Coffee Cake. My mom used to make a Cherry Coffee Cake similar to this when I as a kid. It was a hit then and it's a hit today!

CHERRY COFFEE CAKE
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbl butter, frozen
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 can cherry pie filling
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
5 Tbl butter, frozen
2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Grate in butter and mix until it looks kinda crumbly. In a small bowl beat buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. It will be lumpy. Spread into the pan. Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly over the top.

Mix brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and cinnamon in a bowl. Grate butter into the mixture and toss until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in walnuts and sprinkle over the cherries. Bake for about 30 minutes.
Serve warm and enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Christmas Breakfast Wreath

Hello! Just so you know, I do feel really bad about not posting delicious and amazing recipes as often as I should!

Ok, now that is out of the way... Christmas is coming! You know what I realized today? If I was in charge, I would give kids one week off of school BEFORE Christmas and one or two weeks (take your pick) after Christmas. Why? Well, because it's no fun doing all this holiday baking and eating by myself! It would be much more fun dancing and singing and baking and eating and decorating with my four kids. Don't ya think?

I whipped up this little, ok, it wasn't so little but this fun sausage crescent breakfast wreath for my MOPs (Mother Of Preschoolers) Leadership Christmas Party. It was a big hit! It was super duper easy and very few ingredients, I didn't even write down the recipe. Today one of my dear sweet besties requested the recipe, she's good at that..requesting recipes from me and complimenting me...she totally speaks my love language in that way! It makes me happy! Anyway, if you want something festive, flavorful, simple and fun for Christmas morning or a Christmas brunch, this is it!

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST WREATH

2 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 lb breakfast sausage
3 green onions, sliced greens and whites
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
1 cup shredded cheese, I used cheddar

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet brown the sausage then drain the grease. Stir in the cream cheese, onions, peppers and cheese. On a large round pizza pan lay the wide end of the crescent triangles around the edge of the pan making a large sun burst shape. Line with the sausage mixture and fold the shorter end of the crescent triangles over to seal. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve!

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Spinach Artichoke Quiche

Pictures are awful...Recipe is divine!


One of my favorite party foods is spinach artichoke dip. Especially my sweet friend Kendra's recipe! But can you eat it for breakfast? Sure...in Quiche! Genius! Why I haven't seen it before? It's amazing! Go ahead...give it a try!

SPINACH ARTICHOKE QUICHE

1 prepared pie crust
9 oz frozen spinach, thawed and juice squeezed from it
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup swiss cheese, chopped or shredded
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 glove garlic, miced

Heat oven to 350. Evenly spread spinach, artichokes, cheeses and garlic in the prepared pie crust. In a medium bowl whisk eggs and milk. Pour into pie crust. Loosely cover the quiche with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until eggs are completely cooked.
Slice, serve and enjoy!

warmly,
Mary

Breakfast Burritos...Breakfast with A Princess

The Princess...She's the cutest little mama you have ever seen! This morning, my princess woke up and asked if she could make breakfast burritos and I can take pictures. So, this one is for her!
The Princess, also known as little mama, wants to be just like her momma! She's always driving around, singing and dancing to her favorite music, cleaning, reading to her babies, cooking, taking pictures, praying for stubbed toes and scraped knees, and kissing and singing to her babies! If she thinks that is what being a mommy is all about...then I've succeed! The princess is a super sweet sensitive cuddly little girl but also as sassy, chatty and strong-willed as her momma.

 

 Every chance she gets, she is helping me cook or bake! She does a great job!

The Princess and her Nana

 She cracked, beat and fried the eggs. Added all the additional ingredients, and filled and rolled the tortillas. All I had to do was heat the tortillas on the stove and add an extra set of hands! Didn't she do great?!

BREAKFAST BURRITOS (Recipe by A Princess)
Ingredients

Eggs (about 1 per burrito), beaten
Bacon, fried
Sausage, browned
Green Onion (per taste, we use 1 to every 3 or 4 eggs), chopped
Cheese, (a lot), shredded or cubed
Garlic Powder
Whole Wheat Tortillas

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray set over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the eggs, green onions and sprinkle with garlic powder. Cook for a couple of minutes, flipping the eggs periodically with a spatula. Mix in the cooked sausage, booked bacon and cheese. Turn the heat off.
On a clean burner set the heat to medium-low. Set the tortillas on the burner, one at a time for 10 - 15 seconds. Flip and heat the other side for 10 - 15 seconds. Keep the warmed tortillas on a plate and cover with a clean dish towel or foil while you warm the remaining tortillas.
Fill and roll tortillas! Top with additional cheese and salsa.

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary and A Princess

Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze

Did you enjoy yesterday's Pumpkin Latte's? I knew you would! Did you call a good friend over to share with? I knew you wouldn't! After taking a sip, you kept it all for yourself didn't you! Ok, well these you will have to share! This is only my 3rd time making scones. It took me a couple times to get it right. The best scones I even had were at a quaint little coffee shop in a sophisticated area in Kansas City. I wanted to replicate their flavor and texture. I think have have accomplished it! Ok, my friends, Enjoy!

oh ya, to a second batch that I made, I added 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips!

Paired up with Pumpkin Latte for 2!

Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, frozen
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
2 Tbl Buttermilk (or 2 Tbl milk with 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
1 large egg
1 Tbl baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Place 1 stick of butter in the freezer about 1 hr prior to making the scones.
Heat oven to 425. In a small mixing bowl whisk together the egg, pumpkin and milk.  In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder. With a cheese grater, grate the frozen stick of butter and with your clean hands, mix the shredded butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. Stir in the pumpkin mixture and mix until it forms a well-combined dough.
Divide the dough into three equal pieces and pat each one out onto a lightly floured surface. Make each ball into a rectangle about 1" thick. Cut an X into each rectangle, creating 4-triangles. You'll have a total of 12 pieces.
Place the triangle scones on a cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). Bake for about 15 minutes.

Maple Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl milk or brewed coffee
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp maple flavoring
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a small bowl add in all the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Add more milk if necessary. Drizzle over cooling scones.

Happy Fall! Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Pecan topped Pumpkin Muffins

Good Morning, Fall! There is something about Autumn that is warm and cozy. Even the shades of fall are cozy, the deep and bright hues of orange, red, auburn and even cappuccino browns. I love lighting candles throughout the house with hints of cinnamon, maple and apple. Bundled up for walks and football games. Trips to local tea rooms and coffee shops. Flavors of apple and pumpkin. Cuddling on the couch with nothing on the to-do-list. Unwinding in a warm hot-tub outside in the fresh brisk air. All things comfy and cozy!

If you've been following my blog for a while (ok, It couldn't have been that long because I just started the end of May!) or if you know me, there are two things or really three things that you have learned about me. I am a morning person! I will be happy to see you in the morning, just because I'm not really the grouchy type! Secondly, I love to bake. Last weekend I couldn't find my favorite muffin tin and I about panicked. I realized then, that aside from not being kind to my kids (the princess and the warrior) one of the meanest things you can do to me is hide my muffin tins! Thankfully before anyone got hurt I found it tucked away inside another muffin tin....whew! And lastly, my weakness is muffins. I don't know why, but I love muffins. Especially if they are adorned with any kind of sweet crunchy topping! And I am not a respecter of muffin types, except that they must be freshly made.

So fall and my love for muffins of course ensured the creation of the perfect muffin recipe. And I will stand by my belief that this is the best pumpkin recipe! A distinct pumpkin flavor, well balanced spice, soft and moist texture and crunch top. Definitely plan to make this recipe this week! Then pour yourself your favorite cup of coffee or tea and a great book, magazine or best friend and enjoy the season!

PECAN TOPPED PUMPKIN MUFFINS
(makes 17 muffins)
Ingredients

1-15oz can pumpkin purée
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Pecan Topping (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line muffin tins. In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin purée, eggs, both sugars, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well blended and smooth.
In another mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir a few times, making sure that you scrape the sides and the bottom. When you think you should stir it just one or two more times...STOP! Divide evenly between muffins tins.
In a little bowl combine pecans, cinnamon and sugar. Spoon over muffin batter. Bake for about 20 min.

Burn your fingers trying to peel back the paper to get your first bite because you can't resist the smell anymore and must have a bite now...or wait until the muffins cool down a bit and ENJOY!

Warmly,
Mary

Blueberry Almond Creme Muffins

Dear Neighbors,

I know that my kids get up early and we play outside before you are even thinking about getting out of bed. And I am terribly sorry that the warrior and the princess were screaming and singing at the top of their lungs as they rode their bikes up and down the street this morning. Please accept this as a token of my sincere apology...when you smell the overwhelming sweet aroma of fresh baked muffins billowing out of my window, just wait on your porch with your coffee and I will be by with my peace offering. I am positive that these wonderful blueberry muffins with a cream cheese filling and an almond topping with make up for your loss of sleep.

Warmly,
The mama of a princess and a warrior

Blueberry Almond Creme Muffins
(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients for the Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups blueberries

Cream Filling
4 oz Cream Cheese, room temp
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract


Almond Topping Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 Tbl butter, melted


Heat oven to 400. In a small mixing bowl beat the egg, milk, oil, vanilla and almond extract. In a Medium mixing bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir in around three or four times then fold in the blueberries, you don't want to over mix muffins, I promise.

Okay, in another bowl add all of the Cream Filling ingredients and with mixer, cream it all together.

Lastly, in a small bowl mix together the Almond topping ingredients.

In a greased muffin tin, spoon half of the blueberry muffin mixture into the muffin wells. Add a spoonful of the filling on top of the blueberry mixture. Spoon the remaining half of the blueberry batter on top. And top it all off with a spoonful of the surgery almond topping. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

If the blueberry muffins weren't enough on their own, filled with cream cheese and topped with a sweet crunchy almonds should definitely win you over! Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Banana Nut Muffins

I once heard someone saying that they didn't like banana bread because it's always dry and tasteless. I thought "what planet are you from?". I had never had dry or tasteless banana bread. Then recently I had it from a mix and in that moment I experienced dry and tasteless banana bread. In 30 years of life I had never had bread from a mix and now knew why. Three thoughts came to mind 1) maybe had they added REAL bananas to the mix, it would have helped A LOT! 2) banana bread is not hard to make...why not make it from scratch? 3) I am now really hungry for the real stuff!

I have a go-to banana bread recipe that I use, but I wanted  to "play around" with creating a muffin recipe. I was ready...had my pen and paper handy and started measuring away. The kids helped, we baked them and they smelled wonderful! Before the muffins even cooled down the kids ate them up like nobody's business...I had to steal 1/2 of the last one so that I knew what it tasted like. But something just wasn't right....what is it? Something was missing...it's moist, great texture, nice banana flavor but not...hmm...not sweet...oh, the sugar! I left out the sugar! And the kids still LOVED the sugar-less Banana Nut Muffins! Even so, obviously I had to make them again, to finalize the true recipe. Yep, perfect! And if you've tried my Very Merry Blueberry Muffins you know I like a sweet crunchy top, which these have!

If you only have 10 minutes to whip up some quick bread...please give these a shot. It will be worth it! If not I have some in my freezer because a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old could not possibly eat another dozen muffins! Even if this batch did have sugar in them!

Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 bananas, mashed with a fork (Use 3 bananas if you dare! I would!)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Crumb Topping (optional but totally worth it!)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup butter, melted

Handful of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400. Spray or grease muffin pan. In a medium bowl mix the first four ingredients. In a small bowl, beat egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Then stir in the bananas and the sugar. Add the banana mixture and walnuts to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Divide equally into the muffin pan. I use a large ice cream scoop and they come out perfectly equal every time.

Now for the crumb topping mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter, mix well. Add in walnuts if you choose. Spoon evenly over the muffins. Bake for 20 minutes.


Eat them up while they are nice and warm! Enjoy my friends!

Warmly, 
Mary

Sweet Potato Hash

Happy Father's Day!

I am so thankful for a dad that taught me the importance of perseverance and hard work. I don't think I know many people who work as hard as he does. He gave me my love for sports, particularity for the Yankees and the Huskers! I get my strong opinions and desire to share them from him. He taught me the importance of education and that to continue to learn for the entirety of your lifetime. This man raised me in a good Christian home and taught me that it's about a relationship with our creator not about religious actions. And he showed me so significantly his respect for my mother. Happy Father's Day Dad...I know you don't care all that much about food, so here's my tribute to you! 

Ok, now for the reason why you all came here, FOOD...

I don't know why I didn't think of this recipe before! It is a total win in our home. It comes from the love of the traditional greasy crispy fried corned beef hash that the family loves to eat on a regular basis. But it's so greasy and salty and we don't generally eat white potatoes either. I a so happy to share this Sweet Potato Hash with you! I wish you could all come over for breakfast to try it! It is ooohh, so yummy, you won't believe that is a "better for you" recipe! Now I'm not going to act like my new version of Hash is all healthy, but it is tons healthier than the version we used to eat.

I made mine on a whim a few days ago, and it was perfect! So just for fun, I searched for a recipe on-line to compare. I have no desire to try any of the recipes that I came across...this one is perfect, it tasted perfect, the warrior and the princess cleaned their plates and wanted more! I don't blame them...it is really good and super easy!

Anyway, I better get going. This one is on the menu this morning for a little warrior and princess to bring their superman dad for breakfast in bed! I am so extremely thankful that my children have a loving and dedicated dad to celebrate today! Happy Father's Day Superman! Happy Father's Day to all you dads! 

Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients

1lb breakfast sausage

1 sweet potatoe

1/2 onion

4 garlic cloves

4 eggs (optional)

Wash and dice the sweet potatoes into small pieces. I kept the peeling on, there's nutrition in there! Boil the potatoes in a medium pot of hot water until they are fork tender...not mushy. Brown the breakfast sausage over medium heat in a large skillet. Dice the onion and mince the garlic while the the sausage is browning. When the the sausage is just about done, drain the grease, do not rise it under water, you don't want to rinse off that great flavor! Just drain it. When the potatoes are done, drain the water and add them to the cooked sausage and turn the heat on the skillet to med-high. It needs to be HOT! Add the onion and garlic. Press down the meat mixture and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir and press down again and cook for another 2- 3  minutes. If it looks crispy, then it's done. If not, press down again and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. The goal is for nice crispy crunchy potatoes...not burned! I topped mine with a fried egg for each serving.  

Oh, yummy! Go make some now! You'll start keeping sweet potatoes and sausage on hand after this one!

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

My Very Merry Blueberry Muffins

This is my favorite food on the planet. And there is no better place for me to start than my greatest weakness...muffins. Oh my how I love muffins. Banana, apple, even raisin bran. It doesn’t matter what kind, I love muffins. But THESE are my ultimate favorite! They are moist, soft, spongy, bursting with blueberry sweetness. And to top it off, a delicious crunchy crumb topping.

I don’t know about you, but I do not NEED a dozen wonderful muffins sitting around my kitchen. So a while back I perfected my blueberry muffin recipe and cut it so it only makes six! One for Superman, one for the Warrior boy, one for the Princess girl and three for me!

Oh ya, I guess I need to share one more detail about my family with you. We are very healthy eaters. VERY healthy. In fact I don’t know anyone else who eats as whole as we do. But I still love my food and fabulous recipes. And I love making people smile with my food. So, this is a special occasion food and it is in no way healthy! And I love it! So, please don’t try to suggest to me how I can make this healthier. Cause I don’t wanna. That’s why I’m only making six of them, okay? Oh wait, I use fresh blueberries amongst all the butter and flour and sugar. And blueberries are REALLY healthy, so there!

My Very Merry Blueberry Muffins

(makes 6)
 

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 egg

1/3 c milk

2 Tb oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup butter, melted

Handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray or grease 6 muffin tin wells (I don’t know the “correct” terminology, but you know what I mean). In a med bowl mix all the dry ingredients (first 4 items). In a small bowl or measuring cup beat egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just a couple of times, parts of it will still look dry. Now add the blueberries.  I use a full cup, you may think it’s too much, I don’t! Divide equally into the 6 muffin wells. I use a large ice cream scoop and they come out perfectly equal every time. 

Now for the crumb topping mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter, mix well. Add in walnuts if you choose. Spoon over the muffins. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. 

While they are hot, if you dare, cut in half and smear with butter. OH MY! Enjoy!

Look at all those amazing blueberries!

Warmly,

Mary