Belgian Waffles

 Ellie is bound and determined that weekends are for yummy breakfasts.  We have been trying out a lot of recipes lately and have decided that Belgian Waffles are one of the best.  We usually make these on snowy days when you just need an extra warm hug.  They make Ellie and everyone happy.

2 1/4 C. Flour

1 T Baking Powder

3 T Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Large Eggs

1/2 C. Canola Oil

2 C. Milk\

1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat your waffle iron, In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Add egg yokes, (put egg whites in a small bowl to whisk) Canola oil, milk, and vanilla. In a small bowl beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.  Now mix the other ingredients until there are no lumps.  Fold in egg whites.  Use a scooper or measuring cup to pour the batter into the skillet.  Do according to the manufacturer's directions.  Serve immediately with butter, syrup, powdered sugar, Nutella, whip cream, and strawberries.  There are so many possibilities.  We hope you enjoy!

German Berry Pancakes

My family loves German Pancakes. I have decided if we are going to have these delicious but not good for you meals I need to at least start adding something good. It is the exact same recipe as the other German pancakes with the addition of berries. My kids LOVED them. They are getting antioxidants and I can't complain about that.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 eggs
2 cups frozen berry mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the butter in a 9x13 pan and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. While the butter is melting mix all of the ingredients together until well mixed. I use a hand mixer, my mom uses a blender. Either works well. Once the mix is mixed together, stir in the berries, get the pan out of the oven with a hot pad and roll the melted butter all over the inside of the pan. Then pour in the mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Place a toothpick in the middle and it should come out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar right away.

We used coconut syrup. It is delish. Mmmm Enjoy.

Coconut Syrup

When we went to DC last fall, my cute little sis made me the yummiest breakfast I have ever had. I have been wanting to make this since but for some reason it took until this Sunday for me to finally do it. It was just as good as I remembered. Everyone in the family with the exception of one loved it.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cool whip
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coconut extract

Heat all ingredients except coconut extract in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Let boil 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut extract. We serve over German Pancakes, or French Toast.   Enjoy.

Country Boy Breakfast Casserole

My friends got together for a morning brunch on my birthday. Everyone brought something to share (except me of course). It was a lot of fun. I feel spoiled by the good friendships that I have made over the years. There is just something about getting together with a group of my girlfriends that just makes my heart smile. Anyway on this particular day one of my girlfriends brought a breakfast casserole that was to die for. Mmmmm!! Actually there were a few dishes that I just loved. This one though was just heaven and an added plus was I knew my hubby and the kids would LOVE it. It is one of those make the night before dinners which is perfect for a person like me who hates mornings. That way I can get all the hard work out of the way the night before and then just pop it in the oven in the morning.

2 bags of frozen shredded hash browns
1 lb cooked ham (deli honey ham)
4 cups shredded cheese
6 eggs
1/2 pint half and half (1 cup)
salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, sauteed
1 lb cooked bacon

Cook hash browns in a 9x13 pan for 1 hour at 400. Mix eggs, half and half and salt and pepper. I cooked my bacon and then sauteed the onions in the bacon grease until they started to caramelize. Layer bacon, ham, cheese, and onion on top of the cooked hash browns. Poor egg mixture over top and cook for 45 min at 350.

(If you choose to make this the night before do everything except pour the egg mixture over the casserole in the morning. I still prepare this the night before so that I don't have to do it in the morning.)

Kneaders French Toast

I first had this at my brothers farewell. My mom made this for 100+ people. It is delicious. She is amazing the amounts of people that she feeds and the food is always wonderful. It really was one of the best farewell brunches I have ever been to and this was the highlight of the menu. It is so good. This is a recipe from Kneaders Bakery and you have to use their bread or it doesn't taste quite the same.

1 loaf Kneaders chunky cinnomon bread
8 eggs
3 cups milk
1 T brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 T vanilla
2 T butter + some for prepping the pan

Prep a 9x13 pan generously with butter.  Place bread flat in baking dish.  Mix all remaining ingredients except butter.  pour over the top.  Cut butter into pieces and dot over the top.  Refrigerate over night or at least 1 hour.  Bake 45-50 min at 350 degrees.  Serves 8-12  Enjoy.

Carmel Syrup

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream
1 cup light Karo syrup
Blend together and heat on the stove top until warm.

Strawbana berry Smoothie

This is my kids most favorite breakfast. They love when we buy strawberries at the grocery store, which is practically every time. The first thing they ask is "Can we make a smoothie for breakfast?!?" I like it cause it is healthy. My little angel doesn't so much love fruit so this is the perfect disguise for her much hated fruit. She drinks this right up.


1 raspberry yogurt
1-2 ripe bananas
1 pint strawberries (about 8-10)
Handful of raspberries (optional)
Handful of blueberries (optional)
Handful of spinach (optional)
1 T flax seed (optional)
1 T Honey
1 cup orange juice
3 cups crushed ice

Add all ingredients together and blend until well blended. Add the ice and blend again. Blend until ice is chopped up. Serves 4-6 Enjoy!

German Pancakes

I can vividly remember my Aunt Marilee coming out of the kitchen caring a hot pan of German pancakes, to serve all eight of us kids, for dinner one night. I can smell the aroma coming from the kitchen. It is the smell of cookies or treats. What kid doesn't want to eat something that smells of cookies. I think this had to be the best treat/dinner for me. I love German Pancakes. You can imagine how excited I was to know that is what we were having for DINNER! I recall us all banging our forks on the table like crazy kids. It was all in fun though. I love times with my cousins especially when it meant breakfast for dinner, and especially when it meant time with "my"cousin.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the butter in a 9x13 pan and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. While the butter is melting mix all of the ingredients together until well mixed. I use a hand mixer, my mom uses a blender. Either works well. Once the mix is mixed together, get the pan out of the oven with a hot pad and roll the melted butter all over the inside of the pan. Then pour in the mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Place a toothpick in the middle and it should come out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar right away.

Top with your favorite toppings such as Strawberries, raspberries, lemon juice, syrup, whatever you think might be good. Enjoy!

Crepes

I have forever loved crepes. My aunt LeeAnn and uncle Garner would make these for us sometimes. I have always loved them but have never made them. When we went to Seattle for my brother Smitty's wedding his cute soon-to-be-bride and her little sister came over in the morning to where we were staying and made us breakfast. My kids fell in love with what they called "Creeps" and I knew I needed to make these. I watched Hannah and Ashlee make them and thought I could do it. LeeAnn and Garner have a fancy crepe maker so I never thought you could just make them in a pan. I will say though that I still can't flip it like Hannah can. Now that was impressive. My kids still call them Creeps, and we now make this all the time. Thanks Ash for this delightful recipe.

1 cup milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 T. oil

Mix 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, flour, and baking soda until there are no lumps. Then add remaining milk and eggs. Mix. Stir in oil. Cook in hot fry pan onstove at med to med low. Flip when it starts to bubble. Cook on the other side for about 30 seconds. We top ours with Nutella, Whipped Cream, Strawberries, Raspberries, Bananas, Blueberries, Powdered Sugar, Chocolate Syrup (for the kids), Cream Cheese or anything your little heart desires.

These also are great for sandwiches, or dessert. We have put ham, cheese lettuce tomatoes, onion, the works in these and it is heaven. I have also had them with Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, bananas and all sorts of other toppings and again it is fantastic. Enjoy!

Pancakes

I have always loved my Nana's pancakes. They remind me of Sunday night, Saturday mornings, and fun family times. My mom would make these pancakes for us when we were young and I always loved the mornings and nights that she made them. Once I got married I no longer made these because my husband likes Bisquick pancakes. The simplicity of Bisquick soon caught on and I forgot all about Nana's pancakes. I decided I am going to go back to my roots and make what I like for a change. It was a hit with the kids. My hubby on the other hand is still a Bisquick fan. I will have to say I love these pancakes, and I don't feel like a tub of lard when I eat them.

1 egg
1/2 T oil
1 T sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour

Mix together egg, oil, sugar and milk. Add the dry ingredients. With a hand mixer mix until the batter has no lumps and kind of whip the eggs a little. This will make thicker pancakes. Cook on a griddle at 300 degrees until the top starts to bubble. Flip and cook the opposite side for about 1-2 minutes. Top with, strawberries, syrup, whipped cream, raspberries, jam, powdered sugar, or anything your little heart desires. Enjoy!