brunch...

I belong to a Bible Study group with a wonderful group of women and we meet monthly in each other's homes. We gather at 9 am for breakfast and conversation and after the plates are cleared we go on to our lesson and then end with another cup of coffee and chocolates before calling an end to our morning (which is almost always afternoon by then!) Currently, we are doing a study called "Adventurous Prayer" and this month was my turn to host. Since it was the day after Valentine's day I stuck with the Valentine them and set my table in pink and white.
I revamped the centerpiece from the "white event" into a lighted Valentine tree and printed out vintage valentine postcards on magnetic sheets as favors.
Each month our lessons end with a "trinket to treasure", a small item such as a button or cork that serves as a visual reminder of what the main point in that lesson was. This month, the lesson was on Journaling Prayers and the trinket was a journal. I found $1 cardboard covered journals and pulled out the scrapbook supplies and decorated each one with the 12 main verses in the book.
I didn't take any photos of the food as I served it but as usual, I had plenty of leftovers so here is a photo of the plate of leftovers I served Jeff when he came in for a late lunch.
Fresh fruit, raspberry filled butter braid (this is a sweet roll loaf that is sold as a fundraiser by many of the local school kids), heart shaped mini quiches and mixed berry crepes.

Mini Quiches
recipe from verybestbaking.com
Ingredients

* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
* 3 large eggs, beaten
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 cups (8 oz. pkg.) shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese
* 2 cups chopped, frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and lightly flour twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups.

WHISK evaporated milk, eggs, flour, salt and black pepper in medium bowl until blended. Stir in cheese, broccoli and bell pepper. Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture into each prepared muffin cup, filling almost to rim*. Stir mixture frequently to evenly distribute ingredients.

BAKE for 23 to 28 minutes or until knife inserted near centers comes out clean and tops are lightly browned. Cool in pans for 15 minutes. Run knife or small, flat spatula around inside edges of muffin cups. Carefully remove quiches.

*NOTE: Number of quiches that you get will depend on the size of your muffin cups. Bake time may need some adjusting.

TIPS:
• Quiches can be made ahead and frozen. To reheat, place on baking sheet and bake in preheated 325° F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes or, place 2 to 4 quiches on microwave-safe plate and microwave on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 2 1/2 to 5 minutes or until hot.

My Notes: I made 8 little heart bakers instead of the muffin sized. I also added some green onion and proscuitto to make them even more savory.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Basic Crepes
recipe from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

My notes: I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup of sugar to this recipe to make the "sweet" version as some of the reviewers wrote this. I also read that they are easy to make ahead so I made them the night before separating each crepe with parchment paper putting them into a zip lock bag in the fridge. I prepared my cream cheese filling (8 oz cream cheese whipped with 1/4 c. powdered sugar and folding in some whipped cream until the right consistency), whipped cream and berry topping (cooked thawed frozen cherries, fresh blueberries and fresh blackberries with a little sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch until thickened). I assembled by warming the crepes in the microwave spreading on some cream cheese mixture and a layer of sliced fresh strawberries, rolling and then topping with some of the cooked berry topping and whipped cream. The crepes were so easy to make I made several batches for the freezer in the plain (for savory fillings) and the sweet versions. I look forward to grabbing a few at a time (since they are separated by the parchment paper) for many quick breakfasts and desserts in the future.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Happy Valentine's Day...pear oven pancake

Happy Valentine's Day to all! We have been celebrating all week at our cute little Valentine table for two :) I bought red chargers after Christmas on clearance figuring they were good for 2 holidays and the beautiful frosted bowl was a Christmas gift from Nathan & Tammy. Isn't it gorgeous?The heart plates were "won" in the Christmas exchange game a few years back, the white plates are my Mikasa Goodwill bargains, the red heeled shoe server was also a gift from my sister which is a conversation piece every time I use it for guests.
We used it one night last week when we had breakfast for dinner and served a Pear Oven Pancake.
I really have to apologize for showing my second serving on an already messed up plate but I was so anxious to try this recipe I forgot to take photos of our first servings!

Pear Oven Pancake
recipe copied and pasted from verybestbaking.com

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
* 3 large eggs
* 1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 450º F.

POUR melted butter into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or cake pan. Swirl to coat bottom and sides of plate.

COMBINE flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in medium bowl. Whisk evaporated milk and eggs in another medium bowl until blended. Add to flour mixture; whisk for 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pie plate. Arrange pear slices on top of batter in pinwheel design, pushing down slightly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle top with sugar mixture.

BAKE for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

My notes: I made it exactly as written but served it with a homemade and winged caramel sauce, melted sugar over medium heat until golden and added a few tablespoon's of butter, a teaspoon of vanilla and stirred until all sugar was dissolved. It was very good and so was the pancake - we will definitely be making this one again so simple and easy.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Sunday breakfast...banana french toast

My sister, Tammie, emailed me this recipe back in 2006 - wow, took me long enough to pull it out of the "to try" file!She originally got the recipe from the March 2006 issue of Readers Digest magazine but changed out the bread. I made it using her subsitution of blueberry bread.

Banana French Toast
recipe from Tammie S.

8 slices of raisin bread (we used blueberry bread)
2 medium bananas, cut into 1/4" slices
1 cup milk
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees, if preparing the same day. Place four slices of bread in a buttered 9 x 9 baking dish. Top with bananas and the last four slices of bread. Blend milk, cream cheese, eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla in a blender until smooth. Pour over bread. Let stand 5 minutes or refrigerate overnight. Bake 40-45 minutes (50-55 if refrigerated) until set and top is toasted. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut french toast into diagonal halves; dust servings with powdered sugar if desired.

My notes: I baked it the same day as making it so let it stand 5 minutes - next time I would maybe let it stand 10 minutes so more of the custard soaked into the top layer of bread. I used a blueberry cobbler bread (Grandpa's Oven brand) and forgot the powdered sugar dusting but it was still very good.

We will make this again and try different variations of it as well - blueberry bread with fresh blueberries rather than bananas, raisin bread without fruit and plain bread with strawberries.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Roasted Banana Cinnamon Rolls

I saw this recipe on the blog Picky Palate and since it was so easy with it's semi-homemade ingredients it was worth a try. The bananas were cut up and roasted with butter and brown sugar in the oven and the dough was a can of Pillsbury french bread spread with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. You can find step by step photos and this original recipe of the blog author by clicking HERE.

I love bananas and I love cinnamon rolls but this combo was not for me but Jeff did like them. If in a pinch I will make rolls with the french bread dough again but just leave out the bananas.

Marsha - Thumbs down
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Baked French Toast...

This recipe came from my sister, Renae. She emailed it as a "thumbs up" recipe so I knew it was one we had to try.

Baked French Toast

1 loaf French bread (13-16 oz size)
8 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Dash of salt

Slice French bread into 1 inch slices
Arrange slices in a buttered 9x13 baking dish
In a large bowl combine eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and beat with a whisk or beater
Pour mixture over bread, Put extra mix in between slices
Cover with foil and refrigerate over night

Praline topping
2 tbsp butter
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoon of corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in med bowl and blend well.
Preheat oven 350. Spread topping over the bread and bake for 40-50 min until puffed and lightly golden and serve with maple syrup or fruit sauce.

Renae was right - this one received a thumbs up from 6 friends from church as well as Jeff & myself.

The raspberry/white chocolate scones pictured, I have blogged before. They are our personal favorite and you can find the recipe here from Ann of Thibeault's Table.

jam & toast...

My favorite breakfast is homemade bread toasted with homemade jam. Last week's bag of rhubarb was used in the previously posted muffins, rhubarb bread and rhubarb-raspberry jam. I know bread machines are not used by many bakers these days with the popularity of 5-minute breads but I still use and love mine. When I saw the Rhubarb Bread for the bread machine recipe on Beth's Favorite Recipes I knew I had to give it a try. The freezer jam is one I have made for years both in the raspberry and strawberry versions.

Rhubarb Bread for the Bread Machine
from the blog, Beth's Favorite Recipes

Rhubarb Bread for Bread Machine
1 1/2 lb loaf

1 C. chopped rhubarb
1 C. water
1/2 t. finely shredded orange peel
2 T. butter or margarine
2 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. bread flour
3 T. brown sugar
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. active dry yeast

Procedure:
In medium saucepan combine rhubarb and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 min. or till rhubarb is tender. Measure rhubarb-water mixture and add water if necessary to equal 1 1/3.C Cool slightly. Add ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's direction.

My Notes: this bread tastes wonderful especially toasted but I made it as posted and it didn't raise as tall as I would have liked. I have this happen with all the wheat flour recipes in my machine unless I add gluten which I didn't have on hand. Beth's notes say she used all white flour so I definitely will make this again using all white flour. If you have the same problem with your machine adjust accordingly.

Rhubarb Raspberry (or Strawberry) Jam
(written on a scrap of paper in my recipe collection - I have been making this for 30 years so I don't remember where it came from)

6 cups diced rhubarb
3 cups sugar
1 package raspberry or strawberry jello
1 bag frozen raspberries or strawberries (the individual flash frozen kind)

Mix the sugar & rhubarb together in a medium sized kettle and let sit for 1-2 hours so some of the juices from the rhubarb mix with the sugar. Heat to boiling and let simmer until rhubarb is cooked and breaking apart about 10-12 minutes. If using strawberries add them about 2/3 of the way through the cooking time and if using raspberries add them add them at the very end and reheat to boiling (you want the strawberries to break down a little and you want the raspberries to not turn to mush). Add the package of jello, stir until completely combined and then take off heat. The jam will thicken as it cools. Put into containers and store in refrigerator or freezer.

My notes: as all those old handwritten recipes go this one is vague on package sizes. I used the small package of jello this time and the jam is not as thick as usual. I do think I used a larger package of berries than usual so I should have used the larger package of jello. This is so good I would eat it with a spoon if I had to - but it is still spreadable consistency :)

Now I need to get another bag of rhubarb to try those bars on Beth's site and I still have to make my favorite rhubarb-pineapple sauce & Jeff's favorite rhubarb crisp! I did add a plant to my own garden this year but have to wait another year for it to get established for my first harvest.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

tea for one...

I got a bag of rhubarb today from a friend because I wanted to make my favorite rhubarb jam. Since I had extra I decided to try out a few new recipes including this one for Sticky Rhubarb Muffins from the Rhubarb Info.com website. It was the perfect opportunity to use one of my vintage fruit plates that I found in an antique store in Texas. The stamp on the back reads Bordallo Pinheiro LDA Caldas Da Rainha, Made in Portugal.


Sticky Rhubarb Muffins
from rhubarbinfo.com
Ingredients:

4 T Butter
6 T Dark brown sugar
1 c Rhubarb; cut in small dice

Dough:

4 T Butter, softened
1/4 c Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 c All-purpose flour
1 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Salt
1/2 ts Nutmeg
1/2 c Milk
Grated rind of 1 orange

Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, mix the butter into the brown sugar roughly. Stir in the rhubarb. Distrubute this mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups.

Cream the softened butter and the sugar together, then beat in the egg. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together thoroughly, then add the butter-sugar mixture alternately with the milk. Do not overmix. Stir in the orange rind. Pour equal amounts of the batter into the muffin cups. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes, then invert the muffin tins and ease the muffins out so that the sticky glaze remains intact. Serve warm, with glaze topside.

Marsha - Thumbs halfway UP (the sticky tops were not as "sticky" as I imagined them to be - most of the brown sugar mixture bubbled up an over the edges of the muffin pan and I'm not sure they were worth having to clean out the oven).
Jeff - not home at tea time, he will try them later.

Looks like I wasn't the only one having tea for one today :)

Breakfast for one...

Recently, the Pioneer Woman posted about making cinnamon toast the right way and I knew I wanted to try it. Then yesterday, Beth (Beth's Favorite Recipes) posted it and said it was the BEST so this morning I just had to try it.
Let me just say...they are right! Without knowing it I have totally been making cinnamon toast the wrong way for many years. According to PW I have been using approach #3 which is the worst cinnamon toast on earth :) This tastes so good and had such a good crunch on top - just plain delicious.
I didn't have any mexican vanilla as PW suggests but used some "real" vanilla as well as the best cinnamon out there. I received some Penzey's spices as a gift from my friend, Jayne, we use a lot of cinnamon in our house and there is no comparsion to the store brands.

Cinnamon Toast - The Right Way
by Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8
Ingredients

* 16 slices Bread (whole Wheat Is Great!)
* 2 sticks Salted Butter, Softened
* 1 cup Sugar (more To Taste)
* 3 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract (more To Taste)
* ⅛ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Smush softened butter with a fork. Dump in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, if using. Stir to completely combine.

Spread on slices of bread, completely covering the surface all the way to the edges.

Place toast on a cookie sheet. Place cookies sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling. Watch so it won’t burn!

Remove from oven and cut slices into halves diagonally.

Click HERE to see PW's post with step by step photos.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - poor guy wasn't home and missed it but I will be making it many more times in the future.

blueberry cream cheese ebelskivers...

I know I have been showing a lot of ebelskivers lately but we just love them. Yesterday, we drove to St. Cloud for work and as we drove by Ihop I said to Jeff that I should try to make stuffed french toast my favorite dish there. I realized when I got home I didn't have raisin or cinnamon bread in the house so I went for the next best thing ebelskivers.

Ebelskivers "filled pancakes" (recipe from the back of my William Sonoma pan packaging)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
4 eggs, seperated
2 cups milk
4 Tablespoons butter, melted (plus more for cooking)

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 TB of melted butter. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy.

In another bowl, using and electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/4 tsp butter in each well of the ebelskiver pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour in 1 TBs of batter into each well, put in 1-2 tsp of your choice of filling and top with 1 TBs of batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining batter and filing. Makes about 40.

My notes: I always halve this recipe with no problems. Up until this batch I always used the 2 wooden skewers to flip them but yesterday I discovered we were out of them. While I was panicking on what to use Jeff took out 2 plastic forks and broke off all the prongs except one on each fork - they worked so much better and now are washed and will be stored with the pan :)

The blueberry filling was "winged" - I used one half of a block of cream cheese so about 4 oz and whipped it with several tablespoons of powdered sugar and a tsp of vanilla. Then I added blueberries and used the remaining blueberries to cook down with some sugar for the syrup topping.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Two Thumbs UP - yes, he thought they were that good :)

W-S chocolate ebelskivers...

We are really enjoying the ebelskiver pan that I got for Christmas. Sunday morning breakfast could have been a dessert with the chocolate ebelskivers filled with nutella. No recipe as this one is a mix, Williams-Sonoma Chocolate Ebelskiver Pancake Mix, that Jayme gave me with the pan.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Christmas 2009...

Jayme and Scott gave me an ebelskiver pan for Christmas so this morning I treated them to Tarte Tatin filled pancakes or I would be more apt to describe them as caramel apple ebelskivers. I used the recipe that came with the pan rather than a mix to make the pancakes but followed the caramel and apple directions in the above linked recipe. There was only enough for 1/2 the batter so the second half of the batch was filled with nutella. I think you'll be seeing me using this pan often :) Interesting fact is that though these pancake treats were new to our family, Scott is very familiar having them at his hometown Askov's Rutabaga days..who knew?

Thumbs UP all around on these cute little pancakes.

muffins...

I got a new toy this week, a muffin pan with leaves and pumpkins. Perfect for autumn gatherings so today I gave it a try making blueberry muffins from a recipe I had saved a while back.
I had fun using a the leaf shaped ones and made some lemon flowers to go with them and my tea. How do all those other blog authors get their lemon slice to float perfectly center in the cup? Impossible I say :)
I know I originally got this recipe from another blog but I am sorry I don't remember which one.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

1 stick softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¾ c. all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 c. 2% milk (or cream)

1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixer cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Slowly beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. With mixer on low, add half the flour, then half milk or cream, then remaining flour, then remaining milk until just combined. Carefully fold in blueberries. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and fill with muffin batter, about ¾ full. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through. Remove and let cool.

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs Up

Tea and Scones...

Yesterday, I had a wonderful group of women tour the gardens. I served them tea and scones and we sat on the patio and enjoyed great conversation while watching little goldfinches entertain us. I didn't remember to take pictures until they left so I posed the leftover "blooming tea" with a few leftover scones for the blog.
I have used this recipe many times and the raspberry/white chocolate version is our favorite. We also like them with blueberries and white chocolate too ;) The recipe is from Thibeault's Table, a beautiful blog whose author believes "recipes are to be shared".

Click HERE for the scone recipe on her blog. These were made with frozen raspberries and white chocolate chips.

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs Up

Breakfast with the Birds...

Join me this morning as I had my breakfast in the garden surrounded by birdsong. With blossoms popping out everywhere...the gazebo is the best place to enjoy a meal alone just taking in the beauty everywhere. The tamarisk tree in the background is blooming in full pink beauty. This tree is also called a tamarix by many nurseries but I prefer the "old" name as it was referred to way back in Genesis 21:32.
Of course, I had to get out one of my sets of bird plates to fully enjoy the breakfast with the birds experience ;)
Robins, bluejays and mourning doves came into feed while I quietly ate breakfast but the first to entice me to lift my camera was this hummingbird feeding on the honeysuckle vine.
I think I love looking at it's shadow photographed as much as the bird itself!
I know of at least three pairs of wrens nesting in the yard but the constant chatter is everywhere so there could be more. This one was the closest and went about feeding her young while I was eating.
Watching Mrs. Wren come out of the house over and over while feeding her babies reminded me that I am asked often on the garden blog how many bird houses I have. After fininishing off the muffins, I decided to count. Check out today's post on Marsha's Garden to find out the answer.

The blueberry muffin recipe is from the Joys of Family Cooking recipe book published by the Believer's Fellowship Mennonite Church in Meeker Co, MN. The contributor of this recipe was Lucy Miller.
Marvelous Blueberry Muffins
2 C. all purpose flour
2/3 C. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 C. milk
3 T. melted shortening or vegetable oil
3/4 C. blueberries

Sift dry ingredients into bowl. Measure remaining ingredients into a hollow in the dry ingredients. Stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

My notes: We like lots of blueberries so I use the whole pint of berries. Make sure to stir just until mixed.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

a Madison YUMMY!

Yesterday as I was checking out the other posts in Foodie Friday, I came across this post from The Bloom Girls. It featured a video segement a la "cooking show" with the lovely Madison Grace, a 4 year old baker. Let me just say, it was the most entertaining 4 minutes and 42 seconds of video, I have watched in a long time. It brought back such wonderful memories of the late 80's when my sister lived in Japan and we would send her home videos to keep in touch. My daughter, Jayme, and niece, Ashley, who were just a little older than Madison would make cooking videos to send. Yesterday, Madison showed us how to make carrot muffins with cream cheese filling...even without Madison's recommendation that with a glass of milk they were YUMMY, I knew would have to try them.

Let me just say...these are the BEST!

I opted for coffee with milk rather than a glass of milk but it was a perfect breakfast. Oh, what a beautiful morning...

oops, as my cup says...Oh, what a birdiful morning...
he does have a carrot colored background ;)

Recipe from Karyn at the Bloom Girls

Carrot Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling - Makes 12 Muffins

Batter:
1/3 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (compressed down into the cup)
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (you can subsitute, whole wheat or organic)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Filling:
4 ounces softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Directions:

Mix together filling ingredients (cream cheese, sugar and orange peel) until well blended, set aside

In a different bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy with mixer. Add milk, orange juice and eggs until well mixed. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnomen and stir into creamed mixture until moist. Stir in carrots, dried cranberries and walnuts (if including)

Using paper lined cupcake pan, fill each liner 1/3 full of carrot batter mixture, then add about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling and then another 1/3 of carrot batter mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Test with a wooden toothpick to ensure they are done. (the toothpick should come out with tiny crumbs or no uncooked batter) Cool for 5 minutes then remove from pan to wire rack to continue cooling. Store these in the fridge!

My Notes: I didn't have dried cranberries in the house so I omitted them and we love pecans so I used pecans instead of walnuts. We'll be making these again and again!

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Peaches and Cream French Toast...

For the first time, I have decided to join the "Foodie Friday" party over at Gollum's beautiful blog. Click on the link to see the other's joining in.
Since I made this brunch dish back in early January and posted in a now defunct group blog, I am reposting it here as a "flashback" for Suzy's Flashback Friday party too.

For a January brunch I freshened up my Christmas centerpiece with some beautiful peach roses...
and baked a peaches and cream french toast bake.
Flip it upside down to serve so the beautiful peaches are on top and serve with a syrup made from the peach juice and orange juice....Yum!
Served with fresh fruit, scones and ham, it made a wonderful, no fuss brunch.
If only "flashbacks" had scent as well, I remember the warm cinnamon smells in the kitchen and sitting down to the fresh scent of roses...sigh...I need to make this again soon.

This dish will become a family favorite...I combined several recipes I found on the net and came up with this one based on the ingredients I had in the house.

Peaches & Cream French Toast

Total preparation time: 30 min.
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sweet Cream Butter
2 tablespoons Corn Syrup
1 Loaf Cinnamon Bread (I used Cub Foods chunky cinnamon)
1 - 8 OZ Pkg. Cream Cheese
1 29 oz can Peach Halves
1 dozen Large Eggs
1 1/2 cups Half-and-Half Milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup orange juice
Steps:
Grease a 9X13" pan. Melt brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in small saucepan until bubbly. Pour the mixture into the cake pan.
Drain peaches, reserving the liquid. Slice the peach halves horizontally and spread the peach slices over the caramel syrup. Cube cinnamon bread and place on to top of the peach slices. Do not pat down bread cubes, keep loose. Cut the cream cheese into little pieces and scatter throughout the bread.
Mix together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over the bread and cover. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. (Place into a cold oven and set it to 350 degrees if you are using glass) You can cover the top if it gets too brown. When finish baking cut into 12 servings. Serve by turning upside down so the peaches and caramel sauce will be on top.
In a saucepan, mix the reserved peach liquid with cornstarch. Stir over low heat until thickened. Stir in the orange juice and cook until thickened. Serve warm over french toast.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP