Beignets

Y'all, these are SO good and really easy. I was surprised at how easy they were to make. The longest part is waiting for them to rise in the fridge for an hour before I could fry them.

My husband and a few members of his family love board games and, when possible, we like to host at our home. It gives me an excuse to try new recipes on them and spoil them with yummy food. I enjoy having people in our home since we go days with just seeing each other. :)

Without further ado, here's the newest recipe in our collection. I will be making these again. I was able to roll them out and fry them up in under 30 minutes. Try them and enjoy!

Beignets- from Cook’s Country

Yield: 24 beignets, all different sizes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup warm water

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp sugar

¾ tsp salt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs

Instructions:

Mix first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Whisk next three ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix last 2 ingredients together, add to flour mixture. Add yeast mixture when ready.

Mix all together with a rubber spatula and cover with plastic wrap. (The dough will be very sticky)

Refrigerate 1 hour to rise.

In a dutch oven, add 2 quarts (8 cups) of vegetable oil. Heat to 350 degrees F.

Working with half of the dough roll out into 9x12 rectangle. (Use lots of flour to roll out dough because it’s very sticky)

Cut into 12 pieces.

Place cut pieces on well-floured cookie sheet.

Fry 4-6 beignets at a time. Let oil come back to 350 degrees F before adding each batch of beignets to fry. Fry 2-3 minutes or until brown, flip and fry until brown.

Place fried beignets on cookie sheet topped with cooling rack to let excess oil drain.

Coat well with powdered sugar.

Repeat with other half of dough.

Serve warm and add extra powdered sugar if desired.

*Note: If you don’t have a candy thermometer to test your oil temperature, start heating the oil at medium heat. Lower or raise heat as needed. I found that on my stove a little lower than medium heat was the desired temperature, otherwise the beignets browned too quickly and I felt like they looked a little too brown. And tasted it, too.

Breakfast Planning

With two little ones in the house meals get crazy quickly if I'm unprepared, especially breakfast time. I've been planning our breakfasts for the past few months but it's been too much trouble, to think of something different for everyday of the month. Ugh! I have a hard enough time thinking of dinners for us. My friend Rachel over at Intentionally Simple has started streamlining her menu's and I love the idea she has for breakfast. She also has two little ones and knows it gets wild, quick and being prepared is in her favor.

Rachel suggests planning a breakfast for everyday and repeating it each week. Hello, why didn't I think of this? I sat down last Sunday night and thought of all the foods I usually have on hand for breakfasts that are either made or can be prepared quickly. I came up with 10 things! I planned for all 7 days of the week plus had a few extras that can easily be replaced if one of my usuals isn't available. It's been so easy to take 5 minutes the night before and pull out what I need from the freezer for breakfast the next morning. Since I've taken the time to plan this menu breakfast isn't as hectic. It's all in the fridge, ready to be warmed up. For some reason breakfast time sneaks up on me. I'm busy getting the girls dressed and playing and before I know they're having a meltdown about being hungry. Our mornings have been easier ever since I created this menu.

Here's my weekly breakfast plan (it will stay this way until I decide otherwise):

Monday- eggs, bacon and toast

(I cook all the bacon on Sunday night and put it in labeled containers for which meal the bacon goes to, as some goes to dinners during the week)

Tuesday- blueberry pancakes (from the freezer) with maple syrup

Wednesday- cereal or oatmeal (I've just started making baked oatmeal, yum!)

Thursday- muffins and eggs (I always have muffins in the freezer. We like apple, blueberry and whatever else I feel like making)

Friday- cinnamon roll (from the freeze)

Saturday- banana bread (from the freezer) or cinnamon toast (Daddy's is the best!)

Sunday- peanut butter toast and bacon

Quick substitutes if my usual isn't available:

french toast

omelets

breakfast sandwiches (I usually have a whole wheat bun in the freezer, cheese, bacon and eggs in the fridge)

On Monday's, Thursday's and Sunday's I fix a heartier breakfast for us. Nyla goes to Kid's Day Out at my parents church on Monday's and Thursday's and I like for her to eat a good breakfast since they eat lunch a little later than we do around here. And Sunday's are usually long mornings for us. We get there early since Daniel is the audio/visual guy and teaches Sunday school on occasion and we're there chatting for awhile after service has ended. We need a breakfast that is going to stick with us until we get home. 

This menu is posted on our fridge so each night when I'm preparing for the morning I can look to see what I need to get out. Most of it heats up quick and is ready to go in under a minute. And sometimes I need that to keep my sanity!

Do you have a breakfast routine that makes your mornings easy?

 overnight caramel french toast

Monkey Bread

It's been a long time since I posted a recipe so I thought I'd share this delicious breakfast recipe with you. It's got just 5 ingredients and easy to throw together. And it's always a hit wherever I take it! Enjoy.

Monkey Bread

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

4 (10 count) cans buttermilk biscuits

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 stick butter, melted

chopped nuts (optional) I like it without nuts :)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Cut up each biscuit into quarters.

4. Mix sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon into a bowl or pie plate.

5. Roll each biscuit quarter into the sugar mixture. Layer in the bundt pan. Between each layer pour some of the sugar mixture.

6. After you've rolled all biscuits in the sugar mixture pour rest of sugar mixture on top followed by the stick of melted butter.

7. At this point you can bake the monkey bread for 40-45 minutes OR cover and place in the fridge to bake in the morning. I really like to make this ahead and bake in the morning if I have time. The butter sits all night and makes a beautiful glaze on top of the monkey bread. But sometimes I only have time to warm up the bread the next day. And it's still awesome.

Overnight Caramel French Toast

I made this a couple weeks ago and it was delicious!

I prepped it all the night before and refrigerated it until the next night. What a great dish to take to our Sunday School class for the next "1st Sunday breakfast." I'll pop it in the oven the morning of and cut it into smaller pieces to serve more people.

Overnight Caramel French Toast

Printer-Friendly Recipe

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 Tbsp light corn syrup

12 slices white or whole wheat bread (I used whole wheat, could also use your own homemade)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

6 eggs, beaten

1-1/2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.

2. Pour into a greased 13-in x 9-in. baking dish. Top with six slices of bread. Combine sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon; sprinkle half over the bread. Place remaining bread on top. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar, set aside.

3. In a large bowl, add the beaten eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Pour over the bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight (I refrigerated mine for about 20 hours and it was fine).

4. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes (I baked mine about 30 minutes and that wasn't long enough, definitely needed 35+ minutes in my oven because the middle was a little mushy).

Yield: 6 servings

Enjoy!

Blueberry Turnovers

I love a little sweet treat and these hit the spot.

I was in the mood for just a little something sweet the other night and had the urge to bake a little. So I got on the internet to find something easy and found this turnover recipe. It was simple and quite delicious. Hubby liked the quite a bit too. I'll definitely be making them again!

Blueberry Turnovers-from Allrecipes.com

Printer-Friendly Recipe

1 (8 oz) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozed, partially thawed blueberries, rinsed)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup prepared vanilla frosting (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out crescent dough triangles onto a baking sheet.
2. Place 1 Tbsp blueberries on the widest end of each triangle. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp confectioner's sugar over blueberries on each roll. Beginning with the wide end, roll up crescent around blueberries; pinkch both sides to seal completely.
3. Bake in the preheated over until gold, about 12 minutes. Remove to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes; dust with the remaining confectioners' sugar. Drizzle with the vanilla frosting.

Note: I felt I needed more blueberries and a little more confectioners' sugar in each crescent roll up. I did not make a frosting, just dusted with powdered sugar. Next time, I may try a glaze, especially if I'm going to serve them to other people.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This is an amazingly wonderful bread! I love a good cinnamon raisin bread and I've been looking for a recipe for awhile and of course my friend at Joy in my Kitchen had one!
I adjusted it a bit for my own personal tastes and its delicious.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (for the bread maker)-modified from Joy in my Kitchen

Printer-Friendly Recipe

3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dry milk
2 Tbsp butter, cut up
3 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
10 1/2 oz water
1 1/2 tsp yeast

1. Place all ingredients in your bread maker as listed by your manufacturer; but add raisins right away. If you place the raisins in right away with all other ingredients, they'll get chopped up and dispersed all throughout the bread, which I like better.
2. Bake according to directions but don't use rapid cycle. My machine takes about 3.5 hours from start to finish. Believe me, it's worth the wait.
3. Allow to cool a bit before slicing.

Glaze (optional):
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk

Drizzle over top of cooling bread. And enjoy!

Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

This recipe was a great weeknight treat for Hubby and me.

I was supposed to go to Circle with my church girlfriends last night but it got cancelled due to no one being able to attend. I had nothing on the dinner menu thinking I was going out so I had to come up with something quickly.

We love breakfast for dinner so we decided to do that. I found a great recipe today for whole-wheat pancakes over at Finding Joy in my Kitchen. They looked easy and quick so I thought I’d try them. I’m glad I did. They were quick and wonderful! So here’s the recipe.

Wheat Blueberry Pancakes- modified from Joy in my Kitchen

Printer-Friendly Recipe

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp brown sugar

¼ cup applesauce

1 egg

2 cups buttermilk (or 2 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice, add milk to equal 2 cups)

1-2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (keep frozen if using frozen)

(I might add 1 tsp of cinnamon next time for a little extra flavor)

1. Sift dry ingredients in medium size bowl.

2. Mix applesauce, milk, egg and brown sugar in medium size bowl.

3. Add dry ingredients and wet ingredients together and whisk until combined.

4. Heat griddle to 350* F.

5. Measure out pancake mixture to ¼ cup and pour on hot griddle.

6. Once mixture is on griddle add blueberries to each pancake, as many as you want and heat on griddle until golden brown on both sides.

Servings: 16

Nutritional info:

Calories: 86.1 Fat: .7g Cholesterol: 13.9 mg Sodium: 160.3 mg Carbs: 17.3 g Dietary fiber: 17.3 g Protein: 3.3 g