Category: breakfast

breakfast · Marriage

Go to the Extra Trouble

RefreshHer7 Comments

Who hasn’t tasted a Pop Tart at some time in their life?  It’s a breakfast staple for many college students (bless their hearts!).  My husband remembers during his college days, he would put his Pop Tart on top of his study lamp while he was in the shower, and then come back 10 minutes later to his “hot breakfast!”

While looking at King Arthur’s web site recently, I came across their recipe for Tasty Toaster Tarts – their version of homemade Pop Tarts!  So, while in my experimenting mode, I went to the kitchen and made a batch.  Hello!!!!  These are so good!  I am not a fan of the store-bought version, but I think I could eat these for every meal!  I made the Brown Sugar/Cinnamon recipe.  Are you ready for a look at the result?

Come in a little closer for a peek at the inside filling…


If you’re interested in trying these pastries, go here for the recipe.  Let me tell you this – I used half the amount of butter, and then I doubled the amount of milk.  The dough was still flaky and delicious!  What did my husband think about these?

“These are better than Pop Tarts any day!”

Now, you may be sitting there saying, “Denise, why would you go to all the extra trouble to make something at home that you could just buy in the store?  Why?  Because they turn something that’s “okay” to “fantastic!” 

This reminds me of the effort it takes to turn an “okay” marriage into a “fantastic” one.  It just takes a little more effort.  It means going out of your way to do something each day that will bump up your marriage from the Pop Tart level to the “made-from-scratch” level!  Need some ideas of what to do for your husband?

  • Text him a personal love note – not tacked onto the “buy milk on your way home.”  Make it just a sweet and thoughtful note.
  • Buy him some little something when you go to the grocery store.  Maybe his favorite snack or special treat.
  • Buy a card and leave it for him to find in his car.
  • Call and invite him to join you for a picnic lunch on one of these pretty spring days.
  • Wash his car for him.
  • Make a list of things you can say, “thank you” for:
    • Thank you for working hard to provide for our family
    • Thank you for making me laugh
    • Thank you for your godly leadership of our children
    • Thank you for taking care of yourself to stay healthy
  • Make some of these Toaster Tarts and leave a sweet note beside them!
Go to the extra trouble and make what’s good even better!

With love,
breakfast

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer10 Comments

If your breakfast has become not such a “meal of champions,” let me give you a recipe to really help perk up your morning!  Meet my favorite granola …

This is a recipe from a bed and breakfast my husband and I stayed in.  It is the best!  It’s not hard and crunchy like some.  It’s good with milk and fruit as pictured above,or as a topping on yogurt.

I always make a half recipe because it makes a lot.  This is a half-gallon jar.

Homemade Granola

2 pounds old-fashioned oats (though quick works too), about 10 cups
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 chopped almonds
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
milk or half and half as an accompaniment
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. 
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, raisins, walnuts, almonds, honey, salt, and cinnamon and mix well.  In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring sugar and water to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Add butter to saucepan in small pieces and whisk until smooth.  Pour mixture over oats and stir until mixed.  Transfer to 2 lightly sprayed or oiled 9×13 baking dishes.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Stir around the edges.  Turn off oven and leave granola in oven for 11/2 hours.  It should be dry and chunky.  Serve with milk or half and half.
Now here’s a new recipe I tried this weekend…
This is Spicy Chicken-corn Chowder from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.  However, I didn’t make it spicy.  I also used 2 pieces of bacon instead of 8, and 2% milk instead of whipping cream and it was still delicious and much less fattening!  I served this with popovers and a salad for a great supper meal.

Spicy Chicken-Corn Chowder
Ingredients
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
1 1/2 cups chopped red sweet pepper
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 – 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (I used less than half of one)
4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3cup all-purpose flour

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 large Yukon gold potatoes, chopped

2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper I only used a pinch

2 bay leaves

Directions

1. In a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven cook bacon until crisp. Remove with spoon; set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in pan.

2. Add chicken to pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Stir over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink; remove. (I roasted the chicken in the oven instead of cooking it in the bacon fat) Add sweet pepper and onion to pan. Cook and stir until tender. Add jalapenos and garlic; cook and stir 3 minutes. Stir in flour. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or just until potatoes are tender; stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken, corn, cream, cayenne, and bay leaves. Simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Discard bay leaves. Top with jalapeno slices, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

I love a salad with fruit and lettuce more than vegetables.  It’s become a real favorite way to have a salad.  I got fresh pineapple at Kroger for $1.99 last week!  Strawberries were only $1.50, so I added those to our Romaine lettuce, and topped it with a Mango dressing a sweet friend gave me.  Yummo!!!
You could add Blue Cheese or Feta, and nuts if you’d like.

I’ve found some great recipes on Pinterest that I’m anxious to try.  You’ll find the recipes here soon! 

I love hearing about the successes or failures with your new recipes!  What have you been stirring up in your kitchen this week?

From my parsonage kitchen,
breakfast · dessert · main dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer4 Comments
One fun thing about the weekend is having a little more time for breakfast.  One of my favorite breakfast foods is French Toast.  On Saturday I made a Banana Stuffed French Toast.  I love the warm bananas that are tucked inside the egg-dipped bread! This is so simple, yet so yummy!  Here’s how I make it:
Slice a 2″ or 2 1/2 ” thick piece of French bread, then slice it in half, but not all the way through.  This is the opening for the banana slices.  Stuff as many slices of banana in there as will fit.

In a deep dish, mix egg and milk and whisk together.  To the milk/egg mixture, add cinnamon and vanilla to taste.  Dip bread slices into milk, then place in a hot skillet with a tablespoon or two of Crisco.  Brown on each side until toasted.

Dust with powdered sugar.  Serve with warm syrup.

For our Sunday dinner I made Imperial Chicken.  I got the ingredients prepped the night before, then assembled it and placed in the oven on the timer.  This is super fast and soooo good.

Imperial Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups Pepperidge farm Italian bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp each of salt,pepper and garlic powder
1 stick butter, melted
2 T lemon juice

Place chicken breasts in salt water and refrigerate overnight. In one bowl, mix lemon juice and melted butter that has cooled.  In another bowl mix bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and garlic.  Drain chicken.  Dip chicken in butter mixture and in bread crumb mixture, and roll – jelly roll style and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  (You could bake these without rolling them up; they will take less time that way!)

Chicken breasts should be split before dipping and rolling.



Ready for the oven

I served the chicken with twice baked mashed potatoes, frozen veggies, popovers, and fresh fruit.



Love these popovers! I made them before church and warmed them in the oven when we got home so they’d be crispy.

We had guests over after church last night and I served Taco soup, tortilla chips and crackers, and my favorite brownie – Hershey’s Deep dish Brownie.  These are moist and chocolaty.  When I get hungry for something chocolate, these always come to mind. 

Hershey’s Deep Dish Brownie

3/4 C butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 C flour
1/2 C Hershey’s cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Blend melted butter or margarine, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.  Add eggs; beat well with spoon.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to egg mixture until well blended.  Spread in greased 8″ square pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan.  Cool ; cut into squares. 

What kind of things were cooking in your kitchen this past week or weekend? 

P.S.  Tonight’s Ladies’ Bible study at BCBC will be a blessing; I hope you’re planning on attending!  The lesson covers worry.  Wow!  It’s so helpful and practical (and convicting!).  The second half of our meeting is “Dinner? Is it possible?”  We will hear from the dietitian from Franklin Woods Hospital how very possible dinner can be!  I’ll be looking for you there!

breakfast · main dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer3 Comments
This weekend I tried a new recipe for breakfast.  Since I was having company (yay!), I wanted to have a breakfast that was ready quickly, but was also warm and hardy.  I had heard about Baked Oatmeal, and was intrigued with the thought of a dish of oatmeal filled with fruit and nuts that was not only healthy and quick, but also delicious! 

This dish whipped together in no time flat the night before. Then in the morning, I simply popped it into the oven to bake while I got dressed. Ta-da! Hot breakfast on the table for my guests, along with fresh Cinnamon-raisin toast made with my sour dough starter.

We were blessed to have my sister and her husband with us this weekend.  I loved having them here so much.  We celebrated New Years together on Saturday as folks in their 50’s would do (which means we did not  stay up ’til midnight!).  We enjoyed a lovely dinner in Asheville, and then went to Grove Park Inn to enjoy the gingerbread houses, as well as the beauty of the inn.

Sunday dinner was also intended to be simple – and it was. 
I repeated a recipe I’ve shared before (gasp!) .

Baked Potatoes
Steamed Broccoli with lemon and butter
Pear/Blue Cheese Salad w/Cranberry Vinaigrette
Assorted Cookies and Ice Cream

The Pork chops are a great Sunday dinner because they’re cooked in under 15 minutes.  To speed the Sunday dinner preparation, on Saturday I:
  • Made the honey-mustard glaze for the pork chops
  • Prepped all the salad ingredients
  • Made the salad dressing
  • Set the table

Company meals and/or Sunday dinner can be a blessing, rather than a stressful event with simple recipes like these and a little preparation ahead of time. 

Sunday night after church we had Cincinnati Chili.  This is my favorite recipe because of the addition of some different kinds of flavors added, including cinnamon and a little cocoa!  With the temperatures falling, it was a great meal to have cooking in the crock pot while we were at the evening service.  Here’s my recipe:

Cincinnati Chili

2 pounds ground beef (I use ground turkey)
1 medium onion
1 Tbl vinegar
2 Tbl chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce (I add another small can as well)
1 cup water
 2 cans of mild chili beans

Sweet Spices
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

Brown meat and onions in a  pan.  Drain fat.  Add the vinegar, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and pepper.  Stir and cook 5 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce, chili beans and water.  If you want, add the sweet spices.  Cover and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.  Serve with cheddar cheese and/or sour cream.

I loved having guests this weekend!  What a great way to bring in the New Year!

What was cooking in your kitchen this weekend? 

From my parsonage kitchen,