Egg and Sausage Casserole

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Happy New Year!  I can't believe it is already 2012.  I am so ready for a new year and know that there are so many good things to come!  The last two months have been so crazy busy for me that I didn't realize I hadn't blogged in so long.  December was especially busy because I was asked by my kids' elementary school principal to make Cake Pop gifts for the entire faculty as Christmas gifts.  I ended up making about 400!  I was happy for the opportunity but I was so glad to be done with it.  We had a wonderful Christmas and were so thankful to spend it with our family here in Utah. 

One of my kids' (especially Ethan's) favorite dinners is this Egg and Sausage Casserole.  I don't remember where the original recipe came from but I've been making it for years and have changed it a bit.  It is so easy and quick too!  We always have it for dinner but it would, of course, make a great breakfast too.  It makes a whole 9x13 pan but it reheats great.  It is easy to lighten this up too by using Jimmy Dean's Low Fat pork sausage, low fat crescent rolls, and low fat cheese.  I hope you enjoy this easy recipe!  

EGG AND SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork sausage

1 (8 oz) tube refrigerated crescent roll dough

10 eggs, beaten

2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Place sausage in a skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.  Drain and set aside.

Line bottom of prepared baking dish with crescent rolls dough and sprinkle with crumbled sausage.  In a large bowl, combine beaten eggs and the rest of the ingredients.  Pour over sausage and crescent rolls.

Bake in prepared oven for 35-45 min, until eggs have set and top is golden. 

Makes 8 servings.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

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I was just looking through my food photos and saw these cinnamon rolls pictures that I had taken a year ago.  I have no idea why I haven't posted these yet!  I have always been scared of any kind of homemade bread recipe and cinnamon rolls seemed so hard to me.  Well, I tried this recipe from Pioneer Woman's blog and they were AMAZING!  The recipe makes a lot but if you prepare them in tin pie pans they can be frozen (before baking) and you can always have them on hand.  The frosting even freezes well.  However, that is a dangerous thing to do because they are so sweet and yummy you'll want them all the time.  You could also score points with your friends and family and give some away :)  The only change I made was with the coffee in the frosting.  I personally don't drink it so I just added extra milk.  The maple extract is a must though, trust me.  Let me know how they turn out for you!  

PIONEER WOMAN'S CINNAMON ROLLS

www.pioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

■1 quart Whole Milk

■1 cup Vegetable Oil

■1 cup Sugar

■2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets

■8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour

■1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

■1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

■1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

■Plenty Of Melted Butter

■2 cups Sugar

■Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

■MAPLE FROSTING:

■1 bag Powdered Sugar

■2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring

■1/2 cup Milk

■1/4 cup Melted Butter

■1/4 cup Brewed Coffee (or just an extra 1/4 C milk)

■1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it - overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable.  Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don't skimp on the frosting.

YUM!  Look at all of that butter! 

Pumpkin Doughnuts

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I love fall!  I feel like I've missed out on so much of it, though, because of my surgery.  That was my time to bake not recover from an appendectomy!  I had planned a fall desserts class to teach for my church's women's group a couple of months ago.  There was no way I was going to let this darn surgery spoil my fun of doing it so I did it anyway and it was so much fun.  I knew most of what I was going to make for it but wanted to do one more thing that was different using pumpkin.  I found these and they were perfect!  I am a doughnut lover.  I mean I will never turn down a doughnut!  Don't be intimidated by making your own doughnuts.  These are pretty easy in my opinion.  You just make the dough, chill it for a few hours, roll it out, cut your circles and holes, fry, then glaze.  Not too much right?  :)  They are worth it and I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did!  If you want to see a step by step version with pictures just click on the link under the title below.  My version is slightly different only because I used a glaze instead of a dusting of powdered sugar.

PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS
http://pinchmysalt.com/2009/10/29/pumpkin-doughnuts/#more-3901

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
Canola Oil (for deep-frying)

GLAZE:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

Glaze instructions: Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in sugar, hot water, then vanilla. Keep whisking over med-low heat until there are no clumps in the sugar. Let cool a little before dipping the donuts in.

1. Whisk first 9 ingredients (flour through cardamom) in a medium bowl to blend well; set aside.

2. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended (mixture will be a bit grainy). Beat in egg, then yolks, then vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk and molasses, then beat in pumpkin, in four additions.

3. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 4 additions, blending gently after each. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours.

4. Lightly flour two baking sheets. When dough is well-chilled, lightly flour a work surface. Starting with about 1/3 of dough, gently press it out to a round that is 1/2- to 2/3-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Using 1-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes. Arrange doughnuts and holes on the baking sheets as you go. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used. If dough is very sticky, dip the round cutters into flour before cutting each doughnut.

5. Line a couple of baking sheets with paper towels to drain doughnuts. Also, set out a couple of wire racks to place the doughnuts on after glazing. Pour oil into large deep skillet or dutch oven to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot and heat oil to 355°F to 365°F. Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. While doughnuts are still warm dip tops in glaze then set on wire racks to drain off excess.

Note: If you don’t have cardamom or don’t want to spend the money (it’s a little pricey), just omit it. It does add great flavor but they are still very good without it.

Also, I didn't have a doughnut cutter so I used a biscuit cutter then a water bottle that I cut the main body off of for the holes (does that make sense?).

Buttermilk Pancakes

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These are by far the best pancakes I've ever had. I haven't bought a pre-made mix since I started making them a couple of years ago. I can't go back to mixes! Because I don't always have buttermilk on hand, I buy a large carton and freeze it in 3 cup batches so it's there when I need it. Do you see my awesome new griddle? It is HUGE and I love it! No more whining over who gets the first few pancakes anymore!

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES
www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions
1.In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!
3.Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.