* Cream Cheese Sausage Pinwheels *

As with most of my recent recipes, I found this one on Pinterest and I knew my husband would like it.  We tried it out for dinner the other night with some salad and potatoes and it was a hit with boys and my husband! The recipe is found here.

* Cream Cheese Sausage Pinwheels *

1 Roll Breakfast Sausage

1 Tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 Pkg Softened Cream Cheese

Brown sausage and drain.  In a large bowl, combine cooked sausage with softened cream cheese. 

Remove crescent roll dough from packaging but do not separate sections, and roll out into a rectangle, sealing the perforated areas with your fingers (so the cream cheese doesn't oooze out of the cracks). 

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough in a thin even layer. Roll the dough lengthwise (if you roll from the short side- the pinwheels will be fatter- but you wont get as many!)  Once rolled up- refrigerate for at least 20 mins (or if you are in a hurry, put it in the freezer til' firm...this will help the dough keep shape while cutting).  Cut in about 1/4" sections and lay on baking sheet. Bake for about 15 mins or until crescent roll is cooked.

* Buttermilk Caramel Syrup *

One weekend while visting my parents, they made us a delicious breakfast of Gingerbread pancakes with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup. They recieved the recipe at a food storage enrichment night from Liesa Card, author of "I Dare You To Eat It" (she blogs here at this site). This recipe is SO SO yummy! You have to try it! It is worth the extra effort (because if you know me, you know I use the store bought Western Family maple syrup) and you won't be disappointed!

* Buttermilk Caramel Syrup*
3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I used the substitution of 3/4 c. whole milk plus 3/4 T. lemon juice)
1/2 cup butter (I used margarine)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place first five ingredients in extra large saucepan. Bring to boil and cook for 7 minutes (mixture will foam like crazy), stirring to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

My syrup was a bit thinner and less caramelly than my mom's. I know it is because I used the margarine and the buttermilk substitution but it was still SO GOOD--although I think the real version is better.

* Popeye Pancakes *

Some people call these German Pancakes or Hootenanies. We called them Popeye Pancakes because of the "muscles" they grew as they baked (and it was called Popeye Pancakes in the cookbook we used)! Growing up, it was my little brother's favorite meal (I loved them too) and my dad would often make them on weekends for breakfast. He always made them in the cookie sheet pan but you can also make them in the 9x13 pan. They cook in the same amount of time but they are obviously thicker in the smaller pan.

* Popeye Pancakes *

(my Popeye Pancakes obviously didn't eat their spinach...they didn't turn out as bumpy as they usually do. Disclaimer....there is no spinach in this recipe)
6 T. butter/margarine
1 c. flour
6 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt 6 T. butter in either cookie sheet or 9x13 pan over low heat. Make sure the entire bottom and lower sides of the pan are coated with butter. Pour the remaining butter into mixture below. (I also spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray, just to be safe) Combine and blend flour, eggs, milk, salt, and butter until bubbly and frothy. Pour mixture into buttered pan and bake at 400* for 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with maple syrup --or-- lemon juice and sift with powdered sugar.

* Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy *

I am not a "made-from-scratch" kind of girl. I am all about shortcuts (think Bisquick, gravy mixes, jarred spaghetti sauce, etc.) and although I generally think that made-from-scratch things taste better, I am too lazy just not confident enough in my cooking abilities to try homemade things out. So the other night I decided to try to make homemade biscuits and gravy...not because I necessarily wanted to but because I was out of Bisquick and gravy packages and this was the dinner the hubby requested. It actually turned out pretty good, if I say so myself! So if you're a "made-from-scratch" kind of person, give it a try :)

I found the biscuit recipe here and I got the sausage gravy recipe out of the "Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook" (yes, the Christmas one...they didn't have the regular "Worldwide Ward Cookbook" at the library so I settled for the holiday version.)

* Homemade Fluffy Biscuits *
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

* Sausage Gravy *
1 lb. sausage
4 T. grease from sausage (add 2-3 T. butter, if necessary)
4 T. flour
2 c. milk
1 dash hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage. Remove from pan and drain grease from sausage. If there is not 4 T. of grease, add 2-3 T. of butter and put back into pan. Mix flour and grease/butter until it forms a ball. Stir in milk. Whisk together until incorporated and let it cook until it thickens. Add sausage, salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of hot sauce. Serve over biscuits.

* Zucchini Bread or Muffins *

We got our first zucchini out of our garden this week so I decided to make muffins for breakfast one day. The kids LOVED it and it was a nice way to get rid of our zucchini...how sad is it that I am already saying "get rid" of our zucchini when it was our first one? :) I got this recipe out of a cookbook we received in Young Womens years ago.

* Zucchini Bread or Muffins *
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. shredded zucchini
3 T. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Beat the eggs and then add the oil and sugars. Add vanilla and zucchini and stir well. Add dry ingredients. Bake at 325* for 35-45 minutes in greased and floured bread pans ---or--- 25-28 minutes in lined or greased muffin tins.

I actually halved this recipe and it made 12 muffins and a small loaf of bread. If you do the whole recipe, I believe it makes two loaves.

* Dessert Crepes *

mmm...crepes. When I think of crepes, I think of Christmas morning. My mom made crepes almost every Christmas morning and they were delish! She would make a sugary sour cream filling and top it with sweetened strawberries...doesn't that just sound like...happiness? It sure made me happy!

We got some blackberries in our BB (bountiful basket) this last week so I decided to make the same crepes my mom makes with a blackberry topping. It turned out really yummy (although I have to say that I like the strawberry topping better).

* Crepes *1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar (dessert crepes only)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
4 eggs
3 Tbs. butter (melted and cooled slightly)

In blender, combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, and eggs and blend for 15 seconds. Scrape sides of blender and start blender again. Pour in melted butter and blend 20 more seconds. Cover and let rest in the fridge for at least one hour.

After letting batter rest, pour 1 T. oil in pan and place on medium heat. Heat for 2-3 minutes and wipe out the pan with paper towell. Pour 1/4-1/2 c. batter into pan and cook until slightly browned (1 minutes or so). Flip crepe over and cook another 30 seconds. For more in depth instuctions, see here.

* Sour Cream Filling *
8 oz sour cream
3 T. sugar (more or less to taste)

Mix sour cream and sugar together. Store in an air tight container. Spread on cooked crepe. Roll crepe up and top with fruit topping.

* Blackberry Topping *
2 1/2 pints blackberries
1/2 c. water
5 T. sugar (or less if you're not into super sweet stuff)
1 T. cornstarch mixed with a little cold water

Stir water and sugar in large saucepan. Add half of berries and bring to boil. Reduce heat, add cornstarch mixed with water. and simmer until syrup thickens, mashing berries with back of fork, about 12 minutes. Pour into medium bowl; gently stir in remaining berries. (I added the rest of my berries into the mixture during the last few minutes of simmering and smooshed them too) Cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

* Whole Wheat Waffles (or pancakes) *

Last year for Christmas, my parents gave us a bunch of whole wheat kernels and a hand wheat grinder for our food storage. I'll admit that I had no idea what to do with them and honestly didn't use it until about October of this last year. Then I got this awesome recipe from my parents and it forever changed our family meals. This is my #1 go-to meal when it gets to be 5:00pm and I still haven't thought about dinner...or if I'm just to lazy to make anything else. We probably have it at least once a week. It is so easy because you don't have to grind up the wheat kernels...the blender does it for you! And I just feel so healthy (as long as you don't count the syrup and butter) because they're whole wheat :)

Whole Wheat Waffles*mix the following on high speed for 2 minutes:
1 c. milk
1 c. whole wheat kernels

*add:
1/2 c. milk
*and mix for 2 more minutes.

*Then add these ingredients:
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 T. honey
*and blend well.

*Right before baking, add:
1 T. baking powder
*and fold in on low speed just until blended. Bake!

THESE ARE YUMMY!

* Brown Sugar Muffins *

Disclaimer: I would not describe these muffins as "spectacular" or "scrumptious" or "the best thing I ever ate" but...they are fast, easy, and my son LOVES them.
I used to have the packed Betty Crocker muffin mixes in my cupboards for mornings when we didn't feel like eating cold cereal or toast but one morning I went to make some muffins and I was out of the mixes! My little boy started crying that he "needed" a muffin-man (as he calls them) so I got out a cookbook that I received from my sister and this was the first recipe I saw. It doesn't have any "extras" in it (chocolate chips, blueberries, etc.) but I think that's why my son loves them. And I actually like them too.

Brown Sugar Muffins1/2 c. soft butter or margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour

Mix all ingredients together until blended and batter is still somewhat lumpy. Bake in muffin tins at 350* for 15 minutes. (Sometimes, I rub a little bit of brown sugar on the top while they're still warm.) This makes about 2 dozen muffins so I usually half the recipe for our little family.

* Apple Cinnamon Rolls *

I am a terrible food blogger! To the two people who may check this blog, I am sorry! I have been trying new recipes lately and have forgotten to take pictures and I hate posting on a recipe blog without pictures so...I'm lame.

Anyways, onto the yummy recipe. I got this basic cinnamon roll recipe back in Young Women's and tweaked it a little by adding the apples (which I saw my dad do once back in the day). My hubby LOVES it with the apples so that how we always do it now. So, without further ado...

Apple Cinnamon Rolls
*1 pkg. active dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp.)
*1/2 c. warm water
*1/2 c. lukewarm milk
*1/3 c. sugar
*1/3 c. shortening, margarine, or butter softened (I use margarine)
*1 tsp. salt
*1 egg
*3 1/2 - 4 c. flour
*2 granny smith apples (or other tart variety)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl (I use my kitchenaid). Stir in milk, sugar, margarine, salt, egg, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth (about 3-5 min.) Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until dough has doubled in size (Usually about an hour). You could also use your favorite cinnamon roll dough recipe but try it with the apples, you won't be disappointed :)

While the dough is rising, core and peel your apples. Shred using grater and put into frying pan. Add a little margarine and cinnamon and fry apples until soft. Set aside to cool.

Sweet Roll Filling
*4 Tbs. margarine or butter softened
*1/2 c. sugar
*4 tsp. cinnamon

After dough has doubled, roll dough into a rectangle on lightly floured surface. Spread with softened margarine. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the entire dough rectangle (I don't use the entire cinnamon/sugar mixture...I probably only use about 1/2 of it). Sprinkle shredded, cooked apples on top of cinnamon mixture. Roll up tightly. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices using floss, thread, or serrated knife. Place slices onto cookie sheet and let rise again til double (30-45 min.). Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes. Spread tops with frosting or icing. We just use an icing glaze because Heathe is not a huge frosting fan. I make my glaze using powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.

Enjoy!!!

* The BEST Banana Bread Ever! *

My mom seriously makes the best Banana Bread EVER! I don't want to brag but I won a contest in Young Women's with this recipe (haha I'm so lame...) You definitely want to try this recipe...it is SO SO good!

Banana Bread
(Not the greatest picture...sorry! But it's still the best!)

*1 1/3 c. vegetable oil
*3 c. sugar
*4 eggs
*6 ripe bananas
*1 c. sour cream
*1 T. vanilla
*4 c. flour
*1 1/2 t. salt
*1 1/2 t. soda
*2 c. chopped nuts (opt.)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased and floured pans. Sprinkle sugar over the tops of the batter. Bake at 325* for 45-60 minutes. Cool completely and cover. Store in the refrigerator. (Makes 4 loaf pans)