Slow Cooker Hashbrown Casserole

Slow Cooker Hashbrown Casserole

1 32 oz bag frozen hashbrowns

1 8 oz container sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 large sweet onion, chopped

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c butter, melted

Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a slow cooker that has been lined or sprayed with cooking spray. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Southwestern Sausage Quiche

Southwestern Sausage Quiche

3 eggs
1/3 c milk
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c ranch dressing
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese
1/2 lb hot sausage
1 can Rotel, drained
1 pie crust
Brown sausage and drain.  Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl.  Pour into prepared pie crust.  Cook on 350 degrees for one hour.  Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I love finding new pumpkin recipes for fall!  This is a delicious take on coffee cake that would be great for breakfast or dessert.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

1 2/3 c flour
1 1/4 c brown sugar, divided
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 c canned pumpkin
1/3 c milk
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c butter, melted
powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 8 or 9 in square, glass baking dish with butter.  Combine flour, 1/2 c brown sugar, baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, and allspice in a bowl.  Beat pumpkin puree, milk, egg, and vanilla in another bowl until well blended.  Stir into flour mixture until batter is smooth.  Spread batter into dish.  Stir 3/4 c brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and melted butter in a small bowl until combined.  Pour over cake batter.  Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve.

Fresh Peach Cobbler Bread

Many of you may not know that the state that ships out the most fresh peaches each year is not the Peach State but...South Carolina!  It's so great to be able to buy fresh peaches right down the road.  This is a delicious recipe for a fresh peach bread that really tastes a lot like peach cobbler!  You can serve as breakfast or dessert.  It smells amazing while baking!

Fresh Peach Cobbler Bread

1/4 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 c vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon Light & Fit)
2-3 peaches, peeled and diced
1 peach, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Soften butter, then add sugar.  Beat with hand mixer.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Stir in yogurt and diced peaches.  In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Add the wet mixture, stirring until blended.  Pour batter into greased loaf pan.  Place peach slices across the top of the batter.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Cool completely before slicing.

Snickerdoodle Bread

This bread is SO good!  If you like snickerdoodle cookies, you'll love this bread.  It's full of cinnamon and I think it would be great with a little cream cheese on top.  Enjoy!  (The original recipe called for a package of cinnamon chips, but I could not find these and have heard that they are seasonal.  I modified the amount of cinnamon in the recipe to make up for this.) Try serving this with spreadable cream cheese.

Snickerdoodle Bread

2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp cinnamon
1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c sour cream
3 tbsp sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
Cream softened butter, sugar, salt, and 3 tsp cinnamon until creamy.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.  Mix flour, baking powder, and 2 tsp cinnamon in a separate bowl.  Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.  Grease 2 regular loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans with cooking spray.  Pour batter into pans until about 2/3 full.  Mix 3 tbsp sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon.  Sprinkle over top of batter until covered (you will probably not use all of the cinnamon sugar, put the rest in a ziploc bag and save it for later).  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes for 2 regular loaf pans or 30-35 minutes for 4 mini loaf pans or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.  You may have to adjust cooking time based on your oven.  Cool completely before removing from pan.
Adapted from http://lilluna.com/



Strawberry Banana Bread

This is a moist bread that could be served as breakfast or dessert.  The sliced fruit on top makes it look so nice!

Strawberry Banana Bread

1 1/4 c flour
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c canola oil
1 egg white, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup diced strawberries
2-3 strawberries, thinly sliced
1 banana
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a regular loaf pan with cooking spray.  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Stir to combine.  Mash 1/2 of the banana and add to the dry ingredients.  Thinly slice the remaining 1/2 banana.  Add the oil, beaten egg white, and vanilla, stir until just combined.  Gently fold in 1 cup diced strawberries.  Thinly slice a few more remaining strawberries for topping.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and top with thinly sliced bananas and strawberries.  Press them gently into the surface of the batter.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean (cook time can vary depending on moisture of fruit and different ovens).  Allow bread to cool completely before removing from pan.
Adapted from http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/

"Orange" You Glad I Didn't Say Flaxseed... Smoothie

Brent and I have been trying to eat healthier and drop a few pounds lately.  We have committed to working out at least 30 minutes every single day (except for our day off on Fridays).  We also have made some changes in our diet, including changing our Sunday pizza nights into Sunday smoothie nights!  We have been experimenting with some smoothie recipes and this one was a hit!  Brent came up with the name since this was the first time we'd added flaxseed!  If you haven't tried flaxseed before, it really doesn't add any taste, but the health benefits are worth it.  So, give it a try!

"Orange" You Glad I Didn't Say Flaxseed... Smoothie

2 1/2 c frozen peach slices
3/4 c frozen raspberries
1/3 c nonfat vanilla yogurt (I use Dannon light & fit)
1 c 100% carrot juice (no sugar added)
1 c 100% tangerine juice (no sugar added)
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Makes 2 large smoothies.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Wow, this is an amazing breakfast recipe!  It's so much better than your normal french toast...you don't even need syrup!  Put it together the night before and let it sit in the fridge.  It is great to have ready for company!

Creme Brulee French Toast

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 loaf French bread (cut into thick slices)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
powdered sugar
In a small pot, place butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.  Mix over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth.  Pour mixture into a large, greased 9x13 pan (spread to cover bottom of pan).  Place 12-14 slices of French bread in a single layer over mixture.  Whisk together eggs, cream, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon in large bowl.  Pour mixture over French bread, being sure to cover each piece.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Serve immediately by flipping a slice over onto a plate to reveal the creme brulee coating.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Adapted from http://www.chef-in-training.com/

Pumpkin Waffles

I experimented on Saturday morning and came up with a delicious pumpkin waffle recipe.  It is great for the fall!

Pumpkin Waffles

2 c "just add water" pancake/waffle mix
1/2 c pumpkin
1/3 c oil
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
real maple syrup
Heat waffle iron.  Mix waffle mix according to package directions.  Add pumpkin, stir well.  Add in spices, stir until combined.  Allow mix to sit 5 minutes while waffle iron is preheating.  Spray waffle iron with cooking spray, cook waffles until steam stops coming out of iron and waffles are no longer sticking to the iron.  Top with butter and real maple syrup.  Makes 8 waffles.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Rolls

These make a great sweet treat or breakfast pastry!  I've even cut them smaller and shaped them to look like little diapers before for a baby shower.  They are even delicious left-over out of the refrigerator.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Rolls

1 pkg crescent rolls
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 c blueberries
Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Unroll dough into 4 rectangles.  Combine cream cheese and sugar, spread onto rectangles.  Top with blueberries.  Fold over and press corners together to seal.  Place on ungreased baking sheet, bake 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve warm then refrigerate left-overs.



Pecan Pie Muffins

My aunt Gail made these muffins from the Pioneer Woman website for a shower a couple of weeks ago.  I just had to find the recipe and try them myself...they are so moist and delicious!  Even if you aren't a big fan of pecans, you need to try these muffins!

Pecan Pie Muffins

1/2 c flour
1 c light brown sugar
1 c pecans, finely chopped
2/3 c butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
Mix all dry ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, beat butter and eggs until smooth.  Add to dry ingredients, stir until combined.  Drop by spoonfuls into greased muffin tins until cup is about 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Makes about 12 regular sized muffins or 24 mini muffins.

Breakfast Casserole

Everyone loves breakfast for dinner!  This is a great casserole that is easy to make.  It can be made ahead of time, which makes it great for breakfast so you don't have to get up and put it together early in the morning!  It also is great to take to church or another event if you need to take breakfast.

Breakfast Casserole

8 slices white bread, cubed
1 lb hot ground sausage, cooked and crumbled
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
10 large eggs
2 c milk
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Grease 9x13 glass dish.  Place bread cubes in dish.  Top with sausage and grated cheese.  Beat together eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper.  Pour egg mixture over sausage and cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until puffed and center is firm, about 50 minutes.  Can be made 1 day in advance.

Sausage Cream Cheese Pastry

Our Sunday School class has someone bring breakfast each week to share with everyone.  This was our week and I wanted to try something new.  I made this from our church's cookbook, but have tweaked it a little to hopefully make it better.  It sounds like a strange combination, but it's surprisingly good and was a big hit this morning!

Sausage Cream Cheese Pastry

1 lb hot sausage
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
2 pkgs crescent rolls
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Crumble and brown sausage, drain.  Beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with hand mixer until creamy.  Spread one package of crescent roll dough in bottom of 9x13 glass dish (do not grease).  Press seams together.  Add sausage to cream cheese mixture, stir.  Spread over crescent rolls evenly.  Top with the other package of crescent rolls.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Can be made a day in advance and refrigerated, cook 30-35 minutes.