Christmas Breakfast

Pull Aparts

24 ounces frozen dinner roll dough
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix--I've used cook and serve too, either works
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup melted butter

The night or several hours before, grease a 9 or 10 inch bundt pan (do NOT use an angel food tube pan, it will leak and burn). Mix brown sugar and pudding mix, white sugar and cinnamon together. Place frozen dinner rolls in pan a layer at a time. Sprinkle part of the sugar and pudding mix over a layer of rolls. Spread half the nuts and melted butter over that. Repeat until it's all layered in the pan.

Place on counter over night. Do not cover. Stare in awe at it's enormity the next morning. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 30 minutes. Let stand a few minutes and turn pan over onto serving platter or onto wax paper on the counter.

Warning: Husbands with high cholesterol adore these. Serve with a side of fiber, a long walk, and Lipitor.

Back to School

Will the guilt never end? Been thinking about him all day...

Young One is back to school today. No fever, just a cough. He suggested it and was even cracking jokes on his way to the bus stop. So, I know he was ready.

I would have loved to tuck him back in under a blanket on the couch. Spend another day just lovin' on him.

Last night, he requested homemade chicken noodle soup. Homemade, with homemade noodles. I was so tired, I was practically cross-eyed. I just needed some inspiration.

I called my mom, the wisest woman I know. And her answer, "This is what he's going to remember. His mom stayed home and made him homemade chicken noodle soup, with big fat homemade noodles. And one day, he'll talk about it or call home requesting that you make it for him when he visits."

So, I'm not just making a home, I'm making memories. Guess I can handle that! So, I uncrossed my eyes and I made that boy some pretty darn good chicken noodle soup with some big fat homemade noodles.

Just what the doctor ordered. If this Jewish Lutheran Penicillin had anything to do with him feeling better and heading back out into the world today, then it was worth it. His face and satisfied slurps while he was enjoying it were great thanks last night too.

Feel Better and Get Back to Life Chicken Noodle Soup

Start by making my chicken broth recipe found here.

Strain, add chicken meat and carrots back into the pan, along with the broth. Allow to simmer while you make the noodles. If you have a gravy separator, use it to remove the fat from the broth.


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter--I used Brummel and Brown margarine

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the beaten egg, milk, and butter. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. I just used my dough hook on my mixer. Let rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8 or 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired lengths and shapes. I just used a kitchen shears and cut into bite sized pieces.
Bring broth to a boil and drop noodles into boiling broth. Cook about 10 minutes, lower heat if liquid starts to boil over. Stir to keep noodles separated several times while cooking.

Campfire Cooking--Father's Day Dinner T-Bones

Father's Day Dinner T-Bones
Tastes just like you've dipped them in steak sauce. Delicious! It started raining just as we began eating, so sorry, no pictures, but the fire is lovely isn't it?

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 (1/2 pound) rib-eye steaks (or more, this makes a lot of marinade)

Place all ingredients in a zip bag and marinate for at least 24 hours. When we're camping, I always make sure the meat is frozen before placing in the marinade for food safety reasons. Grill until desired doneness.

Competitive Charity Bake Sale Recipes!

Chubby's Chocolate Chip Muffins

Definitely not a Weight Watchers Recipe. This decadent muffin is really dessert disguised as breakfast! Want to go completely overboard, frost with classic cream cheese frosting.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1/3 cup whole almonds, optional
4 tablespoons white sugar, optional



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In medium bowl, Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl stir in milk, egg, oil and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to large bowl; beat well. Add chocolate chips and walnuts, stir well.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Poke almonds into tops of unbaked muffins. Sprinkle muffins with sugar.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Classic Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 ounce brick of cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup real butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Whip all ingredients until well blended and fluffy. Using a pastry bag or a large spatula, swirl on top of muffins.

Winter Sunshine Cake

Fresh squeezed orange juice is the key to this deliciously moist cake. Garnish with candied citrus (I used tangerines just because that's what I had). Don't turn up your nose at cake mix, it's just flour, sugar, and leavening agents mixed up for you. You can still make a homemade tasting cake with mix.

1 18.25-ounce package yellow cake mix with pudding

1 cup fresh orange juice--fresh squeezed!

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs

GLAZE:

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon fresh grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour, shaking out excess. Setaside. Place the cake mix, orange juice, oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and place on middle rack of oven.Bake until cake is golden brown and starts to pull away for the sides of the pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely, 30 minutes more. Make glaze: Combine the sugar, juice and zest in a small bowl and stiruntil smooth. Place the cake on a serving platter and pour the glaze over the top, letting it drizzle down the sides. Let the glaze set a few minutes before slicing. Makes 16 servings.

PER SERVING: 258 calories, 3 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates,12 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 40 percent calories as fat, 0.1 gramfiber, 53 milligrams cholesterol, 226 milligrams sodium.

Candied Tangerines

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

1 tangerine cut into thin slices

In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, tangerine and water to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil until it reaches soft ball stage while continuing to stir occasionally. Strain out the tangerine slices and allow to cool on a wire rack positioned on top of wax paper to catch drips.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

This eggless chocolate cake recipe has been a family favorite for years. You can actually put all of the ingredients in a 9x13 inch pan and then mix with a fork, right in the pan! My mom once left the cake in the pan when she baked it! It's a Depression era recipe that just might work it's way back into popularity during the Recession. I made it in a mixing bowl and put into cupcakes for the bake sale. About 5 WW Points per cupcake, I'm working on a lower Points recipe. Stay tuned.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups cold water

Mix all and beat well with an electric mixer. Place in muffin tins. Or mix all ingredients in the pan and bake. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-25 minutes , or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Makes 24 cupcakes.

I frosted the cupcakes with buttercream frosting, half vanilla, and half with chocolate buttercream and pressed chopped Andes mints on top. You can find a basic buttercream on allrecipes.com (Sorry, sick kid here, no time)

Christmas Bread

I'm a mutt. I'm a Scottish-German-Swedish-Czech American. Hubby throws some Finland and Norway into the mix, so Young One is a real combination.

We celebrate the season with bits and pieces from all of our nationalities.

This simple Christmas bread is part of both of our childhoods. My mom always bought it and I have to say I never really liked it as a kid. Too much "weird stuff" in it. It took me many years to overcome my candied citron phobia. My father-in-law makes a particularly tasty loaf, and while mine is nowhere near the deliciousness of his, it's pretty darn close. It's delicious with your Christmas Eve meal and even better, toasted for Christmas breakfast the next day!

Some people frost this bread, but I prefer to top it with organic cane sugar. It melts into sweet, crispy goodness making the top of the loaf sparkle. The cardamom is absolutely necessary, so don't leave it out!

Julekaka

Yes, the name (pronounced Yool-Ka-Ga) will cause young children to giggle. Some say, Yool-Ka-Ka, but that is what made me laugh hysterically as a child. I still can't order a PuPu platter with a straight face. Sweet, dense, cardamom spiced dough heavy with golden raisins and candied fruit. Call it Christmas bread, call it Julekaka, just be sure to call me when you make it!

1 (.25 ounce) package active
dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110
degrees to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup butter softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup diced citron or mixed
candied fruit

glaze: 1 egg, beaten and raw cane sugar

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, egg, butter, salt, cardamom and 2 cups flour; mix well. Stir in raisins, citron and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to greased top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; divide in half. Shape each portion into a flattened ball. Place in two greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Beat an egg until frothy. Paint the loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with raw cane sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

Freezes well.