Blueberry Muffin Tops

Ingredients

2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Optional: 1 tsp grated lemon or orange peel

Directions

1. Sift together dry ingredients, including blueberries. If using frozen berries, do not thaw beforehand.
2. In another bowl, mix milk, oil, and egg. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.
3. Spoon onto baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Notes: This is just a simple variation on these Blueberry Muffins. Really any blueberry muffin recipe could be used instead.

Sheepherder's Breakfast

Ingredients

3/4 pound bacon strips, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package (30 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
8 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup drippings in pan.
2. Stir in hash browns. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until bottom is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn potatoes. With the back of a spoon, make 8 evenly spaced wells in potato mixture. Break 1 egg into each well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Cook, covered, on low until eggs are set and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand until cheese is melted.

Notes: I thought this was a very tasty breakfast. And it is easy and fairly quick to make.

Source: Taste of Home

Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake

Ingredients

1 16-ounce loaf of French bread or sourdough bread cut into 1-inch cubes with the ends discarded. 
1/2 cup cream cheese softened (optional - leave out if preferred)
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey divided 
1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced strawberries divided
6 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk or almond milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar (optional - add if you like your French toast sweet)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour can substitute with gluten free 1-1 flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar or coconut sugar 
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cubed

Optional Toppings:
maple syrup
more fresh berries
whipped cream
powdered sugar

Instructions
Make the Streusel Topping:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Cut in the cubed butter with a pastry blender or two forks. Set aside in the fridge.

Make the Casserole:

1. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch square baking dish or 2.5-quart casserole dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup. Arrange half of the bread cubes in the bottom of the baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of the softened cream cheese over the bread and top with half of the berries.
3. Layer with remaining bread cubes on top.
4. In a large bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, maple syrup (add brown sugar here if using) and vanilla.
5. Pour evenly over bread cubes. Press the bread cubes slightly down to absorb the milk/egg mixture.
6. Top evenly with remaining berries. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the berries. Cover pan with foil. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight.
7. When ready to bake, remove French toast from the fridge. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 23-26 minutes or until fluffy and golden.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with syrup and additional toppings if desired.

Notes: Another tasty French toast casserole. I believe this is at least the 7th such recipe we've got on the blog, and we've tried a few that never got posted. I would put this somewhere in the middle of the bunch for how much I liked it.

Source: Life Made Sweeter

Kaiserschmarrn

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter

3 eggs

2 Tbsp sugar

1 pinch sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbsp raisins

1 pinch salt

1 pkg vanilla sugar (substitute vanilla flavoring + regular sugar)

powdered sugar

Directions

1. Rinse off raisins in hot water and let them dry. Split the eggs into whites and yolks. Mix together milk, flour, 1 pinch salt and vanilla sugar. Mix in egg yolks. Turn on stove to 350°F.
2. Beat egg whites with sugar until stiff. Stir one third of the egg whites int othe batter and fold the egg whites and the raisins into the batter.
3. Heat up 1 Tbsp butter in a coated pan. Pour in the batter and cook it at medium temperature until the underside is golden brown. Turn the Schmarrn over and cook it for about 5 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the burner and tear the Schmarrn into pieces and push them to the edge. Put 1 Tbsp butter on the free place on the pan and sprinkle on 1 Tbsp sugar and let it caramelize. Mix the Schmarrn with the caramel.
5. Tip: If possible the Schmarrn should stay together when turning over. Professionals can do it with a natural hand movement in that they scoop the Schmarrn like a thin pancake and flip it. You can half the Schmarrn or quarter it and turn it over with the help of a spatula and a fork.
6. Serve with powdered sugar on top.

Notes: Brittany's younger brother, Brian, served as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany and brought this recipe back with him. He'd made it for us a few times before we got the recipe and made it ourselves. It is a sweet and tasty breakfast.

Source: Brian Stimpson

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole

Ingredients
Crumb topping:
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Casserole:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk, I used skim milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups blueberries
maple syrup, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Prepare crumb topping: In a medium bowl combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and stir until fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the batter.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, milk, melted butter, lemon zest, and vanilla extract (the butter might clump from the chill of the cold ingredients- that's ok). Whisk wet ingredients until well combined. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to stir until combined. The batter will be lumpy; do not over mix.
5. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle the blueberries over the top. Remove the crumb topping from the fridge and crumble over the top of the blueberries and batter. Bake for about 35-45 minutes, until puffed and light golden brown. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Notes: It has been a couple of months since we had this so the memories aren't sharp, but we remember liking it. I believe it reminded me somewhat of the Fruit Coffee Cake we made in the past.

Source: Celebrating Sweets

Argentine Beef Stew in a Pumpkin

Ingredients
1 large pumpkin (10 to 12-inch diameter)
1.5 lbs stew beef , cubed (chuck works well)
1 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 ears corn on the cob, cut into 6-8 round segments
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 bay leaves
8 cups beef broth
vegetable oil

salt

pepper

Instructions

Prepare the pumpkin:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Meanwhile, cut the top off the pumpkin. If you are able to get a large one, you can cut it about 1/3 of the way down so that it is wide but shallow. Remove the strings and seeds. If desired use a paring knife to cut smooth the top four inches of the inner edge for presentation. Brush the cut edges with vegetable oil. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes.

For the soup:

1. Add about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large pot over high heat. Add the beef, stirring a couple of times to ensure even browning. If there is excess liquid, it will need to boil off before the meat begins browning.
2. Reduce the heat, then add the onions and garlic. Once translucent, add the peppers and continue cooking for about five minutes. Add on the potatoes, tomatoes, corn, apricot, oregano, and bay leaves. Cover with 8 cups of broth.
3. Simmer gently until the vegetables are just tender - about 30 minutes. Season to taste. 
4. Ladle into the pumpkin in the oven and bake 30 more minutes to finish cooking . 
5. Serve hot, on a chilly day. Spoon with some of the pumpkin flesh into each bowl.

Notes: It is best to bake the pumpkin directly on whatever you will be serving it on as once it has been baked and softened it will be difficult to move to a different dish. This was interesting to make, but a bit sweeter than my family likes for a beef stew. I missed the step to "season to taste" when I made it, so I've added salt and pepper to the ingredient list (not listed at the source) as I did feel it was missing something. If we make it again we will likely skip baking it in the pumpkin.

Source: Global Table Adventure