Bran Muffins

I have spent the weekend cleaning and organizing all sorts of things. Today I made some bran muffins-my mom always used to make them, and she is the one to thank for this recipe. Easy, and pretty healthy:) I only made a dozen today, but I will also post the five-dozen recipe in case you need to bake them for an army!

1 dozen (small recipe)
Ingredients
2 cups All Bran Cereal
3/4 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk

5 dozen (large recipe)
Ingredients
1-15oz box All Bran Cereal
3 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk

Directions
Mix together all dry ingredients. Mix liquids together. Pour liquid all at once to dry and mix until just moist. Do not over-mix. Fill muffin holders 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Yummy!


Breakfast for the week:)

Milton's

Hands down, my favorite breakfast place in Lawrence is Milton's....the thing I hate? The wait. Always a wait, even on a weekday...but totally worth it. It is a very local place, kinda for hippies-no offense, and I try to take my family and visitors there when they come. My mom was the only person I hadn't yet taken, so we took her this morning. We went at 10:30 and were seated around 11:10 or so. But so totally worth it. The bad news? I forgot my camera, and I forgot to take a picture with my phone. Kevin and my mom had the Milton's Scramble or something of the sort. I love their granola, french toast, and their omelets...but today I tried a new omelet, the Prosciutto and Cheese. It had prosciutto, spinach, and feta cheese (I asked for no onions)...it was AMAZING. It came with breakfast potatoes-also amazing, and wheat toast. The cheese was just delicious. I was in heaven, and I am one of those people who never tries new things, I always order the same thing, but I am glad I tried this, it was to die for. Yummmmmmmmm. Wish I had a picture. I will be visiting again soon and ordering the same thing!

French Toast Casserole

This one I stole from one of the blogs I follow...http://serendipitybistro.blogspot.com/. It was really easy, and we like to have breakfast for dinner sometimes too! I served it with some sausage links. It had the consistency of bread pudding, which is one of my all-time favorite things. YUM! I did cut the recipe in half from what was posted at this blog. It turned out great, and we will make it again for sure! I copied and pasted the recipe below-I did it just the same, but I cut it all in half. I still baked it for the same amount of time.

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 loaf Pepperidge Farm bread (1#)
6 eggs
2 c milk
Maple syrup (the real thing, not pancake syrup)

Directions
Use a 9x13 inch dish. Melt butter. Add brown sugar & cinnamon; make a paste & spread over bottom of dish. Use only Pepperidge Farm bread (this recipe will take a 1# loaf). Remove crusts. Layer two slices of bread and fill in sides and ends with smaller pieces. Beat 6 eggs & add 2 cups milk. Pour over top. Cover & refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Uncover & bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Drizzle maple syrup on top. Place under broiler until brown & bubbly. Allow to sit 5 minutes before cutting. When serving turn the slice upside down on the plate. This allows all the ooey, gooey from the bottom to now run all over the slice as you eat it.

Before the flip!! This was right out of the oven!

B&G

Biscuits and Gravy....I never thought I liked them...until one day when Kevin tried to impress me and make them for me for breakfast. So I pretended to like them, until I realized I love them! I mean some carbs with gravy? Whats not to love? Kevin made them tonight for dinner while I was volunteering at a reading night at a local elementary school. It made me realize how blessed I am to come home to warm meals and a nice home. One of the kids mentioned he was so happy they were serving pizza because his family had no food at home and they didn't have any money to buy any. It truly broke my heart. I wish I could help out more than I do for the kids who truly need our help in Lawrence and the surrounding communities. I hope everyone remembers how blessed they are to have home cooked meals, because not everyone has that.

Kevin's B&G

Ingredients
1 pound medium (or whatever sausage you want) sausage
Flour
Milk-I like the 2% for this
salt and pepper
Biscuits (we used a can, but you could make them!!)

Directions
Brown sausage in skillet, coat all the sausage with flour-until covered. Then add milk and stir constantly until thickens and comes to a boil-make sure it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan or boil over! Once its thick-serve it up. I think Kevin adds other seasoning and isn't telling me so he can keep it a secret. Anyway, its delish.

Yum.

Banana Muffins

I love muffins, and when my bananas go bad, which is all the time-I am usually making banana bread, but to change it up, I found a banana muffin recipe I like. You can find the original recipe and my inspiration here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Crumb-Muffins/Detail.aspx. I changed a few things when I made them tonight. I really like them and I made mini-muffins instead. Kevin ate a nice hot one right out of the oven and said it was wonderful! So that means it was a success.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted, I will sometimes substitute applesauce if I am feeling healthy!

Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon-I use more like 2-3 teaspoons, I love cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 (350 for minis) degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers (I ended up with 42 VERY LARGE minis...I would put less mixture in next time to make them a more normal size).

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes (more like 10-15 for minis), until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!!

Before Baking


Yummy!! My cute little mini muffins!

Bubble Bread

Kevin's mom makes this delicious bubble bread-I couldn't remember what she told me exactly when I asked her how to make it, so the allrecipe website saved me once again. Kevin's mom does make it in a bundt pan, which is about the only kitchen item I do not have, so the recipe I found online works perfect in a 9x13. I have this in the oven now, for Kevin's Valentine's breakfast! :) Yum! PS-you have to make it the night before to let rise!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup pecan halves-I would say I use more than that! :)
18 frozen dinner rolls
1 (3.5 ounce) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix-NOT INSTANT!
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions
Generously butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans in bottom of pan. Place frozen dinner rolls in a single layer on top of pecans. Sprinkle dry pudding mix over the top.

Combine butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling then pour over rolls. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and allow to stand overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Make sure you let it set up a bit before you flip her over or you will lose the all goodness!!

Before the flip!


After the flip!


Yummy!!


For the original recipe click here-
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Overnight-Bubble-Bread/Detail.aspx