Raspberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 1/8 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour, divided

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch baking soda

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups fresh raspberries

sugar (opt.)

Cream the butter with sugar and add eggs.  Reserve 3 Tblsp. of flour and combine remaining flour with baking powder, salt & soda.  Combine milk and vanilla.  Alternately add the milk and flour mixture to the creamed butter and egg mixture.  Sprinkle reserved flour over berries and gently fold into the creamed mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

One of the things I LOVE about Facebook is whenever friends post about a yummy recipe that they've just tried.  I got this from Rochelle Bartschi, who was a friend of mine in my previous ward.  She had just made these for her sons for breakfast & she even let them spread homemade raspberry jam on their muffins!  To me that sounds divine!  Still, these muffins taste just as good plain or with butter.  Tyler came home from work with a raspberry bush only a couple of weeks after we first moved into our house because he's wanted to grow our own raspberries for as long as he can remember.  Now I'll know what to do with any extras if they become too numerous!  :)

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 Tblsp. vegetable oil (I used canola)

2 Tblsp. vinegar

2 cups flour

3 Tblsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground allspice (I didn't add this)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

chocolate chips (opt.)

whipped cream (opt.)

Mix together milk, pumpkin, oil & vinegar.  Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl.  Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.  Add chocolate chips last, if desired.  Pour or scoop onto hot griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  Top with cream or syrup.

My friend Michelle posted this on her Facebook page.  I'm SO glad she did, because these things are so, SO YUMMY!!!  The best thing about them is that they aren't just a breakfast food.  We've had these for dinner a couple of times since I got the recipe & it's almost like having dessert for dinner.  ;)  I never add allspice or anything else that gives sweet food any kind of a spice flavor (except the cinnamon, of course), but believe me, these taste just fine without it.  These things are just the thing I need to help satisfy the pumpkin cravings I end up getting every year around this time.  :)  Enjoy!  :D

Super Sausage Gravy

1 tube refrigerated biscuits (I always buy the buttermilk ones)

1 lb. lean ground sage sausage

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. basil (add more, if desired)

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

2 to 4 cups water

salt & pepper to taste

Brown sausage, breaking up into clumps as it cooks; do not drain.  Sprinkle flour and basil over the sausage & cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add evaporated milk and 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat, stirring until desired consistency is reached, adding more water as needed.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Serve over hot biscuits.

Most of you know that I'm a die-hard bookworm.  I just finished a book by Josi S. Kilpack called Key Lime Pie.  If any of you have ever read her culinary mysteries with Sadie Hoffmiller as the main character, you'll know that there are a lot of recipes in each novel.  This one was inside Key Lime Pie & it was really tasty.  I've been looking for a good homemade sausage 'n biscuits recipe ever since Tyler & I have been married.  He told me that while he was on mission, he & one of his companions tried to make their own sausage gravy from scratch one day for breakfast.  There was no recipe involved whatsoever; they just threw stuff into a skillet & kept adding more and more cornstarch until it was thick enough.  Needless to say, I was pretty grossed out, and of course, Tyler said the finished product was a disaster.  So, when I made this for dinner the other night (we eat breakfast for dinner a lot in our house), I asked Tyler if this was better than the gravy he had made that day.  When he said yes without hesitation, I knew this recipe was a keeper.  :D

Todd's Famous Blueberry Pancakes

I've been wanting to find a good blueberry pancake recipe for quite a while.  I know this isn't a picture that I took myself, but we had Grandma & Grandpa Andersen over for a couple of days & I didn't think to take a picture when I made these for breakfast this morning.  One last thing & then on to the recipe.  I thought if I wanted blueberry pancakes, all I had to do was simply add blueberries into the other recipe I have for just regular pancakes.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Wrong!  I tried this only one time earlier this year & the blueberries didn't even spread evenly throughout the batter, so when I went to pour the batter onto the griddle some of the pancakes had blueberries in them, some didn't, & they didn't even taste good!  So yeah, I decided to Google a blueberry pancake recipe instead, & I found this really tasty one from AllRecipes:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar (I added a little more)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 Tblsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, plus a little more for garnish, if desired

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.  In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk.  Stir milk and egg into flour mixture.  Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries.  Set aside for 1 hour.  This is the only bad thing about this recipe; you really have to plan ahead & get up a little earlier, but trust me, it's worth it!  ;)  Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.  Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  I just grabbed a 1/4 measuring cup out of my cupboard & used it to scoop the batter onto the griddle & it worked great.  Brown on both sides & serve hot.  When we had ours this morning we put both regular maple syrup and boysenberry syrup & they were both good.  We would've used good 'ol blueberry syrup but we were fresh out.  :)  ENJOY!

Strawberry Walnut Breakfast Cake

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
18-oz. strawberry preserves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

Combine cream cheese, margarine & sugar in a large bowl; beat until light and fluffy. Add milk, eggs and vanilla; mix well and set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth and batter is stiff. Spread half the batter evenly in a greased and floured 9x13 pan; spread preserves over batter. Add remaining batter in dollops over preserves. Sprinkle with walnuts and brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cut into squares; remove from pan while hot. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 servings.

This is another recipe I found in my Gooseberry Patch casseroles cookbook. I usually make some type of hot breakfast on Saturday mornings since Tyler doesn't really like having cold cereal every morning, so I decided to give this recipe a try. Surprisingly, it was really good. I didn't add any walnuts because I don't like adding nuts into anything that I bake, but it was still really good & our kids asked for more when they were finished! :)

German Pancakes

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla (opt.)

Melt 1/3 cube of butter inside a pie plate in the oven. Blend all ingredients well in a blender. Pour into pie plate. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. *

I got this recipe from my mother in-law. She made this for us one when we were all together at their cabin in Star Valley. My whole family loves to have these for breakfast. I especially love how it's a lot faster than making regular pancakes. The baking time varies; it just depends on how hot your oven can get. The one I'm using right now here at my Mom's house get's really hot, so I always have to decrease the baking time. When ready to serve, you can either put regular syrup on top, or you can put just a small splash of lemon juice and sprinkle a pinch of powdered sugar over the top instead. Either way, these are great. We LOVE 'em!

Poached Eggs Supreme

4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
toasted English muffins *
1/2 tsp. minced onions *

Heat milk and soup in a large skillet over medium-high heat until simmering. Gently slip eggs into soup mixture; reduce heat to medium or medium-low, depending on how warm your stove gets. Cover & cook until eggs are of desired consistency & doneness. Serve over toasted English muffins.

This recipe is VERY quick & easy, and it makes a great breakfast dish or main course dish. We have it for dinner in my house all the time, and Tyler LOVES it! You all know from reading my blog that I can't stand onions, so I never add them into the soup mixture when I make this. I've never tried this before, but another option is to sprinkle a small dash of paprika over each egg when they're ready to serve, to make them taste a little more like Eggs Benedict.