Mini Cini's

I'm always looking for fun things to make on the weekends for breakfast. If I don't make something, we usually end up going out to breakfast or picking up Dunkin Donuts, which definitely adds up after a while. This recipe is relatively cheap and easy to make. I made the rolls ahead of time the night before so they were ready to cook in the morning. I also made two batches of this and froze half of them to have some other time.

These little mini cinnamon buns were a big hit with the kids, especially Avery who is all about eating miniature foods. They are not healthy by any stretch, but they are not as bad as some of the pre-made cinnamon buns you can buy at the store. I serve them with a turkey sausage and egg scramble and everyone leaves the table ready for the day. I will definitely be making these cuties again.

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Unroll crescent rolls, and separate each dough portion along center perforation to form 3 rectangles; press diagonal perforations to seal.

2. Stir together butter and next 4 ingredients; spread evenly over 1 side of each rectangle.

3. Roll up jellyroll fashion, starting at long end. Gently cut each log into 1-inch-thick slices, using a serrated knife. Place rolls, 1/4 inch apart, into 2 (8-inch) greased cakepans.

4. Bake at 375° for 11 to 15 minutes or until golden. Cool 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Stir together powdered sugar and remaining ingredients. Drizzle over warm rolls.

Note: To make slicing easier, place unbaked rolls on baking sheet, and freeze for 10 minutes.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

We have a mini-muffin monster in our house. She’s about 2 feet tall, brown hair, and will stop at nothing to eat as many mini muffins as possible.I'm not sure how this started, we noticed when we went out to breakfast one morning that Avery was in love with the blueberry muffin that we ordered for her. From then on, we always ordered her a muffin for her breakfast when we went out. I then figured she'd like it in a smaller size, so I made her blueberry mini-muffins from a box mix. She went nuts, she is in love with mini muffins now. She grips them in her little hands and goes wild. She actually does a little dance when she gets one. I usually give her two in the morning with breakfast and then maybe a snack later on in the day. She's really picky lately, so even if this isn't the healthiest option in the world, it is something she will eat.

This recipe is adapted from a few I have found around the internet. I wanted to make it semi-healthy but still yummy enough for a kid to like. I added banana for a fruit component, peanut butter for some good fats and protein, and then a small amount of chocolate chips just for fun. I had a few of these and they turned out really good, they were great for breakfast on the go. I plan on trying some different mini-muffin recipes next week, maybe a lemon poppyseed or or navel orange? Yum!

Ingredients

2 brown bananas
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 TBS melted butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup flour
2 tsp peanut butter
½ cup mini chocolate morsels

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel the bananas and mush the bananas in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add sugar, egg, and butter and mix well.

3. Stir in baking soda, powder, salt, flour and peanut butter. Mix well with a mixer or a spoon.

4. Stir in chocolate chips

5. Grease the cups of a mini muffin tin. Fill 3/4 full with batter and bake 13-15 minutes, until just golden.

6. Turn the muffins out onto a cooling rack.

Basic Sunday Morning French Toast

This is a Sunday morning favorite for my family. It's just a basic recipe for making french toast out of cinnamon bread that can be found at any grocery store. Different breads are also fine to use with this recipe. You can use challah bread, French baguette, you can even use banana or pumpkin bread.

French Toast doesn't have to be fancy, you need very few ingredients and it's relatively cheap to make. This recipe goes great with fruit or breakfast meats on the side.

Basic Sunday Morning French Toast

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter, plus more if needed
1 Loaf cinnamon bread ( I use Pepperidge Farm)
2 Eggs
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat butter in a large skillet or griddle on medium heat
2. In a large, shallow bowl, beat eggs, milk and cinnamon with a fork until well combined
3. Dip pieces of bread into the egg mixture, coating both sides
4. Brown both sides of the bread in the skillet, being careful not to burn. Add butter as needed to cook all of the French Toast.
5. Serve with syrup, fruit, or powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Chorizo, potato, and cheese Frittata

I have been trying to make breakfast more often lately since I now have two very hungry men to feed in the morning (one happens to be 3 feet tall, but has the appetite of a lumberjack). Both of them like eggs, but I really don’t. I’ve tried omelets, fried eggs, and scrambled and I just don’t enjoy them. I have seen people on the food network make frittatas and they were described as light and fluffy so I thought, why not?

I basically winged this one, I had a potato on hand, some chorizo, cheese, and eggs. I thought that sounded like a good combo. This came out fantastic!! It was so much better than I was expecting. I loved it and so did the boys. I will definitely be making this in the future.

Ingredients
1 large russet potato
5 eggs
2 tbsp milk
½ lb chorizo sausage (or any sausage really)
Cheese, for topping
Salt
Pepper

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 400 F

2.Dice the potato and boil pieces until they are fork tender (not too soft). Drain the potatoes.

3.Meanwhile, cook the chorizo on medium heat in an oven-safe skillet and then scoop and set aside to drain on a paper towel.

4.Cook the potatoes in the skillet using the grease from the chorizo. Cook until crispy.

5.Return the chorizo to the skillet with the potatoes.

6.Beat the eggs with the milk and the salt and pepper.

7.Pour the egg mixture over the chorizo and potatoes and let the eggs “set” for 2-3 minutes.

8.Sprinkle the top of the egg with cheese and place the skillet in the oven.

9.Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F, the frittata will be light and fluffy and the cheese will be bubbly.