Bananas Foster Bread Pudding with Caramel Rum Sauce

* For a non-alcoholic version Rum Extract works great!*

1 loaf French bread, torn into bite sized pieces

4 large eggs

2 cups milk

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 large ripe bananas, sliced

2 tsp.vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 TBSP dark rum [or 1tsp rum extract]

2 tbs.'s banana liqueur (optional)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1] Tear bread into pieces in large bowl. 

2] In separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and sugar, until well blended. Stir in vanilla extract, cinnamon, rum, liqueur, pecans, and bananas.

3] Pour mixture over bread pieces, mix well, and let stand for 10 minutes. 

4] Place mixture into a 13x9 inch, buttered baking dish [ I like the mash mine down at this point to make it more dense like some of the Bread Pudding I had in New Orleans, but it is COMPLETELY up to you if you want to do that too] and cover with foil. Place baking dish in a larger shallow baking pan filled with 2 inches of water.

5] Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. 

6] Remove foil and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes, or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean. 

Caramel Rum Sauce

1 cup whipping cream [ I used half n half and it worked fine]

1  1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup light or dark rum [ or 2 tsp rum extract]

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Bring whipping cream to a light boil in large saucepan, over medium heat, stirring often. Add brown sugar and continue to cook at a low rolling boil for  5 minutes, stirring often. 

Remove from heat and stir in rum, butter, and vanilla. 

Let cool for about 10 minutes. Ladle over bread pudding. Enjoy!

Country Ham and Cheese Cornbread Casserole

1 8.5-ounce box corn-muffin mix (Jiffy)
1 16-ounce can corn, drained (or 1-1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)
3/4 cup milk
2 cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
4 TBSP melted butter
1 tsp onion powder , or 2 TB dried onion flakes [1 small onion , diced , but if using fresh onion, saute until soft, before adding]
1.5 cups ham, diced small
1 cup sour cream [I used reduced fat]- **Nonfat Greek Yogurt works great too!**
3 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a 9 x 11 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until lightly browned and knife inserted in center comes out with no color on it [** it will likely look wet because this dish is quite moist and wonderful, as long as that wet is CLEAR then the eggs are done cooking] .

***Please keep in mind differing baking dish sizes will cause the bake time to differ. Start checking for doneness at 40 minutes and adjust accordingly.***

Sausage Cheese Balls

Sausage Cheese Balls

Makes 3 dozen


1 LB preferred brand and heat level Breakfast Sausage [Turkey sausage is awesome too!]


3/4 cup, plus 1 or 2 TBSP Bisquick


2 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese


1/4 tsp onion powder


1/4 tsp celery salt


1/4 tsp garlic powder

optional: 8 oz Cream cheese: reduced fat or Neufchatel [confession: I can NEVER remember how to spell that!] work great here.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir well. Form into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet; bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

Pecan Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

PUDDING:
2-1/2- 3 cups bread cubes--
       *I used 6 1"thick slices of french bread —about 1/2 of a store bought loaf*
2.5 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp cinnamon


SAUCE:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped Pecans 


DIRECTIONS:

**The original instructions call for this to be baked in a lined roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel in the bottom between the two pans. Place baking dish on towel inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees.
**But alternatively,  you CAN cook without the water bath/ pan in a pan thing, at 320 for about 80 minutes.**

	Butter an 8x8 inch glass baking dish [I actually used a 9X4 glass bread pan so it would fit in a bigger  9 X 11 glass baking dish half filled with water]. Soak bread in hot milk for five minutes.  Combine next 6 ingredients and pour into the baking dish. Top with pecans.
	Bake for 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
	While pudding cools, combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. While stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and stir 3 minutes more. Spoon over warm bread pudding. Serve Warm

Whatever- Fruit- I- Want, Quick Bread

I love quick breads! I love all sorts of quick breads. I remember when I was young Pillsbury made a cherry nut quick bread and it was so divine, alas, it's no longer available any time, any where. Then there are seasonal breads. These frustrate me because I don't want to have to wait until November to have cranberry nut bread, or pumpkin bread or whatever. So here I have a fail-proof whatever- fruit- I- want bread recipe. Forget the boxed stuff. Trust me on this!
 Ha! I love instant gratification!


Ingredients
5 TB [1/3 cup] butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp lemon juice [not with banana bread]
2 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen fruit of choice: apples, apricots, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, maraschino cherries, etc.
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts *optional*

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, egg whites and lemon juice. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in the fruit, and nuts.
Transfer to 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 335° for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

 Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices each).

Cheesy Sausage and Veggie Omelet Muffins

Cheesy Sausage and Veggie Omelet Muffins

Egg Mixture:
12 large eggs

1 cup milk 

2 tsp soft butter

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder *optional*

black pepper to taste

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese


Filling:
 [any variation of the following combine wonderfully]
1 cup tater tots cut in half

1/3 pound turkey Sausage [ browned and crumbled]

1 cup diced broccoli florets- I used frozen that had been thawed

1/2 of Green Bell Pepper, diced
diced red onion [if using this , omit onion powder from egg mixture]

bacon, bacon, bacon [3 slices]


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain

3. Whisk together eggs, milk, butter, salt, and baking powder.  Season with black pepper. Stir in 1.5 cups cheddar cheese. 

4. Lightly spray 2 12-cupcake pans with oil.
5. Layer bottom of cups with fillings of choice to halfway mark

6. Pour 1/3 cup of egg mixture over the top of filling. 

7. Sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese.

8. Bake for 20 minutes.  

**only cook them until they are no longer runny. Then allow them to cool before placing them in a large freezer bag. As they cool, they will thicken up. By doing this, they are not rubbery when they are taken out of the freezer and reheated.**

Makes 18 muffins

**if you want to line the muffin cups use aluminum liners instead of paper.

**I made two different kinds: 

Bacon, broccoli, and cheese
and
Sausage, green pepper, and tater tot
By adding filling bits separately you can make any number of combinations you want!

Throw them in a freezer bag and just pop them in the microwave for a minute for a quick healthy breakfast on the go!

Chocolate Coconut Granola Clusters

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans or almond slices [or both]
1/3 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup [or Kayro syrup]
1 tsp vanilla extract
**Makes about 6 cups**

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray. [or parchment paper]
In a large bowl mix together the oats, coconut, nuts and seeds.
In a microwave safe bowl heat the coconut oil, cocoa, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and maple syrup together until melted [ 1-2 minutes]. Blend well. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until combined.

Evenly spread oat mixture onto lined baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes [stirring half way through cook time].
Let granola cool completely, then break apart into tiny pieces.
Serve with milk, or eat alone as a snack.

Chicken Broccoli Quiche

Hark and gasp! My two youngest, 3 and 4 years old, went to TOWN on this!  I was amazed—around here that's practically a miracle! And my husband and I both went back for seconds. SOOOO GOOD!

2 c. shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup powdered Parmesan [from can]
1 c. cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
2/3 c. chopped onion [ or heaping TB dried onion flakes, or 1 heaping tsp onion powder]
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 pkg. frozen broccoli (thawed)- Recipe actually uses roughly 3 cups
1 c. milk [I used skim with great results]
1/2 cup sour cream [I used reduced fat]
5 eggs
3/4 c. Bisquick mix
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
** Also, optionally, this is delightful with 2 oz. low fat cream cheese cut up into small pieces and added in**
Grease quiche pan or 9" deep dish pie plate. Layer chicken, 1 cup cheddar cheese, then broccoli.
Beat eggs, Bisquick, powdered Parmesan, spices, and milk until smooth. Pour into pan. Top with remaining Cheddar.
Bake at 400 for 60-75minutes<lay sheet of aluminum foil lightly over quiche at 45 minutes>. Quiche is done when knife in center comes out mostly dry.