Blueberry Cream Cheese Braided Loaf!

Oh my goodness!!! This is amazing. I saw it last week on Rhoda's Southern Hospitality Blog and KNEW I had to make it!

I made it yesterday and now I can't walk into the kitchen without wanting another piece! It is truly delicious!

If you don't like blueberries, don't sweat it. It would be just as good with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, canned drained peaches...well, you get the idea.

You can click on the link above in purple to see the recipe on Rhoda's blog. She made a couple of adjustments and the recipe below reflect those adjustments. This recipe is SUPER easy and I hope you try it!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Braided Loaf

Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg, separated
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, divided
1 (11 oz.) refrigerated breadstick dough
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, rinsed, drained and dried
2 tsp. water
2 Tbsp. orange juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl at med. speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add egg yolk and 1/4 cup confectioners sugar. Beat until well mixed. Set aside.
3. Remove breadstick dough from can. Unroll and separate dough into rectangle. Place dough horizontally on baking sheet. Press seams together to seal.
4. Spoon cream cheese mixture onto center third of dough.
5. Sprinkle blueberries over cream cheese mixture.
6. Separate dough at perforations up to cream-cheese mixture slightly stretching dough strips. Beginning at top edge of dough, braid strips to cover filling (this makes more sense as you are doing it). Tuck last 2 ends under at bottom of loaf.
7. In a small bowl, beat egg white and water with fork until blended to form an egg wash. Brush egg wash over braided loaf.
8. Bake until golden brown, approx. 20 minutes. Cool for at least 45 min.
9. In another small bowl, combine remaining 1 cup confectioners sugar and orange juice, whisking until smooth. Drizzle glaze over braided loaf before serving. Slice with bread knife.
10. Enjoy and try not to each too much!

Rhoda's braid was prettier than mine but you get the idea. Also, please don't comment on the condition of my baking sheet. I LOVE my old seasoned sheets! They work the best!

I know this looks a little brown but it's not that brown in real life. Just be sure to watch yours in the oven. My oven is a little hotter than it should be so I baked mine for 17 minutes.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Almond-Orange-Peach Crescents!

A few years ago I saw Rachael Ray make Almond-Orange-Apricot Crescent Rolls on her 30 Minute Meals show. I liked the idea but I didn't have apricot or sesame seeds so I improvised and used what I had on hand.

These have now become a favorite with the Farmer's Breakfast Casserole in our family. See previous post for that recipe.

Almond-Orange-Peach Crescents

Ingredients:

1 package of Pillsbury crescent roll dough

3 Tbsp. orange marmalade

3 Tbsp. peach preserves

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

~Preheat oven to the instructions on your crescent roll package.

~Roll dough out on a cookie sheet and break apart triangles.

~Combine orange marmalade and peach preserves in a bowl and stir well with a teaspoon to break down the preserves to a spreadable consistency.

~Using the back of the teaspoon, spread a thin layer onto the crescent dough and roll it up per the package directions.

~Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg on top of the rolled crescent and sprinkle sliced almonds on top.

~Bake per package instructions until done or lightly golden. Serve warm.

Note:

~Substitute apricot, pineapple, cherry, red raspberry, strawberry or blueberry preserves for the peach. Yum! You are only limited by your imagination.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole!

I found this recipe online about 7 or so years ago. It's from the Strutton Inn Bed and Breakfast in Custer, South Dakota. I'm so glad I printed it out and didn't lose the recipe because the link I have bookmarked doesn't work anymore.

Anyway. I needed a way to make a quick breakfast on Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings before we start our travels to my parents' and Curtis's parents' homes. Although I did make it the other night for dinner and everyone was so excited. I guess I need to make it more often instead of just on the holidays.

This recipe is perfect because I make it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning before anyone gets up. It's easy to put together and there isn't any prep in the morning so there is less clean up too!

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup cooked ham or Canadian bacon, diced
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 eggs, beaten
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:
~Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish.
~Sprinkle with cheese, ham, and green onion.
~In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over ingredients in the baking dish. (At this point, you can cover the dish and refrigerate over night or several hours.)
~Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. ***If the casserole was made ahead and chilled, you will need to bake it for 55-60 minutes.
~Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Notes:
~Instead of ham, try with ground pork sausage that's already been browned and drained.
~Try substituting pepper jack cheese for the cheddar.
~Can substitute 1 cup frozen egg product for eggs.
~Can use evaporated skim milk instead of regular for a lighter recipe.

Stop back tomorrow and see what I serve with this casserole!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Banana Foster French Toast!

There is a local restaurant chain around here called Eat'n Park. They have Bananas Foster French Toast. My Curtis LOVES it! I thought that I could probably figure it out. How hard could it be? Well. It wasn't. At all! Curtis claims that I hit the mark. Allison had it for the first time yesterday. She now claims she wants it for her birthday breakfast from now on too. Oh, it was Curtis' birthday yesterday. That's why I made it for him. He usually gets it on Father's Day and his birthday. If he wants it any other time, he needs to request it or bring a bunch of bananas home.

It's hard to tell in the picture but there is french toast under all those bananas. Curtis likes the bananas so I don't hold back. The syrup/sauce is also dark. This is because I used dark brown sugar instead of light brown. It's what I had on hand from sending him to the store one time and not specifying light. It works fine too. It's just a little darker, more flavorful and richer since it has more molasses in it.

I make the French toast as I normally would except I substitute a speciality bread. My favorite is Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread. The cinnamon and raisins would be good too. So that's it for the French toast part of it. What makes this dish special is what happens in a sauce pan.

Banana Foster French Toast

Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
bananas (I use 1 for the sauce and 2 for on top of the french toast.)

Directions
~Make French toast as normal using a specialty bread such as a cinnamon swirl.
~In a small sauce pan on low melt the butter and add the brown sugar until the sugar crystals melt.
~Add the vanilla and cinnamon and stir occasionally to avoid burning.
~About three minutes before you are ready to serve, slice in one to two bananas into the sauce. They don't need to cook but just warm through.
~Place French toast on individual plates and slice more bananas on top. (As many as you like.)
~Drizzle with banana foster sauce. Use this sparingly as it is very sweet.
~Canned whipped cream would also be excellent on top!

If you think this may be too sweet for breakfast, another idea is to cut French toast into cubes. Place cubes and sliced bananas over vanilla ice cream, cover with warm sauce and top with whipped cream for warm fall dessert.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!