Coffee Cake

This is the coffee cake recipe I grew up with. It's so simple to make and so delicious. It's not too dry and not too "cakey." I brought it to MOPS this week and every last bite was eaten up. It really doesn't take that long to make but if I know I'm going to be in a rush for time, I will make the batter part up the night before and pour it into a greased 9x13 pan and put the pan in the fridge. I then mix up the brown sugar mixture and just leave it in a Tupperware on the counter. In the morning, I pre-heat the oven and sprinkle the topping over the batter. Once the oven is pre-heated, all I have to do is bake it for 25 minutes and I'm ready to go.

When you add the topping, just sprinkle it fairly evenly across the top of the batter. As it bakes, some of it will stay near the top and much of it will sink into the cake. It ends up looking very pretty and marbled when it's done baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

From the kitchen of: Martha Rowlands
Preparation time (start to finish): 30 minutes. Serves 6-8.

Mix together:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons melted shortening/butter
1 cup milk

Add:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt

Pour into greased 9x13 pan.

Top with mixture: (Mix in separate bowl with a fork)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

This is definitely best when eaten warm although it can also be eaten room temperature or re-heated.

Huevos Rancheros

Eggs poached in tomato sauce. 

Saute in skillet:
3 T. oil (I use lard)
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 large onion, chopped (I use 1/2)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Add:
2 large fresh tomatoes, finely chopped OR 2 c. stewed tomatoes, drained
1/2 c. tomato sauce (I use an 8 oz. can)
1/2 t. salt
1-2 T chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano

Cook over medium heat 20 minutes, occasionally mashing tomatoes. 

Break into hot sauce:
6 eggs

Cover eggs with:
6 slices mozzarella cheese

Cover skillet and poach eggs over low heat 3-5 minutes, or until as firm as desired. (I find it takes longer than that, and I'm not going for hard yolks either).

Serve with green salad and corn muffins.  I serve it over rice.

Recipe from More-with-Less cookbook, page 152

Oven-baked Spanish Tortilla

Can be served hot or cold for any meal. Traditionally served in small cubes as Tapas with beer.

Oven-baked Spanish Tortilla – Tortilla Español al Horno
modified from: http://spanish-food.suite101.com/article.cfm/traditional_spanish_omelette

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb onion (about 2 medium onions), chopped
• 2 1/2 lbs potato (about 8 medium potatoes), peeled & thinly sliced
• 10 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.


2. Boil potatoes until not quite soft (about 7 min) and drain.


3. Heat olive oil in frying pan and fry onion until tender. Add garlic and saute a few more minutes.


4. Let potatoes, onion, and garlic cool slightly.


5. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together. Add the cooled onion/garlic mixture and stir.


6. Mix egg mixture into the potatoes.


7. Grease a 9 x 11-inch dish fairly liberally with oil.


8. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking-dish and flatten the top surface of the mix – no peaks wanted!


9. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes until its golden brown - make sure its set in the center using a sharp knife to test it. When ready remove from the oven and leave it cool to cool and set a little more. (about 5 minutes)


10. Loosen the edges with a knife and serve.

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Enchiladas

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Enchiladas
recipe from: http://hubpages.com/hub/Scrambled-Egg-Breakfast-Enchiladas-A-10-Minute-Recipe-for-a-Great-Mexican-Breakfast

(This recipe is for one, multiply the recipe as needed.)
3 eggs whisked in a bowl with a pinch of salt
3 corn tortillas
A spicy and smooth tomato based salsa (A red chili sauce would also work here)
A bit of grated mild to medium cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey jack or other mild cheese
Sour cream
A few thin slices of white onion and cilantro sprigs (if you have any)

Heat 2 pans on the stove, both at medium. One pan should be a non stick fry pan suitable for scrambling eggs – the other needs to be a very heavy flat surfaced fry pan or skillet, suitable for dry frying the tortillas. Cast iron or something of a similar heft will shine here.

When the pans have pre heated, add a splash of oil to the non stick fry pan, and scramble your eggs. Remove the pan from the heat before the eggs are entirely cooked, as they will continue to set after you add them to the tortillas. Take them off about 30 seconds before they would look like you would want to eat them and place in a bowl off the heat.

Once your eggs are waiting at the side, take your corn tortillas and dip them to completely cover them in the spicy tomato salsa. Add another scant splash of oil to your heavy cast iron like pan, and place both tortillas face down beside each other to sear.

Let the tortillas cook for about 1 minute (checking to see that they are not burning) and then flip them over. Once you have flipped them, pile your eggs onto the tortillas, dividing evenly, and then cover the eggs with a bit of grated cheese. After another minute or so, fold the tortillas over the eggs (Don't bother trying to roll them up, just fold them like mounded quesadillas) and then move to a serving plate. The tortillas should be very softened and the sauce should be browning up and crisping in places.

The tortillas may stick a bit, but don’t worry about it. Use a heavy metal spatula and just scrape them firmly off the pan. They will look fine on the plate.

Top your finished enchiladas with sour cream and more spicy salsa and place cilantro leaves and thin slices of crispy onion over the sour cream. These are great with refried beans on the side, but quite substantial enough without them if you don't have any handy.

Georgia's notes: I made this for the first time this morning. I used a mild red enchilada sauce. As I was in a hurry, I forgot the sour cream etc. on top, but it was still quite good. The top two tortillas in the package didn't hold together very well (as is often the case) but the second two turned out looking better. I'll be making this for breakfast the rest of the week! A nice change from fried eggs & toast every morning. :)

Zucchini Bread

This bread is a tried and true good zucchini bread recipe. It tastes delicious and is very moist. It's my all-time favorite zucchini bread recipe and was found on allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
Yields: 24 servings

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (or chocolate chips)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Megan’s notes: When I make this, I substitute pureed vegetables for about 3/4 of the oil and it was great. You can’t taste the veggies but it makes it much healthier. (Pureed veggies consist of: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, squash and carrots blended smooth in my blender)

Crepes

We just made these for a delicious summertime treat. It was a perfect ending to a great day!

This crepe recipe is from my Vita-mix cookbook. It is so quick and easy to make and can be made in any blender.

4 eggs
1 cup skim evaporated milk
1 Tablespoon sugar or other sweetener
1 cup flour

Blend. Pour a small amount into lightly greased pan. Move pan around so it spreads the crepe mixture thin. Cook for a minute until it dries out enough to flip. Flip and cook until slightly browned. Remove and fill with your favorite toppings.

For a sweet crepe, I love homemade whipping cream and fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) or whatever you like.

TIP: I also use this crepe recipe to make manicotti. It is delicious and cuts down on prep time because you can put a spoonful of filling in and roll it up rather than having to stuff the pasta shells with the cheese.

Peak Pancake

From Susie Demers

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Powdered sugar
Fresh berries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in 9 inch glass pie pan* and melt butter in oven. In blender or food processor, combine milk, flour, eggs, salt and vanilla and process until smooth. Remove pan from oven and increase temperature to 425 degrees. Pour batter into pie pan and return to oven. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce temp to 325 degrees and bake another 8-10 minutes. Invert on serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with fresh fruit or cooked fruit sauce.

*I tried it in a bundt pan because I thought it would be beautiful to have the ring shape. The bundt pan did not work out so well. It stuck horribly so I ended up with a pile of peak pancake instead of a nice round shape.