Breakfast Skillet

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) tube sausage
1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
1 1/4 c. skim milk
1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix
1/4 c. drained sliced jalapeño peppers
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
salsa or maple syrup, for serving

Directions
In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, cook sausage over medium heat on a camp stove, grill or on a cooking grate over a fire. When no pink remains, add green pepper and onion; cook about 5 minutes or until tender. Drain. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, beat together eggs and milk; stir in corn muffin mix and jalapeño peppers until combined. Pour over sausage. Return to medium heat, cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with salsa or maple syrup, if desired.  Serves 8.

Daily nutritional values:
10% vitamin A
20% vitamin C
30% calcium
10% iron

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 380
Carbohydrate: 27g
Cholesterol: 140mg
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Fat: 23g
Protein: 19g
Saturated Fat: 10g
Sodium: 880mg
Sugar: 9g
Trans fats: 0g 

Dijon-Braised Brussels Sprouts

My girs and I don't like brussel sprouts at all but I keep getting them in my bountiful baskets and hate to waste them. I found this recipe tonight and tried it. We all loved it! Everyone had seconds!

Serves 4 as a side dish

1 pound brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine(I just used chicken broth)
1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 to 3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon smooth dijon mustard (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Trim sprouts and halve lengthwise. In a large, heavy 12-inch skillet heat butter and oil over moderate heat. Arrange halved sprouts in skillet, cut sides down, in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook sprouts, without turning until undersides are golden brown, about 5 minutes. [Updated to note: If your sprouts don't fit in one layer, don't fret! Brown them in batches, then add them all back to the pan, spreading them as flat as possible, before continuing with the shallots, wine, etc.]

Add the shallots, wine and stock and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low (for a gentle simmer), cover the pot with a lid (foil works too, if your skillet lacks a lid) and cook the sprouts until they are tender can be pierced easily with the tip of a paring knife, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, and scoop out brussels (leaving the sauce behind). Add cream and simmer for two to three minutes, until slightly thickened. Whisk in mustard. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary with more salt, pepper or Dijon. Pour sauce over brussels, sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve immediately.

Overnight Danish

4 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
6 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter
1 1/2 cups warm half and half cream
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 can pie filling, any flavor (pudding also works)
Icing (see recipe below)

DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter. Add the yeast mixture, half and half, and egg yolks. Stir until mixture forms a soft dough (will be sticky). Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Punch dough down. Divide into quarters. Roll each portion into an 18" x 4" rectangle. Cut into 1" x 4" strips. Place two strips side by side. Twist together. Shape into a ring, and pinch ends together. Repeat with remaining strips. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make a 1/2" deep indentation in the center of each roll. Fill each with about 1 Tbsp pie filling. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Drizzle icing over rolls.

Icing
2 Tbsp butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
dash salt
4-5 Tbsp half and half cream

Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla, salt, and enough cream to achieve a drizzling consistency.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Ingredients

12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast.

I Should Be on a Tropical Island Granola Breakfast Cereal

Again, this is my own strange variation on something normal. Pre-heat oven to 300. Line a cookie sheet w/ foil -- that no-stick stuff works great! You can use garden variety oatmeal for this, but I like a mixture of weird stuff -- rye flakes, wheat flakes, spelt flakes, etc. You can get the weird stuff from Bob's Red Mill -- or ask me, since I either have a stash or I'm getting ready to order.

Melt together:

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 a cup of honey

Add:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 cups of flakes

Once all the flakes are coated, spread onto the foil lined cookie sheet. On top of that add:

• 1 - 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes (Bob's Red Mill again!)

Roast your granola for 30 minutes, stir it around every 10 minutes. The coconut flakes should be lightly browned. Once the mixture cools a little, I spoon mine into a zipper bag (it goes too quickly to bother with a canister). Add:

• 1 - 2 cups macadamia nuts -- lightly chopped

When serving, I add either fresh fruit or dried cherries or cranberries. You could add dried fruit w/ the nuts, but I like to keep my options open! I think you could add some extra honey and form this into bars before baking, but I haven't tried that. I have been known to put 1 cup into zippy bags & put that into a scrapbook bag w/ a tag as part of a goodie basket.

Fruit Cocktail with Dumplings

INGREDIENTS
1 big can fruit cocktail
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp oil
ground cinnamon (opt)
ground nutmeg (opt)

DIRECTIONS
(You can add sugar, butter, and lemon juice to fruit cocktail if desired.) Pour fruit cocktail, undrained, into skillet. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add milk and oil. Drop into pan of boiling fruit cocktail. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over top. Cover lightly with lid so steam can escape. Cook until done.

French Breakfast Puffs

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line cups with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, cream together 1/2 cup sugar and shortening. Beat in egg. Stir flour mixture into shortening mixture alternately with milk. Beat well. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. While muffins are baking, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Remove muffins from oven and muffin pan. Immediately, dip the tops of the muffins into the melted margarine, then into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Repeat with each muffin, until all muffin tops are covered. Serve warm.