Toasted Coconut Pound Cake

I made this last week for Good Friday brunch and it is delicious! The buttermilk gives it a true pound cake texture and all the toasted coconut inside and out make it a rich coconut flavor. It is a wonderful spring and summer cake to make and share!

Get the recipe from Little Bits of here. 

Gluten Free and Low Fat Breakfast Cookies

My friend Tiffany shared these cookies with me and they are easy, low fat, gluten free and yummy (as long as you like bananas!)

Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies

2 ripe/brown bananas
1 cup rolled oats (the dry kind that come in a can)
1/4 cup extras

Preheat the oven to 350.

Mash the bananas up real good. Add in the oats and stir. Add 1/4 cup extras.... we did raisins with a little cinnamon and honey. Play with options- chocolate chips, coconut, peanut butter.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

These are great warm and have a strong banana taste. The second day, they turned a little brown, but had a more cake-like consistency. I don't think they'd keep after one day.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Muffins with a Lemon Sugar Glaze

Blueberry muffins with orange zest are one of my favorites, so when I saw this recipe from The Food Charlatan for Raspberry Muffins with a lemon glaze, I knew I would love them and I did!

I shared them at a women's brunch at my church recently and they loved them, too!

A couple of shortcuts I took...

I used frozen raspberries. They worked just fine. No need to rinse them or coat them in flour.

I didn't heat up a lemon glaze. I just mixed powdered sugar, milk and water until it was what I needed to brush on. I didn't measure at all.

Finally, I used clear sugar sprinkles instead of dipping them in sugar and lemon zest.

Enjoy!

Mix and Match Egg Muffins

My friend Kati and I had a recent conversation about eating healthier. We both grew up on comfort food and have a "comfort" in making those recipes. It is the ones full of veggies or without cream of something that are harder to recall.

She told me about these egg muffins she makes for her husband each week and I knew I had to make them for Marcus. He grabs string cheese and an apple most days on the way out. These would be similar in calories, but much more filling and protein packed. After one bite he said, "these'll work" and "everyone is going to be jealous". ha!

Mix and Match Egg Muffins

from my friend Kati

The mix and match part of these- you pick the veggies and the meat to go inside of them. Kati recommends spinach, red bell pepper and breakfast sausage. I used bacon, green bell pepper and onion. I can't wait to try other combinations!

1 dozen eggs

4 slices bacon

chopped onion and bell pepper (I used frozen pre-chopped)

garlic salt and pepper

grated cheddar cheese

Chop your bacon up and cook it on the stove. I chop mine before cooking and did about 7 pieces per long slice. Let it cool on a paper towel to absorb the grease.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a muffin pan generously with Pam.

Fill each muffin pan with 1 teaspoon onion, 1 teaspoon bell pepper, and 2-3 pieces of your cooked bacon.

In a large bowl with a spout, whisk your 12 eggs really well. Pour the eggs over each muffin hole filling it about 3/4 full. 

Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper and grated cheese.

Bake for 18 minutes.

Let cool and place in baggies of 2 to grab for breakfast each morning!

Delicious!

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

My friend Natalie and I were discussing getting our kids to eat fruits and vegetables recently and she mentioned giving them pumpkin via super easy muffins she likes to make. Knowing how much my daughter loves anything pumpkin, I knew these muffins would be a hit.

They are quick, easy, moist, flavorful and relatively healthy. No oil, eggs or butter!

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling with all the spices in there)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix your ingredients together and place inside muffin cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes.

Note: I like a little crunch in my muffins, so I sprinkled sugar crystals on top. Totally optional.

Morning Glory Muffins

Abby loves to bake. My 4 year old knows where we keep all the baking supplies- she knows the difference between baking soda and baking powder, loves to open the salt spout and knows vegetable oil and olive oil are different. We have lots of fun baking with each other.

She wanted to bake together one afternoon and I dug around and had what we needed to make Morning Glory Muffins that I had seen on Big Mama's blog. We made them and ate them up! These are a great muffin for sneaking in some healthy stuff. They held up well and we have all packed them for breakfast this past week. Plus, I learned that Starbuck's sells these, too!

Morning Glory Muffins from The Big Mama Blog

Mix together:

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbs. cinnamon

2 tsp.baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Add:

1/2 cup coconut 

3/4 cup raisins

1 large apple peeled and grated

2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped nuts 

Stir to combine

In a separate bowl mix together:

3 large eggs

1 cup veg oil 

2 tsp. vanilla 

Mix dry ingredients into egg mixture.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Our changes: We sprinkled additional cinnamon and coarse sugar on top to give a little extra flavor and crunch. I hate a soggy muffin- crunch is good :)

Holidays Recipes of 2012

I have spent a lot of my holidays in the kitchen... and I love it! I made some favorites this year and tried a few new recipes. These are the best of our 2012 holidays...

For my daughter's Christmas party, they had a breakfast potluck and the kids wore their jammies. I brought Bacon and Egg Muffins. They are yummy and both her teachers wanted the recipe! 

For Christmas Eve lunch, we had tamales from a local restaurant with a few chips and dip and this Chocolate Poke cake for dessert. We always place our Little People Jesus on the cake and sing Happy Birthday to him. There was something wrong about my daughter licking frosting off the Baby Jesus that made us all laugh! There is nothing wrong with this cake- Peppermint Creamer poured into chocolate cake is genius!

Christmas morning, we had our traditional monkey bread. I love this bread and don't think I have had it since Christmas last year. It is delish and smells great while opening presents.

For Christmas lunch, we were at my Dad and Jacque's house and I brought dessert. We had Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings and Pineapple Pretzel salad. I love both of these desserts! My Dad doesn't eat chocolate and my BIL only eats apple pie for dessert, so these were perfect to please them.

Christmas dinner we were back at home with my Mom and I made one of my husband's favorites soups with sausage and tortellini. It cooked in the crock pot while we were at my Dad's house and was ready for us when we got home. The temperature dropped about 30 degrees while this soup was cooking, so it was great to have for dinner.

Easy Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Pour into your crockpot the following:
1 can French Onion Soup
2 cans Italian (garlic and olive oil) diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 cups frozen green beans
1 link sausage, cut into small bite size pieces

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5.

Add:
cold or frozen cheese tortellini

Cook on high for 15-30 minutes.

Serve and top with shredded cheese.

My Nana's Banana Nut Bread

My Nana passed away about 10 years ago. She was my favorite- a Godly woman who raised 8 strong kids (many years as a widow), a seamstress, over the top accessorizer, and a wonderful cook. She is all the things that I want to be when I grow up. There was always hard candy and a big hug to greet you.

She met my husband for which I am so grateful. I only wish she had met Abby. Sometimes Abby will stick her tongue out when she is thinking (a trait my Nana had) and I think they met in heaven. I am grateful her church had a cookbook each year and I have some of her recipes within in. 

I made 2 loaves of her Banana Nut Bread for church recently. It feels full circle to bring my Nana's bread to my church as I serve and hopefully make her proud.

Nana's Banana Nut Bread


2 1/2 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 t. baking soda
4 eggs, well beaten
6 lg. ripe bananas
1 c. nuts (I like walnut halves and use more like 2 cups!)
1 c. shortening

Stir flour, salt, and soda together in small ball. Set aside. In blender, cream shortening, sugar and vanilla.Add bananas, eggs, and nuts to sugar mix. Mix well. Slowly add in flour mixture while blending. Put in well greased loaf pans (2). Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes. Enjoy!

Dolls and Doughnuts Party Foods and Recipes

When we decided to do a Dolls and Doughnuts party, I was most excited about breakfast foods. I love breakfast and brunch, so I knew it would be fun and easy!

Of course, a 9:30 am party needs coffee, milk and orange juice. We also had cold water with orange slices floating and this yummy banana punch.

I wanted a variety of sweets and protein for everyone. I also think it is important that kids' parties have foods that kids will eat and love. All this went into the menu for the party.

I found this recipe for Bacon and Egg Muffins on Pinterest. These were wonderful and super easy. Mine ended up being pretty dry, but I think it was because I made them the night before. I would recommend cooking them the morning of.

Every toddler I know loves mini pancakes. So, I made 2 boxes of them on a big cookie sheet in the oven. When done, I put three of them on a toothpick with a blueberry. This made the presentation better and easier for people to grab them. Depending upon your party colors, you could add a mint leaf, a raspberry, green grape, lots of options!

The party's fruit cups were displayed in these little baking cups. The had my blue, red and pink so I couldn't resist them. I had blueberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, apples and raspberries in the little cups.

Finally, we picked up sausage and cheese kolaches and doughnut holes from the neighborhood shop the morning of the party. We had about 40 people and I ordered 10 dozen doughnut holes. They were gone! It may have something to do with them being in reach of the birthday girl!

The final item on our menu was Jan's Gourmet Potatoes. Jan is the mother of a friend of mine and I heard she is famous for these potatoes. They were really good, but they did not end up being as much of a hashbrown casserole as I had expected. They were more like twice baked potatoes and actually tasted just like the baked potato casserole from a local bar-b-que restaurant. 

 Jan's Gourmet Potatoes

8 medium potatoes, boiled with skins on

2 c grated cheddar cheese

10 T butter

1-2 cups sour cream or half and half

1 onion, diced

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Boil potatoes until done. Let cool, peel and grate.

Saute onions in butter then add 1 cup of the sour cream or half and half, salt and pepper. Mix into the potatoes and add grated cheese. Pour into casserole dish. Add more half and half if needed to make the mixture moist. I used 2 full cups of half and half. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Indulge yourself and add a little more cheese on top during the last 5 minutes. 

This whole casserole can be made the night before and then baked. It would be great for Thanksgiving lunch.

Finally, we had birthday cake! I didn't want a traditional cake, so I did a giant rice krispies cake, found on Martha Stewart's website. You essentially make a big batch and then fill 2 8" round cake pans with the treat, saving a handful aside in tupperware. Once cooled, the cakes are removed from the pan and stacked on top of each other. The extra you saved can be used to fill in the holes from merging the two.

In keeping with the birthday theme, we added Trix on top with the number 3 and a border. It was an unexpected twist and fun for kids and grown ups alike.

To see more on the party, click here or here. 

Tex Mex Quiche

I made us quiche the other night for dinner and it was a wonderful high protein dinner after a good workout!

Did I mention it was super easy- pie crust sprinkled with chili powder. Add dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and bake.

This recipe comes from my cousin who has amazing cooks in her family so I should have known it would be good. It is more than 10 years old since she is married now and this features her maiden name and was printed in my grandmother's church's cookbook. My Nana has been gone for about 10 years as well.

Family recipes in church cookbooks always pass our family's test. Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

Doesn't this look yummy? Being on the HCG Diet recently I really missed my granola bars. So, I made up a batch of healthy and hearty granola recently. I found the recipe online- it was super easy!

I never knew granola was so simple. Mix up the dry ingredients. Melt the wet ones. Stir and bake.

Since I made so much, I used Second Sister's post and made a little extra to include in my Father's Day goodie basket.

Go here for the recipe.

BTW, this is divine with a little almond milk!

Spring Baby Shower with Birdies

I co-hosted a baby shower earlier this month for my friend, Heidi. Heidi is a school teacher with a wonderful husband and is expecting her first child, Lily, next month. She is one of the good people of this world that you want to bless. We had a lovely brunch with friends and enjoyed seeing the wonderful things others blessed Heidi and Lilly with. Let's just say she is well loved and will be dressed in such cute things for months!

The other hostesses gave me full reign on decor, so I went with a spring-like birdie theme using many items I already own. I have blues and browns with birdies in my master bathroom.

I incorporated reds, browns, and aqua blues into the color palette. I hung moss balls from the lighting, used bird houses, robins' eggs and birds throughout the table decor. I just love brunch food- we had bagels with an amazing dip, coffee cake, fresh fruit, mini quiches, bacon appetizers, a veggie tray, and a meat and cheese tray. Oh, and a fresh strawberry cake from my friend Kelly at Billa Cakes. I just loved the fat bird and the dimensional nest on top. Kelly also made my daughter's first birthday cake and cookies for her second birthday.

Along with about 10 ladies at the shower, we had these two little girls! Aren't their squished up nose smiles the cutest? My daughter was at story time since I can't seem to manage hosting and parenting at the same time!

Congratulations Heidi on making it this far in the Texas heat and best wishes for a perfectly sweet little girl real soon!

Blueberry Peach Muffins with Granola

A group of ladies and I were responsible for breakfast for a PEO council meeting Saturday morning. I made one of my favorite muffins and have the recipe below to share with you.

There is no mix and dried blueberries in this recipe, so you can expect a big mess in the kitchen.

But these pretty muffins will impress your guests and be all worth it! Plus, they are pretty healthy with yogurt, egg whites and no oil.

And, how do you transport 3 dozen muffins? In your bundt pan upside-down of course!

recipe from Family Circle magazine

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 container (6 ounces) fruit-on-the-bottom peach yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 pint (1 cup) fresh blueberries ( I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup low-fat granola, lightly crushed (I don't both crushing it)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat a standard 12-indentation muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. On waxed paper, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1/4 cup water, the egg, egg white and melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

3. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin indentations, about a heaping 1/4 cup batter for each. Sprinkle crushed granola over all muffin tops (dividing evenly).

4. Bake muffins at 350°F for 20 minutes or until crowned and golden around the edges. Let muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer muffins directly to rack; serve slightly warm, if desired.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

I was recently given 2 quart sized baggies of fresh blueberries from a farm in East Texas. They are the sweetest blueberries in all the land.

Knowing they would go bad before my family could eat them all, I shared a baggie and used 2 cups to make this:

I literally just googled fresh blueberry muffins looking for a simple recipe where I had the majority of the ingredients. One quick run to the local Walgreens for eggs and butter, and muffins were made. Yummy!

My recipe had cinnamon and nutmeg with a sugar topping. Very good!

Breakfast Casserole Recipe

I made this casserole for my Sunday School class today and a couple of people asked for the recipe. This is super easy to make and transport in your heated Pyrex carrier, a must have! We got our first one as a wedding gift 11 years ago and it is nasty inside from random juices. We received a new version for Christmas and are loving it.

Breakfast Casserole

2 cans crescent rolls

1/2 # ham or turkey, salami, provolone cheese

6 eggs

2 T Parmesan cheese

Non- stick spray

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 9x13 dish with non-stick spray.

Roll our crescent rolls flat onto sprayed dish. Layer rolls with ham/turkey, salami and cheese.

Beat 6 eggs with 2T cheese and pour over the top.

Top with second can of rolled out crescent rolls.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Enjoy warm for breakfast or dinner! Goes well with fresh fruit and orange juice.

Mmmonkey Bread

I know it isn't Christmas, but Monkey Bread this good really should be enjoyed year round!










Easy MmmMonkey Bread

18 frozen rolls (I use Rhodes brand)
3/4 c. pecans, chopped
small box Vanilla cook and serve pudding
1/2 c brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/2 c melted butter

Spray nonstick Pam on bundt pan. Cover bottom with pecans. Cover pecans with frozen rolls. Combine pudding, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over rolls. Pour melted butter on top. Leave mixture on countertop overnight, about 10 hours. It will rise magically!

Bake inside a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes. Invert onto plate and serve!

Cinnamon French Toast Bake

Welcome Kelly's Korner readers! Your Little Birdie is excited to have you visit. The birdie's nest has lots of recipes, simple inexpensive crafts, and throws a party every now and then! Check out the links on the right to find out more!

The breakfast link includes more favorite- baby shower brunch ideas, homemade granola, peach blueberry muffins, and my favorite "meaty" breakfast casserole.

______________________

If you have had brunch at my house or attended this cute baby shower, you've had my favorite Cinnamon French Toast Bake. This recipe won money in a Pillsbury Bake Off contest a few years ago. It is to die for!

The crux of the recipe is canned cinnamon rolls cut into 8 pieces.... 2 cans of cinnamon rolls!

This is the "bake" before it goes into the oven. How can you resist cinnamon rolls, pecans, butter, whipping cream, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon?

Here is the finished product.... yummy!

To make your own Cinnamon French Toast Bake, click here.
If you find a way to make it low fat, please let me know!