Donut Kabobs

Every now & then, fun food is in order!

That's exactly what this is.

After all, donut holes and strawberries are pretty divine all by themselves ...

but put 'em on a stick & and you've got a fun breakfast party!

We have a fellowship meal at church each Sunday & oftentimes, it's a breakfast theme.

I was in the mood to make/take something different.

Now, I'm pretty sure there's a kabob of every kind known to man on Pinterest 

so it was easy to get inspiration from there.

I decided to go for simple & sweet.

Powdered sugar & chocolate donut holes with a juicy, red strawberry in between.

They were a bit hit!

I don't have a littles at home anymore (all mine are grown), 

but wouldn't this be a fun way to start the morning? 

Imagine waking up for school and finding these fun donut kabobs for breakfast!

And for some reason, I keep thinking Valentine's Day ... 

these would be a sweet treat for a simple & fun Valentine's breakfast?!

And no slaving away over the stove for this breakfast hit.

That's a bonus for mom.

Have a good weekend everyone & as always, thanks for visiting Call Her Blessed <3

 

 

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday           Amaze Me Monday     Coastal Charm    The Dedicated House
                     I Should Be Mopping the Floor     The Hankful House     The Modest Mom
Tuesday        A Delightsome Life    A Bowl Full of Lemons  
                                    Titus Tuesday  A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style      
                              The Thrifty Home   A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch    Katherines Corner 3D Lessons for Life
           Hope in Every Season     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Missional Women
 Best of the Nest  Anything Blue Friday   French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things   Simple Saturdays    Sew Many Ways

The BEST Blueberry Muffins {from my Amish cookbook}

 I LOVE my cookbooks ... my very large collection of cookbooks.

I love all the little slips of paper that are stuck in the fronts of countless books,

where I've jotted down a quick recipe as someone has shared it with me.

Then I have my recipe boxes that are burgeoning with new dishes to try.

And then there's Pinterest.

Lord knows I have more recipes pinned than I'll probably make in this lifetime!

My absolute favorite go-to cookbook though, is my Mennonite one
{I call it my Amish cookbook}

 that my husband bought me in Shipshewana many years ago.  

I can count on it to have just about anything I am looking for ...
and the recipes come out right every time.

This time around, I wanted to make 'from scratch' blueberry muffins.

I knew exactly where I'd find a great recipe.

The real, legit name of these are 'The Best Blueberry Muffins.'

Isn't that so fun?

The cook who came up with this knew she was on to something.

And oh ... they were melt-in-your-mouth good!

My favorite thing about them was how tender & moist the muffins were.

I'm wishing I had one right now!

Aren't these Americana papers so cute?

Just perfect for anything blueberry.

No need to use any other recipe for blueberry muffins.

I'm quite sure none would ever be as yummy as these.

So, print this one off, pin it on Pinterest ... save it somewhere 

cause you will want to come back to this one over & over again.

The Best Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

In medium bowl, beat butter until creamy.  Add 1 cup of sugar & beat until fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt & blend.
Mash 1/2 cup blueberries with a fork & mix into batter.
Fold 1/2 of flour into batter and add 1/2 of the milk.
Fold in remaining batter & milk & mix just enough to wet dry ingredients.
Fold remaining blueberries into batter.
Scoop batter into 12 greased muffin cups -- or into paper liners.
Mix 1 Tbsp. sugar & nutmeg & sprinkle small amount on each muffin.
Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.
{Let cool at least 30 minutes before removing from tin if paper liners are not used.}

*The recipe says this makes 12 muffins, but I got a few more than that.
I'd say for 12, they would be really big muffins, which would be just fine, of course ;)

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday          C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House  I Should Be Mopping the Floor
                  Between Naps on the Porch  The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home   A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

DIY Instant Oatmeal

One of our pantry breakfast staples has always been a box of the little individual instant oatmeal packets.
My boys love them & they make for a super quick hot breakfast.
The problem is, as my boys have turned into men, it takes 3 or 4 packets to fill them up.
And, as we've been trying to make healthier choices, everything comes into question ...
how can we eat a healthier version of 'fill in the blank'?
This recipe answers the instant oatmeal question!

This takes no time to put together -- it's healthier & tastes even better!
I've tried a few different recipes & this is the one I like best.

Here are the ingredients:

6 cups quick oats, divided      
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c non-dairy creamer {powder}

Pour 4 cups of the oats in a large snap-top storage container {or a gallon ziploc bag}.
Pulse the additional 2 cups of oats in a food processor until they are more of a finer,
almost powdery consistency.
Add to the other oats.
Stir in powdered creamer, brown sugar, and salt until well mixed.

To make a bowl of oatmeal, scoop 1/2 cup of the instant oatmeal mixture into a bowl.
Add approximately 3/4 cup of water to oatmeal.
Microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Add milk, cream, butter, dried fruits or nuts ... whatever you enjoy mixed into your oatmeal.

See my funny pink label on top ;)  It also has the recipe written on it so I don't have to look it up each time.

And just how easy is that?!
You get waaayy more for your money going this route!

And if you need it on the go, just put the desired amount into a small ziploc bag
for a portable, quick breakfast.

This recipe makes it easy to RISE & SHINE!

Who doesn't love a party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     DIY Home Sweet Home    The Girl Creative    Make It Yourself Monday     C.R.A.F.T     
Tuesday    A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                   Women Living Well    The Thrifty Home     A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Making Home Base      Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday    The Dedicated House   Rooted in Thyme    French Country Cottage
              The Thrifty Groove     Farm Blog Hop
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

Banana Rum Coffee Cake

Banana-wana-fo-fana   Fe-fi-bo-bana ... Banana!

Any banana fans out there?

I like bananas.

plain ol' Chiquita
fresh banana cheesecake {my fave from Cheesecake Factory}
banana nut bread
banana cake
bananas foster
banana split muffins
banana split cake
banana splits ...
you see the pattern.

And it forevermore seems I am looking for a new & inventive way to use ripe bananas.
Not that the go-to banana bread recipe isn't cutting it, cause it still is ...
but every now & again, I just wanna bake something else!
Ya know, mix it up a little.

Last night, I turned to a cookbook given to me by a friend & found this recipe.
I had all the ingredients & put this together lickity split!

The guys raved.
{It's so fun to cook for them.}

I adjusted it a teeeeny bit.
Instead of adding vanilla extract, I added rum extract ... thus the fun new name!
It went from Banana Coffee Cake to Banana RUM Coffee Cake.
Definitely bumps up the fun factor a notch, huh?!
That & it made the hubs happy ... he's a fan of rum flavoring.

So here's the recipe, found in my Taste of Home Baking Cookbook:

Banana Rum Coffee Cake

1   8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas {2-3 medium}
1 tsp. rum extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, & sugar until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add bananas & rum.
Combine the flour, baking powder, & soda.
Gradually add to the creamed mixture.
Combine topping ingredients; stir half into batter.

Transfer to a greased 13x9 baking pan.
Sprinkle with remaining topping.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or til toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool.

12-15 servings.

Here's an up-close of that yummy pecan topping.

Go ahead ... bake up this coffee cake this weekend.
It'll make your cup of coffee a great companion ... & the men in your life will love you =)




linking to Savvy Southern Style & other great parties ~see buttons in sidebar

& I thought I liked the lemon!

Oh my.

I do like the lemon biscotti that I blogged about last week, 

but heavens to Betsy, these turtle ones are to die for.

I've been calorie-counting this week & let me tell you,

this has been the best 110 cals of my whole day.

Seriously, go buy a box.

Biscotti

My new rave:  BISCOTTI

No, it's NOT homemade.

Got it right off the grocery store shelf.

If you've never had it, your first thought may be:
'boy, these are hard cookies'!
You'll be right!
Biscotti translates to 'twice baked'.

One old Italian bragged that biscotti could be stored & eaten for centuries ...

& because of this, it was useful during long travels & times of war.

The first documented recipe for the biscuit is a centuries-old manuscript, 

now preserved in Prato, found by the eighteenth-century scholar Amadio Baldanzi.

How incredibly cool is that?!

In Italy & throughout Europe, biscotti is meant to be 'dunked' 

& is traditionally served after dessert, with wine or orange juice.

I like mine dunked into my hot morning coffee.

What a treat!

Thank you to the Italians for another delectable delight!

Breakfast at Pennington's

photo credit

My boys often stare into the pantry & say, "I don't know what to have for breakfast ...
Mom, suggest something!"

So as I begin to name off the usual breakfast choices, I usually manage to mention 
something that they have forgotten about.


We all have our go-to favorites, like cereal or eggs & toast.
Occasionally though, we get on 'kicks' of eating certain things ... 
& we'll eat it everyday til we make ourselves sick of it.
Lately, I'm on a kick of eating grits.

Yep, grits.

And when I casually mentioned that on Facebook, well, let me tell you, 
that was a HOT topic.
Now, it wasn't the grits, in & of themselves, that caused such a stir ... 
no, it was the fact that I like my grits, dare I say, with sugar that caused such a who-do.


Course, anybody who knows anything about anything knows that Southerners 
take their grits seriously.
When we were vacationing in SC, we toured Boone Hall Plantation.
As we were standing in the beautiful dining room, the guide was telling about the foods 
that were commonly eaten at the plantation.
When she mentioned grits, she said it was plain-out a sin to eat grits with sugar!
That put me in my place, no two ways about it.
My mom is a Virginia girl, born & raised, but she married a Hoosier.
That surely must be where I've gotten off track with the grits.


All this got me to thinking about how our food choices, our likes & dislikes, are influenced 
by our heritage & what part of the country we grew up in.
We all eat primarily the same things ... just in various different ways.


I thought I'd share with you some of our breakfast faves ... 
ya know, breakfast at Tiffany's  Pennington's!
Who knows, you may see something 'new' that you'd like to try out at your house.

photo credit

• White Rice ~ we love this for breakfast!  

I always have the 'minute' rice on hand.  
Equal parts water & rice ... & pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes.
After the water is absorbed, we sweeten w/white sugar, butter & a wee little bit 
of milk to make it creamy.
Two words: Yummm-O.

photo credit

• Grits

These are cooked & served much the same way as the rice.
Follow the microwave directions on the canister.
Sweeten with sugar & add plenty of butter {butter & grits are best friends, ya know}.


A friend shared how she likes her breakfast grits & I think I'm ganna try it ...
serve them salted, with over-easy eggs & toast.
I let you know my verdict ;)

photo credit

• French Toast

Quick & easy ... I use 1 egg for every 2 slices of bread.
Beat the egg in a shallow bowl & dip the bread in, coating evenly.
Sometimes I add just a teeny bit of vanilla extract in the egg to add a yummy flavor.
Spray skillet with cooking spray {or oil} & fry over medium heat.
Serve w/warm maple syrup.


Now, my favorite way to eat french toast is to leave off the syrup 
& instead, sprinkle the toast w/a little salt.
I don't know ... it's just something I saw my mom do growing up.

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• Toast

Not much better than the classic breakfast of buttered toast. 
The Pennington twist here came from Garrett ... & oh is it yum.
After buttering the toast, sprinkle it with brown sugar!
I know!


Another way we like toast is topped with Nutella.
If you aren't familiar with Nutella, you must quickly get acquainted!
It's a thick, chocolatety hazelnut spread that is pretty much addicting.
{I've tried the Kroger version & it's just as delicious at a cheaper price.}


My mom often made us cinnamon toast.
She buttered the bread, sprinkled on the cinnamon & sugar, & baked it 
in the oven for 10 minutes or so.


And lastly, another thing I learned from my momma, buttered toast is quite
tasty dipped in chocolate milk.
My kids love this too.
You'll just have to trust me on this one ;)

photo credit

• Eggs

We love eggs around here!
Boiled eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs, eggnog ... 
you name it, we like it!
Here are some of our faves:
~Eggs fried over-easy

~Fried egg sandwich 
           Fry the egg, yellow cooked through.  Salt & pepper & serve on soft white bread.
           Sometimes we like a bit of mustard & mayo ... kinda tastes like a deviled egg.

~Scrambled eggs
           This is how I make 'em:  beat eggs with fork, adding in milk & a bit of water.
           For 2 eggs, use about 1/4 c. milk & a Tbsp. of water {this makes 'em fluffy}.
           Fry in butter for extra flavor.

~Scrambled egg sandwich
          This is another of my mom's specialties.  
          Follow the same directions above for the eggs.
          The main difference is in the frying technique ... do not break up the egg.
          Let them fry flat, similar to a crepe.
          This way, there is one large piece of egg for the sandwich.
          Dress up the sandwich with mayo, lettuce, & onion ... delish!

photo credit

• Breakfast sandwiches

Riley isn't much of a breakfast eater, so a breakfast sandwich often appeals to him.
I buy the bagged sausage patties from Aldi just for this purpose.
Cook in the microwave for 1 minute & put it on toast, bagels, biscuits
or English muffins.
Add a fried egg & a slice of cheese & you've got something better than Mickey D's.
{Bacon is a good choice too.} 

photo credit

• Homemade Donuts ~ I am a rock-star mom when I make these!

Use a tube of the small biscuits {not the Grands} for this recipe.
Flatten each biscuit a tiny bit ... you can even cut out the center for donut holes.
Heat canola oil in skillet over medium heat then reduce to low.
Fry biscuits on each side until lightly golden, making sure center is no longer doughy.
While hot, toss in powdered sugar {or cinnamon sugar}.


Here are a few more morning favorites:

• homemade waffles & pancakes {countless ways to add variety here}
  
• biscuits & sausage gravy
• oatmeal {old-fashioned, quick cook, steel-cut}
• cereal
• pop-tarts, toaster strudels & scrambles
• fresh fruit
• breakfast burrito
• bagels with flavored cream cheese

"He that but looketh on a plate of ham & eggs to lust after it hath already committed 

breakfast with it in his heart."  C.S. Lewis

Here's to happy mornings, no matter how you like your breakfast.