Mini chocolate cake donut muffins

For some reason every Saturday morning I crave donuts. I eat relatively healthy during the week and try to workout a little bit each day but all bets are off on Saturdays. Whoever wakes up with the kiddos usually makes a big fun breakfast or goes out to get donuts, Kolaches, or breakfast tacos. Jon and I both favor those chocolate cake donuts and when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I was up for the challenge of making them. They don't require frying so they're automatically healthy right? Hehe. They were out of this world delicious and made such a fun little treat in the morning and after dinner for dessert.

Ingredients
*Muffins
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

*Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Stir butter and sugar in a bowl until combined.
2. Add egg, buttermilk, and vanilla until mixed
3. Add dry ingredients and stir until completely smooth
4. Scoop batter into a greased mini muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes
5. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin
6. Meanwhile, stir glaze ingredients until smooth
7. Dip each muffin into the glaze, covering completely
8. Let the glaze dry for 20 minutes or until it hardens.
9. Enjoy!

Strawberry muffins

Earlier this week my sister texted me a recipe for strawberry muffins and I took one look and was sold. Strawberries are oddly cheap right now and because of my low blood platelets, I am stuffing myself full of berries. Unfortunately Ford has a pretty bad allergy to raw berries but since the strawberries are cooked, he absolutely loved these muffins! I had all the ingredients on hand and whipped them up yesterday and sad to say, they are half gone! I love having muffins and breads on hand for quick and easy snacks. These will definitely be making a regular appearance in our house, I may even add some dark chocolate chips in my next batch.

Ingredients (12 muffins)
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries
Extra sugar

1. Mix all ingredients except strawberries until batter is formed
2. Fold in strawberries
3. Scoop batter evenly into lined muffin tins
4. Sprinkle with sugar
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees
6. Serve warm and enjoy!

Chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes

Jon and I are all about pumpkin and I could eat pancakes every morning if I had the time. We've made these yummy pumpkin pancakes 3 times now and can't get enough!! Jon prefers honey over syrup and I have to say it's pretty darn good! This recipe made about 15 silver dollar pancakes for us...perfect to warm up for a quick breakfast on a cold fall day.
Ingredients 1.5 cups milk 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 egg 2 cups white flour 3 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice  1/2 tsp salt Semi sweet chocolate chips
1. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips together to make a thick batter 2. Pour silver dollar sized pancakes in a greased pan over medium heat 3. Sprinkle with chocolate chips before flipping 4. Enjoy!

Breakfast Enchiladas

Jon and I are huge fans of Mexican food and have a standing tradition of making big, yummy breakfasts on the weekend since we are kind of rushed with work during the week. I came across this recipe for breakfast enchiladas and now Jon wants me to make it every week! They are DELICIOUS! You can even prep the enchiladas the night before so in the morning all you have to do is pop them in the oven. These will definitely be a weekend staple on our menu.
Ingredients 8 tortillas (I used corn but flour would be just as delicious) 9 large eggs 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp milk 2 tsp taco seasoning 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 tbsp canned green chilies 3 green onions, diced Salt and pepper to taste 1- 1.5 cup shredded Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack Cheese 1 can red enchilada sauce 1 cup diced tomatoes 1 avocado, sliced
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, taco seasoning, green chilies, onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 2. Melt the butter into a large skillet pan and cook the egg mixture. When eggs are almost done, add 1/2 cup cheese and stir to melt 3. Fill tortillas with egg mixture, roll up, and place fold down in a greased baking dish. 4. Once tortillas are filled, top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese (I did not use the entire can of enchilada sauce... your choice). 5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. 6. Top with tomatoes and avocado (and any other toppings of your choice) and enjoy!

Chocolate chip strawberry muffins

A few weeks ago, someone posted a screen shot of this recipe on Instagram and I immediately saved it on my phone, knowing I'd love it. She literally just posted the ingredients and how to steps so I have no idea where it came from but I am so glad it came into my life :-). The strawberries add a yummy and almost bitter taste to the chocolately muffins...these were a hit in our home.
Ingredients 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce 1 egg white 2/3 cup dived strawberries (about 1-2 cm cubes) 1/3 cup chocolate chips
1. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugars) 2. Slowly fold in the apple sauce and egg whites until a batter is formed 3. Stir in the strawberries and chocolate chips until evenly combined throughout the batter 4. Scoop batter into 10 lined muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I will definitely be posting recaps and pictures from our wonderful Christmas celebration but need time to catch up on real life now that the craziness is over. I hope you all had just as great a holiday!

I decided to make Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning and am incredibly glad I did them ahead of time. It was such a fun treat for our family and I even gave some pans away as gifts to friends and coworkers.  I am not going to post the actual recipe because Ree does a great job posting step by step directions and pictures here, but I wanted to share my experience and tips. 

My tips/suggestions:

• Definitely make ahead of time! I knew they were going to be time consuming but didn't realize the intensity. I recommend making them on a day you plan on spending at home with other things to do because you complete a few steps, let sit for an hour, do a few more steps, let rise a few hours. Be patient (I am proud of myself because I am NOT patient).
• The recipe makes a LOT. Ree made 8 circular pans but mine made 6...plan on giving some away as gifts or feeding a big crowd. I've seen people post about halving this recipe, so if you want less, google. 
• Buy disposable circular pans to make it easier. I bought mine 3 for a $1 at the Dollar Tree. The tops are white so you can decorate/write on them too.
• It gets VERY messy...just be aware that you will most likely use an entire roll of paper towels cleaning up
• I am not a fan of coffee flavoring so I substituted more milk instead of brewed coffee in the frosting
• I could NOT find maple flavoring anywhere so I used half the amount suggested of vanilla flavoring (since it is stronger, you don't need as much). 
• My cinnamon rolls were all different sizes and yours will probably be too. Some of the pans held just a few huge rolls and some had tons of little ones. They were still delicious!
• I used a lot less butter than suggested when making the cinnamon filling before rolling the dough up. Butter was literally oozing out the sides onto my counter and I hadn't even used 75% of the butter suggested so there was no way I was going to use more. Just use your best judgement.
• I baked all my 6 pans at the same time in my double ovens and immediately frosted them upon cooking so the frosting oozed over the hot rolls. I let them sit a bit and actually put them in the freezer. I have read of people freezing them uncooked, cooked without frosting and cooked with frosting and they all turn out great. I am so glad I finished them before freezing because it made Christmas morning so easy! I thawed the night before and popped them in the oven to warm them up.
• I know it sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but I have been wanting to make these forever and I am so glad I did! It was such a yummy treat (and I will be bringing more to the lake with us this weekend).
• Ree actually did a whole post with notes on the cinnamon rolls and you can find that here. 

Cinnamon Sugar French Breakfast Muffins

The original recipe was for French breakfast donuts but I wasn't about to go buy a donut pan so I improvised with mini muffin tins and boy were these delicious! One of my favorite breakfasts growing up was toast with butter and cinnamon sugar...mmm I can taste it now. These little muffins are the perfect sweet treat in the morning (okay or in the afternoon or after dinner). I made these when we had family in town and our little cousins loved them too!

Ingredients

Muffins

5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk 

Glaze topping

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Cream together butter and sugar until fully combined.  
2. Add egg and mix well.
3. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and milk.
4. Grease mini muffin pans and scoop batter to fill each tin about 3/4 full
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
6. Meanwhile melt 3tbsp butter in a shallow dish and stir in the sugar and cinnamon
7. When muffins are done, take them out of the tin immediately swirl the tops into the cinnamon/sugar/butter mix.
8. Let cool/dry on a baking rack
9. Makes 24 mini muffins

Banana Bread Pancakes

Saturday mornings are meant for sleeping in and big, homemade breakfasts. I was craving something sweet over savory and Jon didn't want to go get donuts (I haven't had one in probably 10 years but I had a hankering for one!) so I decided to whip up these delicious pancakes. It was between these and peanut butter pancakes but knowing we would put peanut butter, bananas, and honey on both, we opted for trying out this new recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large bananas, mashed
1 tbsp butter, melted

*makes 4 hearty pancakes

1. Combine all dry ingredients and stir

2. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl then whisk into dry ingredients

3. Spoon batter over heated, greased skillet and cook until golden brown, flipping once. 

4. Top with peanut butter and honey (or syrup if you are plain Jane) and enjoy!

Hashbrown quiche

My girlfriend Leah made this recipe for me and Jon a couple months ago and I have made it multiple times since. It is so easy and delicious, perfect for a weekend breakfast.

Ingredients

3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed & drained
4 tbsp butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped deli turkey
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

1. Mix the hashbrowns with the melted butter and press into a pie dish to form the crust

2. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees until the hash browns look golden brown

3. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients

4. When hash brown crust is done, pour egg mixture and return to the oven. Lower the temp to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes until the top is puffed up.

5. Enjoy!

(these were pictures of heated up leftovers so they look a little odd but seriously guys...this is a MUST make!)

P.S. Today is my 1 year blog-iversary!! Check out my very first post here.