Cheesy Potato Egg Bake

Ingredients

1 pound bulk lean breakfast sausage
1 3/4 cups sliced vegetables (your choice)
4 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
6 large eggs
1 cup 2% milk
Dash salt
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 cups frozen potato crowns (tater tots for the rest of us)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes, breaking in crumbles.  Add vegetables of choice and spinach;  cook until tender and spinach is wilted, 2-4 minutes.

2) Spoon sausage mixture into a greased  13 x 9 baking dish.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk and salt until blended;  pour over the sausage mixture.  Layer with potato crowns and then sprinkle cheese on top.

3) Bake, uncovered until set and top is crisp about 45-50 minutes. 

Banana Muffins

This is my families favorite muffin recipe but its the topping they are so fond of not so much the muffin.

Yeild : 10 Muffins

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter

Muffins

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups (3 medium) mashed ripe bananas
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pecans (Optional)

Instructions
1) Prepare struesel: Combine sugar an four until blended. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or a fork.

2) Beat sugar, oil and eggs until light colored and foamy with a whisk or an electric mixer. Add mashed banana and beat well. The banana will be incorporated but have a few chunks.

3) In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add pecans (if you wish). Add to banana mixture and stir with a large spatula until just moistened DO NOT OVER MIX.

4) Spoon into greased muffin cups, level with top of pan. Here you can add 1/2 teaspoon of jelly/jam or chocolate chips (another option I have toyed with). Place 1 tablespoon of streusel on each. Place in preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and tops are dry and springy to the touch. Cool in muffin tin about 5-10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

I made these for breakfast tomorrow, but I am not sure they are going to make it through the night.

A food processor is the best way to bring all the ingredients together in this recipe because the peanut butter is a bit hard to handle by hand. I basically chopped the butter and peanut butter into the flour with a spatula. Try not to use your fingers.

These scones are light, with a definite melt-in-your-mouth quality from all the butter and peanut butter in them. They're delicious!

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
10 tbsp butter, cold and cut into 10 pieces
4 tbsp peanut butter
1 1/8 cup milk (1 c + 2 tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add butter and peanut butter and pulse a few times, until mixture resembles very large, coarse crumbs. Add mini chocolate chips.

Combine milk and vanilla extract. With the motor of the food processor running, pour in milk. Stop when the dough starts to come together into a ball. Try not to fun the food processor any more than necessary.

Divide dough into three or four pieces and pat each piece into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each circle of dough into 4 pieces, to make 16 triangular scones. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 16-20 minutes at 400F, until light golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container if not eating right away.
The scones are best within two days of baking made.
Makes 16 scones.