Breakfast Tart

Farmhouse Rules' Breakfast Tart

William Sonoma's Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
from the William Sonoma website


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 medium very ripe bananas, peeled
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch metal loaf pan with butter.
2. In a bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. 
3. In a large bowl, smash the bananas with a fork. Add the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla and beat with the wooden spoon until well blended.
4. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir just until blended.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the wooden spoon. Put the pan in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 45 minutes. 
6. Gently run a table knife along the inside edge of the pan to loosen the bread from the sides. 
7. Using oven mitts, turn the pan on its side and slip the loaf out onto the wire rack. Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 1 loaf.

-Alyssa

Creamy Deviled Eggs

Martha Stewart's recipe can be found here

Creamy Deviled Eggs

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 large eggs
• 1/3 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Paprika, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Place eggs in a medium saucepan; add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove pan from heat; cover, and let stand 13 minutes. Drain, and run eggs under cold water to cool them.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, shallot, and hot sauce.
3. Peel eggs, and halve lengthwise; remove yolks, leaving whites intact. Transfer yolks to bowl with mayonnaise mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Mash with a fork until smooth.
4. Cut a corner of a plastic sandwich bag and fill with yolk mixture.  Use the bag to pip mixture into the whites. 
5. Sprinkle with paprika just before serving, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

-Alyssa

Beef Shank Egg Casserole

original recipe found here

Beef Shank Egg Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons fine, dry, plain breadcrumbs
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups diced cooked beef shank, diced/shredded
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 8 oz. sharp white cheddar, shredded
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Fresh chives on top

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with rack in middle.
2. Butter quiche dish, then sprinkle all over with breadcrumbs. Create a prefitted foil top (in case of overbrowning).
3. Cook onions with ham in butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 5 to 8 minutes. Spread in dish over breadcrumbs, then evenly sprinkle cheese on top.
4. Whisk together eggs, cream, milk and pepper and pour over cheese. Sprinkle top with chives.
5. Bake until top is golden and custard is set in center, 35 to 40 minutes. If it's overbrowning on top and the center still in not set, loosely cover with the prefitted foil and place back into the oven for five to eight minutes or so.
6. Cool slightly before cutting into wedges.

**Note: To reheat the quiche, do so with foil on top at 350 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes or until it's hot. Always let it sit a bit before cutting.

-Alyssa

Ham, Cheese, and Onion Quiche

Ham, Cheese, and Onion Quiche
Original recipe found here


INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons fine, dry, plain breadcrumbs
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups diced cooked ham
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 8 oz. sharp white cheddar, shredded
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Fresh chives on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with rack in middle.
2. Butter quiche dish, then sprinkle all over with breadcrumbs.  Create a prefitted foil top (in case of overbrowning).
3. Cook onions with ham in butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Spread in dish over breadcrumbs, then evenly sprinkle cheese on top.
4. Whisk together eggs, cream, milk and pepper and pour over cheese.  Sprinkle top with chives.
5. Bake until top is golden and custard is set in center, 35 to 40 minutes. If it's overbrowning on top and the center still in not set, loosely cover with the prefitted foil and place back into the oven for five to eight minutes or so.
6. Cool slightly before cutting into wedges.

Note: To reheat the quiche, do so with foil on top at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until it's hot. Always let it sit a bit before cutting.

-Alyssa

Apple Cinnamon Cake

Original recipe found here

Apple Cinnamon Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 small apples, peeled and diced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
2. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat white sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated; add vanilla extract.
4. Combine flour and baking powder together in a bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture. Mix milk into batter until smooth. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan; add half the apples and half the brown sugar mixture. Lightly pat apple mixture into batter. Pour the remaining batter over apple layer; top with remaining apples and brown sugar mixture. Lightly pat apples into batter; swirl brown sugar mixture through apples using a finger or spoon.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.

-Alyssa

Scrambled Eggs with Chives and Lox

Ree Drummond's original recipe found here

Scrambled Eggs w/ Chives & Smoked Salmon

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 ounces chopped smoked salmon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, for garnish
• Toasted bagels, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk the eggs. Then, into a medium bowl, pass the eggs through a fine mesh strainer. Add the half-and-half and whisk until smooth. Add the pepper and whisk until well combined.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet on low heat and melt the butter. Pour the eggs into the skillet. Using a heat resistant rubber spatula, stir the egg mixture over low heat to create soft, creamy curds. Continue to cook until soft and creamy, and then sprinkle in the salmon. Cook to light and fluffy. Serve, garnished with chives. Serve with a toasted bagel.

-Derek

Blueberry Lemon Bread

Original recipe found here

Blueberry Lemon Bread

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups blueberries (12 oz)
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt, regular or low fat

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt. Add the blueberries and lemon zest and toss to combine.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yogurt then the dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated and being careful not to crush the blueberries.
4. Scoop batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting gently onto a plate.

-Alyssa

Breakfast Pizza

Original recipe found here

Breakfast Pizza
makes 2 small pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 balls of homemade dough
• Kosher salt
• 6 strips bacon
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 cups grated mozzarella
• 6 large eggs
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced chives
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons EVOO

DIRECTIONS:

1. If dough was refrigerated, set room temperature under a warm towel for 2 hours before baking.
2. Fry the bacon in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until crisp.  Cool on a paper-towel-lined plate; roughly chop.
3. Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 450 degrees F.
4. Dip your hands and a ball of dough into the flour.  On a lightly floured countertop, pat the dough into a disc with your fingertips, then use a rolling pin to form a 10-inch circle.
5. Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto dough.  Cook on pizza stone for 4 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the dough with half of the Parmesan, mozzarella and bacon.  Crack the eggs into a bowl separately and drop over the pizza.  Season with salt and pepper.Bake for 8 minutes, and then sprinkle half of the parsley, chives, scallions and shallot on top.  Bake for 1-2 more minutes until the cheese is melted and the eggs are cooked.  Let sit for 2 minutes and serve immediately.
7. Repeat with the second pizza.

-Alyssa

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread or Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin 
• 2/3 cup cold water 
• 1 cup oil 
• 3 eggs 
• 3 1/4 cups flour 
• 3 cups sugar 
• 2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2.  Mix the liquid ingredients first; then, add the (sifted) dry ingredients. 
3. For 24 muffins, bake for 30-35 minutes. For bread, use two loaf pans (greased and floured), and bake for 50-60 minutes.

-Alyssa

Buttermilk Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancakes
makes about 10-13 silver dollar pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup buttermilk (see below)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small pan, melt butter and set aside to cool.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and vegetable oil. Add the cooled butter and stir.
4. Gradually add and mix egg mixture into flour mixture.
5. Heat a large skillet and spray with cooking spray. Ladle 1/3 cup of pancake mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Repeat until the mixture is gone!

Buttermilk Substitutions (also attributed to Joy the Baker)

• MILK AND CREAM OF TARTAR: Whisk 1 cup of milk with 1 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. To avoid lumps, mix the cream of tartar with 2 tablespoons of milk first; then, add the rest of the cup of milk.
• MILK AND LEMON JUICE: In a 1-cup measuring cup, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Top the juice with milk. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes. 

-Alyssa

Breakfast for One

last weekend-- 1 egg, sausage, spinach, yellow pepper, and onion scramble

this weekend-- from Ree Drummond's Huevo in the Hole recipe

it's a heffalump kind of morning

-Alyssa

Huevo in the Hole!

Huevo in the Hole
Original recipe by Ree Drummond


INGREDIENTS:

• 3 whole, small corn tortillas
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 whole egg
• 2 tablespoons shredded Mexican cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste
• salsa
• sour cream
• fresh cilantro 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stack the three tortillas on top of one another and use a cookie cutter to cut a hole out of the middle. 
2. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat and melt half the butter. Place the tortillas, still stacked, on the skillet so that the tortilla on the bottom soaks up some of the butter. Put a little butter in the center hole, then carefully crack in the egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let it cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
3. Move the tortilla/egg away from the cooking area for a second, then melt on the rest of the butter. Carefully flip the tortilla/egg to the other side so that the tortilla on that side will soak up some of the butter.
4. Continue cooking for less than a minute.  Sprinkle on Mexican cheese while cooking.  
5. When egg is to your liking, transfer to a plate and serve with salsa, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.  

-Alyssa

Banana Bread(s)

My new Cuisinart Hand Mixer from Derek. :)

'Tis lovely and works way better than my past mixers from Ocean State Job Lot.

Banana Bread

Recipe from For the Love of Cooking

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/3 cups of mashed overripe bananas (I used 4)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg, grated 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla then continue beating until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and fresh nutmeg together, mix well.
4. Add the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
5. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack. Slice and slather with butter. Enjoy!

P.S.

>> I have an awkward, shallow loaf pan that is 9 x 2.5"-- therefore, I had to keep an eye on the baking time.  For my 2 loaves, I baked them for 50 minutes each at 350 degrees F.

>>Since I split my batter in half to accommodate for my awkward^ pan, I added 1/3 cup blueberries and 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest to my 2nd batter before baking.

Batter #1

Batter #2

-Alyssa

Pound Cake and Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

I used the pound cake recipe below to make a July 4th trifle. With strawberries, blueberries, and cream cheese whipped cream...this dessert was a hit! Too bad my phone didn't save the photo so I could post a picture of it. :(

Pound Cake
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman


INGREDIENTS

• 3 sticks butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 whole eggs
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest, minced
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Sprite

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream butter with an electric mixer.  Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition. Add lemon and mix well.  Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add Sprite; then mix together until combined. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix briefly.
3. Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, until the cake is no longer jiggly.
4. Remove cake from oven and invert pan until cake drops out.

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

the original recipe found here

makes about 5 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened at room temperature for an hour
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons powdered sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Whip the cream cheese in a small bowl until soft and aerated. In a larger bowl whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Scrape in the cream cheese and continue whipping on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Beat in the sugar and vanilla.

-Alyssa