Tag Archives: breakfast

Recipe: Easy Mini Cinnamon Caramel Rolls

19 Oct

I’ve yet to meet a person who could say no to a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven. Add some gooey caramel to that mix and it’s downright irresistible.

Unfortunately fresh homemade caramel rolls aren’t exactly  easy or quick to make. The method my mom used when I was growing up would severely cut into my precious weekend sleep in time so instead I made this shortcut version and I wasn’t disappointed.

So buttery and gooey, these are a surefire winner, so much so I’m slating them for Christmas morning breakfast. An extra benefit, they’re tiny so you don’t have to feel bad about eating more than one!

Easy Mini Cinnamon Caramel Rolls

Easy Mini Caramel Rolls | baconavecbacon.com

1/3 cup packed brown sugar + 4 tablespoons (reserved)
1/3 cup butter, cubed
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons milk (or cream)
1 tube Pillsbury crescent rolls (I used the less fat version)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In a small microwavable bowl, add the 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and milk. Microwave on high, stirring once every minute until the mixture gets smooth and bubbly. Pour into a well greased 9″ pie pan (sprinkle the pecans on top if you’re using them) and set aside.

Open the crescent rolls, unroll the dough and separate it into four squares along the perforated lines. Pinch the dough along the diagonal perforations to seal.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of brown sugar on each slice along with some cinnamon and roll up jelly roll style starting from the long side. Pinch the seams to seal.

Cut each log into 8 or 9 pieces and place, cut side down on top of the caramel in the pie plate.

Bake at 375 for about 16 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for about a minute before inverting on to a serving plate.

I defy you to eat just one.

 

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Recipe: Baked French Toast With Strawberry Sauce

11 May

Spring has sprung and I’m starting to crave all of the fresh flavours of summer. One of my favourites is this lovely strawberry sauce that my mom used to make when we were camping. You can also make this with fresh strawberries but I find the frozen ones work just as good.

Baked French Toast with Strawberry Sauce | baconavecbacon.com

Strawberry Sauce

1 bag frozen strawberries (whole or sliced)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup juice (apple is good)

In a large glass bowl, defrost the strawberries for a few minutes in the microwave. They should be slightly soft but not fully defrosted. When ready throw them into a blender or food processor with the sugar. Create slurry from the juice and the cornstarch and throw that in as well. Blend until smooth.

Place the mixture back into your big glass bowl and microwave on high for approximately 6-8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

The sauce can be reheated (you may need to thin with a little more juice) and kept in the fridge for a week or so. Try it on pancakes, ice cream or other desserts.

 

Baked French Toast
1/2 loaf of bread
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Rip the bread into bite sized pieces and arrange in a greased 8×8 or 9×9 dish. Beat the remaining ingredients and pour over top of the bread. Cover and store overnight in the fridge.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle the top with a bit more sugar and a pinch of cinnamon if you’d like. Bake uncovered for about 60 minutes and serve warm.

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Recipe: Mom’s Quiche

2 Feb

Both of my parents are pretty good cooks and a good portion of the ‘secret’ recipes I have kicking around are things they made regularly when I was growing up.  I’ve tweaked a few of them over the years and this quiche is one of our favourites.

My mother of course makes her crust from scratch which I can’t be bothered to do so I instead use a deep dish pre-fab frozen crust. Her recipe simply calls for cheese and broccoli as add ins, but of course I had to put bacon in mine. Feel free to experiment – feta, red pepper and chicken, mushroom and swiss, smoked salmon…  The options are endless!

Mom’s Quiche

Mom's Quiche | baconavecbacon.com

1 frozen deep dish pie crust
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup chopped frozen spinach, drained
1/2 cup pre-cooked crumbled bacon (I like Kirkland brand from Costco)
1 brick cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 tablespoon chives
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
dash of paprika

Sprinkle the cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Arrange the rest of your ingredients on top. Beat the cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the salt and chives. Spoon the egg mixture over your toppings. Sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese and the paprika.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

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Recipe: Quick Cheese Danish

14 Dec

Many, many moons ago I had a pretty awesome highschool history teacher. ‘Mr. Mac’ was a hulk of a man, a war veteran and totally no-nonsense. There are a lot of great Mr. Mac stories, most of them involve him disparaging disruptive students, however one day he came to class with a huge smile on his face which was definitely not the norm.

Standing at the front of the room Mr. Mac announced, “Class, I’ve discovered a new taste sensation: the danish.” He went on to talk about this awesome danish he had at the cafeteria for about five minutes. It was weird but I can definitely appreciate how discovering something new and tasty can really make your day.

This danish will certainly turn frowns upside down. In fact, I might make two of these for Christmas morning as they’re really quick to prepare and would go great with a warm mug of hot chocolate or cup of coffee. The version I made is blackberry, but this would be equally good with raspberries, lemon filling or some warm apple topping.

Quick Cheese Danish
(from Lauren’s Latest)

Quick Cheese Danish | baconavecbacon.com

1 tube Pillsbury crescent rolls (I’ve used both the regular and low fat with equal success)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup fruit/filling

For the icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1/8 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Blend the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and flour together. Set aside. Mix together the icing ingredients and set that aside too.

Take some parchment paper and place it on a cookie sheet. Roll the crescents out on the parchment without separating them. Go over the seams and squish them together lightly if they’ve separated a bit. You should have one long strip of dough.

Spread the cheese mixture down the center in about a 2 inch strip. Place the berries (or whatever filling you’re using) on top of the cheese.

Now take a sharp knife and cut 1/2 inch strips along both sides. Fold these dough ‘arms’ over top of the filling, alternating sides so you get a bit of a braid pattern. It doesn’t have to be perfect so don’t fuss too much.

Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool. (This part is very very hard because you really just want to immediately shove it in your face.)

Drizzle liberally with the icing and cut into strips.

I have no idea if this keeps well because I’ve never had any leftovers to keep. It’s probably best then if you just have that second piece instead of hoping it’ll be OK tomorrow.

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Recipe: Warm Apple Topping & German Oven Pancake

18 Nov

One of my favourite things about fall is fresh apples. I usually buy a 10 pound bag of MacIntoshes from Costco – a great deal at $10 – and gorge myself on apple recipes so I can use them up before they go bad. I buy Macs because they’re a great all-purpose apple. They’re tasty to eat fresh but also fare well in baked and cooked recipes.

Today’s recipe is for a warm apple pie style topping. I had mine on a fluffy German oven pancake (or ‘Dutch Baby’) but but this topping would be equally at home on regular pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or even ice cream.

If you’re looking for a ‘quick’ pancake option, try Krusteaz brand pancake mix. Even though it’s a ‘just add water’ mix, they are literally the best pancakes I’ve ever had outside of a restaurant. In Canada, the mix is only available in a giant bag from Costco but it’s readily available in other formats in the US.

Warm Apple Topping

4 medium MacIntosh apples, peeled and diced into bite sized pieces
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
1 tablespoon butter

In a small pot over medium heat, mix together the cornstarch and the brown sugar. Add all of the ingredients except for the butter and  stir to combine. Bring to a boil and let boil for at least a minute then reduce heat and simmer until apples are tender (about 8 minutes). Add the butter at the very end and stir to combine.

German Oven Pancake (with thanks to my friend Lauren & her wonderful mom!)

3 eggs (room temperature or placed in hot water for a few minutes)
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the butter in the bottom of a glass pie plate and let it get sizzling hot. In the meantime, in a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, flour and salt until smooth. When the butter is sizzling, pour the mix into the pie plate and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until brown. Make sure to keep an eye out as it never seems to take the full 10 minutes.

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