Pumpkin Spice Cake with Chocolate Chips

I found this recipe on Kraft Foods a few years ago. It sounded interesting and like a good fall dessert. When I made it, I forgot to get all the stuff for the icing so I served it without the icing. Fantastic! Now that I've had it a BUNCH of times without the icing, I don't think I'd ever want it on there. When served as-is, it doubles as a delicious breakfast to have with your morning coffee. Perfect way to start the day.

I most recently made it as my birthday cake - it's that good. Give it a try, you'll love it too! This is my adapted version of it:

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

1 package spice cake mix (along with water, oil and eggs as it calls for)
1 3 ounce package cream cheese
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix cake as directed on the package, only reducing water to 1/2 cup and increasing oil to 1/2 cup. Add the pumpkin, cream cheese and spices. Beat until well blended. Add enough chocolate chips to suit your tastes and stir in well. Don't beat because the chocolate chips will break up. Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake 40-45 minutes. Cool. (though I do like to cut off a slice while it's still warm!!)


The cake (missing a slice)


The missing slice!

The Verdict: Make it. Now.

Goat Cheese and Asparagus Omelet

Sunday morning is the only day of the week that our family can have breakfast together, since my husband works 6 days a week. We try to do something nice and then have a good, productive day. In order to truly have a productive day, you need food that will keep you going. So today, I bring you...

Goat Cheese and Asparagus Omelet

Ingredients (makes 2):

4 eggs
1/3 cup half and half
1 stalk green onions, chopped
desired seasonings - salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Tony's, thyme
goat cheese, crumbled
salsa
leftover asparagus from dinner last night, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon butter

Method:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, green onions and desired seasonings. Heat 1/2tablespoon butter over medium heat in a smooth, nonstick skillet. When butter has melted, add 1/2 of the egg mixture, allowing it to cover the bottom of the skillet evenly. On one half of the eggs in the skillet, add asparagus, goat cheese crumbles and a few spoons of salsa. When eggs are barely runny, gently fold the empty side over the filled side to create the omelet. Allow to cook for another minute or two. Transfer to a plate. Repeat process for second omelet.


Goat Cheese and Asparagus Omelet with a side of bacon and extra salsa!

The Verdict: mmmm good morning! This omelet had such great flavors. The leftover asparagus had bacon and onion in it, so I added all of that to the omelet. The flavors merged beautifully. I will definitely be cooking this next time I have leftover asparagus!

Pizza...It's What's For Breakfast!

I recently came across a recipe on a blog for breakfast pizza. I was like "Hmm, ok whatever." Until I saw one of the ingredients was goat cheese. Hello!! We are total goat cheese fanatics at my house! I called my husband and told him that I knew what we were having for our traditional Sunday morning breakfast! Thanks to the Beantown Baker for the recipe. I did make a few changes, though!

Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

1 large Boboli pizza crust
1 onion, chopped in large chunks
sprinkle of thyme
1-2 tsp minced/chopped garlic
olive oil
salt, pepper and Italian Seasonings to taste
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped into small chunks
1 garlic and herb goat cheese
bacon, crumbled
parmesan cheese
3 eggs

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Saute' onion and garlic in olive oil until soft and barely turning golden. Season to taste with salt and thyme. Remove completely from pan and set aside. Fry 4-5 strips bacon until crispy enough to crumble. Set aside.

Place pizza crust on a pan and sprinkle lightly with olive oil. Rub gently over the crust to spread evenly. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese over the whole crust and follow with some goat cheese and half the tomatoes. Spread the bacon crumbles evenly, then the other half of the tomatoes. Add more goat cheese, just however much you want (I like a lot!). Sprinkle a litte more parmesan over everything, then season with salt. Make three small "holes" in the toppings to place your eggs, but don't put them yet.

Bake the pizza 5 minutes, then remove and crack your eggs and place into the holes. The whites may run but the yolks should stay put. Sprinkle the eggs with a little more salt and pepper and lightly dust the whole pizza with Italian Seasonings. Bake 10 more minutes. Remove from oven (eggs will still be jiggly) and make a foil tent to place over the pizza. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or to the firmness you desire for the eggs. Cut and eat!


Breakfast Pizza

The Verdict: OMG. This is so delicious, I'm ready to pop as I type this! The flavors were just fantastic. The original recipe calls for using smaller pizza crusts, which were not available at my grocery store. I added in the onions because I LOVE onions! Also, it originally called for fresh parsley but the selection at my grocery store wasn't very appealing. I will definitely be making this again SOON! I think it'd be great as a "breakfast supper" as well!

Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast

As avid fans of the Food Network, my husband and I have really been enjoying the new show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" from the Food Network Stars. Recently there was an episode about breakfast foods and the one that Bobby Flay talked about just made my stomach growl. I had to try it.

Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

6 slices day-old white or wheat bread
1 to 2 ripe bananas
8 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash salt
Butter or oil, for frying
Powdered sugar, for topping
Maple Syrup, for topping

Method:

Lay out the pieces of bread and spread out the peanut butter on each slice. Top every other piece of bread with slices of banana. Combine to make the sandwiches.

In a shallow medium sized bowl, gently whip, by hand, the eggs, cream, vanilla, rum, cinnamon and salt.

Heat skillet to medium heat, around 350 to375 degrees F, or until butter melts and begins to sizzle. Dip 1 sandwich at a time into rum batter and place into skillet. Cook until golden brown (about 3 to 4 minutes before turning) on each side. Remove from skillet and cut in 1/2 diagonally. Top with powdered sugar, butter and maple syrup.


Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast

The Verdict: Well it was good, but it was really rich. I think I added too much peanut butter. I will use less next time. I also forgot the nutmeg the original recipe calls for, so I'd use their recipe instead of my recipe! Definitely will play with this one and perfect it sometime!

French Toast, Bacon and Hash Browns

With this year being James' first Father's Day, I wanted to make him a special breakfast. Normally he makes breakfast every Sunday morning, but I got up extra early and made a big pitcher of orange juice, French toast, fried some bacon and a skillet of hash browns. It's a meal that warms your tummy as well as your heart. It's also great on a cold night for dinner (not the case here, in July...in Louisiana!).

French Toast

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
a few shakes of nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
a dash of salt
6 slices Texas Toast

Method:

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the two eggs. Add in vanilla, milk and seasonings. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, spray with additional cooking spray (I know some say not to do this, but it works for me!). When heated, dip slices of toast in the liquid, then place on the skillet. Let cook until brown and then flip. Repeat with remaining slices of toast.

Top with butter, syrup or powdered sugar.

I serve this with fried bacon slices and hash browns. I reserve 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the bacon drippings and 2-3 strips of bacon, crumbled for the hash browns.

Christen's Hash Browns

Ingredients:

1/2 bag Ore Ida Southern Style Hash Browns, defrosted
crumbled bacon
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
Seasonings to taste, I like Tony's seasoning, salt, garlic and onion powders.
Reserved bacon drippings.

Method:

Heat bacon drippings over medium heat. When warmed, add the onions and garlic and saute till tender. Add the potatoes and bacon. Cook, stirring often, until potatoes are crisping. Serve warm.



The verdict: This is awesome! My husband doesn't really care for sweet stuff for breakfast, but even he loves the French Toast. The potatoes are fantastic, what makes it even better if if you have some leftover from a crawfish or crab boil. But the Ore Ida do in a pinch ;)