Linda Week! Cinnamon Bread Breakfast Casserole

There are many reasons I love Linda. She's fun and funny, one of my javas and a great walking partner.

Last semester, Wednesdays were the worst. Between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm I was home for about 30 minutes. Every Wednesday, in that 30 minute window, Linda appeared at my back door with DINNER! I cannot tell you what a blessing it was, for her to take one less worry off my plate. Ha ha. No pun intended. This week I'll be sharing 5 of her family favorite recipes.

 Cinnamon Bread Breakfast Casserole

1 large loaf of cinnamon bread, cut into 1” squares
8 oz cream cheese
1 dozen eggs
1 c. milk or cream
½ c. syrup

Place bread cubes in greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Blend the cream cheese, eggs, milk and syrup together.  Pour over the bread.  Refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Pink Week: Strawberry Bread

This recipe came from a dear mom of three who taught me how to pray for my kids. It is very easy to throw together and good!

 

Strawberry Bread

1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries, undrained
2 eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans

In a medium mixing bowl, combine strawberries, eggs and oil. Mix dry ingredients and nuts. Stir into strawberry mixture. Pour into greased 9x5 loaf pan for about 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.

All Purpose Miracle Dough + Aunt Tricia's BBQ Chicken Pizza

Hands down, Michael's favorite dish is BBQ Chicken Pizza. He always used to request Poppy Seed Chicken (a Kansas favorite I will share during Stone Soup Week) for his birthday dinner, but one taste of BBQ Chicken Pizza and he was hooked.

This is Tricia's actual pizza we ate over New Year's weekend.

A disclaimer: my sister Tricia is the queen of BBQ Chicken Pizza. I no sooner taught her the secrets of my All-Purpose Miracle Dough that she promptly perfected it and used it to create this coveted dish. Hers is the standard by which mine is judged, and sadly, the last time I made it, it was only "almost" as good as Aunt Tricia's. One warning: I have a difficult time quantifying the ingredients of both these dishes, because I am not good at following recipes, so tryer beware.

All Purpose Miracle Dough

1 cup warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons or 1 pkg dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cups flour (combination of whole wheat and unbleached if you wish)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt, honey and olive oil. Stir with a wire whisk or fork. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. Dough should be a tiny bit sticky but not stick to your fingers. Knead well for 3-4 minutes. (Very therapeutic, kneading dough.) Place in greased bowl and cover in warm place with a towel. Let rise for 20-30 minutes, then shape into rolls, pizza dough or what have you. (I think the world would be a better place if we were all allowed to be covered in a warm place and left quietly alone for 20-30 minutes every day.)

I have used this for everything from pizza to bread bowls to cinnamon rolls.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ sauce-Sweet Baby Ray's ONLY
Chopped cooked chicken-white meat
Swiss, Mozzarella or Cheddar cheese, whatever's in the fridge
Miracle dough

After dough rises, use a rolling pin to spread out a nice thin layer on a baking stone. (Pampered Chef stone is the best, of course.) Bake crust for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

FLIP CRUST OVER.

Spread sauce out over crust. Add chicken and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees another 15 minutes or so, until cheese is bubbly and it looks done.

Tomorrow's recipe is Mexican Tacos! My FAVORITE.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Finding ripe bananas on my kitchen counter never seems to be a problem, but making banana bread is kind of a pain. I'm sure I do something wrong, but I have a hard time getting it done in the center without over-baking the top.

The other disadvantage is having to plan ahead...by the time it sits in the oven for 60 minutes I've practically forgotten it. These yummy muffins, on the other hand, take about 17 minutes to bake, which is an approximation of my oven-attention span.

My boys don't like chocolate, so I make the first half without chips and then add them for the second half. One time I made these and accidentally left out the banana which I don't recommend. Make a double batch on the weekend and freeze some for a quick breakfast on busy mornings.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed well
3 cups flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and/or paper line muffin tin. Mix sugar, butter and egg thoroughly. Stir in milk and bananas. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry mixture to banana mixture, stirring well. Add chocolate chips and fill muffin tins 3/4. Bake approximately 17 minutes or until nicely browned. Makes about 18.

Come back tomorrow for Quick & Easy Quiche!