How to Make Easy Strawberry Compote with Champagne

easy strawberry compote

Easy Strawberry Compote

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner love is filling the air! And that means planning a fabulous day for my husband and I. Since we’re on a bit of a budget I’ve started to plan a Valentine’s Day menu that won’t break the bank. And that starts with this delicious easy strawberry compote with champagne.

Not only is this compote the perfect topping for the whole grain waffles pictured above, it’s also a great filling for cupcakes, tastes fabulous mixed in with a little creme fraiche and topped over a nice dark chocolate mousse, and does fabulous things to an angel food cake.

[Read more…]

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe

Sometimes I just have a hankering for something sweet. But not too sweet. This classic coffee cake is the perfect solution! And it’s wonderful for any time of the day.

I love pairing it with my new International Delight Light Iced Coffee in the afternoon for a tasty treat. I’ve also subbed the vanilla light iced coffee in the recipe! But it also tastes wonderful in the morning with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea. The best part? It takes very little time to make.

If you need a great dish to bring in for a potluck, to surprise a friend, or to simply have on hand as a quick breakfast option, I highly suggest trying this classic coffee cake recipe!

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe

Recipe Type: Breakfast
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
  • 1/2 cup sifted whole wheat flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup milk or International Delight Vanilla Light Iced Coffee
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For the Topping:
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
  1. In small mixing bowl, combine topping ingredients. Blend with fork until crumbly. Set aside.
  2. Sift sifted flour with baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a medium bowl, beat together beaten egg and 3/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and mix well.
  3. Pour batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square or 9-inch layer-cake pan. Sprinkle topping crumb mixture evenly over batter.
  4. Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cake tests done. Partially cool in pan on wire rack. Cut coffee cake into squares or wedges while still warm.

 

Easy Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole Recipe

sausage and egg breakfast casserole

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole Recipe

One thing I love to have on hand are easy, throw together recipes for breakfast and brunch. With a playgroup playdate scheduled at our home at least once a month with our friends these easy recipes come in handy. And while my overnight french toast is our go-to for most events this easy sausage and egg breakfast casserole is just as simple and mighty tasty!

I try and stock up on breakfast sausage when I see it on sale so I always have a few packs in the freezer ready for such occasion. And day old bread is never a problem to find in this home. So if you’re hosting people over or simply want an easy dish to make on the weekend and reheat during the week, this breakfast casserole is for you.

Plus, just like the overnight french toast you simply make this casserole the night before and store it in the fridge till a few hours before you need it.

sausage and egg breakfast casserole baked

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Recipe Type: Breakfast
Ingredients
  • 1 pound pork
  • 6 slices of bread, cubed
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. The night before place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside.
  2. Layer bread cubes, sausage, and cheese in a lightly greased 7×11 inch baking dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cube mixture. Cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
  3. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let set 10 minutes before serving.
  5. Refrigerate leftovers and re-heat in the microwave or toaster oven for a quick and simple breakfast during the week.

*A special thanks to Kerri for sharing the original recipe with me. With a few modifications I made this a family favorite!

Baked Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal Squares Breakfast Recipe

Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal Squares

Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Squares

If you’re a peanut butter lover AND watching your figure don’t walk, run to go make these healthy baked peanut butter and banana oatmeal squares!

These little squares are packed with flavor and super filling. Now you may be saying healthy oatmeal squares? But if you look at the recipe, there’s nothing “diet” about them. I mean they have butter and real sugar!

No skimping out on this one. If you’re like me and eat a hearty breakfast every morning, help yourself to two servings piled with bananas on top and non-fat vanilla yogurt on the side for an awesome and very tasty breakfast. Each square is only 4 WW+ points.

Seriously… go make these now. [Read more…]

Cranberry Cream Scones {Breakfast Recipe}

Cranberry Cream Scones

Whenever I need something quick and tasty for either breakfast or dessert I almost always go to scones. How can you not?

They’re super filling, very versatile and quick to throw together. You can put just about anything in a scone. Have some raisins? Throw them in! Down to a handful blueberries? Why not use those. And while your at it get some fun ingredients together for toppings. Cinnamon sugar, cream, powdered sugar icing, chocolate, strawberry jam… lots of options!

I also love that I can form the scone into any shape I want. I can make them into biscuits. I can cut them into small triangles or big triangles. I could even use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. And the best part about this recipe is that they not only taste super good on the day they’re made but they taste great the day after as well. The perfect companion to a cup of coffee or tea.

[Read more…]

Cheesy Potato Sausage Cups {Appetizer & Sides Recipe}

Cheesy Sausage and Potato Cups recipe

I’ve tried to brainstorm what I’ll be bringing with me to Thanksgiving dinner for about a week now. And I have a few ideas for what I want to make. But I’m not 100% sure.

So I’ve put a few of the recipes to the test before the big day and will be blogging about the ones that turn out tasty!

These cheesy potato sausage cups are jam packed with flavor in every bite. And I love how easy they were to throw together.

Like my kitchen sink egg cups, these potato sausage cups are made up of things I found in my fridge and freezer. And they only took about 30 minutes to make.

The best part is they taste amazingly good the second time around. So I could make them the morning of, bring them over to my brother-in-law’s house and simply re-heat them before dinner! They’d make the perfect side or appetizer dish.

Cheesy Sausage and Potato Cups

[Read more…]

Pear Pancakes with Cinnamon {Breakfast Recipe}

Every morning we wake up and decide what to have for breakfast. Sometimes it’s eggs, sometimes it’s yogurts and berries, and sometimes it’s cereal. But every once in a while we get a special treat.

Pancakes! 

Now, it’s not that pancakes are hard to make. Or that they’re labor intensive. We just don’t eat them all the time. So when we do, we make them special. And I have to admit, when I run out of my Alton Brown pancake mix, I grab a box mix.

But I don’t leave it at that! We spice up our pancakes with the fruit and spices we have on hand and make them extra special and nutritious. When my kids were small I would add different purees into their pancake mix but now that they’re older we like to dice up our fruit before adding it in.

And here’s how we do it:

Pear Pancakes with Cinnamon

  • 1 cup Trader Joe’s multigrain pancake mix
  • 1/2 cup milk 
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 pear
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Dice up the pear into small pieces.

2. Mix together the pancake mix, milk, and egg with a whisk until just incorporated. Do not over-mix.

3. Add in the diced pear and cinnamon. Fold in gently.

4. Let pancake batter sit while you prep the pan. Heat pan on medium heat.

5. Coat pan with butter. Take a towel and wipe off the excess batter (thanks, Alton, for that tip!)

6. Using a measuring cup, pour 1/4 to 1/3 of the batter onto the hot pan.

7. Let cook until batter is bubbling and edges look firm and underside is golden brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip.

8. Let the other side cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.

9. Repeat with the rest of the batter. If making large batches, store cooked pancakes in a warm oven (I set mine on the lowest setting and place pancakes on a plate with a towel on top to keep warm while I finish the rest of the batches).

10. Enjoy!

Makes 6 pancakes

Pancakes are so easy and versatile! Why stick with the same old plain pancakes when you can jazz them up? Switch up apples for pears and add some peanut butter on top and you have a tasty, and healthy meal perfect for this Fall!

Overnight French Toast with Pecan Praline Topping {Breakfast Recipe}

I love having people over. I enjoy being forced into cleaning my home and making yummy food for my guests to enjoy.

I recently hosted a My Favorite Things party and similar to my first My Favorite Things party, I included a menu that highlighted my favorite eats. Since I hosted this event in the morning I served my favorite overnight french toast. It’s simple and easy to make the night before and tastes amazing after a whole night of soaking the flavors in.

Plus it’s topped with an out-of-this-world pecan praline mixture before it’s baked. Heaven! [Read more…]

Kitchen Sink Egg Cups {Breakfast Recipe}

Kitchen Sink Egg Cups

One of my favorite meals of the day is breakfast. The versatility of it, the flavors, the mimosas you can pair with it… So I love making breakfast foods. There’s one breakfast recipe that I make that EVERYONE asks for once they’ve tried it. And it’s a recipe I never make exactly the same each time. Don’t you love those types?

These egg cups are easy, portable, and re-heatable. You can switch out the meat, veggies and cheese for any other kind and they’ll taste equally as good. I love to add chicken sausage to give it a little kick every once in a while.

If you have a brunch to attend or a playdate to go to, bring these! They’re sure to be a hit. I know they’re a hit at my playgroup. And I have to thank my friend Rachel for introducing me to them.

Kitchen Sink Egg Cups

  • 4 pieces bacon, crumbled
  • 8 eggs, beaten
  • 1 (16 ounce) container fat free cottage cheese
  • 1 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cups swiss chard, washed and cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside to cool. Crumble or cut up into smaller pieces.
Add onions into pan and sautee. When almost done add swiss chard and cook until wilted. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, veggies and cooled meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or use right away).

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cheese mixture from refrigerator; stir in flour, butter, baking powder and salt. Spoon batter into 24 lightly greased muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until cups are slightly golden on top.

Coconut Oatmeal with Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil {Breakfast Recipe}

We’re always trying to find great alternatives to classic favorites in this home. Since my daughter consistantly eats oatmeal for us for breakfast we wanted to continue our luck with the one meal we know she’ll finish. So when I received my Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil I knew exactly what I’d to do try it out… put it in our oatmeal!

When I was done making the first batch of coconut oatmeal I went into the fridge to grab the kids some milk for their sippy cups. I looked over and saw an open package of mini chocolate chips from my husbands latest baking adventure so I grabbed the bag and sprinkled a few chocolate chips over the top of each bowl for an added treat. OMG! This oatmeal tasted exactly like my favorite chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. Delicious!

I cannot wait to start using Tropical Traditions coconut oil in other recipes. Added benefit? We can use it as cloth diaper friendly diaper cream too! Who knew? Plus there are so many other ways to use this stuff. Go here to find more!

Coconut Oatmeal
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon Tropical Traditions coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips (optional)

Pour milk into a small saucepan and heat on medium.

Stir in coconut oil and coconut flakes. Stir until oil is completely melted. Add in oats. Sprinkle on cinnamon and continue to stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Pour into a bowl and sprinkle with chocolate chips for an added bit of sweetness!

Serves 2 (or 1 adult, 2 kids)

Do you use coconut oil? I’d love to hear how! 

Disclaimer: I received a 32oz jar of Tropical Traditions coconut oil for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.



© A Crafty Spoonful - All Rights Reserved
It is OK to use one of my photos provided a link back and/or proper credit is given. It is NOT ok to copy and paste a whole post including instructions. Please do not remove watermarks or alter images in any way. Please contact me with any questions at danielle@acraftyspoonful.com

.