Broiled Bananas

Broiled bananas, in my opinion, make one of the tastiest breakfasts in existence. The key is to get a chewy sort of texture out of the brown sugar that goes beautifully with the warm mushy banana. As a person who typically hates bananas, this one is a winner- you really can't lose with the banana-lemon juice combination. As well as a lovely breakfast, broiled bananas on top of vanilla ice cream can make a great dessert. Or you could just have it for breakfast...on ice cream.


slice crosswise and lengthwise (into 4 pieces): 3 medium ripe bananas
place in a lightly buttered baking dish

brush both sides of the banana with: 2 T lemon juice (FRESH FRESH FRESH!)

drizzle: 2 T butter
over bananas

2 t brown sugar
combine: 1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t ground allspice
dash ground cloves

sprinkle over bananas

broil for 5 minutes about 5 inches away from heat- let brown lightly
serve hot

Age-Old Crepes

I've been using this crepe recipe since I was about 13. Its one of those "special occasion" recipes that everybody loves. I made it recently as requested by my little brother for his birthday breakfast. He loves his smothered in nutella and filled with strawberries, which really can't be beat. Also delicious is a little lemon juice sprinkled with powdered sugar.

makes 14-16 5-inchers

3/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
sift: 1 t baking powder
2 T powdered sugar

3 eggs
in a separate 2/3 c milk (more if needed)
bowl, beat: 1/3 c water
1/2 t vanilla

make a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg and milk mixture
whisk into an even consistency

fry in a heated greased pan until done

Mile High Biscuits (with Milk Gravy)

Jenny Wilson taught me how to make these awesome biscuits in Achievement Days when I was about 9, and I have used this recipe ever since. These are everything biscuits should be. I like them with milk gravy and jam.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes

Mix together:

3 c flour

2 T sugar

4 t baking powder

3/4 t salt

Cut in:

3/4 c butter

Mix in:

1 egg

1 c milk

Roll the biscuits out and cut into circles or whatever shape suits your fancy. Bake til golden brown.

Russian Teacakes

Gabriel and I had a lovely morning making these cookies- he insisted that his be made without nuts and covered in green sprinkles. I figured, why not?
These didn't turn out round like I expected them to, but I think it was simply because I made them too large. The recipe says 1" balls, and I've always had a terrible gauge of what size things are.

Mix Thoroughly:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 c sifted powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
Stir in
2 1/4 c flour
1/4 t salt
3/4 c nuts, finely chopped
C hill for about an hour
place onto an ungreased baking sheet
roll in powdered sugar while still warm and then again once cool

Pesto Pizza with Roasted Garlic, Peppers and Onions

This is divine and I ate way too much of it. Originally the brain child of Zack Brady, this pizza rocks my world.

Pesto:

Puree:

Basil

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Spread dough on pizza plate (I was lazy and used pre-made dough)

Spread pesto over it

Saute:

Onions

Bell Peppers

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Roast 2 head of garlic (see roasted garlic)

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pesto and cover with roasted garlic and pepper & onion mixture

Bake as directed for your pizza dough. Probably about 20 minutes at around 400

Polly's Chocolate Chip Orange Drop Cookies

This is one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes- its really quite remarkable. They are rather terrible for you physically, but emotionally... well

I make these every Christmas and whenever possible in between.

Cream:

1 c butter

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1 cup sugar

Add:

2 eggs

2 t grated orange rind

2 t vanilla

Stir in:

2 1/4 c flour

1 t salt

an appropriate amount of chocolate chips

Chill for at least an hour

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Christmas Spread

I'm beginning to feel rather silly that I posted no pictures of Christmas dinner. In my house we don't do the regular turkey shin-dig- we just buy a lot of fancy cheese and crackers and have ourselves a good old time. My personal favorite was the mango ginger stilton.