Dinner Time – Breakfast Time

Sometimes the best thing for dinner – is breakfast!  Pancakes,  omelets, waffles all make for a yummy and quick dinner once in a while.  This past weekend I hosted my annual holiday breakfast.  It is my favorite team event of the year!  I have a few dishes that I serve every year because everyone loves them!  One of them is a Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake from the Portland Junior League “Portland’s Palette”.  It is one of my favorite cookbooks, not just because it has great recipes but because it is such a pretty cookbook too!  You can make this coffee cake the night before and just refrigerate.  Be sure to pull it out and bring it to room temperature before serving.

 Pastry:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar, divided

3/4 cup butter, chilled

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs, divided

1 tsp. almond extract

Filling:

1 -8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Grease and flour bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour and 3/4 cup sugar.  Cut in butter using a pastry blender or fork and work into coarse crumbs.  Set aside 1 cup of crumb mixture.

Into remaining crumb mixture, add baking powder, soda, salt, sour cream, 1 egg and almond extract.  Blend well.

Spread batter over bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan.  Batter should be about 1/4 inch thick on sides.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, remaining sugar and 1 egg and blend well.  Pour over batter in pan.  Carefully spoon preserves evenly over cheese filling.

In a small bowl, combine the 1 cup reserved crumb mixture and sliced almonds.  Sprinkle over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until cream cheese filling is set and crust is golden brown.  Cool for 15 minutes.  Remove sides of pan.  Serve warm or cool, cut into wedges.

Another popular dish at my yearly team breakfast is the sugared bacon – in fact one of my team members says that’s the only reason she comes! (I hope she’s kidding!)  This is a recipe I got several years ago from my sister in law and my children call it the “good bacon”.  Easy and fast!

Sugared Bacon

Partially cook bacon -  about half way.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and place partially cooked bacon on sheet. Mix 1 cup of brown sugar with enough water to make it a paste (you can also add a teaspoon of cinnamon if you like).  Using a pastry brush, cover bacon on both sides with the brown sugar paste.  In a 350 oven cook the bacon until completely cooked (about 10 minutes depending on thickness of bacon).  The bacon is gooey and yummy!

A new recipe I tried this year, that is a keeper, is a  Chili Cheese Souffle.  Several months ago we had a family from church over for brunch and she asked what she could bring – it was this yummy egg dish.  Moral of the story is – when someone asks to bring something  – let them!  You end up with lots of fun new recipes.  Don’t let the word “souffle” scare you though – this is an easy, mix together, quick dish.  It would be yummy for dinner too.

 10 eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp. baking powder

2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chilies

4 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1 pint small curd, cottage cheese

1/4 cup butter, melted

Add eggs, flour, baking powder and salt together.  Mix well.  Add remainder of ingredients.  Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and pour mixture in.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Serves 8-10

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Tagged as: breakfast casserole, chili cheese souffle, coffee cake, raspberry cream cheese coffee cake