Poaching Eggs with a Egg Cooker

I just love eggs benedict! It is so easy to make and you can either make your own hollandaise sauce from scratch or purchase the mix in the store. It really makes for an easy nutritious breakfast! Using and egg cooker makes it quick and easy too. I was lucky enough to get this egg cooker for free for trialing it. I wasn't sure if I would really ever use it but I have to tell I would buy one if this one ever pooped out on me.

I do have to say though that the directions to poach eggs that the cooker came with are not exact. At least, not for me. I think it all has to do with whether you are sea level or not. To poach the three eggs as seen in the picture I had to double the amount of water to get the eggs to the consistency I desired. So, my theory is you need to really play around with the cooker to see what will work for you you.

Harvest Pumpkin Loaf

I created this fast and easy pumpkin loaf using a recipe from a 1985 Southern Living Cookbook. I have several of these in my library and just love them! When I posted my picture of this loaf on Facebook many people asked me to post the recipe. This particular recipe was originally created by Frances Robison of Mobile, Alabama. Since so many of you aske for it, here goes..

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 Cup sugar (I used Splenda blend following directions to substitute)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin (I had some fresh in my freezer that I thawed)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3/4 chopped pecans, divided
Glaze (recipe follows)

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, soda, salt, and spices; add to creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in chocolate morsels and 1/2 cup pecans. Spoon mixture into a 9x5x3 inch greased and floured loafpan. Sprinkle top with remainining pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Drizzle top of loaf with glaze. Yield: 1 loaf (note: I doubled my recipe for two loaves and shared one with my neighbor)

Glaze:
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 TBSP half-n-half
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
Combine all ingredients stirring until smooth. Yield: 1/4 cup

Lemon Cake Box Mix with a Bit of Jazz

I made this lemon cake from a box mix for July 4th. My hubby loves lemon cake! Actually, he just loves cake. Anyway, I did jazz the cake mix up a bit. I can never follow exact directions. Instead of water I use buttermilk. That makes any box cake mix so moist! Everyone will think you made it from scratch, trust me on this.

When I iced the cake I also used a pre-made icing. However, I decided to put some lemon curd in the center of the cake. It made it so very tasty and gave the cake such a burst of flavor! This cake turned out to be so moist and yummy that it actually split on me! You can see in the pics the earthquake it created. I was always told that a cake that falls or splits is usually a yummy cake and this cake proved that to be true.

Have a cakey day!!

Breakfast Casserole

The following recipe is a classic breakfast and sausage bake that my family loves for me to make when we have family gatherings. It is great to have handy during the holidays. Super simple to make. Spray non-stick coating on the bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan. I use a glass pan. 1 can crescent rolls - unfold and place in bottom of coated pan. 1 pkg sausage browned, crumbled and drained. Spread on top of rolls. 4 eggs beaten and mix with milk to make 2 cups total. Pour over sausage and rolls. Finish by adding grated cheese on top. I usually get a combination of cheddar and/or monterey jack cheese about 1 1/2 cups spread liberally. Bake in preheated oven for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. Allow to cool and slice to serve. Fresh fruit compliments this dish.

Gingerbread Cookies

I participated in a virtual tea party today with some gals on one of the craft threads that I frequent. What is a virtual tea party you might ask? It is where you get together and share a tea related project with others (in our case it is usually paper crafts) and then you have a cup of tea and the host gives out challenges that are tea related. It is really a lot of fun! I have participated in two now and I plan to do more.

Another thing that is fun to do is have unusual foods with your tea. The last tea I made some specialty sandwiches and scones with my tea. Today, I decided on something rather simplistic but delightful, Gingerbread cookies. I purchased an organic box mix and created these wonderful cookies. I did not put any icing on mine as I prefer them plain. They turned out wonderful!

BTW, the cookie cutter came with the box mix! How fun is that?

Chocolate Cake with Sprinkles

There's nothing better than a little chocolate cake! I created this cake from a simple box mix. Of course I always put milk instead of water in my cake mix as it makes it so much more moist. To add a bit of fun, I decided to use some sprinkles on the cake. I also sprinkled the inside layer that was frosted. So yummy!!!

Coconut Cream Pie

Doesn't this look just so yummy? I made this homemade coconut pie a couple of weeks ago. My hubby just loved it! I actually made it using Splenda Blend. It was awesome!