Brunch Recipes!

I'm sorry to say I don't have photos to lure you into these recipes. I have tried four brunch/breakfast recipes in the past week that have all turned out really great! I'd recommend tucking these away for future use!

Poppy Seed Fruit Salad - This is really all about the 'dressing', a fresh citrus-y-sweet mix of limeade concentrate, honey and poppy seeds. The poppy seeds look pretty, and it would be great on any combination of fruit. I used fresh pineapple, white peaches, bananas, and strawberries. Here is the recipe.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls - Seriously yummy rolls!! I've not had a lot of luck making cinnamon rolls in the past. These were delicious. And the 'overnight' part of them just makes sense, right? I liked waking up, setting them on the counter for a while and then just baking them! So much easier! I did make a recipe and a half of the icing to make sure they got good and covered. They were a hit! Here is the recipe with great details and photos.

Southwestern Egg Casserole - Definitely NOT low-calorie, this one has cottage cheese and one pound of cheese! But it was also an overnight recipe, which was a plus when we were having company. And it was really tasty. And I liked that it doesn't call for cooked sausage or bacon (which I usually love, but this made it quicker to throw together). Here's the recipe.

Blueberry Tea Scones - I was browsing recipes one night and started to get a serious craving for some sort of baked good. I started rummaging around for a recipe to try that would only require ingredients I had on hand. This one fit the bill and it only took one hour from the moment I started making a mess to the moment I was eating one! I honestly didn't have very high expectations because I've had very hit-or-miss luck with scones. But these are really good-very moist! I've decided I like making scones because it's a nice quick bread that doesn't require a muffin paper liner! Something I'm always out of, it seems. This recipe is from "The Cream of the Crop", a blueberry cookbook my mom just gave me last week.

2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
5 1/2 T butter, chilled
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen--didn't thaw, don't need to)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 to 1/2 c. milk
1 t. grated lemon rind (could omit easily but I happened to have some...)
1 egg white
sugar

Stir together flour, 1/2 c. sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or 2 knives til mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in blueberries. Blend egg, egg yolk (save the 1 egg white for later!), 1/3 c. milk and lemon rind. Add to flour mixture, stirring until flour is moistened. Add more milk to make a soft dough.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead gently for 30 seconds (so as not to squish blueberries too much). Roll or pat dough into one big circle, about 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Cut circle into 8 wedges and place each wedge on an ungreased cookie sheet. (the recipe actually called to cut the dough into lots of tiny circles, but I like nice big scone wedges!) Beat egg whites with a fork til frothy and brush evenly over unbaked scones. Sprinkle lighly with sugar. Bake in preheated 425 oven til golden, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes. They're great warm but can be reheated a few seconds in the microwave, too! Enjoy!

I also have a couple of crockpot recipes to share sometime soon...maybe I'll wait til I have a third one....