Mother's Day Brunch & Desserts

Give your Mom five star treatment from the moment she wakes up! Doesn’t she deserve it after all the support, unconditional love, and hard work she has given over the years? Start off with a delightful breakfast. A fruit salad, gourmet iced coffee or a raspberry-orange sunrise, and a muffin or a slice of a quick bread. Try to remember your mom’s favorite foods and serve them for an early dinner. Don’t forget dessert! Try one of these pie recipes below to wow your mom with the final touch of the day. She will be impressed by your thoughtfulness and effort – a sure win!

Sources & Recipes: 

1. Gourmet Iced Coffee 

2. Raspberry-Orange Sunrises

3. Fruit Salad

4. Monkey Bread

5. Lemon Blueberry Bread

6. Blueberry Power Muffins with Almond Streusel

7. Cranberry Orange Quickbread

8. Golden Raisin Oat Bran Muffins

9. Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

10. Mile High Toasted Coconut Cream Pie

11. Apricot Raspberry Pie

Authentic Irish Desserts

The following dessert recipes will bring you back to your Irish roots. These recipes are based on traditional Irish desserts. Although not well known, many typical Irish dessert ingredients include either: fresh or dried fruit (especially apples), lemon curd, whiskey, or sweet potato. Enjoy your culinary trip to Ireland! 

Sources & Recipes (horizontally from top left to bottom right): 

1. Three-Layer Berry & Brown Sugar Pavlova

2. Bittersweet Chocolate Irish Whiskey Cake

3. Lemon Curd Layer Cake

4. Irish Apple Cake

5. Chocolate Guinness Cake

6. Chocolate Whiskey Bundt Cake

Sources & Recipes (from left to right):

1. Country Rhubarb Cake

2. Bakewell Tart

3. Sweet Potato Pie

Sources & Recipes (from left to right):

1. Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread

2. Irish Ginger Snaps

3. Irish Scones

Spicing Up Life with Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a good source of manganese, iron, fiber and calcium. Just 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon daily lowers blood sugar, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides, which is especially beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on the blood, which means that it can help improve circulation. It can even act as a preservative when added to food by inhibiting food spoilage. 

Studies have shown that if you consume a half teaspoon of cinnamon powder mixed with 1 tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast it can significantly relieve arthritis pain... so much so that after a month of following this simple regiment, one can walk without pain. Studies have also shown that smelling cinnamon can boost both cognitive function and memory.  

To get your daily dose of cinnamon, try sprinkling it on oatmeal, applesauce, yogurt, sweet potatoes, and grilled fruit. Here are some cinnamon inspired recipes to try: 

Recipes:

1. Slow Cooker Cinnamon Apples 

2. Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread 

3. Banana-Cinnamon Waffles 

4. Cinnamon-Sugar Cookies 

5. Fresh Fruit Salad with Nutmeg-Cinnamon Syrup 

6. Cinnamon-Date-Pecan Rolls 

7. Cinnamon Apple Raisin Bread Pudding 

8. Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns 

9. Cinnamon-Apple Cake

9 Quick Breads

Sorry for the recent lapse in posts, I have been working on a few projects that I look forward to sharing with you shortly. In the interim, here are some great recipes for quick breads. Quick breads are exactly that, quick and easy to make and can satisfy a number of hungry stomachs. These are great for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert.

Recipes:
1. Yogurt-Zucchini Bread with Walnuts
2. Cranberry-Sweet Potato Quick Bread
3. Pumpkin-Honey Beer Quick Bread
4. Hazelnut-Fig Quick Bread
5. Carrot Quick Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
6. Cranberry-Orange Bread
7. Two-Colored Squash Loaf Cake
8. Mini Cherry-Pecan Streusel Loaves
9. Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake

Christmas Breakfast

Christmas morning and the day after Christmas are two days when my family enjoys a relaxing breakfast with the whole family. My aunt, cousin and grandma usually stay over for Christmas weekend and I always look forward to breakfast. On our breakfast table we have: eggs, bacon, toast, an assortment of fruit, cranberry bread, an apple coffee cake with a high amount of cinnamon (my father has an extreme addiction to cinnamon), and some leftover Christmas cookies. Below are some great recipes to accompany your breakfast meal. 

1. Classic Banana Bread 

2. Quick Sticky Buns 

3. Cinnamon-Apple Cake

4. Brunch Parfaits

5. Banana Coffee Cake with Macadamia Nuts and Coconut

6. Morning Glory Muffins

7. Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

8. Cranberry-Sweet Potato Quick Bread 

9. Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Delicious Dinner Rolls

Cloverleaf Honey-Wheat Rolls

 Source: myrecipes.com

At first I was a bit intimidated to try this recipe, since I had never made rolls before. So I made sure to follow the directions as written and... they came out wonderful! In fact, my fiancé gobbled up the first batch within two days and I already have been asked to make quite a few more batches (the second batch was much easier)! Make sure to give this recipe for Cloverleaf Honey-Wheat Rolls a try. They would be a great addition to your Christmas dinner.  

Yogurt Cornbread

This is a delicious recipe for cornbread that you must try. My fiancé, a native of South Carolina, absolutely loves this and says it tastes like true southern cornbread. The best part about this recipe is how easy it is! 

Yogurt Cornbread Recipe

                                               Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt (I used Fat Free)

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup yellow cornmeal (I used stone ground)

1 cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

Directions

First and foremost, spray a 9 inch skillet with cooking spray and place it in the oven set at 375 degrees while you are assembling the recipe. This step is crucial to ensure your bread has a crispy exterior.

·         Melt butter in microwave; quickly mix butter, sugar and eggs. Beat until well combined

·         Combine yogurt with baking soda and add to the butter mixture

·         Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt (few lumps may remain)

·         Take heated skillet out of the oven

·         Pour batter into skillet, making sure to cover bottom surface

·         Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Once finished baking, the cornbread should easily slide off the skillet, onto a plate. 

  
This will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving meal.