Move Over McDonald's: My New Favorite Breakfast

(Not that my favorite breakfast was ever from McDonalds this dish just reminds me of the McGriddle--although it's so much better.)

Okay so recently I discovered this ingenious idea of putting precooked crumbled sausage (which I keep in a ziploc bag in my freezer) in my pancake batter. They are so much tastier and better than chocolate chips...plus I love syrup on my breakfast meats.  Today I took it to the next level... Adding cheese.

SAUSAGE CAKES WITH CHEESE

The process goes like so... take a bowl of your favorite pancake batter (like my new favorite: Whole Wheat Pancakes).  Add a few handfuls of crumbled breakfast sausage (I've used venison and turkey and they are both tasty).  Fold in.  Spoon onto hot griddle (300-350 degrees F). 

Turn with a spatula once bubbles start popping on the surface of the pancakes.

Add some cheese to half of the pancakes (I used Colby Jack because I have it and it's super gooey).

When cheese is all melty and pancakes are fully cooked stack a non-cheesed sausage cake on top of the cheesy one and drizzle with syrup.  If you want a less messy version (for the kiddos or for on the go) add the cheese right after removing from griddle and dip into syrup on the side. This is how Caleb prefers to eat his pancakes, although he was a little wary of the cheese concept.  You can also just let the hot gooey sandwich set for a minute and eat it by hand when the cheese sets up.

I first tried my maple/molasses syrup but decided that chokecherry syrup was much tastier.  I live in the chokecherry capital of the world, so I have my own but a friend of mine sells it.  Check out her FB business page Vintage Delights.  Her Chokecherry Chocolate syrup is also amazing on almost anything you can think to put it on.

The variations are endless... you could use any breakfast meat (like cubed ham or bacon pieces)  any cheese (like medium cheddar or even feta) and top it with anything you like (any flavor of syrup or even a chile sauce or salsa for a southwest kick).

ENJOY! 


Tips on making the Pancakes:  I whisk the egg, add the milk and vinegar, and then whisk in the warm melted butter (don't add the hot butter straight to the egg or else it will cook it).  I've made these enough that I have the batter ready by the time the griddle is hot. The recipe makes enough to feed 2 hungry adults.  I usually double the batch and have some for me and my kiddos with quite a few extras to keep in the fridge.  My husband is not a big breakfast or pancake fan but he snitches them (since I've been making them with sausage) out of the fridge and eats them cold.  If he doesn't devour them for lunch or a late night snack we zap them in the microwave (about 10 seconds/pancake) and have them for breakfast another day.

You could also cook up like 3 batches and freeze them (wait til they're cooled or the steam will cause them to freeze together.)  Then you can have a super tasty easy breakfast in a flash any day of the week (no need to buy those pre-packaged over-priced breakfast sandwiches).

Excellent Pumpkin Cake with Light and Creamy Frosting

I made this cake and took it to church for a potluck dinner. I got rave reviews. The recipe was easy so I wanted to be sure to share it.


I started with a Pumpkin Cake I found on Allrecipes  I altered it a little, so here's my version.

Pumpkin Cake III

2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin (or a 15oz. can) or cooked & pureed pie pumpkin
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/3 tsp ground ginger 

Directions (from Allrecipes)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, and applesauce. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

FROSTING 

Found in a Facebook share from this gal: https://www.facebook.com/melody.mclaughlin1 ---she has lots of good looking recipes on her wall...) 

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EASY HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

This is SOO delicious. It WONT melt at room temperature like regular whipped cream!
It's VERY stable. Its wonderful used for frosting a cake or even dipping fruit in it! Not TOO sweet.
Very versatile!

**This recipe makes 5 cups**

1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened [I used neufchatel)
1/2 cup white sugar [yes regular granulated sugar]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract [I used orange extract because I didn't have almond on hand]
2 cups of heavy cream

Directions:

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your mixer.

Once all in the bowl, mix on medium speed until smooth.

While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream.

Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.

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I slathered this over the sheet cake and then using a star frosting tip did a zigzag border around the outside edge.  Simple yet so tasty.  I'm not sure if this frosting is sturdy enough to hold up a multi-layer cake, but if you try it out let me know.

ENJOY!