Cake Pan Dutch Baby

I really enjoy a nice breakfast on the weekends because I love breakfast food, and I really don't have time for a nice breakfast during the week. We used to go out a lot on the weekends for breakfast, but now we pretty much always make it at home because it saves us a lot of money. These dutch babies are delicious and so easy to make! I can't imagine ever paying for something like this in a restaurant now that I know how easy they are to make at home.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs 
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
Pinch of salt 
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 Tablespoons butter 
1 lemon
powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a 9” circular glass cake pan in the oven as it preheats.
2. Using a hand whisk, mix eggs, milk, flour, salt, and nutmeg. 
3. When the oven is preheated and the cake pan hot, remove the cake pan from the oven and throw in 3 Tbsp of butter, swirling the pan to prevent the butter from browning or burning. When most of the butter is melted, pour batter into the pan. 
4. Bake 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer pancake to a large plate.
5. Finish with lemon juice and a dusting of confectioner's sugar, to taste. 

This recipe was based on Cleo Coyle's Cake Pan Dutch Baby (http://coffeehousemystery.com/userfiles/file/CleoCoyle_CakePanDutchBaby.pdf).

Spicy Chorizo Hash & Eggs

We usually like to cook ourselves a nice breakfast/brunch on the weekends. It's so much cheaper to make breakfast at home, rather than going out, and it's a great way to start off the day. This is probably my favorite breakfast recipe right now. Deliciously spicy and full of meat, potatoes, onions, and beans. I prefer to top mine with a fried over-medium egg or two. You could also add bell pepper to this and it would be good. It's definitely more time consuming to make than many of our other regular breakfast recipes, but the result is very worth it!

Ingredients:

3 medium russet potatoes
8 oz chorizo (or make your own with ground pork and spices)
Olive oil
½ medium onion, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
4 eggs, cooked to your preference

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes. Stab them 4-5 times with a fork. 
2. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes, flipping once. If you are doubling this recipe or cooking larger potatoes, you may need to double this time. 
3. Dice the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.
4. In a large skillet (cast iron, if you have it), break up the chorizo and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. If the chorizo sticks to the pan, add oil to pan as needed. 
5. Remove the chorizo from the skillet and keep warm.
6. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet. Add the potatoes, oregano, paprika, and cayenne. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix well. 
7. Cook the potatoes for 10-12 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes. 
8. Add the onions and additional oil if needed. Cook until the onions have softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. 
9. Add the garlic, chorizo, and black beans. Cook until the beans are warm. 
10. Serve with cooked eggs.

This recipe was adapted from "Smoky Chorizo Hash and Eggs" from Smells Like Home (http://www.smells-like-home.com/2013/05/smoky-chorizo-hash-and-eggs/).

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Mini Muffins

Donuts and donut holes are some of my favorite sweets, but I don't really want to deal with the whole frying process at home. These were great because they were baked, which made them quite easy to make. On top of that, they were absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients:

Muffins:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 24 mini-muffin cups.

2. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and nutmeg in a large bowl. 

3. Add milk, stir to combine, and then mix in flour and baking powder until just combined. Do not over-mix.

4. Fill the mini muffin cups about half full.

5. Bake approximately 15-20 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden.

6. Melt 1/4 cup of melted butter in a bowl. 

7. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. 

8. When muffins are done baking, dip each muffin in the melted butter, and roll in the cinnamon sugar. 

9. Allow to cool before serving.

This recipe was based on "Donut Muffins" from Allrecipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Donut-Muffins/Detail.aspx?evt19=1). I thought this original recipe called for a bit too much nutmeg, so I changed it above to reflect what I think is a more reasonable amount.