Dustin's meat cookies

1 lb breakfast sausage*
1 package crescent rolls

1. Brown the sausage, breaking it into small pieces.
2. Unroll the crescent roll dough. Separate into two squares at the center seam.
3. Pinch together all the seams thoroughly.
4. Divide the meat in half and spread evenly on each square of dough.
5. Starting at one edge, roll the dough into a log, with meat inside.
6. Slice each roll into 1/2-inch pieces and place each cookie flat on a greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

This is my friend Dustin's recipe, and a huge Fathers' Day hit at our house!
* I use store-brand maple sausage.

Eggnog breakfast: Pancakes and waffles

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup egg nog
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted
Pam or other oil spray

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, except the Pam.
3. Add the dry mixture to the liquid and stir until just combined.
4. For waffles: Follow your waffle iron's manufacturer's instructions.
5. For pancakes: Heat your skillet and spray with Pam. Drop the batter, 1/4 cup at time on the skillet. Allow plenty of room for it to spread. Flip when bubbles break on the surface, and cook for another minute.
6. Serve with maple syrup or chocolate sauce.
   

These pancakes and waffles aren't for everyone, but we love eggnog at our house, and this is a delicious way to share that holiday flavour with the kids.

Banana pancakes

1 cup flour
1 tbsp raw turbinado sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
butter

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a different bowl.
3. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Expect a lumpy batter.
   
4. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat.
5. Lower heat slightly and pour about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides.*

*Alternately, use an ice cream scoop to ladle the batter for mini-pancakes.

One of my daughters loves bananas, while the other gags at the sight of them. This is a great way to sneak this superfood into the whole family.

Eggnog Popovers

2 large eggs
1 cup eggnog
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tbsp melted butter the pan

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Heat a muffin tin, greased well with the melted butter, in the oven for 5 minutes while you mix the batter.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, eggnog, vanilla and nutmeg. When smooth, whisk in flour and salt.
4. Remove heated muffin tin from oven and quickly divide the batter into the muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 450F, then use a sharp knife to poke a small hole in the top of each popover. This prevents them from deflating.
6. Turn oven down to 375F. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp raw sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups milk
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
1 tbsp molasses
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp vinegar

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, molasses, egg, oil and vinegar.*
3. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir lightly.
4. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat and reduce heat to medium.
5. Scoop the batter onto the griddle, using 1/4 cup for each pancake. Spread the batter out so that each pancake is 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
6. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

*Buttermilk can be used in place of the milk and vinegar. I just never have any!

Serve with maple syrup. I'm always in search of healthy ways to sneak vegetables into my family's diet. My toddlers gobble these pancakes up! The whole wheat flour adds to the heartiness of this dish.

Sour Cream French Toast

3 eggs
3 tbsp sour cream
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
8 slices bread
butter for frying

1. Beat eggs, and add sour cream, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Beat until you can no longer see sour cream chunks.
2. Pour the batter into a shallow dish.
3. Heat small pat of butter on medium heat.
4. Place a slice of bread in the batter. Quickly turn over in batter.
5. Fry toast, turning once, until browned on both sides.
6. Repeat, adding a small amount of butter each time, until batter and bread are exhausted.

I came up with this recipe when I'd already beaten eggs for french toast and found myself out of milk. My husband asked that I use this as my standard recipe, because he likes the "bite" the sour cream adds to the dish. I like to put a plate in my oven, set the oven to the lowest setting, and place the cooked toast in the oven to keep it warm while I finish the batch.

Raspberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat baking mix
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
Butter

1. Beat together the baking mix, milk and eggs.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
3. Add a dab of butter to the center of the skillet. Pour1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet and immediately dot the pancake with 3-7 raspberries.
4. As soon as the pancake is firm, flip over and cook until light brown.
5. Repeat steps 4 and 5.

Makes 15 pancakes.

Serve these pancakes with maple syrup or raspberry syrup and butter. They're an excellent way to sneak fruit into a pancake-lover's diet.

Sausage Apple Breakfast Bake

1 medium apple
12 small sausage links
1 cup whole wheat baking mix
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease 9" pie plate.
   
3. Peel, core and finely chop apple.
4. Cook sausage on medium-low, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. Drain sausage on paper towels.
6. In a large bowl, mix baking mix, milk, egg, sugar, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.
7. Stir in apple.
8. Spread batter in the greased pie plate.
9. Arrange sausages in a spoke pattern on top of the batter.
10. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

I took this recipe from the back of a package of Hormel Maple Little Sizzlers.

Whole Wheat Baking Mix

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup dry nonfat milk
1 cup shortening

1. Place all ingredients in your mixer bowl.
2. Use whisk attachment and mix at low speed until mixture is evenly mixed. It will look mealy.
3. Store in air-tight container and store either in refrigerator or at room temperature. Use within about 3 months.
   

This mix can replace Bisquick or other purchased mixes in pancakes, muffins and other baked goods.

Cinnamon Rolls

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1/4 plus 1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp yeast
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Place the water, 2 tbsp butter, salt, 1/4 cup sugar, flour and yeast in your bread maker. This is the order my bread maker likes, but yours may differ.
2. Run your machine on the dough cycle for a 1 lb loaf.
3. Grease a 9" by 9" pan. Glass works great.
4. Flatten dough into rectangle. The thinner the rectangle, the more swirls to your rolls. I usually make mine 6" by 12". You can use a rolling pin, or just pat it out with your hands. My girls love this part!
   
5. Spread remaining 2 tbsp butter on dough.
6. Mix remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this over the dough.
7. Roll the dough tightly along the long edge. You'll end up with something resembling a sausage. Pinch the edge into the dough to seal.
8. Cut roll into 9 slices of equal width. Arrange the slices, cut ends down, in a square in the pan.
9. Cover and let rise for an hour. This recipe is very forgiving. I've let it rise anywhere between half an hour and 2 hours, and they've come out great.
10. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
11. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
12. Turn onto a wire rack. I find it easiest to take one cooling rack, cover the pan with it and then turn the pan over. I then take a second cooling rack, put it upside down on the rolls, and flip the whole thing over. This way you don't end up with burning cinnamon goop all over you, not that I've ever done that!
13. Frost with cream cheese frosting or vanilla glaze.
    

These cinnamon rolls are super-easy and have been requested as our Christmas breakfast tradition. I've doubled the recipe with great success. My husband has been known to eat 8 of these at one sitting.

Pear-and-applesauce

4 ripe pears*
2 medium apples**
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
pinch ground nutmeg

1. Peel, core and cut the fruit into chunks.
2. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until mushy. This takes about 30 mins.
3. Process sauce to desired texture.***

* I use Bartlett pears.
** I prefer Granny Smith for their tartness. Gala apples are a good choice if you like a sweeter sauce.
*** Today, I just used the back of a spoon to break down any large pieces, making a very chunky sauce. Usually, I run into through my manual food processor, which leaves some small chunks. When the twins were new to solid foods, I used my blender to make a very smooth sauce.

The spices are my family's preference, but this pear-and-applesauce is equally delicious with no spices all, smaller quantities, or different flavours. We eat it straight, but it would be great on oatmeal, granola or pancakes.