sunday morning tradition

Our Sunday morning breakfast tradition is almond pancakes, whipped cream, fresh berries, syrup, sausage, eggs, juice, milk & a proper cup of coffee.

Here's a picture of Brendan making the pancakes on his 9th birthday. He was determined to grow his hair out until his birthday...

The almond pancakes are the best. Jeff's specialty... Sometimes we serve the pancakes with chocolate chips on the side. Other times we add bananas to the batter. They really are quite simple. Any pancake mix will do... Bisquick, Krusteaz, Dakota Maid, Hungry Jack. Make pancakes as package says, but also add about 2 teaspoons of almond extract for about 15-20 pancakes - we are big pancake eaters at our house, so we usually buy a bulk package. And, we all love our almond flavoring so much (wish I could find that in bulk.)

scandinavian almond cake

Mmmm... good... celebrating my Norwegian heritage with this one. Now, I must learn to make lefse.

You need a special pan for this one. I had Jeff get mine at a Scandinavian gift shop (even though the pan itself was made and manufactured in Germany - it's called rehruckenform, and looks like a ridged log.)

Note to self - you must follow recipe and be sure it stays in the oven long enough. First time I made it, I thought it was golden brown on the edges, but it was not baked in the middle. Ugh. I was so frustrated.

But, I am stubborn and determined, so I baked another one about a week later. This time, left in the oven for about an additional 15 minutes and it turned out much better. All was gobbled up within a couple of days.

Scandinavian Almond Cake

Spray pan with cooking spray.

1 1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
2/3 c. milk

Beat these ingredients well.

Add the following:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Add:
1 stick margarine (I was told I must use margarine and not butter, but at some point, I may try butter. I'm not much a fan of vegetable oil spread.)

Mix everything well.

Spread in prepared pan. (Before adding batter, you can also sprinkle sliced almonds on the bottom...) Bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes. Edges must be golden brown.

Cool in pan before removing. Cake will break if removed too soon. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or make almond frosting/glaze to drizzle on top. (Check out the almond puff pastry recipe, which has an almond frosting that would work.)

Cut and serve.

simple caramel rolls

My kids love waking up to caramel rolls when they visit my parents. And, on the weekends, I'll throw a batch together for a special morning treat.

This is an easy recipe - you just need to remember to get it ready the night before, so they're ready to pop in the oven the next morning.

Package of frozen cinnamon roll dough (I usually use Rhode's)

Caramel topping for rolls

2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 - 2 cups heavy whipping cream
(Mix and spread in bottom of large jelly roll pan)

Place frozen dough on topping and leave lightly covered overnight. Rolls will rise by morning.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes, then turn pan upside down and let rolls fall onto a cookie sheet or other surface to serve them.

rural banana bread

We always have plenty of bananas around our house. Once the peels get brown spots, the bananas are usually a little too ripe for me to eat, but perfect for a few good loaves of banana bread. I like a recipe from my grandma Irene's cookbook titled - "Washington Lutheran Church, Rural Northwood, North Dakota." She had this recipe marked (among many others), but I've continued to use this one, as it hasn't failed me. Anything from rural North Dakota is a winner in my opinion, but I am a fellow North Dakotan myself. I like to top my loaves with pecans, as they become nutty and toasted while baking. You can also mix them in the batter or add other things like chocolate chips - or not. My kids prefer the plain jane version - no additions whatsoever.

Banana Bread
(recipe of Mrs. Jerry Mandt from the 1982 Washington Lutheran Church, Northwood, ND cookbook)

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
dash salt
1/2 c butter (room temperature)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
3 bananas, mashed
Any add-ins as desired - i.e. pecans, chocolate chips

(I top batter with pecans before baking)

Batter can be divided among two smaller loaf pans or one larger loaf pan.

Mix ingredients well and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until done. Enjoy.

whitney's german baked egg casserole

My other fantabulous sister, Whitney, has a curious fascination with everything German. Yes, we do have strong German genes in our family (as we do Norwegian and Canadian and bits of other heritage as well, i.e. Russian). She also loves to cook and seems to always be having a grand old time in sunny California. What a lucky duck - sunny and warm, even in the winter. Meanwhile, we've hit some records with our 75+ inces of snow this winter.

Anyways, she made this egg casserole for everyone at Christmas a few years ago. I have to say, a breakfast like this fills your belly until dinner. And for those wondering what a casserole is - same thing as a hotdish. If you don't know what a hotdish is, then never mind, it's really a term known by fellow North Dakotans and Minnesotans.

Whitney's German Baked Egg Casserole

1 lb shredded MOnterrey jack cheese
1 dozen eggs
1/2 cup melted butter put in 9x13 pan
2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tomato, chopped
1/3 finely chopped onion
6 slices of fully cooked bacon
green pepper, chopped
garlic, minced
cooked sausage or ham

Slightly beat eggs, then add the flour and remaining ingredients. Mix well an pour in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until a knife comes out clean in center (approximately 45 min to an hour). Eggs should be firm and lightly brown on top!! Enjoy.

jocelyn's almond puff pastry

My aunt Jocelyn gave me this recipe about 12 years ago and it's become a family favorite, especially for our ritual weekend indulgent breakfasts. Pretty simple ingredients - butter, flour, eggs powdered sugar and almond extract.

Almond Puff Pastry

Pastry

1 cup flour
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 T cold water

Stir together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture has texture of cornmeal. Add cold water. Mix until pastry holds into ball. Press pastry into bottom of 9x13 in. pan.

Filling

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 c. sifted flour
4 eggs

In heavy saucepan, combine water & butter. Heat until butter is melted, then bring to full, rolling boil over high heat. Add flour all at once, remove from heat. Stir vigorously until mixture becomes very thick paste that clings together and comes away from sides of pan. Stir in eggs, one at a time and beat with spoon until smooth and shiny. Spread over pastry base. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes.

Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 T milk
1 tsp (or more) almond extract
1 c. slivered almonds

Combine sugar, milk, almond extract. Beat until smooth. While pastry is warm, drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with almonds. Best the 1st day, but can be reheated at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes, uncovered.