“Break the fast” with one (or more) of these hearty morning meals.
Tired of cold cereal and packaged granola bars? Breakfast time can get into a rut, but a few good ingredients can change it around. When you’re craving a nice, hot breakfast on a frigid day, try one of these recipes from our readers. You won’t miss that cereal at all.
Breakfast Pinwheels
Contributed by Melissa Laseter – “This is a fairly easy breakfast for company, and it looks like more effort than it is. These pinwheels look beautiful and it’s easy to mix up the ingredients.”
Makes 16 pinwheels
Ingredients
1 lb breakfast sausage
2 8-oz cans of crescent rolls
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 c shredded Cheddar cheese
wax paper
cooking spray or parchment paper
Directions
Brown sausage and drain thoroughly. Mix sausage and cream cheese together. Spread a can of crescent roll dough out and pinch perforations closed to make a single sheet of crescent dough. Spread half of your cream cheese mixture onto the dough, leaving a half-inch border. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese, pressing the cheese into the cream cheese mixture. Roll dough into a log and wrap in wax paper. Repeat with the other half of your ingredients. Refrigerate logs overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or use parchment paper. Cut the logs into half-inch slices and place on baking pan. Cook 10-15 minutes or until pinwheels are golden brown.
Kitchen Tip
Substitute bacon for sausage, or use cooked, chopped spinach for a vegetarian option.
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole
Contributed by Brenda Roberts – “This recipe can be adapted many ways by changing the bread, meat, or cheese. Try ham or bacon or leave out the meat completely. Substitute jalapeño pepper cheese for a spicy option.”
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
1 large loaf of French or Italian bread, cubed into bite-sized pieces
1¼ c shredded Cheddar cheese
¾ lb breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
6 eggs
¾ tsp dry mustard
2 c milk
cooking spray
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread cubes in a 7 x11 greased casserole dish. Place cooked sausage over bread, covering with shredded Cheddar cheese. Whisk together eggs, dry mustard, and milk. Pour mixture over bread, sausage, and cheese. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until casserole is set.
Kitchen Tip
This can also be made the night before, covered, and cooked the next morning. This will allow the egg mixture to better soak into the bread.
Crazy Good Banana Pancakes
Contributed by Cynthia Stuckey – “These pancakes aren’t your garden variety unhealthy, might-as-well-be-dessert pancakes. They’re filling and not over the top sweet. They won’t completely derail your healthy eating plans — but they’re still special enough for a Saturday morning brunch.”
Makes 1 dozen pancakes
Ingredients
¾ c all-purpose flour
¾ c white whole wheat flour
¼ c raw sugar
2 Tbsp oat bran
2 tsp ground flaxseed
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp cinnamon
1½ c buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
¼ c melted butter (cooled slightly)
1 tsp vanilla
2 chopped, ripe bananas
¼ c shredded, sweetened coconut
½ c toasted, chopped pecans
cooking spray
Directions
Lightly spray your pancake griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium. Whisk dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, mix buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl, whisking until combined. Using an ice cream scoop or small measuring cup, add scoops of batter onto the griddle and then top each with bananas, pecans, and coconut.
Once ready to flip (surface appears drier and filled with tiny bubbles), flip with toppings side down. Lightly press down with spatula for a minute or two. The bananas and coconut will turn brown and caramelize, making a golden brown crust on that side.
Kitchen Tip
You can omit the oat bran and ground flaxseed (also called flaxseed meal) if those are not ingredients you keep on hand; but if you do this, change the amount of buttermilk to 1 cup. Add slightly more if needed.
Pantry List:
Breakfast Pinwheels
wax paper, cooking spray or parchment paper
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole
cooking spray, dry mustard
Crazy Good Banana Pancakes
cooking spray, baking powder, baking soda, butter, cinnamon, flour, kosher salt, raw sugar
Shopping List:
Breakfast Pinwheels
breakfast sausage, shredded Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, crescent rolls
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole
bread, sausage, Cheddar cheese, eggs, milk
Crazy Good Banana Pancakes
eggs, bananas, sweetened coconut, buttermilk, ground flaxseed, oat bran, pecans, white whole wheat flour
This article originally appeared in HomeLife Magazine. HomeLife is looking for family-friendly, budget-conscious, original recipes from readers like you. Simply email us your recipe, name and contact info to homelife@lifeway.com. We will pay $25 for each recipe that is printed. We regret that mailed submissions cannot be accepted. Recipes become the property of HomeLife and may be edited prior to publication. Share your recipe with HomeLife!