Orange-Nut Bread

2 cups flour (you may use all or half whole wheat if you wish)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
zest of one orange
¾ cup walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Oven at 325. Grease or spay a loaf pan. In a bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and zest. Add nuts and stir until evenly distributed. Mix together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Make a well and add the melted butter, eggs, orange juice and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake about 50-60 minutes, until the top is brown and firm and the sides are pulling away from the pan. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Sweet Potato Bread

1 2/3 cup flour
1 ½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
½ c oil
½ c water
1 c mashed sweet potato
2 eggs
½ c chopped nuts (optional)

Oven at 325. Stir all dry ingredients together. Add oil, water, potatoes, and eggs. Mix well. Stir in nuts. Spoon in a greased loaf pan. Bake 75-90 minutes until bread pulls away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Grapefruit Pecan Quick Bread

1-2 large pink grapefruit (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon grated grapefruit rind
2 cups all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or a combination of the two
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pecans

cooking spray
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water

Coat an 8 1/2 x 4 ½ inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Peel and section grapefruit over a bowl, reserving juice and membranes. Set sections aside.
Squeeze membranes to extract juice and discard membranes. Place sections and juice in a food processor and pulse 3 times. Set aside 1 and 1/4 cups mixture and reserve remaining grapefruit mixture for another use.

Combine rind, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine grapefruit mixture, oil, vanilla and egg. Stir well. Add to grapefruit mixture dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Stir in pecans.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Combine powdered sugar and water and stir well with a wire whisk. Drizzle over bread and let cool in the pan 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on wire rack before serving.

**Note-This bread freezes well. If you are freezing it, do not cover with the sugar and water mixture. The sugar mixture adds a lot of sweetness to an otherwise slightly sour bread; I would not omit it!

Banana Topping

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices

In a small saucepan, combine butter, pumpkin pie spice, molasses, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, add bananas then lower heat and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove syrup from heat, cover and keep warm. Serve over French toast, pancakes or waffles.

**Note-This topping is a great alternative to real maple syrup, which is quite expensive. Now you have a tasty alternative that isn't expensive and doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup.

Breakfast Cookies

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food (or sub in any other pureed, mild veggie like squash or pumpkin)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Oven at 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Note-These cookies are so tasty! I also love that you have a quick breakfast to go. These cookies freeze well and can be defrosted quickly in the microwave.

Orange Cranberry Muffins

2 cups flour **
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
zest of one orange
1 egg
4 tablespoons melted butter or oil **
½ c milk
½ c orange juice
1 ½ c fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries**
½ c pecans or walnuts, chopped

Oven at 375. Grease a muffin tin. Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together egg, butter or oil, milk and orange juice until blended. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Fold in the cranberries and nuts, being careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into the muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool in tin for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 20 muffins.

**Note-As always I encourage using whole wheat (or a combination of whole wheat and white) flour to boost the nutritional value of these muffins.
**Note-If you are using cranberry sauce (see note below), you may lower the amount of fat by half or more.
**Note-these taste yummy when you use leftover cranberry sauce, perhaps from the winter holidays. Use 1 1/2 cups of sauce, or a combination of sauce and whole berries, to equal 1 1/2 cups. We never know what to do with the leftover sauce, and now we have a delicious and totally new solution. Enjoy!

Overnight Carmel French Toast

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
12 slices bread
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 eggs
1 ½ c milk
1 t vanilla

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, heat butter and sugar stirring constantly. Once sugar is dissolved/melted, remove from heat. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with the bread. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

**Note-with the carmel topping, I find this french toast sweet enough. The bread itself (if bites are eaten apart from the topping) is not very sweet. If you desire more of a sweet bread, you may add about 1/4 cup of extra sugar to the egg mixture.
**Note-While eating this, I thought it would taste delicious with apples in the carmel topping. If desired, stir in about 1 cup of finely chopped apples after the carmel has melted in the sauce pan.

Pumpkin Apple Strussel Muffins

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour**
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups canned (pure) pumpkin
2 eggs
¼ cup veg oil
2 cups apples finely chopped**

¼ c sugar
2 T flour
½ t cinnamon
2 T butter

For muffins:
Oven at 350. Combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. In a separate bowl combine pumpkin, eggs, and oil. Stir into dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into muffin cups (sprayed or lined w/ paper). Makes 24 muffins.

For streussel topping:
Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over muffin batter. (About one teaspoon over sprinkled over each muffin)

Bake muffins w/ topping for 30-35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in pan then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

**Note-These muffins are quite nutty/chewy with all whole wheat flour. If you are more sensitive to that you may want to use half whole wheat flour and half regular flour.
**Note-I recommend shredding your apples, that way the peel is small enough that you can leave it on and not notice it in the muffins.

Fruit Pancakes Two Ways

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes:

Mix up everyday pancake mix as directed on the package. To it, add one cup of finely chopped apples and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Fry in a frying pan and serve.

Banana Pancakes:

Mix up everyday pancake mix as directed on the package. To it, add 3/4 cup mashed bananas and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Fry in a frying pan and serve.

**Note-as with other recipes in this collection, these are both staples from my childhood. I can remember my mother or father sitting at the kitchen table on weekend mornings, meticulously chopping up apples for the pancakes or saying that morning that the bananas were going to go bad so we were having banana pancakes. Although these two recipes are not very inventive or unusual, I included them purely for sentimental reasons. May your family start memories as I have.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup natural apple sauce
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
3 cups whole wheat flour**
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Oven at 350. Cream eggs, oil, apple sauce and sugar. Add vanilla, zucchini and pineapple, mix well. Add dry ingredients, mix until moistened. Stir in the raisins and walnuts. Divide batter between 2 greased standard loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Slice each loaf into 12 pieces.

**Note-You can use regular flour or a mix of whole wheat and white flour, but I encourage you to use at least some whole wheat flour as it is a super easy way and tasty way to get whole grains into your diet.
**Note-this recipe does not taste too much different than standard zucchini bread recipes. I included it because with apple sauce, zucchini, pineapple and raisins, each slice has nearly a 1/4 cup of veggies and fruit in it, which is much more than your standard zucchini bread recipe. Because of all the added fruit, it is an extra moist bread as well.

Potato Hash and Cheddar Omlet

1 cup shredded potatoes
4 eggs. scrambled
2 cups baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mist a pan with cooking spray. Add potatoes and cook 5-10 minutes (until tender), turning once (do not stir so that the potatoes develop and "crust" like hash browns). Add eggs, spinach, salt and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes, or until egg is done and spinach wilted. Top with cheese. Serves 2.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

1 16oz. package ground breakfast sausage (or if you are feeling really time crunched precooked sausage links or patties, equal to 16oz)
12 eggs
1 can your favorite condensed cream soup
1 soup can of milk
1 green pepper chopped
1-32oz bag frozen tater tots
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Oven at 350. Brown the sausage and green peppers in a skillet and then drain the fat and set aside. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Beat together in a large bowl the eggs, cream of mushroom soup and milk. Stir in the sausage and peppers. Pour mixture into the baking dish.
Add tater tots and lightly mix in so tots are covered in egg mixture. They will naturally float to the top and brake apart during cooking. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50min. Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 10min to melt the cheese.

**Note-this is not a traditional "healthy" meal or vegetarian. I added it, however, because it's a very fast and tasty dish. Perfect for a holiday meal with the family or brining to a breakfast or brunch potluck.

Huevos Rancheros

4 eggs
2/3 cup refried beans
2 tortillas
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup salsa

Prepare eggs how you like (fried, scrambled, etc.) Heat beans in microwave for 30-45 seconds. Spread tortilla with beans, top with eggs, cheese and salsa. Serves 2.

Florentine-Scramble Breakfast Sandwich

1/2 tablespoon oil
2 cups baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
2 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 whole grain English muffin
2 slice cheese (Swiss suggested)

Sautee spinach and garlic for 1 minute, or until wilted. Add egg and scramble with spinach, garlic season with salt and pepper. Divide in 2 and serve on English muffins. Top with cheese. Serves 2.

Italian Onion and Potato Omlet

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion diced
1 potato grated
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
4 eggs

Saute potato, onion and seasoning in oil for 5 minutes. Add eggs and cook 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired or serve with ketchup. Serves 2.

Swiss Apple Muesli

½ cup rolled oats
½ cup milk (or 1/2 cup yogurt, flavor of your choice, or a combination of both to add up to 1/2 cup)
1 apple, chopped
1 tablespoon almonds
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Combine all ingredients-let sit overnight. Makes one serving

Cinnamon-Apple Oatmeal

One serving oatmeal, prepared with milk
1 apple, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons walnuts

Prepare oatmeal using milk. Add cinnamon while cooking. Meanwhile, put apple in a microwave safe bowl and microwave about 1 minute. Add to cooked oatmeal, adding sugar. Stir to combine and top with walnuts.

Breakfast Fajitas

½ c sliced bell peppers
¼ c sliced onion
1 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 small tortilla

Saute peppers and onions with spices 3-5 minutes. Set aside. Scramble eggs. Wrap in a tortilla with veggies and serve.

**Note-this serves one but you can easily adjust it to fit your family.