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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Stay-at-home Saturday

The holidays provide lots and lots of opportunities to make simple memories. Dad (and maybe mom!) are off from work, school's out, and everyone has a festive spirit about them. I love food, so many of my holiday memories, be they Thanksgiving or Christmas, involve specials meals or treats. One meal that especially holds great honor for my family on a holiday is breakfast. We actually have the time to make a hot breakfast and I usually choose something out of the ordinary. I want to share two recipes with you, one savory and one sweet. These aren't necessarily the most spectacular recipes you'll ever encounter, but they are simple and delicious. I hope you find time this Thanksgiving to try something new and maybe even start a new tradition!
I'll start with the savory dish because it's short and easy-peasy.

Cream Cheese and Sausage Croissants
Makes 16+ croissants (I almost always have filling left over to freeze for another time)
-1 block of cream cheese
-1 lb. sausage (my family is picky - we only use Neese's)
-2 cans croissants

1. Brown and crumble the sausage over medium heat. Drain.
2. Add cream cheese and stir until cream cheese is melted and combined.
3. Roll out croissants on cookie sheet (spray with nonstick spray for easy release).
4. Put a spoonful of filling at the top of the croissant triangle. Roll up croissant.
5. Bake according to croissant directions.



Doughnuts!
Your kids will love this! Homemade doughnuts and they're so easy! Warning: your house will smell like fried food for a while. This is okay though, because you had a great family breakfast!

-Canned biscuits - estimate approx. 3 per person, maybe more for Dad (these don't have to be fancy. You don't need Grands! or anything like that. I buy my biscuits at Aldi and they're something like $0.33 a can. Sigh. I love Aldi.)
-A lot of vegetable or canola oil (*see note below if you like to conserve!)
-Powdered sugar
-White sugar mixed with cinnamon
-Any other toppings that sound good to you!

1. Fill a medium or large pot with several inches of oil. This will be a lot; be ready to use maybe 1/2 of a big container or so.
2. Lay out biscuits on a cutting board. Cut circles out of each biscuits. Don't throw these away - doughnut holes!!
3. Turn the heat under your pot to Med-Hi. After it heats for a few minutes test the oil by dropping in a doughnut hole. If it rises to the top and starts frying with bubbles around it, it's ready. If is sinks to the bottom and just sits there, you need another minute or two.
4. When the oil is ready, drop in several doughnuts and doughnut holes. (No kids during this part - it can spatter!) After about a minute, they should be ready to flip. You're looking for a golden color. (After you fry a few batches you may need to turn the temperature down. If it smokes at all, turn it down.)
5. After cooking on the other side, remove doughnuts and drain on several layers of paper towel.
6. Roll the doughnuts in sugar and/or toppings.
7. Eat up!!
Love,
Amy
*You can strain and reuse oil from frying. Just cool, then strain out any solids in the oil. You can store it in a jar or something to reuse at another time. (I recommend cooling the pot in the garage to help eliminate the frying smell in your house.)

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