Holiday Countdown: Breakfast or Brunch

Christmas and New Year's are wonderful times to get together with family and friends for brunch or breakfast. We all have our favorite recipes, but I thought I'd share a few more that would be lovely for this time of year.

Easy Blintzes

Ingredients:

2 cups cottage cheese

8 ounce block cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

8 flour tortillas (8 inch size)

Beat cheeses, cinnamon and vanilla in small bowl until well blended. Heat lightly oiled nonstick skillet on low. Spray with butter flavored spray or brush with melted butter. Briefly heat one tortilla over medium heat until just soft. Remove tortilla and spoon 1/4 of cheese mixture in center. Fold two sides in , partially covering filling. Roll up to enclose filling and form a rectangle. Repeat with other tortillas. At this point they can be microwaved for 20-30 seconds to warm the filling, a few at a time, right before serving. Serves 8.

These are wonderful served with fresh fruit, fruit syrup, or fruit sauce and whipped cream.

The following two recipes are for fruit that can be eaten alone or served with yogurt, cream, cottage cheese or beside pancakes or French toast.

Note: This works best with tortillas that are on the thin side rather than the thick type.

Spiced Oranges

Ingredients:

8 oranges

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup lemon juice

6 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

Peel and section oranges, reserving 2 inch long piece of peel. Cut orange sections into thirds.

Combine the remaining ingredients with 1/2 cup orange pieces and reserved peel in a non-aluminum pan. Bring to boil over medium high heat; reduce to low. Simmer 2 minutes. Place remaining orange pieces in a medium bowl. Strain syrup mixture and pour over the orange pieces. Chill for one hour and serve.

Maple Pears

Ingredients:

1 can (16 ounces) canned pear halves or slices

2 tbsp. maple syrup, or maple flavored syrup

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. butter

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Drain pears and reserve juice. Place in a microwave safe dish. Drizzle syrup and lemon juice over pears. Dot with butter and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Baste with some of the reserved juice. Serve warm with oatmeal, yogurt, pancakes, waffles or French Toast.

Notes: I also add cinnamon-- sprinkled over the pears lightly.

Praline Baked French Toast

Ingredients:
8 slices Italian bread, 3/4-inch thick
4 large eggs
1 c. milk
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Place bread in a single layer, in a 13x9x2 baking dish. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, juice, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Pour over the bread,then flip the pieces over, so they are coated on both sides. Refrigerate this overnight, covered with foil or plastic wrap. In the morning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the 1/3 cup butter in a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Place in the oven to melt. Arrange the egg soaked bread in single layer on the jelly roll pan. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until firm and golden brown.

Meanwhile, combine the pecans, brown sugar and melted butter in small bowl. Sprinkle over the baked French toast. Broil about 5 inches from heat, watching carefully, for about 1 minute or until topping begins to bubble. Serve warm.

Western Style Ham Quiche

Ingredients:
9-inch prepared pie crust in pan, room temperature
8 large eggs
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
ground black pepper

Remove pie crust from refrigerator, allow 45 minutes to warm up to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Saute the green pepper and onion in butter over medium heat until onions are clear and peppers are soft. In the prepared pie crust, add 3/4 of the cheese evenly across the bottom of the pan. Add the diced ham in an even layer. In a bowl, beat the eggs well, then add the remaining cheese, and onion-pepper mixture. Season with pepper and stir well. Pour evenly over the layered ham and cheese. Gently shake the pie pan to settle the eggs into the crust. Bake 45 minutes, then gently remove to cooling rack for Cool 10 minutes before serving.

On OFL we have more brunch recipes:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/brunch.html