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Our Favorite Christmas Breakfast Recipes – Eggs Portugal & Cranberry Puffs

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For as long as I can remember, we’ve made our favorite Christmas breakfast.  I discovered it at a women’s luncheon over thirty years ago and it’s a win with any guest at our feast!

We prepare it the night before, which makes Christmas morning a breeze.  Our original recipe is called Eggs Portugal, but some just call it Egg/Sausage Casserole.

We serve this with Cranberry Puffs and fruit salad to create a delicious and quick breakfast.  f

It gives the feel of a feast fit for a king — and for celebrating the birth of our King!
Enjoy!  Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a delicious meal!

Egg Portugal   (Serves about 8)

  • 1 package sausage (we use turkey sausage for reduced fat)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 12 slices of bread, cubed – we prefer a more chewy bread (sourdough or french) over the typical sliced bread
  • 1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese (reserve 1/2 c. to sprinkle over the top just before serving)
  • 1 c. sliced or diced mushrooms, cooked or canned (optional)

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  • 6 eggs
  • 3 ¼ c. milk
  • 4 t. yellow or brown mustard (not powdered)
  • 1 ½  10 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup (we make ours from scratch to avoid additives)
  • 1/3 c. sherry or cooking wine (this adds a great touch of flavor!)

Directions:

  • Crumble sausage and cook until brown.  
  • Add onions to sausage and lightly saute’.
  • Put cubed bread in greased 9×13 casserole.
  • Top with cheese, sausage, onions, and mushrooms.  Lightly stir with spatula to mix ingredients with bread.
  • Blend liquid ingredients: eggs, milk, mustard, soup, and wine – pour over bread mixture in casserole dish.
  • Refrigerate covered overnight (you can make this an hour or so before cooking and and it turns out fine 😉).

Bake uncovered for ½ at 350* — then turn oven down to 300* and bake 1 hour until firm in the center. 

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top and bake another 10 minutes.  Let sit on counter for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Yum!

What a beautiful way to display these treats!

Cranberry Puffs   (makes approx. 24 – 1 1/2″ puffs)

Scrumptious, light, and easy to make!

  • 1 c. hot water
  • ½ c. dried cranberries

    _________
  • 1 c. water
  • ½ c. butter
  • 1 t. sugar
  • ¼ t. salt
  • 1 c. flour
  • 4 eggs

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Glaze:

  • 1 T. butter
  • 5 t. milk
  • ½ c. powdered sugar
  • 1 T. lemon juice
  • ½ t. vanilla

Directions:

  • Pour 1 cup hot water over cranberries – let sit 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
  • In a saucepan, bring water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.
  • Add flour slowly and mix briskly until a smooth ball forms.
  • Remove from heat and beat in eggs – mix well.
  • Stir in cranberries.
  • Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheet.

Bake at 375* for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix glaze ingredients together and pour over puffs.

**These make a great addition to any breakfast.  Makes a healthy snack when made without the glaze.

Enjoy! 🎄

Golden Puffs Doughnut Recipe – Delicious and Easy!

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Golden Puff Doughnuts

This is one of our favorite doughnut recipes.  It’s easy and fast to prepare, doesn’t require any rising time, yet makes a creative alternative to toast or cereal in the morning.  Don’t expect the stretchy texture of a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  That would be too good to be true!  :o)  That type of doughnut has a yeast batter and needs to rise.  Golden Puffs is a cake doughnut, so it’s faster, but still tasty and delicious.

Most doughnuts are fried and can be cooked in a few inches of oil in a deep pan, but we prefer an electric deep fryer.  It cooks the doughnuts quickly so they aren’t oil-laden and heavy, and is safer because the thermostat prevents the oil from getting too hot.  My children bought me a Waring Pro Deep Fryer  because it got great reviews while keeping within our budget.

We use peanut oil because it has a high smoke/flash point, which means it can be heated to higher temperatures before burning.  This higher temperature cooks the batter quickly so the dough absorbs less oil while cooking.  Miss Vickie has great information on the whys and hows of choosing oils for cooking (click on cooking oils tab).

We do try to avoid excess fat in our diet, but for an occasional treat you just can’t beat the taste of fresh onion rings, doughnuts, and French fries made in your own kitchen!  We even make a deep fried calzone called a “Zinover”, like the delicious ones we used to get at a Cincinnati restaurant, Zino’s!  Mmmm – that recipe will have to be posted soon!

Obviously, caution is always needed while using hot oil, especially when children are in the kitchen.  I have my younger ones mix the batter and roll the doughnuts in the topping, while my older children or I do the frying.  Keep little ones well away from the frying area!  Mine watch from a nearby tall stool, but never standing next to the stove or fryer (remember, they’re little and any splatters may land on their faces).

Have fun as you create and enjoy these doughnuts with your family!

Golden Puffs

–       2 c. all-purpose flour

–       ¼ c. sugar

–       3 tsp. baking powder

–       1 tsp. salt

–       1 tsp. nutmeg or mace

–       ¼ c. oil

–       ¾ c. milk

–       1 egg

Topping (optional):

–       ½ c. sugar

–       1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oil (3-4 inches is best so the doughnuts can float) to 375* in deep frying pan or electric deep fryer .

Mix Topping ingredients together and set aside.

Beat together: oil, milk and egg.

Add in: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg into bowl.

Mix until smooth.

Drop batter by heaping teaspoonful  into hot oil (larger puffs may not cook through).

Fry 4 or 5 at a time for until golden brown on both sides or about 3 minutes.

Carefully take puffs out of oil with tongs.  Set on paper towels to drain.

Roll warm puffs in sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Yield: 2 ½ dozen puffs.        

Variations:

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt*

*Add raisins, dates or nuts to the batter*

*Replace cinnamon/sugar topping with a glaze. Blend 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/3 cup boiling water.  Glaze puffs with warm mixture and roll in finely chopped nuts.

*Buttermilk Nut Puffs:  Decrease baking powder to 1 teaspoon, add ½ teaspoon soda and substitute buttermilk for the milk. If desired, omit glaze and roll warm puffs in sugar.  (do not use self-rising flour.)





The ‘Back Office’ Test – The Christmas Tree That Took Over…..Our Living Room!

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Yep, she fits!

Well, yesterday I had my chance to see how long it would take me to go from living in a present disappointment before entering into ‘life’s Back Office’ (see last post).  Here’s the story!

My husband and children decided it was time to pick and cut our Christmas tree.  I wasn’t feeling well so was happy to let them wander around on our ATV looking for the ‘perfect’ tree.  Well, perfect is subjective, right?  Definitely!

So it was chosen, cut, and dragged to our porch where it was dutifully placed in water to keep it from drying out too fast.  Then we sat down to dinner, during which, someone, not sure who :o), mentioned the fact that the tree is ‘kind of wide and tall’ and that it should fit in the living room.  Yikes!  What was that I heard?!

My husband was seen measuring with his arms and looking towards the ceiling with high hopes.  But his face hinted a bit of concern.  Quickly, I scurried outside to see what my troops had dragged home.  Oh, my!  As they stood it on it’s stump it reached almost twice as high as my six foot tall husband!  As I was wondering how we’d make this work, hubby was feeling proud of the fact that he gauged it correctly and it would indeed fit our living room ceiling!

We spent the rest of the night trimming it’s branches and adjusting it’s boughs to turn it into the perfect tree.  As I saw that huge tree making it’s home in our living room for the next month, I was tempted to be frustrated by the fact that I’d need to wait another year to have that quaint, old-fashioned, small fir tree I’ve been hoping for in recent years.  Then I remembered the ‘Back Office’ of my life, that place where God is doing His work, the work of conforming me to His Son’s image.  And I could suddenly see the beauty of that tree and, with new eyes, I formed the reasons why it is the perfect tree!

1) We won’t have to move the loveseat because the tree rises so far above the back of it that it’s beauty isn’t hidden!

2) And, it is perfect for keeping little, grandbaby hands away from all those precious ornaments we’ve collected over the years.  All those memories from Christmas’ past that our children will share with their children will be kept intact!

So you see, that ‘back office’ is a place we should venture often.  There’s always something more for us to learn than meets the eye!

‘For I know the plans that I have for you, ‘declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”                       Jeremiah 29 11-13





How To Really Give Thanks This Thanksgiving!

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Reframe and Reshape Your Mindset To Find Gratitude This Season.

Let’s Be Grateful

grate·ful /ˈgrātfəl/
Adjective: Feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful.
Synonyms: thankful – appreciative – beholden

Thanksgiving — gathering with family, a turkey feast, pie, football maybe?

Our family loves an afternoon walk, a few board games, and did I mention pie?

Let’s face it. This holiday is a great way to connect with our loved ones, but it can be exhausting.

I think of my Polish immigrant family, who lived in neighborhoods of Italians, Poles, Germans, and Jews. It was the melting pot of the early 1900’s where families came from a wide range of backgrounds and identities!

It made me think of the goodness of God and His amazing creativity and design for His people.

This time of year we express gratitude for both the small and more global things in our life. 

Kids are thankful for their house, their parents, or the new puppy.

Adults are glad to have good weather, a pay raise, or new neighbors.

But let’s face it, in all the busyness and preparation of this day, we often get sidetracked from the true purpose of the season

There’s planning, and meal prep, and travel, oh my!

But let’s hold on! There is a way to keep the grumbling at bay and put a spin on gratitude.

There’s a way to be grateful for the mundane tasks of life.  You know, the ones you’re tempted to get grumpy about two hours before the guests arrive. 😉 Or is it just me?

It only takes a bit of thought and creativity to reframe our mind!

Here are a few ideas to shake up your celebration this year! 

How To Really Give Thanks This Thanksgiving!

In spite of all this day involves: traveling, packing, shopping, cleaning, cooking — we can:

  • Be grateful for our ability to celebrate with “gratitude” and gather with family and friends. For living in a country where we can freely call this a day of Thanksgiving to God. A day to worship, give thanks, and love our neighbor well.
  • Be grateful for the internet and video chats. Especially for families who live far away or have elderly parents. How wonderful that modern technology gives us the ability to visit with loved ones through apps like Marco Polo, Facetime, and Zoom. For loved ones, video chats are a lifeline!
  • Be thankful for the exhausting grocery trips to gather everything you need for the Thanksgiving meal.  And now, with grocery pickups, we have it much easier. Hey, we can even order our groceries while we’re watching a Hallmark! Yay for Walmart pickups!

    When you’re tempted to complain, think back to a few generations ago. You’d have spent the last five months feeding, cleaning, and bringing water to your turkeys. Then you’d have the fun job of slaughtering and plucking them!  (Ask me how I know these details!) Don’t forget weeding the vegetable garden (all summer long) and digging up those sweet potatoes!  (Makes me realize I still have sweets in the ground!) Sounds oh, so quaint!  🤔
  • Be grateful for your busy husband — even when he may be too busy to help prepare for the feast and visitors. Not sure about you, but when my kids were little, I’d get resentful as my guy would doze off or get sidetracked while I handled the holiday prep. It’s important to remember how hard our guy works to provide for our family.  
  • Be thankful for your home, and even the mess that comes with holidays. All the cleaning and organizing for guests.  All the decor to store and organize. Take time to remember the less fortunate families with no home to clean or belongings to organize. Hmmm, maybe the boxes of decorations and tissue paper on the floor as I type this — aren’t so bad after all!
  • Be thankful for your cars and the gas to run them — even though the kids have asked “when will we get there” ten times already.  It wasn’t that long ago that we would be traveling by horse and carriage — the wind creeping through the tarps on the windows, the jolting of wooden wheels on rock-strewn roads.  Hmmm….suddenly our trip sounds a bit more appealing!
  • Be grateful for your noisy, mess-making children. They’re probably tired from all the work or from trying to be patient while you do your work. I know, they get in your way when you’re trying to make meal plans, write the grocery list, and dust and vacuum and cook. 

    But here’s a quick reminder — it won’t be long before your home will be empty and your children will have their own children … making noise and messes.  🤫

But wait, there’s more!  Our children’s children will make messes and noise again in our homes when they….um, let me guess…..when they visit us for Thanksgiving!

So there you go!  So many reasons and such blessings abound if we take time to think, to get creative, to look long enough and close enough to see them.

Family, friends, food, fun — all gifts from the Father. 

We do have so much for which to be grateful!

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“And from them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry……”  Jeremiah 30:19

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