Breakfast Cake

(recipe found here)

I don't have enough good things to say about this yummy breakfast treat.
It's the ultimate comfort breakfast food, and thankfully, a healthy filling way to start your day as well. Or for a snack or dessert or whatever!

I'll just get right to the recipe:
(I made this first thing this morning and my house still smells oh so good!)

Breakfast Cake

1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or other dried fruit

Stir together butter, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl. Cover with a cloth and allow the grains to soak on your counter overnight or for at least 8 hours. (I just did it before bed and let it sit overnight.)

Stir in honey, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Fold in raisins, chocolate chips or dried fruit. Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

****

Be warned, after you let the grain mixture sit on your counter, it will be STIFF. Um, I actually broke my wooden spoon trying to stir in the honey and eggs. It does soften up quickly once you get it moving, but just an fyi... maybe use a metal spoon!

I'm not a fan of raisins or dried cranberries, but I did want to add something. I ended up dumping in some Cherry Chips I had leftover from holiday baking. They were perfect! Just a little extra sweetness, just a little fruity, just a little holiday color for us leading into this upcoming Christmas week!

This cake is really so good. Don't you wish you had some?...

Cheddar and Mushroom Soup

I whipped up this yummy soup yesterday getting in the wintery food mood with the cold temperatures and icy wind outside. I loved it!

Cream of Mushroom Soup with Cheddar Cheese

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced thick
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thick
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (I only used 3)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup cream, half and half or milk
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• black pepper to taste
• 1 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

In heavy saucepan, melt butter and saute mushrooms, onions, garlic and salt until the onions are soft and translucent and the mushrooms have released their juices.
Sprinkle with the flour and stir for 1 minute.
Add chicken broth while stirring.
Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Slowly stir in cream and bring back to simmer.
Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted and combined.
Season with nutmeg and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and serve.














Oh, this soup was good! Even while I was cooking the mushrooms, onions, etc, I had my nose over the pan and just couldn't wait until it was all finished. It smelled so good. There's nothing like a good mushroom soup. It was so yummy!
The kids ate Campbells chicken noodle. They didn't even pretend to be interested in real, made from scratch, homemade soup. Ryan really liked the soup... as much as someone who doesn't much care for mushrooms could. He picked around most of the big mushrooms and onions. He said it reminded him of a good stroganoff. It was so yummy. Oh, did I already say that??

Next time I will mince the onion as well; we don't really care for whole onion "rings" in our dishes. And I'll probably add some beef or chicken and maybe some broccoli pieces as well to make it a heartier soup for those of us (Ryan) who want something in it besides just mushrooms.