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Breakfast

Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe – Easy And Delicious Fall Breakfast!

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Start your day with the warm, cozy flavors of fall! These pumpkin pancakes are made with real pumpkin purée, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of vanilla for a deliciously spiced breakfast treat!

Start your day with the warm, cozy flavors of fall! These pumpkin pancakes are made with real pumpkin purée, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of vanilla for a deliciously spiced breakfast treat.

Perfectly soft and golden, they pair wonderfully with our pumpkin maple syrup! You can also serve them with regular maple syrup, whipped cream, or a sprinkle of pecans. Whether you’re enjoying a quiet morning or serving up a festive brunch, these pumpkin pancakes will bring comfort and joy to every bite.

This pumpkin maple syrup recipe makes a tasty syrup perfect for adding the delicious flavor of fall! With the perfect blend of maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and real pumpkin, it makes an ideal topping for pumpkin pancakes. For a subtle touch of fall, drizzle it over regular pancakes too!

This Easy Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe is from our Dining On A Dime Cookbook Volume 1:

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Overnight Coffee Cake Recipe

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Treat yourself to an effortless morning with this Overnight Coffee Cake Recipe! This easy recipe makes a tasty breakfast item for Christmas, Easter or other holidays or just for a Sunday morning breakfast!

Made with a handful of pantry staples, this cake comes together in minutes the night before, and them all the flavors meld together in the refrigerator while you sleep. Just pop it in the oven when you wake up for a warm, tender cake topped with a cinnamon-sugar crumble that fills your kitchen with a heavenly aroma. Perfect for a relaxing breakfast or brunch, it’s an easy way to bring a little extra comfort to your morning. Your family will love it!

Wake up to a delicious, homemade treat with this super easy Overnight Coffee Cake! Just mix a few simple ingredients, pop the batter in the fridge, and, bake to perfection in the morning. Perfect for breakfast or brunch, this make-ahead coffee cake lets you enjoy a cozy, sweet start to the day without the morning fuss.

For more easy homemade recipes like this easy coffee cake recipe, check out our cookbooks!

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Using Leftover Crumbs

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using leftover crumbs

Here’s how to use all those leftover crumbs!

How often do you toss leftover crumbs, whether they are in the bread bag, cake or dessert leftovers or something else? Which if us hasn’t cringed at throwing away that last piece of cake? You can usually use these leftovers for something else, saving money and often adding something special to another food item! Try these tips for using leftover crumbs:

Leftover cookie crumbs – use leftover in place of graham cracker crumbs when making a graham cracker crust.

Leftover bread crumbs – save in a bag in the freezer. When you have enough, toss leftover crumbs with oil and seasoning. Toast until golden brown. Use in place of Parmesan cheese or us in stuffing, casseroles or bread pudding (without the oil and seasonings)

Save and use cake crumbs, cookie crumbs and brownie crumbs as a ice cream topping

Use cereal leftover crumbs for topping on muffins, yogurt, pudding, oatmeal, fresh fruit or use 2 cups with 1/2 cup margarine and your favorite herb, broil on a flat pan until browned. Use on top of hot vegetables, macaroni and cheese or casseroles. Store unused portion in an airtight jar.

Leftover Jelly or Jam? – use for popsicles or add more water, boil and make syrup

One serving of leftovers? – Line a muffin tin with foil. Put one serving of leftover mashed potatoes, meat anything and cover with foil. Freeze.When frozen store in labeled plastic freezer bags.

Add leftover cooked rice to pancake batter. – Cook as usual. Serve with butter and syrup. They make a hearty breakfast.

Sundae Pie – Crumble leftover cookies, angle food cake, pound cake or brownies in a pie pan. Spoon vanilla ice cream on tip. Spread on a thin layer of strawberry jam and cover that with chocolate and butterscotch ice cream topping. Freeze and serve for dessert.

 

photo by: little blue hen

Money Saving Breakfast Tips

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Here are some suggestions that will help you simplify and save money on your breakfasts.

    • Make a double batch of muffins and bake in a 9×13 inch pan.

      Then cut into pieces the size of a piece of cake and serve. This will save you from greasing and washing individual muffin tins.

    • Serve oatmeal in a fancy glass.

      Use a sundae dish with fruit, granola, coconut, or brown sugar on top. This is a treat that makes breakfast more exciting for the kids.

  • To make “instant” maple and brown sugar oatmeal:

 

Before bed add oatmeal and milk or water to a bowl with 1 drop of maple flavoring and brown sugar to taste. Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning microwave for 90 seconds and enjoy!

  • Children’s morning routine:

    Don’t let kids eat or watch TV in the morning until they first are dressed and ready for school and have their beds made and their rooms picked up. Then let them eat breakfast.

  • Save bacon grease

    Use it for frying eggs, flavoring corn bread, muffins or for greasing pans.

  • In coffee cake

    Substitute equal amounts of apple juice for the milk, then add 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

  • In syrup

    Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of orange marmalade into a cup of warm maple syrup. It perks up ordinary pancake syrup.

 

Muffin Tips – Tips for Making Great Muffins

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Tips for Making Great Muffins

Muffins are great to make during these cold winter months. They are so simple to mix that they make a great “first time cooking” food for kids to learn to cook.

  • When you are teaching an older child how to cook, look for facts or tips about the things you will be making. Even if you are a seasoned cook, this can really help. When cooking, we do some things automatically and don’t think to mention them to our children. Reading about it helps them to understand but can also remind us to tell them certain basic things.

    It can be helpful to have kids start a cooking scrapbook. When you cook homemade biscuits have them make a page with the do’s and don’ts for biscuits. Do the same for cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. By the time they are ready to leave home, they will have their own “personal” cookbooks to refer to. You could even add things to it like grandma’s biscuit recipe or some short funny stories and bloopers about your experiences cooking together.

 

  • Here’s how to mix muffins to produce an even texture:

    1. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and gently whisk with a fork to aerate.
    2. Mix liquids together, beating eggs. I measure the milk and all the liquids into a measuring cup, then add the eggs and beat with a fork.
    3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the liquids into that. (A well is a large indentation you make in the flour mixture with your fist or a spoon.)
    4. Stir the mixture just enough to moisten it. Don’t over mix or try to get all the lumps out. If you over mix the batter, it will produce holes or peaked tops or cause the muffins to have a tough texture.
  • Muffins are great to make and freeze. Then you can grab a couple of the muffins with a steaming cup of coffee in the morning for a quick breakfast or for a snack during the day.
  • You can make the basic recipe like Mom’s Sweet Muffins and add fruit, raisins, or nuts. When you do this, toss the fruit, raisins or nuts into a little flour first. This helps to distribute them evenly in the batter.