Breakfast is very inexpensive- especially since you most likely have all of the ingredients on hand. Get creative with items you don't have as well. Serve ham in place of sausage {hopefully you have some leftover in your freezer!}, canned mandarin oranges in place of fresh fruit, and substitute powdered milk and eggs where you can. Enjoy!
This is a delicious recipe I got several years ago from a friend of mine. It’s very easy to make and has to be prepared the night before, which makes morning prep a cinch! It’s very rich, so one person will normally only eat one piece. It’s best served with some fresh fruit, to offset the sweetness.
I have made it with 1% milk before and thought it tasted just as good! When just serving my family, I halve the recipe, using 3 eggs. Leftovers don't keep very well, so I try and make just what we need.
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 loaf French Toast bread, or homemade bread sliced about 3/4-1" thick
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring, until smooth. Pour into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. You can cut the crusts off the French toast bread if you want to. If I’m making it just for us, I leave them on, but for guests, I cut them off. If you make it with the crusts, they end up getting a little tougher than the rest of the bread.
Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to one day. Preheat oven to 350-degrees and bring bread to room temperature. Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
German Pancakes
This recipe is one from my mother-in-law and it's become one of our family favorites. It's not particularly healthy, so we don't have it's often, but when we do, everyone's excited. My kids love watching it bake because it rises right out of the pan! Don't attempt to substitute powdered eggs in for this recipe though, or you'll be serving one very flat pancake. You can, however, substitute powdered milk. - 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ t. salt
- 6 TBSP margarine
Melt margarine to sizzling in a 9x13 oblong pan while oven preheats to 400ยบ. Meanwhile, mix eggs, milk, flour, and salt. Quickly pour batter into pan with melted margarine. Bake 20 minutes.Top with cinnamon, syrup, jam, whipped topping, crushed pineapple, banana, berries, or brown sugar. Serves about 4.
Large batch:
- 9 eggs
- 1½ cups milk
- 1½ cups flour
- ¼ heaping tsp salt
- 1 cube margarine
My family originally called these "Sunday Pancakes" but the recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook
says they're "Puffy Oven Pancakes." {See the original recipe online here.} Both titles suite the end product well! This recipe is very similar to the German Pancake recipe above, yet the few differences change it enough to make me want to post both. I cook these in pie plates and cut them like pizza slices, which my kids just love! A tip when making these: do not over mix. If you mix all the lumps out, the pancakes will not rise! They are slightly temperamental, but taste so yummy!
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in flour, milk and salt just until mixed (do not over beat). Pour into pie plate.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Serve pancake immediately. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with syrup, berries, etc.
Note: To make 2 pie plates like I did, you'll have to double the recipe!
Easy Pancakes
Also, I usually substitute powdered eggs and powdered milk in this recipe and they turn out beautifully. I double this recipe to feed my family of 5.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, egg and oil. Mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
For those who love savory breakfasts, here's a wonderful breakfast casserole that you can prepare the night before. Feel free to substitute ham for the sausage and add anything else you'd like- I always add chopped bell peppers!
The original recipe can be found here, on Allrecipes.com. I didn't change much- it's fantastic as is! The casserole serves a crowd though. When I'm planning on just my family, I halve the recipe and then even put half that in the freezer for another day!
- 1 (16 ounce) package ground pork breakfast sausage
- 12 eggs
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1/2 (32 ounce) package frozen potato rounds or hash browns
- 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, condensed cream of mushroom soup, and milk. Stir in the sausage and mushrooms, and pour into the prepared baking dish. Mix in the frozen potato rounds.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Top with salsa, if desired!
