Breakfast

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

October 10, 2016 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

I’ve got a little confession to make: I’m a total cereal snob.

Seriously, y’all. I’ve eaten a bowl of cereal nearly every day since I was probably 4 or 5 years old. If you were to draw my blood right now, it’d probably have a 30% cereal milk content with traces of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch or Fruit Loops in it. It’s nuts that I love it that much, but I really do. I definitely get it honestly, too, because every one of my siblings has a bowl of cereal on the regular just like I do. Maybe not as frequently as I do, but they’ve probably got at least 3-4 boxes of cereal goodness stashed away in their pantry right now.

However, sometimes I want a little something else when I wake up in the morning – and not just because I ran out of milk. (Actually, that’s usually how it goes…BUT this morning was different!)

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Haunted Halloween Pancakes

August 30, 2016 by Laura Tucker 5 Comments

Happy Fall, y’all!

Okay, okay. I know it isn’t Fall just yet. It’s still 85+ degrees outside here in Alabama, but I can still dream about Fall and the beautiful cool weather, right? As I’ve mentioned before, Fall is my favorite season of all time. The local stores are already putting out Halloween and Fall decor, and I just can’t help but get in the spirit!

Halloween is always such a fun time of year. My family doesn’t actually celebrate Halloween, but we do participate in our church’s annual Trunk or Treat festival where we always dress up in fun costumes. In general, I have no problem whatsoever with the commercialized version of Halloween. I mean, what’s not to love about dressing up, eating candy and getting a little spooked here and there? I’m down! 😉

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Easy Peasy Peach Compote

July 21, 2016 by Laura Tucker 13 Comments

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is fix a hearty breakfast for my family. During the work week, my husband usually grabs something quick and easy (aka Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies), and I almost always eat a bowl of cereal. I have zero complaints about eating my cereal (it’s basically my favorite food group), but it doesn’t satisfy my craving to actually cook something.

Cooking is one of my favorite ways to provide for my family, so this past weekend when my husband woke up early to cut the grass and my daughter was still snoozing, I jumped at the opportunity to cook my heart out! I had 3 plump and juicy peaches sitting on my counter, so I started trying to think of a way to incorporate them into our breakfast.

Easy Peach Compote - the perfect sweet topping for pancakes, muffins, pound cakes, and SO much more!

I broke out my favorite skillet and whipped up some pancake batter. I had a hankering for fluffy brown pancakes, but this time I thought that I’d ditch the syrup and go for something even sweeter using the peaches. This Easy Peasy Peach Compote takes less than 15 minutes to make, so while I was flipping flapjacks I had my peach sauce simmering away in a small sauce pan. In my opinion, I could always ditch the syrup in exchange for the golden sweetness of this succulent peach compote. It’s absolutely delicious!

I took 3 peaches and peeled, pitted and diced them. I put them in a small pot on the stove and added in some brown sugar, water, vanilla and cinnamon. I brought them to a boil and allowed them to simmer for about 12 minutes. The brown sugar blending with the sweet peach juice forms a thicker syrup-like sauce – making it PERFECT for pouring over a tall stack of pancakes!

Easy Peach Compote - the perfect sweet topping for pancakes, muffins, pound cakes, and SO much more!

Making a fruit compote is super easy, and this recipe can be made with nearly any fruit. It’s a great addition to top your muffins, cakes, or yogurt with!

Here’s a free printable version of my recipe. Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Peach Compote

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

17 mins

Author: Southern Made Simple

Ingredients

3 fresh peaches- skinned, pitted and diced
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup water
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 12-14 minutes, being sure to stir occasionally.
Sauce will gradually thicken and become syrup-like.
Remove from heat and allow to briefly cool.
Serve over fresh pancakes, muffins, slices of pound cake or shortbread, or however you'd like!
Enjoy!

Notes

I chose to sprinkle a tiny bit of powdered sugar on top of my compote and pancakes. That's completely optional - but it's delicious!

What do you love to put fruit compote on? Have you ever tried it on top of your pancakes? Do you have another recipe you’d love to share? Leave a comment below and let’s chat!

If you like this recipe, you’ll definitely want to check out these: Blackberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole, Homemade Blackberry Lemonade, Bomb-tastic Blackberry Brownies, Peach Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

Lemon Poppy Seed Summer Squash Bread

June 2, 2016 by Laura Tucker 25 Comments

This recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Summer Squash Bread is a wonderful way to use up fresh summer squash straight from the garden! Shred it, bake it, slice is up and serve with a pad of butter on a hot summer day for a refreshing treat!

During the summer time, there is always an abundance of fresh produce filling people’s gardens and the shelves of local farmer’s markets. It’s one of my very favorite things about summer! My husband and I have a very small garden growing in our back yard. This year we planted yellow squash, zucchini, egg plant, tomatoes, an array of peppers and fresh basil. I enjoy incorporating those fresh elements into my cooking, but by mid-summer I’m always looking for something a tad bit different to do with them.

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Blackberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

May 10, 2016 by Laura Tucker 5 Comments

May is my favorite month for so many reasons. The weather here in South Alabama is as close to perfect as it can get. It’s cool in the mornings and afternoons, which makes it perfect to be able to enjoy the outdoors. Also, it hasn’t gotten humid or muggy yet, which is a huge plus for me (and my hair!) This is the month where it’s still comfortable to sit out on your front porch, go for a walk and even pick a few wild berries with your family.

There’s a huge patch of wild dewberries right up the road from my house that are always begging to be picked during this time of year, so my husband and I like to grab a giant bowl out of the cupboard and make an adventure out of it!

Blackberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole with Blackberry Compote - So delicious and easy to prepare! …

DIY “Starter Fluid” Emergency Coffee Kit

April 12, 2016 by Laura Tucker 2 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DunkinCreamers #CollectiveBias

Imagine this: You’ve made it to work, half awake and nearly late. You make your way to the break room to pour yourself a cup of much needed coffee. I mean, let’s face it, nothing good will come from this day until you’ve had your coffee.

You fill your cup only to find that some horrible, horrible person has swiped the last of the creamer, sugar, etc. The thought of taking your coffee any other way than exactly how you like it makes you want to curl up in a hole and cry. A parade of cuddly kittens could not even cheer you up at this point.

Sounds AWFUL, right?! But when you think about it, a scenario much like this happens in public places everywhere on a daily basis. (Let’s take a moment of silence for those poor, poor souls that went without their cup of beloved coffee made perfectly to their liking this morning.) Godspeed, my friends!

DIY Starter Fluid Emergency Coffee Kit + free printable #ad #DDCreamers …

Using Farm Fresh Eggs: Oven Baked Denver Omelette Recipe

March 3, 2016 by Laura Tucker 3 Comments

There’s something so charming about farm fresh eggs. The unusual hues, the imperfect shapes, the rich yolks inside. They’re locally and responsibly grown, and they’re just simply the best!

A dear friend at our church started raising chickens over a year ago. Because she is so caring and kindhearted, she shares her eggs with families within the church. Each dozen is such a blessing, and my family is always so delighted to receive them.

farmfresheggs …

The Best Breakfast Casserole

December 28, 2015 by Laura Tucker 3 Comments

I am all about comfort foods. Most breakfast foods (sugary cereals and poptarts aside) are all comfort foods to me. I love warm and flaky biscuits, fluffy scrambled eggs, sweet honey or syrup, and I certainly love my cheese grits! If I’m going to be honest, I think breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. My family even loves to have breakfast for dinner! It’s not that often that I get to stop and actually cook breakfast during the week day, but I always look forward to the weekends when I sometimes get to indulge a little.

If us Southerners love anything besides those delicious breakfast items I just mentioned, it’s a good casserole. Casseroles are staple dishes. I can’t think of very many occasions where making a casserole isn’t appropriate. If I see a casserole in a buffet line, I’m having some of that! So years ago when my mother-in-law made this dish, I fell in love fast. I’ve had a few different versions of “breakfast casseroles”, but this is the best breakfast casserole I’ve ever tasted. It’s simple, hearty, warm and oh so delicious!

The BEST breakfast casserole ever! This would make a great dish for brunch, too!

This dish is PERFECT to serve as breakfast in bed on birthdays, anniversaries, or during the holidays. It’s also really good reheated!

Here’s what you’ll need to make it:…

Easy + Cheesy Sausage Balls

November 27, 2015 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

This simple little recipe is one of my husband’s favorite things to munch on. His great grandmother wrote this one down in a cookbook that she shared with her friends and family years ago, and I know she’d love for it to be shared again with others. It makes for a perfect appetizer for nearly any occasion, and it has only 4 ingredients! Woohoo!

These sausage balls are also delicious for breakfast! I love to drizzle a little syrup over mine in the morning, but my husband loves to just reheat and go! These would be perfect to make ahead of time in a large batch and eat during busy work/school mornings!

Ingredients:

3 cups Bisquick Mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb mild sausage (spicy sausace would also be delicious if you like a little heat!)
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F
Combine all ingredients and roll into small balls. (Do NOT cook the sausage ahead of time.) Place balls on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes
Enjoy!

What is your favorite simple appetizer to whip up? Leave a comment and let me know! I always love to try new recipes!

If you like this recipe for Easy Cheesy Sausage Balls, you’ll definitely want to give these a try! Bacon Spinach Alfredo Twice Baked Potatoes, Mini Venison Taco Bites, Jalapeno Pepper Poppers