Sweet Potato Pancakes // Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

Our family loves Brinner.  Breakfast for Dinner = Brinner.  Our brinners usually consist of bacon, pancakes or waffles, eggs, biscuits and sausage in some sort of fashion.  One of my favorite brinner meals that we have had is chicken & waffles.  But now that I am vegan, brinner is just a little bit trickier. 

I made sweet potato pancakes, and I also made biscuits and sausage gravy.  Yup.  Vegan sausage gravy over biscuits.  That kind of sounds like an oxymoron, but it works folks.  

It was delicious and was enjoyed by all.

Sweet Potato Pancakes (with Cinnamon Honey Butter)

from epicurious

for the pancakes:

2 large eggs (flax eggs for the vegan version)

1 cup buttermilk (almond/soy milk)

2 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup bisquick

pinch nutmeg

1 small sweet potato, cooked soft and mashed

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and oil.  Stir in the pancake mix and nutmeg, until just combined.  Fold in the mashed sweet potatoes.  Batter should be thick, but pourable.  A little bit more milk may be needed if its too thick.  

Heat a greased griddle over medium-high heat.  Pour about 1/4-1/2 cup of batter onto the griddle, and cook until a few bubbles show up in the batter.  Flip over and cook on the other side until golden brown.  Repeat with the remaining batter.  

for the butter:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1 1/2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Beat together the butter, honey and cinnamon until well combined.  Store in fridge until ready to use.  

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

from theveganhousewives.com

1 lb pkg sausage (I used Gimme lean which is vegan...feel free to use actual sausage if you eat meat)

2 pkgs premade biscuits (Publix Buttermilk biscuits are accidentally vegan)

5 cups almond (or regular) milk

5-6 (or more) Tbsp flour

salt and pepper

Add a Tbsp of oil to a large, deep skillet and cook sausage until cooked through.  With the burner on medium-high, add in the milk and stir.  Add in the flour, and break apart the clumps with a fork.  Allow the mixture to simmer for a while.  A few bubbles here and there are ok, but it shouldn't be boiling.  Simmer until the gravy has thickened (you may or may not need a little more flour).

While the gravy is cooking, bake the biscuits according to the package directions.  

Serve gravy over biscuits.

Homemade Doughnuts; Revisited

We had some friends come over for breakfast a while back.  I knew I wanted to make doughnuts, but wasn't sure if I wanted to fry or bake them.  The very first time I tried baking doughnuts, it was a very large fail.  I tried baking them again, with much more success.  This time, I wanted to give frying a go.  They turned out awesome.  Much better (although a lot less healthy) than the baked variety.  They were soft and light inside, and golden brown on the outside with just a light crunch.

I made 3 different varieties of doughnuts this go around (with some input from Jeremy).  

I made a traditional glazed doughnut.

a doughnut with a maple glaze, topped with bits of bacon. I know this sounds weird.  Bacon? On a doughnut?  trust me.  It works.  Our guests were weirded out also, but this one actually turned out to be the favorite.

And lastly, a PB&J doughnut - covered with a peanut butter glaze, filled with jelly.

They were all delicious!  

Homemade Doughnuts - The Fried Version 

Adapted from the PioneerWoman

For the doughnuts:

1 1/8 cup whole milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 stick butter, melted

4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

Oil, for frying (we used canola)

for the original glaze:

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

For the bacon doughnuts/maple glaze:

2-3 slices bacon, fried (or baked, however you like to cook your bacon) and chopped 

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup maple syrup

for the PB&J doughnuts/PB glaze

Jelly of your choice (we used strawberry)

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

To make the dough:  Warm up the milk, in either the microwave or on the stovetop, till it reaches about 110 degrees (not too hot too touch, but warmer than luke-warm, a thermometer helps!).  Add the sugar to the milk, and stir until dissolved.  Add the yeast to a small bowl.  Pour the milk/sugar mixture over the yeast, and stir gently.  Let this sit for 10 minutes, until it foams up.

Add the beaten eggs to the butter, stirring constantly so that the eggs do not get cooked by the melted butter.  Add this mixture to a stand-mixture with a  dough hook.  (if doing by hand, add this mixture to a large bowl).  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and salt.  With mixture on medium-low, pour in the yeast mixture.  Allow the dough hook to stir  for a couple of minutes (mix with a wooden spoon, if no stand mixer), until thoroughly combined.  With the mixer still going (While stirring vigorously), add in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until all is mixed together.  Mix for 5 minutes (Knead for 5 minutes).  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes after mixing.  

Lightly oil a large bowl, and place dough in the bowl.  Toss the dough to coat it in oil, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.  

To make the doughnuts:  Remove dough from the fridge and place dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.  using a biscuit cutter, (Or a large mouth glass-approximately 3-in diameter) cut out rounds of dough.  Cut out holes in the middle of each round, using the smaller round of the biscuit dough (If you don't have a biscuit cutter, maybe you could find something around that has 1 1/2-in diameter?).  NOTE:  For the filled doughnuts, do not cut an inner hole.  Place the doughnuts (you can keep the holes for frying too!) on a floured baking sheet.  Cover with a large tea towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place, for about an hour, until the doughnuts have puffed up and are "airy"  (as in, they'll look like they'll collapse if you touch them).

To fry the doughnuts:  Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pot until it reaches 375 degrees (you really need a thermometer here).  Above 380 degrees is too hot, so you'll have to monitor the oil heat.  One or two at a time, grab the doughnuts and carefully place them in the hot oil.  Cook for about 1 minute on each side, until they are golden brown.  Remove doughnuts with a frying net or large slotted spoon, and place on a layer of paper towels, to drain the grease.  flip the doughnuts over on the paper towels a few times to get off all the oil.  Repeat with remaining doughnuts (and holes, if you are frying those also). 

To make the glazes:  for each separate glaze, mix all ingredients together.  Some may require a little play to get the right consistency.  You want it runny, but not total liquid.  If you need it to be a little thicker, add a few tbsp cornstarch instead of more powdered sugar to prevent over-sweetening.  If you need it to be thinner, add some milk.

For the original glazed doughnuts:  After the doughnuts have slightly cooled, dip the top and bottom of the doughnuts into the glaze until it's covered.

For the bacon doughnuts:  Dip the slightly cooled doughnuts into the maple glaze, and immediately sprinkle bacon pieces over the top.

For the PB&J doughnuts:  Put some jelly into a piping bag, fitted with a large-mouthed frosting piper.  Make a hole in the side of one of the hole-less doughnuts with a sharp, pointy object (We used a kebab skewer), and twist  the end to make a larger hole in the middle of the doughnut.  Stick the end of the piping bag into the hole, and fill with jelly. Dip the doughnut into the PB glaze.

That's it!  They take some work, but they're totally worth it! 

Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and Waffles.  Apparently it's a southern thing?  Although I had never heard of it until sometime in the past year when I saw it on one of Bobby Flay's throw downs against some woman in New York.  That makes tons of sense, I know.  So anyway, the initial idea of fried chicken and waffles together completely weirded me out.  Then I randomly craved it when I was pregnant with my twins.  And I didn't get to actually try it until just recently.  

Oh by gosh golly it's delicious.  The most tender fried chicken with a slightly spicy, crispy skin, sitting atop a soft, sweet waffle, then drizzled with maple syrup.  Jeremy is the master fryer in our house, and he rocked these chicken fingers.  He actually made this entire meal.  The waffles aren't just regular waffles either, they're sweet potato waffles.  They don't taste all that much like sweet potatoes, they just have a subtle sweetness.  This meal was so surprisingly delicious, that we made it again, the very next night.   

Jeremy's really bad about remembering to write down the ingredients to the meals that he makes, so unfortunately, I don't have this recipe to type out for you.  BUT next time he makes it, I promise I'll make him write it down.

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

This might be a little too personal for some readers, so sorry in advance, but did you know that oatmeal helps with breast milk production?  I'm not sure what it is in it that does so, but it helps increase milk supply.  Back when I was first nursing my twins, I ate a lot of oatmeal to ensure that I made enough milk for them both.  I was super excited to find this oatmeal recipe, because I was getting tired of eating the same flavored or non-flavored oatmeal every day.  Bananas Foster desserts are awesome.  Not only do they share a name with my family (my maiden name is foster), but what's not to love about bananas, pecans, and caramel?  It's delicious, and when you top oatmeal with this lovely mixture, it makes for a very happy morning (or whatever time of day you happen to be eating it)!

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

from a photo I saw on Pinterest (I sort of made up the actual recipe, but it's pretty basic)

1/2 old fashioned oats

2 bananas, sliced

1 cup milk

dash of salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

combine oats, 1/3 of the bananas, salt, cinnamon and milk in a small pot.  cook on med, stirring occasionally, until it bubbles and starts to thicken.  turn heat to low and simmer for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally.  

In a small pan, combine butter and sugar and cook, stirring until melted.  add remaining banana slices and sprinkle pecans in.  after a few mins, flip the bananas and cook until caramelized.  

top oatmeal with banana mixture.       

Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Caramel Sauce

Normally, thanksgiving is suppose to be spent with a bunch of crazy family members, being loud and obnoxious, and then passing out on the couch in a tryptophan coma, (or in my family's case, play a round or 2 of snow football).  Sadly, I didn't get to do any of that this year, because I had to work on thanksgiving (hospitals don't close down for holidays).  Last year, I was in charge of making all thanksgiving pies.  This year, I didn't get to make any pies.  sad day.    But I did get to make these waffles!  They are pumpkin chocolate chip waffles, with a maple caramel sauce.  These waffle are deliciously pumpkin flavored, lightly spiced, and sweetened with the chocolate chips.  The caramel sauce tops it all off.  With a hint of maple syrup, it's warm, creamy and thick. and the best ever.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffles

adapted from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

2 cups flour

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 bag chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)


Mix together all dry ingredients together in a large bowl (except for chocolate chips).

Separate the egg white and egg yolk into separate bowls.  Beat the egg whites until they form peaks.  set aside.

In the bowl with the egg yolks, add milk, pumpkin, melted butter and vanilla.  Mix until combined.  Slowly add the dry mixture, while mixing.

Gently fold in beaten egg whites.  Spray waffle iron with cooking spray.  Pour batter into waffle iron, and cook according to iron instructions.  Makes about 8 waffles.

Maple Caramel Sauce
from Better Homes and Gardens 

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup half and half
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


In a small saucepan, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch.  stir in half and half, water, maple syrup and butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.  remove from heat.  stir in vanilla.  serve warm, over waffles.