Brunch Pizza

Ingredients:
1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
½ pound sliced bacon, chopped
½ pound bulk pork
½ pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon butter
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sour cream
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella
Optional: Picante sauce, extra sour cream

Directions:

• Unroll crescent dough in a greased thirteen by nine baking dish; seal seams and perforations.  Bake at 375° for six to eight minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in a small skillet, cook bacon and sausage over medium heat until bacon is crisp,  and sausage is no longer pink  Using a slotted spoon, remove meat to paper towels; drain, reserving two Tablespoons of drippings.  Using the drippings, saute mushrooms, onion, and green pepper.  Remove and set aside.
• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add eggs, cook and stir until almost set.  In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, and Italian seasoning; spread over crust.  Layer with eggs, sausage, bacon, sauteed vegetables, tomatoes, and mozzarella.
• Bake at 375° for fifteen to eighteen minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with picante sauce and additional sour cream if desired.

Makes 12 servings.

Blueberry and Cheese Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
¼ cup water
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into ¼ inch cubes
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons grated lemon rind
2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°.  Beat ½ cup butter at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1 ¼ cup sugar, beating well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
• Combine two cups of flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well.  Combine milk and water; stir well.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Mix at low speed after each addition until blended.  Gently stir in berries and cream cheese. Pour into greased nine inch square pan.
• Combine ½ cup flour and remaining three ingredients; stir well with fork.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 375° for fifty-five minutes or until golden.  Serve warm, or let cool completely on wire rack.

Blueberry Citrus Cake

Ingredients:
1 package (18 ¼ ounce) yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup canola oil
1 ½ cup fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 Tablespoon orange peel
Citrus frosting:
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tablespoons orange juice
2 Tablespoons grated orange peel
2 Tablespoons grated lemon peel
2 cups whipped topping

Directions:

• In large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, orange juice, and oil; beat on low speed for thirty seconds.  Beat on medium for two minutes.  Fold in blueberries and peels.  Pour into two greased and floured nine inch round baking pans.
• Bake at 350° for twenty to twenty-five minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for ten minutes before removing from pans to wire rack to cool completely.
• For frosting, in small bowl, combine cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add confectioners sugar, orange juice, and peels; beat until blended.  Fold in whipped topping.
• Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.  Refrigerate until serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Berry Cheese Torte

Ingredients:
1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (about twenty cookies)
¾ cup crushed vanilla wafers (about twenty-five wafers)
¼ finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 ¾ cup white grape juice
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cup fresh blueberries
1 ½ cup sliced fresh strawberries

Directions:

• In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, wafer crumbs, walnuts, and butter.  Press onto bottom and 1 ½ inches up the sides of greased nine inch springform pan.
• Bake at 350° for eight to ten minutes until set.  Cool on wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over grape juice; let stand for one minute.  Heat over low heat; stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Cover and refrigerate until partially set, about forty-five minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.  Spread over crust.  Place berries in large bowl; add gelatin mixture and gently stir to coat.  Spoon over cream cheese layer.  Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.  Carefully run knife around edge of pan to loosen.  Remove sides of pan.

Makes 12 servings.

Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
½ cup real bacon bits
1 Tablespoon chopped green onion
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound whole fresh mushrooms, stems removed

Directions:
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Stir in the bacon, onion, and garlic powder.  Spoon into mushroom caps.  Broil four to six inches from heat for four to six minutes or until heated through.  Serve warm.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Bacon-Herb Muffins

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups sour cream
½ cup cooked, finely crumbled bacon
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup finely chopped assorted fresh herbs (suggestions: parsley, thyme, and oregano, or sage, rosemary, basil, chives)
2 green onions, chopped
½ teaspoon pepper
2 cups self rising flour
6 ounces cream cheese, softened

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°.  Stir together first six ingredients.  Stir in flour until blended.  Mixture will be thick.  Spoon batter into lightly greased miniature muffin pans, filling completely full.
• Bake at 375° for twenty-six to twenty-eight minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pans to wire rack; cool completely (about thirty minutes).  Spread or pipe tops of cupcakes with cream cheese.

Makes about 32 muffins.

Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 (24 ounce) package steam-and-mash potatoes
1 Tablespoon butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese
2/3 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cups chopped fresh chives
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Microwave potatoes according to package directions.  Meanwhile, melt one Tablespoon of butter in small skillet over medium heat; add minced garlic and saute one minute.  Transfer cooked potatoes to large bowl.  Add garlic mixture, cream cheese, milk, chives, salt and pepper.  Mashed to desired consistency.

Makes six servings.