Good Monday morning!  This morning I thought I would share some breakfast breads with ya'll.

             

                  

These first 2 are both recipes that I recently received from Spark People.  Mmm, I'm getting hungry...it's been so long since I've made a coffee cake.  I remember my mom always used to make them and they were so yummy!

Apricot-Orange Bread
Serves: Makes 2 loaves
Only 1 egg and very little margarine are used in this low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol low-sodium bread.
INGREDIENTS
1 (6 oz.) package of dried apricots cut into small pieces
2 cups water
2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel
3-1/2 cups sifted whole grain flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly oil two 9x5-inch loaf pans.
2. Cook apricots in water in a covered medium-size saucepan for 10-15 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Drain; reserve 3/4 cup liquid. Set apricots aside to cool.
3. Cream together margarine and sugar. By hand, beat in egg and orange peel.
4. Sift together flour, dry milk, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with reserved apricot liquid and orange juice.
5. Stir apricot pieces and pecans into batter.
6. Pour batter into prepared pans.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bread springs back when lightly touched in center.
8. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and completely cool on wire rack before slicing.
NUTRITION INFO (per ½ slice)
Calories: 100
Fat: 4.4 g
Carbohydrates: 14.2 g
Protein: 1.9 g

Apple Coffee Cake
Serves: 20
Apples and raisins provide sweet moistness, which means less oil in this coffee cake that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
INGREDIENTS
5 cups tart apples, cored, peeled, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg, beaten
2-1/2 cup sifted whole grain flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Lightly oil a 13x9x2-inch pan.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine apples with sugar, raisins, and pecans; mix well. Let stand 30 minutes.
4. Stir in oil, vanilla, and egg. Sift together flour, soda, and cinnamon; stir into apple mixture about 1/3 at a time, just enough to moisten dry ingredients.
5. Turn batter into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake slightly before serving.
NUTRITION INFO (per 3.5" x 2.5" serving)
Calories: 180.7
Fat: 4.6 g
Carbohydrates: 33.6g
Protein: 2.8g

BANANA NUT BREAD
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and bananas. Mix until bananas are well mashed. Add flour, milk and soda. Blend thoroughly but do not over mix. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans (8 1/2x4 1/2"). Bake for 45 minutes. Remove baked loaves from pans to cool.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
A lower-fat version of a perennial favorite. Prep and bake in less than 25 minutes!

1 cup unsweetened blueberries, fresh or frozen
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly spray a muffin tin with vegetable spray.
2. Wash and drain blueberries. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and 1/3 cup sugar together.
4. In a small bowl, combine egg, oil and milk.
5. Pour all at once into dry ingredients. Stir just enough to blend. Gently stir in blueberries.
6. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 full. Sprinkle lightly with 1 teaspoon sugar and bake 17 minutes, or until light brown. Allow muffins to cool 2 minutes before removing from pan.

I also have this recipe for Strawberry Butter which would jazz up plain ol' toast or be really good on some homemade bread.

STRAWBERRY BUTTER
10 oz pkg. frozen strawberries
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Thaw the frozen strawberries. In blender container mix berries, butter and powdered sugar. Cover; blend at high speed till smooth. Stop blender often and push mixture back towards blades with scraper. Pack in 1/2 cup containers and refrigerate.

My friend Sascha sent me this link and I wanted to share it with ya'll.  HEAVEN'S  GATE-VIRGINIA TECH

Have a beautiful week!

Hugs!