Weekend Brunch

I had guests in town recently and was searching to find an easy brunch recipe that did not require an extra grocery store run.  This is it!  A recipe from my sister, it is not exactly healthy, but who cares?  It’s coffee CAKE after all. 

For a kick of freshness, I threw together an apple salad with ingredients that always happen to have a place in my home.  Feel free to “mix it up” with whatever you have lying around- you really can’t go wrong.

Serve with a very large pot of coffee, and RELAX.  It’s a three-day weekend.

Unbelievably Delicious Coffeecake

2 ½ cups flour (I subbed half of this for whole wheat flour)

¾ cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup buttermilk (OR: add 1 Tb lemon juice + milk to make 1 cup, let stand 5 min)

2/3 cup crushed pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In large bowl, combine 1^st 6 ingredients (through oil) until crumbs are formed.

Remove 1/3 cup crumbs into small bowl, and mix them with pecans.  Set aside for topping.  

Add remaining ingredients to large bowl and mix well.  Pour into greased 9x13 glass baking dish.  Sprinkle topping over batter.  Bake 30 minutes or until firm.

Fuji Apple Salad

3 apples, coarsely chopped

Panera’s Fuji Apple salad dressing (or any light, fruit dressing will work)

Toppings:

-       dried cranberries

-       pecans, crumbled

-       sunflower seeds

-       (whatever you want!)

Drizzle apples lightly with dressing and toss to coat. 

Add toppings.  Don’t bother tossing again, your toppings will look beautiful on top of the apples, and they’ll naturally fall to the bottom of the bowl as the salad is being served.

BONUS:  If you don’t finish it all, you can add a bit of green or red onion, celery, and some shredded crockpot chicken for a nice chicken salad- serve on lettuce or as a sandwich.