Category Archives: Breakfast

Smoothies to Go!

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My son’s first day of third grade is tomorrow, so last week I started looking for clever lunch ideas for him. This frozen smoothie idea is genius because it will keep his lunch box cool and give him a healthy treat that I can feel really good about. I bought these plastic freezer containers that Ball makes and they’re the perfect size. I made our favorite smoothie recipe in the food processor and it made enough to fill 5 containers plus some extra that the kids happily shared. After they were all nicely portioned I wiped the rims well, sealed them up and stowed them in the freezer. All he needs to do is stir it up once it’s lunch time – I’m hoping that it is soft enough for him to drink, but not too soft that it becomes watery.

Verdict: Yay! I am pleased to report that Little Boy M had a great first day and the smoothie thawed out enough and he happily ate it with a spoon. He also reported that his juice box was nice and cold, too. I asked him how it tasted and he said it tasted like one I just made for him. I think I might have to buy more of the freezer jars because both my kids are going to expect these everyday in their lunches.  Best. Idea. Ever! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Smoothie

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 2 TBSP mild honey
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup frozen peaches
Directions:
It couldn’t be easier! Pour all your ingredients in a food processor and blend away! Spoon the smoothie into the freezable Ball containers, wipe the rims and place in your freezer. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

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Quick Post: The best thing I can do for my husband is to have something ready for him in the morning – the less he has to think, the better. Hopefully the cinnamon-sugar coating wont make too much of a mess 🙂 These turned out ok  – a little dry, but that could be due to the small amount of oil in these. The flavor isn’t all that great either – they’re a little bland, but the sugar and cinnamon topping is a nice treat. I bet these will be perfect with our morning coffee though. M likes his sweet, flavored creamers and I prefer half and half with vanilla sugar; and eating one of these wont compound the sweetness of our morning joe. I’ll have to try PW’s french breakfast puffs soon – they’re similar to these but probably much more decadent 😉 Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins – adapted from Baked Perfection
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt (*I used Greek yogurt)
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

  • 1/2 stick butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions –


Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper cups.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix with light strokes until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not overmix; batter will not be smooth.

Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in one or two of the muffins come out clean, 12-15 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, melt 1/2 stick butter and place in a bowl just large enough to hold a muffin. Combine ½ cup of sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a small, shallow bowl. As soon as the muffins are done, dip them one at a time in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar mixture. Set on a rack to cool.

Triple Chocolate Muffins

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Wow, it’s been a long time since my last post – sorry about that. I’m just now getting back into my old routine and for some reason five days threw me. I suppose it could have been the time change too, or just plain laziness. I will make up for it though because I have several new recipes to share with you, like this one 🙂

M really likes the jumbo chocolate muffins with chocolate chips that Sam’s Club sells, so I figured these would be a tastier, smaller and cheaper option. Yes, these aren’t exactly healthy, nor a breakfast item but I know he would appreciate something easy to grab on the way to work. These are moist, chocolatey and not too sweet – probably a perfect accompaniment  to his morning coffee. I’ll make these again soon, thanks for reading, enjoy!

Chocolate Chunk Muffins – adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles via Dorie Greenspan

  • 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cups (9.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • ⅔ cup (4.67 ounces) sugar
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup semi-sweet chips or chocolate chunks
Directions –

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Melt the butter and half the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; or do this in a microwave. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough — a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Crustless Quiche and Garlic Bread

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This is what happens when I have no desire to go grocery shopping and when I have no clue what sounds good. This is a first for us all, but I have had regular quiche before…yeah – normally brunch fare, but I was out of options! I also wanted to use the other ciabatta loaf I made and a giant container of salad needs to be used up. Quiche brings life to leftover cheese, meat and veggies – it’s a fridge cleaner-outer 😉 The master recipe is really helpful because it also gives ratios of veggies, cheese and meat – you don’t want your pie dish to be too full. I used my deep dish pie plate and it worked out perfectly. For our quiche I used leftover bacon, cheddar cheese, and broccoli. I was careful with the salt because of all the cheese and bacon.

Verdict: This was so tasty – a perfect combination! I’m really happy with how it turned out and my husband didn’t disown me for making quiche for dinner. I did remind him that he likes “brinner” and he agreed. Besides, can you go wrong with bacon and cheese on anything? Not in this house you can’t. Even my picky 5 year old enjoyed eating this and my 8 year old had seconds. The garlic bread was super garlicky – take it easy on the cloves if you’re not a fan. I used five huge cloves for this and probably only 1/4 cup of olive oil. The kids enjoyed the flavor of the bread too and I am still tasting it! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Crustless Quiche Master Recipe – adapted from Food Network

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan

Custard:

  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • Pinch cayenne or paprika

Fillings:

  • 2 to 3 cups prepared vegetables, such as braised leeks, broccoli, sauteed onions, mushrooms, spinach, peppers, tomatoes
  • 4 ounces, or about 1 cup grated or crumbled cheese, such as Cheddar, goat cheese, Gruyere, Parmesan, fontina, provolone, mozzarella, Gouda, solo or combined
  • 1 to 4 tablespoons minced herbs, such as parsley, chives, tarragon, basil, dill, rosemary, marjoram
  • 3/4 cup chopped crisp bacon, diced ham or salami
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, optional, this is good to use with vegetables that release liquid during cooking, such as zucchini and spinach
Directions –

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For the pan: Brush pan with the soft butter and sprinkle the grated Parmesan evenly on top.

Whisk the half-and-half, eggs and yolks in large glass measuring cup. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, cayenne or paprika to taste. Spread half the desired filling evenly in the pan, top with about half the cheese; repeat with remaining filling and cheese. Pour the custard over the fillings. Top with more herbs or cheese as desired.

Bake until the quiche is just set in the center, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a rack before serving.

Garlic Bread Ingredients – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 1 medium head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled (about 15 medium cloves)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of salt
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • snipped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Directions –
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the loaf lengthwise and prepare the topping by combining all ingredients but the parmesan and parsley together. Spread generously all over the bread. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan and parsley. Cut, serve and enjoy!

Vermont Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey Bread

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Quick Post: I haven’t posted a yeast  bread recipe in a long time. Anyway, I owe someone a loaf of this, and I’m glad because I haven’t had an excuse to make this one since December. It’s so good and it is the perfect bread for toasting. I like that it makes two loaves so I still get to keep one 😉 The cinnamon and brown sugar are such a warm and comforting combination. While the oats soak in the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture – try to stop yourself from licking the bowl. I kind of wish that maple sugar wasn’t so darn expensive and that it was easier to find because I would love to try it. I have only seen it available online, and I can’t justify the cost, especially the 8 dollar shipping! Blah… Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Vermont Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey Bread – adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients –
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup rolled oats (*aka “old fashioned”)
  • 1/2 cup maple sugar (*I don’t have any of this but brown sugar is the best substitute)
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Saigon-type cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Directions –

In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, oats, maple sugar, honey, butter, salt and cinnamon. Let cool to lukewarm.

Add the yeast and flours, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead (about 10 minutes by hand, 5 to 7 minutes by machine) until the dough is smooth and satiny. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves in two greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch bread pans. Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise till they’ve crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.

Bake the loaves in a preheated 360°F oven for 33 minutes.* Remove them from the oven when they’re golden brown, and the interior registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Yield: 2 sandwich loaves.

*If your oven can’t be set at 360°F, set it at 350°F and bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

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Quick Post: After any party there are leftovers, right? There was just under 2 cups of blueberries left and I felt the need to bake them into something. After a little searching on King Arthur Flour’s website, I found this. It worked out well because I had just enough all-purpose flour left for this recipe, it only required one egg and a little over one stick of butter.

Verdict: Yum! It is a perfect complement to your morning coffee! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake – adapted from King Arthur Flour

Topping

  • 1/3 cup (2 ounces) sugar
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

Batter

  • 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) butter or margarine
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, well drained

Directions –

First: Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Making the Topping: Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut or rub in the butter or margarine with the side of a fork, two knives or your finger tips until it reaches a crumbly state. Set aside.

Making the Batter: Blend the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, butter or margarine, egg and vanilla. Alternately add the milk and the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, ending with flour. Stir only enough to blend. Fold in the blueberries.

Assembling & Baking: Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured, 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the topping over the batter and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester or knife comes out clean.

Let the buckle cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a knife or spatula. Holding the cake pan in your left hand, gently tip the cake out onto your right hand, remove the pan, and gently right the cake onto a serving dish.

Breakfast Burritos

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The tots made these burritos!;) M requested breakfast burritos and I immediately thought they would have eggs, cheese, sausage and/or bacon, salsa, and tater tots! These were so easy and the longest part was waiting for the oven to heat up and then for the tots to bake. I will have to make these and variations of this more often. Oh, look at what my hairdresser gave me – my very first basil plant! Lets hope that I have the ability to keep it alive…I’ve never had any kind of plant to take care of.  I’ll make sure to keep you posted on its progress:) Thanks for reading!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

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A few days ago, I decided that I would make French toast; and today I thought: “why not make that cinnamon swirl bread I bookmarked so long ago?” Sure, it takes a little more effort but my family is worth it! This recipe is actually a raisin/cinnamon swirl bread – but M doesn’t like raisins so, I left them out.

The recipe was simple enough to follow, but not as straight forward as my favorite sandwich bread recipe. The dough is super soft and kind of sticky once it’s all finished kneading – but don’t worry! After its first rise and quick chill in the freezer, it was much easier to work with. Rolling it out was simple enough because it didn’t snap back like other doughs. Next time I will roll the dough out slightly smaller so I don’t have so much to tuck underneath. That explains the wonky look of my loaf. It’s not going to win any perfect loaf contest, but I’m sure the family won’t mind.

For the custard, I used this recipe but with slightly less sugar. The sweetness in the dough should be plenty to make up for that.

Verdict: this was worth the effort. Everyone enjoyed the French toast this morning! It did take longer to cook than I anticipated, because I dried out the bread in the oven at 350 for about 8 minutes so the bread would absorb the custard well and not fall apart. Once one batch was finished, I placed the slices on a rack which I place on top of a half sheet pan into a 200 degree oven to keep warm. Serve with lots of warm maple syrup! Thanks for reading, enjoy:)

Cinnamon Swirl Bread – adapted from Dorie Greenspan via food.baby

For the bread:

  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup sugar, plus a pinch
  • 1 1/4 cups just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
  • 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
  • Grated zest of 1/2 orange (optional)
  • Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
  • 3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

For the swirl:

  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
  • 1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to a spreadable consistency

To make the bread:

Put the yeast in a small bowl, toss in the pinch of sugar and stir in 1/4 cup of the warm milk. Let rest for 3 minutes, then stir – the yeast may not have dissolved completely and it may not have bubbled, but it should be soft.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 cup of milk, the butter and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and mix for a minute or two. Add the salt, egg and vanilla, if you are using it, as well as the zest and nutmeg, if you’re using them, and mix for a minute. In all likelihood, the mixture will look unpleasantly curdly (it will look even worse when you add the yeast). Add the yeast mixture and beat on low-medium speed for 1 minute more.

Turn the mixer off and add 2 3/4 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed just until you work the flour into the liquids – you’ll have a sticky mix. If you’ve got a dough hook, switch to it now. Add another 1 cup of flour, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the dough for a couple of minutes. If the dough does not come together and almost clean the sides of the bowl, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep the mixer speed at medium and knead the dough for about 3 minutes, or until it is smooth and has a lovely buttery sheen. The dough will be very soft, much too soft to knead by hand.

Butter a large bowl, turn the dough into a bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, wrap it and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm enough to be rolled easily. (At this point, you can instead refrigerate the dough overnight if that is more convenient).

To make the swirl and shape the loaf:

Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and cocoa, if you’re using it. Check that the raisins are nice and moist; if they’re not, steam them for a minute, then dry them well.

Put the dough on a large work surface lightly dusted with flour, lightly dust the top of the dough and roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 x 18 inches.

Gently smear 2 tablespoons of the butter over the surface of the dough – this is most easily done with your fingers. Sprinkle over the sugar mixture and scatter over the raisins. Starting from a short side of the dough, roll the dough up jelly-roll fashion, making sure to roll the dough snugly. Fit the dough into the buttered pan, seam side down, and tuck the ends under the loaf.

Cover the pan loosely with wax paper and set in a warm place; let the dough rise until it comes just a little above the edges of the pan, about 45 minutes.

Getting ready to bake:

When the dough has almost fully risen, centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees Celsius). Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter, and brush the top of the loaf with the butter. Put the pan on the baking sheet and bake the bread for about 20 minutes. Cover loosely with a foil tent and bake for another 25 minutes or so, until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when the bottom of the pan is tapped. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then unmold. Invert the bread and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Sourdough Pancakes

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I bought this sourdough starter from KAF months ago, but never took the time to feed it. I had no idea the work that goes into keeping a starter alive…I hope it is worth all the effort! It seems that the yeasty-buggers survived the long wait for me to feed it, because it bubbled like crazy. I even made the mistake of letting it sit out for twice the amount of time and then feeding it double the amount of flour and water, but it seems alive and well. It’s been sitting in the fridge growing and shrinking – its weird stuff.

This whole process is a first for me, and I don’t even know if I will like the flavor of a sourdough pancake…cause I’ve never had one!

Verdict: According to M, these were “okay, but I wouldn’t request them again.” I have to agree, I was not impressed with these – which stinks, because now I have to find other uses for this sourdough starter that I have. I could make sourdough bread occasionally, but I would still have to feed the starter every two weeks. We love this recipe for pancakes, and the sourdough is just a completely different “animal” – literally! We’re so used to the sweeter batter and we both found out we’re not sourdough pancake people. Even though it didn’t work out, I’m glad that I tried something new. Thanks for reading!

Sourdough Pancakes – adapted from King Arthur Flour

Overnight sponge

  • 2 cups all-purpose
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 cup sourdough starter, straight from the refrigerator (not fed)

Waffle or pancake batter

  • all of the overnight sponge
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions –

1. To make the overnight sponge, stir down your refrigerated starter, and remove 1 cup.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the 1 cup starter, flour, sugar, and buttermilk.

3. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight.

4. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, and oil or butter. Add the overnight sponge.

5. Add the salt and baking soda, stir to combine. The batter will bubble.

6. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle, spacing 2 inches apart. Cook until bubbles break on surface, about 3 minutes. Turn pancakes over. Cook until bottoms are golden, 3 minutes. Transfer to plates. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve pancakes immediately with butter and syrup. Enjoy!

 

Buttermilk Pancakes

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Quick Post: I have tried several buttermilk pancakes recipes, but this one in my family’s opinion surpasses them all. They are the most fluffy and flavorful pancakes we’ve ever had. Lately I have been halving the recipe and we end up with exactly nine pancakes. Don’t forget to use real maple syrup! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buttermilk Pancakes ingredients – adapted from Eat My Charlotte

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons backing powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Additional butter or cooking spray

Directions – Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl (the dry ingredients). Whisk buttermilk, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in another large bowl. Add to dry ingredients. Stir until batter is just blended but still lumpy (do not overmix). Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter on griddle over medium heat. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle, spacing 2 inches apart. Cook until bubbles break on surface, about 3 minutes. Turn pancakes over. Cook until bottoms are golden, 3 minutes. Transfer to plates. Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to skillet as needed. Serve pancakes immediately with butter and syrup