Strawberry Breakfast Bruschetta

 
My wonderful Mommy & Me group has a monthly ladies only brunch.  We love spending time together with our little ones, but it's also hard to hold an uninterrupted conversation with a bunch of babies and toddlers running around.  That's why once a month we leave the kids at home with our hubbies and catch up over mimosas and delicious brunch treats.  In the summer months it's nice to make something that doesn't involve heating up the house.  That's where this breakfast bruschetta comes in.
 
Just like it's savory cousin, you start out with some toasted bread.  I sliced up a baguette and spread each piece with a thin layer of butter or coconut oil.  Sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top and pop them in the toaster oven until they are as toasty as you like them.  Now you have adorable little cinnamon toasts, but we aren't finished yet.

Take your cinnamon toasts and schmear them with some ricotta.  I threw mine in my immersion blender to smooth it out a bit but you can totally skip that step.

Dice up some fresh strawberries.  I did this the night before and the natural sugars in the strawberries really came through.  If you don't plan ahead or your strawberries aren't as sweet, sprinkle them with a bit of sugar.  My original plan was to put some fresh mint in with the strawberries, but the mint at the store was pretty sad looking. It was delicious without it, but if you have a mint plant or your store has some decent looking mint, toss some in.  Spoon some of your diced strawberries onto each crostini.

Before serving, transfer your bruschetta onto your serving platter and drizzle with honey.   These Strawberry Breakfast Bruschetta were a great addition to our weekend brunch, but they are easy enough for a weekday.  The crunch of the crostini, the creamy ricotta, and the sweetness from the strawberries and honey combine to make a delicious and relatively healthy morning treat.

Overnight Sausage & Vegetable Strata

I know it's been quite a while since I last posted, but I'm back!  Things have been crazy busy around here and something had to give.  Hopefully you haven't forgotten about me in the meantime.  I recently hosted a potluck brunch for a bunch of my girlfriends and made this delicious Overnight Sausage & Vegetable Strata.  It was such a hit, that I had to share it with you all.

I love entertaining, but it can be hard to cook when my boys are awake.  That's why I love recipes that can be made, or at least prepped, in advance.  This strata is perfect for brunch for a crowd, but it would also make a delicious Mother's Day breakfast.  You completely assemble the strata the night before and then in the morning, just pop it in the oven.

My favorite omelette is one with cheddar, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes with some sausage on the side.  I had planned to incorporate all of those flavors into this strata, but then I realized that I had forgotten to get the spinach at the store so I just used the others.  Evidently I was super distracted while I was at the store because I also bought the wrong sausage.  I wanted to get mild Italian sausage and I did, but I accidentally bought chicken Italian sausage.  This worked out perfectly so take my happy accident as an example and get whatever kind of sausage you like, spicy, mild, pork, chicken, as long as it's sausage it will be delicious!

Start out by browning your sausage.  Once it is browned, drain it if necessary and then set it aside.  Then cut up a loaf of bread into cubes, you can rip it too if you want it to be more rustic.  You want about seven or eight cups of cubed bread.  I used a french loaf this time but I've also made it with sourdough, both turned out beautifully.  It's better if your bread is a little bit stale, but if you forget to buy the bread a day or two in advance, don't worry about it.  Put half of the bread cubes into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Next you are going to layer on half of your toppings.  For me that was shredded cheddar, chopped tomatoes, and chopped cremini mushrooms.  As I said, I had planned on adding some fresh spinach so feel free to add some of that too, or whatever veggies you like with your eggs.  Then repeat your layers.

In a bowl crack a bunch of eggs.  I happened to have extra-large eggs so I used 9, but if you have large eggs, use 10.  Pour in 3 cups of milk, I used skim, just use whatever you have.  Add in some dry mustard, salt, and pepper, and then whisk it all together.  Pour the egg mixture all over the bread.  If any cubes of bread are sticking up and dry, push them down a little so that they soak up some of the liquid.

Then cover it all and stick it in the fridge.  The next morning, take your strata out of the fridge while your oven is preheating.  Bake your strata at 325 for about an hour.  I'm sorry to say that my guests arrived and I forgot to take a picture of the strata when it came out of the oven, perfectly golden and smelling divine.  Luckily, this piece was leftover so I was able to snap a couple of pictures for you all.

Overnight Sausage & Vegetable Strata

• 1 lb. mild chicken Italian sausage
• 7-8 cups cubed bread
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped and deseeded
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 9 extra-large or 10 large eggs
• 3 cups skim or low-fat milk
• 2 tsp. dried mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper

1. Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooks.  Drain any fat and set aside.
2. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Put half of the bread in the baking dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese, sausage, mushrooms, and tomatoes.  Repeat the layers with the remaining bread, cheese, sausage, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, milk, dried mustard, salt, and pepper.  Pour evenly over the ingredients in the baking dish.  Press down any bread that is sticking up and dry.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. The next morning, bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown.

I'm linking up with Cook It Craft It Share It, Crafty & Delicious, and Showcase Your Talent Thursday.

Spiced Zucchini Muffins

As a mom, I want my kids to eat a healthy, balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables.  Jake has always been a great vegetable eater so I never thought I would be searching for ways to sneak in veggies, but then we had Luke.  After we starting feeding Luke solids he started having some serious GI issues that were impacting his growth.  We finally figured out what was causing them; his body couldn't absorb fructose.  He has now started to outgrow it, but we still have to limit the amount of fruits we give to Luke so I feel even more pressure (from myself) to get extra vegetables into him.

Getting him to eat food in general is a challenge, unless it is a bread product, so I find myself having to get creative to feed him a balanced diet.  Because of how much he loves bread in all of its iterations, I've been thinking about mixing vegetables in with muffins.  I like almost all vegetables, but zucchini is one of the few foods that I don't really like.  I will eat it, but it isn't something I generally choose.  That is probably why I've never had, let alone made, zucchini bread.  Luke inspired me to give it a try.

I decided to make zucchini muffins instead of zucchini bread so that I would have individual servings.  Since this was my first foray into baking with zucchini I wasn't sure where to start so I did a lot of searching.  So many of the recipes that I found had applesauce or banana in them and I wanted these muffins to be fruit free.  I finally found a recipe that was fruit free and decided to give it a try.

The recipe sounded great as is, but I couldn't resist making a few tweaks.  I've pretty much abandoned all purpose flour for white whole wheat flour.  I find it works just as well (at least it does for me) and makes me feel like I'm being a little bit healthier.  As I mentioned, I'm not zucchini's biggest fan so I decided to add in some pumpkin pie spice because it is DE-LI-CIOUS!  I also added in Greek yogurt to keep the muffins nice and moist.

Start out by preheating your oven to 400 and whisking together your dry ingredients: white whole wheat flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center.

In another bowl mix together some shredded zucchini, Greek yogurt (I used fat free), vegetable oil, honey, an egg, and a splash of milk (I used whole but I think whatever you have on hand is fine).

Once your wet ingredients are thoroughly combined, pour them into the well in the center of your dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into muffin tins sprayed with baking spray.  Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown, and then remove to a cooling rack.

I made these for Luke, but couldn't stop eating them myself.  The warm flavors from the pumpkin pie spice make these feel like comfort food.

Spiced Zucchini Muffins
Adapted from Kathie's 

• 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/3 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 tbls. milk
• 2 tbls. vegetable oil
• 2 tbls. honey
• 1 egg

1.  Preheat oven to 400 and spray muffin tin with baking spray.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients, flour through salt, and make a well in the center.
3. In another bowl or large measuring cup, combine remaining ingredients.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined.
5. Use an ice cream scoop to portion batter into muffin tins and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

I'm linking up with Create It Thursday, Cook It Craft It Share It, Crafty & Delicious, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Cookin & Craftin, Creativity Unleashed, Pin Junkie, Thrifty Thursday, Friday Favorites, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, Best Recipes, Link Party Palooza, and Pinworthy Projects.

Pecan Streusel Topped Banana Muffins

My great grandma made the best banana cake on the face of the earth.  It is exactly what banana cake should be and I love it.  Jake loves it too, especially when I let him eat it for breakfast.  In fact, he refers to it as "breakfast cake" and requests it often.   The other day he asked me to make it again and I decided to make muffins instead to make them single serve.  I made a few changes to make them a little more breakfasty and then added a pecan streusel because it sounded like a delicious idea.

I usually line my muffin tins with paper liners but when I make banana cake I just spray the pan with baking spray so I did the same thing for these muffins.  They came right out of the pan with no trouble at all so I don't think you need to line your muffin pan.  I made a couple in silicone muffin cups and they didn't come out as cleanly so I recommend using a regular old muffin tin.  Now that you know what you will be baking these lovelies in, let's talk about how to make them.

Beat together a stick of butter, a couple of eggs, and some vanilla.  Add in a little buttermilk to keep your muffins nice and moist.

While your mixer is doing its job, start sifting your dry ingredients: white whole wheat flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  You are going to sift two times.  I like to lay out two sheets of wax paper.  I set my sifter on one sheet of wax paper, measure my ingredients directly into it and sift away.  Then I move my sifter to the other sheet, pour the dry ingredients back into the sifter and sift again.  This way I don't make extra dishes.

On the extra piece of wax paper, mash up a couple of bananas.  That's right, I reuse the wax paper and avoid another dish, I'm always thinking ;)

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the mashed bananas to your wet ingredients until everything has been added.  Then continue to beat your batter for two minutes.

Use your mixer time to make the streusel.  Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter.  In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter with chopped pecans and equal parts flour and dark brown sugar.  Try not to spoon it directly into your mouth (this is the hardest part of making these muffins).

When you mixer has finished making your muffin batter for you, take an ice cream scoop and scoop your batter into the sprayed muffin tins.  I filled mine pretty full so they baked over quite a bit.  You may want to fill them a little less.

Spoon your streusel all over the top.  I used a heavy hand with my streusel because it tastes so good.  I left three muffins without it because I wasn't sure if Jake would eat them with the streusel, he prefers things healthier (weirdo).

Bake your muffins at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  I was in a hurry to head out the door so I pulled them out of the muffin tins immediately onto a cooling rack.  I would wait a minute or two if I were you, but I only broke one so if you can't wait you'll be okay to pull them right out.

These muffins are oh so good!  The pecan streusel adds that extra layer of flavor and texture and the muffins themselves are banana baked-good perfection (if I do say so myself).  Whip up a batch for breakfast, snack, or dessert.  You will be glad you did!

Pecan Streusel Topped Banana Muffins
For the muffins:

• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)

For the streusel:

• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tbls. butter, melted
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1. Spray muffin tins with baking spray and preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla for 1 1/2 minutes on medium speed.
3. Add in buttermilk.
4. Sift together dry ingredients two times.
5. Alternate adding dry ingredients and mashed banana.  Once everything has been added, beat for two minutes on medium speed.
6. Meanwhile, combine streusel ingredients.
7. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter into muffin tins.  Spoon streusel on top.
8. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.  Cool slightly before eating.

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Weekend Social, Creativity Unleashed, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, Best Recipes, Link Party Palooza, Show Stopper Saturday, Pin Worthy Projects, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Funday, Tasty Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls, Mad Skills, Create Link Inspire, Tasty Tuesdays, Two Cup Tuesday, Wonderfully Creative Wednesdays, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Whimsy Wednesday, Cook It Craft It Share It, Create It Thursday, Pin It Thursday, and Showcase Your Talent Thursday.

Apple Cinnamon Refrigerator Oatmeal

Today is Jake's first day of Kindergarten.  Even though he has been in school for the last two years for preschool and Pre-K, there is something different about Kindergarten.  I feel like it marks the beginning of losing my baby.  I know I'm probably being dramatic but I'm sure all of you moms out there can understand.  Once they are in school the importance and influence of their friends and teachers increases as mine decreases.  It is an important part of growing up, but it still breaks my heart.  Sorry, I'll stop my pity party now.

With school starting we are back to needing to streamline our mornings.  As Jake is an incredibly slow eater, one of the most important ways I can get us going in the mornings if to have his breakfast ready the night before.  This way he can start eating ASAP while I am taking care of Luke.   This overnight refrigerator oatmeal fits the bill. Not only is it super easy to make and ready to go with no effort in the morning, it is cold.  Jake loves oatmeal but he doesn't really like hot food (I never heated his milk or baby food and it backfired in that he prefers cold food).  Ready to go in the morning, something Jake loves, and I don't have to cool it down for him; win, win, win!

Start out by mixing together some oats, chia seeds, and cinnamon.  I use regular old-fashioned oats, not quick oats.  Add in equal parts fat-free Greek yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, and skim milk.  Squeeze in a little bit of honey and stir it all together.  If you don't have Greek yogurt, you can use regular plain yogurt, just decrease the amount of milk.

Jake loves raisins so I add some of those in too.  At this point it will be very liquidy.  Don't worry, the chia seeds thicken it up.  Cover it and stick it in the fridge overnight.  In the morning your oatmeal will be ready to go.  If you want it a little bit thinner, just add a splash of milk before eating.

This makes enough for Jake for three breakfasts, but for an older kid or an adult it is probably just enough for two days.  I'm pretty sure there's no good way to photograph cold oatmeal, but don't let the way it looks deter you from making it.  This overnight oatmeal is nutritious and delicious.

Apple Cinnamon Refrigerator Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 tsp - 1 tbls. honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1. Combine oats, chia seeds, and cinnamon in a container.
2. Add yogurt, applesauce, milk, and honey.  Stir together until well combined.
3. Mix in raisins, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
4. Stir before serving, adding a splash of milk if desired. 

I'm linking up with Tasty Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Cook It Craft It Share It, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Pin It Thursday, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Create It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, Best Recipes, Pinworthy Projects, Creativity Unleashed, Show Stopper Saturday, Link Party Palooza, Saturday Night Fever, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Funday, Lou Lou Girls, Two Cup Tuesday, Mad Skills, and Create Link Inspire.
 

Fig & Cardamom Drop Scones

I love going out with the girls for afternoon tea.  It is such a girly outing and with a house full of boys, sometimes I need an extra dose of girly.  One of my favorite parts of the tea spread is the scones.  They are so delicious whether on their own or topped with lemon curd, cream, or jam.  If it's a scone, I'm in.  Since it isn't always easy to carve out time to go out without my boys, I decided to make some scones at home.  Most scone recipes need to be kneaded, and cut out.  I have to admit that I tend to avoid recipes that require being rolled out because it is more work and more cleaning.  That is why I love these drop scones.  No kneading required.  As the name suggests, you just use an ice cream scoop to drop the batter onto your cookie sheets and then pop them in the oven.

This recipe is really easy to customize too.  I love the way that cardamom and fig complement each other but you could easily swap the cardamom for some cinnamon and nutmeg or even change the fruit from figs to dried cranberries.  This combination is delicious though so I hope you will give it a try.

Start out by melting a little butter and then set it aside to cool a little bit.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and a healthy spoonful of cardamom.  Whisk it all together and then stir in some dried figs that have been chopped into bite-sized chunks.

These scones have buttermilk in them.  I love the way that adding buttermilk keeps baked goods moist, but if you are like me, you won't really use up a whole carton of buttermilk.  I highly recommend using this buttermilk powder.  It is so easy to use.  You just mix the powder in with your dry ingredients and then add water in with the wet ingredients.  You can get it at the grocery store or order it from amazon.

In a large measuring cup whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk (or water if you are using the powdered buttermilk), an egg, some honey, and a splash of vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir them together just until combined.

Use an ice cream scoop to drop the scones a couple of inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar, I used demerara sugar because it is larger crystals and adds a delicious little crunch.

Then bake at 400 until the tops are golden brown, about 12 minutes.  These are delicious as is or with a drizzle of honey or some fig jam.  Tea time, breakfast time, or any time, bring on the scones.

Fig & Cardamom Drop Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cardamom
• 3/4 cup chopped, dried figs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 4 tbls. buttermilk powder and 1 cup water)
• 3 1/2 tbls. butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 2 tbls. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• extra sugar for sprinkling on top (I used demerara but any sugar is fine)

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  (If you are using buttermilk powder, add it as well.)  Stir in figs.
3. In a large measuring cup, combine buttermilk (or water if using buttermilk powder), melted butter, egg, honey, and vanilla.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined.  Use an ice cream scoop to drop scones onto the baking sheet and then sprinkle the tops with sugar.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. 

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Link Party Palooza, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Weekend Potluck, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper Saturday, Bakerette, Mix It Up Monday, Inspiration Monday, Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Funday, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad Skills, Create Link Inspire, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Cook It Craft It Share It, Pin It Thursday, and Showcase Your Talent Thursday.
 

Overnight Caramel French Toast

I love breakfast foods!  Pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs, waffles, coffee cake, I love it all.  We recently had some friends over for breakfast and I wanted to make something decadent and delicious.  Since I have a baby, I don't always have a lot of hands-on time to cook in the morning.  Enter the overnight breakfast casserole.  Overnight breakfast casseroles are a busy mom's dream come true.  I have made lots of different versions, some savory, some sweet, but this is one of my favorites!  When Josh got home from work, Jake rushed over and yelled "Dad, Mom made CHALLAH french toast with CARAMEL!!!!"  He was pretty excited and you will be too once you take a bite of this Overnight Caramel French Toast.

It comes together really quickly and then overnight the challah absorbs the delicious custard.  It bakes up all golden and when you have that thick caramel sauce oozing over the top you will be in breakfast heaven.  This would make a perfect Mother's Day breakfast!

Start out by melting a stick of unsalted butter with a cup of brown sugar and a little light corn syrup (it's not just for pecan pie).   

While that is melting, tear or cut up your challah into bite sized chunks removing most of the crust.  Pour the caramel into the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Take the challah chunks and put them all over the caramel in a single layer.

In a big measuring cup combine some half-and-half, eggs, vanilla paste (you can use vanilla extract if you don't have any), a little Grand Marnier, some salt, and some pumpkin pie spice.  If you don't have any pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon would be delicious too but I love the way that the citrus flavors in the pumpkin pie spice complement the Grand Marnier.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread and use a spoon to press any chunks that are sticking up into the custard.  Cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pull it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you are going to bake it.  Then bake it at 350, uncovered, for about 40 minutes.  It will be puffed up and golden.  Be careful not to overcook it or the caramel will start to harden.

Invert it when you serve it so that the gooey caramel is on top.  It may not be the prettiest dish, but it is oh so good.  The warm caramel sauce, combined with the sweet custardy challah makes a perfectly decadent breakfast treat!  I recommend serving it with some crispy bacon and fruit. 

Overnight Caramel French Toast
Adapted from Epicurious
Serves 4-6 

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbls. light corn syrup
• loaf of challah
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla paste
• 1 1/2 tsp. Grand Marnier
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp. salt

1. In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Then pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
2. While the butter mixture melts, cut or tear the challah into about 1-inch chunks, removing most of the crust.  Place the challah chunks on top of the caramel sauce in a single layer.
3. In a large measuring cup, combine the half-and-half, eggs, vanilla paste, Grand Marnier, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  Pour over the bread and use a spoon to press any chunks that are sticking up down a little.
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. About 45 minutes before baking, remove the french toast from the fridge so it can come to room temperature.
6. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 40 minutes, until puffed and golden.  It will deflate after it comes out. 
7. Serve hot.  When serving, invert on plates so caramel layer is on top. 

I'm linking up with Busy Monday, Inspiration Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Funday, Lou Lou Girls, Mad Skills, Create Link Inspire, Two Cup Tuesday, Tips & Tricks, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesday, Wednesday Whatsits, Wake Up Wednesdays, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Pin Junkie, Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Lou Lou Girls, Get Him Fed Fridays, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, The Yuck Stops Here, Show Stopper Saturday, and Weekend Potluck.

Quinoa & Chia Seed Carrot Muffins

As I've mentioned before I'm always trying to find make-ahead breakfasts for Jake that will fill him up and give him energy for the day.  He is a big fan of muffins and when I went to grab one from the freezer the other day I realized it was our last one!  I knew I needed to replenish our stock ASAP.  After the success with my quinoa pancakes I have been wanting to try making muffins with quinoa so this seemed like the perfect time.

These muffins are chock-full of healthy ingredients.  The quinoa and Greek yogurt give them protein.  Both quinoa and chia seeds are great sources of Omega-3.  Add in the carrots and whole-wheat flour and you have a breakfast treat you can feel good about feeding your kids (or yourself).  The raisins, brown sugar, fig butter, and pumpkin pie spice keep them tasting great without being overly sweet.

If you have some cooked quinoa already made, these come together really quickly and you don't even need a mixer.

Start out by melting a stick of butter and then setting it aside to cool off.  In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, chia seeds, baking soda, and salt.

In a smaller bowl mix together the melted butter, some Greek yogurt, 2 eggs, vanilla, and some fig butter.  You can leave out the fig butter if you don't have any, but it has a sweet, honey-like flavor that perfectly complements the other flavors in the muffin.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.  Finely chop some carrots, I used my food processor.  Fold the carrots and a cup of raisins into the batter.

Then use an ice cream scoop to fill paper lined muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes.

These Quinoa & Chia Seed Carrot Muffins are a hearty and delicious way to start your day.  Bake up a batch and freeze some for the perfect breakfast on the run.  Enjoy!

Quinoa & Chia Seed Carrot Muffins
Makes 16 muffins

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tbls. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbls. fig butter (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl combine quinoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
3. In a small bowl mix together butter, yogurt, vanilla, fig butter, and eggs.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
5. Gently fold in the carrots and the raisins.
6. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins.
7. Bake 23-25 minutes. 

I'm linking up with Mix It Up Monday, Inspiration Monday, Busy Monday, Create Link Inspire, Two Cup Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wake Up Wednesdays, Made By Me, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Pin It Thursday, Tips & Tricks, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Pin Junkie, Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper Saturday, and Weekend Potluck.

Quick & Easy Valentine's Day Breakfast

When I was a kid my mom used to make us "I Love You" toast by using food coloring and a paintbrush to paint I Love You on toast.  Looking back on it, I realize what a simple thing it was, but at the time it used to make me feel so special.  With Valentine's Day approaching, I've been brainstorming what I will be serving my boys since I like to make thematic meals for the holidays.  Since Valentine's Day brings so many sweets, I want to make a savory breakfast.  The I Love You toast of my childhood kept coming back into my mind but I needed to add in some protein.  Enter one of my favorite breakfasts, the one-eyed sandwich.  This breakfast has a lot of different names but I was taught to make it under the moniker One-Eyed Sandwich.  I decided to combine the two to make the perfect thematic but savory and protein rich Valentine's breakfast.

Start out with a slice of bread, I love the Milton's Whole Grain, but use whatever your favorite sandwich bread is.  Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut a hole in the center of the bread.

Butter one side of the bread including the heart cut-out.   (I actually used Brummel & Brown, not real butter.) 

Put it in a pan, pre-heated over medium and sprayed with cooking spray, buttered side down. Then butter the side that is facing up.  Once it is nice and buttered, crack an egg into the hole in the bread.

When the bottom of the egg white is set, use a spatula to flip the bread.  Continue to cook just until the egg white is set (if you cook it too long, it will still taste good, but you won't have that deliciously creamy, runny yolk).  Also flip the little heart at this time.

When the egg white is set, take it out of the pan and put the little heart on top of the egg filled hole of the bread.  Now for the "I Love You" part.  Use a small paintbrush, (a watercolor one is perfect) and dip it in a few drops of red food coloring.  Use the paint brush to write an I and a U on either side of the heart.

That's it.  Quick and easy but filled with love.  Serve with salt and pepper and start your day with a smile in your heart.

I'm linking up with Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Made By Me, Create Link Inspire, Mad Skills, Whimsy Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Pin It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Create It Thursday, Link Party Palooza, and Pin Junkie.

Quinoa Pancakes

Did you know that there is a National Pancake Week?  I just found out about it, and it is next week so in honor of National Pancake Week, here is a delicious and protein packed quinoa pancake recipe for you.  I'm always looking for make ahead breakfasts that give my little guy some protein to start his day.  I came across these quinoa pancakes and knew I wanted to give them a try.  I swapped out the shortening for butter because I don't really keep shortening on hand and added in some cinnamon and vanilla because they are delicious.

These pancakes come together really easily if you have pre-made the quinoa, and they freeze really well too.  They are pretty dense because of the quinoa so I recommend defrosting them before popping them in the toaster to reheat.

If you've never made quinoa, start by rinsing and draining the dried quinoa.  Then combine 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover it, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.  I like to make a big batch of quinoa and then eat some for lunch during the week with roasted vegetables, but if you are just making it for this recipe you will need 1/3 cup dried quinoa.

For the pancakes, beat 2 eggs well.  Then add in 2 1/2 cups buttermilk, some melted butter, flour, a little bit of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, the quinoa, some cinnamon, and vanilla.  Mix it all together until just combined.  The batter will be very thick.

Cook the pancakes on a preheated griddle pan sprayed with cooking spray over medium-low heat.  When there are bubbles on the top flip them over.  Because the batter is so thick, after I ladle it onto my pan I use the bottom of my ladle to flatten it out a little bit.  Also, once I flip the pancakes I press on them with my spatula to make sure they get cooked through.

Jake thinks these are delicious plain, but I like to eat mine with a little bit of butter and pure maple syrup.

Quinoa Pancakes
Adapted from The Patrician Palette
Makes about 1 dozen pancakes

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup prepared quinoa (1/3 cup dried quinoa and 2/3 cup water)
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3 tbls. butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Beat eggs well.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined.
3. Cook on a preheated griddle pan sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat, flipping after bubbles appear on the top.

I'm linking up with Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Made By Me, Create Link Inspire, Mad Skills, Whimsy Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits, Thrifty Thursday, Pin It Thursday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Create It Thursday.   Link Party Palooza, Weekend Potluck, Best Recipes, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper Saturday, and Strut Your Stuff Saturday.