Breakfast Foods

Easy Whole Wheat Waffles (Dairy Free)

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I have used this recipe for 12 years because it is so simple and easy!  My kids love it with frozen berries and hot syrup on top (We usually make our own syrup).

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Tbl. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Cup Oil (I use EVOO and we like it but if that doesn’t fit your taste buds another healthy alternative is Coconut Oil)
3 Eggs
3 Cups Water

If you like your waffles a little sweet you can add:
A squeeze of honey (I probably use about 2 tsp. worth), or one mashed Banana

Mix all ingredients together and cook in greased waffle iron.  Serve hot.

Pink Grapefruit Smoothie

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Ingredients:

pink or ruby red grapefruit, peeled, membrane removed
1 banana
1 c. frozen strawberries
1/2 c. orange juice, chilled

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.   You may find a whole grapefruit is too sour for your taste buds so add half first and do a taste test to see if it needs more.

Source:  craftylittlegnome.com

Quinoa Cakes with Poached Eggs

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    Quinoa is such a popular grain these days, I decided to give it a try. And boy, is this the way to try it! These cakes are savory, hearty, satisfying, and bursting with flavor! My kids gobbled them up. This was also the first time I tried to poach an egg without a poaching pan, and it was a little bit exciting, like a delicious science experiment.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked Quinoa, at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten
1/3 cup minced fresh chives
1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 green onions or large shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs plus more if needed

To make cakes:

Combine quinoa, eggs, chives, salt, onions, garlic, and parmesan. Gently add bread crumbs until incorporated. Form into 6 cakes, 3-4 inches each.

Heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of  large saute pan over medium heat. Add patties, not touching. Cook about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Put on paper towels to drain. serve with additional salt and pepper, parmesan cheese, and top with poached egg. For instructions on how to poach an egg, see http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_poached_eggs/.

Notes: It is very important to thoroughly rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer for at least two minutes to remove the bitter coating. To cook it, boil 2 cups of water, add 1 cup rinsed quinoa, cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Fluff with fork. This makes 3 cups of cooked quinoa, so I just 1 1/2 times the recipe because these are so good!

Source: Annie’s Eats

Easy Donuts

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Every once in a while my mom would break out the canned biscuit dough and make us these sugary treats. They are so simple and so yummy! Maybe everyone know about these already, but I thought they were worth the reminder. These are best with Pillsbury Grands, but you can use the smaller ones too.
 
Pillsbury Grands, 1-2 cans
sugar
oil, for frying
 
Pour oil into a pot until its about 2-3 inches deep, and heat on medium. While its heating up, open the biscuits and use something to cut a perfect circle into the center of each biscuit. Then drop 2-3  donuts at a time into the oil to fry. The trick to this, is you don’t want the donuts to cook too fast or they will be doughy in the center. So, it should take 25-30 seconds on each side, maybe a bit more if you cook it on lower heat. Using tongs, lift the donuts out of the oil and let the oil drip off good then place the donut into the sugar. Lift all of the donuts and place into the sugar and then transfer to a plate to rest.  Toss the donuts around in the sugar until they are thoroughly coated.  These are really great and so quick.
 
 
 

Brown Sugar Muffins

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My children ask for these muffins more than any other I make! They are DELICIOUS! 
Ingredients: 

½ cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg (I have used powdered eggs and it turns out great! 1 TBSP Egg Powder plus 2 TBSP water)
2 cups flour (we think whole wheat flour taste the best in this recipe, but white flour is good too)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk (you can stir in a few TBSP milk powder with the flour and then add 1 cup water)
1 tsp baking soda

Instructions:
1. Stir oil, egg, vanilla, milk and brown sugar together in a bowl. 

2. Then stir in dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda.) 
3. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray or use cupcake liners. Fill 12 muffin cups with the batter.

4, Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until center of muffin is done. Better grab one, because they disappear quickly!

Notes: The food storage substitutions turn out really well. And the whole wheat flour gives it a great texture and density that we all love. My family does not love it when I make oatmeal for breakfast, but when I have brown sugar muffins to go with it, they do not complain!

Source: Original recipe from my sister-in-law Margo Coombs

Summertime Quiche

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Summer is quickly coming to a close here in Idaho. But before I start posting my fall/winter recipes, I gotta post another recipe that uses zucchini and squash. I think this will be the last one with either of those ingredients for a while, at least I hope.
Oh and another thing. I am all about home made. I am kind of a snob when it comes to home made vs. store bought items. However, I have been trying to simplify and one way that I have, is to buy pre-made pie shells for this recipe (cringe!) I have the best home made pie crust recipe but I have accepted the fact that it is okay to buy pre-made pie shells every once in a while.

I love quiche. So versatile. This was a good way to use up some zucchini that I had lying around. You can also use summer squash, etc. Here is how I made this one:

Summertime Quiche 

1 deep dish pie crust
4 eggs
1 C. Half and half
1 C. Shredded zucchini 
1/4 C. chopped green onion
1/4 C. Crumbled bacon
1- 1 1/2 C. Shredded Cheese (I used half monterey jack half swiss)
Salt and Pepper to taste 
Fresh grated nutmeg (optional) 

Preheat oven to 450. Lightly cover the pie shell with foil. Bake 8 minutes, remove foil and back another 5 minutes or so. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, beat eggs and half/half. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into the warm pie shell. Use a pie saver or foil to cover the edges of the crust. Place in the oven, reduce temperature to 350 and bake until a knife inserted comes clean, about 30-45 minutes. Let rest little bit before cutting. 

Good Morning Bars

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I love oats. Must be my Scottish roots coming out in me. These bars were a big hit in my house for breakfast and they were gone pretty dang fast!

(this recipe post comes from my personal blog)

Ingredients 
 1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, melted (or 1/4 cup mashed banana or applesauce)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (can reduce or use natural sweetener)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (can reduce or use natural sweetener)
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract, optional
3 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup flaked coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, craisins, currants, etc.)
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
optional: chia seeds, sesame seeds

Instructions 
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, honey, and extracts stirring until well combined. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
2.  Press into a greased 9″x13″ baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they begin to brown around the edge. With a knife, gently cut the bars but do NOT remove. Allow to cool completely or they will fall apart.

Notes–These tasty bars are a little fragile, especially when still warm. So make sure you let them cool completely before eating them. They will firm up some while they cool.

Source:  Just a Pinch

Mini German Pancakes

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My friend Jillian Ennis (soon to be Jillian Mendez in 26 days!) made these scrumptious Mini German Pancakes for us yesterday! They were DELICIOUS! You can top them with any kind of fruit, powdered sugar, syrup, cinnamon sugar, lemon sauce, or whatever your heart desires!

Mini German Pancakes

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray muffin tins well.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Or you could whirl it in a blender for a few seconds until smooth. 

3. Fill baking cups with the batter almost full if you want them to puff up high like the picture below. (Makes 12-18 depending on how high you fill the muffin cups.)

4. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown. They will puff up really high while baking, and then deflate a bit as they are cooling.

5. You can fill with fruit topping or a lemon sauce, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or use cinnamon sugar and maple syrup, whipped cream, or whatever sounds good to you! 

This one came out with a heart in the middle! How sweet! 

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

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YUM! YUM!  Everyone likes this casserole.  It’s easy to make and easy to eat! LOL!

2- 12 ounce bags frozen, shredded hashbrowns, thawed (at least 30 minutes)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup of diced deli ham
1/2 – 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or your favorite kind of cheese!
6 large eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
salt
pepper

     Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Squeeze moisture out of thawed potatoes then put them in a large bowl. Pour melted butter over potatoes and stir well until combined. Pour the potatoes into an ungreased 9×13 casserole dish, and press them to make a crust. I press them up the sides of the dish also.
     Bake until the potatoes start to brown around the edges, at least 10 minutes.
     Into a big bowl add the eggs, the milk, salt and pepper.
     Remove the potatoes from the oven. Sprinkle the diced ham over the  potatoes, then sprinkle the cheese over the ham. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and ham.
     Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Cranberry Buttermilk Scones

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I wish I could remember where I originally found this recipe.  It’s been in my recipe box for years and is a family favorite.  These are a special breakfast treat in our family, though I do have a couple of kids who pick out the Craisins.  You could substitute raisins, dried currants (my favorite), or do without a dried fruit altogether.  Whatever you use, it’ll be great!  My family can’t wait to get their hands on these….as you can see from my teenage son’s “grab a scone” photobomb hand!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup cold butter (12 Tbsp.)
1 cup buttermilk*
1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
1 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1.  Heat oven to 400°F.  Grease a large baking sheet.
2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Whisk together well.
3.  Cut butter into small pieces.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender (pictured) or with two knives until the mixture resembles course crumbs.  Stir in buttermilk, just until combined (do not overmix).  Fold in cranberries
4.  On a floured surface, form dough gently into an even mass; then divide in half.  Form each half into a circle six inches in diameter.  With a floured knife, partially cut each circle into 6 pieces (just cut about 1/2-3/4 of the way into the dough.  Transfer both circles to baking sheet.
5.  Brush each circle with milk.  Combine the 2 Tbsp. sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over both circles.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.**

*To make buttermilk if you don’t have any:  In a glass measuring cup, pour in 1 Tbsp. apple cider or white wine vinegar.  Pour milk up to the 1-cup line.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before using.
**This sometimes takes more than 20 minutes for me.  I always test the middle with a knife–it should come out with a few small crumbs on it but should not be wet.  Overbaking will make a less than satisfactory final product.