Berry Greek Yogurt Oat Muffins

These delicious and easy muffins are one of our freezer breakfast favorites. They hare delicious and the greek yogurt increases the protein. You can definitely use coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar. I use a mix of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. We warm these in the microwave for about 30 seconds to thaw them. They will store in the freezer up to 3 months. I double or even triple this recipe.

Berry Greek Yogurt Oat Muffins

BERRY GREEK YOGURT OAT MUFFINS

Makes about 12 muffins

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 c. plain Greek yogurt

1/4 c. honey

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. frozen mixed berries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with liners and lightly spray for easy release.  

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl or large measuring cup, lightly beat the egg just to break it up. Mix in the yogurt, honey, sugar, almond milk, and vanilla, until well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the berries and stir to incorporate. Scoop the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are lightly golden and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool and then freeze if desired.

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cookies

Who doesn't want a cookie for breakfast?!

What is you could eat a cookie for breakfast without guilt? A cookie that is satisfying, filling, and energy giving would be a win, right? I think we have the recipe for you! It's delicious and easy. We quadrupled the initial recipe and froze them to continue on our freezer breakfast prep trend. 

(As an aside, breakfast-to-go freezer meals continues to be one of my most favorite ideas ever. It just works so well for our family. I long ago gave up the illusion of sitting down to breakfast on school mornings and everyone is so much happier with this solution plus I don't worry that they haven't eaten enough or had enough protein.) 

Anyway...back to the recipe. I found this recipe on Leelalicious (I'm excited to try her other breakfast cookies!) and knew we had to try it. I made a few changes for our taste. I think these are perfect for fall and would be fun to customize with different nuts or fruits or sub applesauce for the pumpkin puree. 

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cookies

PUMPKIN SPICE BREAKFAST COOKIES

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. maple syrup

2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

2 c. quick oats

1 c. dried cranberries

1 1/3 c. pumpkin seeds

1/2 c. golden flax meal

1 Tb. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. pumpkin puree

4 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt honey and coconut oil. Mix together oats, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, flax, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add pumpkin, vanilla, eggs, honey, and oil. Stir all together to combine. Drop by 1/4 c. (large scoop) on a baking stone or parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten cookie with the bottom of a cup (spray for easier flattening. Bake for 15-17 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes and then remove to wire rack and let fully cool. If freezing, wrap cookies in wax paper and place in freezer bag. To enjoy, remove from freezer and nuke for 20 seconds if desired or let thaw.

Check out our Pinterest board!

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt Oat Muffins

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt Oat Muffins for the freezer!

These muffins are gluten free if you buy gluten free oats. I found the original recipe on Running with Spoons, but changed these slightly to work for us! They are delicious and I'm so glad I found her recipe! Next time I may add pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon. You can also add chocolate chips after blending if you like - that's her recommendation and I'm sure it's wonderful. We added these to our breakfast-to-go agenda and they are a hit!

Delicious, gluten-free pumpkin muffins!

 PUMPKIN GREEK YOGURT OAT MUFFINS

1 c. Greek yogurt

1 c. canned pumpkin

2 eggs

2 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned - I used the latter)

1/2 c. coconut sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with liners and spray (helps with release when you re-warm them later). 

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. 

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

These muffins came out of the oven fairly puffy, but will deflate just a bit as they sit, so no worries if you notice that!

Cool them completely and pop them in a freezer bag and into the freezer! Thaw a muffin in the microwave (about 25 seconds) and enjoy!

Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast Sandwiches

Few things are better than a breakfast sandwich! It's comforting, delicious, and portable. These definitely made it on my freezer breakfast prep list. They are endlessly customizable and simple to assemble!

Assembled and ready to be wrapped!

Step 1: Choose your bread. English muffins and bagels work exceptionally well, but you can use whatever you like! (English muffins are the more economical choice and frequently go on sale or can be found in bulk at your local warehouse store.)

Step 2: Choose your meat. Meat is always optional, but my kids really like it and I want the extra protein it provides. Ham, canadian bacon (we chose a nitrate/nitrite free version for this batch), bacon, or sausage are all excellent. I'm thinking a chorizo one with pepper jack cheese would be delicious!

Step 3: Choose your cheese. We used a sharp cheddar this time which is a family favorite. Any sliced cheese would be fine, so mix and match to create your favorite combination!

Step 4: Cook your eggs. We did 6 or 8 at a time in an electric skillet (make sure it's nice and hot, so you keep a relatively round shape). We break the yolks and season with salt and pepper. Once they were finished, we put them on a cooling rack to cool before assembly.

Eggs cooked and ready for assembly.

Step 5: Customize. Do you like veggies, herbs, or other seasonings? Feel free to add them! We kept these basic because that's what our families like. 

Our breakfast sandwich components this time around.

Step 6: Assemble, wrap, and freeze. These are seriously easy! We wrap the individual sandwiches in plastic wrap (or wax paper bags) and then store 8 or so in a gallon freezer bag. 

DONE. These are a complete breakfast in themselves which I love. 

To Thaw: They take about 2 minutes to warm in the microwave or 4 minutes at 50%. 

What are your favorite breakfast sandwich ingredients?

Breakfast-to-Go in the Freezer

Breakfast-to-Go Revolutionized Our Mornings.

Breakfast-to-Go

Our schedule changed significantly this year and in preparation for it, I planned to make some freezer breakfasts. Guys, this decision was a game changer! Also, I super wish I had thought to do this a way long time ago!

I'm not a big fan of cereal for breakfast for the kids, but too often it was the easy solution and while my kids are far from picky, a couple don't love oatmeal (okay, by a couple I mean ME and a kid). I soldiered on and made oatmeal and eggs at least 4-5 mornings a week most weeks because I wanted healthy, filling, protein packed breakfasts. Enter...breakfast in the freezer to go.

I made a quick plan initially and did pretty well - I had about six weeks of breakfasts in the freezer. It took less time than I thought it would and pretty much all of the recipes were hits.

Here are some of the things I love about it: 

1) Everyone is in charge of their own breakfast except for the kindergartner - we help her with warming up her choice.
2) Everyone gets their choice of what's available - aka no one has to eat the same thing.
3) When we are running behind (ahem), they can be heated and transported.
4) They are higher protein breakfasts.
5) They are healthier because I control the ingredients.
6) Less stress for all.

That last one makes for smoother mornings in general. At least half of us are not morning people, so that's important for us.

I just did a second day of breakfast prep and this time I did it with a sister. We worked together and split the meals. GO GET A FRIEND. It's way more fun to do with someone! We are already planning our next prep day. I don't think more than 2 people would work very well because of juggling the oven time unless you have a commercial kitchen available.

In about 2 hours we made:

40 egg, sausage and cheese burritos
36 egg sandwiches
24 pumpkin greek yogurt muffins
36 baked oatmeals
48 potato egg muffin cups

So we each went home with over 90 items. IN TWO HOURS. 

(May I take this moment to tell you that Aldi had eggs for $.39/dozen! I often buy organic ones, but at that price and the volume we needed - 10 dozen - we went ahead and got those)

We had plans to make some Lemon Muffins, Greek Yogurt Popsicles (my kids fave!), and waffles, but alas, we had to go pick up our kids from school. Next time we will shop ahead and I think in 3 hours we can add at least 3-4 dozen more items/person.

Here are our tips for a successful day:
1) Plan ahead - print recipes, make lists, and shop.
2) Start with a few recipes - I always plan too many.
3) Have good quality packaging - there is nothing more frustrating than needing 5 dozen pieces of plastic wrap and it's impossible to rip. (I think wax bags would be awesome.)
4) Use muffin liners when you can to reduce the need to wash the pans in between each item, but spray the liner so it releases easily from the breakfast item.
5) Post a whiteboard or sign on the outside of the freezer with the available options so the kids don't leave the door hanging open while they look. :) (Not that I know anything about that. HA!)
6) On the whiteboard or sign, list the approximate amount of time it needs in the microwave or toaster oven.

So...you don't have to be an amazing cook and you don't have to have lots of time. This is super doable. My kids love it, I love it, my husband loves it... It is totally a sanity saver for us!

I'll keep adding recipes that go with this theme - and for the additional recipes not yet linked above!

Potato Egg Cups

Potato Egg Cups

To continue our freezer breakfast theme - check these out! My kids were exceptionally excited about these - I found the idea for these at Ella Claire Inspired. We sampled one of these out of the oven and YUM! I think two would be a good serving for breakfast or one and another item - like a piece of fruit or toast. 

The beauty of these is that you can totally customize this to your own taste! My kiddos LOVE sausage - I'm not a huge fan myself. If I were to customize these for myself - bacon, swiss, chopped spinach, and mushrooms. Ham, bacon, or sausage would all work well, your favorite cheese, and any veggies or herbs that your family enjoys.

Potato Egg Cups

POTATO EGG CUPS

(makes about 2 dozen)

1 - 32 oz package of tater tot style potatoes (I'm certain you could also use hashbrowns as the base!*)

1 lb. sausage, browned

1 small green pepper, small diced

1 small red or orange pepper, small diced

4-6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

16 or so eggs, beaten 

Salt & Pepper to taste (in eggs)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 - 12 count muffin tins. Thaw tater tots enough to press into bottom of muffin tins (about 3/spot) - we used the bottom of a cup. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with 2-3 tsp. sausage, diced peppers, and a sprinkle of cheese. Pour eggs over all - almost to the top. Bake for 15 minutes or until eggs are set. Cool and freeze if desired. Pop in the microwave to re-heat.

* I have since tested hashbrowns and they also work well!  

Baked Oatmeal

INDIVIDUAL BAKED OATMEAL for the freezer.

We've talked about baked oatmeal before and how delicious it is! I gave a recipe I found a bit of a makeover to make it dairy free and to use coconut sugar instead of a refined sugar. These can be topped with whatever topping you like - my kids like blueberries, chocolate chips, plain, and dried cranberries. We make a double batch and make a variety.

Baked Oatmeal

BAKED OATMEAL

Makes 18 

2 eggs

¼ c. oil (coconut or canola)

½ c. applesauce

1½ c. unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

3 c. old fashioned oats

1/2 c. coconut sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. 

Combine first 4 ingredients in a liquid measuring cup. Mix remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour liquids over the oatmeal mixture and stir until combined. Place about 1/4 c. into each muffin section. Bake for 20-30 minutes until bake through. Cool and freeze. Warm in microwave for a quick, on-the-go breakfast. 

These would be great topped with a little greek yogurt or even peanut butter!

Easy Granola

Easy Granola is quick, delicious, and a great addition to breakfast!

Today, I was in a granola mood. I've been meaning to make a batch for approximately 1 billion days or something like that. :) This morning as I was doing dishes, putting dinner in the crockpot, and making breakfast, I thought...why not? And so I did. And it was easy and delicious. I adapted a recipe from Alton Brown - the biggest change is that I cut the brown sugar out all together. My goal was to make something healthy for us to put on our plain greek yogurt for breakfast parfaits. I think granola is ridiculously flexible in the flavor department and I'm looking forward to experimenting more! This would also be a cinch to make gluten free with gluten free oats and it's naturally dairy free.

Easy Granola

EASY GRANOLA

3 cups old-fashioned oat
1 c. pecans, chopped
1 c. almonds, chopped or slivered
3/4 c. plus a little more coconut
2 tsp. cinnamon (I actually used cinnamon plus which has a mix of spices)
1/4 oil
1/4 plus 2 TB. maple syrup
3/4 tsp of salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and cinnamon in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, syrup, and salt. Pour the liquids over the dry and stir until thoroughly combined. Evenly spread the mixture on a large bar pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes until golden brown - stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool and store in an airtight container

That's it! Super easy, super delicious and totally adaptable. Next time I will add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients. You can add raisins after it comes out if you like that. I'm dreaming of all the variations - orange almond, apple cinnamon, vanilla coconut, cranberry spice...

Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits & Gravy

Here's the deal - biscuits and gravy = awesome!

A family favorite - biscuits & gravy.

It is a popular (often associated with the South) breakfast that is super easy to make, but I think it would also make a wonderful brunch or a quick breakfast for dinner recipe (with a side of vegetables, of course ;)). It's a rare treat around here, but highly anticipated.

You can use the pop biscuits from the can...but really, just make them from scratch...so worth it! I have spent years trying to make the perfect biscuits that have light layers and finally my search has ended. There are two recipes that I have found worthy of ending the search - Alton Brown's Biscuits and Smitten Kitchen's Biscuits. They are slightly different and for the sake of not using shortening, I chose the latter today, but I have tried both and they are both wonderful.

Light, Fluffy, Golden, and Tall - biscuit perfection!

BISCUITS
(slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

2 1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. sugar (if you want a sweeter biscuit sometime, just increase this)

1 Tb. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

9 Tb. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

3/4 c. buttermilk or soured milk

Heat oven to 400 °F. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large, wide bowl. Using pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, Add milk and stir until large clumps form. Reach hands into bowl and knead mixture briefly until it just holds together (add a little more milk if needed).

Transfer dough to floured counter and pat out until 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick. Using a round cutter (2 inches for regular sized biscuits), press straight down and transfer rounds to baking stone* (or metal pan if you prefer).

Bake until biscuits are golden brown on top - 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot!

This will make about 12-14 2-inch biscuits

*I bake on stones. I am a firm believer in their awesomeness and find that my baked goods are simply better when I use them.

**You can add in cheese or herbs with the dry ingredients, if you want to make these fancy.

Cast Iron Skillet = one of my favorite kitchen items.

Here's the deal on the gravy - you can use however much sausage you like. I love the flavor that it gives, but I like to stretch my meat and don't like a really meaty gravy. This is how I do it and it is perfect for us - great gravy to meat ratio. I do think the two things that make this simple gravy awesome is the iron skillet and the amount of pepper. Oh and you can halve this recipe for 2-4 people. My people eat a lot and this was scraped clean by our family of 6. :)

SAUSAGE GRAVY

1/2 lb. bulk sausage

1/2 c. flour

4 c. milk

salt

fresh ground pepper

In a large cast iron skillet (If you don't own one, go buy one because you will use it for everything...but in the mean time, you can use a regular skillet.), brown your sausage, breaking it up into small pieces. Once browned, stir in flour and continue cooking for a minute or two. Slowly stir in the milk. Add salt & pepper to taste (I did about 1/2 tsp of each, but taste as you go to adjust for your palate and for the seasoning of your sausage). Continue to stir and loosen any bits from the bottom of the skillet until the gravy is just starting to bubble and gravy is thick. Serves over hot biscuits. 

Donut Muffins

Donut Muffins

So this is not exactly the recipes asked for...but bear with me and you will be glad! My kids were begging for a trip to the bakery for donuts (which I declined). Rather than be a complete stick in the mud, I suggested we make muffins instead. This idea was met with great joy. We searched for a suitable recipe that would feel like a trip to our favorite donut shop. I stumbled upon one that I modified for a delicious result. The kids were THRILLED and declared them better than donuts.

We enjoyed them hot from the oven, but I'm certain they will also be delicious later. We worked together to make the muffins and then to dip them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar - they were so proud of their efforts.

These could very easily be changed to various flavors using different extracts, zests, fruits, nuts, and spices. So many possibilities! You could also make them almost like donut holes by using a mini muffin pan. (I doubled this recipe since I feel like I'm feeding an army most days, so this will be our Valentine's Day breakfast in addition to our Valentine's Eve treat.)

Donut Muffins

DONUT MUFFINS

• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon plus** 
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 2/3 c. unbleached flour
• 1 c. milk

TOPPING:

• 3 Tb. melted butter
• 3 Tb. sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl. Have another bowl with the melted butter in it. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease muffin pan or line with muffin papers. 

Cream the butter, oil, and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon plus, and salt. Alternate flour and milk additions and continue mixing with spoon until fully incorporated. Fill each muffin slot almost full. Bake 15-17 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean and muffins are light brown.

While still hot from the oven (but cool enough to handle), dip the tops in melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar blend. ENJOY.

Makes 12 muffins

**This is a spice blend I purchase and love through Pampered Chef  which has a variety of spices and some orange zest, but plain cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice or your own mix of spices will be perfect.

Whole-Grain Freezer Waffles

I recently started a full-time job. With an hour of commute time each day, I knew my meal prep time was going to be disappearing. So, the week before work began I spent time making some muffins, granola bars, pita breads, and waffles for the freezer. I intended to get a lot more frozen than that, but it was a start.

The waffles are delicious and work from freezer to toaster. And this week when I didn't know what I was going to fix for supper, we enjoyed breakfast for dinner. These are gluten-free, whole-grain, and egg-free!

For the waffles, I used a recipe from my go-to cookbook, Nourishing Meals. First make a batch of dry mix (which keeps in the pantry for up to 4 months, so make as many batches you want!). Then make the waffles. I made a triple batch, which made 26 waffles in my rather small waffle maker.



WHOLE-GRAIN FREEZER WAFFLES
(from Nourishing Meals by Alissa Segersten)
Print This Recipe

DRY MIX
1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
1 c. teff flour
1 c. millet flour
1 c. tapioca flour
1/2 c. quinoa flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon (opt.)
1 tsp sea salt

Place all ingredients into a large bowl. Using a wire whisk, mix well. Place into an airtight container. Makes 5 cups or 5 batches of waffles.

WAFFLES
2 Tbsp waffles
2 Tbsp very hot water
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 c. milk (I used almond milk)
1 c. Waffle mix

Place the ground flax seeds and hot water into a medium-sized mixing bowl; quickly whisk together until the flax forms a thick gel. Sometimes this doesn't happen right away so keep whisking until the gel forms. Add the applesauce, coconut oil, maple syrup, and milk and whisk together well. Then add the waffle mix. Whisk together until the batter is smooth.

Heat waffle maker and cook according to waffle make directions.

If you plan to freeze them, cool completely and then layer between pieces of waxed paper and place in freezer bags.

Molasses Syrup

Our family LOVES pancakes and it's my husband's specialty! Last week I made some (mostly forgettable) banana nut pancakes and was searching for a quick syrup to make to serve with them. We try to make our own most of the time since I'm not crazy about all the additives in store bought syrup. We do use pure maple syrup (but sometimes at an alarming and therefore expensive rate), however, we usually top pancakes with yogurt, fruit syrups, and/or homemade syrups. So, while I can't take credit for coming up with this yummy syrup recipe, I was very excited to find it! I doubled Simple Bites Recipe because if I'm going to the trouble I want some leftover for other meals.

In short, this was DELICIOUS! We love molasses cookies and the flavor was very reminiscent of the warm, spicy flavors of a fresh cookie. A few notes - 1) a little goes a long way, 2) this was amazing on hot cereal like oatmeal and cream of wheat, and 3) it stores well and would probably be quite good on vanilla ice cream or gingerbread.



MOLASSES SYRUP
Print This Recipe


1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. molasses
3/4 c. water
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tb. salted butter

In a small pot, whisk together sugar, molasses, water, and cinnamon over medium heat. Bring to a slow boil and continue stirring until ingredients are fully incorporated and syrup thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Cool slightly. Transfer to a pitcher for serving or a glass jar for storing.

Yields: 1 1/2 cups syrup

**Of note, Simple Bites has 4 other great-looking syrups in this post!

Cherry Vanilla Scones

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and one taste of these and I knew they would make a perfect addition to a romantic breakfast in bed. We loved them! I made them with a couple of other dishes for Sunday brunch and the meal was proclaimed a big success by all four of my critics. I'm planning to post two additional recipes to add to your Valentine's breakfast. Hope you enjoy!

These are best the first day but you can definitely enjoy them the next morning.





CHERRY VANILLA SCONES
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3 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. cold butter
1 c. vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt with 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 Tb. of agave nectar
1/4 c. milk
1 c. tart dried cherries, roughly chopped
2/3 c. vanilla chips or white chocolate chips

milk for brushing the top
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and soda in a large bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine yogurt and milk. Stir into the flour mixture until moistened. Gently knead in the cherries and vanilla chips.

Pat the dough about 1/2-3/4 inches thick. Cut into desired shaped and place on a baking sheet. Brush tops with additional milk and sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Best served warm!

 

Cranberry-Apple Pancakes

We are big fans of pancakes around here (in fact my gluten-free husband only really starting loving pancakes once he switched to eating gluten-free, so that is a testament to a healing body and a really good recipe). Lazy mornings often find me whipping up a batch for breakfast. I've made the recipe so frequently, that I have it memorized. And while we love the simple taste of lightly cinnamon-spiced pancakes with a dollop of plain yogurt and a drizzle of real maple syrup, lately I've been experimenting with add-ins to fancy up our pancake fare. One day it was mashed banana and a handful of chocolate chips. Another day frozen blueberries. And most recently, chopped fresh cranberries and apples.

You can of course make this recipe with regular wheat flour, but for those of you that are gluten-free this is a great recipe. Perhaps your Christmas breakfast might include pancakes this year?



CRANBERRY-APPLE PANCAKES
(adapted from The Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking)
Print This Recipe

1 c. gluten-free all-purpose flour (if your favorite does not include xanthan gum, add 1/4 tsp to the dry ingredients)
2 to 4 Tbsp ground flax-seed (opt.)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp salted butter, melted
1 small apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/3 c. rough chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

Whisk together all the dry ingredients. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add in the melted butter and mix. Add in the chopped fruit and stir once more to combine.

Heat a skillet over medium-high. Grease with cooking spray. Spoon batter into rounds in the skillet. Cook until bubbles have formed on the surface of each pancake. Flip and cook until the other sides are golden.

Makes about 12 pancakes.

Weekend Fare: Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

You know what's better than a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast? A piece of baked oatmeal! The inspiration for this recipe came from Tasty Kitchen. I "healthy-fied" the recipe and it's become a breakfast favorite. Most weeks I make a batch and we eat it for 3 or 4 breakfasts. This dish comes with high recommendations from both Jeremy and I!



BAKED BLUEBERRY OATMEAL
Print This Recipe


1 Tablespoon + 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, sucanat, or turbinado, divided
1 1/2-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups old fashioned oats (for gluten-free, make sure to be certified gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8x8 pan. Melt coconut oil or butter and pour 1 Tablespoon in bottom of the pan. Pour fruit into the pan and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a bowl mix together the milk, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, and remaining melted coconut oil.

In another bowl, whisk together the oats, flax seed, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Pour mixture over the fruit and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with almonds and remaining 1 Tablespoon of sugar.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until browned on the top and blueberries are bubbly. Cool slightly. Serve with milk.

Weekend Fare: Brunch & A Giveaway!

This Giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

I'm late getting this post put together. My husband was home working on some paperwork today and the boys were busily cleaning their rooms. As the hours passed and we still really hadn't eaten breakfast, I decided it was the perfect morning to make brunch. And thus this morning became a lovely morning of cooking for the men I love!



We enjoyed breakfast egg sandwiches and a fruited spinach salad. It was wonderful to spend time preparing for the day and feasting on the delicious, seasonal food.

The sandwich began with an inspiring loaf of rosemary olive oil bread. I decided to use parmesan as the cheese because I felt it would compliment the bread and not detract from it. The combination of flavors and textures proved fabulous.

BREAKFAST SANDWICH
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1 egg
fresh grated parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer)
pepper to taste
2 slices bread (I used rosemary olive oil bread)
butter
1 slice cooked bacon
a few leaves of baby spinach
2-3 slices of tomato

Fry the egg in a litte butter - breaking the yoke. When it is almost finished, sprinkle parmsan cheese and allow to melt. Sprinkle with a little pepper.

Toast the bread - I put it under the broiler to crisp one side, leaving the other side soft. Butter one side of each piece.

To Build:
Top first slice of bread with baby spinach, then bacon, then the egg, then the tomato and top with remaining slice of bread. Serve immediately.

The salad was a delightful combination of fresh. The granola was perhaps the most interesting and most surprising addition. It took the salad right over the top and solidified it as a brunch salad. Simple and delicious.

BRUNCH SPINACH SALAD

Baby spinach or mixed greens
Creamy Balsamic Dressing (or dressing of your choice - a sweet poppy seed would also be lovely)
Fresh berries (I used raspberries and sliced strawberries)
Granola

Toss the greens with the dressing and place on plate. Top with berries and granola. Serve.

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It's been a very  LONG time since we've had a giveaway! Things have been busy and quite frankly, I just haven't gotten around to it! However, a very thoughtful and generous reader and friend offered us this delightul book to giveaway. Thank you!

Do you like to entertain and set a beautiful table? Do you wonder how to pull together things you may already have to create ambience? Do you just enjoy creativity and love looking at beautiful inspiring photos? Then this is the book for you! The gorgeous photos of table ideas for all occasions will definitely inspire you. You can keep it simple or dress a table the would make Martha Stewart proud. Table Inspirations by Emily Chalmers is a lovely addition to any home. You won't be disappointed!

Here's the all important information on HOW TO ENTER:

- Leave a comment on this post telling us 1 of your favorite summer dishes or a favorite summer recipe.
- Make sure we have a way to contact you!

For additional entries (just leave us a comment telling us which ones you have done!):
- Subscribe via the link to the right or with google reader.
- Add us to your blog roll.
- Join our facebook group – The Cooks Next Door.
- Facebook about this giveaway.
- Tweet about this giveaway.
- Blog about this giveaway.

There you go! You could earn as many as 7 entries. And if you already are in our group, subscribe etc, let us know and we will add in the extra entries!

This giveaway will be closed on Tuesday, June 7 and the winner announced on Wednesday, June 8!

Gluten-Free Goodness: Apple Carrot Breakfast Cake

I made this breakfast "cake" this weekend. With fruit, veggies, and flax seed, it's quite healthful and ideal for breakfast, brunch, snack, or even dessert. For a gluten-free recipe it's quite easy and by using palm sugar (also called coconut sugar) the recipe will be easy on the blood sugar. I think you'll find kids and adults will both enjoy this treat.



APPLE CARROT BREAKFAST CAKE
(from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free)
Print This Recipe

2 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup palm/coconut sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
3 eggs
2 apples, unpeeled, cut in wedges
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots (about 3 medium)
Optional toppings: Whipped Cream, Cream Cheese Frosting, Yogurt, Maple or fruit Syrup

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.

Mix the 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed with 2 Tablespoons of boiling water to make a slurry. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sorghum flour, palm sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Combine the eggs, vanilla, apples, carrots, and flax seed slurry in a blender or food processor. If using the blender, start on a low speed and quickly increase to high until thoroughly mixed. If using a food processor, pulse many times until combined and then process until smooth. Batter will be thick.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold them in with a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan. Top with freshly whipped cream, cream cheese frosting, yogurt, or syrup.

Cooks Note: Sorghum flour and palm sugar can both be found at health food stores, as well as online.

Weekend Fare: Granola

I'm pretty excited to bring you this post! It isn't the first time I've made granola but it had definitely been a few years since it had made my make-from-scratch list. I combined ideas from a couple of recipes and made a great big batch. Cereal is a staple at our house and we go through it entirely too quickly, so I am looking forward to adding granola to our breakfast menu! This is seriously good and makes a lot (you can halve the recipe). Go and make it!



GRANOLA
Print This Recipe

9 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 c. coconut
1 1/2 c. raw sunflower seeds
3 1/2 c. dried fruit (I used 2 c. cranberries, 1 1/2 c. golden raisins)
1  1/2 c. raw nuts (I used a combo of almonds, pecans, and a few walnuts)
1 Tb. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. vanilla extract
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
3/4 c. honey
3/4 c. canola oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and nuts in a big bowl. Add cinnamon and mix. In a measuring cup or another bowl, mix together the salt vanilla, maple syrup, honey, and oil. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients. Thoroughly combine. Divide between two large bake sheets. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Rotate trays about half way through baking.  

Cool completely and store in an air tight container. Enjoy as cereal, as a topping for yogurt or ice cream, with fruit, or as a snack.

Weekend Fare: Waffles & Syrup

These delicious waffles and warm, buttery, rich, homemade syrup make for a wonderful Christmas breakfast or brunch or even just a lazy winter morning treat. We picked up our Belgian waffle maker on a black Friday sale for $10 and it's awesome! This recipe made not quite enough for my hungry crew. :) I would probably make half again more.



BELGIAN WAFFLES - adapted from allrecipes.com
Print This Recipe

4 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tb. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tb. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 egg whites

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and butter until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir into the buttermilk mixture. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff. Fold into the batter.

Spoon batter onto the hot waffle iron, close, and cook until golden brown. Waffles are usually done when the steam subsides.

BUTTERMILK SYRUP - allrecipes.com

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 Tb. vanilla extract
1 Tb. corn syrup
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Bring butter, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract, corn syrup, and cinnamon to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once simmering, whisk in baking soda, and cook for 10 seconds before removing from heat. Serve warm.

Counter Culture

Have I mentioned that my daughter and I are on a gluten-free trial diet? It's been two weeks so far. We've managed to collect a few good recipes for things like muffins, waffles, and cookies.

When my youngest sister arrived back in town this week after a two month absence, we decided a celebration breakfast was in order: gluten-free buckwheat waffles with peaches, blueberries and whipped cream, and bacon on the side. The waffles were every bit as good as they look! (And if you don't have to go gluten-free, you might still enjoy these waffles by making them with all-purpose flour instead of the gluten-free baking mix.)



GLUTEN-FREE BUCKWHEAT WAFFLES
(glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com)
Print this recipe

1 cup gluten-free pastry flour (I used Bob's Red Mill flour mix)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthum gum (if your flour mix doesn't already have it included)
1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated
pinch of cream of tartar
2 cups milk
5 Tbsp. butter, melted

Mix flours, baking powder, salt, baking soda, xanthum gum and sugar in a large bowl.

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff in a separate bowl. You will know when they are ready when the eggs stick to the bottom of the bowl when tilted. At this point, stop beating the eggs immediately -- you don't want the egg whites to be dry.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, and melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour 1/4 of the fluffy egg whites into the batter and gently fold them in with a rubber spatula, then fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter as well. You can stop folding when only a tiny amount of the egg whites is still distinguishable.

Pour 1/2 to 1 cup of the batter into a heated, greased waffle iron and cook until amount of steam coming out of the iron is decreased significantly. Repeat until batter is used. Serve waffles right off the iron or put them in a 250F oven to keep them warm.

Serves 6.