Eggs with Avocado, Tomato and Canadian Bacon

I'm trying out some new breakfast ideas. For those of you who know me, you know I am perfectly happy with oatmeal and whatever kind of fruit I have on hand.  BUT, I am doing a new workout routine and it comes with a recipe book.  I wasn't sure about this one, but it is DELICIOUS!  And really, it couldn't be easier.  

If you aren't a fan of fried eggs, you can poach or scramble them.  Do what you like.  I had never eaten avocado for breakfast.  The tomato/avocado/bacon/egg combination just works perfectly.  I was completely satisfied and pleasantly surprised.

269 calories

Give it a try!  You will love it.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

These were so delicious!  And very easy to make!  Here is what you do:

1. Beat a few eggs and added some milk to them and set that aside.  
2. Hull your strawberries and use an egg slicer to slice them into thin pieces.  
3. Using a paring knife, cut a pocket into a thick slice of texas toast.  Add as many strawberries as you can to fill the pocket.  Be careful not to poke a hole through the bread.  
4. Dip the bread into the egg/milk mixture and cook on a griddle as you would with regular french toast.  Do these in batches and put cooked ones in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.  
5. Top with freshly sliced strawberries and maple syrup!

I served these with scrambled eggs and bacon.  Don't forget the coffee!!!!  Enjoy.

Baked Eggs in Ham Cups

These are very easy to make, delicious and they look fancy!  At least that is what my 7 year old said.  Then the boys went on to say how I should be on Top Chef.  Yep, they know how to get what they want out of me...compliment my cooking!  lol.  

Gale Gland has an amazing cookbook called "Brunch!" and it is out of this world fantastic.  You will want to cook your way through this one!

To make these you line your muffin tin with ham, add an egg (or two if you use large, I had extra large so only one would fit), 2 cubes of fresh mozzarella cheese, 1/4 tsp basil pesto, sliced cherry tomato on top.  That's it!  Bake it in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Here is the online link to the recipe:  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=11334888

Baked Cinnamon-Apple French Toast

This recipe is from Gale Gand's "Brunch!" cookbook.  It is delicious!  Here are the step by step pictures of what to do.  Easy peasy!

Butter casserole dish and cut toasted bread.  Line in the dish.  Beat liquid ingredients.

 Add egg mixture to bread.  Saute apples, butter and brown sugar.

Place apples on top.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Take it out in the morning, preheat your oven and bake.

BAKED CINNAMON-APPLE FRENCH TOAST

6 medium apples (use an assortment)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up into small cubes, plus more for the baking dish
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 slices Texas toast (thick presliced white bread)
8 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
Honey butter (1 stick unsalted room temperature butter with a pinch salt and 1 tablespoon honey beaten in)

Peel, core and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Heat butter in saute pan over medium heat until it starts to foam. Add apples and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.Lightly toast bread. Cut toast slices in half to make triangles. Butter 9x13-inch baking dish and arrange bread in two rows, overlapping in dish.

Beat eggs in medium bowl; then whisk in granulated sugar, milk and vanilla to make a custard. Pour custard over bread triangles and spoon apples over top. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.The next day, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover baking dish. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until custard is set and doesn't shimmy when you shake pan. It will puff up and brown slightly. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve in squares or large spoonfuls, with honey butter. Makes 8 servings.

Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake Muffins

I just love a breakfast food that has chocolate in it!  I will admit it.  These muffins are light and so yummy.  I got the recipe from Gale Gand's "Brunch!" cookbook.  I actually got my entire Mother's Day brunch menu from this book!  It was hard to narrow it down too!  

This muffin is supper easy and a delicious treat later in the day.  I through one in each of my boys lunch boxes the other day and you'd think they hit the lotto!  lol.  They were a winner in our house and I'm sure your family and friends will love them too.  Here is the recipe:

Topping 

1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick of butter

3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 375.  Line muffin pans with liners (24).  For the topping, use a mixer and combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Mix low.  Add butter and mix until crumbly.  Add chocolate chips.

For the muffins, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.  In mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium until fluffy.  Add sugar and mix well.  Add eggs, vanilla and 1/3 of the sour cream and 1/3 of the dry ingredients.  Repeat until all ingredients are mixed.  Scoop into muffin cups.  Spoon topping on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal

I eat oatmeal every day.  I love it.  I always put fresh fruit in it when it's available.  Those of you who live in seasonal climate know how hard it can be to find fresh fruit in the winter!  When I can't find fresh fruit, I defrost frozen and it serves it's purpose.  

I saw this new way to make oatmeal (well, new to me) in canning jars, and I figured I'd give it a whirl.  I like all of the ingredients and had them on hand, except for Chia seeds, which I had only heard of from those old chia pet commercials...."cha-cha-cha-chia!"  You know you know it.  (And now it's stuck in your head, right?  Me too.)  I'm not going to go into all of the health benefits of Chia seeds, you can google it.  Or omit it, if you like.  What's in the jar, you ask?

Ingredients:  

1/4 c old fashioned oats (I used Quaker)

1/4 c plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage Nonfat Greek Yogart)

1/3 c skim milk

1 1/2 tsp Chia seeds

1 tsp sweetener (depends on your recipe, but you can use jam, honey, agave nector)

1/4 c fruit or other mix-in you choose (whatever fits to the top of the jar)

I found lots of recipes on The Yummy Life blog, where I found this delicious idea.  (Click the link to see detailed steps and pics.)  There are many variations for it too!  So far I have made the blueberry, apple cinnamon, strawberry (adapted the raspberry one), and the chocolate banana.  They were very easy to make and I found the Chia Seeds at a local health food store.  I made these variations last night and put them in the refrigerator for them to work their magic.

May 9, 2012

This morning I tried the blueberry one....YUMMY!  I didn't think I would go for it cold,, but I like it a lot!  To take to go anywhere would be great.  I will add my daily "taste tests" of the various types to this as I try, but I couldn't wait to post so that you can start trying for yourself. 

Stay tuned to see what I try next. 

May 10, 2012
This morning I went with the strawberry!  OMG, delicious!  If you are thinking about trying this...try it!!!  And yes, I just ate it out of the jar.  Next time I do this I may just use my prep bowls with lids.

May 11, 2012
Went for the chocolate banana.  Either I did something wrong or it's not my cup of tea...which is weird because I love all things chocolate and banana.  How bad was it?  I threw it out.

Took out the last one (the applesauce one) and threw it out too.  NOT tasty at all to me.  I think I would have liked it if I made it like the blueberry and strawberry and put in fresh fruit instead of the sauce.

Now I know!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

My son Nicholas has been asking me to make cinnamon rolls since this summer!  I am not a fan of cinnamon rolls.  I'd rather have a bagel, scone, muffin, anything else really.  I just have never been a fan.  BUT I decided to go ahead and give the boy the gift of cinnamon rolls.  He doesn't like to bake with me as much as he did when he was younger so I figured that it would be great for us to bake these.

Keep in mind that anytime you make bread, rolls, etc there is a LONG wait time for the dough to rise.  I usually make dough the night before and let it rise over night when I am going to bake bread.  For these rolls we got up early and didn't get to have breakfast till about 11:00am, which is extremely late in our household!  Especially since my boys are up at 6-7:00am!

The boys were happy, and they were delicious, just be prepared for waiting!  

They come out of the oven perfect!  You just need to drizzle all of your icing over the top and serve!

You can find the recipe we used at King Arthur's Flour.  Enjoy!

Croque Madame Sandwiches

This recipe came from the Everyday Food Magazine.  I love that little recipe book!  I need to subscribe already!  Anyway, It is delicious and easy.  You have to try it!  Here is where you find it: http://www.marthastewart.com/349728/croque-madame-sandwiches.

In the book he left the sandwich bread square, but I thought it would look a little nicer for the Mother's Day Breakfast table if I cut them into circles.  So I used my large biscuit cutter to do just that. 

I cut the ham in the same way.

Add some thinly sliced Gruyere cheese and we are in business!  This is one of my most favorite cheeses!!  Yummy on just about everything and melts heavenly.

You butter the outside of the breads like you do for a grilled cheese sandwich.  I did these a day ahead since we were having them for breakfast the next day.  Put them on a sheet pan, covered them with press n seal, and into the fridge.

It gets baked in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes.  Flipped after five minutes and top it with a gooey fried egg. 

Potato and Bacon Cake

This picture does NOT do this justice.  I must say this is an excellent side dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner!  I had it at the breakfast table and cut it into pie slices.  It's very YUMMY!  Here is where to find it:  http://www.marthastewart.com/349632/potato-and-bacon-cake.

First cook 3/4 of a pound of bacon into pieces.  YES, I used real bacon...I know, don't faint.

Peel and cube potatoes and boil them.  Then take them in batches and fry them in a skillet.

Layer first 1/3 of potato mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish and top with 1/3 of crumbled bacon. 

Drizzle with some of the bacon fat.

Continue with all 3 layers.  I put it in the fridge to bake the following morning for breakfast, but you could bake it at this point.  Set oven at 450 and bake for one hour (covered).  Then uncover and bake another 30 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

These are amazing!  I love all things Ina Garten and she definitely didn't disappoint on this one!  This recipe came from my Barfoot Contessa Family Style cookbook, but you can find it online by going to:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blueberry-coffee-cake-muffins-recipe/index.html.  Trust me, you will be glad that you did!

The boys made sure they were right next to them at the breakfast table!  This is my son Nicholas.

ENJOY!!!!

Spinach Saute with Crispy Prosciutto Poached Eggs

I purchased Curtis Stone's latest cookbook from the Borders going out of business sale, which sounded like a good deal at the time.  The recipes inside looked like food my family would eat and it had a few pics of the chef throughout the book...bonus.  What was NOT a bonus, was that I purchased this book MINUS THE COVER.  You know, that paper cover that has all the hot poses on it...ya, that one...I don't have it.  So we get home and  my husband looks the book up on amazon.  I could have gotten a better deal...WITH the cover of course.  DARN.  I am actually tempted to sell the one I have and order another one just to have the outside smiles looking at me each time I decide to cook from that book.  Do I sound crazy?  Yes, but have you seen him?  Come on!

Nothing sounds tastier than breakfast with Curtis Stone.  Unfortunately I woke from that dream and decided the closest thing to it would be cooking something from his cookbook.  On the weekends I like to try something new and make something special for my boys (tall one included).  Luckily they are all great taste testers, so it works out for all of us.  This recipe is really simple if you have all of the ingredients on hand...which I usually do.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with prosciutto and bake as many cups as you need in the oven for about 18 minutes.  Simmer water in a large skillet and poach as many eggs as you need.  Before placing the eggs into the water, it is a good idea to add 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar.  It helps the eggs stay in one piece.  Saute spinach in a pan (I used a wok) with a little olive oil or butter.  THAT IS IT!  And it is very tasty.  

My husband likes the eggs more cooked so I left it in a little longer so they wouldn't be gooey.  But I like mine gooey, so I took them out sooner.  When you take them out, just set them on a paper towel to get off the excess water.  Tasty!  I think you could sprinkle with your favorite cheese to add something to it!

Curtis has his recipe listed on his website.  You can find it at Toasted Bagel with Crispy Prosciutto Poached Eggs

Christmas Breakfast

Well, this year I decided not to over do breakfast and dinner.  :)  I made the casserole ahead of time the night before and only had to put it into the oven.  The potatoes take no time to cut up and cook in the skillet.  And the biscotti I made a few days ahead (cranberry chip and pistachio cranberry).  Mimosas on the table, coffee in hand, we were good to go.  The casserole did take an hour and a half, so it is best to put it in the oven right when you wake.  (or wake before the kiddos)

Dipped in your coffee...these are just plain delicious.

The recipe for this casserole is on my blog.  It is made of english muffins, canadian bacon, eggs, cheese and milk.  Super easy!

Cut up the potatoes and throw them in the large skillet.  :)

I also put Cinnamon Plus in the coffee grounds when I brew them.  YUM.  Plain cinnamon is just as good.  Hope you had a great Christmas breakfast to start your day too!

Pumpkin French Toast with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

More pumpkin dishes!  Are you tired of them?  I hope not because my family continues to request all things pumpkin!  The boys love it.  When I said I was making pumpkin french toast both of my boys got huge smiles on their faces.  What is it about pumpkin that gets my boys in such a happy place?  I let my oldest son Nicholas make the cinnamon whipped topping.  He was surprised at how fast you can make whipped cream. 

I started searching to look for a fantastic recipe, then realized I could just wing it.  I did look to see how much people were adding to the dish to make it taste "pumpkiny."  Yes, people acutally use that as a word.  Anyway, I figured I'd use 1/2 cup and see how it goes.  Here is what I did:  

Mix together 4 eggs, some milk (I think I use about 1/4 cup), 1/2 cup of  canned pumpkin, and a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.  Slice bread to dip.  I used whole wheat bakery bread that I bought yesterday.

Place the coated bread on your skillet or griddle.

 

 Flip after 4-5 minutes, when golden brown.

Don't these look good?  They taste even better!

To make the whipped cream simply pour the amount of cream you want.  I used about a half cup.  Use electric whisk to whisk it till it becomes thick.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.  That's it!

 

I buttered the toasts, added syrup, then topped with whipped cream.

 Enjoy a taste of the fall!!!  :)  PUMPKIN is your FRIEND!  :)

Pumpkin Banana Chip Mini Bread-Muffins

These are fantastic!  Every year around Christmas time I make pumpkin cranberry bread.  It is amazing and I actually have to freeze it because my family will eat it all.  That or I make it the day before I give it away so they can't tear into it.  I am bringing a snack to my son's kindergarten class and I was thinking of the pumpkin bread for something different.  I usually  make five mini loaves, but have been thinking mini muffins sound good.  Does a bread recipe become a muffin recipe if you put it in a muffin tin?  I don't know, but whatever it is called, it worked perfectly.

I made a batch of plain pumpkin ones, which the family loved.  Then I cut up two bananas and added a cup and a half of chocolate chips to it and WOW.  I baked them for 12 minutes and let them cool.  They are actually better when completely cooled. 

Place these dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together:

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

Place these ingredients into a mixer bowl and mix until combined:

3 cups sugar

1 can (15 oz) 100% pure pumpkin

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice or water (I always use juice)

Once mixed I used a small scoop to put even amounts in the mini muffin pan.  I made one batch like this.  Then I added two bananas (cut into small cubes) and 1 1/2 cups of ghiardelli chocolate chips.  Yes, I do think it makes a difference if you bake with those chips.  They just taste better!

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Here are the Pumpkin Mini Bread-Muffins.

And here are the Pumpkin Banana Chip.

Give it a try.  At Christmas make these with 1-2 cups of fresh cranberries.  Or if you are a friend of mine, make sure I get a loaf to you!  :)