Breakfast Quinoa

I've been trying to get to the gym during the day (on my lunch break) so I have some more free time at night. However, I noticed I need a bigger breakfast to get me through a daytime workout. I've been wanting to try quinoa for breakfast for quite sometime. I really enjoy quinoa in a savory dish so thought I'd give it a try in this sweet breakfast dish. 

I'm a huge fan of oatmeal, especially steel cut oats, so I really thought I'd like this dish more than I did. It was really easy to put together (aside from the boiling milk over the pot, my bad!) .  The flavor was really good. I just struggled with the consistency/texture. I was hoping for it to be creamier. What are your thoughts on quinoa for breakfast?  I think I'll give it a try again. Don't let me turn you away from it, Nadya was a fan!

Breakfast Quinoa: Martha Stewart Living, February 2010

2 cups whole or low-fat milk, plus more for serving
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar, plus more for serving
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh blueberries, plus more for serving

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until three-quarters of the milk has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook, covered, until almost all the milk has been absorbed, about 8 minutes. Stir in blueberries, and cook for 30 seconds. Serve with additional milk, sugar, cinnamon, and blueberries.

Crustless Broccoli-Cheddar Quiches

I'm sure I've mentioned this before but breakfast for dinner is one of my favorites! I actually prefer it rather than having breakfast at breakfast...silly me! When this picture popped up on my Martha iPhone app, I knew I wanted to make it!  Then after reading the ingredients, I knew I had to make it! Eggs, cheese, broccoli...yes, please! And let's be honest, I really love using my ramekins any chance I get! There's something about individualize portions that really tickles me.

This meal was really simple and really tasty. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. You can mix it up to your liking too; spinach would be tasty! If you don't have ramekins,  you can bake it in a larger dish. It just might need a little extra time.

Ingredients

• Butter, for ramekins
• Coarse salt
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen broccoli florets
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• Ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
• Crusty bread and mixed salad (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter four 8-ounce ramekins (or a 9-inch pie dish); set aside. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli; cook 1 minute. Drain well; transfer to a cutting board, and blot dry with paper towels. Chop coarsely. 

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in broccoli and cheese.

Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Ladle broccoli mixture into ramekins, dividing evenly. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with crusty bread and a mixed-green salad, if desired.

Banana Bundt Cake

Hello Lots to Ladlers! Sorry for the lack of posts these days. Let's blame it on my sister, Katie! She's consuming a lot of my time. I'm currently planning her baby shower with my mom! It's taking up a lot of my time but at least I got a glue gun out of the deal. Can you believe I didn't own a glue gun until this year? Shocking, right?!?

Now back to the banana Bundt, after all that's what this post is about. I always joke with Nadya that she purposefully leaves bananas on the counter to get too ripe so I'll have to make her banana bread. (NOTE: I don't like bananas so I can't help to eat them up before they're too ripe.) I guess I'm buying too many bananas for one person to eat. I often end up making banana bread but decided to make this banana Bundt this time.

I came across the recipe on a food blog that I often read called The Food Librarian; however, the recipe is from Dorie Greenspan. As I mentioned earlier, I don't eat bananas ( I know, I know that's bananas!) so I can't really tell you how good or bad this was BUT I can tell you that everyone who ate it loved it. I can also tell you that it was super easy to make. So if you're a fan a bananas, go bananas and make this Bundt!!

Classic Banana Bundt Cake
Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients: Makes 1 Bundt Cake (14 servings)

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield vanilla yogurt)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. (If you use a silicone Bundt pan there’s no need to butter it.) Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the Bundt’s inner tube.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don’t be disturbed when the batter curdles), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to debubble the batter and smooth the top.

Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.

If you've got the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving - it's better the next day.

Optional Lemony White Icing:
Sift 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar into a bowl and squeeze in enough fresh lemon juice (start with 2 teaspoons and add more by drops) to make an icing thin enough to drizzle down the Bundt's curves.

MmMM.....Granola

Granola. One of my favorite things to have for breakfast. 

Seriously, I love granola and yogurt. It's a perfect breakfast and awesome snack. I usually buy granola which can actually be pretty pricey. So I made some (really who doesn't want to save money?). Honestly, I don't think I'll ever buy it again. It's really simple and you can play with the recipe to make the right granola for your taste buds.

I stumbled upon this recipe yesterday while on Twitter (follow me, @lynneck). Of course it came from my favorite, Martha. This recipe makes 4 cups. You can store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks (if you can keep it around that long)! I look forward to trying out different recipes and even making granola bars. Stay tuned!

Maple-Nut Granola

• 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together oats, pecans, almonds, salt, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
2. Spread oat mixture on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let cool completely.

Maple Pecan Muffins

I'm using up those pecans! 

I wanted to make some sort of breakfast treat with the pecans. I've made maple pecan scones in the past and thought about making them again but really wanted to try something new. I came across this recipe while reading a bunch of blogs.The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson. 

I was really excited for the outcome of these muffins. I love the combination of maple and pecan. I enjoyed the muffins; however, I thought they were a little too dry. Could be from over mixing the batter although I was really careful not to? Let me know if you have better luck!

Maple Pecan Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a 12-cup muffin tray with paper liners. Reserve 1/4th of the chopped pecans. Mix together the remaining pecans with flour, salt, wheat germ and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, maple syrup, oil and vanilla.  Pour the liquids into the dry mixture. Gently fold to mix. The batter can have some lumps. Do not over mix because these muffins can get tough. Spoon batter into muffin cups.Chop the remaining nuts finely and mix with the brown sugar. Sprinkle a little of this mixture on top of each muffin.Bake for about 20 minutes until tester comes clean. The nut topping turns golden, but the muffins will be somewhat pale. Remove muffins to a cooling rack.

Baked French Toast

The weekend before Thanksgiving was 'girls weekend in the mountains". We've talked about renting a house in the Poconos for a while but never did anything about it...until Melissa booked the trip for us! I'm so happy she did. It was a really great weekend. How could it be a bad weekend when basically all I did was drink wine all weekend.

Over the weekend we all took turns making meals. I signed up for breakfast...OK that's a lie....Nadya signed me up for Sunday breakfast. She was really hoping I'd make a strata because she likes it so much. Well I pulled the wool over here eyes when I decided to make a french toast bake! Yep, that's right a french toast bake. I got the idea while reading one of my many magazines and then I came across this Paula Dean recipe! I think Paula recipes are only legal when you're on vacation...man does that woman like her butter! 

The recipe didn't turn out how I thought it would. In my opinion, it was good but not great. You can find the recipe here

Let me know if you have any french toast bake luck. I'm willing to try another recipe! 

Hopefully we'll be going back to the Poconos in the Summer and hopefully Joelle & Gina (I guess) can join us next time! 

Seriously, Perfect Country Potatoes

 

I finally discovered the trick to the perfect breakfast potato and I couldn't be happier. Potatoes and I had a love/hate relationship prior to this recipe. I think a breakfast isn't complete without potatoes. I would always get potatoes that were crispy on the outside yet not so soft on the inside or soft on the inside but way too crispy on the outside. This recipe has solved my problem! 

Are you ready for the trick? Bake the potatoes for an hour the night before, refrigerate overnight, and cook in the morning! I promise you that you'll love this recipe if you've had issues like I have.

You can find the recipe here

Coffee Cake

This coffee cake was a perfect compliment to the savory spinach and cheese strata I made for Easter brunch. The recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa. I typically love any type of crumb cake because really who doesn't love streusel? In my opinion, this recipe didn't have enough streusel.  The recipe says to use 3/4 of a cup in the middle layer; I think a full cup or more is called for. All in all, I was happy with this coffee cake. The sour cream really helps keep the cake moist and the glaze is just right. The additional of walnuts in the streusel was a nice touch too. I think chopped pecans would work just as nicely too.  

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

nocoupons

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the glaze:

nocoupons

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Spinach & Cheese Strata

I've been thinking about what to make for Easter for the last week or two. Easter is a tricky holiday for me because I don't eat a lot of meat traditionally cooked on Easter (i.e., ham, lamb, pork). So I thought maybe I'll do something Italian, after all, my family always has manicotti with their ham on Easter. Somehow it clicked that I was meant to make brunch instead of dinner for Easter. I'm happy I had this idea because,in my opinion, everything turned out really well. 

Strata is a perfect dish to make when you're looking to have everything done ahead of time. Strata needs to sit for at least 8hrs in the refrigerator prior to baking. There are so many things you can do with strata. I found this recipe while browsing tastespotting for breakfast/brunch ideas. The recipe comes from February 2003 issue of Gourmet Magazine. This recipe had great reviews and after making it I couldn't agree more!

You can find the recipe below. I used 16 oz of spinach and omitted the Dijon mustard. After reading some reviews, I gathered that the mustard flavor was too powerful in this dish. Feel free to add it in and let me know your thoughts. Keep this recipe in mind for your next brunch.

Ingredients: 

1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian bread (1/2 lb)

6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)

2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

2 3/4 cups milk

9 large eggs

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop.

Cook onion in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat. 

Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses). 

Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard). 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Nut Buns

Aunt Terri also known as Aunt "T" is the QUEEN of cinnamon buns. My sister and cousin, Timmy (her son), beg her every Christmas to make them. She'll spend countless hours making her cinnamon buns. She wakes up all throughout the night to knead the dough and let it rise...needless to say she's nuts BUT she does make an awesome cinnamon bun. So whenever I think about making cinnamon buns I think of the long process that Aunt "T" goes through and I never think I can top hers. So instead of making the recipe that she makes I decided to make these cinnamon nut buns. I'm not really sure why they're called cinnamon buns because the whole recipe only has 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in it. So I'll have to think of another name for them. Maybe sticky buns? or The non cinnamon bun? I don't know it will come to me.

This recipe really interested me because it's a really clever spin on the traditional cinnamon bun. The filling is a combination of dark brown sugar, walnuts (or pecans), semi sweet chocolate chips, & cinnamon all mixed together in the food processor. The glaze is also different from traditional cinnamon buns. It's dark brown sugar & butter!

I was very satisfied by the way these turned out. It was a lengthy process but well worth it.

Of course this clever recipe came from Martha. You can find the recipe here

Saturday Morning Mini Muffins

This morning I whipped up some coffee cake mini muffins. I found the recipe earlier in the week and couldn't wait to try it out. The sour cream helps keep them very moist. I wish there was more of a cinnamon taste to them. Next time I think I'll add more than the recipe calls for (a pinch). Overall they were very easy. Perfect for a weekend breakfast.

You can find the recipe here