Banana Chip Muffins

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch, Muffins & Scones and tagged with banana, breakfast, brunch, chocolate chips, coconut, muffins, snack, vegetarian April 18, 2014

Banana Chip Muffins

It’s hard to know when would be the best time to eat these wonderful muffins. Certainly, for breakfast, but they make a mighty fine dessert or snack as well. I tested out this recipe last weekend because I plan to make them for an Easter Bake sale. Muffins are always great with coffee on Easter morning, when you know there will be a big meal sometime later in the day.

When I was a teenager our youth group always got up really early to attend an Easter sunrise service. At that hour of the morning, it was quite chilly outside, so when the service was over we always went to someone’s house or back to church for hot chocolate and whatever other goodies were provided. Moving and beautiful as the service was, I always looked forward to the refreshments that followed. These muffins are the essential accessory to a hot beverage, and would be perfect served at an early morning function, or maybe an early meeting at the office.

Muffin and a hot beverage.

These are sturdy muffins chock full of flaked coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts if you care to add them. The tropical taste of the coconut blends beautifully with the banana flavor and develops the batter along the way; the inclusion of chocolate chips is a necessity for those individuals who require chocolate in every bite of muffin.

What makes the texture of these banana muffins somewhat cake-like and soft is the process by which the batter is assembled: the butter and brown sugar are creamed together until fluffy and smooth. This builds the batter’s creamy quality and prepares the mixture for the addition of the whole eggs. Once the eggs are added, the flavoring extract and the mashed bananas are incorporated, followed by the final mix-in of the dry ingredients and enough buttermilk to moisten the whole. The batter is now ready to accept the shredded coconut, mini chips and nuts.

Spooned into lined muffin cups and baked, the batter bakes up into plump muffins that have lovely rounded tops. When you break open a warm muffin, you’ll find a tender, moist, “crumb” holding chocolate chips and coconut, all wrapped by the taste of banana. Sigh!!

Can anything make them better? Yes, butter!!

BANANA CHIP MUFFINS

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat and 1 cup regular flour.)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I used mini chips.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F. Line 12 muffin cups (3-ounce size) with paper liners, or grease lightly.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the brown sugar for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in the eggs to incorporate, add in the banana and vanilla. The mixture may look curdled. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, continuing to mix just to combine.

4. Reserve 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Add the rest of the chips, the coconut, and nuts, (if using) to the batter and stir in to distribute evenly.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with the reserved chocolate chips. Bake 25 – 30 minutes until a toothpick into the center of one muffin comes out clean.

6. Remove the muffin tin to a wire rack. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the cups and finish cooling on the rack. Serve warm or cool completely and store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature.

Happy Easter! 🙂

SOURCE: Chocolatier Magazine

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch, Sandwichs and tagged with breakfast sandwich, cheese, food, ham, recipe March 27, 2014

Monte Cristo Sandwich

The Sunday morning after we change our clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time, I always sleep late. (We did lose an hour of sleep after all). As a result breakfast is on the late-side, getting close to lunch. So I combine the two and one meal serves as two, i.e. brunch.

That event took place not long ago, and I ended up making this breakfast sandwich that, served with some fruit, was hearty enough to last us till dinnertime.

I used croissants to make these.

I don’t know what it is, but we seem to love the convenience of a whole meal in one package! Or maybe its because these handheld meals are so darn delicious, but I am seeing breakfast sandwiches everywhere. Whether you choose to use a knife and fork, or just grab them and go, these will certainly make you want to get out of bed and get going!

The Monte Cristo sandwich is an American classic, where you dip ham and swiss cheese sandwiches in egg batter and pan-fry them. Dust the hot sandwiches with confectioners’ sugar and serve with some jam on the side if you like, or drizzle them with maple syrup for a real treat.

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICH

Yield: Makes 4 servings/sandwiches

Ingredients:

Dijon mustard
8 slices country bread (I used croissants for mine)
swiss cheese slices ( I used Muenster cheese)
sliced ham
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter
confectioners’ sugar, if desired

Directions:

1. Spread mustard on bread. Layer 4 bread slices with Swiss cheese, ham, and cheese again. Place remaining bread slices on top.

Layer up the ham and cheese, then dip the sandwich in egg.

2. In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Dip each sandwich in the egg mixture, turning to coat well.

3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. When butter is foamy, add the sandwiches, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes total.

Cooking on the griddle.

Second side getting browned.

Serve immediately, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

Forgot to dust them with sugar. 😀

SOURCE: Everyday Food

Maple Bacon Oatmeal Muffins

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Muffins & Scones and tagged with bacon, breakfast, food, maple syrup, muffins, oatmeal, recipe March 11, 2014

Maple Bacon and Oatmeal Muffins

These are the best breakfast muffins, ever. You read that right. These muffins are for all of you who can’t make up your mind in the morning. These muffins are like four breakfasts rolled into one: they are a stack of pancakes, a bowl of oatmeal, bacon and eggs or just a muffin, thank you very much.

Just when I’m trying to avoid eating greasy things like bacon, or pancakes slathered with butter and maple syrup, here I go combining them. No, I’m not trying to kill you, or me either, I’m just full of contradictions. But there is meaning in my madness: the oatmeal is in there for a purpose. Oatmeal provides fiber, and the fiber cleanses out the greasy bad stuff. Oh, the power of oatmeal. It’s feeling the weight of responsibility on its shoulders. But I know it can handle it, else I wouldn’t be using it. Maple syrup? It’s there to take the place of sugar. You know, sweeten things up a little. And living in maple syrup country as I do, I try to include it when ever possible. Bacon? Well what can I say about bacon that hasn’t already been said by a million other people. Bacon makes everything better. That’s all there is to it.

You must try these muffins —- and think how healthy they are for you!

MAPLE BACON OATMEAL MUFFINS

Yield: This recipe makes about 17 -18 muffins. It can easily be halved for a yield of about 8-9 muffins.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups quick cooking or regular rolled oats
A trio of great ingredients: maple syrup, oatmeal and bacon.
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind, I used almond milk)
2 cups flour (I recommend using 1/2 white whole flour and/or spelt flour for additional nutrition and fiber)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg ( when making half a recipe, I still used 1 whole egg)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 Tbsp. maple syrup for brushing tops

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line muffin tin(s) with paper liners and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine milk and oats, then let it sit while you cook the bacon to allow the oats to soften.

Cooking the bacon.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

4. Whisk maple syrup, melted butter, and egg into the oatmeal mixture. Lightly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients along with the bacon.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups until each is about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the tops with the reserved maple syrup, using a pastry brush.

Brush the tops with maple syrup while still warm from the oven.

Be sure to “taste test” one while it is still warm. 😀

SOURCE: an adaptation of Oatmeal Muffins from Taste of Home

Whole Grain Buttermilk Waffles

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast and tagged with breakfast sandwich, buttermilk, food, recipe, waffles, whole grain February 27, 2014

Whole grain buttermilk waffles used to make a breakfast sandwich.

So many pancakes or waffles made with white flour are fluffy, but taste mostly of whatever you put on them, while many of them made with whole grains end up tasting great but cook up flat and dense. Wouldn’t it be great to have the best of both worlds?

This recipe offers just that; it gives you a relatively fluffy pancake/waffle with a nice earthy flavor from the whole-grain flours. I like them without a lot of additional syrup or jam, preferring instead to top them with a little butter, honey and seasonal fruit.

While it’s nice to cook these to order, I also like to sit down at the table and eat with everyone else, so as I cook the waffles I keep them warm in a 200*F oven. They will stay moist for up to 30 minutes without drying out. You can also make the batter and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a day. You’ll probably need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk or water to loosen it up after it sits overnight.

WHOLE-GRAIN BUTTERMILK WAFFLES

Yield: Make 6 waffles

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1/2 cup / 120 ml milk
1/2 cup / 120 ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup / 165 g Whole-Grain Pancake Mix (see yesterday’s post for ingredients)
honey or maple syrup for serving

1. In a batter bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, buttermilk, and butter. Whisk the pancake mix into the milk mixture until smooth. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes to allow the dry ingredients to soak up some of the liquid. The baking soda in the pancake mix will interact with the buttermilk and small bubbles will begin to form. If the batter feels too thick to pour and difficult to easily whisk or stir, add 1 tablespoon more milk or water to loosen it up.

2. While the batter is resting, heat a waffle iron, and spray with non-stick spray if necessary. When it is hot, pour about 1/2 cup batter into the waffle iron, close and bake until waffle is browned and crisp on the edges.

Keep waffles warm in a 200*F. oven until ready to serve. Serve warm with butter, honey or maple syrup.

Whole Grain Buttermilk Waffles

Using up leftover waffles is never a problem with these. They make a great breakfast or lunch sandwich. Here you see a sandwich made with scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon and guacamole. Add some lettuce and sliced tomato for an extra hearty sandwich if you wish. It all tastes great!

Layering up a sandwich on a whole grain waffle.

These are sooo good!!

SOURCE: adapted from Whole Grain Mornings

Cherry Scones

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch, Muffins & Scones and tagged with breakfast, brunch, dried cherries, food, recipe, scones February 25, 2014

Cherry Scones.

When you want a baked treat for brunch or afternoon tea, this scone recipe will fit the bill. I made these for the first time recently, and we couldn’t wait for them to cool before having one. They were so flaky and tender, they just fell apart in our hands. The dried cherries lend just the right amount of sweetness. These are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, for breakfast, brunch, snack, afternoon break; anytime at all is the best time to enjoy one.

If you want a good basic scone recipe to rely on, this one is it. You could replace the dried cherries with so many other dried fruits like cranberries (change lemon zest to orange zest), apricots, golden raisins, snipped dates, etc.

CHERRY SCONES

Yield: Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 large egg
5 Tablespoons heavy cream, plus more for brushing scones (You may substitute buttermilk or light cream, but heavy cream will give you a richer scone)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter and pulse 3 to 6 times until mixture resembles a course meal. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in cherries and lemon zest.

Add dried cherries and lemon zest to dry ingredients.

3. In a small bowl, beat together egg and cream. Add to flour mixture; stir gently with a fork until mixture just comes together. If dough seems too dry, add a splash of cream; mixture should not be too sticky.

A very “shaggy” dough, but it will come together. Add a drop or two of cream if needed.

4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape dough into a 6-inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal wedges.

Cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush with a little cream.

Place scones on prepared baking sheet; lightly brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

5. Let cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. These scones are best eaten the day they are made.

Enjoy with coffee or tea.

SOURCE: MARTHA STEWART.COM

Morning Glory Oats

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast and tagged with breakfast, food, healthy, recipe, steel-cut oats, vegan, vegetarian, whole grain February 18, 2014

Morning Glory Oats

I love warm oatmeal for breakfast, and I also love Morning Glory muffins, those big ones you see in coffee shops and bakeries, just bursting with grated carrots, raisins and coconut, too. They remind me of carrot cake, but call it a muffin, and I’ll eat it for breakfast, thank you. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found this recipe that smooshes all of that together in one filling and nourishing dish. Warm creamy oatmeal crammed with all those yummy things I love in the muffin. WOW!

My new cookbook, Whole Grain Mornings, has this recipe. There are others I’m also craving, so be prepared for more goodness like what you see here….

It all starts with steel cut oats, followed by brown sugar, grated carrot, spices, raisins and coconut. The oats start with a combination of gently boiling milk and water. Add the oats! After that toss in the sugar, spices, carrots, and raisins.

The oats take about 25 minutes to cook and soften. At the same time the carrots become tender and everything blends together sending out an aroma that is cinnamon-y and dreamy. Creamy oats, that still have some “tooth” to them, soft, sweet carrots, and plump raisins; just about perfect, you’d think. But there’s more to come—add in the coconut flakes and orange zest. Don’t leave out the orange zest, it’s what seals the deal. Heaven!

I made this recipe on the weekend, when I had time for the cooking, and it makes a large enough quantity for four generous servings. What I love about it is that you can store the cooked oatmeal in the fridge and reheat it in the morning with a bit more milk to loosen it up. This is a breakfast you don’t have to feel guilty about eating because it is so nourishing and good for you.

MORNING GLORY OATS

Yield: serves 4 – 6

Ingredients:

3 cups /720 ml water**
1 cup/ 240 ml milk, plus more for serving **
1 cup/175 g steel-cut oats
1 cup/100 g grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
2/3 cup/90 g raisins
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup/ 25 g unsweetened coconut flakes

** The important thing here is a total of 4 cups of liquid. It can be all water, or half water and half milk. I used almond milk when I made it, but I think coconut milk would be great also and further accent the coconut flavor. Be adventurous!

Directions:

In a saucepan bring the water and milk to a gentle boil. Stir in the oats, carrots, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and return to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and partially cover. Cook the porridge until it begins to thicken, stirring once or twice, and the oats are soft yet chewy, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut flakes and orange zest.

Coconut and orange zest added in to the cooked oats.

Cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm with an extra bit of warmed milk if you would like.

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and they will keep for 5 days. Reheat by adding a few tablespoons of additional water or milk and warm on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring well.

SOURCE: Whole Grain Mornings, by Megan Gordon

The Morning After the Night Before

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with breakfast, breakfast casserole, brunch, food, hash browns, recipe, sausage February 13, 2014

Are you planning a cozy dinner at home for your sweetie and you this Valentine’s Day? Skip the crowded restaurant this year and make a romantic dinner for two. I’m not here today to help you plan your date-night menu, but instead to remind you of the morning after, when you may want to keep that special “glow” going.

Cheesy Potato and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Here’s the plan: the next morning when you wake up, quietly go down to the kitchen, and prepare that first cup of coffee, and while you’re there surreptitiously slip this Cheesey Egg, Sausage, and Potato casserole into the oven. While it’s baking you and your honey can enjoy your coffee(s) snuggled under the covers. In about 30 minutes or so you will notice a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. That’s when you say ” let’s go see what we can find for breakfast”, and surprise!! you find this enticing breakfast casserole already to serve, hot out of the oven.

He will be amazed at your talent for coming up with such a wonderful breakfast. The first slice of it will reveal a bottom layer of potatoes, made from frozen hash browns, then an eggy layer, on top of that a layer of spicy breakfast sausage and onions, all topped off with melted cheese. How did you accomplish this so fast? Only you will know that it was all prepared the evening before while you were making dinner, then hidden away in the refrigerator over night, ready to pop into the oven in the morning. Oh, you clever girl, you!

CHEESY POTATO AND SAUSAGE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

YIELD: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cups hash brown potatoes, thawed
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
dash or two of hot sauce, optional
1 cup grated cheese of choice, cheddar, Colby, Jack, swiss

Directions:

1. Lightly grease a baking dish. This may be a round deep dish 9″ pie dish, or an 8 or 9-inch square pan.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, crumble the sausage, and cook to brown and render the fat. Add the chopped onion and cook until onion is translucent. Set aside.

Cooking up the sausage and onion.

3. In the same skillet, leave any drippings in place, and add the hash browns. Cook just briefly, to remove any iciness and brown then up a little. Transfer potatoes to the prepared baking dish, spreading them out in an even layer to form a crust.

Spread the potatoes out to form a crust.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and hot sauce if using. Pour over the potatoes in the baking dish.

Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes.

5. Layer the sausage-onion mixture over the eggs, and sprinkle with grated cheese. Cover with foil.

Layer on the sausage and onions.

Top with grated cheese. Cover with foil.

6. Bake for about 35 minutes. Remove the foil and leave in the oven another 5-6 minutes to brown up the top and crisp the edges.

Cut into wedges or squares and serve hot with a side of fruit or fruit salad, and toast or biscuits.

When I served this to my husband all he could say was “Mmmm-mmmm. Wow!”

SOURCE: Allrecipes.com

Pear and Hazelnut Muffins

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Muffins & Scones and tagged with breakfast, chocolate, food, muffins/quick bread, pear, recipe, whole grains January 29, 2014

Pear and Hazelnut Muffins

In just one week’s time I came across three references to a new cookbook called Whole Grain Morning, by Megan Gordon. So I had to find out what all the fuss was about. I went to my local big box bookstore and there it was!. Thumbing through it, I found so many interesting recipes for breakfast dishes, all including a variety of grains, that I had to make it mine. It is a well-known fact that your morning meal is the opportune time to load in most of your whole grain needs for the day. Gordon gives many delicious ideas in her book for doing just that. This recipe for pear and hazelnut muffins is only the first of what will most likely be many recipes that I make from this book.

Muffins can be a fusion of many flavors and ingredients, some you wouldn’t think to put together, but somehow they work. And sometimes a muffin will be sweet and cake like resembling dessert. I keep some funny little rules in my head to make the distinction whether a muffin should be breakfast food or eaten at another time, like afternoon tea. The rules that run through my head go something like this:

Whole grains and oats = breakfast

White flour = cake

An egg or two = breakfast

Lots of eggs = cake

Natural sweeteners = breakfast

White sugar = cake

Unsaturated fats = breakfast

Butter = cake

After running through the ingredient list I tally the marks and make a determination as to whether I can pull this off as breakfast. When in doubt or the marks are equal, throw in some bacon, and that definitely swings it over to the side of breakfast. 😀

The Pear and Hazelnut Muffins from Megan Gordon’s beautiful book came out strongly in the breakfast category with oats, whole wheat flour, fruit and nuts. It might have remained there, except for the fact that I added some chocolate. It seemed to me that when you say the words, “pear and hazelnut”, together, something seems to be missing–add the words, “chocolate chunks” and now it becomes a complete sentence. Oh, oh, I guess I need to add chocolate to my list of ingredients acceptable for breakfast. Try as I might, I can’t help tinkering with a recipe. If you’re happy with the recipe sans the chocolate, go for it!!!

Whether you have these for breakfast or dessert, you won’t have any regrets. The combination of ingredients produces a complex flavor that’s far beyond what you would expect to be having for breakfast — grated pear, toasted hazelnuts, vanilla, butter, oats and, yes, chocolate chunks all tangled together in a crunchy muffin that tastes amazing even a day or two after it is baked.

PEAR AND HAZELNUT MUFFINS

Yield: Theoretically, 12 muffins, but I got 18.

Ingredients:

2 small-medium pears
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cooled slightly
2/3 cup natural cane sugar, such as Turbinado, or light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (can replace this with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon)
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425*F. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line it with papers.** Have a second tin ready in case you need it,

2. Peel, (if you desire, or can be skipped) pears, then halve and core them. Grate pears on the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl. You should have about a cup, grated. Note: I got this much with just one medium pear. Stir in the melted butter, sugar, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices, salt, all but 1/2 cup nuts, and chocolate chunks, if using. Gently fold this dry mixture into the wet batter until just combined; do not overmix.

4. Fill muffin cups almost full and sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup nuts. ( I overlooked this step, and added all the nuts to the batter, so my pics do not show any nuts on top of the muffins,)

Place muffins in oven and immediately reduce the heat to 375*F. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out batter-free.

5. Cool muffins in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Muffins will keep for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

**Point of information: I just bought these parchment paper muffin liners for the first time, and they were wonderful at keeping the muffins from sticking to the paper. The liner removed cleanly with no torn muffins or crumbs clinging to the paper. P.S. I get no compensation for this unsolicited plug.

Parchment Paper Muffin Liners

SOURCE: Whole Grain Mornings, Megan Gordon

Buttermilk Waffles

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast and tagged with almond butter, breakfast, buttermilk, food, recipe, waffles January 17, 2014

Waffles, a weekend breakfast treat! I like to do things with waffles–things like turn them into a sandwich. You know, slather them with peanut butter, or almond butter, sliced bananas, and honey. Add chocolate chips and they get even better. Whoa!

If you think I’m going a little waffle crazy, you’ve come to the right place. Check out these former posts for waffles: Banana Bread Waffles, Sweet Potato Pecan Waffles, Citrus Waffles with Orange Compote. I am so not done with waffles yet.

Waffles are supper easy to make. A good waffle iron does most of the work for you. Just mix up dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and mix together. A few lumps are an added bonus, they build character.

Here’s a question for you….. What’s a waffle without chocolate chips? Still a waffle. HA HA!

Prepare the waffles and lay out the prepared toppings. The waffles are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with melted chocolate. Add a sweep of almond butter, sliced bananas, and drizzle with honey….perfect toppings.

Take any that are left over and freeze for the week ahead. Pop in the toaster to rewarm. That’s real meal planning in my book. Indulgent breakfasts on demand!

BUTTERMILK WAFFLES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

Yield: Makes 6 generous waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup chocolate chips, or chopped dark chocolate
toppings: almond butter, sliced bananas, honey

Directions:

1. Set waffle iron on a level surface and turn on to preheat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together melted buter, eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Add wet ingredients, all at once to dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Do not over mix the batter. If a few lumps remain in the batter that’s ok.

4. Cook each waffle according to your waffle iron instructions.

5. Serve waffles warm topped with almond butter, bananas, and a good drizzle of honey.

Note: For leftover waffles, allow to cool completely. Place them in pairs in ziplock bags and store in the freezer. In the morning, gently reheat waffles in the toaster or toaster oven. Best breakfast ever!!

Fruited Baked French Toast

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with Baked French Toast, Blueberries, breakfast, brunch, food, french toast, recipe January 7, 2014

Fruited Baked French Toast

Even though I already have several recipes for baked french toast here on the blog, I just had to include this one too. It is a little out of the ordinary because it includes fruit(s), and I had never encountered a recipe like it before. Thanks to my daughter, who we visited over the Christmas holidays, we had this for breakfast on Christmas morning. Everyone agreed it was just delicious. Some of us liked it with a little (read, a lot of) maple syrup on it, others thought it was just right without any added sweetener on it. What I particularly liked was the “tang” from the berries that you get in every bite. And the cinnamon crumb topping on it is an added bonus. This is definitely a recipe you will want to save and make again and again whether it be for guests or a special weekend breakfast.

As I’ve said before, this type of breakfast casserole is perfect for a late breakfast or brunch when you are entertaining, because you can make as much or as little as you need. Slice up the bread the evening before and soak it overnight in the egg/milk mixture. Then in the morning, make up the crumb mixture, sprinkle on the berries and the crumb topping and bake until golden brown. Pretty simple to make really, and awesomely good. This one just became my new favorite recipe for baked french toast.

FRUITED BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 small loaf day-old French bread (8-9 oz.)
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries ( We used mixed berries, and cut the larger pieces in half.)

Directions:

1. Grease 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Slice the bread diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Pack them tightly into the baking dish.

Cut up bread and fit tightly into the baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the milk until well blended. Pour this mixture over the bread in the baking dish, turning over the slices to saturate well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Heat oven to 375*F. In a small bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Measure out topping ingredients.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs….

Cutting in the butter.

4. Turn bread slices over in the baking dish. Scatter berries over the bread and sprinkle with the crumb mixture. Bake about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle fruit, then crumbs over the bread/egg mixture.

Browning up in the oven.

5. Before serving, cut into squares and serve with syrup.

This is so delicious. 😀

SOURCE: Unknown.

Delicious on a Dollar

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