Oatmeal Breakfast Cupcakes

Bananas have this habit of going from green to black. There is no in between. Maybe like a 5-minute window when I can handle the taste of a fresh banana. So, I find myself baking things that call for very ripe bananas. The oatmeal breakfast cupcakes are one of those things. 

These were a pretty great find from Chocolate Covered Katie (via Pinterest, of course). You can do a lot with them as far as add-ins go (I opted for raisins and cinnamon). They're easy to make ahead and freeze. Great to grab on your way out the door.  No processed sugar (unless you're the person who adds chocolate chips). Easy to make gluten-free and/or vegan.

I was actually kind of surprised by how they turned out. The outside texture is more of a cupcake/muffin, but the inside is like oatmeal. Not runny, but like sticky, gummy oatmeal. It was weird. Good, but weird. And I was shocked that the brother loved them. Seriously. He usually disses my healthy "chick" food. 

Oatmeal Breakfast Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats

3-4 Bananas, mashed (overripe) 

1 tsp Salt

5 TBSP Pure Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar

1 cup Water

1/8 cup + 1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1 1/4 Pure Vanilla Extract

Optional add-ins: Cinnamon, Raisins (or any other dried fruit), Shredded Coconut, Chopped Walnuts, Ground Flax or Wheat Germ, Chocolate Chips, etc.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 380*F and line a 12-cup muffin pan. I personally recommend spraying your liners with a non-stick spray as well…
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir well. 
• In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients.
• Mix the wet into dry.
• Pour the batter evenly into your prepared muffin cups. 
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. 

They're really good warm with butter…or peanut butter! Enjoy!

Strawberry Coconut Chia Seed Banana Bread

I had last night off from work, so I went running, washed my scrubs & got out the KitchenAid for some baking fun. I had some ripe bananas and a bunch of strawberries, so I decided to make some yummy bread inspired by the Ambitious Kitchen. I replaced some of the all purpose flour in the original recipe with whole wheat and eliminated the processed sugar. It turned out delicious! Great for breakfast or a snack. Of course, I think it's even better with some peanut or almond butter…mmm...

Strawberry Coconut Chia Seed Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup AP flour

3/4 cup WW flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 TBSP coconut oil, melted and cooled

1 TBSP sorghum 

2 TBSP unsweetened almond or coconut milk

1 cup strawberries, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

2 TBSP chia seeds

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a 9-inch bread pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder & salt.
• In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, egg, vanilla, yogurt, oil, sorghum & milk.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just combined. 
• Gently fold the strawberries, coconut & chia seeds into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Top with some extra coconut flakes & sliced strawberries.
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until done.
• Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Enjoy! 

Blueberry Avocado Muffins

I'm over halfway through my spring stay-cation. And while, I'm disappointed it wasn't safe to go to Aquiles and sad I didn't get to see my kids in La Union, it's been nice. (Although I now have a really big tent for no reason, and I refuse to take it back…because that would involve going inside WalMart… So, anyone up for a camping trip?)

I've gotten to sleep at night. Like go to bed by 10 or 11 and sleep until 7ish. Actually get things done during the day. I have missed that life. I've gotten to hangout with lots of different friends. I got caught up on TV & Netflix…and started into some new shows… I'm going to FINALLY finish a project that I started forever ago. I've made dinner a couple times (nothing epic…last night was literally, "there is all this stuff I need to use, let's make something out of it" night). 

But I needed to share my muffins from this morning. Totally delicious. Like seriously. And pretty healthy as far as muffins go. The original recipe is from Gimme Some Oven via Pinterest. But I changed it up a bit. I took out 1 cup of AP flour & replaced it with WW (you could replace the flour totally with a GF mix…more power to you). I took out all the processed sugar (3/4 cup) & replaced it with 2 TBSP raw honey. I added a little extra cinnamon. Between using WW flour & the extra cinnamon, my muffins turned out not looking so green, which I think is kind of nice. They look more normal.

Blueberry Avocado Muffins

For the muffins:

1 cup WW flour

1 cup AP flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ripe avocado, seeded & peeled

2 TBSP raw honey

1 tsp vanilla 

1 egg

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Streusel topping:

2 TBSP melted butter, slightly cooled

2 TBSP AP flour

1/4 cup raw sugar 

• Preheat the oven to 375*F and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon.
• In your KitchenAid stand mixer bowl, add the avocado and beat until relatively smooth. Add the egg & beat until completely combined. Add the honey, vanilla & yogurt, beating until just combined. Add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Then repeat with the other half. Gently fold in the blueberries by hand. The batter will be very thick & sticky. No worries. 
• Spoon the batter (or I prefer to use a cookie scoop) into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with streusel topping (optional). Bake for 25-ish minutes or until done. Just keep an eye on them!

Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I'm SO excited that I'm feeling better after getting kicked by the flu. It was bad. Like, I had to force myself to drink coffee so I wouldn't also have a caffeine headache. And I didn't workout for three days and did not care. Bad. But, I was finally able to drag myself into the chiropractor, which made a huge difference. Shout out to Family Tree Chiropractic. And I started taking apple cider vinegar, which strangely seems to be helping. 

My work week began on Wednesday night, so I stayed up Tuesday night. I got in a couple X3 workouts, did a little laundry and cleaning, and whipped up these muffins. Somehow we ended up with a million apples. And I'm VERY picky when it comes to eating apples raw. They have to have the perfect texture and crunch. Of course, the apples we have are ones I don't like. So I made muffins. And you can probably expect several other apple-related recipes in the near future.

While they're not super pretty, these apple cinnamon muffins are super yummy! Also pretty healthy. I snagged the recipe from Butter Baking via Pinterest. It calls for plain yogurt, but oddly enough I only had Stonyfield Fat Free French Vanilla. It worked well! I would, of course, recommend plain Greek yogurt. Keep in mind that the texture & the way the muffins bake may vary by which yogurt you choose. You could also add about 1/4 cup of raisins, if you're into that. 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup pain yogurt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 TBSP brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced

1/4 cup raisins (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray or use the little muffin/cupcake liners…I also recommend spraying those too so they don't stick. 
• In a medium bowl, stir together the oats and yogurt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter & sugar. Beat in the egg. Stir in the applesauce. Add the oat & yogurt mixture; stir to combine. Stir in the flours, cinnamon, powder, soda, and salt until just incorporated. Do not over mix! Mix the apples and raisins through gently. 
• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Breakfast Cake

We had a potluck breakfast of sorts at work last week, so I made this cranberry breakfast cake inspired by a post by Averie Cooks on Pinterest. The original recipe is described as being a mix between a blueberry muffin and pancake. I think it's just more of a quick-bread that looks more like a cake. But still tasty. And moist. It's the perfect, easy breakfast for a crowd. I elected to use cranberries instead of blueberries. Makes it more Christmas-y. But if you're not into some tartness, stick with the blueberries. You may also half the recipe if you're just making it for the family, and use an 8x8 baking dish.

Cranberry Breakfast Cake

2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt

6 TBSP vegetable oil or unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp vanilla 

1 package fresh cranberries

Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a 9x13 baking dish.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding gently with a spatula until just combined. Don't worry about the lumps! You don't want to over mix.
• Gently fold in the cranberries.
• Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake until done. Watch the cake, not the timer. I covered mine at 30 minutes with foil to prevent the top from getting too dark. It was about another 30 minutes before it was done. Keep it in there long enough that a toothpick will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
• Let it cool before serving. You may top it off with a dusting of powdered sugar, or get fancy and make some kind of glaze.

Enjoy!

Summer Squash & Spinach Frittata

Things have been crazy, and tomorrow marks my last day shift...I start nights on Monday. Party. I can hardly believe that I'm already over halfway through orientation! Time flies. Plus, I'm super excited about Halloween being next week! Yes, I'm working, but I get to dress up. And I'll be fulfilling a childhood dream. Any guesses? Hint--my costume involves the color pink. (Shocking, I know.) I need to finish it up this weekend.

I whipped together a frittata earlier this week for dinner. Mostly because we had eggs, summer/yellow squash and baby spinach that needed used, and I figured a frittata was the best way to go. Frittatas are really great. There's so much possibility. You can basically throw in whatever veggie you want. You can use more or less eggs depending on how thick or big you want it. Toss in some herbs. Maybe some cheese. It's simple. It's tasty. It's fabulous. 

Summer Squash & Spinach Frittata

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium summer squash, thinly sliced

1 bag/box of fresh baby spinach

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

7 large eggs

Basil to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

EVOO

• Preheat oven to 400*F. 
• Heat up some EVOO in a large, oven-safe skillet. Add the onion & garlic and cook for a couple minutes. Add in the squash and cook until it's pretty soft. Add in the spinach. If your skillet has a lid, throw it on top to help steam the spinach. 
• In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add cheese, basil, salt & pepper. Mix together & pour over the veggies in the skillet. 
• Let it all sit on the stove for like 1-2 minutes before transferring to the oven. Once it's in the oven, bake until set (it took mine like 5 minutes).

Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Waffles

Food! Yay! I still have a couple more travel posts to get up, but I wanted to post this before I forgot what I changed. It's been a fairly lazy Saturday. I almost slept-in until 9, which is pretty late for me...which is sad. I was starving when I woke up. Like I wake up and I am so hungry that I'm nauseated. Everyday. Does anyone else have this problem? I have to have food (and coffee) pronto. Anyways, my late morning is still early for everyone else...so I grabbed a Larabar and coffee, and then got my P90X-2 on for the day. At which point it was about 1130, and the others were beginning to surface. So I made waffles. I'm all about eating breakfast as many times as possible. 

I feel like it's been a really long time since I've had waffles. I guess we just generally do pancakes. But waffles are great because they have like built-in syrup holders. You can also get in more peanut butter this way. Totally brilliant. I slightly modified this recipe from Lauren Conrad's website. These waffles are definitely better for you than the normal ones. Greek yogurt, honey, whole wheat flour, coconut oil... and still super tasty! Even the brother ate them up.

Greek Yogurt Waffles

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 1/4 cups milk

1 TBSP-ish honey

1/2 tsp vanilla 

Directions:

• Plug in your waffle iron so it can heat up.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients together and mix.
• In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix them together.
• Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and whisk the two together.
• Spray your waffle iron with some non-stick cooking spray. (This may need to be repeated between waffles.)
• Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter onto the waffle iron. Cook until it's as done as you like it. Repeat until all the batter has been used. About 10 times. 

Enjoy!

Note: You may be able to see this in the picture, but they were very soft. I couldn't tell you if that's because of the "healthy" stuff or because I tend to (intentionally) undercook things like waffles. I mean, they're more done than any of my pancakes ever get (I like those to still run batter when you cut in). So mine are floppy, but tasty. I guess you could try to cook them more thoroughly. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins

Oh. My. Heavens. These muffins are sinfully delicious. End of story. 

I was recruited to make muffins for a morning wedding shower. It took me a while to decide on what kind of muffins. I figured coffee cake was pretty classic. So tah-da! Coffee Cake Muffins. I did not try to make these healthy at all. I try to spare the general population and just try things out on the family. Nice, I know. 

These muffins are seriously scrumptious. Light and fluffy with that classic coffee cake taste. Emphasis on cake. These are basically bald cupcakes. But by calling them "muffins," they're socially acceptable to eat at breakfast. One recipe makes about 18 good sized muffins. I will warn you that the batter will seem very thick...but that is okay! You can definitely play with this by mixing in strawberries or blueberries. If you choose to do that, just make sure you roll them in flour before folding them into the batter to prevent them from sinking. You could also make a cream cheese icing to drizzle on top... Enjoy!


Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins

Ingredients for the muffins:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature 
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 stick of butter
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350*F and prepare your muffin pan. SPRAY THE PAPER LINERS WITH NON-STICK SPRAY...unless you like to peel half your muffin off with the liner. 
• Pull out your stand mixer. Add the butter and sugar and cream until light and fluffy. 5 minutes or so. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Then add your vanilla, sour cream and milk. Mix well.
• Sift together the flour, powder, soda and salt. With the mixer on low, carefully add the flour mixture to the batter. Beat just until mixed.
• For the crumble topping, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a pastry blender or a fork (this takes longer).
• Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Add the crumble on top.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the tops are slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

Roasted Tomato & Kale {Tofu} Quiche

Meatless Monday success...on so many levels. Tonight, we enjoyed quiche...tofu quiche. No one had any idea. The brother is still in the dark, bless him. He ate it right up. Said the crust wasn't his favorite, but the rest of it was really good. The mother and I thought the whole thing was pretty delish. I adapted the recipe from Edible Perspective. It's definitely a keeper. I have never used tofu before. I was kind of weirded out by it. I knew that it would have to be unidentifiable for the brother. This definitely worked. So good. Creamy and flavorful. Trust me. 


Roasted Tomato & Kale {Tofu} Quiche

Ingredients for the quiche:
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved 
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
2 packed cups chopped kale
1 package (14 oz) of firm or extra firm tofu, drained
1 TBSP organic milk
1 TBSP white wine
1 tsp sea salt + some
1 tsp ground pepper + some 
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp oregano
EVOO

Ingredients for the crust:
1 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 TBSP herbs (I used a combination of basil, rosemary, oregano and thyme)
3-4 TBSP coconut oil
3-4 TBSP cold water 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400*F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet; drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes (until shriveled and starting to brown), stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool. Reduce heat to 375*F.
• Meanwhile, drizzle a small sauté or fry pan with EVOO. Heat it up and add your green onions. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Lightly grease a 9" pie plate. Place the oats for the crust in your food processor and pulse 10-20 times. Until it looks good. Combine oats, flour, and herbs in a large bowl; mix well. Add coconut oil and water. Mix with your hands until the mixture starts to hold together when squeezed or pressed. Place the dough in your prepared pie plate and pat it down in the bottom, then up the sides. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool. 
• Place the tofu, 1 1/2 TBSP EVOO, the white wine, milk and herbs, salt and pepper in your food processor and process until smooth. Scrape down the sides and give it another 10 seconds. Add in the kale and pulse until the kale is evenly distributed and more finely chopped.
• In a large bowl combine the tofu/kale mixture, roasted tomatoes, and onion/garlic mixture. Stir. Pour into crust and smooth it out. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. 
• You should let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting with a really sharp knife. But I was hungry. So my edges aren't smooth. Still tasty!

Enjoy!

Apple Peanut Butter Snack Bars

It's no secret that I love peanut butter. And I like baking things with peanut butter. I was pretty excited when I came across these yummy Apple Peanut Butter Snack Bars on Pinterest. Not only do they have peanut butter, they do not have flour or refined sugar...and they taste great! If you get the right oats, they can even be gluten free. Score, right? I think so. I adapted the recipe from Happy Healthy Mama. Basically, I just added a little extra cinnamon because I like it. The bars are very soft and a little gooey. Super easy to make. They are extra good with extra peanut butter on top. (I'm serious about my peanut butter fetish. At one point, I was going through 2 pounds a month. Easy. Sometimes more...) These bars make a great afternoon snack, or you could cut them larger for breakfast. Enjoy!


Apple Peanut Butter Snack Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup shredded apple (1 medium apple)
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup local honey
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp natural vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 (depending of if you want them thicker or thinner...I went with thicker) baking dish and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and press it down evenly.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

I made these sweet things for breakfast on Saturday. They can be relatively healthy, though lacking considerably in protein. They are pretty tasty, and the recipe is really versatile. Lots of options. The original is from Shopgirl. I did change some things up, making it a lower calorie version. Swapping oil for applesauce, "real" brown sugar for Ideal brown sugar, and "real" fruit syrup for Torani sugar-free raspberry syrup. Terribly processed, I know... You could just as easily make the recipe more natural by using coconut oil, pure cane sugar, and agave, respectively. Adding a little flax would probably be nice as well. If you don't have homemade fruit preserves handy (which I don't), I recommend Bonne Maman or something similar. 

Bottom line: these are really easy to make and very tasty. Everyone liked them. They would also be great as a sweet little snack. Take the basic recipe and run with it wherever you want!


Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar (or substitute of choice)
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
5 TBSP oil (or substitute of choice)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup fruit preserves
1 TBSP fruit syrup (or substitute of choice)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, honey and oil. Add to the dry mixture and mix well.
• In a small bowl, mix the fruit preserves and syrup.
• Place about 2/3 of the granola mixture in the prepared baking pan, making sure to press it into the corners and patting it down so it bakes evenly. Spread the preserves over it evenly. Top it with the remaining granola mixture.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until you can see the preserves bubbling and the topping is golden.

Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Along with everything else happening on Monday, the brother informed me that I should make something for him to share with his jazz band class. He decided on lemon poppy seed muffins, which are his favorite kind. I probably should've just done the processed box kind. It would've been easier, and I knew the homemade kind wouldn't be the brother's favorite...but I don't really count that as baking. And, I needed to legitimately bake something. That or workout again. And considering it hurt to move my arms and laugh and move, baking seemed like the better option. 

The verdict? The mother said they were the best real lemon poppy seed muffins ever. The brother said he (and most of his friends) prefers the processed junk (which really doesn't taste much like the real version), and "they're a little dry." I thought they were decent. They have more of a "real" lemon flavor and a heavier texture than the boxed variety. You can easily separate the top from the bottom without crumbs going everywhere. (This is important to me because I like to eat the bottom first...same goes for cupcakes.) 

Alterations...I used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I did keep the refined sugar and white flour because I didn't want to totally freak the kids out. Honestly, next time, I would go half-and-half on the flours and do 1/3 cup of honey instead of 2/3 cups sugar. I could get really crazy and switch out the butter for a fruit puree (ex. banana or apple). Maybe add a little coconut oil.


Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Inspiration from Luscious Confections

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar (try 1/3 cup honey)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (try 1 all-purpose and 1 whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (try fruit puree) 
2 TBSP poppy seeds 
Organic milk (if needed to get desired consistency)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. (If you spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray, they will peel off the muffins beautifully.)
• Add the sugar to a large bowl. Grate the zest of the lemon into the sugar. Mix until it's evenly distributed. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix together.
• In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon and butter. 
• Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently to combine (don't over mix). The batter will be pretty thick and a little lumpy. You may add a little milk to the mixture if you like. 
• Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden.

Enjoy!  

Apple Baked Oatmeal

I made this delightful baked oatmeal one morning when we had a surplus of apples around. I believe my mom got the recipe from one of her cousins. It is really easy and tasty. The sweetness comes from the pure, natural maple syrup. No processed white or brown sugars! The downside is that you have to get up early and make it before you actually want to serve/eat it. This is problematic for me because I pretty much want to have my coffee and eat breakfast the minute I wake up. For this reason (and because I forgot to do it the night before) the nuts didn't get toasted before going in. Still tasted great. It does reheat, so theoretically you could make it ahead... However, I think it's better fresh out of the oven. The recipe serves about four people...or three really hungry people!


Apple Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup nuts, lightly toasted (optional) and divided (I used pecans)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup organic milk (I used 1%)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 TBSP coconut oil, melted
1 tsp natural vanilla
2-3 cored, sliced apples 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.
• In a medium bowl, combine oats, half the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir with fork to combine.
• In a liquid measuring cup, combine maple syrup, milk, egg, melted coconut oil and vanilla. 
• Spread 1/2 of the apples in a single layer over bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle dry oat mixture over. Pour over the liquid ingredients. Sprinkle remaining nuts and fruit over the top. Push fruit into liquid. 
• Baked 35-45 minutes. Let cool a couple minutes so you don't burn your mouth. Enjoy! 

Giant Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits

I made some giant gooey cinnamon biscuits for Mother's Day breakfast yesterday. My inspiration for these tasty treats came from The Kitchn, via Pinterest. However, I couldn't get over putting two cups of heavy cream in what was going to be four biscuits. Then, I discovered what all went into cinnamon chips. I did some serious revamping. I swapped ingredients and eliminated some steps. The result was great! They were delicious, and everyone enjoyed them. I'll admit that I did go ahead and pour on a mixture of organic milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Live a little, right? However, I think that the biscuits would still be tasty without that. Maybe some homemade jam instead? You could probably also make eight smaller biscuits. Here's the recipe---


Giant Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits
Original recipe from The Kitchn, with modification help from Alaska from Scratch

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar 
1 TBSP natural honey
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage 2%)
1/4 cup reduced fat organic milk
4 TBSP cinnamon chips (see recipe below)

Topping (optional):
Reduced fat organic milk and powdered sugar to desired consistency. I went with more of a "soak-y"glaze than icing. Add vanilla to taste. 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish. 
• Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Add honey, yogurt, and just enough milk to make a fairly sticky dough. Mix until combined.
• Dump the dough onto a floured surface and pat or roll out into a square. Cut into quarters. 
• Place about 1 TBSP on cinnamon chips in the middle of each square. Fold the edges over, making sure the cinnamon chips are covered and there are no holes. 
• Place the biscuits into the baking dish. Bake for about 16 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. 
• Pour glaze/icing on and serve warm. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients:
3 TBSP ground cinnamon
2 TBSP unrefined coconut oil (in place of vegetable shortening)
2 TBSP honey (in place of corn syrup)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and grease well. 
• Mix everything together.
• Dump the mixture onto the parchment paper and flatten it out to a 1/4" thick or so. 
• Bake until the mixture has completely melted and is somewhat bubbly.
• Cool completely before cutting.

Store what is leftover in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. Coconut oil has a lower melting point than vegetable shortening so the cinnamon chips will soften quickly if you leave them out.

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

When we had family in for graduation, I made some slow cooker overnight oatmeal. I got that recipe from The Gracious Pantry, which is probably my new favorite place to find "clean" recipes. The oatmeal wasn't too bad, and it was nice having something ready to eat in the morning. I would recommend not adding the raisins in until the morning though. The definitely soaked up a lot of the liquid, so they looked pretty funky...and the brother couldn't handle it. Anyways, we had a little over 2 cups left, so I went on a quest to find a recipe for leftover oatmeal muffins. I found a recipe that I liked the basic concept of from Full Tummies. As I was reading comments, someone else had made some suggestions...so I took things I liked from both recipes and made my own! The muffins turned out really well. They kind of remind me of a very moist bran muffin. (You could probably add more flour, if you want a dryer texture. I like things pretty moist. Then, I don't need condiments.) They got eaten up pretty quickly, and even the brother liked them! (Little did he know I had used the oatmeal he didn't like to make them.) 


Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 TBSP coconut oil (melted)
2 TBSP unsweetened applesauce
2 TBSP honey
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

(If your leftover oatmeal is plain, you may consider adding cinnamon, vanilla, or whatever you like!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease your muffin pan (the recipe makes 12 good sized muffins). I pretty much just threw it all in our KitchenAid stand mixer and mixed it up. Then, divide the batter between each muffin cup. Bake for 25-ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy! 

Quinoa & Spinach Egg Bake

I was super excited when I found this on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I'm always up for an easy, protein-packed breakfast. I really like that I can make this once and have breakfast for 6 days. It's also pretty yummy, unless you do not like spinach. This is what I ended up making on Friday night...or really early Saturday morning...when I could not sleep. The original recipe is from Whole Foods. I changed it a little, using mozzarella instead of Romano or Parmesan. The caloric value will change depended on what kind of cheese and milk you use, but mine turns out to be around 219 calories with 16 grams of protein per serving.


Quinoa & Spinach Egg Bake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 
8 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk (I used fat-free organic)
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I recommend shredding your own)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a non-stick cooking spray to grease an 8x8 pan. 

Whisk everything but the spinach and cheese together in a bowl; stir in spinach. Pour mixture into prepared 8x8 dish. Gently jiggle so the quinoa falls to the bottom. Cover with foil and bake until egg is set, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffin Makeover

Here's one I've been meaning to put up for a long time! I made these yummy muffins towards the end of Christmas break. I took a recipe I found (my mom's mom's) for pumpkin bread. Then, I totally messed it up (eliminated the sugar, all-purpose flour, shortening, and water). I really had no idea how they would turn out. The batter was pretty good, which is always a good sign. They smelled good while they were baking, another good sign. When I finally tried one, I was impressed. I was kind of hoping that the brother would think they tasted too healthy, so then I would have leftovers to take to school...but no. He didn't even noticed. He loved them. The mother loved them too. Definitely a success for replacing processed ingredients with more natural ones!


Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup honey (local) 
4 eggs
1/3 cup all-natural applesauce*
2 cups all-natural canned pumpkin
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I probably added a little extra) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
Grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan.
Mix honey, eggs and pumpkin
Add in dry ingredients and mix
*Add applesauce until the right moisture is achieved
Divide batter into muffin cups
Bake for...15-20 minutes or until done.

I think that's about right! It's been awhile since I made them... and of course I didn't exactly write everything down.

Quinoa Power Breakfast

I've had this quinoa for quite some time. I've wanted to eat it. But, the thing with quinoa is that it seems like it takes forever to cook, and I don't have time for that! Last night, I decided to take a study break and I cooked ALL of the quinoa I had (a little over 2 cups dry). I then divided it up in 1/2 cup servings to freeze and be handy. I left one out for breakfast this morning. I had it with half an avocado and a fried egg. Sprinkled with a dash of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Delicious! It was the perfect post-workout power breakfast!

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

The basic idea for this recipe was found via Pinterest. However, I naturally changed some stuff up. Like, for instance, I did not use real sugar or real eggs...resulting in muffins that are just about 82 calories a pop. I also added some cinnamon. I was a little bit concerned about how they would turn out after making such changes. Honestly, I don't think anyone would ever know. Not that I've shared them with anyone to find out. (No, I did not eat all 12 at once. I froze 10. I have found it works really well to pull a couple out before I go to bed, so in the morning they're room temperature. Then, I just put a little peanut butter on them. SO GOOD.) This recipe is definitely a keeper!


Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Ingredients:
2.5 cups oats (can be gluten-free)
1 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup egg substitute (equivalent of 2 eggs)
3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute (I used Ideal brown sugar)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda 
2 ripe bananas
Cinnamon for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan or line it with the little paper things.
Mix everything together in a good food processor or blender (I used my Ninja).
Pour into pan.
Sprinkle with cinnamon. 
Bake, oh, 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

I have wanted to make a French toast casserole for a REALLY long time. There were lots of recipes that looked absolutely delicious, but also pretty extreme. Lots of butter, at least a dozen eggs, and obscene amounts of sugar. I was super excited when I uncovered a recipe in my grandmother's collection that was much more reasonable, and was double-marked with smiley faces (her favorites have smiley faces on them...that's how we know they're good). I did, unintentionally, change up the recipe a little bit...apparently I like to omit directions. Regardless, it turned out beautifully. Also very yummy. It's another one that's great when your going to have a crowd for breakfast or brunch. Make it the night before. Bake it in the morning. Perfect!

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:
12 slices day old French bread, sliced 1"
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup brown sugar, divided (3/4 and 1/4)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups blueberries (frozen works)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
Arrange bread in greased 9x13 dish.

Combine milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and eggs. Pour over bread.

Refrigerate overnight.

*Remove 30 minutes ahead of baking. Sprinkle on nuts, 1/4 cup brown sugar and melted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle blueberries over top. Serve.

*Or, if you want to not follow directions like me....
Go ahead and put the blueberries on over the bread. Then, sprinkle on nuts, remaining brown sugar, and melted butter. Refrigerate overnight. Pull it straight out of the fridge and put in in the oven on 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.