Breakfast Sandwich

If you're looking for an easy and delicious breakfast, or a simple and healthy afternoon snack, I highly recommend these.

You need: whole wheat mini-bagels (or bagel of your choice), cream cheese (or peanut butter), thinly sliced apple.

Split your bagel, spread both sides with cream cheese and top with apple slices. 

My girls really liked these and using the mini-bagels made them just the right size for them. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread

This is my favorite quick bread. I made it recently and it went so quickly, I didn't even get a picture before it was completely devoured.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

2 1/2 c. flour

2 1/2t. baking powder

2 1/2t. baking soda

1t. cinnamon

2t. vanilla

1/2c. cocoa

1/2 c. milk

1 medium banana, mashed*

1 small zucchini, shredded*

1c. chopped nuts (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together eggs, sugar and butter until creamy. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture. Add vanilla, cocoa, milk, banana, zucchini and nuts. Pour into greased bread pans and bake 50-55 minutes. Makes 2 large loaves.

*You can also use just bananas or zucchini. You want about 2 cups total.

Crepes with Homemade Blueberry Syrup

I made crepes and oatmeal for dinner. I love having breakfast for dinner. For one reason, I'm not really a breakfast in the morning person--it's just too early to cook--and another is, aside from being good, it makes for an inexpensive dinner.

I found my crepes recipe here on The Prudent Homemaker.
I made my own blueberry syrup, with some blueberries I had picked up earlier in the year and frozen.

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup sugar
1-2 T. cornstarch
1 t. lemon juice
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

In saucepan over medium high heat stir sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved. Next add blueberries. Mash some of the blueberries with a wooden spoon while cooking and leave the rest whole. Bring to a boil. Pour over crepes. The syrup mixture will thicken as it cools and sits, just warm it up again to turn it back into liquid.

Crepes are also good with nutella, powdered sugar, ham and cheese, etc. Be creative!

Bernadette's Popovers

*This recipe is out of the Key Lime Pie Murder novel by Joanne Fluke.

I made these for a brunch I hosted and they were quite delicious. I've never made or had popovers before, and these were very easy to make. They turned out, light, fluffy and a pretty golden brown.

Ingredients:

4 eggs--should measure about 1 cup

2 cups milk

2 cups flour--not sifted

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack in middle position. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Do not use muffin liners. I had anticipated these cooking like muffins, but they do not. They are more like muffin tops, so using a paper liner only means you get a hollow bottom and paper stuck to your popover.)

Whisk eggs by hand until they're a light, uniform color, but not yet fluffy, about 1 min. Add milk and whisk until incorporated.

Place flour in bowl and add salt on top. Using a wooden spoon, stir until all the flour has been moistened and incorporated. You will still have lumps (like brownie batter), but that's fine.

Transfer the batter to a container with a spout--like a measuring cup--and pour into muffin cups, filling almost to the top.

Bake for exactly 30 minutes. Don't peak while cooking or they will fall.

After 30 min, remove to cool rack and pierce the top with a knife to release steam. Serve with butter, jams, or cream cheese.

These are good both warm and at room temp.

Nutella Croissants

I LOVE Nutella, which is a cocoa hazelnut spread. It is simply scrumptious. Most of the time I just eat it plain or on fruit, but occasionally, I like to cook with it also. This is a simple recipe that would make for a good brunch item or after dinner dessert. It may be a little too dessert-like for breakfast, but would probably be fine if served with something else.

You need:

1 jar Nutella

1 pkg refrigerated croissant rolls

Unroll the croissants from the package and spread Nutella on them.Roll up according to package directions.
Bake according to package directions. Enjoy.

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

I love egg burritos in the morning, but I don't always have time to fix them. So this weekend I cooked up a batch to put in the freezer, this way all I have to do is pull one out and warm it in the microwave.

You need:

1 pkg tortillas (I use the taco size, so there the right size for my girls)

1lb bacon (or breakfast meat of your choice, cooked)

1 dozen eggs, scrambled

cheese

salsa, optional

Cook your meat. Scramble your eggs as you normally would. (I like to add the cheese and salsa in while I scramble mine, so that the salsa doesn't make the tortilla soggy. Also, to cut out steps when I'm rolling them.) Mix your meat and scrambled eggs together. Place a small about, approx. 1/4 c. into center of tortilla and roll.

Place rolled burritos seam side down on baking sheet and place in freezer for 30 min to an hour. This will allow them to freeze closed and then you can transfer to a Ziploc.

When your ready to eat one, just take it out and place it in the microwave for 45-50 seconds.

These can also serve as a last minute dinner.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These are super delicious and a great way to use bananas that are getting too ripe.

Ingredients:
1 3/4c. flour
1/4c. sugar
2 1/2t. baking powder
3/4t. salt
1 egg
1/2c. milk
1/3c. vegetable oil
1/2c. ripe bananas
1/2c. unsweetened applesauce
1c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. Combine egg, milk, oil, banana, and applesauce in another bowl. Stir in dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in chips. Pour into muffin tins and bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Spinach and Olive Omelet

Omelets are great because you can make them as complicated or easy as you like. Also, you can just add whatever you have. The hard part of omelets, of course, is the technique. If you get it wrong you end up with either one ugly omelet or scrambled eggs. Rest assured, both will still taste good.
In my omelets, I like to scramble my eggs in a bowl and add a little milk. I think the milk makes for a fluffier omelet, but that's just me. This is also where I add the mix ins, in this case spinach, olives, and cheese. You would also add your spices now.
Heat up a small non-stick skillet. Try to use one the same size you want your omelet to come out. Coat the bottom with olive oil, this will make it easier to flip and will also add flavor.
Pour a thin layer of your mixture onto the hot skillet. Let it set until it looks like the edges have formed. (Sorry I don't have pictures for this, but it's hard to be camera man and chef with omelets.) Now take your spatula and pull the edges away while tipping the pan so the runny liquid on top runs to that spot. Continue to do this until there is no more runny liquid--the top of the omelet will still be uncooked, but the bottom should be done and the edges formed. Gently loosen the edges and bottom of the omelet. When it is loosened gently flip over and let the top finish cooking. Slide out of pan onto place and fold in half with spatula.

Top with extra cheese or chives. Serve with salsa or ketchup.

Spinach Egg Scramble

We have breakfast for dinner quite often. It's my favorite backup when I forget to take meat out of the freezer. It's also inexpensive. Last night I put yellow bell pepper and fresh spinach in the scrambled eggs, as well as salsa and cheese. If you're a fan of "Green Eggs and Ham" you can omit the bell pepper and salsa and add a couple drops of green food coloring and you'll have your own green eggs. All you need to do is add the ham.

Breakfast for Dinner

I don't know about you, but I love breakfast for dinner. Friday we had egg scrambles with biscuits. I used frozen biscuits, which were surprisingly good. You can put whatever you want in your scrambled eggs. I put diced bell pepper, olives, broccoli, bacon, salsa and cheese. I aslo put a tablespoon or so of milk to make the eggs fluffier. You'll want to cook the bacon before hand and add the bell pepper and broccoli before the eggs so they have time to cook properly.