Tag: Breakfast
Whole-Grain Blueberry Orange Muffins
I’ve been making muffins for a looong time now, and through my many experiments with flavors from plum poppyseed to pumpkin banana, blueberry muffins remain the gold standard in my mind’s eye of All That Is Muffin. This may be because they were the only kind of muffin I recall my mom making when I was growing up, and I have memories of unabashedly devouring the batter from the mixing bowl like a piranha stripping a cow carcass. Since then, I’ve run the gamut of blueberry muffin recipes (and their batter, if we’re being honest). You’ve got your cake-like blueberry muffins, with white flour, a mountain of sugar, and streusel for days. Then there are the blueberry health bombs that that are so dense you could knock someone senseless with one. And somewhere in between are the blueberry muffins I usually make, which are healthy and adequately tasty, but nothing I’ve put on the blog because they’re a wee bit boring.
So my blueberry muffin world was rather rocked when I tried this recipe from Real Simple. These have got to be the most unique blueberry muffin recipe I’ve ever tried. I’ll tell you why. No, it’s not the fact that blueberry combined with orange is slightly unusual. There’s……shhhh…..a secret ingredient. Well, at least I thought it was unexpected enough and blends seamlessly enough into the texture of the muffin that heck, sure, let’s call it a secret ingredient. Pecans! Not pecans loaded with sugar as a crumb topping, but pecans ground in the food processor along with whole wheat flour and oats for a robust (but not crunchy) texture that makes you go, “What’s so deliciously different about these?” Add to that the bright sweetness of orange flavor combined with the more mellow sweetness of blueberries and you have a very intriguing mix. My kids devoured them for breakfast, then asked if they could have them packed in their lunches, then asked if they could have them for snack when they got home. And if I weren’t saving them for my kids, I probably would have eaten them three times in one day, too.
So if you find yourself jaded in a world of dime-a-dozen blueberry muffin recipes, perhaps these can broaden your breakfast horizons like they did mine.
Whole Wheat Blueberry Orange Muffins
(Slightly adapted from Real Simple)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. white whole wheat flour
1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 c. pecans
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. plain yogurt
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest
1/4 c. orange juice
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. blueberries, frozen or fresh
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a food processor, process the flour, oats, pecans, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until finely ground.
3. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, brown sugar, butter, orange zest, orange juice, egg, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries. The batter will appear dry, but don’t worry, the finished product won’t be!
4. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Bake 23-25 minutes.
Baked Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal
Are you pumpkin-ed out yet? It seems like our national obsession with large orange vegetables gets more intense every year. This October Trader Joe’s was offering over 60 pumpkin products–everything from pumpkin coffee to pumpkin ravioli (tried them both and they were both tasty!) I’ve seen pumpkin spice Hershey kisses and pumpkin M & Ms and have heard tell of pumpkin spice Doritos (!). And so far this season I myself have made pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cornbread, with plans to make pumpkin butter and pumpkin ice cream pie this afternoon. Looking at that list, I feel like I need a Pumpkin Intervention.
But I JUST CAN’T STOP! Living in the desert, making seasonal foods is just about my only connection to feeling like the fall season is actually happening. Here in the Phoenix suburbs, we don’t get changing leaves, we don’t get sweater weather, we don’t get harvest time. You know how some adults spend Christmastime going through rituals and traditions to “recapture the magic” of Christmas when they were a kid? Well, I have this fairy-tale notion of autumn just like that (even though I didn’t experience it as a kid). It’s as though if I surround myself with seasonal produce I will magically feel the feelings of fall. And what, you may ask, are the feelings of fall? I suppose it’s the typical fantasy of snuggling up in chilly weather, crunching leaves underfoot, and storing up for winter. There’s a poem by Donald Hall called “Kicking the Leaves” I used to read every October that epitomizes this romantic notion of fall. Part of it goes:
“I remember Octobers walking to school in Connecticut,
wearing corduroy knockers that swished
with a sound like leaves; and a Sunday buying
a cup of cider at a roadside stand
on a dirt road in New Hampshire; and kicking the leaves.”
Now, doesn’t that just sound like the archetype of fall? (Ignore the next line where he says “knowing my father would die when the leaves were gone.”) That’s the fantasy I’m trying to achieve when I cook and bake with pumpkin. And what could be more warm and nourishing on a blustery autumn day than a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal? I’ve heard of this trend of people eating oatmeal cold, but to me that sounds like a total anathema, like eating ice cream hot. Please, if you eat this oatmeal cold, don’t tell me, so that in my mind, in my delightful fantasy of fall where people get cider at roadside stands and wear corduroy knockers (whatever those are), I will picture you eating this oatmeal steaming out of the oven, warming you inside and out.
Baked Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal
(Adapted from Budget Bytes)
Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (or about 2 c. homemade)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. milk
2 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 square baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in milk. Add oats.
3. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, removing foil after the first 30 minutes.
Serves 6-8 and reheats beautifully in the microwave with a little added milk.
Almond Butter Oatmeal Muffins
Whoa, it’s been a busy couple of weeks! The fall semester has started, which means I am knee deep in Medical Nutrition Therapy (loving it so far), last week was my birthday (cake recipe forthcoming), and this weekend we hosted a big surprise birthday bash for my sister-in-law’s 30th! (I was going to write a post about all the party food and games, but again, things got so busy that I didn’t even take many pictures, and what’s a food blog post without pictures?) One thing I DO have pictures of, though, are these tasty nut butter oatmeal muffins.
Up until recently, I had never purchased almond butter, mostly because it’s hard to justify spending as much on one jar as I would on a pizza to feed my whole family AND because I already love peanut butter so much that experimenting with other nut butters hardly seemed necessary. Why mess with a good thing? And wouldn’t it make the peanut butter feel bad? Then a few weeks ago, Maranatha almond butter was on sale for a mere 5 bucks, which is bargain basement for almond butter, so I splurged.
Assuming one uses almond butter in all the same ways as peanut butter (you know, as shaving cream, leather cleaner, hair moisturizer…seriously, these are actual ways people claim to use peanut butter), I figured I’d go a traditional route by giving it a whirl in these oatmeal muffins. Aaaaand success! These were simple to whip up, reasonably healthy, and as an established fan of oatmeal muffins, I really enjoyed the uniqueness of the almond taste paired with the quasi-nuttiness of oats. It was like being in a Peanut Butter Parallel Universe.
(Sorry, peanut butter. We can still be friends. I promise I’ll still slather you on ice cream eat you in heart-healthy portions.)
You could, of course, use peanut butter instead of almond in this recipe. Either would be delicious.
P.S.: Days after making and eating these muffins, I received a call from the grocery store saying this particular brand of almond butter had been recalled for salmonella. Awesome. Is that why it was so cheap? Still gonna buy it again.
P.P.S.: None of us got salmonella. And neither will you from looking at the pictures. Just be sure to buy non-bacterially infected almond butter. Or peanut butter. Either will work. 🙂
Almond Butter Oatmeal Muffins
(Adapted from The Cooking Actress)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is especially good because of its lighter texture)
1 c. quick or rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. almond or peanut butter
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. milk
Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together honey, almond or peanut butter, yogurt, egg, vanilla, and milk.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined. Divide evenly into prepared muffin tin, filling about 2/3 full.
5. Bake 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Makes about 12 muffins.
Easy Blueberry Jam
As a parent of young children, I can no longer think about the concept of jam without the image of Dr. Gru from Despicable Me 2 popping into my head, maintaining in that Boris Karloff/drunken Slav accent of his that he is no longer a villain and is on the straight and narrow:
If you’re a parent, you know what I’m talking about, because you have seen this movie approximately 8,000 times and know all its ins and outs, including how the Minions become purple and evil. If you’re not, or haven’t seen the movie, I won’t spoil how the Minions turn evil, but I will tell you that Gru is giving the law-abiding life his level best by abandoning projects like stealing the moon for tamer pastimes like creating fruity spreads–and more power to him. I have a feeling he and the Minions would put out some pretty tasty stuff.
Since we’re talking jams and jellies and tasty stuff, allow me to introduce you to this ridiculously easy blueberry jam, which does not require an army of Minions. Have you ever heard of a jam that 1.) doesn’t call for pectin and 2.) takes 20 minutes start to finish? Right, me neither. Most jams and jellies involve a real commitment in the kitchen. This jam, on the other hand, can be slapped together in the time it takes to watch a New Girl episode (or a Ninjago, if we’re going to stick with the kids’ entertainment theme). It may or may not end up being cheaper than store-bought blueberry jam, but if you hit the grocery store/farmers’ market/berry patch on the right week, it just might. Even if it doesn’t, though, making your own blueberry jam is a fun way to give yourself and your family a homemade, delicious breakfast treat on toast or muffins, or even to give a friend or neighbor as a thoughtful little gift. Without canning, this jam will last up to two weeks in the refrigerator. It could also make a lovely cake filling or an unusual “J” in a PBJ. I know I’ll definitely be making it again!
Easy Blueberry Jam
(From Fine Cooking)
Ingredients:
4 c. fresh blueberries
1 c. white sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
Directions:
1. Place the berries and 2 Tbsp. water in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan over medium-high heat. Using a potato masher, stir and mash the berries until they are bubbling around the edges of the pan, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until dissolved, about 1 minute.
2. Add the lemon juice, increase heat to high, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 218 degrees on a candy thermometer, 8-10 minutes. (If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can do the “cold plate test”: place a small amount of jam on a spoon on a plate in the freezer. Check the consistency after a couple of minutes. If it has jelled to your liking, it is done.) Remove the pan from the heat and let cool 5 minutes.
3. Transfer to a heatproof, airtight container and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Basic Mini Frittatas
If I’m being honest, I have to admit I’ve been stuck in a breakfast rut for years. Not that I mind. Toast, whole grain muffins and quick breads, and cereal have been my trusted morning companions for years. So even if they are same-old, same-old day after day, I just really, really like carbs, so my bread-based breakfasts suit me pretty well. If I had a personal Breakfast Food Pyramid, it would look like this:
As you can see, eggs are not high on this list. (Well, technically, they are high, but in the upside-down-backwards kind of high, like how you want to score low, not high in golf.) Still, there is the occasional morning when something other than straight-up carbs appeals to me, or when I need to make something portable to take to a brunch, or when I give in to my husband’s pleas to make these muffin-sized frittatas. Because they really are a wonderful, satisfyingly savory way to make eggs. As with most egg dishes, these frittatas are unfailingly modifiable, so you can pretty much throw in any savory ingredient and wind up with something pleasing. Additionally, they’re embarrassingly easy to slap together and reheat beautifully (30 seconds in the microwave) for a convenient protein-y breakfast. I’ve made them for everything from bridal showers to Easter brunch to a quick dinner for the babysitter to feed my kids. Not that they’re going to supplant my grain-focused morning meal, but they certainly are easy, tasty, and healthy enough to make a semi-regular appearance.
Basic Mini Frittatas
(Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)
Ingredients:
8 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
Optional add-ins:
2 tsp. dried parsley (I always add this, regardless of other add-ins, as it gives such nice color!)
1/2 c. chopped cooked meat–ham, salami, bacon, chorizo, etc.
1/2 c. cheese–feta, Parmesan, shredded cheddar, etc.
1/2 c. cooked chopped vegetables–sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, etc.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and generously grease a regular-sized muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, pepper, and salt to blend well. Stir in any and all optional add-ins. Using a measuring cup to scoop, fill in muffin cups almost to the top.
3. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until frittatas are set in the center and begin to brown on top. Carefully loosen frittatas from muffin cups and serve immediately or refrigerate for later reheating.
Makes about 10 mini frittatas.