Tag: Breakfast
Almond Joy Overnight Oatmeal
I first heard of overnight oats a couple of years ago in one of my nutrition classes. To get a sense of how to take a diet history, I was assigned to interview the girl next to me about her typical day’s eating. Back up–actually, she interviewed me first, and striving for full disclosure, I told her about my daily sweet indulgence, my penchant for muffins, and my occasional handfuls of barbecue chips. (Along with, of course, the other good stuff I also eat.)
Then it was her turn. I think I remember her food narrative word for word because, frankly, it was so preposterous and holier-eating-than-thou. “Well, I start the day with a banana–before I WORK OUT FOR 90 MINUTES–then I have some overnight oats with organic yogurt, no sweetener. For lunch I have grilled tilapia and about three cups of vegetables…” (Who the eff eats three cups of vegetables in one meal?) Anyway, the list went on ad nauseum until I was convinced this girl was on a mission for the title of “World’s Healthiest Eater”–that or “Definitely A Healthier Eater Than You, You Scum.” But the main thing about the interview that stuck with me (other than those three cups of vegetables) was her mention of the overnight oats. What were overnight oats? I looked them up, only discover that overnight oats are an oatmeal you assemble at night, stash in the fridge, and eat cold in the morning. Well, that sounded nasty with a capital N. Cold oatmeal? Isn’t that what they feed prisoners of war?
So I can’t really remember why I decided to try it.
Somewhere along the way, though, I did, and was floored to realize that….shhhh…it’s basically like eating oatmeal cookie dough. Especially when you make it with ingredients that make it taste like an Almond Joy candy bar. I’m not going to claim this recipe is healthy, exactly, but it sure is a hearty breakfast that will keep you full for the hours until lunch. (You could bypass some calories by subbing more almond milk for the Greek yogurt in it, or cutting back the coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips.) I also came to realize how incredibly convenient it is to put in the work of making your breakfast the night before so you can pull out a self-contained, 100% ready-to-go meal in the morning. Totally worth it.
As a food blogger, I realize I’m pretty late to the game when it comes to the whole overnight oats phenomenon. It’s one of those trendy foods that cropped up three to four years ago or so and has been a drippy mason-jarred mainstay for food bloggers ever since. (Seriously, what’s with the drippy mason jars? I can’t help but picture these bloggers with really sticky fingers after their oatmeal photo shoots.) So, I know–overnight oats, that’s sooooo 2013. But also soooooo tasty, and soooo convenient to grab out of the fridge on a busy morning. So okay, girl next to me in nutrition class, you win this one. As for your three cups of vegetables, though…I can’t compete.
Almond Joy Overnight Oats
(Inspired by Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth)
Ingredients:
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c. almond milk
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 Tbsp. sliced almonds
Directions:
The night before you intend to eat the oatmeal, mix all ingredients in a bowl or glass (or a drippy Mason jar–ha). Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight until ready to eat!
Whole Wheat Granola Muffins
Have you ever heard one of those pop song mashups, where they take two songs with similar chord progressions and meld them together? It probably just goes to show how similar all pop music is, but I still get a kick out of how cool it sounds to layer one song on top of another. (Don’t tell my husband, who is all about music being unique–have I mentioned his website, MakeWeirdMusic.com?) There are a few mashups I’ve heard and really enjoyed, though, like one that matched Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” with “Stand by Me”:
or this one that layered Beyonce’s “Halo” with “Walking on Sunshine”:
Anyway, the point is that sometimes two things can go together in unexpected ways that just work…
…which brings me to these whole wheat granola muffins, which I like to think of as a Breakfast Mashup. Take two breakfast items that don’t seem to go together–granola and muffins–and meld them into one! It’s a breakfast pop hit! But wait, you might say. Isn’t putting the crunch of granola into a soft-and-chewy baked good kind of counterintuitive? Won’t the granola create an unpleasant harshness? That’s certainly what I would have thought, but having made these muffins twice now, I can attest that is not the case. The magic of baking softens the granola just enough to add a crunch that is pleasantly noticeable, but not tooth-breakingly obvious. Plus, the warmth of cinnamon and heartiness of whole wheat flour go hand in hand with just about any pre-made granola you can name. I chose an apple-cinnamon variety with great results.
To ensure these muffins don’t turn out dry (as can sometimes happen with whole wheat-based baked goods), I’m going to let you in on a little secret I’ve found helpful: break out the food scale. Accurately measured flour always makes for better baking, and measuring cups can be deceiving. The white whole wheat flour I used was 120 grams in 1 cup, and my measuring cup weighs 26 grams, so this is what an accurately measured 1 cup of flour looked like for me:
So, what breakfast mashups can we come up with next? Egg-flavored cereal? Sausage smoothies? Just kidding. Stick with granola muffins for a sure bet for a delicious, whole grain-packed breakfast mashup to start your day off right.
Whole Wheat Granola Muffins
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat (or white whole wheat) flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. prepared granola
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c. milk
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and granola.
- In a separate bowl, combine vanilla, vegetable oil, yogurt, and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly between muffin cups and bake 18-20 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.
3 Cute & Easy Valentine Breakfasts
Valentine’s Day is headed our way! Have women’s magazines, Pinterest, and other social media convinced you that you have to do something over-the-top and uber-creative for your loved ones on this special day? Are you feeling the pull to get yourself to a craft store to whip up something heart-shaped and fancy and awesome before February 14th? As a wife and a mom, around holidays I often feel the forceful duress of some invisible Holiday Pressure Beast telling me such things. Magazines and social media are really good at showing us how to overdo it under the guise of being a creative wife or mother. But then I try to remind myself that nowhere is it written that good wives or moms can be identified by their holiday projects. Heck, it’s a struggle just to get my kids appropriately dressed for the weather and out the door to school on time every day. So I like to think that in the absence of a glittery pink-and-red 4-foot gift basket awaiting them on Valentine’s Day morning, my family will hopefully appreciate a cute little Valentine breakfast. “Small things with great love,” right?
Here are three fun, easy breakfast ideas to make using a heart-shaped cookie cutter for whoever you call your Valentine. Basically, if you have a 2-inch heart cookie cutter and some basic breakfast essentials, you can pull these off. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1. Heart-Shaped Granola Plate
Place heart cookie cutter on a plate. Fill the inside with granola, then surround the outside with berries:
Carefully remove cookie cutter. Place 1/4 c. yogurt in a squeeze bottle or Ziploc with a small hole cut in one end. Squeeze whatever pattern you like on top of the granola.
2. Heart Egg Toast
Traditionally, cooking an egg inside toast is apparently known as an “egg in a basket” or the repellant Britishism “toad in a hole.” (Ew, can we please not call it that?) I’m going to go with “heart egg toast,” because it describes this breakfast a whole lot better than conjuring up images of eating frogs, thankyouverymuch.
To make this heart-shaped egg toast, cut into the center of the toast with a heart cookie cutter. Melt about 1/2 Tbsp. butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Place toast on melted butter, then crack 1 egg directly into the hole. Cook about 2 minutes or until egg appears opaque enough to be turned without running. Flip and cook other side an additional 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and serve immediately. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Berry-Nutella Waffle Heart
Toast frozen waffle(s). Cut through center with heart-shaped cookie cutter, Fill hole(s) with berries and decorate with Nutella.
See? Nice and simple! So go enjoy a stress-free Valentine’s Day filled with lots of love and heart-shaped foods galore!
Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
Now that the rush of Christmas and New Year’s jollifications has passed, it seems like mid-January is back to business as usual. No more holiday parties filling the calendar, Christmas decorations decking the halls, or traditions to observe. Business, business, business!
I know a lot of people get to feeling a little down when the holidays are over, but (although I adore Christmas) I tend to feel a burst of energy when all things Christmas are put to rest. The house gets cleaned, the gifts and gadgets are put to work, and school and work are resumed. Everything feels in its proper place. Getting back to “normal” reminds me that I really do like my normal life, and opens the door to finding joy in everyday pleasures that get lost in the shuffle of the holidays.
Saturday breakfast is one of those pleasures. Of course, it’s not every Saturday that we go all out with something fancy for breakfast, but…
…these lemon poppy seed pancakes are a definite go-to. My husband Anthony is an excellent pancake maker/flipper, and I make a mean batter, so it’s a fun, rare event for us to cook together. When the weather is nice, we take our stack o’pancakes out back and eat breakfast as a family in the yard. There’s nothing like fluffy lemon pancakes with the subtle crunch of poppy seeds and a drizzle of maple syrup to start a weekend off right.
So, you know the classic song “Why Can’t Every Day Be Like Christmas?” where Elvis sings, “If every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world this would be”? Sorry, Elvis, but with all due respect, I have to disagree. I’m happy to get back to my regularly scheduled life. Including Saturday morning breakfasts of lemon poppy seed pancakes with my favorite people.
Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour (or 1 c. each white whole wheat and all-purpose)
1/4 c. white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
Maple syrup, for serving
Directions:
- In a glass measuring cup, combine milk and lemon juice. Let stand 5-10 minutes or until milk has curdled. Whisk in eggs, butter, and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppy seeds, and lemon zest.
- Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until batter is mostly free of lumps (being careful not to overmix!).
- Heat a skillet or electric griddle over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 c. batter per pancake into the skillet and cook 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
Serves 6-8.
Smoked Salmon Quiche with Crispy Potato Crust
It verges on embarrassing how many of my recipes come from an effort to use up one ingredient. Not the same ingredient every time, of course, I mean it’s not like I have an King Kong-sized jar of mayo I’m trying to get through…
…but there’s always one thing or another calling out to me from the fridge or pantry, “Uuuuuuuuse meeeeee! Uuuuuuse me or you’ll have to throw me awaaaaaay! And then I will haunt your dreeeeeeeams!” It may be that foil-topped can of chipotle peppers in adobo, that half-used bunch of cilantro, or, in the case of today’s recipe, a vacuum-sealed package of smoked salmon I grabbed on impulse when I saw it on a really good sale. I love smoked salmon in appetizers, but in the absence of any upcoming parties or other good excuses for appetizers, what the heck do you do with a hunk of smoked salmon?
Well, I’ll tell you what you do! You scour the internet for ways to insert it into a weeknight dinner! ….except… dang, it’s hard to find dinner recipes involving smoked salmon. The internet’s offering of smoked salmon appetizers stretches from here to Mars, but I think I think I would have gotten about the same number of results if I had Googled “Q-tips for Dinner” as “Smoked Salmon Dinner.” As I mentioned in December, I’m not above serving my family a hodgepodge of canapés for our evening meal, but I really wanted something a little heartier.
So it’s a good thing to know that, when faced with a dearth of options, you can make a QUICHE out of just about anything. And quiche, in my book, is a perfectly acceptable dinner. In fact, the idea of a quiche with a potato crust has been calling my name for quite some time, so this smoked salmon version with a crispy potato crust that eventually surfaced from the internet sounded like the ideal way to kill two birds with one stone. (Disclaimer: no birds were harmed in the making of this quiche.) The crispy, Cajun-spiced hashbrown crust turned out to be an excellent complement to the cooling flavors of salmon, cream cheese, dill, and leek …and a great way to use up smoked salmon, whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
P.S. While we’re on the subject, here are some other dinner-y, non-appetizer-y ideas for using up a hunk of smoked salmon, in case you ever find yourself in a similar predicament:
- Smoked salmon fettucine alfredo
- Smoked salmon chowder
- Salad with spinach, smoked salmon, and other toppings like avocado and mandarin oranges
- Potato latkes topped with herbed cream cheese and smoked salmon
Smoked Salmon Quiche with Crispy Potato Crust
(Adapted from Food Network)
Ingredients:
For the crust:
3 1/4 cups frozen hashbrowns, thawed (microwave at 30-second intervals until thawed)
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
For the filling:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 leeks, halved and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 eggs
3/4 c. half and half
4 oz. smoked salmon, diced
2 Tbsp. fresh dill (or 2 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 10-inch tart pan or pie plate. In a medium bowl, mix thawed hashbrowns, melted butter, spices, and Parmesan until hashbrowns are evenly coated. Press into the bottom and sides of the prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes.
- When crust comes out of the oven, lower the heat to 350 degrees. Let cool on a wire rack.
- In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, lemon juice, and leek-garlic mixture. Add eggs one at a time, stirring between each addition, then add half and half, smoked salmon, dill, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Pour evenly into baked hashbrown shell and bake 30 minutes or until the center is set. Cool 20 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.
Serves 6.