The Best Granola Ever - total time 30 minutes

You know the phrase "that's so granola"?  Describing something that is plain and boring...   Well those people have never had this granola!  I pretty much make it every week mainly for breakfast parfaits, but it also makes a great snack, especially when you need a few bites in between meals. 

You might buy granola in the store... it might taste good... but it is probably expensive, maybe three servings at best, and you don't know all of the ingredients, or maybe you don't like some of the ingredients.  Granola is soooo easy to make at home!  I had my doubts at first too.  But it really is just combining all the ingredients in a bowl and then spreading it on a cookie sheet, ten minutes in the oven and woop, there it is. ;)
I definitely save money too.  We would normally go through three bags of granola a week plus cereal and English muffins.   I get the main ingredients from bulk bins and the others are usually local and last through many, many batches of granola.  It also keeps me full longer in the mornings, so less snacking before lunch.  And you can make it into granola bars for a snack on the go.

So, chocolate and peanut butter... best combination ever, right?  You probably can't eat Reese cups every day, but this granola is actually healthy and has just enough sweet.  Whole grains and great protein from the seeds and nuts.  Plus it is naturally sweetened with a little honey and maple syrup... oh... and the dark chocolate chips of course... which are totally healthy, I promise!  :) 

Camp Breakfast Is In the Bag - total time 30 minutes

Have you seen those pins on Pinterest where they show a paper bag sitting over the campfire to cook breakfast?  I definitely have.  But have you ever seen the end result?  So many pins about allegedly being able to cook a camp breakfast without any clean up... sounds too good to be true.

So I tried it out...

To my surprise, no Pinterest fail occurred, which is good because we were hungry.  I shouldn't really be a surprised that the layered cooking works on a campfire because I did it with bacon, onions, and potatoes last year... but had to clean my cast iron afterward.  So now we can go pan free!

I love breakfast sandwiches, so the ingredients in this are perfect after a night sleeping in tents or really any time.  The bacon acts as a liner to the paper bag preventing the eggs from leaking out and the fat prevents the bag from burning in the fire.  I also add a little cooking spray just to be in the safe side.   The biscuit on top gets just enough air through the paper bag that it cooks perfectly (unlike covering a pan of biscuits with foil... if the steam can't escape, your biscuits will be soggy).  Where to put the bag once you have everything ready becomes the tricky part.  You don't want flames constantly hitting the bag... the bacon can protect the paper that well.  But you also need it close enough to cook before you get hangry.

Campfire Breakfast in a Skillet - total time 30 minutes

Until this year, I thought everyone went camping when they were kids.  I just thought that was part of growing up, your family spending a couple weekends, some times weeks, at a campground having fun outside.  I remember organizing our family's "field day" competition one year complete with SkipIt and paper ribbons hand colored and cut by yours truly.

Maybe that's why I love to be outside, get my hands dirty in the garden, stare at the night sky, and why bugs really don't bother me (unless they're mosquitos, mosquitos bother me a lot).  While I'd like to think of myself as a somewhat technically savvy individual, I can also disconnect from the interwebs and be okay (unlike these kids).

Since it is summer time, it's the perfect time get off the grid and recharge your batteries, literally and figuratively!  :)  Time to go for a hike, sleep under the stars, and cook over the fire.

For me, breakfast recipes need to be easy.  I'm not fully awake, and if it isn't easy, I might accidentally cut off a finger or something.  This recipe requires very little effort and includes minimal involvement of sharp objects.  It is very similar to the breakfast in a bag recipe (that I forgot to post, so, coming soon), but no chance of the cooking vessel breaking or burning in the fire.  If you like breakfast sandwiches, but would rather clean one pan instead of three... this is the recipe for you.

Streusel Muffins - total time 40 minutes

Cinnamon sugar!  I love it!  I was seriously in heaven at all of the bakeries in Switzerland... streusel everywhere!  Okay... I was pretty much in heaven at every European bakery we stopped in while on vacation, but streusel is something I can make at home (I still plan on making those Italian Nutella tarts someday).  

These muffins are somewhere between a muffin, a cupcake, and a doughnut.  They are a little too sweet (and maybe a little too much butter) to be considered an ordinary breakfast muffin.  This is definitely a treat.  Pair it with some fresh fruit for breakfast, add it to your brunch buffet lineup, or as a sweet snack to satisfy that annoying sweet tooth.  Since I love cinnamon, there is cinnamon throughout... even in the muffin!

You know, cinnamon has several health benefits including many antioxidants and having anti-inflammatory properties, so it can keep you healthy.  Too bad sugar and butter aren't health foods too!

Spicy Chicken and Potato Waffles - total time 40 minutes

You know, there are a lot of fun kitchen gadgets out there!  I mean, you could have the world's largest kitchen and still run out of space if you bought every gadget that might be useful.  That's why I try to limit myself to gadgets that have at least a few uses and I see myself using at least once a season (here is a list of must haves).  So I must pass on that mango pitter despite how useful it would be that one time a year I break down and need some mango in my life (how far did that mango have to travel to get to my plate again?  ugh).

Introducing the waffle iron... used only for making waffles, right?  It's also good for making waffle sammies and potato waffles.  Potato waffles are great way for using leftover mashed potatoes!  I always make soooo much mashed potatoes because it's one of my favorites (I was once known to eat an entire plate of mashed potatoes at buffet-style dinners) so we always have some left.  Potato waffles are great for breakfast (they're like one big hash brown), a side, or with spicy chicken!

The traditional southern comfort meal of fried chicken and waffles gets a little twist.  Take out the fryer and add some potatoes for a gluten free waffles!

Avocado Toasts - total time 5 minutes

I've seen a lot of avocado recipes out there lately!  You would think they were in season or something.  Hass avocados (which is what is in most grocery stores) can grow in California all year long, so I guess they are really always in season.  Other avocados are harvested in late summer and fall.  

But there is a reason everyone loves talking about avocados!  They are delicious... buttery and nutty... and they are nutritious... with healthy fats in omega 3s and potassium.  Nature's butter.  I use it in place of mayo in things like chicken and tuna salad.  It's also great on toast!  Which brings us to today's post...

I started making "avocado toast" way back in the day, in fact, it was one of the first recipes on this blog.  I usually don't roast my own tomatoes for this any more, especially if tomatoes aren't in season.  I love getting sun-dried tomatoes packed in jars with olive oil.  The flavor is amazing!  I always have a jar or two in the pantry to add to pastas and pizza... and toasts.  :)  Any way... now that we're using jarred tomatoes, it cuts out all of the prep time in this recipe and gets you to the eating portion that much faster!  That makes it perfect for breakfast, snacks, or on-the-go lunches.

This is my trusty toaster oven that we received as a wedding gift closing in on eight years ago.  It gets used almost every day and I was cleaning it the other day and some of the words and numbers started rubbing off the dials!  Good thing we have it all memorized!

Recipe for one avocado toast...
1 piece of bread (or english muffin)
.25 hass avocado
1 sun-dried tomato
a few shavings of parmesan cheese

1. Toast bread.
2. Scoop out avocado with a spoon and smear on the toast.
3. Cut up the sun-dried tomato and layer on top.
4. Sprinkle parmesan on top.
5. Devour.

 

Campfire Eggs-periment

When you're camping you can't take your whole kitchen with you, so it requires some minimalist cooking techniques.  We were planning our meals a couple day before we left (meal planning is an absolute necessity for camping) we found this interesting technique for cooking eggs.... right in the fire... using just the egg itself.  Can't get more minimalist than that!  So we packed an extra couple eggs to try this eggs-periment.  :)

First you poke a hole in the top of the egg shell.  You could use a safety pin, push pin, or even a metal skewer.  This allows for the heat to escape to prevent the shell from cracking under the pressure.  Then you carefully place the egg in the coals of the fire (not the flame).  Wait about 10 minutes for the eggs to cook.  You'll see the steam escaping from the small hole and maybe even little egg whites bubbling out.  Remove the eggs from the fire and let rest for at least 5 minutes before pealing the shell away.  

Lessons Learned
1.  Do not shake the egg before cooking... this doesn't create scrambled eggs in the shell... it creates explosive eggs.
2.  Poke a big enough hole, maybe two... or the shell will crack.
3.  Bring backup eggs just in case!

regular egg verses shaken egg... oops

Or just use your castiron... it is a camp cooking essential.

 

Campfire Potatoes - total time 40 minutes

Although our camping weekend was cut short due to storms and possible tornadoes (no real safe spot from lightning and tornadoes in a tent with metal rods), we still had a great time while we were there!

The first night was really just getting down there, setting up camp, making some dinner, and eating some s'mores.  :)  While we were sleeping, something took Snoop's water bowl... probably a raccoon.  And then Snoop was out wandering campsite for who knows how long before we noticed he slipped out of the tent!

The next day was full of kayaking, a short hike, and cooking on the campfire.  I don't have a lot of experience cooking with fire, but everything turned out really delicious.  Maybe it's because bacon was involved... maybe it was campfire.

These campfire potatoes are really easy!  Just slice everything up, layer it in a cast iron pan or dutch oven, cover it, and enjoy the fire and the smells of yummy potatoes.

Quick Crepes - total time 10 minutes

We're prepping for our vacation in Europe and I'm so excited!  Things are finally coming together after years of saying we would go and finding excuses to put it off another year.  So now that the flights are booked and we're landing the plane on some other decisions (including getting our tickets to London Fashion Week!), some times I try to start our vacation a little early with some classic french foods.

I'm normally a pancakes and eggs kind of girl on the weekends, but I swapped out my pancakes for a little french crepe.  It felt especially french since there wasn't a single word of english on the packaging!  I've tried making my own crepes before, after all, the batter is really just thinned down pancake mix (for the most part, I won't say that in Paris, I promise).  When I tried making them, they always fell apart.  It's hard to get something that thin and delicate!

After a couple times making crepes in the morning, I like them two ways... cold and warmed up.  The pictures and steps below are for the cold version using yogurt.  For the warmed up melty version, take the crepes, carefully spread peanut butter thinly across, then add slide bananas on one half... fold it in half twice and heat them in a pan on medium-low heat for a minute or two each side.  The heat crisps up the crepe for some textured crunch and warms the peanut butter to be gooey inside.  Perfect!

The cold version is just as good!  The main difference is toasting up the crepe first to avoid warming the yogurt.  Nice and creamy.

Breakfast Enchiladas - total time 30 minutes

We used to have a game on trying to make every meal into a sandwich... you know, since sandwiches are so awesome.  I think breakfast might have been the beginning of this challenge when I was using pancakes and sandwich ends before McDonalds made it a thing.  We made spaghetti sandwiches between garlic toasts.  Of course we sandwiched our pizza.  Pretty much anything was fair game to be between two slices of bread.

Now I feel like it's tacos time to shine (or enchiladas in this case).   Fish and veggie tacos that may have been hard to find a few years ago are not available everywhere.  With Taco Bell's waffle taco, you really have to wonder what can't be turned into a taco (and when does it stop being a taco and start just being a way to eat with your hands and shove food in your mouth).

Enter breakfast enchilada!  While it's not technically a taco, it sorta is.  Ha.  It's also kind of like a mini breakfast burrito.  Perfect serving size for your brunch table or for making on a Sunday and heating up throughout the week.  I went with more of a fajita approach, but add potatoes, beans, salsa, etc if that's what floats your boat!

10 Brunch Ideas for Mom's Day

It's funny how people turn out some times.  Over Easter lunch, my mom was commenting about how different we are after I turned down a piece of cake (I really just don't like cake).  We have said it before when talking about cooking, hiking, gardening... actually... a lot of my hobbies.  But there are still many moments where I think we are much more similar than either of us realize.

Of course, I wouldn't be the person I am today without my mom.  No one can say any differently. 

So celebrate with your mom, your rock, with some delicious brunch.  Bring her some flowers and tell her how much she means to you.  There is only one day set aside to celebrate all the moms out there when we should really be celebrating them every day.

(Click on the pictures for the recipes.)

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Asparagus and Poached Egg - total time 20 minutes

Eggs are a great source of protein for vegetarians and omnivores alike.  There have been many studies and reports that go back and forth on whether eggs are healthy for you or not.  Some say that they are high in cholesterol and that people shouldn't eat more that one or two a week.  Others says it's the ultimate health food and should even be consumed raw.  I like to think reality is somewhere in between knowing that eggs are low fat, high protein, have dietary sulfur (great for you hair and nails), and the yolks have carotenoids (similar to carrots).  I also love eggs... so at this point of being meat-free for around 40 days now... we have gone through quite a few eggs!

With Easter coming up, eggs are center stage.  You may be hard boiling some right now to dye different colors.  Or you could be filling a bunch of colorful plastic versions with candy in the next few days.  Eggs are a symbolic message of rebirth, so the iconic Easter egg completely makes sense.  

Celebrate Easter with this quick, delicious brunch.  Perfect timing for asparagus which are at their peak right now and the buttery, runny yolk over top... just delicious!  We actually had this dish for dinner, it is quite filling with a side dish of crispy roast potatoes.  It's minimal ingredients and cooks quickly, the slowest part is that you can only poach one egg at a time, but they only take a minute or two.  :)

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Granola Bar - total time 1 hour

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  I've never been one to skip breakfast, I would never make it to lunch without gnawing my arm off.  So to keep my hunger at bay, I start most mornings with a quick parfait.  I loooove this granola I get from Green Bean delivery.  It is so yummy!  And I have tried a lot of different granolas, definitely all of the ones with chocolate in them.  But this one is definitely the best, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, and a little chocolate.  Perfect way to start the day... top it with some berries and yogurt... even better!

We go through this stuff like crazy, like, a couple bags every week.  It's kind of ridiculous.  But we don't always have time in the morning even for a simple parfait (I easily lose track of time before I have had my coffee... even after sometimes... so mornings can go from a leisurely stroll to a mad dash out the door pretty quickly).  So what's a girl going to eat when she's run so fast out the door that she forgot to brush her hair and her phone is still sitting on the kitchen counter?  Granola bars!  A quick grab and go solution.

You could probably just take premade granola and bake it into bars.  But where is the fun in that?  This way you control everything that goes into the bars and can feel good about what you're eating.  No added sugar and tons of protein and fiber... and so yummy... just like McCabe's granola.

It takes a bit of time from start to finish, but it's mostly hands off time.  I walked my dog while everything was cooling, came back, covered them in chocolate, and then went back out with Snoop to finish our walk.  Probably only spent 15 minutes in the kitchen.  Easy peasy!  

Chocolate Chip Scones - total time 45 minutes

You know the saying you should always try something once?  I whole-heartedly agree that everyone should at least taste things they aren't familiar with.  You never know until you try it.  But in some cases, you have to try things multiple times to realize you love something!

That is so true for me and scones.  I've had scones before... they are usually dry and crumbly.  Scones usually sit next to muffins and donuts in the breakfast line up of choices.  Let's see, dry, crumbly scone or moist muffin that looks like a cupcake or sweet, sweet donuts... I'm probably not reaching for the scone.

Then I had the most delicious scone ever!  We were staying at a bed and breakfast in Olympic National Park where they made us so many tasty breakfasts.  One the last morning, there were these blueberry scones.  So delicious and buttery.  Almost like a muffin top, but better (which kind of made me think of that episode of Seinfield about Elaine selling only the muffin tops).

So, when you have some time in the morning to spend some time on breakfast, or if you're in the mood for brunch... try this scone recipe!  I swapped out the blueberries (which look awful right now, since they aren't in season) and swapped in some dark chocolate chips which made it almost like a dessert.  :)

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - total time 45 minutes

Banana bread muffins used to be something I baked pretty frequently.  I always bought bananas and never seemed to eat all of them before a few turned "extra ripe".  Every time I would tweak the recipe... add cinnamon, mix in some brown sugar, a little lemon zest... I would bring some over to my grandma and she would tell me if it was a good tweak or if something was missing.  Then we would talk for an hour or more about random things.  She always had a good story to tell, even if I had already heard it seven times it was still fascinating.

Over Thanksgiving my dad wondered aloud where I got the cooking and baking gene from.  Definitely not from my parents; they will fully admit to that.  It is completely from my grandma who taught me so much.  Who cooked and baked from scratch nearly every day.  Who showed me how to garden and how much fun it could be.  Who inspired a craft project one hour and timed me in my math tables the next.  Who taught me how to be thrifty and appreciating what I have.  Who had a kind heart, but knew when tough love was needed.

After she passed, I didn't bake banana bread muffins for a while...  I have only made them a few times since then and it brings back those happy memories every time.  It's just one of those things that will always be connected.  I brought out my recipe card, stained with butter grease and smashed banana... and made one tweak. 

As we celebrate the holidays, do you have a tradition that has passed down over generations that reminds you of specific friends or family members?  If you are looking for a banana bread recipe, this one is pretty basic.  Maybe it could become part of your family tradition.  All I know is this recipe is grandma-approved... :)

Broccolini Frittata - total time 35 minutes

Happy Independence Day!  I hope you have time for a "lazy weekend" breakfast or brunch before running off to parades and fireworks.  While this breakfast has nothing to do with anything red, white, and blue (like a strawberry and blueberry parfait), it is great to just sit down and really enjoy breakfast with the family without rushing around worrying about being late for something.

This breakfast will leave you feeling full without weighing you down.  It is savory with a touch of bacon (easily omitted to make vegetarian).  And it is really easy!  I love frittatas for feeding multiple people in the mornings.  It is like cooking individual omlettes for everyone in one pan all at once.  I also like frittatas for dinner because cold cereal for breakfast every morning really just doesn't do it for me and some times the only time you can get a real breakfast in is when the sun is going down.

Mini Spinach Quiche - total time 1 hour

I love breakfast foods, love.  Savory or sweet.  Morning or night.  I am down for some pancakes, eggs, breakfast sandwiches, muffins, doughnuts, hash browns... okay, I am getting hungry again.  So I have been planning on making a quiche for a while now.  But after my husband kept calling frittatas "egg pies" that making quiche for dinner might seal the deal on no more breakfast for dinner.  (I got him to admit that frittatas are more like omlettes cut like a pizza, not a pie.)  

Thankfully, he liked it.  So I will continue to sneak breakfast for dinner meals into our menus!

So you could make one big quiche or little ones in a muffin pan.  The little ones are definitely cuter... but I couldn't stop eating them!  Just one more...  ha!  The crust if flaky, the egg is fluffy, and the spinach and feta are savory.  Yum!  It kind of just melts in your mouth.  Also with the mini sized ones... forks are not required... just three bites and you'll be looking for the next one.

Asparagus Frittata - total time 30 minutes

When I found the local produce options on my Green Bean delivery account, the only thing available was asparagus... so of course I got some for my bin.  Something about Spring makes me want to cook asparagus all of the time!  There are other vegetables in season, but asparagus has such a short window that you want to savor the moment as often as possible before the tender stalks become tough and woody.

I was planning to make this frittata last week (since I had it on my menu plan)... but my husband vetoed it calling it 'egg pie'.  That's okay, more for me, because he really missed out on this one!  While a frittata is kind of like an omelet... maybe it is the roasted asparagus or the broiled finish, but it is so much better.

Earth Day Muffins - total time 45 minutes

Earth Day is April 22nd.  Do you do anything to celebrate?  Some people plant a tree (well, they might do that on Arbor Day which is April 26), others spend time outside (which is a win-win since you don't have to use electricity to enjoy the outdoors), or maybe commit to reducing, reusing, and recycling more.  I don't really do anything special on Earth Day... really, we should be thinking about the Earth and celebrating it everyday. But this year I made Earth Day muffins!

I actually saw a similar idea for this on Pinterest, although it was a cake with a lot of food coloring.  I thought maybe I could muffins with some natural coloring... but I couldn't get to a true blue or a true green without a little help.  The concept is pretty easy... start with a basic muffin batter, separate, add in your blue and green fruits and dyes, then plop alternating spoonfuls of muffin batter into muffin cups.  They end up looking so cute!  Perfect for Earth Day, but could be made any time!