Tag Archives: brunch

May 25, 2011 · 8:08 am

Waffle Week: Lemon Yogurt Waffles

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Desserts in our house usually have to come in both a chocolate and non-chocolate variety. So, alongside our Double Chocolate Waffles, we had these Lemon Yogurt Waffles.

These waffles are a little sweeter than regular waffles (even after I cut the sugar in half from the original recipe), so I don’t think I would want them for breakfast. Little A had no problem eating them anytime of the day, however.

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The waffles are made with plain yogurt and flavored with fresh lemon zest. They have more of a light cake consistency than regular waffles.
The berry sauce was a perfect accompaniment for the sweet lemon taste of the waffles.
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For Waffle Tips & Suggestions, click HERE.
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RECIPE:

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Lemon Yogurt Waffles
——————(adapted from The Perfect Pantry)

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, oil, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour batter evenly into hot waffle maker (about 2 scant cups for the 4 small Belgian waffles in my waffle maker). Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or according to directions on your waffle maker. Remove waffles from waffle maker and place on a wire rack (not a plate). Serve immediately or keep warm in a warm oven (very low heat).

Makes 2-3 large Belgian waffles (8-12 small squares)

To freeze: Cool waffles on a wire rack. Place in Ziploc bags and freeze. Reheat individual frozen waffles in a toaster (for crispier edges) or microwave (for a soft waffle).

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May 23, 2011 · 5:01 am

Birthday Chocolate Chip (or Blueberry) Waffles and Oven Bacon

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Yesterday was Middle K’s 14th birthday, and in the spirit of Waffle Week, we made Chocolate Chip and Blueberry Waffles for breakfast that morning. With some Oven Bacon on the side. For the waffles, I used the One-Bowl Buttermilk Waffle batter. While the batter was in the waffle iron, I sprinkled in mini chocolate chips, or some frozen blueberries (not thawed). Fresh blueberries would obviously be great as well; I can’t wait until summer blueberry season—I am down to my last bag of blueberries that I froze last summer. You could also sprinkle in other berries or chopped fruit (raspberries, chopped strawberries, peaches).

052211 032-1Cooking bacon in the oven is a great way to make a lot of bacon without making a mess of your kitchen. And there are NO PANS TO CLEAN WHEN YOU ARE DONE!! It was a great thing to make with these Buttermilk Waffles, as this batter is best if it sits for 30 minutes before cooking. So I made up the batter, set it aside, then got the bacon going in the oven. By the time the bacon was crisp, the batter was ready to cook!

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Simply line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty foil, lay out slices of bacon (not touching) and bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes. Exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon, and how crispy you like it. A general guideline is to watch the “bubbles” on the bacon. They will start out large, then get small and foamy when the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and allow to drain on some paper towels. When the pan has cooled completely, simply gather up the foil (with all of the messy grease inside) and throw it away. Or you could save some of those bacon drippings and freeze to use for cooking later.

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RECIPES:

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Chocolate Chip or Blueberry Waffles

Waffle Batter (try any of the following):
One-Bowl Buttermilk Waffles
Brown Sugar Buttermilk Waffles
Whole Grain Waffles
Overnight Yeast Raised Waffles
Sourdough Waffles

Mini Chocolate Chips, Blueberries, or other Chopped Fruit or Nuts

Prepare batter according to recipe. Fill waffle maker with slightly less batter than usual. Sprinkle with desired filling. Using a heat safe rubber spatula, gently spread batter in the waffle maker to cover the chocolate chips or fruit with a small amount of batter (so that they don’t stick to the top plate of the waffle iron). Close waffle iron and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy.

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Oven Bacon

Bacon
Rimmed Baking Sheet
Heavy Duty Foil
Paper Towels

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line the baking sheet with foil. Lay out slices of raw bacon (not touching) and bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes. Exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon, and how crispy you like it. A general guideline is to watch the “bubbles” on the bacon. The bubbles will start out large, then get small and foamy when the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and allow to drain on some paper towels.

When the pan has cooled completely, simply gather up the foil (with all of the messy grease inside) and throw it away. Or you could save some of those bacon drippings and freeze to use for cooking later.

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May 5, 2011 · 10:44 am

Quick & Easy Nutella Crescent Rolls

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A quick and easy idea today that isn’t really a recipe, as it only contains three ingredients: a tube of packaged crescent rolls, a jar of Nutella and some chopped nuts. I used walnuts, but chopped hazelnuts, pecans or almonds would also be good. These are the jumbo-sized rolls, but you can make them with any of the varieties.

Great for kids to make for a Mother’s Day breakfast (or dessert). And always popular with hungry teenagers after early-morning seminary.

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Open tube of crescent rolls; separate dough into triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

3711 129-1Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown. Serve warm.

RECIPE:

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Nutella Crescent Rolls
———-(adapted from Deep Dish South)

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (regular or jumbo)
Nutella
Finely chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pecans)

Unroll and separate raw crescent roll triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown (about 15-18 minutes at 350°F for the jumbo size).

Cool slightly. Serve warm.

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January 12, 2011 · 8:20 pm

Baking & Board Games: A Perfect Snow Day

View Snow Day Baking 

Baking and Board Games:
What better way to spend a mid-week, school-canceled SNOW DAY!

View Snow Day Monopoly

With a little sledding, snow-fort making and hot chocolate sipping added to keep things balanced.

View SnowDayJan2011 

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080610 022-1Raspberry Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins (recipe below)
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021910 095Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe HERE)

RECIPE:

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Raspberry Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

recipe from Aimée at Simple Bites

**Prep Note: the oats need to soak in the milk for 1 hour before adding the rest of the ingredients.

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 Tbs white vinegar or lemon juice)
1 cup rolled oats
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raspberries or mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

Combine buttermilk and oats in a large bowl and let stand for one hour. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Stir the egg into the oat and milk mixture; add brown sugar and sugar; mix to combine. Stir in melted butter. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & spices. Gently fold into batter, taking care not to over mix. Gently stir in raspberries and chocolate.

Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake until light brown and tops spring back when gently touched, about 15 minutes (they will take slightly longer if using frozen berries).

Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 medium muffins

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February 2, 2010 · 12:48 pm

Mediterranean Frittata

I have a confession to make: I don’t really like eggs. I have a really hard time choking down a plate of plain scrambled or fried eggs. If you add a few slices of toast and a jar of salsa, I can get through them. Or I’m even happier if those raw eggs are mixed with some butter, sugar, flour and chocolate chips before baking: that is my kind of eggs!

But while I don’t like eggs, I do love quiche. Something to do with all of that cheese, cream and bacon hiding the egg flavor (and texture). So this frittata (crustless egg casserole) is right up my alley: it is chock-full of non-egg tasting ingredients. Artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese. Not a plain bite of egg to be found!

I made a large 9×13” casserole, so that I could eat it for breakfast all week (and maybe even share a square or two), but you could easily halve the recipe below and bake it in a square 8×8” pan.

This could also be prepared the night before, refrigerated, and then baked in the morning for an easy, delicious holiday breakfast. And Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.

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The extra Parmesan cheese on top is optional, but I always go for maximum cheese with my eggs.Jan2010 040-1

It bakes up nice and puffy, with delicious browned cheese bits on top.Jan2010 048-1

A fabulous, healthy, non-egg-tasting, high-protein start to your day!

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RECIPE:

Mediterranean Frittata
______(Adapted from TwoPeasandTheirPod)

18 eggs
16 oz container cottage cheese
1 cup (about 4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
2 tsp Greek seasoning**
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 (15 oz) cans/jars artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
3 oz pkg sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives (optional)
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined. Stir in cottage cheese, feta cheese, Greek seasoning, salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a medium pan. Sauté the onion until soft. Add garlic and spinach. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.

Combine spinach mixture with chopped artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and parsley. Stir to combine (this will help cool the spinach before adding it to the egg mixture). Stir vegetables into eggs.

Spray a 9×13” casserole dish with non-stick baking spray. Pour egg mixture into pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if using.

Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes, or until set in center. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.

**NOTE: I get my Greek Seasoning from Penzeys, but you could also substitute a combination of oregano and marjoram.

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