A nod to our Scottish heritage with this traditional Scottish tea loaf. I used an orange cinnamon herbal tea and added chopped dried apricots and pecans.
The recipe includes an optional glaze. I don’t like my breads too sweet, so I usually leave it off, or serve it on the side for those who want the extra sweetness.
This bread is delicious served warm or cold and spread with cream cheese.
RECIPE: Continue reading
Filed under Breads, Breakfast/Brunch
Summer is in full swing, which means it is prime zucchini season. Pair this quiche with a salad for a perfect summer meal that can be eaten hot or cold.
For a perfectly browned crust, bake the quiche with a pie crust shield. It is easy to Make Your Own:
For a low carb version, just bake this quiche without a crust in an 8-inch square baking dish.
Some ideas for salads to serve alongside this quiche:
Chopped Caprese Salad
Greek Summer Salad
Chipotle Lime Quinoa and White Bean Salad
Thai Cucumber Salad
RECIPE:
Single pastry crust for 9” pie plate
1 ½ cups heavy cream
4 eggs
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground cayenne or Ancho chile pepper
1 Tbs butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped cooked ham
¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan
1 ½ cups shredded Swiss, cheddar, or Gruyere cheese
Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare pastry crust and place in 9” pie plate (deep dish, if possible).
In a medium bowl, use a whisk to mix cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
Heat butter in a skillet. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add diced zucchini and cook until crisp-tender (about 3 minutes). Place vegetables in a mixing bowl and stir in diced ham. Cool slightly. Stir in shredded cheese. Spread filling evenly into unbaked crust. Pour egg mixture over filling. Use a spatula or fork to remove any large air pockets.
If desired, cover the crust of the quiche with a pie crust shield. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to set at room temperature 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
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Filed under Breakfast/Brunch, Main Dishes, Side Dishes
Scones don’t have to just be a dessert food. Scone dough is perfectly suited to add savory ingredients and served for breakfast or brunch. Or as an accompaniment to soup, stew, or chili for dinner. These scones are stuffed full of bacon, green onions, gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, and chopped jalapenos.
I only used one jalapeño this time, which was hardly noticeable. Next time I will use 2-3. Heat levels of jalapeños vary widely, however, so it is wise to taste a small piece before committing to adding 3 full jalapeños.
You can eat these plain, slathered with butter or Clotted Cream, or topped with jam. I served them with a homemade sweet & spicy Mango Jalapeño Jam.
To form the scones, transfer your dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to shape dough into an 8” round disc about 3/4-inch thick.
Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 wedges. This recipe makes 16 scones. Don’t make one large circle and cut into 16 pieces. Instead, divide dough in half and make 8 from each round.
An important factor in getting light, airy scones is not working the dough more than necessary. An easy and effective way to cut your butter into the dry ingredients is to use a cheese grater to shred frozen butter into your dry ingredients and then mix only briefly. You want there to still be strands of visible butter. That is what will create the air pockets and layers in your scones.
Tip for adding butter: This recipe calls for 8 Tbs (1 stick) of butter. Freeze TWO sticks, then take a pen and mark around the 4 Tbs line on each stick. (It is hard to grate slippery butter all the way down to the end of the stick without grating your fingers ) Fold back the paper on the sticks of butter to the line you’ve drawn. Holding the paper-covered end of the butter, grate the butter directly into your dry ingredients (briefly stir occasionally so that you don’t have a big pile of butter in one spot). Stop grating when you get to the line where you’ve folded back your butter paper. I usually use the larger of the two grating hole sizes on the grater.
You can also grate butter that is just refrigerated, not frozen, but it will hold it’s consistency longer if you freeze it for about 30 minutes first.
RECIPE:
2 ½ cups flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter (freeze TWO sticks for 30 mins for easier grating)
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten lightly
½ cup chopped crisply-cooked bacon
¼ cup chopped green onion
2-3 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2/3 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan
Egg wash: 1 egg, beaten + 2 Tbs heavy cream
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture to form coarse crumbs. Tip for adding butter: Freeze TWO sticks of butter, then take a pen and mark around the 4 Tbs line on each stick. (It is hard to grate slippery butter all the way down to the end of the stick without grating your fingers ) Fold back the paper on the sticks of butter to the line you’ve drawn. Holding the paper-covered end of the butter, grate the butter directly into your dry ingredients (briefly stir occasionally so that you don’t have a big pile of butter in one spot). Stop grating when you get to the line where you’ve folded back your butter paper. I usually use the larger of the two grating hole sizes on the grater.
Mix together the buttermilk and the beaten eggs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in milk just until moistened.
In a small bowl, stir together the cooked bacon, green onions, jalapeños, and grated cheeses. Mix gently into the scone dough.
On a floured surface, knead dough lightly until evenly mixed. Divide the dough in half. Pat each dough half into an 8-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each circle into 8 wedges.
Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Place dough wedges on prepared sheets and place in freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove scones from freezer and brush lightly with egg wash. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Serve plain or with butter, Clotted Cream, or Mango Jalapeño Jam.
Yield: 16 scones
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**TO FREEZE SCONES TO SERVE AT A LATER TIME:
Scones can be frozen either before or after baking.
To freeze before baking: Prepare scone dough. Cut scones and place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. DO NOT brush with egg wash. Freeze until firm. Place into Ziploc bag or freezer container and store in freezer. Place frozen scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Brush tops of scones with egg wash. Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes.
To freeze after baking: Prepare and bake scones. Cool completely and place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Freeze until firm. Place into Ziploc bag or freezer container and store in freezer. Place frozen scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake at 300°F for 10-12 minutes.
NoEmptyChairs.me
Filed under Appetizers, Breads, Breakfast/Brunch
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.
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:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Grated zest of 2 lemons
½ 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).
Recipe adapted from The Perfect Pantry
NoEmptyChairs.me
Filed under Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts
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).
Cooking 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!
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:
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.
NoEmptyChairs.me
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.
NoEmptyChairs.me
Filed under Breakfast/Brunch
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.
Open tube of crescent rolls; separate dough into 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. Serve warm.
RECIPE:
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.
NoEmptyChairs.me
Filed under Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts
Sugar Free Strawberry Cheesecake
Baseball/Softball Cookies
Peeps Cupcakes
Strawberry Lemonade Cake
Lemon Bars
Chocolate Covered Strawberries Cake
Strawberries & Cream Roll Cake
Easter Resurrection Rolls
Strawberry Nutella Muffins
Lime Glazed Raspberry Sweet Rolls
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