3 Grain Muffins

We're still here! I take pictures of my food all the time with great intention to post, but I seem to get caught up in the many other things on my list. I wonder if there will ever be a day when I have my whole house organized, in place, and clean all at the same time. Is it actually possible? Anyways... enough of that. Here I am actually posting, so we will make it quick! We love muffins for breakfast. These healthy muffins have a little crunch from the cornmeal and oats, and are perfect with jam! They are delicious! We gobble them up in one morning. My kids love them, and they are healthy! Double bonus!!! I got the recipe from a book called 1 Mix, 100 Muffins by Susanna Tee. It's one of those books with one basic recipe used for 100 different muffins. I have had a good time experimenting, and have enjoyed all the muffins I have made. When I saw these muffins, they were calling my name. We eat a lot of whole wheat at my house, and I love cornmeal in breakfast baking, so I knew these wouldn't disappoint! They are quick to throw together, and are perfect with a side of eggs and fresh fruit!

Three-Grain Muffins

Susanna Tee

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour (I use all wheat)

1 Tbsp baking powder

heaping 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

heaping 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

scant 1 cup rolled oats

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

6 Tbsp oil

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Greas 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper liners. Sift together flour and baking powder into a large bowl, adding any bran left in the sifter. Stir in the sugar, cornmeal, and oats.

Lightly beat the eggs in a large pitcher or bowl, then beat in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry and pour in the beaten wet ingredients. Stir gently until just combined; do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Mine took 15 minutes.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Enjoy!!!

Jumbo "Whatever" Breakfast Cookies

These breakfast cookies are amazing! I'm sure glad "breakfast" is in the title of the cookies, because then I don't feel guilty for eating a cookie for breakfast! My sister made me some of these beauties just after I had my first child. I loved them so much that I had to have the recipe and I have been making them ever since. They are so tasty. Almost like a granola bar, but in cookie form. They are breakfast cookies because they have Bran Flakes Cereal in them. We love to store them in the freezer and eat them frozen. I usually double my batch so I have plenty to store. Because they are JUMBO, one batch makes 12. I usally do 6 jumbo and do the rest mini for the kids. The dough is super tough and crumbly, so don't be alarmed. You have to really compact your dough balls. What's great about this recipe is the "whatever" part! You can throw in just about "whatever" you want. I always put in oats and craisins. Raisins are wonderful as well. You could throw in some coconut, or even nuts. The possibilities are endless, and delicious! So give em' a try and make it your own "whatever"! They will not disapoint!

Jumbo "Whatever" Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 Tbsp vanilla

*Stir together*

Add:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 cups bran flakes cereal

1/2 cup soft butter

1/4 cup water

1 egg, beaten

1 cup chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, peanut butter, vanilla, butterscotch)

"Whatever" mix-ins:

1 cup oats

1 cup craisins or raisins

1 cup coconut

1 cup nuts

***Mix very well! (Your hand will get tired!) Drop by rounded 1/2 cups or giant spoonful. Round into about a 2-inch ball and flatten on cookie sheet to 1/2 inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

Best Ever... Baked Oatmeal

We are back!!! Sorry for the month long break we took from blogging. I had a healthy, beautiful baby girl in mid July, and my sister is back on her feet after another awful first trimester of pregnancy for #4. Hopefully we will get back on schedule with the blogging. I have been taking pictures...just not posting. Life is getting back to normal...at least I hope we are heading that way.

This recipe is absolutely delish! I am already deciding when I am going to make it this week. We love it so much. I make the whole batch and store the rest in the fridge for our breakfast for 2 more days. I even eat it for a mid-morning, or mid-afternoon snack. I'm hooked! It is amazing with fresh cut strawberries and milk. I can't wait to try other fruits on top. I bet it will be fantastic with peaches on top. I found this recipe at www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com . I have loved this blog. She has got awesome pictures, and wonderful recipes. She got this recipe from a friend. I just can't get enough of this breakfast. We call it our Breakfast cake. It seems to make my kids excited to eat it. They love it! I don't think I will buy Instant Oatmeal ever again. It just will never compare to this tasty baked oatmeal.

Baked Oatmeal

From: My Kitchen Cafe

6 cups oatmeal (you can use quick or rolled - quick gives it a smoother texture)

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups milk

4 beaten eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with milk and fruit... or not.

I have halved the recipe and it works great, but I do suggest making the whole pan...it is great for days!

Enjoy!

EGGS GOLDEN ROD

I hope everyone had a fun Easter! I'm sure you are all sick of eggs and candy by now. We are definitely sugar-ed out at our house. Here is a great way to use up all of those hard-boiled easter eggs that you dyed for easter. I have grown up eating this yummy dish, but introducing it to my husband has not been accepted... yet! He just can't put it all together. This recipe comes from my Grandma & Grandpa. Growing up whenever I would sleep over at their house, they would often serve Eggs Golden Rod for breakfast. Grandpa would always tell us that the grated yolk part would make us grow hair on our chest. I remember really believing him for some time. Because we don't make this dish very often, it is a real treat when we do. I will be making it this afternoon with some very colorful dyed Easter Eggs. I will try it out on my kids this time. I've got to start breaking them into it now! My husband...it will take a while! It is a very filling meal, and could definitely be served for dinner. I usually make it for lunch when I'm just cooking for myself and my kids. It's delicious for breakfast with a glass of Orange Juice! Give it a try!

Eggs Golden Rod

5 hard boiled eggs, peeled

4 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

Bread

Salt & Pepper to season

White Sauce: Melt butter in medium saucepan at medium heat. Add flour and whisk until combined. Add milk and whisk until thick & bubbling.

Cut egg white in half and pop out the yoke. Dice egg white into small bite-sized pieces and add to white sauce. Grate egg yokes and combine in bowl.

Toast your bread and break up into bite-size pieces. (For a large serving I would do 2 pieces of toast.) Spoon white sauce with egg whites over broken pieces of toast. Sprinkle with grated egg yolk. Season with salt & pepper to your liking. Enjoy!!!

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for a great tradition!

The Ultimate Vanishing Breakfast Rolls

This recipe goes way back to the good old junior high days in Home Ec. I had forgotten about these little sticky pieces of heaven you can just pop in your mouth. I used to make them all the time when I lived at home. They were a real treat for breakfast, but I would make them for a dessert now. We had playgroup last week and we took these with us. We didn't leave with a single one. They were devoured! They are called vanishing breakfast rolls not only because they are gone in a snap, but because you bite into them and there is nothing inside! The yummy filling of marshmallow rolled in butter and cinnamon and sugar has vanished and melted all over the biscuit, making them sticky and delicious! These are so easy to make. I made them in 30 minutes and was out the door! So, if you are looking for a quick treat try these Vanishing Breakfast Rolls for breakfast or dessert and "wow" your family and friends!


Vanishing Breakfast Rolls

2 pkgs Refridgerated Biscuits (10 rolls per pack)
Marshmallows, Big or Mini
3 Tbsp Butter, melted
Cinnamon & Sugar mix (1/2 cup sugar to 1/2 tsp cinnamon)

Seperate biscuits and smash down with the palm of your hand. If you have big marshmallows you are ready to roll marshmallow in butter, then into cinnamon & sugar. If you have mini marshmallows take a handful and roll them into a ball with your hands, then roll in butter and cinnamon & sugar. Place one buttery, cinnamon & sugar marshmallow on each flattened biscuit and wrap biscuit around and pinch to seal. Place in sprayed cupcake pan seam side down and bake at the degrees according to biscuit package directions. Mine were 400 degrees. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and serve. Yumm!!!

***In Home Ec we were taught to bake them on a cookie sheet pan, but I have found that they work best in muffin pans. That way your marshmallow filling melts right around your biscuit instead of all over the cookie sheet making a big mess and losing all your filling.

We are having some lovely snowy spring weather here where I live, so if you are like me you are going to need a warm comfort food. Pop these into the oven and enjoy a warm treat!

Happy Spring!!!

German Pancakes with Vanilla Syrup & Buzz Lightyear

These two recipes came from a good friend of mine. They are both very easy and very good. The vanilla syrup is delicious. I keep it in the fridge and put it on my belgian waffles. It's such a treat.

German Pancakes
2 Tbsp butter
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Melt butter in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. In a bowl mix eggs, milk, flour & salt. Pour into buttered baking dish. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown.

Vanilla Syrup
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a medium pan. Cook on low until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Don't boil. Beat until desired consistency. (I didn't have whipping cream when I made it, but I used whole milk. It tasted just fine, just a little runny). You can also use almond extract. I ran out of vanilla and used a little almond and it added a little kick to it.

My little boy turned 2 last week. He loves Buzz Lightyear and wanted to have a Buzz cake. This is what I came up with. I think it turned out great! I will never forget the look on his face when he saw it. I used a boxed cake mix and baked it in a glass bowl. I made homemade marshmallow fondant that I colored orange to cover my planet. This was my first experience using fondant and it went pretty good. I found a great website that walked me through it. If any of you are have any questions about what I did, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Here are a few ideas for St. Patrick's day. For breakfast, I will be making green pancakes and green milk. In the afternoon we will make green playdough and make shamrock cookies. For dinner we'll be having lots of green and for dessert, mint chocolate chip ice cream. I will be hiding green shamrocks throughout the house and whoever finds the most, will recieve a lucky charm. I'm sure many of you have good ideas too! Feel free to share them in your comments.

Halloween Breakfast

Alright, I know that we've been posting a lot this week. I just wanted to add this cute idea for a halloween breakfast. A few weeks ago when I got out my halloween decorations, my kids found two tins that you put tea lights in with pumpkin faces. They found the tea lights, brought them to the kitchen and put them on the table so we could have a candlelight breakfast. I thought it was so cute, that I decided that we're going to start a tradition of having a candlelight breakfast on Halloween. The other day I made these pancakes for my boys. They've been eating so much cereal lately that I decided I should make them a good breakfast. I used Bisquick just added food coloring. They loved it and there wasn't one pancake left. I was lucky to have gotten some for myself. I thought it would be fun to have different toppings for them to make a jack-o-lantern face, but I hadn't planned that far. You could use any kind of fruit for that! Tomorrow I will be making ghost pancakes with chocolate chips for the eyes, that should be a hit! Hope you all have a wonderfully spooky halloween!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Waffles

First off, I want to thank my 2 amazing sisters who spent all weekend putting up the rest of their grapes so that I could have some yummy grape juice and grape jelly. They were done canning but still had more grapes on their vines so I asked them to pick some for me to do. They were going to bring them up to me when they come for the big party this weekend. Being the great sisters that they are, they decided just to do it for me. Thank you Rachel & Laura! Love ya! Because they did my grape juice I told Rachel that I would post today. I am very excited about this post.

I love these waffles. I have made them twice in the last 5 days. This is a perfect way to use some healthy whole wheat, and don't forget the protein from the Peanut Butter! I happened to find this recipe when I was going through a bunch of junk mail. I got an advertisement for a subscription to Cookie magazine. I don't know much about it, but I think it is a parenting magazine. Anyhow, I usually would have thrown it right away, but it said FREE stickers inside. My 2 year old really likes stickers, so I opened it so I could keep the stickers for him. It was a good thing I opened it up, because I fell across this amazing recipe. So for the lover of food and new recipes that I am, it must have been fate! I made them once and then lost the recipe, so the second time I made them, I went off my memory. The 2nd time was better than the first, so I must have done something different, but I sure liked whatever I did. I know I will find it one of these days tucked in a place that only my 2 year old would think of. These waffles are just heavenly with cut up bananas and homemade maple syrup. I also tried it with some blueberries, but didn't like it as much. I dressed up my boys' waffles with strawberry yogurt and bananas, which was a perfectly round breakfast for my little ones. My husband passed on my sugary maple syrup and went for the natural sugars in his honey. So, dress them up however you like...just be sure you make up these lovely Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Waffles for the fam. You will love them.

Whole-Wheat Peanut Butter Waffles

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs (whites seperated if using belgian waffle maker)

Belgian Waffle Maker: Combine flour, milk, peanut butter, oil, salt and baking powder in large bowl. Seperate egg whites in seperate bowl, and add egg yolks to flour mixture. Blend egg whites on high speed until fluffy. Blend flour mixture until combined. Add egg whites and lightly stir just until combined. Pour batter in hot waffle iron and bake to your liking.

Normal Waffle Maker: Combine all ingrediants and blend until combined. Pour batter in hot waffle iron and bake to your liking.

Homemade Maple Syrup

1 cup water
1 tsp maple flavoring
1 1/4 cup sugar

Bring water to a boil. Add sugar and maple flavoring. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes to get sugar dissolved. Serve warm. Store in fridge and re-heat for your next batch of waffles. It is a very runny syrup, but delicious when your waffle soaks it up!

Muffins in the Morning!!!

We absolutely LOVE a good muffin for breakfast with some fruit on the side. I have 2 muffins for you today. They were so delicious. They both were packed with fresh flavor, with a healthy feeling after I ate more than my share! I like to make muffins once a week at my house. Both of these muffins were great and they both came from 2 of my favorite sites. We are finally done with our peaches. We canned some, made jam, dried some, and then had enough for a peach pie, and these yummy Whole Wheat Peach Muffins (pictured above). The recipe came from Smitten Kitchen. They are actually Whole Wheat Apple Muffins, but I used my peaches instead of apples. They were so yummy. I'm pretty sure you could change out the apples and use any fruit variation. My sister tried them with pears and said they were fantastic! Go here for the recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/whole-wheat-apple-muffins/ . The recipe made a lot. I made 12 regular size muffins and about 16 mini muffins. The mini's are perfect for the kids, and I loved just popping them in my mouth. I also loved the sprinkling of brown sugar on the top. It made for a great finishing touch, and I loved the sweet little crunch on the top. I'm excited to try them with the apples. If you still have some peaches left over and arent' sick of them yet, you've got to make these muffins. Try them with any fruit. Whatever you've got! You won't regret it! On to the second muffin...

I love blueberries! My boys love blueberries! My 2 year old couldn't keep his hands out of the blueberries while I was making these! I got this recipe from another favorite, The Sisters' Cafe. There is a fun story behind these muffins. Find the recipe and story here: http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2008/09/little-red-riding-hoods-blueberry-wheat.html . Little Red Riding Hoods Blueberry Wheat Muffins (pictured above), really are amazing! These tasted like a muffin you would get at Great Harvest, or Einstein's. They were so tasty! I loved the secret ingredient. It really added a nutty flavor to the muffins. They tasted so healthy and hearty! The batter was super thick, and it was hard to get the blueberries mixed in well. I used frozen blueberries. I wasn't so worried about mushing them, and they didn't make my batter all blue. I got 12 regular sized muffins and a mini loaf out of it. Go to the recipe and find out what Granny's secret ingredient is. It is shocking and perfect for these delectible breakfast muffins! Happy muffin eating!!!

Family Belgian Waffles

These yummy waffles go way back. I think we first got the recipe when my sister went away to college. She and her roomates would make these waffles with homemade maple syrup. She brought it home with her, and now we all make them all the time. My wonderful husband made me these the other day for my birthday breakfast. They are definitely a family favorite! There was a time when one of my brothers would bring over all of his highschool friends for lunch to have belgian waffles. Mom loved to have our friends over, especially to feed us and was always willing to make anything...even breakfast! You have to have a Belgian Waffle maker to do them. They are different from regular waffles in that they rise in the waffle iron and get fluffy from the blended egg whites. They are so yummy with fresh fruit on top with whipping cream. It is also great with homemade jams, or syrups.

Belgian Waffles

Combine in medium bowl:

1 3/4 Cup Flour

3 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Egg Yokes - (seperate the whites into small bowl)

1 3/4 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Plug in Belgian Waffle iron. Mix egg yokes with electric mixer until fluffy. Mix flour mixture with electric mixer until smooth. Add your egg yokes and fold in gently with spoon just until combined. Don't over mix. Using measuring cup, pour about 1/2 cup of waffle batter into iron. Be careful not to put too much in or it will overflow. You want the batter to just reach the outer circle of the iron. Cook to your liking. On my iron, the light goes off when it is done. Remove and pour next waffle. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake's drenched in Almond Buttermilk Syrup

These pancakes are yummy, healthy, and requires use of some food storage! The best thing about these pancakes is that it is a mix, so you can make it ahead of time and always have it on hand. The oats and cinnamon make these oh, so tasty. This recipe came from the Utah State University Cache County Extention Office. They offer classes and handouts about food storage recipes and recommendations for storing. You can find information on their website: http://extension.usu.edu. The Almond Buttermilk syrup gives you some yummy calories, but it's worth it! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake Mix

4 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Non-Fat Dry Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar

Combine ingredients and stir to mix well. Put in large airtight container. Label. Store in a cool dry place. Use within 6 months.

Mixing Directions:
In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs. Beat in 3 Tbsp Oil. Stir in 2 cups pancake mix and 1 cup water. Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. When batter shows broken bubbles, turn pancakes over. Cook about 2 to 3 minutes. One batch makes about 10 medium pancakes.

Almond Buttermilk Syrup:
In a large pot combine:
2 Cubes of Butter
2 Cups White Sugar
1 Cup Buttermilk

Boil for one minute and take off burner. Add 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp almond extract, stir well. You can use any nut flavoring, or vanilla.