Living the Good Life- with Grits
I know this is a bit of a departure for me. But seriously- check out these grits with grilled sweet corn, grilled onions, jalapeno peppers and sharp cheddar cheese. Amazingly delicious!
Grits are a corn based, sometimes breakfast, sometimes dinner, always delicious cereal type food. Is that clear? Grits are similar to something like polenta, which is another corn product. Essentially grits are coarsely ground corn. They’re popular in the Southern United States, where they know how to do them up right with butter, cheese and bacon. Bless them for they’re fantastic use of fat. Seriously.
My grits were cooked in water and salt, then graced with a generous pat of butter. I grilled up some fresh sweet corn, onions and jalapeno pepper until they were nice a browned then layered that on top of the cooked grits. The whole dish was topped with a handful of grated sharp cheddar. I had a tub of sour cream ready too, just in case I needed an extra dollop of richness…. but I decided to be reasonable and skipped the sour cream.
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (11)Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread
Did you know that they sell quick bread box mixes in grocery stores!? I think that’s so strange. Fake flour, loads of sugar, and ultra dehydrated blueberries in a box to be mixed with water and eggs. This concerns me… deeply. Exactly how quick does a quick bread have to be to make it in this world?
I think homemade quick breads are dreamy. With enough creativity and guts, you can throw just about anything into a quick bread and call it delicious. This go around I tried zucchini and sweet potato. The combination produced a full and unique flavor: not too heavy on the zucchini or sweet potato flavors. And of course, because I’m me, I also loaded the bread with spices, nuts and cranberries. You can modify if to your taste, I make room for that in the recipe. Because, yes, I care.
Black Raspberry Muffins
I’m a sucker for treats warm out of the oven. But really, who isn’t!? One of my favorite things to burn my mouth on is muffins fresh out of the oven. I thought I’d treat myself to some classic blueberry muffins, but when I saw frozen black raspberries in the grocery store, classic blueberry went right out the window. The raspberries add loads of flavor and tons of sexy purple black coloring. These muffins are perfect, fresh out of the oven for a weekend breakfast, and then freeze well for a mid week breakfast treat. And I sure do like my breakfast treats. I can’t help myself.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes with Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup
I love waking up about half an hour early on Wednesdays to make pancakes for breakfast. They really take very little time to throw together, and they make a world of difference to my day. I can’t save my pancakes only for special weekend breakfasts. Sometimes (every Wednesday) I need that weekend indulgence before I throw on the chef’s coat and dive into the big kitchen.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes are surprisingly light, healthy, and keep me full well into the afternoon. Drizzled with homemade Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup and served with a side of fresh fruit, I can indulge in the comforts of a lazy Sunday morning, even on a daunting weekday.
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (15)Blackberry Peach Bread Pudding with toasted pecans
Bread pudding exists in the sweet space between breakfast and dessert. With all of the milk in the recipe, bread pudding feels like eating the most ridiculously rich breakfast cereal. I suppose for most people, it’s a bonafide dessert. Perhaps I’m just trying to find as many ways as possible to eat dessert for breakfast.
I’ll admit, I only recently warmed up to bread pudding. My Dad absolutely loves the stuff, so I was inspired to create my own. I think I had this conception that bread pudding was simply soggy bread mixed with cinnamon, milk and raisins. Not so! This dish can be made with as many combinations as you can dream up. With this recipe, I wrestled my preconceived notions of bread pudding to the ground. I decided to combine bread pudding and cobbler. I know… pretty awesome! Now we’re getting into the realm of respectable breakfasts… or desserts.
Bread, Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (4)Cranberry Orange Almond Oatmeal
I’m a huge breakfast fanatic. I usually go for something hearty, healthy and full of surprise goodies. That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes reach for a donut and some coffee, but this go around I opted for old-fashioned oatmeal with the gorgeous flavors of cranberry, orange and almond. I threw in a bit of brown sugar for good measure, and surrounded my oatmeal with cold milk. It was a delightful breakfast- satisfying but not too heavy. It’s the kind of breakfast that convinces you you’re ready to take on the world. Brilliant Continue reading »
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (19)Two Bite Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Remember those Low Fat Chocolate Muffins I was working on last week? Well I’ve found a winner! These Two Bite Chocolate Chunk Muffins are sure to satisfy that nagging chocolate craving. Now, if you have a craving for something like… I dunno… dark chocolate cheesecake with extra thick hot fudge, then I suggest you kindly decline one of these muffins and go find that cheesecake. That sounds like a no nonsense craving. But if a light, chocolatey bite is just what you need, then these will certainly do the trick.
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (18)Granola Bar Experiment Turned Ooey Gooey Breakfast Cereal
It all started out so beautiful and promising- with diced dried fruit, wholesome nuts and old-fashioned oats. I was my day away from the bakery, and I thought I’d use my kitchen to experiment with homemade granola bars. I seem to have trouble eating normally, standing on my feet all day, working in front of a mixing bowl. I notice that I’ll turn occasional bites of dough into a meal. To help solve my intake dilemma, I thought I’d make granola bars to have on hand when hunger strikes but break time does not.I had the greatest of intentions, and the stickiest of results. Continue reading »
Breakfast, Snacks | Comments (18)Corn and Orange- the muffin
Can I get away with calling this an Easter muffin? Easter bunnies eat corn. Don’t they? Well, if they existed, they’d eat corn… right?
Didn’t Bugs Bunny eat corn? No, that was carrots. Oh crap. It was carrots, not corn. And here I am with Corn and Orange Muffins on Easter weekend.
I’ll admit, this is a little awkward.
And now I just feel silly. Carrots. Not corn.
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (9)Low Fat Chocolate Muffins Bites
I know, low fat!? I’m trying something different. I’m trying to make low fat muffins balls for those out of control chocolate cravings. I’ve made these muffins an easy snacking option- 2 muffins balls are 100 calories. Good, right!? These muffins are dressed up with whole wheat flour, part skim ricotta cheese and dark chocolate chunks. It’s a recipe I’ve developed myself, and for that reason, the recipe is a work in progress. I’m certain that I need more cocoa powder, and maybe light sour cream instead of ricotta cheese. I just wanted to let you disciplined dieters know that I’m working on something delicious for you… I’m working on it. To be continued…
Breakfast, Thoughts | Comments (11)Cinnamon Rolls- Sugar and Spice
I have a confession to make. It’s about cinnamon rolls. I love these gooey little treats to pieces, but I only eat the center. That’s it, just the center coil. Why? That’s where all the goodness is! I see the rest of the cinnamon roll as protection for the precious, beyond delicious center. I always feel wasteful, but someone always comes along and gladly eat the shamelessly discarded scraps.
Recently McDonalds came out with a dessert that tries to simulate the center cinnamon roll euphoria. Without openly admitting that I’ve actually enjoyed something from McDonalds, I will say that this dessert (which I think only costs a dollar) is served warm, and full of cinnamon and tenderness… and lots of sweet white frosting type stuff. I won’t say it’s delicious, but I will say this: warm, cinnamon, sweet, 2:30am, 24 hour drive through, plastic fork, disposable container, no dishes, no evidence.
But if you have the time and inclination, these cinnamon rolls are a dream.
Bread, Breakfast | Comments (22)Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake with wild blueberries
Lemon and blueberry are my go-to ( by ‘go-to’ I actually mean lazy) combination. I’ve never had a bad day if lemon and blueberry joined forces at breakfast. It’s true, they never fail me.
Too bad I can’t say the same thing for the fail dogs. Have you seen the creatures? They are dogs (that have little to do with baking, blueberries or lemon) who have tried and failed in one way or another. They make me laugh. They make me cry. I was a cat person until the fail dogs changed my life.
Now back to the Lemon Poppyseed Bread with wild blueberries…
Bread, Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (13)Buttered Pecan Oatmeal with milk and sugar in the raw
I’ll be the first to admit, that I’ve been breakfast obsessed lately. I fall asleep thinking about the breakfast. I wake up thinking I better hurry to the kitchen to get breakfast and tea started. I eat breakfast standing in front of my kitchen window watching my morning get brighter and brighter with the sun and listening the the morning’s news on the radio. It’s a ritual I’ve become attached to. Oatmeal is my no fail breakfast treat, and I’ve had pecans on the brain lately. This buttered pecan oatmeal is rich, earthy and filling. The warm, sweet and nutty combination would be great with fruit too- any fruit- bananas, apples, peaches, berries. It’s the kind of breakfast my dreams are made of.
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (9)Mocha Coffee Coffee Cake
This breakfast cake is a bad influence. Not possible, you say? Well, when chocolate and coffee join forces against me, I crumble. This cake made me want to call in sick to work this morning, and just spend the day on the couch with cake. I didn’t, but oh, oh the temptation! Maybe it’s the coffee and chocolate combination or maybe it’s the fact that I’m eating cake for breakfast, but it just makes me want to indulge in every other part of my life. These days, my indulgence involves my pajamas, the couch, The Gourmet Cookbook, and well… this cake. It’s cake for breakfast! Try it and indulge.
Breakfast, Cakes, Recipes | Comments (17)Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
These Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits take me back home. I come from a biscuit loving family. We take our biscuits rather seriously. My Dad makes what he calls Mile High Biscuits. They’re light and buttery, a beautiful golden color, and we always ate them hot with dinner. We were generally a happy family of 4 sitting around the dinner table, sharing a meal, laughing, and talking about our days. Biscuit night was always a different story. On biscuit nights, there was, without a doubt, scandal and conflict.
Why? Well Dad always made a recipe of 12 biscuits. Now let’s do the math- 12 biscuits for 4 people, that’s 3 each. The problem is, no one never ended up with three biscuits. Three words- my little sister. My sister, the biscuit strategist, would cunningly place the biscuit basket at her side of the table, and with great stealth, gather about 8 biscuits for herself over the course of dinner. I must admit, the girl is clever. And with her darling smile and endless charm, she always got away with the lion’s share of biscuits. Always! I’d stomp my feet, outraged, pleading “But Mom…! It’s not fair!” Mom would calmly reply “Joy, who said life was fair? Now eat your broccoli before it gets cold.”At that point, defeated, I usually just ate my one biscuit slowly, while trying to shoot my sister down with the evil eye. Mom was right though- life isn’t always fair, sometimes your sister just gets more biscuits than you, and steamed broccoli once it’s cold, is just wretched.
Breakfast, Recipes, Tuesdays With Dorie | Comments (23)Gnarley Muffins
While they may not be the prettiest muffins you’ve ever laid eyes on, they just might be the healthiest. These little gems are packed with banana, apple and flax seed goodness. For those of you who aren’t nutrition obsessed California dieters, flax seed are rich in fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids which helps protect against heart disease and cancer. In these muffins, flax seed meal (ground up flax seeds) replace butter and oil. How great is that!? No butter, no oil muffins! Just healthy fats in a yummy, moist, fruit muffin!
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (10)Raspberry Oatmeal Pancakes
I had pancakes for dinner. I’m not a red roses kind of girl. I don’t need a box of chocolates or a store bought card on Valentine’s Day. But there is something so romantic about standing in the kitchen with my love, laughing and flipping pancakes in our pajamas. So last night, breakfast for dinner- Raspberry Oatmeal Pancakes. Oh so yum.
Breakfast, Recipes | Comments (9)
