Food Friday - Breakfast On the Go

from Kris B.

Tracey and I do our best to share recipes on Food Fridays that we both enjoy making and eating and our hope is that you will find a few that you like as well.  There is no question that we both enjoy the cooking, photographing, and then eating whatever it is that we share in these posts as well.  But honestly, often the “behind the scenes” conversations that we have about what we are doing is the most fun of it all!  I am going to share a bit of this week’s text messaging about our progress toward getting this week’s post done.  You guys will either lose complete respect for us (assuming you ever had any, LOL!); or, you will wish you were part of our circus!

One of my favorite things to think about is text messages that are sent that if were read and of context are either hilarious, frightening, or grounds for a stay in a mental health facility.  Here is one such exchange between us this week.

Me: I need to go shoot muffins.

Tracey: “And what did you do on Saturday?  I shot some muffins!”

Me: It is hunting season, right?

Tracey: Small game I think, so that would be mini muffins…

Me: Uh oh!  I am shooting jumbo muffins…without a license!

Tracey: I won’t tell the DNR!

I am so glad that I have a friend who has my back!  Oh, and this whole conversation was going on amidst another conversation about cup sizes…and not measuring cups!!!  You are going to have to wait for Tracey to share that one with you!!!  Trust me.  You won’t want to miss it!

Now for this week’s recipe, which I believe originally came from Taste of Home…

I have been trying to get up early enough on school mornings to have a nice, calm slow breakfast that involves multiple cups of coffee.  (Nope! Not coffee cup sizes either.)  This works fairly well on the days when my first class is a 9am.  Tuesdays and Thursdays when class starts at 7:30, it’s a once cup morning, with that cup being a travel mug, and sometimes a grab and go breakfast.  These Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins are a great compromise when my taste buds want oatmeal and my schedule say, “Not today, sweetheart!”

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 Cups quick cooking oats

 1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp  baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 Cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 Cup milk )I used almond milk)

3 TBS canola oil

1 egg white

For the topping:

1/4 Cup quick cooking oats

1 TBS brown sugar

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon (I probably used closer to 1/4 tsp)

1 TBS melted butter

Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, excluding those used for the topping.  In a second bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until incorporated.  *Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 of the way full.  

Mix all of the topping ingredients together and sprinkle evenly on the tops of the muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

This recipe yields 10 regular muffins, 6 jumbo muffins, or 20-24 mini muffins.  Choose responsibly depending on whether or not it is muffin hunting season in your area!  

And, using muffin liners negates the need for greasing the tins. :-)

One more thing...There is great debate in food photography as to whether drips and crumbs should be left in photos.  I am a realist.  I think they should.  And, I can't get muffins in the tins without dripping somewhere. So, I left the burnt on drip.  That is me!  If you are a perfectionist and secretly, or not so secretly, want to be Martha Stewart, clean your pans carefully before you bake and photograph.  Or, become a Photoshop whiz!  I have neither the real skills of Martha nor the PS skills to make me look like a fake Martha. Therefore, drips it is.  

Enjoy!

from Tracey G

Ok, I'll admit it - after reading through my friend's post first, before I sat down to write mine, I realized I am a drip-wiper-upper before I bake! LOL! There's never really been any thought to it, it's just something I do, whether I am photographing it or not! Now I wonder if it's not some other manifestation of my tendency toward the perfectionist regime...something to think about for sure as to my motives to do so! Ha!

My post has been quite the project for me this week - not the making of or photographing of, but the getting-it-done-and-all-put-together done kind of thing. I've had a nasty cold and other another illness, involving needing antibiotic, that's been making me feel yucky as well. Geesh, when it rains it pours! So, my attention span has been really shallow, due to feeling tired and just plain blah and icky. It's hard to think when you just want to vegetate and sleep! So, I apologize now for it being later than usual!! Unfortunately, it now seems to have morphed again into a sore throat thing, which is not pleasant at all to deal with and making me rather annoyed, I just want to be back to normal healthy! LOL And here I thought I was starting to feel better....silly me! I should have known better!

I am still in my mode to find things that can be convenient to eat and convenient to store - preferably in the freezer until they're needed and can then be heated and eaten. No muss, no fuss. I found a few recipes for breakfast items that can be an individual serving right out of the oven or the freezer. This one is my own version of a few breakfast-in-a-muffin-cup kind of things. I adjusted ingredients and amounts to suit  my tastes, so that should tell you that you too can do the same thing. Adjust it, add to it - make it yours. Among the variations in my research, things like chopped onion or chopped green pepper can be added to change it up. I am thinking I am going to try a "Greek Version" using feta and spinach, and possibly chopped tomato in the egg mixture. I've lots of ideas for this one, and decided that if the child didn't like them, it didn't matter because I did - and this is something that can help me be on the healthier eating straight and narrow. It's quick and easy to make, and to reheat to eat later - especially if it's one of those times I'm rushed and would be tempted to turn to something either processed or not-so-healthy! And they even are good for brunch/lunch, not just for breakfast, I tested that out as well, lol.

So, here we go, here's the super simple recipe that could potentially have quite a few variations! Let me say here though, that I had a heck of a time getting them out of them out of the muffin cups, even though I sprayed them well. I am thinking that next time I make them, I may use the foil cupcake liners. I'd just have to make sure to remove the foil liner BEFORE I reheated in the microwave!

Egg and Sausage Muffins

Makes 12

1/2 lb bulk pork sausage

12 eggs

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese (or more to taste! Or even a different cheese if you prefer!)

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. In a skillet, cook sausage, breaking into crumbles, until no longer pink; drain.

2) In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add garlic powder, salt, onion powder and pepper. Stir in sausage and cheese.

3) Prepare muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray. Spoon egg mixture into muffin cups, about 1/3 cup in each. Bake for about 20-25 min, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Freeze Option: Cool baked muffins completely. Place on wax paper lined cookie sheets and freeze until firm. Transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag (or another tightly covered freezer container) and store in the freezer. To use, place in greased muffin pan, cover loosely with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven until heated through. Or microwave each muffin on high 30-60 seconds or until heated through.

Nutritional Information (approximate), per muffin: 160 calories, 12g fat, (5g saturated) 207mg cholesterol, 346mg sodium, 137mg potassium, 1g carbohydrate, 11g protein