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

Food Friday - Breakfast or Dessert!

From Tracey G.

This is one of those recipes I am so glad I ran across and so glad I tried! I absolutely love it and have since realized the base batter would take blueberries really well too! That was Harry's idea, he doesn't like raspberries much because of the seeds, admittedly I am not a seed fan either, but I love raspberries too much to let it stop me! (But I do buy seedless jams when I have that option!) I think just about any berry would work really lovely in this now that I stop to think past raspberries and blueberries.

It does call for almond milk, and the first time I made these I happened to have some around and have had it around since because I really do like the stuff. But I suppose if you don't have it, regular milk or skim would work well too. It's worth a try anyway!

I originally made these to use up some frozen raspberries I had on hand and some ricotta cheese I had left-over from another recipe I'd made. It's so nice when something like that happens, and you end up with a lovely product to show for it!

There's really not too much to say about the recipe. It initially sounds like a bit of work, but it's really not and does come together rather easily. The only thing sort of time consuming is whipping the egg whites up, first time I did it by hand, lol, I now make that aspect of it in the stand mixer, just to save some time - they're whisking up while I'm getting the rest of the stuff going.

This is another recipe I found courtesy of Taste Of Home in one of my magazines!

Lemon-Raspberry Ricotta Pancakes

(found here: Lemon-Raspberry Ricotta Pancakes)

Yield: about 24

1 1/2 cups cake flour or all-purpose (I've only used all-purpose)

1/4 sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla flavored)

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

3 large eggs, separated

2 tsp grated lemon peel

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp almond extract

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (I've only used frozen)

Whipped cream, maple syrup and additional raspberries

1) In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk the almond milk, ricotta cheese, egg yolks, lemon peel, lemon juice and almond extract until blended. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened . In a clean small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Gently stir in raspberries.

2) Lightly grease a griddle;  heat over medium heat. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bubbles on top begin to pop and bottoms are golden brown. Turn; cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with whipped cream, syrup and additional raspberries.

Nutritional Facts - 3 pancakes (calculated without toppings): 203 calories; 5g fat (2g saturated fat); 79 mg cholesterol; 254mg sodium; 31g carbohydrates (7g sugars, 2g fiber); 8g protein


from Kris B.

Hands down, breakfast is my favorite meal.  I'm not always fond of mornings, but breakfast food of any kind always makes me happy.  During the school year, however, I am a creature of habit - vanilla yogurt topped with cheerios and blueberries, a banana, and the obligatory cup (or two) of coffee every morning.  Now that it is summer, our morning routine is a bit less structured.  Translation: I am not teaching any 7:30 am classes so I am more coherent and creative when it comes to fixing and eating breakfast.   And now that my hubby is retired, breakfast may have more variety even when I go back to school in the fall!  That is exciting.

The best thing about summer eating in general is all of the fresh veggies and fruit.  It all looks so good at the market.  I was trying to think of a good way to use all the fruit I have in a creative breakfast, without just making a fruit bowl as a side.  When my kids were little, I used to make "fruit pizza" - sugar cookie dough, vanilla frosting, and fruit topping.  I decided that I wanted a variation on that that didn't begin with a cookie base.  Don't get me wrong; sadly, I would be perfectly happy to eat cookies for breakfast, but neither the scale or my waistline would be very happy with that choice. Lol!  I searched for a recipe that had a healthier "crust."  I found one that is perfect!  It is created from cereal and rolled oats.  The "sauce" is cream cheese and powdered sugar.  The toppings are the fruit of your choice.

This is probably not the recipe I should have chosen to share this week.  I week ago, while dicing figs for a fig compote,  in addition to cutting the figs, I also sliced my finger, which required a few stitches.  Because of this unfortunate encounter with my knife, I am not allowed to use knives at the moment. :-)  As you can tell, there is quite a bit of sliced fruit used here.  Since my husband placed the moratorium on knife use, at least for me, he got to slice all of the fruit.  I am glad that he was willing to help.

Whether it is scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, or fruit tart, I will eat breakfast foods any time of day for any meal.  This fruit tart is no exception!  And like the sugar cookie fruit pizzas that I made for my girls, this also makes a fantastic snack or dessert as well!

INGREDIENTS
For the base
1 Cup breakfast cereal with flakes (I used vanilla-almond Special K.)
1 Cup rolled oats
1 Cup sweetened coconut
3/4 Cup honey or maple syrup  (( used honey.)

For the "sauce"
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 Cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (or other extract, starting with 1/2 tsp and working to taste)

For the topping
Fruit of your choice (I used strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, peaches, and banana

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a 9 inch tart pan with cooking spray and set aside.  *Do use cooking spray rather than butter because the tart is refrigerated before serving.  If you use butter, it will harden and the tart will be difficult to remove from the pan.

Use a rolling pin to crush the cereal into crumbs.  mix them with the oatmeal, coconut, and honey or syrup.  Press this mixture into the prepared tart pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool completely before adding the next two layers.

Using a mixer, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and extract.

Once the crust is cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture on top.  Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.

While the crust and cream cheese chill, slice the desired fruits.  Remove the pan from the refrigerator and arrange the fruit on top, pushing it gently into the cream cheese mixture.  Return the completed tart to the fridge for about 30 minutes.

To serve, remove rim from the tart pan and slice into ten pieces.

Nutritional Facts : 270 calories; 6.3g fat (4.1g saturated fat); 10mg cholesterol; 144mg sodium; 52g carbohydrates (38g sugars, 2g fiber); 3.9g protein

***I also can't type very well with the stitches in my finger, so I apologize for any typos here!

FOOD FRIDAY - Simple Pasta Salads

from Kris B.

I trust that I am not alone in having those nights where you wander through the kitchen looking in the fridge, rummaging through the pantry, and checking the spice cabinet hoping that there are some ingredients that will work together and magically become dinner.  If I am alone in this, please keep that fact to yourself!  Often these meals that I have scrounged together in desperation become some of my favorites.  This Tortellini Salad is one such creation.

As I recall, I had the three cheese tortellini and that sounded good for dinner, but didn't have the necessary ingredients to make a traditional pasta sauce.  I had broccoli that needed to be eaten.  Actually, I always have broccoli that needs to be eaten because it is my favorite green vegetable.  I am happy to eat it in, on, or with just about anything.  Because I was trying to come up with a meal rather than just a side of pasta, I wanted some meat to add to the tortellini and broccoli.  I had a few pieces of bacon that also were on the "need to eat soon" list.  I always have some kind of cheese on hand.  This particular night, Parmesan was the cheese of choice.  Throw a little red onion and some grape tomatoes into the mix and the dinner potential was becoming real.  Still, however, I had no sauce.

The easy solution would have been to pour some bottled salad dressing over the whole shebang and call it done.  All I had was Asian Sesame.  As much as I like that on certain salads, it didn't sound good with this.  I decided that I would start with a more or less traditional macaroni salad dressing and go from there.  

When all was said and done, this turned out to be really good.  This is probably because this salad contains most of my favorite food things.  It's filling but not too heavy, flexible, and better for you than some things!

INGREDIENTS
1 19 oz bag frozen three cheese tortellini
1/2 lb bacon
1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

For the Dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 mayonnaise
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the broccoli and dice the onion.  Grate the Parmesan cheese.

Cut the bacon into pieces and cook it.  Remove the cooked back to a paper towel to drain and cool.  While the bacon cooks, cook the pasta according to the package directions.  In its last minute of cooking, drop the chopped broccoli into the pasta water.  This will cook it just slightly.  Drain the pasta and broccoli and let cool in a large bowl.

While the pasta cools, in a medium bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.  I prefer the dressing to lightly coat rather than drench the other ingredients.  If you prefer a "wet" salad, you may want to double the dressing proportions. 

Once the pasta has cooled, add the bacon, onion, and Parmesan cheese to the pasta and broccoli.  Add the dressing and toss the salad until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  As is the case with almost anything that has a dressing or sauce, allowing the ingredients to mingle for several hours makes for better flavor.

This recipe is simple and quite forgiving.  Don't have broccoli and tomatoes?  Add another vegetable.  Squash is nice.  Prefer different spices?  By all means, go for it.  Don't like cheese tortellini?  Substitute your favorite pasta.  Have some leftover ham fro Easter?  Use that instead of bacon.  Make it your own.  Create Your Favorites Tortellini Salad!

Some days my cooking and my photography are guided by the same principles - both need to be quick and easy.  I quickly made this salad for our lunches today and needed to get the photo done quickly as I was leaving the house at noon and wouldn't be home again until almost 10 pm.  During my time away from the house, and more importantly my computer, I did have a little down time.  I decided that I would take today's photo with my phone and do any necessary editing on my iPad.

I shot the photo of the pasta on our outdoor kitchen cement counter with the resident camera on my iPhone.  The concrete added just a little bit of texture to the frame.  I then added the text and a frame using the Rhonna Designs app and I was done.  

Sometimes I feel like relying solely on my phone and its editing apps are cheating somehow.  Then there are the days where I know that it is the responsible way to use what little time I have.  When I got to the end of the day, I had a decent meal and an acceptable photo so I consider my day a success. Lol!


from Tracey G

I love using Food Fridays as a reason to experiment and try new recipes. Probably not the best thing, because if it doesn't turn out I'm stuck with it and can only report that it was awful, lol. But I've, for the most part, yet to have that happen. I've ran into some difficulties in the execution of the recipe, but it's always something I know that another run-through would iron out. This one was rather humorous as I was trying to get it together. I mean, come on, how hard can a macaroni salad be - really!? Well, it helps if on the day you're making it you have all the ingredients in the proper amounts that you need. I miscalculated my mayo supply, thinking I had much more than I actually did, and ended up having to make a half a batch of it. Then, trying to get the pickle juice into the bowl, I tipped the jar a bit too far and spilled some all over my recipe and island, lol. I was not having a good day! But I must say, all the trials and tribulations were totally worth it, I absolutely loved this recipe! And it's another one of those you can customize to your tastes, very easily I might add too.

I discovered it in my newest Taste Of Home magazine as I was flipping through. I've been on the hunt for a new macaroni salad. I love the version with tuna and peas etc, but I was getting really bored with it, and just wanted something different. This is the first one that caught my eye, maybe because it reminded me of deviled egg ingredients to a certain extent or something. Not sure, but I am glad I gave it a try, it's wonderful in my opinion, and as I told Kris, I likely could have eaten the whole batch myself, lol.

Now, I have to be honest here, the original name is NOT "Grandma's Macaroni Salad", it's "Judy's Macaroni Salad". But, I don't know a Judy or even the Judy. And to be even more honest, I never knew any of my grandparents, my maternal grandmother passed away when I was 6 months and my other grandparents passed away well before I was born. So, I can't even say I knew WHAT my grandma's macaroni salad was like - but this is what I IMAGINE a grandma's macaroni salad would taste like. It seems like a nice vintage mac salad recipe that a grandma WOULD make, so that's my reasoning and I hope everyone and Judy will forgive me! I will include the link to the original recipe of course!  

It involves simple ingredients that I think are a great combination: Elbow macaroni, hardboiled eggs, cheddar cheese, sweet pickles, mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, salt and pepper - extremely uncomplicated. That's probably why it works as well as it does.

So, here's the recipe:

Grandma's Macaroni Salad

courtesy of Taste Of Home as Judy's Macaroni Salad
Serves 12, 3/4 cup each

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

6 hard-cooked large eggs, chopped

6 sweet pickles, chopped

1) Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain macaroni; rinse with cold water and drain well.

2) In a small** bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese, eggs and pickles. Add macaroni; toss gently to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or until chilled.

** The original recipe as I've put here, calls for  a "small" bowl - but I used a medium sized bowl as due to the fact after you mix the ingredients in it, you then toss in the macaroni and I don't see how a small bowl would work very well for that and mixing the ingredients all together! :-) 

Food Friday - Soup-er Easy Meals for Busy Days!

from Kris B.

Seven days and counting....this time next week, Christmas morning will be over.  And after that, just as quickly it will be 2016!  How is it that some days it feels like the days drag on and on and then all of the sudden you have no idea where the time went?  I wish I understood this phenomenon.

Our big sit-down family meal on Christmas is brunch.  Food service later in the day is usually limited to a big pot of chili or soup that I made ahead, brunch leftover, and/or whatever  anyone would like to fix for themselves.  As a church musician, I sing for two services on Christmas Eve, the second being midnight Mass.  By the time I get home and finish up the last Christmas chores, it is very late when I get to bed.  I always look forward to a nap on Christmas afternoon.  No cooking for me!

This week's recipe is a simple and hearty vegetable beef soup.  As is the case with many soups, it tastes better on the second day so it works perfectly with my make-ahead plan.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
4 ribs of celery, sliced
4 potatoes, any kind, cut into 1" cubes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can cut green beans, rinsed
1 15.25 oz can kernel corn, rinsed
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
water

Slice and dice the potatoes,  onion, carrots, and celery.

Place the vegetables and ground beef to your soup pot. Cook until the beef is browned and cooked through.  Drain off any fat.  Add to the beef the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, corn, and potatoes.  Mix well.  Add the bay leaves and desired seasonings.  Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water to the soup mixture.  This soup is thick, almost like a stew.  If you want more broth, either add more water or some beef or vegetable broth to achieve your desired consistency.

Simmer the soup covered until the potatoes are done, about an hour.

If you are making this soup ahead, let it cool and then refrigerate.  Reheat on the stove when ready to serve.




from Tracey G

Pea soup was a nemesis of mine for ages, and I'm not sure why, it's a super easy soup to make. I think part of my trouble was I tried to make it more complicated than it is! LOL It's taken me years to finally get it the way I want it - and it's based on an Ina Garten recipe, that I then tweaked a few things here and there to my own taste. But it has finally gotten me the recipe for split pea soup that I've always wanted and it comes out consistently every time for the flavor I'm looking for! It does make a large batch, so usually we have it for dinner one night, then there's enough to freeze for another meal and sometimes I can get a couple lunch portions frozen out of it too. :-) It is one of those things that does the miracle crazy thickening so I make sure to have extra chicken broth/stock on hand for the left-overs and to thin down as needed as it's cooking - water works well too, but I like to use the broth or stock as it adds a little more oomph to it all the way around. Serve it with some yummy bread and a nice salad and it's a great fall or winter meal - or if you're like me it's an any time of the  year meal! :-)

I usually lighten up on the salt in recipes, out of habit from when I was taking care of my mom and her special dietary needs - and it's just one I've continued with. And that let's everyone season their individual servings to their taste.

Split Pea Soup

Serves 10-12

1 to 1 1/2 c chopped yellow onions (1-2 onions)

1 tbsp minced garlic (3-4 cloves)

1/4 c olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

1-2 tsp kosher salt

1-2 tsp pepper

4 c diced carrots

2 c diced potatoes

2 lbs dried split green peas

16  cups chicken stock or water

In an 8-qt stock pot or Dutch oven on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano until the onions are translucent, about 12-15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1 1/2 lbs of split peas and chicken broth/stock or water. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered about 40 minutes. Skim off foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from sticking and burning on the bottom. Serve hot.