breakfast

Biscuits & Gravy

I love a hearty breakfast, weekend or weekday. Anyone who knows me can attest to that. You know that line on Gone With the Wind when Scarlett says something to the effect of “Ashley told me he likes a girl with a healthy appetite.” And Mammy says “What gentlemen says and what they thinks is two different things.” I don’t know why that reminds me of me eating breakfast. It really has nothing to do with biscuits and gravy. But the amount of them I can put down in the morning is impressive. Or is it that it just feels that way when you’re finished? Regardless, I love that feeling. Comfort food at it’s finest. They’re so good! Don’t judge me.

As organic as possible:

1 pound Spicy ground pork breakfast Sausage (*you can do any ground breakfast sausage)

3 Tbsp flour

2 1/2 – 3 cups milk divided (whole or 2%)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp granulated onion

8-10 Biscuits, baked to golden perfection (homemade or store bought)

In a large skillet, brown the sausage. If you didn’t use spicy sausage (which is highly recommended), I suggest adding a few red pepper flakes. I just love how the heat cuts through the gravy and gives it a little depth. When the meat is browned, there should be a little fat left in the skillet. Add the flour and let it cook a couple minutes. Pour in about 1 cup of the milk, stirring gently until it starts to thicken, add about 1 1/2 cups more. Add the salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and granulated onion. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your preference. (Side note: I usually add more black pepper because I like to see the flecks on the top. It’s totally a childhood thing.)

If you find the gravy is too thick for your liking add another 1/2 cup of milk. If it’s not thick enough add a teaspoon of flour… gravy can be so forgiving.

Here’s where it gets personal. I have another childhood habit of tearing my biscuit into pieces and spooning the gravy on the top. Some people keep their biscuits whole and spoon the gravy on like snow on a mountain.  Owen likes to cut his biscuit in half (horizontally) and place the gravy on both halves. As far as I’m concerned there is no right or wrong way (or amount 😉 ). Just enjoy yourself one of life’s simple pleasures.

Sweet Potato Muffins

I love the smell of sweet potatoes in the morning. Actually there is something about this time of year that makes me want to bake with them all day long. I am also an advocate of muffins; for breakfast, with lunch, after dinner… Just one of life’s simple pleasures. These are a beautiful orange color and great to serve this time of year with soup or salad. See how coordinated I am?

Makes 18 muffins

As organic as possible:

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg

2 1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Salt

15 oz canned sweet potatoes (about 2 large, peeled, boiled until tender, and mashed)

2 Eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Brown sugar

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup Walnut oil

Zest of 1 Orange

1 cup chopped Pecans

Topping:

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease or spray a 1 1/2 muffin tins, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. In a medium sized bowl, add sweet potato, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, milk, and orange zest. Mix. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until incorporated. Gently fold in pecans. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, almost filling the cups. (Should make approximately 18 full sized muffins.) Fill remaining empty cups 3/4 full with water to prevent warping. In a small bowl stir sugar and cinnamon topping mixture and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to serving dish. I  use a butter knife in gently assisting the muffins out of the tin. Muffins are moist and flavorful, enjoy!

Pannu Kakku

I remember the first time I ate this growing up. The name sounded so exotic. My mother had learned the Finnish oven baked pancake recipe from a close family friend. The dish was served warm and topped with syrup. It was sweet and comforting. And although all of the ingredients were familiar to me, the almost soufflé like appearance and custard like texture turned this into something completely different and very special. The ratio of milk to eggs and sugar varies based on personal preference, this is how we like it the most.

As organic as possible:

1 stick Butter

1 cup Flour

4 Eggs

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400°. Melt the butter in a 13 x 9 inch pan until bubbly and starting to brown. In the mean time, add eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar to flour. Mix until all is incorporated. When butter is ready remove pan from oven and turn down to 375°. Carefully swirl the butter around the pan to cover bottom and sides. Pour batter into the pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until center is set (not runny). Serve warm with syrup or fruit.

The Richmond Avenue’s Cottage Cheese Oatmeal Pancakes

At first glance these pancakes looked like something I had to try. I know what most people were thinking, “these sound weird,” because Jasmine wrote that they did. But not me, I was thinking these sound unique, I love cottage cheese and look at that picture! I want to eat that! Of course that’s what I think about most of the food from The Richmond Avenue, which is why I selected this recipe for my WordPress Cooking Challenge!

When I started to collect the ingredients I would need to make these pancakes, my first thought was I need to get a new food processor with a larger capacity. Which actually has no connection with this recipe because the instructions clearly state to combine the ingredients in a blender, which I did. However, that was my first thought none-the-less.

It was when I began to pour the ingredients into the blender, I actually started to question “how is this going to work?” I understand that the oats were taking place of the flour (of which there is none) and I think it’s pretty cool that this is a gluten-free recipe. But there was no oil or melted butter, the only fat was in the cottage cheese. The baking powder and vanilla were normal for me (because I make pancakes on a weekly basis), but when I went to throw in a pinch of salt I had to stop myself… no salt in this recipe either! I figured the cottage cheese is probably salty enough and I started feeling healthier by the second. I have to confess- that I used three whole eggs as opposed to 6 egg whites. It was a calculated decision based on four things: firstly, I know from experience that it will add the same amount of moisture: secondly, the recipe did not call for me to whip the egg whites and gently fold them in, so although it may have been lighter I really didn’t feel I was messing with airy-ness: thirdly, I’m not worried about the amount of cholesterol I am eating, although I respect that as a healthy option: and lastly, I love my organic eggs, I don’t have any recipes in the line-up that call for yolks, and I didn’t want to waste them. But honestly all of this inner turmoil isn’t worth it! I did add the optional tablespoon of sugar- because that’s the kind of girl I am.

As I was heating up the griddle and watching my butter foam in readiness for the batter I actually got excited to see how this was going to turn out! And as I watched for the bubbles to cue me that it was time to flip the pancakes, I was happy to see the beautiful golden color that occurred on the first side! So far so good! As I moved my first round of pancakes to a side plate I had to pinch a piece off of one to see how this was going to taste. It was sweet, salty, and just like a pancake, except healthier and full of protein! It’s a delicious recipe and it even got more fun with all of the fresh fruit toppings!

For the original recipe and picture check out The Richmond Avenue

1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup oats
3 Tbsp almond or skim milk
6 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
Strawberries for topping (optional)
Blueberries for topping (optional)
Maple syrup for topping (“optional, but not really” – love that BTW!)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and let it do its thing! Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter at a time on the prepared griddle (with butter or baking spray). Flip when you see the bubbles… Serve warm!
Enjoy! I know I sure did!

Paintbox Mum’s Simple Jammy Muffins

To be honest when I started this particular project I had something specific in mind. Not only did the recipe sound simple enough and sure to taste yummy, but it came with the cutest picture of a little girl in a polk-a-dot apron adding jam to the muffin batter. So of course, I wanted to replicate the moment with my little ones, in their aprons (note to self get polk-a-dot aprons). However, my sister asked that my kids stay at her house last night- as a last little enjoy the summer while it’s still here hoorah! And it ended up that I made these sweet little muffins alone (alone meaning without help because I still had to entertain my nine month old in his high chair, and move around my husband getting his morning coffee for work, etc.) But still it was more quiet than my usual morning, which was a different enjoyment than I had anticipated but still a nice occurrence.

The ingredients I already had on hand, which is always a bonus when you want to make a little something special and it is actually a possibility! It took a little preparation in that I had to convert the grams of flour and sugar into my standard cups (which I have included in this post). Easily enough my measuring cup had both units of measure, mLs and cups, and a Tbsp is a tablespoon across the board (or pond). Since I am a baker at heart, I thoroughly enjoyed hiding a little treasure of jam in the center of each cup of batter. Furthermore I would like to mention that I was delighted at the reference of “cake cases” instead of my standard boring “cups”. How pleasant! I’m going to try to incorporate that into my use of a muffin pan from now on.

The result was a delicious muffin/biscuit and jam hybrid. (And was really good with a little pat of softened butter!) It was a perfect breakfast package with my cup of coffee and I can’t wait to experiment with other jams, and my helpers!

Simple Jammy Muffins by Paintbox Mum

1 2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup caster sugar (fine white sugar)
1 pinch of salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
5 Tbsp melted butter
8 Tbsp jam (we both used strawberry)

Preheat the oven to 375º (190º C). Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the wet. Add the wet to dry. Spoon half the batter into the “cake cases,” make a well in the center and add a dab (approx 1/2 Tbsp) of jam to each cup. Top each muffin with the other half of the batter and bake for 20 minutes.

This is the first of my “WordPress Cooking Challenge” recipes to make from other inspiring bloggers! There are so many great recipes out there and I encourage you to try some! For the original recipe and the adorable picture of the little girl in her apron visit Paintbox Mum!

And thanks to Healthy in All Hues for this great idea!

Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

I can eat biscotti all day without guilt. Maybe because its called biscotti (Italian for a twice baked cookie), it doesn’t register. I think I’ve tried it all. There hasn’t been one variation I didn’t like. Besides, that second round in the oven probably got rid of anything bad for me, right?

As organic as possible:

1/2 cup Butter, softened

3/4 cup Sugar (rounded)

1 tsp Almond extract

1/4 cup Cocoa powder

2 tsp Baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 Eggs

1 3/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Milk Chocolate chips or pieces

1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate chips or pieces

1 cup Sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly grease a cookie sheet, set aside. In a stand-up electric mixer or in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or with your mighty hand, beat butter, sugar and almond extract. Add cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time. Add flour, a third at a time, until combined. Remove bowl from mixer. Add milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and almond pieces, gently fold until incorporated.

Separate dough into to halves. Taking one half of the dough portion into your hands, shape into a log about 9″ long. Place onto the baking sheet lengthwise and gently press down to lightly flatten. Repeat with the other half. Place into the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325º. Place cookie loaf onto a cutting board and cut diagonally with a serrated knife. Place cut side down and bake for 8-9 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake for an additional 8-9 minutes, until crisp. Let cool. Serve with coffee or hot cocoa for dipping or all alone.

Peach-Pear Muffins

I have recently become a fan of the peach-pear combination; the contrasting textures, the flavors, the colors… They just work for me. And of course so do muffins, because why not wrap up your favorite things in a beautiful little sweet bread basket? For another level of texture, I added pecans. So technically we could call these Peach-Pear-Pecan Muffins, but it just doesn’t have the same ring. Right? Regardless, they’re yummy. (Just ask my nephew, Jude).

Makes 24 muffins

As organic as possible:

3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup walnut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pears
1 1/2 cups chopped peaches
1 cup chopped pecans (1/3 cup reserved)

Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease 24 standard muffin cups with butter or baking spray, set aside.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, mix milk and balsamic vinegar and let it sit. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to wet ingredients and stir. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix just until combined. Fold in the pears, peaches and pecans until incorporated (not over mixing for fear of muffin bricks).

Spoon or scoop batter into muffin tins until almost to the top. (Side note: I love ice cream scoops for all muffin, cupcake, and most cookie recipes. The kind where you squeeze the handle and the batter is released. If you don’t have one, you might want to consider it.) Bake for 25-30 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve while still warm or at room temperature.

I love most quick breads and muffins with coffee in the morning for breakfast or on the side of a salad for lunch. Enjoy!

White Chocolate-Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I am crazy about these cookies. Simply put they are just really good. It’s everything I want in a cookie; sweet, chewy and loaded with flavor in every bite. They are like perfect. And because they have oats, cranberries, and walnuts (and white chocolate chips- but just mumble that under your breath) I feel good about eating them for breakfast. Or in between meals. Or after lunch. and dinner.

As organic as possible:

3/4 cup Butter, softened

1 cup packed Brown sugar

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 3/4 cups Flour

2 cups Oats

1 cup White chocolate chips

1 cup Cranberries

3/4 cup chopped Walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375º. Beat butter by hand or with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and continue to beat until creamy, light and fluffy (scraping the sides as necessary). Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Mix in the flour (I like to do this 1 cup and 3/4 cup at a time). Stir in oats. Batter will be getting thick! Fold in white chocolate chips, cranberries and nuts until all are evenly incorporated.

I have said it in the past, we like our cookies big. So I use an ice cream scoop, but you can use smaller spoons if you’d like. Drop the cookies onto an un-greased cookie sheet (leaving space for growth in between). Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until edges are turning brown and center is soft (not wet). Allow to cool for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

*I adapted (dare I say perfected) this recipe many moons ago from a Better Homes and Gardens oatmeal cookie recipe. And you may take any liberties you’d like with substituting ingredients because this recipe is flexible, but if I were you I’d try it like this at least once.

Lemon Bread

I appreciate the sour note of a lemon, especially in something sweet. This bread is great in the morning for breakfast, it works as a dessert, and can be served on the side of a salad. But my favorite way to eat this treat is in the afternoon with a cup of coffee (or tea for my English friends). It’s the perfect little bright pick-me-up.

Makes 1 Loaf

As organic as possible:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Topping:

1 Tbsp lemon zest

2 pinches sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease (or spray) a loaf pan and set aside. Beat the butter with an electric mixer (or your strong arms and a utensil) until creamy. Add the half the sugar and beat into the butter, then add the other half of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and zest, mix until blended. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk into the butter mixture. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool slightly while you prepare the glaze. Place the powdered sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and stir until it makes a thick, sticky, yummy liquid. Remove the loaf from the pan and place it on the serve ware of your choice. Spoon the glaze onto the loaf, allowing it to flow down the sides like lava out of a volcano (just the flow part, not the fire or sputtering).

Before the glaze dries sprinkle the zest and pinches of sugar evenly across the top. Serve at will.

Aunt Lynn’s Cheesy Egg & Sausage Casserole

A classic breakfast egg and cheese casserole dish has to be in every mom’s recipe box. Thankfully Aunt Lynny gave me hers! It’s morning comfort food. And it makes your kitchen smell like love. This dish is great for weekends and I have fond memories of it making an appearance on the Christmas buffet at Gram’s. It’s versatile, so you can substitute the sausage for cubed ham, change around the cheese, add green or red pepper… mix it up as you please.

As organic as possible:

10 eggs, beaten

8 oz shredded cheese

3-4 slices bread, cubed small

1 lb pork sausage, browned and drained

1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 X 9 baking dish and set aside. Add browned sausage to beaten eggs in a large bowl, add cheese (I used cheddar and Emmentaler), bread, and milk. Pour mixture into greased pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until center is firm.