Banana Bread (or Muffins)

I've been making these muffins for a while now as part of our breakfast rotation.  The recipe came from 100 Days of Real Food and I love that it uses wholesome ingredients and honey instead of sugar!  These aren't as sweet as some of my other banana bread recipes but sweet enough.  And it helps that I'm usually a bit generous when measuring the honey.

Banana Bread (or Muffins)

• 2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (I use Greek yogurt.)
• ¼ cup honey (I use as much as 1/3 c.)
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup oil (I use coconut oil.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.  Or place liners in muffin tin.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan (or liners).
6. Bake large loaf for 40 – 50 minutes or until it comes clean with a toothpick.  Bake muffins for approximately 15 minutes.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

I borrowed this picture from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (where this recipe comes from.)  We had these tonight with our "breakfast for dinner" and they were a hit.  I would have never thought to put blueberries and bananas together but they are a perfect pair!  Excited to add another muffin recipe to my collection.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (I used coconut sugar.)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cups quick or regular oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 ripe bananas, lightly mashed
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 teaspoons flour

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray (or use muffin cup liners). Set aside.
2. In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric stand mixer), beat together the butter, yogurt and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. In a blender or food processor, process the oats until they are finely ground. Add the wheat flour, baking soda and salt and pulse one or two times until the dry ingredients are lightly combined. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined. Mix in the lightly mashed bananas. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Toss the blueberries with the 2 teaspoons flour and then gently fold them into the muffin batter. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the muffins rest in the pan for about 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Granola

I've tweaked the Classic Granola recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe over the past year or so and come up with a variation that I like and make often with ingredients I always have on hand.  This is a great, filling alternative to store-bought cereal!

Granola

6.5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2.5 cups unsweetened coconut flakes (My regular grocery store only carries sweetened but I found unsweetened in the bulk bins at the health food store.)
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup high-quality honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, liquified
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (I get the raw, unsalted ones at the health food store in the bulk bins.)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

*I don't put any nuts in mine because of Tyler's allergies but you can add the following if you are one of the lucky ones with no tree nut allergies in your home!

1 1/4-1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1 1/4 cups pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add wet ingredients and  mix well to distribute evenly. Spread a thin layer of mixture on two rimmed baking sheets - half sheet pans.  (No need to line pans.) Bake for 15-20 minutes stirring mixture and rotating sheets half way through until mixture is an even golden brown. Be careful to watch granola: it will quickly turn from golden to burnt and will continue to cook as it cools when you take it out of the oven. Mixture will be moist when it comes out of the oven but will crisp and clump (a little) as it cools. Keeps for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container.  

Easter Morning Rolls

We had these fantastic gooey rolls for breakfast Easter morning.  I have been eying them for the past several years and finally got around to making them this year.  I think it will be a new tradition.  I love the symbolism.  You wrap the dough around a large marshmallow and when it's done baking the marshmallow has disappeared!  We had a little discussion about the similarities between the hollow roll and the empty tomb the morning of Jesus' resurrection.  It was a nice way to start out the day.

Easter Morning Rolls

1 package frozen bread or roll dough, thawed OR homemade roll dough.  I used this recipe.

6 TB sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 bag large marshmallows
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.  

Divide the dough into individual roll sized portions. Press each portion into a flat circle.  

Place 1 large marshmallow in the center of each roll. Pinch roll dough very firmly around the marshmallow. Roll each into a seamless, or nearly seamless, ball with your hands.  

Brush rolls with melted butter. Sprinkle sugar mixture over rolls. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight. On Sunday morning, preheat oven to 350°. Take rolls out of fridge and bake for 15 minutes until rolls are golden brown. Be careful not to over-bake. (These may also be baked without sitting overnight. After wrapping the marshmallow in them, let them rise for about an hour or so and then bake them as usual.)

Whole Wheat Muffins

I found this recipe here and was intrigued because these muffins call for no sugar!  I didn't think it would be possible to make a tasty muffin with no sugar but my kids gobbled these up.  They were definitely not sweet as far as breakfast muffins usually go, but they were good!  And I think if I use more berries next time they will be just right.

Whole Wheat Muffins

• 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup oil (I used coconut oil.)
• ¾ cup orange juice or apple juice
• About 1 cup of total filling (berries, fruit, nuts, etc. – whatever your family likes!)
• Muffin/Cupcake liners

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl with a fork or whisk mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and orange juice. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together – do not over-mix.
4. Add 1 cup of blueberries, mashed up banana & nuts, or other filling of your choice and pour into muffin liners.  If you have an extra minute, pour the batter into muffin liners first (about 2/3 - 3/4 full) and add your filling individually to each cup - you can vary them or make them all the same.  Then gently mix filling into each cup with a fork or spoon.  Here are some options to consider for the filling:
   - blueberries
   - diced strawberries
   - peeled and diced pears
   - applesauce
   - either diced or mashed up bananas and chopped walnuts
   - raisins and chopped pecans
   - grated carrot and chopped walnuts
   - orange or lemon zest (only add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of zest per individual muffin)
   - a mix of dried fruit bits
   - jelly
5. After the filling has been mixed into each muffin slide the tray into the warm oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature and freeze some for a later date if you want.

Buttermilk Wheat Pancakes

Do you like my new plates?  Our cheap set of dishes that we bought when we were first married had seen better days so I bought this set of Corel dishes when they were on a great sale on Amazon several months ago.  I kept them boxed up until the move.  Now I am thoroughly enjoying them!  They are so light weight and don't scratch or chip.

So these are GREAT pancakes!  I love just about anything that calls for buttermilk so these hit the spot with me.  The wheat isn't overly heavy either.  Just loved these with homemade buttermilk syrup.

2 eggs, beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 Tablespoons oil
1 cup white flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Beat the eggs first and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Do not over mix. Cook on a hot nonstick pan or griddle.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

I am in love with oatmeal pancakes.  I have another recipe on this blog that I love, but here is a new one.  This makes 10 cups of dry mix that can be stored on the counter for a couple of weeks or in the fridge for several weeks.  I found this recipe at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  You've got to try it!

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (can just do 2 more cups wheat flour if you want)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I didn't have to add any extra oil.) Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work OR put one Tbsp white vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup and then fill cup with whole milk), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

Breakfast Burritos

I don't think we've ever had these for breakfast. This is a favorite of our family when we're doing breakfast for dinner. They're so quick and easy to make and full of flavor. Last night we used leftover crepes I pulled from the freezer but usually we use tortillas. We just throw in whatever vegetables I have on hand that "fit" and usually, cheese, ham and/or bacon.

Breakfast Burritos

Eggs, mixed with a little bit of milk and scrambled, salted & peppered (I use 8.)

Grated cheese, last night we used Mozarella but cheddar works great too

Avocado, sliced thin

Tomato, diced

Bacon, cooked and crumbled OR ham, cubed or sliced into thin strips

Onions, grilled

Bell peppers, grilled

Heat the tortillas (or crepes), sprinkle with cheese, add eggs and other ingredients. Roll up and enjoy!

Pumpkin Waffles

If you're wondering why the syrup doesn't cover the entire waffle, it's because Tyler didn't want syrup on his section. He wanted ketchup. :) These waffles are seriously good! This is the time of year when I always seem to have pumpkin leftover in my fridge so I'm always looking for ways to use it. I love just about anything pumpkin. I got this recipe from my friend Sheia and my friend Melanie has a recipe for apple cider syrup that goes great with these too.

Pumpkin Waffles

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup canned pumpkin

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter and pumpkin. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined. Coat waffles iron with non-stick spray and cook.

Apple Cider Syrup

Mix in sauce pan

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add

• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 2 TBS butter

Cook all ingredients except butter over medium heat. Heat until thick and bubbly. Cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter.
Makes 1 1/3 cups syrup.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes

Another pancake recipe. Ben made pancakes from a mix the other night and I think I've been ruined. They tasted terrible! I definitely prefer pancakes from scratch and there are so many options! These ones are very moist because of the sour cream.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour (Or 1 1/2 c. white flour, 1/2 c. whole wheat flour.)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream (I have substituted 1 c. plain greek yogurt for this.)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, sour cream & butter; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Fold in blueberries. Cooked on greased hot griddle.

Baked Oatmeal

Our family consumes A LOT of cold cereal. Ben grew up on cold cereal. For Christmas every year he and his brothers would each get five or six full size boxes of cold cereal with their stockings. Though I shop sales and use coupons so usually get it quite cheap, cold cereal takes up a lot of space in my house and is not the healthiest breakfast out there. I have a goal to make more "homemade" breakfasts. My kids love oatmeal - I don't. Regular oatmeal cooked in a saucepan is just "ok" for me. But I came across this baked oatmeal recipe and it is super! Ben LOVED it. It's super quick to make and very filling. I halved the recipe and baked it in an 8X8 dish and it was the perfect amount to feed my family for one morning. This tastes great plain or with fruit on top.

Baked Oatmeal
6 cups oats (rolled or quick)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (can substitute coconut sugar with great results)
1 cup oil (melted coconut oil works great)
2 cups milk
4 beaten eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serve warm with milk….or not.

Applesauce Pancakes

I don't know if I'll ever go back to store-bought pancake mixes. I guess I'll always keep some on hand - just in case, but pancakes from scratch are so much better! I had some applesauce in my fridge that I needed to use up so I decided to try these pancakes. I used unsweetened applesauce but I'm sure any kind would work. I didn't have time to make the syrup but I'm sure it would taste great with these pancakes. These recipes come from The Sisters Cafe.

Applesauce Pancakes

2 eggs
2 c flour
1 c milk
1 c applesauce
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt

Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. (To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops of water. If bubbles jump around, heat is just right.) Grease griddle. For each pancake, use slightly less than 1/4 cup batter. Cook pancakes until bubbly on top and dry around the edges. Turn to cook other sides until golden brown.

Cinnamon Syrup
1 cup sugar
slightly less than 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cinnamon. Pour in corn syrup and water and stir to dissolve. Boil, stirring constantly 2-3 minutes. Cool. Stir in evaporated milk and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Crepes

We were given a crepe maker for a wedding gift. You don't need one to make crepes but it sure makes it easy! Tonight we had chicken crepes for dinner (chicken, spinach & cheese w/ a chicken gravy) and apple pie filling and strawberry crepes with vanilla ice cream for dessert! Oh the possibilities...

Basic Crepe Batter

1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Place ingredients in blender. Blend 30 seconds. Stop and stir down sides. Blend 30-60 seconds more until smooth. Or, mix in bowl with wire whisk or mixer, first combining flour and eggs, adding liquid gradually. Beat until smooth; add other ingredients. Makes about 16 crepes.

I pour my batter into a shallow pie plate and then dip the crepe maker in the plate quickly. Then I allow the crepe to cook for about a minute. If you don't have a crepe maker I'm sure you could spray a frying pan and cook them that way. The key would be minimal batter in the pan so your crepe stays thin.

Hootenany Pancakes

I got this recipe from my mom. She made these many times while I was growing up. I've since learned that this dish goes by many different names! I don't know where "hootenany" came from - kind of a goofy name - but that's what we've always called them.

Hootenany Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup flour

1 cube butter

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in 9X13 pan in oven while it's heating. Combine eggs, milk and salt in blender until fluffy. Slowly tap in flour. Pour batter into 9X13 pan and bake for 25 minutes. Top with syrup (or whatever your heart desires!)

Aunt Katie's Oatmeal Pancakes

I love breakfast foods but most mornings it is cold cereal or oatmeal for us. The other morning, however, I decided to get fancy and made these oatmeal pancakes for the boys. They loved them and I loved that they loved them! I served them with Nauvoo syrup - yum! (See recipe for Nauvoo syrup posted with recipe for Oven French Toast Sticks.) This pancake recipe comes from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com.

Aunt Katie's Oatmeal Pancakes

2 cups quick oats (I used regular old fashioned oats and ground them up a bit in my blender.)
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon (optional)

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and let sit for 20-30 minutes, covered. Cook slowly on a griddle at 325 degrees or lower. Spray griddle before each batch.

Oven French Toast Sticks

This is a great breakfast (or breakfast-for-dinner) recipe that I got from my friend Sheia. I love that the batter calls for orange juice. It adds a great flavor to the french toast sticks. These taste great dipped in buttermilk syrup (see recipe below).

Oven French Toast Sticks

8 pieces Texas Toast
1/4 cup melted margarine (I use butter)
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup orange juice (drinking strength)

Using pizza cutter, cut each slice of bread into thirds to make "sticks." In a bowl, mix butter, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and orange juice. Dip bread sticks into mix. Place on greased cookie sheet. Pour any remaining dip over French toast. Bake 25 minutes at 350. Turn sticks once half way through baking time. I like to broil the stick for a couple of minutes after baking to make them a little crispy around the edges.

Nauvoo Syrup / Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cube margarine (I use butter) :)
1 tsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (except vanilla) in a LARGE saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. (Syrup will rise quite a bit so don't make the mistake I made the first time I made this and use too small of a pan.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Aebelskivers

Aebelskivers have become a Conference Sunday morning tradition! Ben learned this recipe from his former boss, Doug, who has Danish heritage. I bought Ben an aebelskiver pan a year or so ago and we love it! These are so much better than regular pancakes. We like to dip them in butter and then powdered sugar.

Aebelskivers

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda
2 cups buttermilk

3/4 cube butter

3 eggs
If desired, a dash of either vanilla, nutmeg, or lemon

Mix everything up and poor into individual holes in Aebelskiver pan. Cook one side and then flip.

Granola

This was my first attempt at homemade granola. For some reason it had been sounding good so I figured the boys and I could make it together. We enjoyed it for breakfast this morning. Very easy and very good! Again, I got this recipe from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com. I added craisins to my granola just before eating.

3 ¼ cups Oats (Old Fashioned or Quick—any combination)

1 ¼ cup white wheat flour-freshly ground if possible

1 1/3 cup shredded coconut

¼ cup flax seed (optional)

1 cup or more coarsely chopped almonds and/or pecans

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter

1/3 cup water

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cardamom

Preheat oven to 300. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, flax seed, coconut and nuts. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, butter, and water and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbly. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together until smooth, and then stir in the salt, vanilla and spices. Pour mixture over the oats mixture and stir will to coat. Let stand for about 10 minutes.Spread mixture on a large baking sheet, separating it into irregular clumps with your fingers, and allowing space between clumps for the hot air to circulate. Slide it into the middle of the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to break up the mixture into medium sized clumps. Return to the oven and bake again for 15 minutes before stirring again. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the granola is uniform golden brown and completely dry—this usually takes me about 45 minutes . Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.