January 23, 2009

Breakfast

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I'm here to profess my undying love for my Instant Pot.  I've made so many wonderful things with it, and it's hard to choose what has been my favorite so far.  Chicken that literally falls off the bone, pot roast that melts in your mouth, healthy bone broth, hearty soups, amazingly creamy...



This is a make-ahead breakfast that is just perfect for the holidays.  Think Thanksgiving morning, Christmas morning, New Year's morning, Easter morning, etc.  It's very versatile, so you can really add any ingredients that your family enjoys.  Assemble it the night before and pop it in the oven when you're ready to eat!  So simple and so tasty!  Oh, and the presentation...



It's finally feeling like a crisp, fall day; let the baking season commence!  These salted caramel apple pie bars are to. die. for.  Imagine with me.  Buttery, shortbread crust topped with a sweet layer of apples, cinnamon streusel, and a delectable salted caramel drizzled on top.  Perfection.



These are our favorite granola bars.  They're amazingly good, super easy to make, perfectly chewy, and they won't crumble on you!  The only problem you'll have with these is suppressing your urge to eat them all!  




Have you ever seen that Weight Watchers commercial, where Oprah Winfrey says, "I love bread," with such passion and conviction in her voice that it makes you want to run into the kitchen and gobble any and every crumb that you can find?  My little sous chef and I giggle every time we see it, and it's come to a point where we'll even quote it when...



These granola bars are a much better alternative to the processed stuff in a box.  They're easy to make, delightfully chewy, and seriously delicious.  My daughter goes nuts over them, and I frequently catch her sneaking into the kitchen to get "just one more bite".   



February 22, 2010 is a very special date to me.  That was the day that I began my journey in food blogging.  I devoted every spare moment that I had to creating new recipes, styling the food for pictures, photographing them, and writing about them.  

Fast forward to present day, 5 years later.  After years of saving and living as frugally as we could, we...




Every Saturday morning, I cook a big breakfast for my family.  It's one of my favorite parts of the week.  The smell of bacon, the sound of dishes clanging, the warm mug of coffee in my hands, the sight of my family in their PJs... and as an added bonus, the scene of snowflakes falling silently outside the back door.  When I asked my family what sounded good for breakfast this morning, my husband...



Skinny Overnight Oats with Chia Seeds, Blueberries & Banana

My little sous chef was home sick yesterday with a yucky cold.  The only thing that she wanted to eat all day was oatmeal.  I get it.  It's comforting, it's tasty, and it warms the soul.  There are also so many wonderful health benefits to eating oats, and I have been trying to incorporate them...




It started a couple weeks ago while we were celebrating the wedding of some friends.  After a very touching, beautiful ceremony, we found ourselves enjoying cocktail hour with friends and family.  Mid-conversation, a tray of what looked to be martinis were presented to us.  Pumpkin martinis you say?  Sure, I'll try one.  One sip, ahhh - I was in heaven!  They were the most it was the most (okay, so I had two!) delicious pumpkin...




Who doesn't love ham and cheese?!  With the weather cooling down some, I've been getting a little more guilt-free use out of my oven.  Organic eggs, fat-free milk, leftover ham, green pepper from the garden, and reduced fat cheddar cheese are used to make this tasty breakfast...




Organic heirloom tomatoes are given a Southwestern flare, stuffed in a hearty portobello mushroom, and topped with an egg.  It's a healthy and delicious vegetarian breakfast with a little bit of a spicy kick.  If you're not into the whole vegetarian thing, cooked bacon...



Cherry Crumble Bars

Oh, how I love sweet cherries!  They are in season for far too short a time, so I jump on them as soon as I see a good sale.  As a little girl, I remember my Grandmommy putting them in the freezer, pits and all.  Later on in the evening, we would take them...



Black Plum & Ginger Jam (Without Pectin)

Making your own jam is a great way to preserve any in-season fruits that you may have lying around the house.  This black plum and ginger jam is so easy and is made without pectin.  The ginger gives the jam a wonderful little kick.  It's soft, sweet, slightly tart, and...



Tropical Oat Bars with Pineapple & Coconut

Looking forward to your next vacation?  These oat bars will send your taste buds straight to paradise!  Sweet pineapple, flaked coconut, and freshly squeezed lime juice give them a delicious tropical flare.  The pineapple filling in the center is made...



(Flourless & Butterless) Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Glaze


Just because we're spring cleaning our diets doesn't mean that we have to deprive ourselves of the things that we love!  I had a few hours to myself between my little sous chef's dance recital and violin concert this weekend, so I decided to fool around with some ingredients and make healthy cookies that I can treat myself to throughout the week.  I came up with these flourless and butterless...

Strawberry, Kale & Carrot Smoothie


This is a super healthy and refreshing smoothie that is low in calories and packed with vitamins and minerals.  Oh, and it's pretty darn delicious, too!  I didn't add any honey to my smoothie because my strawberries were sweet enough on their own, but you certainly can add...



Cinnamon Applesauce Crumb Cake

Confession.  I'm not the best baker in the world.  I'll admit it - I don't like sticking to recipes, and I especially don't like measuring out ingredients.  I guess it's just because I'm lazy I'm so used to not measuring things when I'm cooking.  With baking, everything has to be exact - there's no eyeballing it.  So, one of the things I have been trying to do recently is...



Corned Beef Hash

I don't know about you, but I always find myself with leftover corned beef after Saint Patrick's Day.  I had originally planned on making Reuben sandwiches with the leftovers, but I'm in a breakfast for dinner kind of mood.  Try using your leftover corned beef in this delicious hash with some...


Pumpkin-Filled Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

It was a gorgeous, bright and chilly fall day and I happened to have the entire day to myself.  What did I do with my free time?  I spent the majority of it in the kitchen, of course!  I had chili planned for dinner and I decided on these pumpkin-filled cinnamon...  


Pop Tarts with Homemade Strawberry Jam & Vanilla Glaze


Brace yourself!  These pop tarts are made with homemade strawberry jam and slathered in a delicious vanilla glaze.  Wrap that sweet strawberry jam in a buttery, flaky pie crust and you have amazing pop tarts that annihilate the store-bought competition. 



Pumpkin French Toast with Maple-Cream Cheese Syrup


This pumpkin French toast is perfect on a chilly autumn morning for breakfast... or dessert!  It's rich, fluffy, pumpkiny, and the maple-cream cheese syrup just takes it to a heavenly realm!    


Stuffed Acorn Squash with Eggs, Spinach & Pepper Jack

Here is a healthy baked breakfast that not only looks elegant but is easy to do!  You get two stuffed acorn rings per serving and each ring is only 133 calories!  



Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars

I've had an incredibly busy last couple of weeks and have had very little time for cooking let alone blogging.  Finding myself in a break from the action, I decided to make some cereal bars for my daughter as a special treat.  These are so good!  My...

Blueberry Wheat Germ Smoothie

It's blueberry season!  Refresh yourself with this delicious, creamy blueberry smoothie.  Rich in vitamins and high in fiber - it makes for a great start to your day!  For a lower calorie version (185 calories), substitute 1 cup of the blueberries for 1 cup of ice.


Lazy Saturdays.  I live for those few-and-far-between days when we can sleep in until 9:00, wear our pajamas until noon, and not have a commitment until the evening.  While making brunch for my family in my pajamas with Blake Shelton serenading me...

Baked Oatmeal Cups with Apple Cinnamon & Walnut

Start off your day with this warm, healthy breakfast that's baked in your own personal apple cup.  So good, it's hard to believe they are under 200 calories per serving! 




Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

My plans this past weekend were completely shot because I spent Friday and Saturday taking care of my sick little girl.  By Sunday afternoon, she was feeling better and we decided to continue on with our plans to go to my brother-in-law's house to sow...


Eggnog French Toast


I had a little leftover eggnog from Christmas with an expiration date of 1/1/2013 and I decided to use it up with breakfast this morning.  It's a simple yet delicious twist on your classic French toast.  




Double Chocolate Covered Cherry Muffins

I'll never forget the first time I tasted a Bing cherry.  During a sleepover when I was very young, myGrandmommy pulled out a bag from the freezer for dessert.  In it contained small, red, frozen balls with a stem sticking out of each one.  She handed me 


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Toasted Walnuts



While songs of Christmas fill the stores and are all over commercials this time of year, I will not allow myself to get into the "Christmas spirit" quite yet.  My daughter's birthday happens to fall on Thanksgiving this year, so I am currently in autumn-Thanksgiving-birthday spirit. 


Double Apple & Cinnamon Muffins

Brr!  It's frigid out there today!  After the school bus picked my daughter up this morning, I was so happy to wrap up in a fleece blanket with hot coffee in one hand and one of these muffins in the other.  These muffins are so moist and packed with sweet apples in every bite!    


Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries, Bananas & Walnuts


We harvested so many sweet blueberries from the garden yesterday and I decided to use them in baked oatmeal.  This has a soft banana base with sweet blueberries, warm oatmeal and crunchy walnuts throughout, and a crisp topping.  Drizzle some...



Blueberry Brown Sugar Pancakes with Maple Glaze



I am so excited about this recipe today!  I got the idea from Martha Stewart and while I stuck to the basic instructions, I made a lot of changes to the ingredients.  The results?  It was absolutely fantastic!  My family loved it and I will definitely...


Simple & Delicious Home Fries

There aren't very many things that I enjoy more than spending lazy Saturdays with my family.  Sleeping in, slowly awakening between the cold sheets, and knowing that you have no obligations for the rest of the day other than to relax and spend time together...



Fruit Loop Crispy Treats

With her little nose pressed to the window, my daughter waved goodbye and blew kisses to me before the bus left for school today.  I always miss her while she is at school but I found myself missing her much more than usual, so I decided that I would surprise...








It was just another Tuesday evening.  We had finished eating a yummy steak dinner and I was in mid-cleanup, when the doorbell rang.  It was my in-laws stopping in for a "quick visit".  My father-in-law handed me a gift bag and said, "This is your early birthday gift." 



These pastries are absolutely delicious and very easy to make.  They are slightly crisp on the outside, fluffy and warm on the inside, and, when paired with the sweet strawberries and gooey cream cheese glaze, they are out of this world!  Just a forewarning, the glaze...




While catching up on Facebook this past Friday, I came across a picture that my husband posted to my wall that he found on reddit.com.  It was a lovely picture of a sunny-side up egg inside an onion ring and I was excited about the idea.   There was also...



My Granddaddy brought over some sweet potatoes from his garden for me one night this week and I wanted to try something new, something different than the normal sweet potato pie.  Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I was going to use them in some sort...



White Chocolate Scones with Orange Glaze

Maybe it's because my memory fails me from time to time, maybe it's because I like to be organized or maybe it's a little bit of both but, either way, I am a list person.  For the past two months, I have been working on a list of fall foods to make and blog about. 


Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips

We have been having zucchini everything recently because of the overabundance from the garden that I have of it.  These are my husband's favorite muffins and he has them for breakfast whenever they're in the house until we run out.  The last time I made them...


Bacon & Egg Breakfast Cups


One day, I received an email from my husband with the strange subject line of, "OMG. I want".  I opened the email to find something very unexpected -- a huge photo of bacon cups cradling eggs over light.  Suddenly, the subject line made perfect sense. 


Granola Trifle

Today is my birthday and I am officially no longer in my 20s.  I made these as a little treat to start off the morning and it was a delightful way to begin my 30th!  This is quite the treat for my daughter and I.  My husband loves the granola alone but we love it with Greek...



Blueberry Muffins with Brown Sugar Topping

I was just recently put on the schedule for my church's baking team, which means that I bake 4 dozen of something and drop it off before the service.  Originally, I had planned on baking cookies for this past Sunday until I came across blueberries on sale for $0.99/pint.

Strawberry, Banana & Pecan Muffins

I have an overabundance of strawberries and have been busy using them in various dishes and desserts for the past few days.  Today marks the first day of summer vacation for my daughter, which means that I literally have anywhere from 15 to 20 neighborhood kids...


I was in the mood to make some muffins and I decided to experiment with ginger and carrot.  While writing up my recipe, I thought that candying some ginger to place on top would be a nice touch to them.  The ginger topping adds a sweet and spicy kick that was...

Homemade Cream Cheese Stuffed Bagels


I could really get used to waking up to these with a hot cup of coffee every morning!  The outside is crispy, the inside is warm and soft and the cream cheese inside just puts them over the top.  





Potato & Kale Frittata

This is a delicious, comforting breakfast that is healthy and filling.  I love frittatas because they are quick, easy and very versatile.  I always try to have a variation of it in my fridge for lunch or breakfast throughout the week.  The addition of bacon would be a wonderful element...


Baked Doughnuts


Today is April Fool's Day and it seems like everyone has been getting in on the fun.  Even nature played a wonderful prank on us this morning with snow.  What a strange sight it was to see my day lilies covered in snow.  As my husband was leaving for work...



Apple Clafouti

Clafouti is a French dessert, which is normally made with dried cherries arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter.  Apples are used in this recipe along with dried cranberries (Craisins, to be exact) and it is very healthy and wonderfully delicious. 


Double Egg, Prosciutto & Egg Cheese Breakfast Sandwich


Yesterday was my nephew's 1st birthday party.  My sister served a delicious baked ziti meal for our family and we had a lovely time.  Saturday mornings, I normally make a huge breakfast but the morning of the party proved to be hectic, so I made my husband's favorite...



Pancetta & Spinach Omelette


Happy Saturday! It's going on five days now that my daughter has a fever and I wanted to serve her a yummy yet quick breakfast.  I can't be tied down to the kitchen while she wants to cuddle! 


Cinnamon-Cardamom Oranges

I am by no means a superstitious person but I do find it interesting how superstitions originate. Recently, I have been reading about different cultures in the world and what they believe is lucky and unlucky to eat during the New Year.



Ham Spinach Frittata

For Christmas, my sweet Granddaddy gave me the signed cookbook, "The Spice Kitchen" by Sara Engram and Katie Luber with Kimberly Toqe. The cookbook came with 24 cases of different organic, 1 teaspoon pre-measured spice packets. It was an...

Prosciutto & Smoked Gruyere Quiche

My poor little sous-chef and food critic, Madelyn, has a nasty case of the flu. So far, she has missed two days of school and will definitely not be returning tomorrow. Because she is so sick, I know that the next few days will be crazy and that I will not be able...


I cannot believe that I am already halfway through my 12 Days of (Christmas) Cookies! I have had so much fun doing all of this baking and it has really put me into the spirit of Christmas. Biscotti is one of my favorite things to have with a hot cup of coffee.

Moons Over My Hammy

Last night, I had a dream about my dear Grandmommy. Grandmommy has a very large and special place in my heart; she was like a second mother to me. I wish all of my readers could have had the privilege of knowing her. She was an enchanting, beautiful...




Prosciutto & Cheese Omelette

My husband was walking around the house this morning singing, "omelette time, omelette time, omelette time" over and over and over. Since I got the blindingly-obvious hint, I decided to make a prosciutto omelette for him. Ever since I introduced...


Egg in the Basket


I love to make this for breakfast. It is simple and delicious. You can use different cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes and you can use waffles instead of bread.



Rosemary Turkey & Spinach Crustless QuicheWednesdays are my "slow" work days, when I find myself doing things that I normally have no time for before my daughter gets home from kindergarten. For instance, I am going to start going in every other Wednesday to volunteer in her kindergarten...


Maple Cinnamon Walnut Sticky Buns

Here we are again with one of my favorite flavor combinations, maple and walnut. I found this recipe years ago in a Kraft Foods magazine and have changed it a bit over the years. Everyone will want this recipe. The salty, crunchy walnuts compliment the sweet, sticky maple...


Strawberry-Banana Waffles


One of my birthday gifts was a waffle maker. I have been dying to use it but something always gets in my way before I begin. Today was the day. My first ever attempt at homemade waffles. I found a highly-rated recipe onallrecipes.com that I decided to try. I wanted...



Caterpillar Pancakes

Maddy asked for chocolate chip pancakes this morning, so I decided to make it fun. I sliced up some bananas to go with it.


Cinnamon-Apple Tea Pancakes Topped with Raspberries

I woke up on this sunny, crisp, spring day listening to the sound of the birds chirping excited that I had an entire commitment-free day. Instantly, I felt compelled to do a little experimenting. I came up with these pancakes using flavored tea and I am so glad...



Sticky Cinnamon Rolls

So far, these are my absolute favorite cinnamon rolls! This recipe is adapted from 4 or 5 other recipes I have come across in the past. 


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