Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal Muffins

We had a couple of banana that were beginning to turn an unappealing shade of brown. Much past the stage where I would eat them. (Who am I kidding, I'll hardly eat a banana when it is in it's prime. I don't like the texture but I look the flavor that banana adds to things, smoothies and banana bread for example.) They weren't mushy yet, but it was only a matter of time. Also I have been wanting to experiment with muffins. So those bananas where calling my name.

I wanted to create something breakfast worthy. Something hearty. Something with fruit in it. I think I came up with a winner!

Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal Muffins with Struesel  Topping

1 Cup of Pureed Strawberries
2 Mashed Bananas
1/4 Cup of Canola Oil
1 Egg
1 Cup of Oatmeal
1/2 Cup of All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup of Sugar
2-1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder

Struesel Topping

1/4 cup ground oatmeal
2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Butter, melted
1/4 Cup of Regular Rolled Oats

To Make Muffins:

In a large bowl mix together Strawberries, Bananas, Oil and Egg. Stir to combine. Add Oatmeal and mix. Add Flours, Sugar and Baking Powder. Stir until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin tins.

To make struesel:

In a small bowl add ground oatmeal, brown sugar and melted butter. Stir to combine. Add in rolled oats. Sprinkle the struesel on to the uncooked muffins.

Bake the muffins at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

My Tips

• I only had about 2/3 of a cup of strawberry puree so I used milk for the remaining 1/3 of a cup.
• I usually use cupcake liners to bake my muffins (it's easier to clean the muffin tin!)
• After the muffins cooled, I topped with a glaze made out of powdered sugar and milk. To make the glaze but a 1/4 of a cup of Powdered sugar into a small bowl and add milk (or water or orange juice or lemon juice, etc.) a few drops at t time until it is the desired consistency.
• I always grind up oatmeal in my blender to make "flour" I often use it in various recipes in place of part of the flour. For the struesel topping you can substitute all purpose flour for the ground oatmeal if you prefer.
• These freeze well! Just take them out and let them thaw. Or thaw them in the oven.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Pie Oatmeal

It might be spring, but here it was a cold, snowy morning. There is no better way to start a cold, snowy morning than by having a hot filling breakfast and a cup of coffee. This Blueberry Pie Oatmeal is so tasty that it will seem like you are having dessert for breakfast.

Blueberry Pie Oatmeal
(Makes about 4 one-cup servings)

2 Cups Milk
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (or Honey)
1 Teaspoon Butter
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cups Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen
1-1/2 Cups quick cooking Oats

In a medium saucepan combine all the ingredients except for the oats and bring to a boil. Add the oats and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

My Tips

• Can substitute apples for the blueberries or use a combination of blueberries and apples.
• Serve with plain yogurt or Greek yogurt for an added protein boost
• Can also be served as a dessert. Just add Ice Cream!
• Decrease the amount of Brown Sugar if you don't want it to be sweet.
• I add more frozen blueberries to my kids' bowls of oatmeal to help the oatmeal cool faster

Corn Meal Waffles

A few years ago I made some Corn Meal Waffles and they were really good. I know that I found the recipe in of one of my cookbooks, but I have searched for it over and over again and I have not been able to find it. The only recipe I had called for creamed corn. I know I did not put creamed corn in my waffles. So I have not made Corn Meal Waffles since then. Until yesterday.

I had come across this recipe for Savory Waffle Sandwiches by A Spicy Perspective. This sandwich is made up of eggs, bacon, cheese and tomato using savory corn waffles for the bread. They look and sound amazing! There was a few problems though. I didn't have bacon on hand. Or tomatoes. Or really any appropriate substitute sandwich fillers. It's been awhile since I've been grocery shopping. So I used the waffle recipe and made a few substitutions and a few omissions and I came up with a really delicious Corn Meal Waffle recipe. But my mouth is still watering over the Savory Waffle Sandwiches so I am going to have to try them. Soon!

Corn Meal Waffles

2-1/2 Cups all-purpose Flour

2 Cups Yellow Cornmeal

1/4 Cup Cornstarch

6 Tablespoons granulated Sugar

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

4 Eggs

3/4 Cup Butter, melted

4 Cups Sour Milk (or Buttermilk if you have!)

In a large bowl, first add the dry ingredients. Whisk to incorporate. Then add eggs, melted butter and sour milk. Stir until just mixed. Cook in your waffle iron as directed by manufacturer. Serve hot with pure maple syrup. 

We had a side of spinach, egg, Parmesan and cheddar cheese scramble to round out our meal. 

My Tips

• To make a cup of sour milk: put 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and add milk to equal 1 cup. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes to allow it time to sour. If you need it faster, you can heat it in the microwave for about a minute.
• You could probably use less sugar. Next time I will probably use 2 or 3 tablespoons. 
• I have no idea what the purpose of the cornstarch is in the recipe. If you know, please tell me! Next time I will probably try it without.
• Leftover waffles are great for putting in the freezer. To use them, we stick them straight into the toaster from the freezer. You could also microwave them or heat them in the oven.

Bagels

Today my kitchen is filled with the smell of fresh baked bread an bagels! I love the smell of bread fresh from the oven. The only thing better then the smell of fresh baked bread is the taste of it! I love to have a slice (or 2 or 3) when it is still warm. That way the butter melts nicely as you spread it on. Mmmmmm...heaven! But today, we are not talking about the bread we are talking about the bagels. 

I have used this recipe by John D Lee a few times and I really like it. It is a very simple bagel recipe to make. I have never tried an other recipes, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I guess I haven't found the need to look else where. Go over and check out the recipe! He has some great descriptions on how to make bagels if you are new to making bagels! Just make sure you come back to hear my tips on how I made them.

My Tips

-I doubled the recipe. The single recipe only makes 8 bagels. By the time my family finished sampling them, there would not be any left. Next time I will quadruple the recipe and put half of them in the freezer for later.

-I softened the yeast in water first. The recipe doesn't say to do this but I always do. If I try it without doing this I will let you know how it turns out.

-I used 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (out of the total 8 cups in the doubled recipe), next time I will put more.

-After the bagels cooled, I sliced them using my electric knife and stored them in a plastic freezer bag.

-Freeze any bagels that you won't be able to eat within a few days. To thaw bagels, leave them at room temperature in the closed bag or container. They should be ready to eat after about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Here is my slightly altered, quadrupled list of ingredients for bagels. 

(this recipe will make about 32-34 regular sized bagels)

12 Cups of All Purpose Flour

4 Cups of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Tablespoon of Canola Oil

3 Tablespoons of Active Dry Yeast

5 1/2 Cups of warm Water 

Head on over to this post on hubpages to find the directions on how to make bagel. If you have a recipe for bagels that you love, please share! I would love to try some different ones. 

French Toast Sticks

French Toast Sticks! They are not just for kids. They make an excellent addition to a special weekend brunch. Or add a side of ham or bacon along with some sliced fruit and you have a meal that everyone will enjoy. 

I have always loved french toast sticks! There is something about a food that is meant to be dipped that makes it fun! Plus, when making french toast sticks you can bake enough for the whole family at one time, as opposed to regular french toast, you can only make a few at a time.

The recipe that I like to make is based on this recipe from Taste of Home. While french toast sticks are easy to make, they are a little time consuming. However when you are making them, you can easily double or triple the amount you are making and freeze the rest for an easy week night dinner or a special weekend breakfast.

I prefer to make these out of "cheap" store bought white bread. But you could definitely make them out of any kind of bread. You could try using the homemade bread from my Basic Bread recipe. Or if you want to make them a little healthier and heartier you could use a whole wheat or whole grain bread. The original recipe recommends using Texas Toast. However, like I said my preference is the store bought white bread!

Start by cutting the bread slices into 4 strips. I like to stack up the bread and cut it using an electric knife. Next make your egg mixture in a shallow dish (cake pan, pie plate, Pyrex dish). Mix 4 eggs, 1 1/3 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Next place your strips of bread into the egg mixture. (I like to do about 5 or 6 at a time.) Let them sit in the mixture for about 30 seconds and them flip them over using a fork. Let them sit for about 30 seconds on the other side, then pull them out and let the excess egg mixture drip back into the dish.

Place the french toast sticks on a pan covered by freezer paper. Put in the freezer and allow them to freeze until the are firm to the touch (about 30 minutes). If you don't plan on using them right away, put them into freezer bags and store in the freezer.


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the french toast sticks on a greased pan for 12 minutes. Flip the french toast sticks and continue baking until the they are golden brown (about 10 more minutes).

Serve them hot with a side of pure maple syrup to dip them in!

Waffles

Waffles

This is a delicious, basic waffle recipe.

6 eggs, separated
3/4 Cup of canola oil
5 Cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
4 Cup milk

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Set the egg whites aside. Mix egg yolks and oil. Add 1 cup of flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Mix util combined. Add milk alternately with remaining flour. Gently fold in the egg whites. Cook in a waffle iron according to manufacturers instructions.

Flash freeze any leftover waffles and then store in the freezer in freezer bags. When you are ready to use them, just heat them up in your toaster. These are perfect for a busy school morning!

Pannukakku (Finnish Pancakes)

This was a household favorite when I was a kid. I think I could have easily finished off most of the pan of it by myself! But I never had the chance. Turns out the rest of the family like it too and I had to share.

I remember somebody asking me once if I liked pannukakku when it was cold as much as I did when it was fresh out of the oven. As I was debating this question, they went on to say that I that I probably never got a chance to eat it cold. I think they were probably right. It was very rare for there to be any left over by the time we were done with it. However, now when I make it, I make a double patch, and I am happy to report that I do indeed like pannukakku cold almost as much as I like it hot! 

We usually eat our pannukakku plain. However it is delicious topped with syrup (preferably real maple syrup) or fresh fruit! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! 

Pannukakku (Baked Finish Pancake)
(Prep Time: 12-15 minutes   Baking Time:25-30 Minutes
  Serves:4-6)

1/4 Cup Butter
5 Eggs
1/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of All Purpose Flour
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
2 Cups of Milk

Melt butter in 9" x 13" pan in the oven while it is preheating. In a mixer bowl, beat eggs. Add the sugar, flour, and salt and mix. (At this point the batter will be thick, about the consistency of cake batter.) Now add in the melted butter and mix until it is completely combined. Add 2 cups of milk and mix thoroughly. Make sure you scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. (The mixture will now be fairly thin. About the consistency of melted ice cream.)  Bake in the 9"x13" pan at 425° ≈25 to 30 minutes. When it is done the edges will be brown and puffy. The top of the pannukakku should be solid. If it looks wet let it continue to bake for about 5 more minutes and check it again. When you take it out of the oven, it will be puffy. As it cools, it will sink down. (This is what you want it to do. Don't panic!)

Enjoy! 

My Tips 

• Watch butter closely so it doesn't burn. I find it takes about 8-10 minutes to melt, but this is starting from a cold oven. 
• You could melt the butter in the microwave instead. If you do this, make sure you grease the pan!
• When the Pannukakku is fully cooked it will be browned on the edges and puffy all over (it will shrink back down after it is removed from the oven).