I love oatmeal but I'm not very fond of the instant packs so I find that I don't have it as often as I'd like since the mornings are always so rushed and usually involve me yelling at one child or another at some point (or many points). So when I came across this recipe on the Betty Crocker website and saw that it was a make ahead, I HAD to try it. Plus, it contained my then-new obsession, chia seeds AND was no cook! Practically perfect in every way!
I was a little leery of the no-cook part in all honesty...I thought, "How could uncooked oatmeal taste good? And not be all chewy and hard and gross?". Well, it works.
The possibilities for this small but mighty recipe are ENDLESS...I tried out a few versions and I'll list them within the recipe but truly it can go as far as your imagination, and palate will take you. If you try some of your own variations, please share in the comments. We'd love to hear them!
~Leah
No-Cook Overnight Oatmeal with Chia
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Leah (adapted from Betty Crocker)
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
Base Recipe
1/4 c old fashioned oats
1 tsp chia seeds
6 oz. yogurt (any flavor, see below for suggestions)
Cranberry Almond
vanilla yogurt
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
dried cranberries
slivered almonds
Apple Crisp
vanilla or apple pie/apple crisp yogurt
chopped Granny Smith apples
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
chopped walnuts
Pina Colada
vanilla, coconut, or pineapple yogurt
pineapple tidbits
shaved coconut
Instructions
Stir oats and chia together then yogurt (or yogurt and milk if using Greek yogurt -- see notes) in half-pint canning jar (or other resealable container).
Cover; refrigerate about 8 hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle with toppings.
Notes
Feel free to use greek yogurt also, but bear in mind that it makes it a lot thicker... so use 1/4 cup greek yogurt and 1/3 cup milk or almond or coconut milk to thin it.
I LOVE THESE!!! Love, love, love them! I found this recipe on Pinterest one day when I was looking for heavy appetizers or "finger foods" for a party I was having. They come from a website called Plain Chicken. I'm not sure why I haven't thought of this before. Put ham and shredded cheese inside biscuit dough- before you bake it!! I'm trying to use as many exclamation points and italics and bold fonts as possible to help convey how excited I am about these little biscuit sandwiches. They would be perfect for a party, a baby shower or even the Superbowl. These reheat very well if you put them back in the oven for 3-5 minutes.
A few tips. Definitely take the time to shred the swiss cheese, it just tastes better. I made my own honey mustard but you can use store bought of course. You absolutely HAVE TO drizzle the honey on top at the end. It may sound weird but it was so good! Print this recipe out and put it aside for Superbowl Sunday. Everyone will love it!
~Wendy
Ham and Cheese Biscuits
Author: Plain Chicken
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
1 can Grands Jr Butter Tasting Biscuits (10 count)
1/2 lb deli ham, shaved
1 c. shredded swiss cheese
1/4 c. honey mustard dressing
1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp honey
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.
Lightly spray a 9-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Separate each biscuits into two layers. Spread each layer with honey mustard and top with swiss cheese.
Place half of the biscuits, cheese side up, in the bottom of prepared pan. Top with ham. Top ham with remaining biscuits, cheese side down.
Brush biscuit tops with melted butter.
Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Heat honey in microwave for 20 seconds. Brush biscuit tops with warm honey. Serve immediately.
I've been a little obsessed with Greek yogurt lately. I started buying it to mix into my morning smoothie with frozen fruit, almond milk, and kale. Then I discovered it was pretty handy to have on hand for use in recipes that called for sour cream or mayonnaise. I cleaned out the fridge the other day and had four containers in varying degrees of fullness.
Perhaps this speaks more to me being a total space cadet at the grocery store than having a yogurt obsession.
Anyway, in an effort to use up some of my collection I went searching on Pinterest for Greek yogurt recipes. And with my husband traveling on business, I was already halfway to breakfast-for-dinner for me and the kids.
Enter THE pancake.
The gorgeous pictures grabbed me right away, but the delicious recipe is the reason I can't stop thinking about these pancakes. You must try. And if you are a pancake connoisseur like me, you'll be wanting to make room in the fridge for some yogurt.
~Erin
Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Author: Erin (adapted from Julia's Album)
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. sugar
3 T. butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 c. milk
Instructions
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.
Stir together sugar, butter, eggs, and yogurt.
Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Spray or butter the pan or griddle.
Spoon batter onto pre-heated surface. Allow to cook until bubbles burst on the surface of the pancake, leaving small holes. Flip and cook till golden brown.
Every September I end up with buckets of apples at my house. My mother-in-law has an apple tree that luckily produces TONS of apples and she's great at sharing! At some point in my life I acquired one of those peeler-corer thingies. Thank the Lord. It still takes forever but I know it saves me so much time. Over the last two weeks I've spent no less than 2 hours peeling and coring apples, no joke. I currently have 2 apple crisps, 2 apple pies, several pints of applesauce and a few bags of apple pie filling in my freezer!
So when I had another milk crate of apples delivered the other day I knew apple pie, sauce and crisp was out of the question. This week we've switched to apple muffins and an AWESOME caramel apple cake. Today isn't my turn to post, but I had to share this apple muffin recipe. These are so moist and yummy! And considering the possibility that some of you may have a boat-load of apples at your house too... it seemed like great timing. They were a big hit in my family.
Stay tuned. Next week I'll give you the Caramel Apple Cake recipe. Its one of those poke-holes-in-the-cake recipes and pour caramel into them. Delicious.
~Wendy
Apple Crumb Muffins
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
2 c. flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ c. butter (at room temperature)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup chopped apples
Crumble Topping
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter
Frosting
1/4 c. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375
Line a muffin tray with 12 muffin papers, and fill each one with a spoonful of brown sugar to hold it down and to create a bit of crust by patting down with your finger.
In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a larger bowl cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, stir in apples. Once they are mixed in, slowly mix in flour, small portions at a time.
In a separate small bowl, mix the 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 Tlb of flour, ¼ tsp of cinnamon, and 1 Tlb of butter. Mix together until it starts to create small balls of sand like crumbs. Set crumb topping aside.
Fill each muffin cup about ¾ of the way with muffin batter, and then sprinkle each with 1 tsp of crumble mix
Once all are loaded, place in oven, and set for 18 minutes (at the half way point turn the muffins around in the oven).
While the muffins are cooking, make the icing by pouring a little bit of milk at a time into your powdered sugar, until you reach the consistency that you desire.
When muffins are done, remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then drizzle icing on, serve.
Here's what you should be having for breakfast this weekend. Seriously this stuff is Ahhhh-Mazing! I could eat it every single day for breakfast but I'd weigh 1000 lbs. This is an incredibly decadent breakfast "cereal" but it is the BEST cereal I've ever eaten in my life. You may scroll down and see the "heavy cream" on the ingredient list and automatically dismiss this post. DON'T DO IT!! Try this at least one time, you absolutely must, must, MUST!
A big thank you to my little sister for finding/adapting this recipe for our family. Its a bit of a long story, so here's my short version. Every year for Christmas my family made an annual trek down to a little place called Singer Island, Florida. The tradition started when my Dad was a kid and (very thankfully!) carried on through my childhood. Weird for Christmas, I know. No snow? No white Christmas? No fireplace? People are always amazed we go south for the holidays. I say "heck no!" For me Christmas is palm trees, a beach, swimming pools, sun tans, the Breakers brunch... I'm very happy to give up the cold for the warmth!
We were always creatures of habit, staying in the same place, visiting the same restaurants every single year. One of my family's favorite restaurants was called Harpoon Louie's. They had the best breakfasts! It was in Jupiter, Florida right on the water with a view of the lighthouse and the boats going by. One of the absolute best breakfasts on the menu was Swiss Cereal. So, so, SO sadly Harpoon Louie's closed over a decade ago. Determined to recreate a family favorite, my sister Andrea scoured the internet looking for similar recipes. She was able to piece together recipes, adjusting them with taste, to land on this almost identical version. YAY!!!! She actually goes so much by taste, I had to work on the recipe to give you all measurements! :)
The fun thing about this cereal is that you can add whatever fruit you want. Harpoon Louie's always added golden raisins to their version and topped it with sliced bananas and strawberries. This tastes like Christmas to me. Its simply awesome!
~Wendy
Swiss Cereal
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Andrea Bockewitz
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
3 c. instant oats
1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. milk (2% or higher)
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c sliced strawberries
1/4 c blueberries
1/4 c golden raisins
Instructions
Combine oats, cream, milk, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.
Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the fruit, add in additional milk 1 Tbsp at a time if needed to thin the consistency of the cereal.
Serve immediately.
Notes
You can store the cereal overnight, however you will need to add more milk in the morning before serving to thin out the consistency- between 1/2-1 cup. Do not add the fruit until you are ready to serve as the color will bleed into the cereal.
I just hit the one year anniversary of the day I left "Corporate America" to stay home with my little munchkins. What a year it has been! Trading in meetings, hotel stays and business dinners for potty training, play dates, and peanut butter & jelly three times a day has been an adjustment. I've been so grateful for the time I've gotten to spend with my kids, but it has not always been easy. This stay-at-home-mom business is tough!! One of the biggest lessons learned is that other stay-at-home-moms really do help you keep your sanity!
I've been blessed to meet some GREAT moms in my new community. Our daily/weekly play dates not only give me a chance to talk about something other than Team Umizoomi, they also remind me that I'm not the only one who struggles with kids who won't listen, who always seem to do the EXACT opposite of what you say, who melt down no matter how many warnings they get that its almost time to leave the park. They make me feel almost normal! And I love, love, love them for that. Last year when we moved to a new town, I decided to join an online moms group. One of the first moms I met had newly moved to Illinois from Canada with her family. Over the past year we've had a lot of play dates and every time she brings a dish to share I recipe stalk her. I swear, everything Bridget makes is AWESOME. She brought these cinnamon rolls to several of the groups get-togethers before I asked for the recipe. Not because they weren't awesome, only because I can't drool over every recipe- it would get a little weird. Sorry Bridget! :)
These are DELICIOUS and relatively FAST and have CREAM CHEESE FROSTING! That's really all I should have written. What else do you need to know? They're great for a group get together or for your family. You could easily freeze half of them for serving later. Or eat them all at once...like I would do! Thank you Bridget for the recipe! Wait til you guys get her chocolate chip cookie recipe...SO good....
~Wendy
Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
3/4 c milk
1/4 c margarine, softened
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 pckg instant yeast
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c water
1 egg
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 c margarine, softened
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.
When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.
Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture.
Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 9x13 greased pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through the center.
For the frosting-
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Spread on the cinnamon rolls once cooled to slightly-warm.
This is probably a post I should be saving for the fall, but it just couldn't wait. Pinterest is full of recipes for oatmeal. There are recipes for chilled oatmeal, overnight oatmeal, crock pot oatmeal... every kind of oatmeal you can possibly imagine. So when I went on my no-sugar diet I was intrigued by the idea of a healthy breakfast that tasted like dessert. One of my all time favorite flavor combos is German Chocolate. I love it in Dairy Queen blizzards, or ice cream sundaes or even in cookies, so why not in oatmeal?? When I gave this a try, I knew I had a winner! Who doesn't like chocolate? And who doesn't want to find a way to have chocolate for breakfast? :)
You can change the ingredients in this recipe to better fit your tastes if need be. Don't like coconut? Leave it out. Want to be a little healthier? Leave out the chocolate chips and just stir in the cocoa powder. Use more pecans, use less pecans. Really you can tailor it any way you want, but I promise as written, its the perfect way to start a day. Even a hot summer one!
~Wendy
German Chocolate Oatmeal
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
1 c. old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 c. skim milk
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp shredded coconut (toasted)
2 Tbsp chopped pecans (toasted)
2 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
Bring milk to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Add salt.
Stir in the oats and cook over the heat for 4-5 minutes until thickened stirring occasionally.
Remove oats from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder until completely dissolved and combined. Add in an additional tablespoon of milk if necessary to help combine.
Separate the oatmeal into 2-3 bowls and top with the coconut, pecans and chocolate chips.
As I've mentioned before I'm a big fan of breakfast for dinner. Unfortunately my husband is not. The only two things I can get away with are frittatas and quiche. In the summer (when I'm never in the mood for anything heavy at dinner) I sneak quiche onto the menu at least once a month. I usually throw whatever veggies I have at the time into them. This one I actually planned ahead! The zucchini, tomatoes and basil are a great combination. I served this alongside a chicken salad for dinner and felt plenty full. My husband ate the leftovers for breakfast the next two mornings, so I guess he liked it too! :)
Save yourself time and use a premade crust, or be an over-achiever and make your own, either will work. The only unique part of this quiche is that you don't add the tomato and zucchini until half way through the baking time. If you add them earlier they will sink to the bottom. The taste will likely be the same but it won't be as pretty!
~Wendy
Summer Quiche
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 9-inch pie crust
6 whole eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. half and half
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. sliced zucchini
1 Roma tomato, sliced
1-2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Press your pie crust into a pie pan, set aside.
In a large bowl beat the 6 eggs until fluffy, add in the milk and half & half. Stir until combined.
Add in the cheese and salt and pepper and stir.
Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the quiche from the oven. Top the quiche with the sliced zucchini, tomato and basil.
Put the quiche back into the oven for another 20-30 minutes until set and cooked through.
I didn't discover Nutella until about 3 years ago. Sad, isn't it? To go 31 years without Nutella? I LOVE the stuff. I also really appreciate that Nutella commercial running lately that tries to convince you its actually a healthy way for kids to start their day. I'm not buying it, but I do appreciate it. If you like Nutella, I hope you've had the chance to try some of its healthier "cousins". There is a brand called Justins that I like a lot. They sell almond chocolate butter, peanut butter, hazelnut chocolate butter and a bunch of other all-natural forms of nut butters. You can buy it at most grocery stores. I'm not sure where I originally ran across this recipe, but it comes from another food blogger called Tastefully Julie. It calls for Nutella which I didn't have that day so I substituted Justin's almond chocolate butter in for regular Nutella and had spectacular results, so feel free to be creative!
These are very easy to make. So easy that you should add them to your Mother's Day brunch plan next Sunday. She is sure to love them! If you have other plans, save this recipe for the next time you have over-ripe bananas sitting on your counter. I actually have 3 sitting across the counter from me right now. Its a good thing that I have the perfect place to use them. :)
Happy Mothers Day to all of the moms out there! Its a crazy, wonderful, maddening, unbelievable, amazing journey we're all on. I would vote for celebrating moms more than once "officially" each year...but what do I know? I hope you enjoy!
~Wendy
Banana Nutella Muffins
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour
½ c. whole wheat flour (or another ½ cup all-purpose flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
¾ c. white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
⅓ cup oil
10 teaspoons Nutella
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a smaller bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and oil.
Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Spoon a dollop of Nutella onto each muffin and swirl together well.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
I sometimes think we should change the name of our blog to "All Things Bacon". I'm not sure if you've noticed but a good percentage of our recipes have bacon in them. Its definitely one thing Erin, Leah and I agree on... bacon makes all things better! So it should come as no surprise that my absolute favorite meal on Earth is my Mom's bacon waffles. If its a bad day, or a cold day, or a day ending in "y" I want bacon waffles for dinner. Its funny, I know she makes them for breakfast sometimes but I seem to remember eating them more for dinner.
For some reason breakfast-for-dinner is a polarizing topic. Some people love it and others (like my husband) do NOT love it. If he has a work event or something at night that keeps him away for dinner, I always take advantage of the opportunity and make breakfast for dinner. Its so easy, so quick and so yummy! This recipe is a slight twist on my Mom's waffles. She makes her batter from scratch, although its slightly different than this one, and then lays mostly-cooked slices of bacon on top of the batter before closing the waffle iron. The bacon ends up settling into the middle of the waffle. When you bite into one of those pieces, with some butter and syrup on top, NOTHING tastes better. Its soooooooo good. These waffles are even more decadent with chopped, toasted pecans added to the batter. I always use whole wheat flour, but you could stick to white too. Make them for breakfast, make them for dinner, make them for Valentines Day, just make them. Soon!
~Wendy
Bacon Pecan Waffles
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
2 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 3/4 c. milk
4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. toasted pecans, chopped
8-12 slices bacon, cooked until about 75% done
Instructions
Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
In another small bowl, mix together the milk, melted butter and egg yolks. Add them to the dry ingredients and stir until combined and most lumps have disappeared.
Stir in the chopped pecans.
Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Fold the egg whites into the prepared batter. Be careful not to over stir here!
Ladle the batter into your waffle iron. The amount depends on the size of your iron.
Before closing the lid, lay 1-2 slices of bacon over each section of the waffle. Close the iron and cook according to your waffle iron instructions.
Notes
The recipe calls for whole wheat flour, but you can easily substitute all-purpose flour. I prefer to use baking whole wheat or white whole wheat flour for the waffles. I would avoid using turkey bacon with this recipe as it is too chewy in the middle of the waffles.
Valentines Day and I get along very well. I love anything pink and anything chocolate, so its the perfect holiday for me! Not to mention one very smart wonderful man proposed to me on Valentines Day six years ago. For those who are curious, it was very sweet. He baked me a cake (the one and only time Jason has ever baked for me) and wrote "Will you marry me? " in the frosting. He originally wrote "Will you merry me?" in the frosting and texted a picture to Erin for her approval. Luckily she spotted the "merry" mistake and he had time to refrost the cake. Although I think I would have gotten the idea! He rented a Mercedes and took me to Nomi downtown Chicago- a beautiful restaurant overlooking Michigan Avenue. He seemed nervous, which was odd to me considering he pretty much had the "yes" in the bag. I was so crazy in love with that man that he could have proposed in a garbage dump with a piece of tin and I would have said yes.
These days I don't need gifts or crazy declarations of love on Valentines Day (yes Jason, I'm serious) I just really like doing fun things for people I love. For my kiddos and husband that usually means fun things for breakfast, little gifts during the day and a fancy-pants dinner. Because more often than not Valentines Day falls on a weekday, and because up until this year I worked full time, breakfast had to be relatively easy. Or at least something I could make ahead of time. These muffins are/were perfect for that. Now that I do have a little more time, I'm gonna make 'em anyway. They are the PERFECT way to start a chocolate filled day.
The recipe is simple and can be adjusted however you would like. I bake them into mini-muffins for my kiddos. I've used mixed berries instead of raspberries, mini chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips... you get the idea. If for some crazy reason you don't love chocolate (WHAT?!?!?) you could substitute pecans or walnuts for the chocolate chips. Mix the batter up the night before and put it in the fridge until you're ready to bake or just whip them up the morning of. Its a very easy, customizable and delicious recipe, and just look at that gooey-ness....
~Wendy
Chocolate Chip Raspberry Muffins
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
1 3/4 c. flour (all-purpose or whole wheat will work)
3/4 c. quick-cooking oats
2/3 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 c. milk
1/3 c. canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
In a large bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Add into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips.
Fill paper lined muffin cups or cups coated with nonstick cooking spray two-thirds full.
Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
You can substitute other types of chocolate chips or nuts in place of the semisweet chocolate chips. You can also substitute mixed berries, blueberries or blackberries for the raspberries. If you use strawberries, I would cut up into smaller pieces as they are too large for the muffins.
