Read Your Recipe!
Aww look, Becca totally lost it, she put two different breakfast foods in her title. No, not crazy just yet, I meant to write that. Let me ask you, what do you daydream about?
With this picture and title, I doubt I’ll have to work very hard to convince you how delicious this bread is. My husband averaged four pieces a day and it was gone in a flash – I still have leftover bread flour so I’ll most likely be making it again this weekend. Instead of going on and on about the nooks and crannies and how it’s far and away better than anything store bought, I’ll talk about how EASY it was to make.
There is quite the bevy of breakfast options in internet-world, this much is true. Most weekday mornings, however, I don’t want to make pancakes or oatmeal because I’m usually prepping dinner/packing lunch before hustling off to work. No more pans to clean, please! That being said, dunking clementine slices in the Greek yogurt container is getting sort of old.
Not just a cookie, this treat comes with a fun activity to do with your friends – it’s called, “name the secret ingredient” I had to give clues, the last one being that it was a grain that starts with a “Q”. This goes to show just how delicious and non-quinoa tasting these babies are!
Husband calls around 5. He says, what’s for dinner? I say, take out or breakfast food. He says, what are my options? I say hmm fried eggs, omelets, french toast, pancakes… “PANCAKES”, he shouts. OK, really healthy low cal banana pancakes? Or really delicious unhealthy pancakes? Or an in-between? IN BETWEEN! (he shouts when he’s hungry).
In level 1 cooking one of the first thing we talk about is how to understand a recipe. See, the thing is, if you understand how to read a recipe and how to do what the recipe tells you, you can cook! This muffin recipe supports and exemplifies that statement – let me explain.
I think it’s funny that we only use pumpkin in the fall. It’s like a nod to the original settlers who could only eat pumpkin when they harvested it in the autumn months. The thing is, people, we can find perfectly wonderful canned pumpkin every single day of the year at our local grocery store! Not only should we find it, we should buy it and bake with it! It seems like before the first leaves turn we get hit with a deluge of pumpkin bread/muffin/cake/pie recipes (have you looked at Pinterest lately? Geesh), and I’m happy to say I am going to jump on that (healthy, delicious, seasonal) bandwagon.
I’m fully aware that the title of these might scare you off. My initial gut reaction to you being scared off from eating these is “oh good, more for me”. Cottage cheese seems to be one of the foods you don’t like until you’re in your 20′s – I mean, curds? Seriously? My high school students would get so skeeved out when I told them what they’d be making in class, but they would fight tooth and nail over the last one once they’d had a taste. They’re. So. Good.
Some of my married girlfriends cook dinner for their families EVERY NIGHT. We’re talking meat, vegetable, grain style. Now on the other hand, one friends’ husband is lucky if his wife heats him up a Lipton side (girl you knooow I just called you out!). Still other couples BOTH enjoy cooking(yay Kristen and Mike!). Sadly this is not the case for us – I was gone for a few days last week and my husband told me he didn’t even WALK INTO the kitchen. Who does that?
When my husband gets in from work (in the fall it’s around 7), he says a quick hello and then proceeds to the kitchen where he opens things. Things like the fridge and the snack cabinets. He opens them, stands there for about 20 seconds, and then closes them. Sometimes he opens cabinets where we keep the glasses or the plates. It’s like his hungry stomach is making him confused. High protein granola to the rescue! Let me explain…
I’ve had a revelation! We should all eat like babies. Seriously, babies have wonderfully healthy diets. They don’t eat sugar, they enjoy small portions of high fat dairy, lean meat and fish, whole grains, and fruits and veggies. It’s seriously the way we all should eat! These muffins pass the baby health test (as well as the Tessa taste test – decidedly choosy), which means they are FANTASTIC for you.
There are so many reasons for fear and panic, but kitchen panic is by far the most unnecessary. One of my friends walked in the kitchen while I was cooking the jalapenos – she started coughing so much she had to leave. That’s called pepper air (well, that’s what I call it), and it’s most definitely due cause for kitchen panic, as it’s fair warning for kick-butt spiciness. I experienced said panic, which is ridiculous as I live within walking distance of like, fifty restaurants. There is no need to freak out, it’s just food. Turns out this pepper air was a boggart (Harry Potter reference – I’m about to finish book 4), and the burritos were declared delish by even my spice-shunning friends.
Big weekend for the fam, as Tess got dedicated at our church! Back to my parent’s house for brunch with family and close friends – always fun to have a menu to plan! We had two egg casseroles, cream cheese glazed cinnamon buns, cranberry white chocolate biscotti, fruit, and Greek yogurt set already, but I felt like there was something missing. The egg dishes were healthy, as was the fruit and yogurt. The rolls were decidedly UNhealthy, as were these particular biscotti. I needed something on middle ground – an easy to grab, easy to make, tasty and mostly healthy side dish.
I love pancakes. I crave pancakes. Every time my husband and I eat out for breakfast I try to convince him to order pancakes while I order healthy egg white omelette and we share plates. He thinks I am a food bully and usually refuses me because of his convictions. Boo.
A frittata is an Italian omelette that isn’t folded; the open faced omelette is either flipped or put under a broiler to set the top. I’ve made a few frittata and I’m not gonna lie – they stress me out. Either the bottom gets too brown or the top is a bit runny – there’s always an issue. This recipe is easy breezy; just throw it in the oven and forget about it!
When I eat breakfast casserole, strata or quiche, I get the sense that it’s ridiculously high calorie/fat. I think I get this sense because I’m right. Most quiche recipes call for a bunch of eggs, cream or half and half, and cheese. When I hear people say “omg this is sooo goood!” I’m like, no duh.
You probably don’t think I’m a healthy eater. I say that I am, but you might not believe me when you see the things I like to make. This is how it works; when I am alone or just cooking for my healthy husband, nutritious and low-calorie is what it’s all about. I eat tons of fruit, Kashi Go Lean, nonfat plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and Ezekiel whole grain bread. When I have friends over or need to bring a dish to a get together, I like to let my hair down a bit and make taste my only concern. Which leads me to these pancakes.