Home » Posts filed under breakfast
Posted by
yanti on Wednesday, October 21, 2015
You know the phrase "that's so granola"? Describing something that is plain and boring... Well those people have never had this granola! I pretty much make it every week mainly for breakfast parfaits, but it also makes a great snack, especially when you need a few bites in between meals.
You might buy granola in the store... it might taste good... but it is probably expensive, maybe three servings at best, and you don't know all of the ingredients, or maybe you don't like some of the ingredients. Granola is soooo easy to make at home! I had my doubts at first too. But it really is just combining all the ingredients in a bowl and then spreading it on a cookie sheet, ten minutes in the oven and woop, there it is. ;)
I definitely save money too. We would normally go through three bags of granola a week plus cereal and English muffins. I get the main ingredients from bulk bins and the others are usually local and last through many, many batches of granola. It also keeps me full longer in the mornings, so less snacking before lunch. And you can make it into granola bars for a snack on the go.
So, chocolate and peanut butter... best combination ever, right? You probably can't eat Reese cups every day, but this granola is actually healthy and has just enough sweet. Whole grains and great protein from the seeds and nuts. Plus it is naturally sweetened with a little honey and maple syrup... oh... and the dark chocolate chips of course... which are totally healthy, I promise! :)
Read more �
More about → The Best Granola Ever - total time 30 minutes
Posted by
yanti on Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Have you seen those pins on Pinterest where they show a paper bag sitting over the campfire to cook breakfast? I definitely have. But have you ever seen the end result? So many pins about allegedly being able to cook a camp breakfast without any clean up... sounds too good to be true.
So I tried it out...
To my surprise, no Pinterest fail occurred, which is good because we were hungry. I shouldn't really be a surprised that the layered cooking works on a campfire because I did it with bacon, onions, and potatoes last year... but had to clean my cast iron afterward. So now we can go pan free!
I love breakfast sandwiches, so the ingredients in this are perfect after a night sleeping in tents or really any time. The bacon acts as a liner to the paper bag preventing the eggs from leaking out and the fat prevents the bag from burning in the fire. I also add a little cooking spray just to be in the safe side. The biscuit on top gets just enough air through the paper bag that it cooks perfectly (unlike covering a pan of biscuits with foil... if the steam can't escape, your biscuits will be soggy). Where to put the bag once you have everything ready becomes the tricky part. You don't want flames constantly hitting the bag... the bacon can protect the paper that well. But you also need it close enough to cook before you get hangry.
Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Until this year, I thought everyone went camping when they were kids. I just thought that was part of growing up, your family spending a couple weekends, some times weeks, at a campground having fun outside. I remember organizing our family's "field day" competition one year complete with SkipIt and paper ribbons hand colored and cut by yours truly.
Maybe that's why I love to be outside, get my hands dirty in the garden, stare at the night sky, and why bugs really don't bother me (unless they're mosquitos, mosquitos bother me a lot). While I'd like to think of myself as a somewhat technically savvy individual, I can also disconnect from the interwebs and be okay (unlike these kids).
Since it is summer time, it's the perfect time get off the grid and recharge your batteries, literally and figuratively! :) Time to go for a hike, sleep under the stars, and cook over the fire.
For me, breakfast recipes need to be easy. I'm not fully awake, and if it isn't easy, I might accidentally cut off a finger or something. This recipe requires very little effort and includes minimal involvement of sharp objects. It is very similar to the breakfast in a bag recipe (that I forgot to post, so, coming soon), but no chance of the cooking vessel breaking or burning in the fire. If you like breakfast sandwiches, but would rather clean one pan instead of three... this is the recipe for you.Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, March 26, 2015
Cinnamon sugar! I love it! I was seriously in heaven at all of the bakeries in Switzerland... streusel everywhere! Okay... I was pretty much in heaven at every European bakery we stopped in while on vacation, but streusel is something I can make at home (I still plan on making those Italian Nutella tarts someday).
These muffins are somewhere between a muffin, a cupcake, and a doughnut. They are a little too sweet (and maybe a little too much butter) to be considered an ordinary breakfast muffin. This is definitely a treat. Pair it with some fresh fruit for breakfast, add it to your brunch buffet lineup, or as a sweet snack to satisfy that annoying sweet tooth. Since I love cinnamon, there is cinnamon throughout... even in the muffin!
You know, cinnamon has several health benefits including many antioxidants and having anti-inflammatory properties, so it can keep you healthy. Too bad sugar and butter aren't health foods too!Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Saturday, March 21, 2015
You know, there are a lot of fun kitchen gadgets out there! I mean, you could have the world's largest kitchen and still run out of space if you bought every gadget that might be useful. That's why I try to limit myself to gadgets that have at least a few uses and I see myself using at least once a season (here is a list of must haves). So I must pass on that mango pitter despite how useful it would be that one time a year I break down and need some mango in my life (how far did that mango have to travel to get to my plate again? ugh).
Introducing the waffle iron... used only for making waffles, right? It's also good for making waffle sammies and potato waffles. Potato waffles are great way for using leftover mashed potatoes! I always make soooo much mashed potatoes because it's one of my favorites (I was once known to eat an entire plate of mashed potatoes at buffet-style dinners) so we always have some left. Potato waffles are great for breakfast (they're like one big hash brown), a side, or with spicy chicken!
The traditional southern comfort meal of fried chicken and waffles gets a little twist. Take out the fryer and add some potatoes for a gluten free waffles!Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, February 3, 2015
I've seen a lot of avocado recipes out there lately! You would think they were in season or something. Hass avocados (which is what is in most grocery stores) can grow in California all year long, so I guess they are really always in season. Other avocados are harvested in late summer and fall.
But there is a reason everyone loves talking about avocados! They are delicious... buttery and nutty... and they are nutritious... with healthy fats in omega 3s and potassium. Nature's butter. I use it in place of mayo in things like chicken and tuna salad. It's also great on toast! Which brings us to today's post...
I started making "avocado toast" way back in the day, in fact, it was one of the first recipes on this blog. I usually don't roast my own tomatoes for this any more, especially if tomatoes aren't in season. I love getting sun-dried tomatoes packed in jars with olive oil. The flavor is amazing! I always have a jar or two in the pantry to add to pastas and pizza... and toasts. :) Any way... now that we're using jarred tomatoes, it cuts out all of the prep time in this recipe and gets you to the eating portion that much faster! That makes it perfect for breakfast, snacks, or on-the-go lunches.
This is my trusty toaster oven that we received as a wedding gift closing in on eight years ago. It gets used almost every day and I was cleaning it the other day and some of the words and numbers started rubbing off the dials! Good thing we have it all memorized!
Recipe for one avocado toast...1 piece of bread (or english muffin).25 hass avocado1 sun-dried tomatoa few shavings of parmesan cheese
1. Toast bread.2. Scoop out avocado with a spoon and smear on the toast.3. Cut up the sun-dried tomato and layer on top.4. Sprinkle parmesan on top.5. Devour.
More about → Avocado Toasts - total time 5 minutes
Posted by
yanti on Saturday, August 2, 2014
When you're camping you can't take your whole kitchen with you, so it requires some minimalist cooking techniques. We were planning our meals a couple day before we left (meal planning is an absolute necessity for camping) we found this interesting technique for cooking eggs.... right in the fire... using just the egg itself. Can't get more minimalist than that! So we packed an extra couple eggs to try this eggs-periment. :)
First you poke a hole in the top of the egg shell. You could use a safety pin, push pin, or even a metal skewer. This allows for the heat to escape to prevent the shell from cracking under the pressure. Then you carefully place the egg in the coals of the fire (not the flame). Wait about 10 minutes for the eggs to cook. You'll see the steam escaping from the small hole and maybe even little egg whites bubbling out. Remove the eggs from the fire and let rest for at least 5 minutes before pealing the shell away.
Lessons Learned1. Do not shake the egg before cooking... this doesn't create scrambled eggs in the shell... it creates explosive eggs.2. Poke a big enough hole, maybe two... or the shell will crack.3. Bring backup eggs just in case!
regular egg verses shaken egg... oops
Or just use your castiron... it is a camp cooking essential.
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Although our camping weekend was cut short due to storms and possible tornadoes (no real safe spot from lightning and tornadoes in a tent with metal rods), we still had a great time while we were there!
The first night was really just getting down there, setting up camp, making some dinner, and eating some s'mores. :) While we were sleeping, something took Snoop's water bowl... probably a raccoon. And then Snoop was out wandering campsite for who knows how long before we noticed he slipped out of the tent!
The next day was full of kayaking, a short hike, and cooking on the campfire. I don't have a lot of experience cooking with fire, but everything turned out really delicious. Maybe it's because bacon was involved... maybe it was campfire.
These campfire potatoes are really easy! Just slice everything up, layer it in a cast iron pan or dutch oven, cover it, and enjoy the fire and the smells of yummy potatoes. Read more �
More about → Campfire Potatoes - total time 40 minutes
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, June 19, 2014
We're prepping for our vacation in Europe and I'm so excited! Things are finally coming together after years of saying we would go and finding excuses to put it off another year. So now that the flights are booked and we're landing the plane on some other decisions (including getting our tickets to London Fashion Week!), some times I try to start our vacation a little early with some classic french foods.
I'm normally a pancakes and eggs kind of girl on the weekends, but I swapped out my pancakes for a little french crepe. It felt especially french since there wasn't a single word of english on the packaging! I've tried making my own crepes before, after all, the batter is really just thinned down pancake mix (for the most part, I won't say that in Paris, I promise). When I tried making them, they always fell apart. It's hard to get something that thin and delicate!
After a couple times making crepes in the morning, I like them two ways... cold and warmed up. The pictures and steps below are for the cold version using yogurt. For the warmed up melty version, take the crepes, carefully spread peanut butter thinly across, then add slide bananas on one half... fold it in half twice and heat them in a pan on medium-low heat for a minute or two each side. The heat crisps up the crepe for some textured crunch and warms the peanut butter to be gooey inside. Perfect!
The cold version is just as good! The main difference is toasting up the crepe first to avoid warming the yogurt. Nice and creamy.Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, June 12, 2014
We used to have a game on trying to make every meal into a sandwich... you know, since sandwiches are so awesome. I think breakfast might have been the beginning of this challenge when I was using pancakes and sandwich ends before McDonalds made it a thing. We made spaghetti sandwiches between garlic toasts. Of course we sandwiched our pizza. Pretty much anything was fair game to be between two slices of bread.
Now I feel like it's tacos time to shine (or enchiladas in this case). Fish and veggie tacos that may have been hard to find a few years ago are not available everywhere. With Taco Bell's waffle taco, you really have to wonder what can't be turned into a taco (and when does it stop being a taco and start just being a way to eat with your hands and shove food in your mouth).
Enter breakfast enchilada! While it's not technically a taco, it sorta is. Ha. It's also kind of like a mini breakfast burrito. Perfect serving size for your brunch table or for making on a Sunday and heating up throughout the week. I went with more of a fajita approach, but add potatoes, beans, salsa, etc if that's what floats your boat!Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, May 6, 2014
It's funny how people turn out some times. Over Easter lunch, my mom was commenting about how different we are after I turned down a piece of cake (I really just don't like cake). We have said it before when talking about cooking, hiking, gardening... actually... a lot of my hobbies. But there are still many moments where I think we are much more similar than either of us realize.
Of course, I wouldn't be the person I am today without my mom. No one can say any differently.
So celebrate with your mom, your rock, with some delicious brunch. Bring her some flowers and tell her how much she means to you. There is only one day set aside to celebrate all the moms out there when we should really be celebrating them every day.
(Click on the pictures for the recipes.)
More about → 10 Brunch Ideas for Mom's Day
Posted by
yanti on Saturday, April 12, 2014
Eggs are a great source of protein for vegetarians and omnivores alike. There have been many studies and reports that go back and forth on whether eggs are healthy for you or not. Some say that they are high in cholesterol and that people shouldn't eat more that one or two a week. Others says it's the ultimate health food and should even be consumed raw. I like to think reality is somewhere in between knowing that eggs are low fat, high protein, have dietary sulfur (great for you hair and nails), and the yolks have carotenoids (similar to carrots). I also love eggs... so at this point of being meat-free for around 40 days now... we have gone through quite a few eggs!
With Easter coming up, eggs are center stage. You may be hard boiling some right now to dye different colors. Or you could be filling a bunch of colorful plastic versions with candy in the next few days. Eggs are a symbolic message of rebirth, so the iconic Easter egg completely makes sense.
Celebrate Easter with this quick, delicious brunch. Perfect timing for asparagus which are at their peak right now and the buttery, runny yolk over top... just delicious! We actually had this dish for dinner, it is quite filling with a side dish of crispy roast potatoes. It's minimal ingredients and cooks quickly, the slowest part is that you can only poach one egg at a time, but they only take a minute or two. :)
Posted by
yanti on Wednesday, April 2, 2014
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I've never been one to skip breakfast, I would never make it to lunch without gnawing my arm off. So to keep my hunger at bay, I start most mornings with a quick parfait. I loooove this granola I get from Green Bean delivery. It is so yummy! And I have tried a lot of different granolas, definitely all of the ones with chocolate in them. But this one is definitely the best, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, and a little chocolate. Perfect way to start the day... top it with some berries and yogurt... even better!
We go through this stuff like crazy, like, a couple bags every week. It's kind of ridiculous. But we don't always have time in the morning even for a simple parfait (I easily lose track of time before I have had my coffee... even after sometimes... so mornings can go from a leisurely stroll to a mad dash out the door pretty quickly). So what's a girl going to eat when she's run so fast out the door that she forgot to brush her hair and her phone is still sitting on the kitchen counter? Granola bars! A quick grab and go solution.
You could probably just take premade granola and bake it into bars. But where is the fun in that? This way you control everything that goes into the bars and can feel good about what you're eating. No added sugar and tons of protein and fiber... and so yummy... just like McCabe's granola.
It takes a bit of time from start to finish, but it's mostly hands off time. I walked my dog while everything was cooling, came back, covered them in chocolate, and then went back out with Snoop to finish our walk. Probably only spent 15 minutes in the kitchen. Easy peasy!
Read more �
