Biscuits and Lentil Gravy

One thing that I love and miss about eating meat are biscuits and sausage gravy. That was something that I could eat for every meal of the day and have no regrets. Actually, when the Mister and I were traveling across the country, every hotel we stopped at had biscuits and gravy as one of their complementary breakfast items. I won't lie to you guys, I may or may not have chosen the hotels we stopped at for the night based on their breakfast options.

So, I was really excited when I saw a recipe for this in my copy of Thug Kitchen, a vegan cookbook. I've tried a few recipes from this book and honestly, they've not been that great. There's always something that doesn't work out or I end up feeling like it needs more or different spices from what the recipe calls for. Basically, the recipes end up being a bit bland. However, that didn't deter me from trying this recipe. Of course, the one thing that did not work for me were the vegan biscuits. They were awful. They were so hard and tough. No amount of gravy made them palatable. I would up throwing them out to the birds to eat. Thankfully, the gravy turned out amazing. So, after we choked down the first round, I went out and bought a tube of buttermilk biscuits to use for the leftovers. Once I made the change, these biscuits and gravy were golden.

• 1 ½ cups of green or brown lentils
• 5 cups of water
• salt
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• black pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup of vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
•  1 tube of biscuit dough or one batch of homemade biscuits

1. Bake biscuits according to package.
2. Bring the lentils, water, and a little bit of salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer for 40 minutes to cook the lentils until they are falling apart.
3. In a small skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until it starts to brown (3 minutes), add the thyme, garlic, and some black pepper and cook for another 30 seconds. Take off the heat.
4. When the lentils are cooked, drain the excess water and put the lentils back into the pot.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and the broth. Add the broth mix into the lentils along with the onion, soy sauce, paprika, and vinegar.
6. Use an immersion blender or a normal blender to blend the gravy to a smooth consistency.
7. Heat the gravy up again and simmer in the saucepan to thicken, 2-3 minutes.

Cheddar and Chile Egg Casserole

 

So, you may remember me saying something about us moving recently. Well, on our first day, as we were moving in our stuff from the moving truck, our neighbor came over to introduce herself. She even invited me over for a brunch she was having with some of the other neighbors and thought it would be a great way for me to meet them. I was kind of nervous and excited to meet everyone. I didn't need to be because they were all super nice. One of the dishes my neighbor made for the brunch was this green chile egg casserole. I'm not a huge fan of eggs. I can stomach an egg sandwich, even a hard-boiled egg, but I just can't handle omelets. It's just too eggy for me. So, I cautiously took a small piece of the casserole, so as to not be rude, and wound up trying to not shovel it all in my mouth as quickly as possible. It was so light and airy. It practically melted in my mouth and I found myself clamoring for the recipe. I'm so glad I found it online because this is definitely a must for when we have company spend the night.

When I saw there was cottage cheese in the dish I was in denial. I didn't remember there being white chunks in my egg at the party. The flour also threw me for a loop. However, trust me, it will all work out. The cottage cheese adds that fluffiness to the casserole while keeping it super moist. I used low-fat cottage cheese but whatever you prefer will work. This is essentially something you can make the night before, store it in a airtight container or bag, and then the morning of just give it a good whisking to whip it all up before popping it into the over.

recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

• 3 TBSP butter/margarine, melted 
• 5 large eggs, beaten 
• 1 cup cottage cheese 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies 
• 1/4 cup flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, chiles, flour, baking powder, salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until set, about 35 minutes.

French Toast Bread Pudding

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday break. I know I sure did. The Mr. and I didn't really go anywhere or do anything, but it was nice cuddling up on the couch, watching movies. I was able to try out a bunch of recipes over the holidays. One of which was this lighter version of the french toast casserole that I make for Christmas every year.

This one is actually a lot easier to make since you don't have to make the praline topping. It's also healthier too since it has half the eggs and sugar. The Mr. sliced up the homemade cinnamon bread I'd made the day before while I got to work zesting and mixing the batter ingredients together. Then we just poured the mixture over the eggs, covered the pan with foil, and stored it in the refrigerator the next day. The orange zest added a light citrus flavor that really brightened up the dish. However, even though this is delicious, it won't be replacing the not-so-good-for-you praline french toast casserole from years past. It will however be a recipe I will go to when company is staying over.

 

adapted from Cook Yourself Thin Faster

• cooking spray
• 4 c. bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 c. low-fat milk or dairy-free milk
• 3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 Tbsp. confectioners sugar, for garnish (optional)

 

1. Lightly spray a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Add the bread to the pan. With a standing or handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and bananas at medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in the milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and zest, and mix until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the top of the bread; cover and refrigerate overnight. 
3. Preheat the over to 375°F.
4. Remove the bread mixture from the refrigerator and let it sit out 15 minutes. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean and the center is set. 
5. Sift confectioners sugar over the top if desired. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

 

 

Stove Top Carrot Cake Oatmeal

I will admit that I am not a fan of stove top oatmeal. The Mr. has tried to make it a handful of times and every time I eat as much as I can but ultimately end up dumping it in the trash. It just never seems to taste like the instant stuff that comes in those convenient pouches. *Mega apples & cinnamon fan here* But this morning I woke up craving oatmeal and my instant stuff was all gone.  *Looks at canister of old fashioned oats* I started looking online for an oatmeal recipe that was easy to make, could be done on the stove top (a lot of recipes were baked) and something that sounded good and wasn't just  brown sugar mixed with oats. Which is when I found this recipe over at Oh She Glows.

The Mr. was pretty confused when at 9am I was in the kitchen grating away on some carrots, and like the gentleman that he is, he took over the grating so that I could work on getting everything else together. I will say that when I told him what I was making, I got "the look". You know, the look that says "I question your sanity". I shrugged it off thinking "you'll eat your unspoken words in about 20 minutes mister".  After all, this is the man that requests carrot cake every year for his birthday. How could he think carrot cake oatmeal was going to be anything short of amazing? He totally ate his unspoken words because this oatmeal rocked.

It didn't have that bland oatmeal flavor with random pockets of sweetness added in. It didn't even have a very sugary taste to it. Now granted, it didn't taste like I was eating mushy carrot cake either. You could taste the carrots, the maple syrup, the bursts of sweetness from the raisins and the crunchy nuttiness from the walnuts. It was like Disney World in my mouth. My taste buds were having the time of their life. I'm not saying that I'll never go back to the instant stuff because lets be honest here, the apples & cinnamon is outstanding, but it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that homemade oatmeal can be just as good.

Serves 2

• 1 heaping cup finely grated carrot (about 1 large)
• 1 cup and 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup regular oats
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, divided
• 2 tbsp raisins, divided
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut, for garnish
• 1 tbsp coconut milk cream + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup, to garnish (optional)

1. Finely grate 1 heaping cup of grated carrots. You want to use the fine grate and not the large one so the carrot shreds are very small. This helps the carrot blend in more.
2. In a medium sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the almond milk, optional coconut milk cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt.
3. Stir in the grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or bring heat to low if it starts to boil. Cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring frequently. When the mixture has thickened up, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp walnuts, 1 tbsp raisins, and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Remove from heat and portion into bowls.
4. Top the oatmeal with the remaining walnuts, raisins, and shredded coconut. If you are using coconut cream, you can mix a bit of the cream with maple syrup and drizzle on top of the oatmeal, as shown in the photo. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish.

This recipe is submitted in
My Meatless Monday
Just Another Meatless Monday

Shakshouka

Let me just start out by saying that I think this is my favorite egg dish. Which is strange since I don't like eggs. There's just something about the taste of them lately that's really been throwing me off. Maybe it's the heat of the desert or maybe I just grew out of eggs? But for some reason when I came across this recipe on The Family Kitchen, I quickly bookmarked it so that I could make it. And let me tell you, it tastes as good as it looks! So good, that as I type up this post, I'm eating it... again!

I followed the recipe, except for the parsley. I thought the recipe called for cilantro when I picked up the ingredients at the store. I figured, poblanos, tomatoes, eggs... cilantro! HaHa. I must say that cilantro works wonderfully with this dish. This recipe is uber simple to make. I made the sauce ahead of time and when the Mr. finally got home from work, I reheated it up, plopped in the eggs and within a matter of minutes, dinner was done! I must say that I love the flavors. I also toasted up slices of Italian bread to do along with it.

• 3 poblano, anaheim, or sweet red or yellow peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion diced
• 1 quart crushed tomatoes
• splash of red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• big pinch red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 eggs
• 4 tablespoons creamy goat cheese
• fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Roast the peppers over an open flame until the skin is blackened all over. Remove them from heat and close them in a paper bag so they can steam for 10 minutes. Take them out of the bag and pull off the skin under cold running water. Remove the stem and seeds and dice.
2.  In a deep 9” inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions for 5 minutes and then add the peppers and saute for another 3. Add the spices, salt and pepper, and cook for another minute. Then pour in the tomatoes and the red wine vinegar. Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes until it has thickened a bit. Check the salt and acid levels.
3. To add the eggs, crack each one into a small, shallow bowl and slide them into the tomato sauce one at a time. Cover the shakshuka and cook for 3 minutes, add the goat cheese in several dollops, and re-cover the skillet and continue cooking another 3 minutes. Spoon the shakshouka into bowls over big slices of toasted bread, and garnish with chopped cilantro.

*You can always make the sauce ahead of time and just reheat the sauce in a pan to continue with the recipe.

Printable Recipe

This post is submitted in 
Newlywed Recipe Linky 

Baked French Toast Casserole w/ Praline Topping

Every year on Christmas Eve I would make this french toast casserole before heading out to my aunt's house for the annual family holiday get together. That way, the next morning when we all watch my niece open up her gifts from Santa, I can throw the casserole in the oven and by the time she's done, the casserole's done. It really does time out perfectly and I found that it is a lot more enjoyable to just relax Christmas morning with a hot cup of java, listening to Christmas music in the background while my niece tears into her gifts. However last year we were unable to make it home for the holidays but I still kept the tradition alive and made the casserole at home. I will have to do the same this year as well since we won't be home for the holidays again. Plus, I think I might be working on Christmas, so this might be more a dinner when I get home than a breakfast. Yeah, apparently National Parks don't close for Christmas and someone has to show up and talk to visitors. Oh well, I am not complaining, I would much rather work the holiday that have one of my co-workers who has a family at home waiting for them spending their Christmas day sitting in the visitor center.

Poached Eggs Over Home Fries w/ Smoky Swiss Sauce

The one thing the Mr. and I do on weekends is breakfast. It is the only time where we are not eating cereal and rushing out the door. I try to change it up every once in a while and make something other than pancakes. The Mr. could eat pancakes everyday and probably not tire of them but I need to have some variety in my life. I have had this mock eggs benedict recipe sitting in my bookmarks folder for a very long time. I finally decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised but this was nothing like eggs benedict. The sauce cannot fool you into thinking otherwise but it is still really good. I decided that since this wasn't really eggs benedict, I would skip the toast and go straight for the home fries, which are my favorite breakfast side dish. I thought that the potatoes went really well with everything and the end result was delicious, regardless that it didn't taste like the greasy spoon version you get at diners.

Cheesy Chorizo Hash

This past weekend I celebrated my 24th birthday. It was a special occasion because my friend from NY flew out on my birthday to spend a few days in the desert with us. One of the days she was out here we woke up early and headed out for a hike through the mountains. It sounded like a fun idea at the time but the temperature was getting hotter and the sun was rising as we worked our way through the mountains.

Smores Pancakes

*Just a heads up that recipes will be a little scarce since we are moving in a couple of weeks and have a ton of stuff left to do. So I probably won't be trying too many new recipes. Then when we get to California we have to house hunt and get internet. I will put the recipes I do have on automatic posting so that there is something at least once a week.


Before we went up to New York to visit family we had my niece, mother and sister staying with us a couple of nights. They made a pit stop at the house on their way home from Disney World and the Georgia Aquarium. Turns out that my 10 year old niece wanted nothing to do with the park and preferred to spend her time at the hotel pool and in the room watching the disney channel. That's my niece for ya. HaHa. Well while they were here I bought stuff to make smores and planned on lighting up the fire pit in the backyard but it turned out to be a very hot 100° summer day and no one wanted to sit out in the heat slaving over a camp fire making smores. So to make up for not being able to roast smores we not only baked them in the oven for dessert but I made smores pancakes for breakfast as well.


The marshmallows melt into the batter so I added some mini marshmallows to the plate of pancakes.

• 1 c. wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 3 Tbsp. apple sauce
• 1 c. skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 Tbsp. wheat germ
• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 2 c. mini marshmallows

1. Mix flour, baking powder and wheat germ together.
   
2. Add applesauce, honey, eggs and milk and mix until there are no lumps.
3. Stir in chocolate chips and one cup of the marshmallows.
   
4. Spoon desired amount of batter on a lightly oiled pan over medium heat until bubbles for on the top of the pancake, flip.
5. Serve with remaining one cup of marshmallows.

This post is submitted in
What's on the Menu Wednesday
Make it Yours Day
Spotlight Yourself Wednesday
Look What I Made Day
Tuesday Tastes

Maple Pancakes

I am sure that I have said this before but we have pancakes every weekend. They are my husbands favorite breakfast food so of course it is always his choice for breakfast. We try to make it as healthy as possible by using oats, wheat flour and apple sauce instead of the more usual ingredients found in pancakes.

One morning my husband made these pancakes and asked if I could tell what he put into them. I could not find anything that I thought was added but of course at that time I had already put maple syrup on my pancakes so of course I would not have been able to tell. Unlike regular pancakes where you need to douse them with syrup these had the flavor though out them so a little bit of syrup went a long way. The key to these is REAL maple syrup not that sugary substitute.

• 1 c. wheat flour
• 1 c. maple brown sugar oatmeal
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 3 Tbsp. apple sauce
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 c. fat free buttermilk
• 1/2 c. maple syrup

1. Grind oatmeal in a food processor until it looks like flour.
   
2. Combine ground oats, wheat flour, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl and mix.
   
3. Mix in apple sauce, honey, eggs, buttermilk and maple syrup until there are not large lumps of flour.
4. Heat skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Spoon batter into skillet and flip when you see the bubbles form in the pancake.

This post is submitted in
Just Another Meatless Monday
My Meatless Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up
Market Yourself Monday
Tasty Tuesday

Blueberry Yogurt Scones w/ Lemon Glaze

I have recently discovered that I love scones. I had my first scone a few months ago at panera bread, it was an orange scone and it was insanely delicious. I used to think that scones were supposed to be a very dry biscuit mix but I have found that they can also be moist and almost cake like. I of course prefer the moist ones but really I think that both versions are good, as long as I have a cup of tea to dunk them in. Once I found out I liked scones I began making them at home. I didn't have a pastry blender at the time so I was using a combination of butter knives and a fork to break up the butter. I am happy to announce though that I recently bought a pastry blender and it saves a lot more time in the kitchen using the pastry blender than knives. Another way to blend the butter into the flour is to put the butter and a box grater into the freezer for about 20 minutes or until butter is frozen and grate the frozen butter.


I used frozen blueberries for this recipe which is why the scones turned out multi-colored. Fresh were not on sale and I always have bags of frozen fruit in my freezer so I used what I had. The scones were really easy to make and took no time at all to throw together. Compared to the price you pay for one and how much it is to make one, you end up saving a lot of money making your own. Plus there is nothing better than a fresh warm scone right from the oven.

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3 Tbsp. margarine/butter, softened
• 1/2 c. plain fat free yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. skim milk
• 1 c. blueberries
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon

Glaze

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• juice of one lemon
• lemon zest (optional)
  

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Mix together flours, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Cut in flour using two butter knives, a fork or a pastry blender until the flour looks like course meal.
4. Add wet milk, lemon zest, vanilla and yogurt and mix until wet. Carefully fold in the blueberries.
5. Pat dough into a 1 inch thick circle on parchment paper lined baking sheet and cut into 8 wedges.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool.
7. To make glaze mix together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest and drizzle over the scones.

This post is submitted in
Friday Food
Favorite Things Friday
Food on Fridays
Food Revolution Friday
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Fight Back Friday
Finer Things Friday
Vegetarian Foodie Friday
Foodie Friday

Plantain & Sausage Breakfast Burrito

Every once in a while we will buy a plantain and make breakfast burritos. When we lived in California my husband had ordered plantain burrito from this cute little organic restaurant. I of course got a falafel because at that time I had no idea how to make them but my husband ordered something along the lines of this burrito.


You can make this vegetarian and usually I do, by omitting the sausage. It just so happened that I had breakfast sausage and I wanted to use it up. I love to eat mine with hot sauce on top and even ate the left overs without a tortilla and just added ketchup and it was delicious. This is a really hearty and filling meal.

This makes enough for 4

• 1 plantain, chopped into small chunks
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 c. turkey sausage or 4 patties chopped
• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. coriander
• 1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 tortillas
  
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• salt
• pepper

1. Whisk eggs, milk and garlic salt in a bowl until combined.
   
2. In a large skillet over medium heat add 1 Tbsp oil. Add egg mixture and cook, you want scrambled eggs. Remove eggs into a medium sized bowl and wipe out the skillet if you have chunks of egg stuck to the sides or bottom.
3. Add another Tbsp of oil into the skillet over medium heat and add sausage and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove meat but try to keep as much grease and oil in the pan and place the meat into the bowl with the eggs.
   
4. Add the last Tbsp of oil into the same large skillet over medium heat. Add the plantains and onion and cook until the plantains are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander and mix to evenly season.
   
5. Add the rest of the ingredients back into the large skillet to warm up and add salt and pepper to taste.
   
6. Assemble your burritos with the cheddar cheese and enjoy.

This blog is submitted in:
Motivate Me Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Dark Chocolate Blueberry Pancakes

I love the weekends because that means that my husband makes breakfast. I am not against eating cereal or a granola bar but when you eat it 5 days out of the week, it is nice to have a good hearty breakfast. Pancakes are one of my husbands specialties and his favorite breakfast food. So when he is in charge of pancakes you know that they won't be plain and boring. He usually always makes them with a wheat and oatmeal base so that way they are not only heart healthy but they are hearty. This weekend he decided to throw in frozen blueberries and dark chocolate. If you have fresh blueberries, by all means use them. However, they are not cheap enough for me to buy and well frozen work for me just fine and are cheaper.

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. oatmeal, ground
  
• 6 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 c. buttermilk
  
• 2 eggs
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. blueberries, pureed
• 1 c. blueberries, whole
• 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

1. Mix the flour, oatmeal and baking powder.
   
2. Add in buttermilk, applesauce, eggs and pureed blueberries and mix until there are no lumps.
   
3. Carefully stir in the whole blueberries and chocolate chips. Be careful not to mash the blueberries.
   
4. Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Scoop 1/4 - 1/2 cup of batter on a hot skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form and break; flip.
   

Hot Cocoa Waffles

Two things that go hand in hand are snow and hot cocoa. This past weekend we got quite a bit of snow so my husband decided to make hot cocoa waffles. They were extremely good, they beat my used to be favorite chocolate chip pancakes. You can use whatever hot cocoa mix you like! They were so good that I ate them as is, I didn't want to drown it out with syrup. They are perfect for a fun breakfast or even better served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The next time you go to make plain waffles from a box mix, try these instead.

• 1 c. oatmeal flour (ground whole oats)
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/4 c. milk, warm
• 3/4 c. sweetened condensed milk (buy or recipe below)
• 1 c. white chocolate chips
• 5 Tbsp hot cocoa mix

Sweetened condensed milk

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. water
• 1/4 c. margarine
• 1 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1. Heat sugar and water until sugar has dissolved. Add margarine. Stir until margarine is melted. Heat to a boil.
2. Put nonfat dry milk powder into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, while adding butter mixture.
   
3. Cool, cover and refrigerate or use immediately.

Makes 1 cup.

Waffles

1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa mix and salt.
   
3. In another bowl beat together eggs and then add the milk and sweetened condensed milk.
   
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Ladle the recommended amount of batter onto the waffle iron. Close iron top and cook until golden brown on both sides and is easily removed from the iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

This post is submitted in
Lets Do Brunch

Apple Cheddar Muffins

Let me just start out by saying that these were pretty tasty. I have never had the combination of apples and cheese before, so this was a first for me. I love the crunchy exterior from the cornmeal and the baked cheese. MMMM. I am surprised I have not eaten the whole batch yet. I am trying to be good since Christmas is only a few days away and I will be stuffing myself silly with all the family events we have planned. If you do not have apple cider on hand apple juice will do the trick.

• 1 2/3 c. all purpose flour
• 1/2 c. corn meal
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. apple cider
  
• 1/2 apple sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Stir together the flour, corn meal baking powder, cheddar cheese, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
   
3. In a small bowl beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk, cider, diced apple and apple sauce. Pour all at once into the dry mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups. Sprinkle the top with cheese (optional)
   
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

This post is submitted in
Muffin Monday

Coconut White Chocolate Biscotti

As kids we all put out cookies and milk for Santa. The joy you would get when making them knowing that Santa would soon be enjoying the cookies you helped mom bake in the kitchen. As a kid I didn't quite realize that warm milk and a full belly makes you awfully tired. Therefore I was probably making it harder for Santa to stay awake to deliver the toys to all the other girls and boys. So this year I made Santa biscotti and instead of putting out milk I will put out coffee. How could Santa not need a little coffee and biscotti when he is flying around the world in under one night?



• 1 large egg
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 c. all- purpose flour
• 1/2 c. coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. coconut milk
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 1 c. white chocolate chips

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Grind coconut flakes in food processor for about 10 seconds until fine.
3. Mix together flour, baking powder, coconut flakes and salt in a medium size bowl.
4. Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer on medium high speed until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in coconut milk and coconut extract and reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until there are no traces of flour left. Stir in ¼ c. of the white chocolate chips. The dough will be sticky.
5. Scrape the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, forming a line the center.. Wet hands and pat dough into 9 x 3 inch rectangle.
6. Bake until puffed and dry to the touch, about 25 minutes. Cool on pan for 15 minutes, keep oven on. Peel off parchment paper from dough and transfer to a cutting board. Cut dough into 1/3 inch thick slices.
7. Lay slices flat on baking sheet and bake until dry about 10 minutes on each side. Let the cookies cool completely because as they cool they get more crisp.
8. With the remaining ¾ c. white chocolate chips heat up in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted. You can drizzle or dip your biscotti into the chocolate.

This post is submitted in
Just Something I Whipped Up

Chocolate Raspberry Pancakes

We make pancakes just about every weekend and we always try to change up the recipe so that its not the same old pancake over and over. If you do not have wheat flour or buttermilk on hand you can just swap it with whatever flour or milk you do have. If you want to make it a little more healthier you just swap the oil for unsweetened apple sauce. A little trick I do to keep the berries and chocolate chips from burning is I take a spoon and move some of the batter over the berries and chocolate so that there is a layer of batter to protect them from the direct heat. If you are in a rush you can always mix the berries and chocolate in the batter itself. However, I find that the berries bleed and you end up with a red pancake, it tastes the same but it just does not look as nice. This recipe is perfect for two people.

• 1 c. wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 c. fat free buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 c. raspberries, frozen or fresh
• 1 c. chocolate chips
  

1. Mix the flour and baking powder and set aside. Stir honey and oil together. Add milk and eggs, beat well. Mix in the dry ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are moist.
2. When you scoop the batter onto the pan, take a handful of raspberries and chocolate chips and sprinkle on top of the pancake before flipping.

Healthier Pumpkin Muffins

I made these this weekend and they came out great. I love when fall rolls around, it is the perfect time to eat everything pumpkin and drink hot cider. This recipe makes 2 dozen. If you do not like craisins, I am sure you could swap it out for any dried fruit and it would work just the same.

• 1/2 c. craisins
• 1 c. flour
• 1c. wheat flour
• 1/4 c. wheat germ
• 1 1/2 c. sugar; I used half sugar half truvia
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c. walnuts; chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pans, or line with paper muffin liners. Soak craisins in hot water for ten minutes to plump, then drain.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, wheat germ, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter. Stir the raisins and walnuts into the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

This recipe is linked to 
RBF Foodie Friday
Friday Favorites 
SL&E Foodie Friday

Chocolate Almond Cherry Biscotti

To me a cup of coffee is not complete with out a little dunking being done. I love biscotti but only if it is soaked in coffee first. It is the same thing with oreo's and milk for me. I always wanted to try a recipe but just kept putting it off. Mainly because when I would crave one it would be in the morning and the last thing I want to do when I wake up is to start baking. So yesterday I finally got around to making a batch of these tasty dunkers. I found a recipe on the internet and changed it up some. I have never made biscotti before so I didn't want to just wing it. This recipe makes a dozen so if you want more for a party just double the recipe.

• 3/4 c All purpose flour
• 1/4 c finely ground almonds
• 2 Tbsp Cocoa powder (whichever you use or prefer)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/3 c dried cherries
• 1/4 c slivered almonds (optional for garnish)

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix together flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl.
   
3. Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer (unless you want a good workout) on medium high speed until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla and almond extract and reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until there are no traces of flour left. Stir in the cherries. The dough will be very wet and sticky.
4. Scrape the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, forming a line down the center. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the top of the dough. Wet hands and pat dough into 9 x 3 inch rectangle.
   
5. Bake until puffed and dry to the touch, about 25 minutes. Cool on pan for 15 minutes, keep oven on. Peel off parchment paper from dough and transfer to a cutting board. Cut dough into 1/3 inch thick slices.
6. Lay slices flat on baking sheet and bake until dry about 10 minutes on each side. Let the cookies cool completely because as they cool they get more crisp.