Popcorn?

My mother-in-law mentioned that they used to have popcorn with milk when she was growing up. I haven't tried it myself, yet. Here it's suggested as a breakfast cereal. The same blog has some other interesting breakfast ideas that I'll have to remember to try sometime.

Greekish Egg Dish

I made an egg dish the other morning that I was quite pleased with. The kids weren't so thrilled, but they ate it.

I was using up leftovers, so the amounts of the first four items are approximate.

8 oz. cooked spinach
1/2 c. Greek style yogurt
2 1/2 oz. feta cheese

Mix the above together and spread in a greased 10 x 8 pan.

Sprinkle over the top:

1/3 pound chopped cooked bacon

Blend together:

6 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
pepper to taste

Pour this over the spinach mixture. I baked it for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

I thought this had a nice flavor, but I had added balsamic vinegar when I originally cooked the spinach. You might find you want a little more zip. If I make this again, I might add an additional cheese with the bacon. I also might try blending everything but the bacon and cheese in the blender, pour it in the pan and let that cook for about 1/2 hour. Then, sprinkle the bacon and cheese on and let it cook another 10 minutes or so.

Yogurt Update

I had taken a break from making yogurt, but recently I discovered that I can buy a decent Greek style yogurt locally to use as a base culture. Walmart started carrying Oikos brand yogurt, which really is thick, creamy and delicious. I've used it to make yogurt twice so far, and I'm quite pleased with the results.

The Oikos brand lists 5 active cultures: S. Thermophilus; L. Bulgaricus; L. Acidophilus; Bifidus and L. Casei. Dannon only lists L. Acidophilus.

Previously, I've linked to the crockpot yogurt recipe I use. Here's my basic method:

At about 2:30 in the afternoon, I fill my 2 qt. crockpot with milk. I turn it on high, and let it go until 5:30, which is about the time I serve supper. So, I'll unplug the crockpot then. When Dave goes upstairs to tuck the kids in, around 8:30, I'll put a couple ladles of the milk in a bowl, and add about 1/4 c. of yogurt. I'll mix it well, and then add it to the rest of the yogurt in the crockpot. I put the cover back on and a heavy towel around the entire crockpot. It sits overnight, and in the morning I have 2 quarts of yogurt.

I've been putting some honey and vanilla in about half of it for sweetened yogurt, and I leave the rest plain. I haven't started substituting it for sour cream, but I think I could.

I usually write "Yogurt - 5:30, 8:30" on my kitchen whiteboard, to help me remember the times I need to take action. I also freeze the base yogurt in ice cube trays and then put them in freezer bags. On days when I'm making yogurt, I'll take out 2 cubes at 2:30 and let them thaw for when I need them at 8:30. I know you can just save out some of the homemade yogurt for the next batch, but I don't like to do that because I think the final product is too tart.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

We still had some rolls left this past Sunday night. I couldn't inflict them on my friends and family any more, so I decided to make a bread pudding. My kids don't like regular, raisiny bread pudding, so I decided to try a chocolate one.

In a greased 13 x 9 pan, I put a layer of cubed rolls, and about 5 oz. of cubed cream cheese that needed to get used. I put the rest of the roll cubes on the top of this. For good measure, I cut up a leftover powdered sugar donut (I needed to feed helpers, remember) and spread that over the top.

For the liquids, I mixed:

6 eggs
1 can coconut milk
2 c. milk
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chocolate sauce

I poured this over the top, and pressed down on the bread cubes so they could soak up the liquid. I could have let this sit covered in the refrigerator overnight. I just let it sit for about 15 minutes. I cooked it for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

This did not come out very chocolatey, so you might want to adjust that. We served it with extra chocolate sauce, and I think everyone liked it. (Especially compared to the oatmeal we usually have on Mondays)

On a normal day, this is a nice treat. Yesterday, Dave got up at 4 am to grade papers and do some itunes downloading. At 5:30 on a Monday morning, we were sitting in bed watching the season finale of Mad Men while eating chocolate bread pudding with chocolate sauce. It was positively decadent.

Egg Strata

For the last few weekends, we've had generous family members and friends helping us with projects around the house. I purchased a bunch of lunch meat, and this huge bag of 24 rolls from Walmart. I can't remember exactly what the rolls were called. They were rectangular shaped, perhaps like miniature baguettes. They were soft, though, not crusty. A little too bready for my taste.

On the first weekend, I made sandwiches a few times, and then put the rest of the rolls in the freezer. Sunday night, I noticed we had 2 full roast beef and cheese sandwiches leftover, plus half a cheese sandwich. I decided to make a strata.

I cubed the sandwiches and put them in a greased 10 x 8 pan. I sprinkled some more cheese on top, as well as some leftover cubed ham.

In a bowl, I mixed 6 eggs and about a cup of milk. I should have added some mustard, but I didn't think of it. I pushed down on the bread, so it could soak up the liquid. It didn't seem to be enough liquid, so I added about 1/2 c. more milk, just pouring it over the top. That seemed to be enough.

I covered the pan and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, I uncovered it and baked it for probably about 30 minutes (I don't remember - until it was set) at 350 degrees.

My kids don't generally like strata type dishes, but they ate it. Dave and I both liked it.

Pumpkin Dip Custard

I ended up with some extra pumpkin dip from planned weekend get-togethers. I decided to try to turn it into a breakfast dish. I took the dip, added eggs, blended it together and baked. It stayed custardy, with a bit of a cheesecake flavor. I served it with some leftover whipped cream, and it was a hit.

I'll try it again, using these proportions:

8 oz. cream cheese
2 c. (or 1 can) pumpkin puree
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
about 1/3 c. rapadura
4 eggs

Blend together in blender. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degree.

Whole Grain Pancakes

Mary has a great recipe for a big batch of gluten free whole grain fermented pancakes. Check it out here.

Taco Egg Bake

This recipe is very similar to the pizza egg dish I posted previously. Preheat oven to 375.

Crust:
Blend together (I use a blender);
4 oz. softened cream cheese
3 eggs
1/3 c. cream
1/2 t. taco seasoning

Spread:
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Pour egg mixture over top.
Bake 25-30 minutes.

Topping:

Cook:
1 lb ground beef
3 t. taco seasoning
1/4 c. tomato sauce
4 oz chopped green chilis (I omitted this)

Spread this mixture over cooked crust.
Top with:
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with toppings of your choice.


I really liked this and found it nice and filling.

Applesauce!

I love going apple picking. We recently went, and it was hard to stop at 2 large bags. But, 54 pounds is enough for our family.

In the past, I haven't invested too much time in making applesauce. It's always just seemed like too much work. So far this year, however, I've made 5 large crockpot batches of applesauce.

Using a Pampered Chef apple peeler, I make quick work of peeling the apples. I do about 20 apples per batch, leaving out the end pieces with the peeling still on. I also try to make sure that there aren't any bits of seed casings left with the apple. (My pickiness depends on how much time I feel like investing). After the apples are in, I pour about 1/2 c. apple juice in, and about a tablespoon of cinnamon on top. Including clean up, it probably takes about 45 minutes to get a batch going. Then, I let it cook on low for 4-6 hours. After a couple of hours, I'll start stirring it because the apples on the bottom start cooking first.

When the apples are nice and soft, I mash everything good with a wooden spoon. I like to leave it a little chunky, so I don't get too fussy.

I decided to freeze it in ice cube trays this year, and then put the cubes in freezer bags. When I need them, I'll take out the number of cubes I think we'll use and thaw them. Something I've discovered is that my kids love the frozen cubes as a treat. Maybe I won't even bother thawing them.

Quiche In A Bag

This is a very flexible recipe from my 30 Day Gourmet manual. The idea is that you mix all of the ingredients together (I use a blender for the non-meat and vegetable ingredients) and plop them in a freezer bag, and freeze. Thaw, pour in greased pie plate and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Nice and easy.

For each quiche, you need:

1 c. cooked meat
3/4 c. cooked vegetable
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. diced onion
2 c. milk
4 eggs
1/8 t. Tabasco sauce
1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder


I hadn't made this in ages, but decided to give it a try the other day. I had some leftover cooked chicken and some cooked bacon. I didn't have any leftover veggies, so I didn't bother with them. I used rice flour.

It was okay. It probably would have been better with some broccoli and a little salt. The texture with the rice flour wasn't bad, just different.

Menu Plan

In the past, I've balked at menu planning. I felt it would be too restrictive, or something, and, because I wouldn't be using up my leftovers, it wouldn't be cost efficient.

I started using a menu plan this school year, and so far it's working great. There's quite a bit of flexibility worked into the schedule, but at the same time it's nice having guidelines. I especially like having lunches planned out, instead of trying to rely on whatever leftovers might be around.

Here's my schedule:

Breakfasts:

Monday - Oatmeal; Tuesday - Egg Dish; Wednesday - Pancakes; Thursday - Eggs, Bacon or Sausage & Toast; Friday - Smoothies & Peanut Butter Toast; Saturday - Sweet (Cinnamon rolls - it's my bread baking day or coffee cake or custard); Sunday - Leftovers or Cereal

Lunch:

Monday - Creamed Tuna on Toast; Tuesday - Beans & Rice; Wednesday - Rice Cooker Mac & Cheese; Thursday - Leftovers; Friday - Crackers w/ cheese, hummus, spinach dip; Saturday - Leftovers or Sandwiches; Sunday - Leftovers or Sandwiches

Supper:

Monday - Soup or Leftovers; Tuesday - Wraps; Wednesday - Whatever (pork, ethnic, etc.); Thursday - Italian; Friday - Seafood; Saturday - Mexican; Sunday - Roast (beef, pork or chicken)

I also have notes on my plan for when I have to prepare foods ahead, set up bread, pancakes or yogurt, etc.

It's only been a few weeks, but so far I've found it helpful. I've tweeked it a few times already, and I'm sure I'll continue to do so. We'll probably be ready for a different lunch rotation in a few months, too.

Cream Cheese Pancakes

This recipe is very similar to the Cottage Pancakes I posted previously. I prefer these to the cottage cheese ones. I'll have to try to remember to have either jam out or a fruit sauce prepared to serve with them.

These portions were barely enough for 4 of us. I think I'll at least double it next time.

Cream Cheese Pancakes

Whip 2 egg whites and set aside.

In separate bowl or blender, blend together:
4 oz. Cream cheese
2 egg yolks
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
Sweetener of your choice, if desired (I didn't use any)

Fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Cook on hot griddle.

Breakfast Pizza

We had this egg dish the other morning for breakfast. I'll post the original recipe first, then add my revisions.

Egg Pizza

4 oz. softened cream cheese
4 eggs
1/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
1 T. chives
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 t. chopped garlic
1/2 c. tomato or pizza sauce
1 c. mozzarella cheese, for topping
Additional toppings to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Beat together cream cheese and eggs until smooth (I used a blender). Add cream, parmesan cheese and spices.

Grease a 13 x 9 pan, spread 2 c. shredded cheese in dish and pour egg mixgture over.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven.

Spread with sauce, add toppings and cheese. Bake until brown and bubbly.
---------------------

I was certain I had a can of tomato sauce in the cupboard, but I didn't. And I didn't realize that until I had pulled the crust out of the oven. So, I plopped a tomato in the blender, along with some pepperoni and parmesan cheese to thicken it up. It worked pretty well. I also had used up all of my mozzarella cheese on the crust before realizing I would need some for on top. So, I sprinkled some more parmesan on top.

Madeline and I both really like this, and I think Dave liked it heated up the next morning. Grace & Henry weren't that enthused. I think they would have liked it better if they hadn't had to taste the pepperoni in the sauce. Next time, I'll probably have half with just black olives, and half with some more interesting toppings.

A Couple of Peachy Ideas

This year, we bought 2 bushels of peaches. I froze a bunch of them as slices. I also froze a bunch as puree. I peeled and pitted them, then plopped them in the blender. I blended them, and then added enough apple juice to make 2 cups puree. I would estimate 1 1/2 c. of the mixture was peaches, the other 1/2 cup was juice. I froze the puree flat in freezer bags.

One recipe I use the puree for is a Peach Frosty. Put 1 c. cottage cheese in blender. Add 1 c. plain yogurt, and blend until smooth. Add slightly defrosted puree and blend. (You might decide to add a sweetener of your choosing.) If the puree is still cold enough, this will have the consistency of a Wendy's Frosty. I serve them in tea cups with a spoon. Sometimes we have this for breakfast, and sometimes we have this as a dessert.

I also have made smoothies using 1 bag of puree, 1 can of coconut milk, and maybe a cup of yogurt and some honey. This smoothie goes over well with everyone.

Cornbread

Last night we had sweet corn as part of our supper. As Dave was grilling the cobs, I started getting a craving for custard cornbread. It sounded like a good way to used up any leftover corn, plus I somehow ended up with 5 gallons of milk in an already packed refrigerator, so I needed a recipe to use that up as well.

So, I googled a few recipes and tweaked them. We had delicious cornbread for breakfast. Except, we didn't have any leftover corn to put in it and I only ended up using 1 c. of milk.

Here's what I did:

Mix together and let sit overnight:

1 1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. evaporated cane juice
4 T. butter
1 c. water
2 T. buttermilk

In the morning, blend in until smooth:

1 c. milk
2 eggs

Add, just until mixed:

1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

I baked it at 350 in a 10 x 6 pan for about 35 minutes.

It wasn't exactly custardy, but it was nice and moist. We also had peaches with it because, well, we're having peaches with everything these days.

I found a more custardlike cornbread recipe using coconut milk. I hope to try it in the not-too-distant future.

Boiled Eggs In The Rice Cooker!

So, I was able to replace my rice cooker with an older model, National Brand 10 c. cooker ($4.99 at Goodwill - it took almost a dozen thrift store trips to find a decent one). It works pretty well, although the rice seems to get darker on the bottom than it did in my last cooker.

As I was looking around on the internet for information on National (a division of Panasonic) rice cookers, I came across an interesting hint. When you're cooking rice, or whatever, you can add eggs along with it, right on top, to get hard boiled eggs. I tried an egg and it worked. I think I'll like this trick especially for when I make oatmeal in the rice cooker, and want to have some added protein along with it.

Pudgie Pies! - Camping Breakfasts #3

With 2 camping trips under my belt this year, and the knowledge that building campfires is much less stressful for my husband than it used to be, I decided that we would do our cooking over the campfires this trip.

Our first breakfast was apple pie filling with cut up Snickers bars. Good, but too sweet and there was too much waste. In the future, I would make the pie filling at home and take it along. I was too stressed to do that this time.

We also had spam & cheese pies. Also good, but I think I put too much spam on each one and it seemed kind of heavy. (I had purchased the spam to go with a different recipe suggested by Mary, but decided to take it camping instead. I'm still planning on trying the German Pizza one of these days. This was the first time I had ever bought spam - I think.)

By far the kids' favorite were the peanut butter and marshmallow pies. Yum.

We didn't feel like making a campfire on our last morning, so we had graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate bars. Also a big hit.

Rhubarb Custard

A while back, Mary suggested trying custard pies (minus the crusts) for breakfast. I finally got around to making a rhubarb one this morning. If you cut up the rhubarb the night before, the recipe comes together pretty quickly in the morning. Yum.

This recipe is almost identical to the one Mary gave me:

5 cups cut up rhubarb (about) - put in 9 x 13 pan. (I have a "new" 10" deep dish pie pan that I used just so I could try it out)
1/8 t. baking soda - sprinkle over the rhubarb

1 c. cream (or half and half)
6 eggs
6 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
Mix these 4 ingredients in a blender (can use a mixer, but the blender is more convenient for me)

1 2/3 c. sugar (I used evaporated cane juice) - sprinkle over the rhubarb

Pour egg mixture over the top and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Rice Cooker Fiasco

So, I guess you can't make rice pudding in the rice cooker using brown rice. It must not be able to absorb the milk.

How do I know that, you ask? A couple of weeks ago, I used the same recipe for rice pudding that I had earlier posted. Except, I used brown rice. (And I used regular whole milk, but since that's what the original recipe called for, it shouldn't have been a problem) About halfway through the cooking time, it started smelling a little funny in the kitchen. I opened up the rice cooker, and milk exploded everywhere. Plus, the outer grains of the rice (endosperm?) were caked on the inside top of the rice cooker.

After it had cooled, I cleaned it for about 1/2 hour. Then, a little later, I spent another 20 minutes cleaning some parts on the bottom that had burned. If you know me, you know that's an awful lot of time for me to spend cleaning an appliance. It looked pretty good, so I tried another batch of plain rice. The rice turned out okay, but the cooker smelled pretty bad. I noticed when I tipped it that there were some drops of milk stil coming out.

My ever-patient husband took it apart and noticed that the insulation was pretty soaked with milk. It's been hanging on the clothesline since then, and has been rained on a few times, so hopefully the smell is gone. I don't want to make him have to put it all back together, so I'm hoping I'll be able to find one at a thrift store before school starts.

I'm pretty tough on appliances, and they turn up fairly often at thrift stores, so I can't really justify buying a new one. This is the one that I just broke. I had purchased it, still in the box, at Goodwill for about $10 a couple of years ago.

Camping With a Rice Cooker

So, we went camping again last weekend. I really don't like to spend much time cooking or cleaning up while camping. Since I knew we were going to have a campsite with electricity, I decided to take our rice cooker along to do the majority of the cooking. We still used our cookstove to heat up water, but I didn't get out any other pans.

The food was a hit with everyone.

Here were our breakfasts:

RICE COOKER SCRAMBLED EGGS

I had mixed 6 eggs together before we went camping, and froze them flat in a ziploc bag. I had also put some ham cubes in ziploc, maybe 1/2 c. cheese in a baggie, and 2 T. butter in a little sandwich bag. When it was time to cook, I put the butter in and let it melt a little, then I added the ham to mix it with the butter a little. I poured the eggs in and stirred. It cooked pretty fast, maybe about 5 minutes, with me stirring it every couple of minutes. Then I added the cheese, stirred and let it all mix together. (This would have been great by itself, but I had about 1 1/2 c. leftover shrimp and rice that I stirred in until it was warm. Very good.)

RICE COOKER COCONUT RICE PUDDING

3/4 c. rice
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 t. salt
2 cans coconut milk
1/2 c. sugar
Cinnamon

Cook the rice, water and salt in the rice cooker. When rice is done, stir in the coconut milk and the sugar. Cover and turn the cooker back on. After maybe 15 minutes, start checking and stirring the rice every 5 minutes or so until it has the right consistency. I don't remember how long this took, but it didn't seem too long. It was a big hit and very filling.

RICE COOKER OATMEAL

The day before we left home, I soaked 2 c. oatmeal with 2 cups water and 2 T. yogurt in a bowl on the cupboard. Before we left, I put it in a ziploc, and then into the cooler. We used it 3 days later. When it was time to cook it, I emptied the oatmeal ziploc into the rice cooker and then added a can of coconut milk. It did not take very long to cook at all, maybe 5 minutes, and I liked the consistency. I served it with dried cranberries and some half and half. (I had planned on having it just plain, but I happened to be in a grocery store the day before we had it and I splurged on a small container of half & half)

I like this method of making oatmeal. I think during the school year, I'll set it up in the rice cooker (using water instead of coconut milk) the night before so Dave can turn it on when he gets his coffee. That way, he can have fresh oatmeal without having to work for it, and it will stay warm for the rest of us.

BONUS RECIPES:

SHRIMP & RICE

Before we had left home, I'd cut up a green pepper and onion and placed them in a baggie. We also had a quart sized baggie of cut up broccoli.

Put in rice cooker:
1 stick of butter
onion and pepper - let it cook for a minute or two.
Add:
1 1/2 c. rice
1 can broth
Bag of broccoli
1 lb shrimp
Old Bay Seasoning

Turn cooker on, stir, and let it cook. You might want to add the shrimp close to the end so it doesn't get too chewy.


RICE COOKER MACARONI AND CHEESE

In rice cooker, add:

2 c. uncooked macaroni
1 c. broth
1 c. milk or cream
Ham cubes (optional)
Broccoli (optional)

Cook until the macaroni is done. Then, add:

1 1/2 c. shredded cheese
2 T. butter
Salt & pepper

Stir and keep warm until ready to serve.

Lower Sugar Rhubarb Cobbler

Another one of those maybe-not-the-healthiest-breakfast-in-the-world breakfasts. A while back, my sister-in-law gave me this recipe for lower sugar rhubarb cobbler. I made it earlier this week, and we had the leftovers for breakfast the next day. With vanilla ice cream. Quite decadent.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Spread in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan:

4 cups cleaned and cut up rhubarb (1/2" pieces)

Sprinkle with:

1/4 teaspoon baking soda (this helps to neutralize the tartness of the rhubarb)

Set aside.

Combine in a bowl:

2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. coconut oil (or butter)
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Stir in
1 c. water until mixture is crumbly.
Set aside

Combine in small bowl:

1 c. sugar
1 T coconut oil (or butter)
Mix until crumbly. Set aside

Pour
1/2 c. boiling water over the rhubarb
Top evenly with the flour mixture.
Sprinkle with the sugar-oil mixture

Bake until bubbly and beginning to brown, 35-45 minutes.

I made this with white bread flour this time. It turned out great, with a nice crusty top. I tried it about a month ago with whole wheat pastry flour, but I missed the part about adding the water to the flour mixture. It didn't turn out as great, more of a crisp than a cobbler, but my family still liked it. I might try playing around with the recipe to see if I can soak the flour.

My sister-in-law got this recipe from a newspaper. The original author was Teresa Corsello of Sugar Grove (I assume Illinois)

One More Thing

You've probably already noticed that I've kind of drifted away from low-carbing. Hopefully, I'll get back on track soon.

Pasties for Breakfast

One more remnant from our camping trip - Since we were camping in the U.P. of Michigan, we made a point of buying pasties several times during our trip. They went over well with the kids, were quite filling, and weren't that expensive. We had a couple of halves leftover when we arrived home.

The next morning, I put some butter in a skillet and broke up the pasties in the pan. I stirred it around for a little bit, and then added some eggs. I think I added 3 eggs, but given the amount of veggies in the pan I probably should have added about 6. It still made a nice breakfast skillet.

I'm thinking of playing around with some doughs and making pasties to have on hand around here for breakfast. Maybe with an egg, bacon and potato filling instead of the more traditional fillings. I prefer a flakier crust to a breadier crust. I'm going to see how the yogurt dough from the Nourishing Traditions books will work. I'll report back if I have success.

Camping Breakfasts

We went camping last weekend. This was the first time we've been tent camping in probably 5 years. In the past, I've always opted for the little boxes of cereal as a camping treat. This year, we had big breakfasts.

A couple days before we left, I mixed up a bunch of eggs in the blender and put them in a ziploc bag in meal size portions. Then, I put that ziploc along with a mealsize portion of bacon and froze them flat. They were thawed by the time I needed them, and they didn't take up much space in the cooler. It worked great. I should also mention that cut up leftover french fries cooked in the bacon fat a little before adding the eggs lended a nice hash brown feel to the breakfast.

The original plan was to have pancakes with the eggs and bacon, but I just couldn't get myself to prepare that much. (I should mention here that I tend to get irrationally stressed out when planning for camping trips - hence the 5 year gap since our last trip) Instead, we had cinnamon rolls, Trenary Toast, and donuts on respective days. Not exactly healthy, but better than little boxes of cereal. Maybe we'll do pancakes on the next trip.

Low Carbing

Here's the thing - I'd been trying to cut back on my carb intake to 20% of my daily calories. It's hard for me to get creative with breakfasts when basically all I'm having are eggs, maybe with sausage or eggs.

One idea that hasn't gotten too boring for me is 2 eggs, scrambled and cooked in either butter or bacon fat. Then I sprinkle on a little cheese, maybe about 4 crushed tortilla chips and about a teaspoon of sour cream. I don't have the numbers right in front of me, but that works out to about 60% fat; 20% protein; and 20% carbs. I think that's about the proportion that Sally Fallon recommends.

This Week's Compromise

I just haven't felt like making anything special for breakfast for the last few days. I made a batch of yogurt Tuesday night (using this method, except I don't recommend adding the fruit at the end - it gets too runny). So for the past couple of days, we've had yogurt for breakfast. Grace and I like it with a little cereal on top (my current favorite is the Aldi brand of crunchy granola raisin bran). Henry's had his with raisins. Madeline bypasses the yogurt.

So, it's not perfect, but it's a good compromise.

Asparagus Sausage Frittata

I forgot to post about yesterday morning's breakfast. I had about 8 stalks of asparagus from the garden. I washed then broke them into bite sized pieces. I steamed them in an 8" stainless steel frying pan with a minced clove of garlic, maybe a little over a tablespoon of olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of water. I let that go for about 3 minutes. Then I added about 1/2 c. of leftover cooked sausage, and let the water cook off with the cover off.

While that was going on, I mixed 6 eggs with about 1/4 c. parmesan cheese (not from the can), maybe 1/4 c. cream, some salt and a little basil. When the water had evaporated, I added the egg mixture to the frying pan and let it cook about a minute, until the edges were starting to set. Then, I topped it with cheddar cheese and let it cook in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes, until set.

It's supposed to flip nicely onto a plate for an elegant presentation. Unfortunately, I have some kind of genetic abnormality that makes it impossible for me to flip frittatas or roll out pie crust or cookie dough. So, it wasn't beautiful, but it tasted very, very good.

I adapted this from How To Cook Without A Book, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Waffles

Today we had waffles for lunch. I haven't been doing waffles too much lately, because they've been sticking to my waffle iron. I generally use this recipe except 1 1/2 time the amounts. This time, I used about 1/2 c. of coconut oil instead of the oil amount for the recipe. The waffles didn't stick, but they fell apart too easily. I used all brown rice, too. Next time I think I'll try 1/2 rice and 1/2 something else.

This is my brand of waffle iron. I really like it, because it's fun for the kids to have sticks to dip into sauce or syrup. With just the rice, they didn't stay stick-like.

To accompany the waffles, we had strawberry sauce from the freezer, maple syrup, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Yum.

Here's the chocolate syrup recipe I used:

1 c. water
1 c. evaporated cane juice
3 T. butter
1/3 c. cocoa powder*
1 t. vanilla

Boil water and cane juice together 1-2 minutes for simple syrup. Add cocoa and butter, stirring hard until smooth. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Store in refrigerator.

This batch didn't get very thick. Sometimes I add a little coconut oil to help it thicken up. But then, it seems to be too thick. I think this will get thicker as it cools.

*The original recipe called for 1 1/4 c. cocoa powder, but that was way too much for my tastes.

Mexican Breakfast Pizza

I wish I would have thought of this one yesterday in honor of the Cinco de Mayo. I browned some ground pork and seasoned it. (1 t. cumin; 1/2 t. thyme; 1/2 t. sage; 1 t. salt; 1/2 t. pepper; 1/8 t. cayenne pepper per pound) Then I scrambled up a couple of eggs.

I set some tostada shells on my pizza pan, and put some sausage, eggs and cheese on each one. (less sausage & eggs, more cheese for the littler ones). Put it in the oven until the cheese melted and voila! Mexican Breakfast Pizzas. (Isn't that a nice international sentence!)

I served it with homemade salsa, and we were good to go.

I enjoyed it and the kids seemed to like it, although Gracie would have preferred no eggs at all. It kept me full all morning.

Oh, I should add that we had quite a bit of sausage left over. I'll have to do something with that over the weekend. Maybe a frittata.

Cottage Pancakes

Ha! I'm posting on my breakfast blog.

I wanted to make pancakes for breakfast this morning, but I hadn't prepared them the night before. I generally use Sue Gregg's Blender Pancakes method, which I'll post about another time. Today, I used a different recipe from Sue Gregg's Breakfast cookbook - Cottage Pancakes.

Here's the recipe:

4 eggs, separated
1 c. cottage cheese (or kefir)
1/2 c. flour (I used rice flour)
1 T. olive oil or melted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt

Beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
Beat egg yolks until light. Blend in remaining ingredients. Fold egg whites into batter.
Bake over moderate heat.

----
I had a little trouble gauging when to turn these. They were definitely fluffy, but also substantial. She suggests serving with fresh fruit topping, but I didn't have anything for that. I served them with maple syrup. I think I preferred them plain. They weren't too sweet, but they still had a nice taste. And, the kids liked them. Henry generally doesn't like pancakes, so it was nice to see him have seconds.

Plus, I liked that these were more protein based, rather than grain based. This made about 10 4" or so pancakes. We had 1 1/2 leftover, which Daddy can have for breakfast.

Since she mentions kefir as a substitute, I might try this with drained yogurt sometime.

This Isn't Really Happening - Yet

I've been good about actually making the breakfasts from scratch. And, I've taken some pictures. That posting business is another story.

I think the problem was that I was going to start with a recipe I had never made before. Plus, I made some modifications to the recipe. It was okay, but it wasn't great. It threw me off.

Yeah, that's why I haven't posted.

About that idea of posting 3 times a week - I don't think so.

Hopefully, I'll get something up soon.

Why I'm Doing This Blog

For awhile now, I've been trying to prepare my family's meals from scratch as much as possible. To some degree, I've been following the ideas set out in Nourishing Traditions.

I'm using healthy fats when I cook. Most of our meat is grass-fed and locally raised. Our eggs are from free range chickens. I make bone broth. I soak my grains. I bake our bread. I make yogurt. I make kombucha (although I'm the only one in the family who'll drink it). Usually, there's something lacto-fermenting on the counter.

But, there's one particular area where I've been incredibly lazy. Breakfasts. My family loves packaged cereal. I don't like making a mess in the kitchen right away in the morning. It's been very easy to just keep buying cereal, even though I know I could be doing better.

I know that when I have homemade breakfast, especially when it's high in protein and has good fats in it, my whole day goes better. I have more energy and I actually end up eating less because I don't get as hungry.

It's been nagging at me for a long time that I need to make breakfasts. Then, this year when Lent started I just made the decision that I would stop buying cereal for Lent. I even surprised myself. So far, it's been going well. I'm even discovering that I'm enjoying the process.

Just when I was starting to hit my stride with the breakfast making business, I decided to do this blog. Again, another surprise. I don't know why I do this to myself.

My kids aren't that crazy about eggs, so I'll have to be creative. I should make it clear that by "cereal", I mean the kind you buy in boxes. I don't mean grains in general. I'm going to be relying pretty heavily on them, actually.

Tomorrow's breakfast: Toasted Rice with Cheese

The First Post

Hi,

I'm not sure when I'm going to start posting for real. I'll have to write some posts about why I'm doing this, how I define healthier, etc.

My goal is to post at least 2 breakfast recipes a week for at least a year. Yes, that's over 100 breakfasts.

I'm hoping it will be a fun, and not too much of a hassle.