Chocolate Peanut Butter, Banana, and Oat Smoothie

Not quite ready to make the switch to eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning? Try it in your smoothie! It sounded weird to me at first, but after my first gulp I was sold. Healthy? Check. Easy to make? Check. Tastes amazing? Check. Easy way to get a half serving of whole grains in the morning? Check.

Now, is this the world’s lowest calorie breakfast? No, sadly peanut butter is higher in calories than I would like to admit. But in one smoothie you get over 25 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber, tons of iron and calcium, and it’s low in cholesterol. For me, that’s worth the extra time on the treadmill!

Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

I’m fairly sure every time I post a muffin recipe I mention the fact that I don’t really like sweet muffins. And then the recipe is for a sweet muffin. I know, so consistent! Go me?

In any case, I’m finally living up to my self-proclaimed favorite type of muffin. One full of whole wheat, fruit, and minimal sugar. I actually took sugar out of the original recipe – who needs additional sugar sprinkled on top of the muffin when you have blueberries bursting with flavor?

You do? Well, feel free to distribute a tablespoon of white sugar over the tops of these before baking. But personally, I was a huge fan even without it.

In any case, enjoy the uncharacteristic consistent recipe below!

Huevos Rancheros

This isn’t a traditional way of making or each huevos rancheros; for truth in advertising , I probably should have titled these “Fried Eggs with Yummy Stuff Underneath” but that doesn’t seem nearly as neat. Or enticing.

In any case, below is my usual recipe when I attempt to make huevos rancheros. I’ve seen other recipes that call for cooking the egg on the tortilla, but that never seems to work well for me. Either I burn the tortilla or break the yolk mid-way through cooking or some other tragedy befall what should be a delicious dish and my breakfast is much less happy.

So I wanted to share my method. It still only uses one pan (hooray for easy clean-up) but cooks each part in components to help get you to a happy, fully assembled and un-burnt breakfast. Or lunch if it’s been a lazy weekend morning.

Double Chocolate Yogurt Pancakes

I know there is a great divide in the world between people who are pancake eaters and people who are waffle eaters, but I still don’t understand it. Seriously, the batter is almost identical and both taste amazing smothered in butter, maple syrup, or chocolate hips. So waffle lovers of the world, forgive me. I don’t have a waffle iron so I haven’t tested and recipes for you yet. But I honestly think you’ll like this one.

Pancakes with Greek Yogurt at the base, who would have seen that one coming? I’d heard of ricotta pancakes but haven’t tried them yet. But since I always have Greek Yogurt on hand this recipe called my name. It also told me to add cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I tried to say no, but honestly it was very insistent. It said it would be sad if it wasn’t a double chocolate chip recipe, and well, who wants to see a sad pancake?

I don’t.

So double chocolate yogurt pancakes it was. These are less fluffy than traditional pancakes, which only makes sense when you think about how little flour is actually in these things. I’d like to try it again with a non-traditional flour – maybe spelt or whole wheat pastry – but only because I’m interested in playing with new flours. These tasted great as is, slightly tangy but super delicious. I’d only planned on eating 2 (one serving) but somehow all 4 were inhaled faster than I’d like to admit in public.

In any case, you should try these too. And make sure to add the chocolate or your pancakes will be sad.

Good thing I posted this on a Friday afternoon, huh? You have plenty of time to run to the supermarket before the weekend!

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I love muffins, but I get confused where the line is between muffin and cupcake. The chocolate-chip muffins with frosting? How isn’t that cake?

Personally, I prefer a heartier muffin because I like to eat them for breakfast. While I’ve also never had a problem eating cake for breakfast, I first tried this recipe back in January aka the month of good intentions. While I’ve clearly fallen off the healthy eating wagon once or twice since then, these have been a great find. Crunchy peanut butter + banana + no added sugar? And they actually taste good?

I tend to make a batch of these, keep ‘em in the fridge for the week, and bring them in for a mid-morning snack at work. Does anyone else have the problem where no matter what they eat for breakfast, or even if they skip breakfast, ten o’clock rolls in and your stomach is rumbling so loudly people two cubicles over can hear it?

Just me then? Oh well, these muffins definitely hit the spot right around them. I hope you enjoy them too!

Eggs in Southwestern Spicy Tomato Sauce

I love breakfast, but it’s often tricky to make it fresh every morning. Don’t get me wrong – unlike 98 percent of the world, I have enough time most mornings. I just get distracted. I need to catch up on my emails, see how Matt and the crew from the “Today Show” are doing, and spend a few minutes staring blankly at my closet trying to figure out what I’m going to wear to work.

You’d think I’d manage to squeeze in making a great breakfast in that hour, but I tend to default to a smoothie or toast too frequently. Recently however, I’ve been trying my lunch strategy on breakfast – make a big dish that can be portioned out throughout the week so I have a hot meal that comes together quickly.

This was adapted from SmittenKitchen because I had an extra can of black beans and the only canned tomatoes in my pantry had chilis in them. So southwestern style spicy tomato sauce instead! Still, really tasty though – I hope you enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal

I have a sad confession to make. As much as I rave about oatmeal in cookies, I hate it as breakfast on its own. I’ve tried and tried to eat it – with raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup, instant, steel cut, microwave, stove-top, slow cooker – you name it, I’ve tried it. The problem comes down to texture; oatmeal is mushy. And I’m not a huge fan of mushy (see also: why I don’t like mashed potatoes).

So this recipe was a treat. It combined my love of crispy oatmeal from cookies or granola, fruit, and maple syrup without being terribly mushy. I actually enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast! That Heidi Swanson is a smart chick. This isn’t what I would call an easy breakfast – there’s too long a baking time for that – but it is relatively simple and would work great for a large crowd to feed.

Baked Eggs with Leeks

One of the first dishes I learned how to make was fried eggs. My mother, being a clever woman, taught my sisters and I that the best part of eggs is the play value – as long as you have runny eggs, you can puncture the yolk with the crusts of your toast. So clearly I had to learn how to make them for myself as soon as I was allowed near a hot stove (it was longer than you think. I was a clumsy child, not allowed near hot glue guns or candles for fear of burning down the house. In retrospect, that was not an exaggerated fear).

Baked eggs are an extension of my love affair with fried eggs. I once made a recipe that called for stuffing them inside a tomato with pesto. This recipe is less time intensive (no hollowing out other foods to act as a container!) and is better suited to fall when getting good tomatoes, let alone fresh basil, is nearly impossible. Leeks are sauted before added to ramekins and topped with an egg. Wait about 10 minutes and you have an adorable and delicious breakfast. Or dinner. Or brunch. Whatever, it’s versatile, that’s all I’m saying.

Also, the play value remains intact. You can cook these to make sure the yolks remain runny, allowing you to chase errant strands of yolk around each ramekin with toast crusts. Because that is what makes life awesome.

Spinach with Shallots, Almonds, and Feta with Poached Egg

I tend to like savory and sweet breakfasts equally well; while pancakes are divine, give me a bowl of pad-thai or spinach for breakfast and I’ll be pretty happy. After an attempt at my first dinner party meal of Stuffed Chicken Breast, I wondered how the filling would taste with a poached egg on top.

In short, awesome.

As you know, I loved poached eggs. My approach to cooking new foods tends to stem from a recipe or ingredient that I like and moving on from there. This doesn’t always work out (peanut butter and yogurt anyone?), but as I’ve realized which tastes I like together, I’m finding fewer big misses. This recipe will make Popeye jealous with the amount of iron it pumps into you.

Boller

I am part Swedish, but I tend to ignore Scandinavian cuisine for the most part – I’m not a big herring fan, I can easily pass on turnips, and I don’t even really like potatoes. However, Scandinavian cuisine uses one of my favorite spices of all time. And it uses it really really well.

Cardamom is possibly the most expensive item I have in my cupboard right now, but it was worth every penny. It’s addition to baked goods is almost sublime; when you use it, the whole house just smells warm and inviting. My mother tends to use it in coffee bread with pearled sugar, but when I saw this recipe for raisin buns and cardamom, I knew I had to try it. And it was amazing.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

My breakfast habits aren't consistent; some days I'm happy with a quick bowl of Cheerios and milk, others only an egg will satisfy, while still others demand cold pad thai (don't knock till you've tried it). But I also tend not to like eating in the first hour I've been awake. It feels too rushed. Unfortunately, this makes eating during the week a bit tricky. I need a meal that can be prepared quickly because I'm generally eating it during the time I should be brushing my teeth before I leave for work.

So when I found this recipe for a chocolate peanut butter smoothie, you can bet I was excited to try it out. Chocolate and peanut butter in the morning? Prep time under five minutes? Chocolate and peanut butter in the morning? (This point needs to be repeated)

Sold.

Peach and Blueberry Muffins

The temperature dropped suddenly here in DC and I wanted to celebrate one last hurrah of summer while also reveling in the fact that turning on my oven no longer makes people in my kitchen lightheaded. So fruit muffins it was. I never got around to making a peach and blueberry cobbler, so I decided to use both fruits in a muffin.

This is really stretching the definition of a muffin though; it’s fruit bound together by a bit of spongy muffin. Keep your fruit slices large – blueberries whole and peach chunky – to help you stretch summer out for just a few more hours.

Peach Lingonberry Jam Crepes

Lingonberry jam is amazing. It’s most commonly used in Scandinavian cuisine and not often seen in the US (the only time I can remember seeing it on a menu was at Ann Sathers – a Swedish restaurant in Chicago), but everyone should run out and try it. They taste similar to cranberries and have a wonderful tart taste. But where can you find such magical jam? I’ve reliably found it in two places – Whole Foods and IKEA.

Also my mother sends me jars when she finds it because she loves me. A lot.

Lingonberry jam is served with a wide variety of Swedish foods (meatballs, beef stew, mashed potatoes, oatmeal) but my favorite use is with pancakes. This recipe plays with that combination, making a thinner crepe in place of the thick, traditional Swedish pancake, and adding peaches to play with the tartness of the jam.