Breakfast Yummies

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

I know this sounds decadent, and it is a little. What makes it nice is you make it the night before and put it in the oven in the morning. This is a great Sunday family breakfast or church breakfast potluck or even a great ladies brunch or book club treat.

Ingredients

    1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)

    8 large eggs

    2 cups half-and-half

    1 cup milk

    2 tablespoons granulated sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

    Dash salt

    Praline Topping, recipe follows

    Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

    1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

    1 cup packed light brown sugar

    1 cup chopped pecans

    2 tablespoons light corn syrup

    1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

 

Oatmeal Muffins
The nice thing about muffins is that they freeze so nicely.  Regardless of the number of people in your household, you can make up the whole batch and freeze whatever won't get eaten in a day or two, then take out one or two at a time and microwave or let thaw overnight. These muffins are fairly healthy and would fit in to most healthy eating regimens.

Don't use instant oats here, go for rolled oats. It's worth noting, I used the crumble-topping from the Tutti-Frutti crumble in Super Natural Every Day - and it makes about double the crumble you'll need for these muffins. I'm never one to complain about having extra crumble on hand - you can keep it in the freezer until the next time you want a crumble top on something. Crumble, then freeze. Also, this recipe yields a slightly awkward 1 1/2 dozen muffins. Bake all at once, or bake a one-dozen pan batch, keep the leftover batter in the refrigerator for a couple days, then bake the rest.

    Crumble topping:

    scant 3/4 cup / 3 oz / 85 g whole wheat pastry flour

    1/2 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g rolled oats

    1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g natural cane or brown sugar

    scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

    1/3 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g unsalted butter, melted

    Muffin batter:

    1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats

    3/4 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g unbleached all purpose flour

    3/4 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g whole wheat pastry flour

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

    scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

    7/8 cup / 7 oz / 200 g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

    1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g natural cane or brown sugar

    1 1/2 cups / 12 oz / 350 ml plain yogurt

    2 large eggs, whisked

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Butter one or two muffin pans generously. I didn't use paper liners, and I'm glad I didn't. Place oven racks in top third of oven.

Get your crumble topping for your muffins started first. Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Divide the mixture into three portions, and use your hands to form into three flat-ish patties. Place the patties in a bowl in the freezer for about ten minutes.

Now, onto the muffin batter. In a medium bowl combine the oats, flours, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the yogurt, and then the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir just until combined. Do your best to avoid over mixing.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Pull the crumble from the freezer and break it up into small and medium pieces. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with crumble, place the muffins in the oven and bake 30 - 35 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool just a minute or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack - important!

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 35 min

Savory Breakfast Muffins
Ok, these are just to die for yummy breakfast treats and a sneaky way to get your kids to eat some veggies and breakfast. Who doesn't love a quick easy meal you can eat on the run? These are definitely a healthy alternative to a pop-tart or other toaster treat and as in the above muffins, you can freeze whats not going to be eaten in a day or two.

Ingredients

    2 cups whole-wheat flour

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    1 tablespoon baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    2 eggs

    1 1/3 cups buttermilk

    3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    2 tablespoons butter, melted

    1 cup thinly sliced scallions, (about 1 bunch)

    3/4 cup diced Canadian bacon, (3 ounces)

    1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

    1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper

Preparation

    Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

    Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt in a large bowl.

    Whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil and butter in a medium bowl. Fold in scallions, bacon, cheese and bell pepper. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).

    Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins

I'm not even going to try to lie, these are decadent treats but oh so sweet (and you are sneaking in a bit of carrot there so you are getting some healthy goodness with your decadence, and pineapple is good for you too). This would be a great treat for a potluck or bake sale as they are individual and you won't need dishes for them. And again, they freeze well.

Ingredients

Topping

    2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

    2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, or pecans (optional)

    1 10-ounce can pineapple slices

Muffins

    3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

    3/4 cup all-purpose flour

    2 teaspoons baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

    2 large eggs

    1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

    1/4 cup canola oil

    2 tablespoons pineapple juice, or orange juice

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, (not drained)

    1 cup grated carrot, (1 large)

    1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

    3/4 cup raisins, preferably baking raisins (see Ingredient note)

    1/4 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans (optional)

Preparation

    Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

    To prepare topping: Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar into each muffin cup. Sprinkle nuts, if using, over the sugar. Stack pineapple slices and cut into 6 wedges. Place 2 wedges in each muffin cup.

    To prepare muffins: Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

    Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in oil, juice and vanilla. Stir in crushed pineapple. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in carrot, oats, raisins and nuts, if using. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (they'll be quite full).

    Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and firm to the touch, 15 to 25 minutes. Immediately loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a baking sheet. Restore any stray pineapple pieces and nuts. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve upside-down, either warm or at room temperature.


Fig and Goat Cheese Muffins

Per muffin: 272 calories; 9 g fat ( 2 g sat , 6 g mono ); 39 mg cholesterol; 44 g carbohydrates; 20 g added sugars; 6 g protein; 3 g fiber; 239 mg sodium; 184 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Iron (20% daily value).

Ingredients

    3/4 cup crumbled soft goat cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufch

    2 tablespoons honey

    1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

    1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

    2 cups white whole-wheat flour (see Note)

    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    2 large eggs

    1 large egg white

    3/4 cup packed dark or light brown sugar

    1 cup low-fat or nonfat buttermilk

    1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

    1 1/4 cups chopped dried figs

    3 tablespoons turbinado (see Note) or granulated sugar

Preparation

    Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.

    Thoroughly combine goat cheese (or cream cheese), honey, lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.

    Whisk flour (see Measuring Tip), baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Lightly beat eggs and egg white in a medium bowl; add brown sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in buttermilk and oil until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in figs.

    Spoon half the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Add 1 generous teaspoon of the reserved cheese filling to the center of each muffin, and cover with the remaining batter. (The filling should not be visible.) Sprinkle the muffins with sugar.

    Bake the muffins until the edges start to brown and the tops spring back when gently pressed, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.