Breakfast Pizza

This delicious recipe was inspired by this one from Our Best Bites.

French Toast Breakfast Pizzas
6 Whole Wheat English Muffins
4 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp. salt
10 dash's of Tabasco Sauce (optional, I have not tried it this way but have heard it adds a nice kick.)
12 thin slices of ham (sliced bite size) 10-12 slices of bacon crumbled
3/4-1 cup Cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella, Swiss, or whatever you want depending on the flavor profile your looking for.
assorted chopped veggies such as mushrooms, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, olives etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray to keep the egg from sticking.  (The recipe from our best bites recommends spraying aluminum foil.  This does not work nearly as well as the parchment paper so I recommend sticking with parchment.)  In a pie plate whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and Tabasco sauce.  Soak each half of the English muffin in the egg mixture.  The muffin should hold some egg but not fall apart.  Place the English muffin cut side up on the baking sheet.   Sprinkle a small amount of cheese over each muffin then place the ham, bacon, or other choice of meat on each muffin.  Place your assorted vegetables on the meat and then top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes and serve immediately. 

These can also be individually frozen for a quick breakfast.  Be sure to let them cool completely before putting them in the freezer.  When it comes time to thaw you can microwave for about 90 sec (depending on the power of your microwave).  If you have some extra time you can thaw them for about 45 seconds and then pop them in a 400 degree oven for about  5 minutes.  They will come out crisp and delicious.

Yummy pancake syrup

*Make in large pan because it foams up
5 cubes of butter
5 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cup buttermilk
 
Melt, take off heat before boiling. Then add:
 
5 teaspoons of vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda.
 
Stir until it stops foaming

baked oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal - Our Best Bites
3 cups regular oats (not quick-cooking)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoons salt
2  teaspoons  cinnamon
2  teaspoons  baking powder
3/4 cup craisins, raisins, dried cherries, or other dried fruit
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted or applesauce (I used applesauce and it tasted great)
2  teaspoons  vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and craisins.  In a smaller bowl, mix together the milk, butter, vanilla, and eggs.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and whisk to combine.  Pour into a deep 9" pie plate or an 8x8" or 9x9" baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes (mine took 30) or until the top is golden brown.  Serve immediately with a splash of warmed milk.  Serves 8.

Hot Eggs

½ cup butter                                      

1-8oz can chopped green chilies

10 eggs                                              

1 pint small curd cottage cheese

½ cup flour                                        

1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese – grated

1 teaspoon baking powder            

dash salt

Melt butter in 13x9x2 pan.   Beat eggs.  Add flour, baking powder, salt and blend well.  Add melted butter, chilies, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese.  Mix well.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 400° for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350° and bake 35-40 minutes longer.

This entire pan of eggs can be frozen for future meals or make individual servings and freeze to enjoy for a quick meal.  Best if thawed first and then reheated in the oven or microwave.

Sausage Biscuits

1/4 cup milk

2 cups Bisquick

1 egg

16 oz. ground sausage (uncooked)
12 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Combine the milk, Bisquick, and egg.  Add the raw sausage and grated cheese.  Mix well.
Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 min.
Makes about 2 dozen.

This works wonderfully to freeze and reheat when you need something quick.

Maple syrup recipe

2 cups water
4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp maple flavoring

Mix all ingredients and heat until just boiling.

Eggs Benedict Crepes

4 eggs

4 slices of ham

1 cup of shredded Swiss cheese

4 crepes already made

Hollandaise sauce (Knorr mix)

salt and pepper to taste

Make your Hollandaise sauce. Keep it warm by putting the lid on it.

Poach eggs by pouring each one into a skillet filled with simmering water (brought to a boil and then reduced to a simmer). Do this slowly by first breaking each egg into a small, tempered bowl and slowly pouring the egg into the simmering water. Swirl the egg white with a fork over the yolk so that it doesn't float away. Once all of the eggs are placed in the water, let simmer for 5 minutes, or until yolks are cooked to your preference.

Assemble crepes: Lay each crepe flat. Sprinkle half of the crepe with cheese and follow with a slice of ham. Fold over the other half. Place in a greased skillet over medium heat until cheese starts to melt. Flip over and warm the other side. It will get a slightly crisp crust. Transfer to serving plate and fold again, into quarters.

Place the poached egg on top of the folded crepe. Spoon Hollandaise sauce over the top and serve.

Variation: If you don't want to make crepes, you can serve the eggs over toasted English muffins.

Crepes

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup flour

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

½ cup warm water

3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

1 pinch salt

Place sugar, flour, salt, eggs and milk in a large bowl. Mix together using a whisk. Whisk in warm water. Add melted butter and whisk again. Strain batter through a sieve.

Lightly coat frying pan with Pam. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, pour in ¼ cup of batter. Tilt pan and rotate, causing batter to cover bottom of pan. (Do this quickly as the batter cooks quickly). Cook 1 minute or less, till crepe is browning on edges. Flip and cook another 30 seconds. Lift off and stack crepes on a plate.

Multigrain Bread

From ourbestbites.com who got it from Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup (6 1/4 ounces) seven-grain hot cereal mix
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour (not bread flour)
1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 oz) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
Optional (I omitted): 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

*If you’re using salted butter, just decrease the additional salt by just a bit.

Instructions
Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk flours together in separate bowl.

Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, butter, and yeast and mix on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until cohesive mass starts to form (*note: some at high altitudes have noted they have not needed all of the flour, go by look and feel and stop adding flour if you need to!) 1 1/2-2 minutes; cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2-3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does. Don’t add more!) continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Add seeds (if using) and knead for another 15 seconds. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, round ball. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half. Press 1 piece of dough into 9×6 inch rectangle, with short side facing you. Roll dough toward you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Turn loaf seam side up and pinch it closed. Repeat with second piece of dough. Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable il spray. Roll each loaf in oats to coat evenly and place seam side down in prepared pans, pressing gently into corners. Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size 30-40 minutes. Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.

Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until loaves register 200 degrees, 35-40 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before slicing and serving.

Storage: Bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrapped with additional layer of foil, bread can be frozen for up to a month.

For those without a stand mixer, Cook’s Illustrated recommends: “Stir wet and dry ingredients together with a stiff rubber spatula until the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, roughd ball, 15-25 minutes, adding additional flour, if necessary, to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. Proceed with recipe as directed.”

Pancakes or Waffles

4 eggs, separated

4 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup oil

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white flour

2 cups wheat flour

Mix, fold in stiff beaten egg white.

Coconut Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/3 cup butter

4 drops coconut extract

1 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Stir sugar and cornstarch together before adding liquid to prevent clumping. Bring to boil, thicken. Add vanilla.

Coconut Waffles

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoons baking powder

3 eggs

1 14 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

6 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup coconut

1/2 cup chocolate-flavored ice cream topping

1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds

Sweetened whipped cream or powdered sugar (optional)

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside. In another medium bowl lightly beat eggs; stir in coconut milk and melted butter. Stir in coconut. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy).

2. Pour 1/2 cup batter onto grids of a preheated, lightly greased waffle maker. Close lid quickly, do not open until done. Bake according to manufacturer's directions (about 3 minutes or until golden brown). When done, use a fork to life waffle off grid. Repeat with remaining batter. Drizzle baked waffles with topping, sprinkle with almonds, and top with whipped cream or dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Makes 8 waffles.

Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese

From cookinglight.com

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2/3 cup chopped reduced-fat ham (about 2 ounces)

1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

4 large egg whites

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ham; saute 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add ham mixture, stirring with a whisk. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at for 20 minutes or until set.