Favorite Over-night Waffles

My mother-in-law got me a waffle iron for my birthday and the recipes that came with it are awesome.  This one is my favorite.

Over-Night Waffles

You need to start this batter the night before you want to have the waffles unless you are having breakfast for dinner and then you need to make the batter in the morning.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbsp. white sugar

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

2 cups whole milk or whatever you have.

1/2 cup butter melted and cooled

1 tsp. salt

2 cups flour

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. baking soda.

The night before, combine the water, sugar, and yeast.  Let this sit until the yeast becomes foamy.  Add the milk, melted butter, and salt.  Then add the flour.  Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand.  Don't refrigerate it.  

In the morning add the rest of the ingredients.  Then follow the instructions on your waffle iron to cook them.  

My Favorite Granola Recipe

Granola

I got this recipe from my sister years ago and have never tried another recipe since.  It makes a ton, but we go through it fast.

Erin's Granola

Ingredients

2/3 cup water
3 cups brown sugar

2 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional)

9 cups rolled oats (I don't like quick oats)
3 cups puffed rice cereal
2 tsp. salt
1 cup slivered almonds or sunflower seeds

You can also add additional things like dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut, or anything really!

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  First mix the oats, puffed rice, salt, and almonds or seeds in a giant bowl.  Set aside.

Stir the water and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Boil for two minutes stirring to dissolve the brown sugar.

Add the vegetable oil and chosen extracts.

Add this liquid to the dry ingredients in the bowl.  Stir and make sure to get the bottom mixed in.

Pour into two large cookie sheets like jelly roll pans.

Bake for an hour stirring throughout at least twice.

Once the granola is nice and crunchy pull out of the oven and cool on parchment or wax paper.  I just spread it out on my kitchen table.  Then I put it in a big container like an old ice cream bucket.

We eat it on yogurt, in milk like normal cereal, and plain.  My daughter likes to mix in things and call her creations "trail mix".

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe on Food Network

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup chocolate chips plus ¼ cup for sprinkling on top

1 cup milk

1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. applesauce

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare muffin tin.

Combine dry ingredients and the wet separately.  Then mix them together and add the chocolate chips.  Spoon into muffin tins and sprinkle the ¼ cup chocolate chips on top of that.  Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Oatmeal Breakfast Cups to Freeze!

 I'm always looking for something healthy and fast to make for breakfast because I'm usually the last one to eat after I help my kids get ready, make their lunches, and feed them breakfast.  

So I found these Oatmeal Cups and fell in love.  Their healthy, fast, AND you can freeze them!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup banana or about 1 banana mashed

1/2 cup honey or some other kind of sweetener

5 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats

2 tbsp. flax seed meal (LOVE this stuff!)

1 tbsp. cinnamon ground

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups milk (I used powdered milk to try to use my food storage and water of course.)

Optional toppings: nuts, berries, raisins, chocolate chips

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

    Mix the wet ingredients: eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana, and honey.  Then mix in the dry ingredients.

You can either add in the extra toppings now so they are baked throughout the cup or you can sprinkle them on top and individualize them.  I used blueberries and chopped pecans in mine.  But if your kids like chocolate chips and you don't add some chocolate chips on the top of a few.

    Spray two muffin tins or put in cupcake liners.  Fill each muffin tin cup so they are all even.

    Add any extra toppings now and put the tins in the oven for 30 minutes until you can pierce it with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

     Cool on a rack completely and place in freezer bags.

     I pull out one or two oatmeal cups for breakfast and microwave them for 30-40 seconds.  

Green Monster Smoothie

Anyone else trying to be healthy right now?  Yeah, I thought so.  My old roomie from college posted this smoothie from pinterest on her blog and I tried it and need to share now.  Here is the link.  I know you are thinking, "That looks disgusting." but its not.  Its really good and healthy.  Can't beat that.  Just suck it up and try it.

Homemade English Muffins and Egg Sandwiches

I've been wanting to try to make my own English Muffins for a while.  The recipe I used was extremely vague on the times and stuff so I'm going to try to improve it for you.

English Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. white sugar
3/4 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup melted shortening
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

   Warm the milk in a saucepan until it bubbles then remove from heat.  Mix in the sugar.  Stir until dissolved.  Let this cool until its lukewarm in a large bowl you will be doing the mixing in (save yourself a dish!).  Dissolve the yeast in warm water in another bowl for about ten minutes.

  Combine the yeast and milk mixture in that large bowl.  Then add the shortening and 3 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Then add salt and the rest of the flour until it makes a soft dough.  I didn't use all of the flour.  Knead.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for an hour and 1/2 until doubled.

   Punch down.  Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick!  This is important!  Half of mine were too thick and 1/2 were too thin.  Cut out with anything you have that is round.  I used a glass.  Sprinkle cornmeal on top of a couple pans, place the muffins on the cornmeal, sprinkle some cornmeal on top of these, cover, and let these muffins rise for another 1/2 hour. 

   Heat a griddle and spray with non-stick spray.  Cook muffins on the griddle for about 10 minutes on each side.  Mine needed a little less time.  Then place in a 270 degree oven to keep warm while you make the rest.

Split and toast.  Spread with your favorite toppings.  Or make up some fried eggs, place some ham on top of that and you have a fantastic egg sandwich.

Enjoy!

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

I'm posting this recipe because I need a copy of it for myself.  I got it off the back of a box of Millville Bran Flakes.  They turned out great.  The baby loves them.

Banana Nut Bran Muffins

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

2 cups bran flakes cereal

1/3 cup milk

1 cup ripe bananas

2 egg whites

¼ cup butter, softened

½ chopped walnuts

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cereal, milk, and bananas.  Let it stand for two minutes until the cereal is softened.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add this and the butter to the cereal mixture. 

Add flour and walnuts.  Stir until just combined.  Pour into greased or lined muffin pans.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. 

Muffins

My husband was in charge of coffee hour at school last week and we decided to make tons of muffins.  Here are our favorite recipes from the event:  (All from one of my favorite blogs Get off Your Butt and Bake.)

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

Brown Sugar Crumble Banana Muffins

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS

MINI MONKEY BREAD

Definitely try her idea of adding orange rind to the butter to make orangey monkey bread.  It was so good!  I used my recipe for monkey bread dough though:

Monkey Bread 
First boil together:

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup water

When butter is melted take off the heat and place in the bowl you will be using to mix for it to cool completely.

Meanwhile dissolve 2 Tbsp. yeast into a cup of warm water. Let that sit for 10 minutes.

When the butter mixture is cool add the yeast, 2 beaten eggs, and six cups of flour.

Beat together until it is a uniform ball and place in the fridge for four hours.

My Sister's Granola

My sister sent me a canister of granola she had made a few weeks ago and I am now addicted to the stuff.
   I love it on yogurt with fresh blueberries and strawberries.  Umm... good.

Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:

2/3 c water
3 c brown sugar
2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional...I used both)
9 c rolled oats
3 c Rice Krispies
2 tsp salt
1 c slivered almonds or sunflower seeds
*any dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut, or other desired ingredients you wish to add

Directions:
1. Boil water and brown sugar for 2 minutes in a sauce pan stirring constantly.
2. Add vegetable oil and vanilla extract (and almond extract)
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together oats, Rice Krispies, salt, and sunflower seeds.
4. Add liquid and mix together
5. pour onto large cookie sheet (I suggest a jelly roll pan, or something with edges, to avoid granola spills in your oven-it is messy!)
6.Bake 1 hour at 250* turning twice with a spatula
7. After baking and cooling, add any dried fruit or candy/chocolate chips you desire

Raspberry Cheese Danish and a mini adaption

  I discovered this recipe a while back and its one of my husband's favorites.

    It makes four loafs and it also freezes well so its easy to store. I recommend making the whole recipe and then freezing the leftovers.

My husband had a great idea this week to try to make the individual size and I think they turned out great and are even easier to freeze and store.  Instructions at the bottom.

    Raspberry Cheese DanishAdapted from a Taste of Home magazine
What you need:

2 packages yeast (about 2 tbsp.)
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter or margarine cubed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour

For the filling:
One 8 oz. package of cream cheese and one 3 oz. package
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can (21 ounces) raspberry pie filling

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

   In a large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water.

In a saucepan mix the sour cream and cubed butter over medium heat to about 110 degrees. I used my candy thermometer. Stir often.

Add this to the yeast mixture. Then add sugar and eggs. Mix well.

Gradually add flour and mix well. Do not knead.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. I only put it in the fridge for four hours and it turned out fine.

For the filling: beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and extract until it is smooth.

Take the dough out and divide it into four equal sized balls. Roll onto a floured surface to make a 12x8 inch rectangle.

Spread a fourth of the cream cheese mixture into middle

and then 1/4 of the pie filing on top of that.

  Fold over the edges.

 Then fold it into thirds by folding over one flap.

  And then the next.

 Pinch the seems together and flip over onto on a well-greased cookie sheet or a Silpat. Cut with scissors or a knife to make diagonal cuts into the loaf.

 Repeat three more times. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. I put mine in the oven without the heat on. Then bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Careful that you don't burn it. They seem to brown quickly.
 Then drizzle on the glaze while its still warm. Cool and refrigerate leftovers or freeze it in aluminum foil when completely cool. Enjoy!

 To make them individual sized just roll out the dough and cut out about 6x3 rectangles.  Then dollop in the middle a Tbsp. of each of the fillings and then fold like you do the bigger ones.  Don't overfill or this happens...

 Or it just squeezes out the bottom. 

They take about 10-15 minutes to bake at this size.  Then just wrap them in foil to store in the freezer.  When you want one pop it in the microwave for a minute and drizzle on the glaze. 

Healthier Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe on foodnetwork

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup chocolate chips plus ¼ cup for sprinkling on top

1 cup milk

1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. applesauce

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare muffin tin.

Combine dry ingredients and the wet separately.  Then mix them together and add the chocolate chips.  Spoon into muffin tins and sprinkle the ¼ cup chocolate chips on top of that.  Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

Blueberry Bran Muffins
Adapted from recipe by Kathy Wood and Susie Clark with additions by Melissa Miner and myself...

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 cup oat bran
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of salt
I added two Tbsp. flax seed (optional)

1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 egg
1/4 cup oil (canola or olive)
1 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)
3/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
2 Tbsp. orange marmalade or raspberry jam

I didn't have any wheat bran so I substituted 1/2 cup white flour.... didn't want it too healthy :)

My friend also recommended adding 1/4 cup coconut, but my husband was already upset about my making a "healthy" recipe and he hates coconut so I didn't add it but I think it would have been good!

Mix the wet and the dry ingredients separately and then mix together. Add the blueberries last until just mixed. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Chocolate Chip Muffin Trial

So I've been looking for the best recipe for Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins so I tried two different recipes and made my family pick. The problem is we all liked a different one. So you decide. Which one is better.

I modified both recipes.
My favorite was this one by Nigella Lawson

Preheat your oven to 400.

Mix:
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 cup sugar

Then add:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Don't over mix. Pour into well greased muffin pan. Sprinkle with a few more chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes.

The next is from the Food Network Kitchens and was my husband's favorite.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Then add:
2 eggs
4 Tbsp. butter or margarine melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Then mix in 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes in a greased muffin pans.

Best French Toast

Alton Brown has again done something marvelous with a hum drum food. His French Toast is the best I've ever had. Try it.