Category Archives: breakfast

Pin 203, Nutella Pockets

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, bread, breakfast, chocolate, kid friendly and tagged with ,

This was a really simple and satisfying dessert to prepare with only 4 ingredients. If you like Nutella (and really who doesn’t?) then you’ll love biting into a warm pocket of bread that oozes with warm hazelnut chocolate spread.

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Here are my generic versions of the ingredients needed: crescent rolls in a tube and FoTella. Both bought at Aldi, my new favorite generic brand store. I’m sure my pockets cost half the price with these ingredients.

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Here’s the procedure: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pop open your crescent rolls and lay out 4 of them pinching the seems together. Then put 6 tablespoons spaced apart along one edge. You don’t have to measure but use at least a tablespoon, maybe more if you like.

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Fold over the dough and using a pizza cutter, cut in between each square. Crimp the edges with a fork. Dip the pockets in cinnamon sugar, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 – 12 minutes.

IMG_123120 minutes to make start to finish + Nutella and warm bread = instant gratification. Here’s the original pin.

202 to go………

It’s snowing and I’m freezing my nana’s off

Posted by suzyhomebaker in bread, breakfast, gluten free, ice cream, kid friendly, low-fat and tagged with

It is snowing out. And my bananas are already well frozen. Here’s how I do it.

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First I go to the store and buy bruised bananas from the discount rack. They are usually $0.50 to $0.75 for 10 t0 12. I peel them all, cut them in half and place them in one layer on a parchment covered baking sheet.

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Pop them in the freezer overnight at least and you have frozen bananas. Bag them in freezer bags for up to 6 months. Use them for shakes, smoothies, banana bread, banana ice cream, banana bites and whatever else you like.

Pin 220 & 219, Homemade Buttery Bisquick and 7UP Biscuits

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, bread, breakfast, kid friendly and tagged with , ,

I went into the city with my friend to celebrate her birthday and for brunch the next morning we hit up this place in the Bronx, the Clock Bar. The service was interesting, a bit condescending, they could not accommodate any substitutions, and I mean any, and they did not have ketchup. The ketchup thing was really weird considering they served home fries. Bizarre. But a menu item that everyone at the table ordered was the biscuits served with butter and honey. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture to post but let me tell you, they were delicious.

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With those buttery biscuits on my mind since then, I found this four ingredient recipe for biscuits that sounded good. I should have known they would not come close since one of ingredients is 7UP but, I figured I’d try them anyway.

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I found that I was out of Bisquick so I made my own using a recipe I found on Pinterest. Very simple to make with just a few ingredients.

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Recipe courtesy of campwander.blogspot.com

DIY Bisquick

Ingredients
2  C flour
1  t. baking powder
1  t. sugar
1/2  t. salt
1  stick of butter

Combine all ingredients, cut in the butter with a food processor or a pastry cutter and store in the refrigerator up to 4 months.  A single recipe fit a quart jar very nicely.

So the Bisquick was made and now for the biscuits. I realized I was missing one other key ingredient to the recipe, 7UP. I used the only substitution I had, and it was Fresca. You read me right. Fresca. Closest thing to 7UP in my house. So maybe that’s why my biscuits were less than amazing.

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I was hoping for a buttery, sweet, light and cakey biscuit but I got a dense, flat somewhat tasteless roll whose texture was almost undercooked. The kids and my husband liked them nonetheless but they hadn’t had those  buttery sweet restaurant biscuits to compare them to. So they weren’t a total loss. I will probably attempt them again but with the 7UP and maybe additional sugar sprinkled on top.

Recipe courtesy of monstermama.com

Ingredients

2 c Bisquick mix
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c 7up
1/4 c melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 450º. Cut sour cream into your Bisquick mix, then add 7up – it will make a soft dough. Now sprinkle your counter with a little Bisquick mix then add dough and pat it out. Melt butter and pour it into a 9″ square baking pan. Cut your biscuits up and arrange them in pan on top of melted butter. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

218 to go…………

Pin 239, Bruleed Grapefruit

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, breakfast, gluten free, low-fat, Transformation and tagged with ,

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I don’t usually eat grapefruit. I’ll juice it once in a while but I won’t slice one in half and dig in. But if someone tells me to smother it in sugar and stick it under the broiler, then I’ll go out and buy 6 of them. Which is what I did here. 6 for $1.99 to be exact. I tried the recipe out with a substitution since I can’t use brown sugar right now (diet). I used about 1 tablespoon of agave syrup instead. I’m sure the results were not as yummy as they could have been but they were still yummy nonetheless. The grapefruit was very juicy and the carmelized, warm syrup was a delicious contrast to the bitter grapefruit. Nice for breakfast. Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe: Continue reading →

Pin 252, Apple Cinnamon Crock Pot Oatmeal

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, breakfast, gluten free, kid friendly, low-fat, Transformation and tagged with , , , ,

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Last night I was trying to choose which pin to post for today. I have a couple I’m working on. But I decided to try this crock pot recipe for oatmeal. I thought it would make Monday morning getting ready for school a little easier. Well, it didn’t really do that since my 5-year-old wanted waffles and yogurt. However the 2-year-old, who always eats mine or my husband’s morning oatmeal, did eat it. Sort of. She ate some and then smeared the rest all over the table. Which is very typical for her these days. She’s into cleaning the table and her hands with food. Always fun to clean up. Continue reading →

Pin 254, Peanut Butter Banana Protein Ice Cream

Posted by suzyhomebaker in 261 Days Pinned Challenge, breakfast, gluten free, ice cream, kid friendly, low-fat and tagged with , , ,

I have been wanting to make this one for a while now. I really had my doubts about how it would turn out. I mean, how good could it really be without cream? Ice cream must have cream right? It’s in the name for goodness sake. But I promise you, there is no cream needed here. This is a delicious alternative that contains only three ingredients in my case. I’m sure you can leave the bananas all alone and not add any additional goodies. I’m sure it would taste fine. But I love peanut butter and there was no way this ingredient wasn’t going in. The original recipe on userealbutter.com calls for cocoa powder which I will definitely try next time. I added a scoop of vanilla protein powder because I wanted the extra protein. And since its not really ice cream, you could technically eat this any time of day. How good would this be between two warm waffles or plopped on top of your pancakes? So good! And so not bad for you. I think this could be an ideal dessert for weight watchers participants since, as far as I can remember, bananas are now zero points. At least I think they are, don’t quote me on that. Continue reading →

Nutella and Banana stuffed Crepes

Posted by suzyhomebaker in breakfast, chocolate, kid friendly, Uncategorized and tagged with , ,

Riley requested pancakes one Saturday morning. I was bored of pancakes. I had Nutella in the pantry and a Crepes Suzette recipe that I wanted to try out. Minus the Suzette. Sorry Suzy. Nutella always trumps the Suze. I will admit, the kids weren’t really into them. Not sure what was up with that. How could anyone pass up Nutella. It’s beyond me. I will say this, Derek and I loved them. Nuf said. Continue reading →

Good Morning Glory Muffins

Posted by suzyhomebaker in breakfast, cake, kid friendly, muffin

I made these at the bakery a lot. They are so good. Sooooo moist. Look at all the moist ingredients. Pineapple, apples, raisins……they are delicious. Make them for the kids, for breakfast, for whatever. They freeze well and taste even yummier with a glob of cream cheese. Did I mention they were moist?

Ingredients

  • 1- 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2- 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
  • 3/4 cup raisins
  • 1 large apple, peeled and grated
  • 1 cup grated zucchini
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Sift or whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, zucchini, carrots, and nuts, and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with muffin cups, filling each to the brim. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Aunt Linda’s Zucchini Bread

Posted by suzyhomebaker in bread, breakfast, cake, chocolate, kid friendly

Recipe two from the Zep shore weekend is my Aunt Linda’s delicious zucchini bread. Since there were two zucchini breads waiting at the house, I decided to use chocolate chips in mine. I think it was quite successful since there was just a small slice left by the end of the weekend. The kids really seemed to like it and I’m sure it was due to the chocolate chips. No, I know it was because of the chocolate chips. One kid even called it a cookie. This cake is very moist and chock full of zucchini so it’s kinda good for you too. And now is the time to get your zucchini at the farmer’s market. I know no one wants to bake in this heat but this cake is very fast to make so you won’t be in the kitchen for hours. And it’s a great snack or quick breakfast. For some extra decadence, spread some cold cream cheese over top.

Continue reading →

Grandma Zep’s Blueberry Pecan French Toast

Posted by suzyhomebaker in bread, breakfast, kid friendly

Just the name of this recipe should make your mouth water. This is one of the first meals we ate down at the Zep’s shore house this past weekend and it was, in a word, decadent. And there was no chocolate involved I promise. It was rich and buttery, and the bread was drenched in that mix of egg and milk custard that makes french toast, well, french toast. And on top, soft warm blueberries and toasted pecans. This is a serious breakfast. You do need to soak the bread overnight so that it really soaks up that custard. If you want to make this for a special weekend guest, my advice to you: don’t get too drunk the night before lest you forget to soak your bread and instead be serving cereal for breakfast. Not impressive.

Ingredients

  • 12 slices of french bread
  • 6 eggs
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen? are you kidding)
  • 1/4 c butter, melted
  • 1/2 c brown sugar

Butter a large roasting pan. Lay bread in the pan.

In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and 1 cup brown sugar. Pour over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and sprinkle blueberries over the soaked bread. Set aside. On a baking sheet, sprinkle pecans and pour 1/4 cup melted butter over top. Roast in oven for 8 minutes, remove pan and pour over bread mixture. Then mix 1/4 cup melted butter and brown sugar and pour over entire french toast. Increase oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until custard is set. Let it cool for 5 – 10 minutes, cut and serve. No need for maple syrup here.