Tag Archives: breakfast

Mama’s Famous Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread2So my mom’s famous chocolate chip banana bread is actually from a recipe! She does make a few tweaks to the recipe (like the addition of chocolate chips!!!) and she uses honey instead of brown sugar for a moist bread. I gotta give the woman some credit. She also has a secret trick–after she butters the loaf pan, she dusts a little sugar on pan so when baked, the outside of the bread has a sugary crunch. So good.

Chocolate Chip Banana BreadThis bread takes me back. Way back. I’ve been eating this bread since I was a wee thing. Home to me smells like freshly baked banana bread. Unfortunately, I don’t eat it now because of the wheat, but I love giving it as a gift. A small loaf of bread is such a good gift, don’t you agree? This is also a great recipe to use up those too brown bananas. It’s super versatile, ya’ll.

This recipe makes two small loafs or one large loaf.

Banana bread recipeNotes: Try honey instead of brown sugar, add 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of nuts and make sure to dust that pan with sugar! We don’t want to be too healthy 🙂

Do you have recipes that remind you of home? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

 

Protein-Packed Pancakes

protein packed pancakesI’ve yet to find a protein powder that doesn’t taste like chalky chemicals or dirt. I’ve tried the organic, pea proteins, the body builder proteins, I’ve tried the ones that taste like “cake” (aka toilet bowl water) and the ones that taste like “cappuccino” (aka toilet bowl cleaner). I’ve yet to try a protein powder that I can drink just mixed with water. But not wanting to be wasteful and knowing I couldn’t gag down another smoothie (there’s only so much berries will cover up), I started making protein pancakes. God knows what Pinterest/blog/Internet hole I fell down to find my original recipe. But here’s the one I usually use. It’s not quite your usual fluffy pancake, but it gives you almost 30 grams of protein and doesn’t taste like dirt, so that’s an improvement!

protein packed pancakes with peaches!Ingredients
1.5 scoops of vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 tbsp of all-purpose gluten-free flour
2 eggs
A splash of milk

2 tbsp butter
Cinnamon and honey or maple syrup for topping

Melt 1 heaping tbsp of the butter in a pan over the stove top on low. Mix the 1st 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Put about 1/3 of the batter in the hot pan. When batter begins to bubble, flip over the pancake. Repeat until batter is gone. To finish, top with butter, cinnamon and honey or maple syrup.

Easy right?

Is there a protein powder that you love? Let me know about it in the comments!

love,
melanie

No Flour, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Paleo Bread

wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, paleo breadI have so much to share with you all. So many road trip pictures and so many good times. As much as I want to share the pictures, I have a million and one things to do before I get back to work tomorrow and editing those pictures isn’t one of them. But this bread recipe is! You lucky ducks.

One of my favorite things on the road is a good old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But since gluten and I are not friends, before the trip I was looking for easy gluten-free bread recipes. Gluten-free bread is expensive ya’ll and most gluten-free bread recipes call for about 10 ingredients, none of which I keep on hand. So when I came across this recipe on Pinterest, (adapted from this recipe) I knew I had to give it a go.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • Pinch of salt

Paleo breadPreheat oven to 300 degrees.  Grease bread pan with butter or coconut butter.

Whip the egg whites  and cream of tartar in a large bowl with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a second bowl,  mix the the sour cream, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until fully incorporated.

Gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Fold in the remaining whites. Be careful at this stage so you don’t deflate the whites.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Insert a tooth pick to ensure bread is cooked through. Cut and eat immediately. It’s best while still warm!

Easy gluten-free breadThis bread baked up really pretty. But I must say, it’s no substitute for real bread. I think this would make a lovely breakfast smeared with a little jelly, but I won’t be taking it on the road. It’s delicious, but it isn’t the fluffy, slice-able, sandwich bread I was looking for. I’ll definitely be making this again, but I think I’ll be skipped the PB & J sandwiches for this road trip.

What are your favorite road trip snacks? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Chewy Breakfast Cookies

gluten free oatmeal breakfast cookiesOne day I’ll have time for long, luxurious breakfasts where I can lounge in my matching PJs on my wrap-around porch and actually eat breakfast with a fork. But today is not that day. And tomorrow doesn’t look good either. That’s why I’ve been trying my hand at more portable breakfasts. As much as I love my crustless quiche, sometimes I barely have time to make coffee in the morning. And let’s be real, coffee takes precedence above pretty much everything. But the lure of cookies and coffee?! That’ll get me out of bed.

breakfast cookiesThese are admittedly healthier than your everyday cookies. You gotta start your day right. These cookies are sweet, but not overly so and packed with plenty of natural energy to power through even the Monday-iest of Mondays.

Ingredients
1/4 cup of salted butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of sunbutter (peanut or almond butter would work too)
3 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of chopped cashews
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sea salt for sprinkling

easy gluten free breakfast barsPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, butter and honey in a bowl and beat until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat again. Add sunbutter and mix. Finally, stir in the oats, walnuts and cashews. To keep these cookies solid, I baked them in muffin tins. I greased the tin, then filled the tins half full and lightly pressed down the dough. These cookies can also be made into bars! To make into bars, press into a greased cake pan. Cookies bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Bars bake for approximately 25 minutes. Oats will brown when cookies and bars are finished.  Let muffins cool on a rack, let the bars cool in the cake pan. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle (or spread!) over cookies (or bars!). Sprinkle with sea salt.

Let’s tackle tough mornings together!

love,
melanie

Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Bread

Sweet potato bread, gluten freeThis isn’t your fluffy, white, B- student bread. Oh no. This is his cousin… twice removed. If this bread had a name, his name would be Barry and he would give you a beat down on the playground– behind the slide where no one can rescue you. Barry is dense. He’s a little chewy. Some may call him hefty. He’s got meat on his ribs, but underneath his tough exterior, he’s more akin to a fruitcake, not the rack of ribs he pretends to be.

gluten-free sweet potato breadIf you’re looking for a prissy, pretty bread, this isn’t your jam. But if you need a little more heft to your breakfast bread (or lunch, or dinner, I don’t judge), Barry, I mean this sweet potato bread is it.

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potato until tender. Keep oven on!
  2. Remove the skin and puree in a blender or food processor with 1/4 cup of the milk.
  3.  Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat again.
  4. Mix together dry ingredients (minus the pecans and chocolate chips) in a separate bowl.
  5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet about 1/4 of a cup at a time. After each scoop of dry, add a bit of the remaining 1/2 cup of milk.
  6. Fold in the pecans and the chocolate chips.
  7. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. And add dough.
  8. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.
  9. Check to see if dough is cooked by pricking with a toothpick or a fork. The toothpick or fork should come out clean. Make sure press the toothpick all the way to the bottom. This bread can look done on top and be completely raw on the bottom.

Make friends with Barry. He’s dense, but filling.

love,
melanie

 

 

Cranberry Sauce French Toast

french toast with cranberry sauceMy dad said he was sick of turkey the day after Thanksgiving. That man does not like leftovers. But me, I’m down with the cold turkey. I could happily eat a turkey sandwich every day. Plus, leftovers are like finding pre-made meals in your own fridge!

And although I like leftovers, I also like to mix things up a bit. This morning I plopped a little bit of warm cranberry sauce on my french toast. It was delightful.

Can we talk about how easy it is to make cranberry sauce? I’ve never understood why people buy the canned stuff. It takes two seconds to make and it doesn’t have that creepy can shape.

cranberry french toastHere’s my ultra-easy, tangy cranberry sauce recipe:
Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of cranberries
  • 1/4 heaping cup of brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • Zest from 1/2 a small lemon
  • Juice from a small lemon

Directions
Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Then, turn down the heat to low and simmer until sauce reaches a more gelatinous consistency (usually about 10 minutes).

Serve warm over french toast (gluten-free, for me) and a drizzle of maple syrup! Ya’ll don’t need directions for french toast, do you? I love the tang of cranberry sauce and the sweetness of the toast.

How are you using your holiday leftovers? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Crustless Quiche

gluten free, dairy free quiche If there was an Olympics for taking on more than you can handle, I’d be winning the gold, silver and bronze. And it’s my fault, I know. I seek out the craziness. It’s one of my very few character faults. 🙂

I knew this week was going to be brutal, so I planned ahead. I’m also good like that. Here’s one of my favorite plan-ahead breakfasts. It’s great for those days when even making a smoothie is too time-consuming. Just grab, go and heat it up at work before your morning meeting. Or cram it in your mouth while changing lanes on your morning commute. 

crustless, gluten-free quicheIngredients
1 lb of ground sausage
Veggies of your choice (I used sautéed zucchini and topped with tomatoes)
6 eggs
1 cup of almond (or regular) milk
1/4 cup of nondairy liquid creamer (or half-and-half)

Brown sausage and sauté your veggies. Wisk eggs, milk and creamer together. Add sausage and veggies to egg mixture. Top with tomatoes if you want to make it look half-way presentable. If not, I won’t judge. This is a working (wo)man’s breakfast. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until the center is set– about 30 minutes.

Easy as quiche.

love,
melanie

Breakfast Pizza

Pizza with an egg on top!
Pizza with an egg on top!

It’s no surprise that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. My first date with George was actually to iHop. On the weekdays, we usually don’t have enough time to make an elaborate breakfast, but on the weekends, we go all out. This weekend we wanted to try something different.

We are also obsessed with pizza. (Who isn’t?!) George and I would eat pizza every night of the week if we could. So we decided to combine two of out favorite things: pizza and breakfast!

We made this breakfast pizza from a store-bought, gluten-free crust. We topped it with pizza sauce, cheese, pre-cooked sausage and uncooked eggs, then baked according to the directions written on the crust. It tasted amazing! And as George and I like to say, “Put it on the menu!”

How have you reinvented your standard meals? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Bed and Breakfast

DSC_1034 DSC_1036 DSC_1037 DSC_1040Can you see me?!
DSC_1047Old fireplaces are so gorgeous. The tile alone has me dreaming of owning a historic home.
DSC_1053

DSC_1055This weekend my parents came to visit. It was my mom’s birthday, so it was extra special. My parents stayed at a local bed and breakfast, The Packhouse Inn— both Ronald Reagan and Dolly Parton stayed there! My dad complained about how cold the house was, but it was a truly beautiful home.

On Sunday morning, we were able to eat breakfast with my parents and tour the home. I adore old houses. I’d love to own an old home, one day. New houses just don’t seem to have the details of old homes.

What did you all do this weekend?

love,
melanie

 

Gluten-free, Puffy, Berry Pancake

pancake

After discovering my gluten-intolerance, I haven’t really missed bread, pasta or traditional desserts very much. The one thing I did miss was pancakes. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day– and it’s the most important, right? And nothing, I mean nothing, gets me out of bed faster than a piping hot cup of coffee and a giant pancake.

Gluten-free, Puffy Berry Pancakes (adapted from Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of fresh or frozen berries (I used frozen raspberries and strawberries)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat butter and berries in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet over medium heat.

As berries heat, separate eggs into two bowls, one for egg whites and one for yolks. Beat the egg whites until peaks form. Then, add the vanilla and cinnamon to the egg yolks and whisk by hand. Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites.

Pour the egg mixture on top of the fruit in the skillet and spread it out evenly. Cook on the stove for 2 minutes on medium heat. Move the pan to the oven and cook for 12 minutes or until the pancake is puffy and brown on the edges.

Remove from the oven and top with butter and powdered sugar or a drizzle maple syrup!

What is your favorite meal of the day?
love,
melanie