Energy Bites

I'm always looking for easy breakfast and snack items that we can grab and go. I found a recipe for engery bites from Gimme Some Oven and I made them last week. I really enjoy the taste and they are full of tasty goodness. The addition of flaxseed gives extra fiber and protects against all kinds of disease. I got my flaxseed at the Newport Health Food Store and used a coffee grinder to grind the seeds for this recipe because I don't have a spice grinder.

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup toasted coconut flakes (bake shredded coconut on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it - burns fast!)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until well combined. Refrigerate for 30 minutes then roll into 1 inch balls. Store in an air tight container between layers of wax paper. Keep refrigerated when you can.

I have kept them on my desk during the day and they are fine - just a little soft.

You can add other ingredients too like dried cranberries or use other nut butters.

Again, thank you Gimme Some Oven! Love your blog!

Bacon in the Oven

My mom made this bacon for BLTs recently and it was so delicious! I gave it a try this weekend. It's super simple.

You need bacon and brown sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack on the sheet. I used a cooling rack or you can use a rack from your roasting pan.

Place the slices of bacon on the rack. Sprinkle just a little bit of brown sugar on each piece of bacon.

Bake for 15 minutes and then flip the slices of bacon. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until it reaches your desired crispiness.


I put sugar on both sides of my bacon and it can out caramelized and super sweet - it was more like a candy than a breakfast side dish but I loved it! Remember, a little sugar goes a long way. Although, as I was eating this I was thinking, this would be so good on a Christmas cookie platter. ha!

Cranberry Raspberry Smoothie

1 banana, frozen and peeled

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

a handful of fresh cranberries

1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt

1/2 cup orange juice

2 Tablespoons honey

Combine all ingredients in a blend. Blend until smooth. Taste. Add more honey if not sweet enough.

Recipe from nutritionist Kim Hahn

Banana Bread

On Saturday, I was planning a nice day at my parents house with lots of recipes to try. No other plans for the day but really making treats and eating them. What I did not plan for was a ton of snow that caused the power to go out. So instead of baking (watching tv, doing laundry, etc.) my mom and I enjoyed cold pizza and candlelight.

But the next morning the power was back and I had some very ripe bananas that needed to be used so I found a recipe for banana bread from Simply Recipes and gave it a try. It was super delicious and moist. I left half for my parents and took the other half home and it really only lasted us a few hours. I will be making more very soon!

I usually prefer nuts in my bread but this version doesn't call for any. And I was ok with that! This makes only one loaf and I like to think that's good so I don't consume too much but then I really miss it when it's gone.

Thanks, Simply Recipes!

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed (I used 4)
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat overn to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to mix butter into the mashed bananas. Then mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Golden Malted Pancakes

I use Bisquik a lot. It's my go-to base for pancakes and waffles, as well as shortcakes and chicken tender breading. Unless I am making a specialty pancake or waffle recipe, I just think Bisquik makes good, fluffy treats. We eat waffles and pancakes on weekend mornings when we're home and have no plans. For a shower gift, I got Golden Malted Waffle & Pancake Flour from Williams-Sonoma and just over the weekend, I tried it out. You simply add milk, an egg and melted butter to the flour mix and you're ready for the hot griddle.

These cakes turned out very well, but different than Bisquik pancakes. They were thinner, which meant you could eat more :) And since the batter was quite thin, it made a lot of crispy, slightly sweet pancakes.


Thanks, Emily, for this great gift!

Pumpkin Waffles

These waffles are a great fall treat. I just love anything pumpkin! This was the first pumpkin recipe of the season for me and the smell of the pumpkin and spices were so good! I have a whole slue of pumpkin recipes lined up for the fall.

This recipe is not complex but it does require a few bowls and a mixer.

I made these in a regular round waffle iron but they would be great in a Belgian waffler!

Ours were topped with fresh whipped cream sweetened with sugar.

Recipe from the Pumpkin Waffle Blog (where else??).

1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Plug in and heat waffle iron.

Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dr ingredients, and whisk to blend.

Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form - about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine and will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

Slide the egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white is obvious.

Once the waffle iron is heated, you're ready to pour in the batter. Because the color of the batter is darker than a regular batter, it is hard to tell when the waffle is done. Make sure it is cooked long enough to a good crispiness.

I'm in love....

... with a new instant oatmeal!
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Growing up I never liked instant oatmeal, especially the traditional Quaker's variety. Then one day a free sample of Quaker's Simple Harvest oatmeal came with the Sunday paper and I really enjoyed it! After buying it a few times, it disappeared from the grocers' shelves.
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So a few months ago I came across another oatmeal called Oat Revolution. The tall slender shape of the box really grabbed my eye. But what really sucked me in was the $1.19 price tag for 5 servings. I thought, what the heck?!, I should just give it a try. And what do you know, I love it!
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I eat it for breakfast at work or for a mid afternoon snack. The pouch the oats comes in is also a measuring cup so you know how much water to add. Then in 90 seconds in the microwave it's ready!





I have only found Oat Revolution at some, not all, stores that carry the Sur Fine brand, which around where I live is Karns. I have not found it at Giant yet.



I like to stock up on the Maple & Brown Sugar and the Cinnamon Roll.



What a satisfying snack for when I don't have the time and ingredients to make my favorite hot breakfast cereal, Bulgar Porridge. I recommend grabbing a box if you can find it!!
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Granola

I have been meaning to make granola for awhile. It's a good snack and can usually be made with ingredients you have on hand.

Adam ate most of the granola from this recipe. He loves it with yogurt and a sliced banana. I actually like to eat it plain. I have to make more very soon!

2 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup slivered almonds or chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dried fruit - I used golden raisin - cherries or crasins would be good
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and coated with non-stick spray.

Toast oats, almonds, cinnamon and salt together in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 7-8 minutes.

Combine dried fruit, coconut and brown sugar in a large bowl; add toasted oat mixture.

Stir syrup into oat mixture and mix well.

Spread granola onto prepared baking sheet; bake 7 minutes, stir, bake 7 minutes more.

Let cool on baking sheet and store in air tight container.


This recipe is adapted from Cuisine at Home

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Chunky Monkey Pancakes!

I have made several other recipes from Our Best Bites and they have all been a hit. So I was not surprised when I tried their Chunky Monkey Pancakes and they turned out heavenly!

I follow Our Best Bites on Twitter and read their blog a lot. The two friends that journal their recipes are just so sweet and they seem trustworthy to me so I feel very confident that their recipes will be delicious. And they always are.

I made Chunky Monkey Pancakes on Saturday and they we were like eating a sweet dessert for breakfast, which I loved! It's a good way to start a Saturday.





Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

1 1/2 C flour
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C buttermilk *
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs canola oil
1 large or extra large egg
2 small-med ripe bananas
1/4 C mini chocolate chips (or reg. chips roughly chopped) tossed with 2 tsp flour
Cooking Spray or butter for pan

1 C maple syrup
1/2 C peanut butter

*As a substitute for buttermilk, place 1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice or vinegar in a 1 1/2 C measuring cup and then fill the remainder with milk.

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined. Place bananas in a bowl and roughly mash with a fork. Fold into batter. Add the chocolate chips that have been tossed with flour and stir.

For syrup, heat peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add maple syrup and gently whisk to combine. Heat in the microwave for another 30 seconds, whisk, and then set aside.

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Coat pan with little butter and then pour on pancake batter. Use1/4 C batter for large pancakes (4-6') and 2 T for kid-sized ones (2-3'). Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip.

Reheat syrup if necessary and pour over warm pancakes.
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French Breakfast Puffs by The Pioneer Woman

Doing more cooking from The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. Love the book! Thanks again Bec!

I made muffins - or French Breakfast Puffs - last Saturday morning. These were so good and hard to stop at 1. Or 2.

For Muffins:

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon gound nutmeg

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup Crisco shortening

2 whole eggs

1 cup milk

For topping (this is less than the PW calls for because I had a lot left over):

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another large bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. Then add eggs and mix again.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.

Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Once out of the oven move muffins to a cooling rack.

In a bowl, melt the butter. In a seperate bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon.

Dip baked muffin tops (PW says to dip entire muffin but I find if you do the tops, it's enough) in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

These are a great treat! I had enough batter to make about 14 muffins but because I didn't have any other muffin tins or small baking cups, I just made a few huge muffins and it turned out fine.

I used to make a recipe very similar to this from Martha Stewart only I used a mini muffin tin. You could do that here and reduce baking time.

Here's a muffin I coated all over. It was just too sugary for my taste.

Poached Egg with Salmon on Pumpernickel Toast

Recently I learned to poached an egg. It wasn't really hard. I was nervous about the water being the right temperature before I put the egg in but it all turned out well. I don't really like eggs but knew Adam would and he did!

Easy poached eggs from Everyday Food, March 2010:

In a 12-inch straight sided skillet, heat 2 inches water over medium heat until bubbles cover the bottom and side of the pan. Crack each large egg into a seperate small bowl (do not use eggs with broken yolks). When a few bubbles have broken the surface of the water, gently pour each egg into the pan, leaving room between them.

Cook eggs, undisturbed, while the white is just set and yolk is still runny, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to gently release eggs from the bottom of pan, if necessary.

Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs from water, blot the bottom of the spoon on a paper towel to remove excess water before serving.



Adam ate his poached egg on top of toasted pumpernickel bread with cream cheese and smoked Nova Scotia salmon (I think thinly sliced Norweigan smoked salmon would have been better but it was not available at the store - it has a less harsh fishy taste and is lighter in color). You can also add a few capers with this combo too.

You can also eat a poached egg on an english muffin with hollandaise sauce as eggs Benedict or on top of a salad or on top of toast with cream cheese and a tomato slice.

New take on "tea"

I get sooo many magazines every month. Fashion and cooking are my favorite - so much I want to buy and cook out there. Sometimes I never get to take the time I want to really read every magazine. And I never get to try all the recipes I find.

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It's been quite sometime since I've read one of Martha's Living magazines. Over the weekend I looked through the March edition and found many things I want to make. She featured ideas on how to make "tea" with your French press. I put tea in quotes because it is what we refer to as tea but not tea because the tea plant is not being used.

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I bought this beautiful little French press in Paris when I was there studying in 2006. I don't use it much but I want to start - soon I'm heading to One Good Woman to get some coarse ground beans.

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Anyway, Martha suggested some ways to make 'tea'. I made the thyme, apple and ginger brew. I sliced one apple, 5 pieces of fresh ginger and rinsed a handful of thyme sprigs; put it all in the bottom of the French press and poured boiling water on top. I let it steep for 10 minutes, pushed down the press and poured myself a cup. The 'tea' is nearly clear but I could distintly taste all 3 of the flavors. A great way to use up the fresh thyme (leftover from a fish dish). I didn't even need sweetener and I'm a big Splenda fan.

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I'm definitely going to try this 'tea' method with mint leaves this summer.

Snow Day Breakfast

As the snow falls outside, our puppy woke us up early this morning, begging to play. After a short romp in the snow, we went inside to make blueberry pancakes and hot cocoa.
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The pancakes were simply made from Bisquick, which is admittingly, my favorite way to make pancakes. I've tried lots of homemade recipes but Bisquick pancakes always turn out the best!
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For the cocoa, I searched allrecipes.com for a recipe and came across Drew's World Famous Triple Rush Hot Chocolate. What I made was adapted from Drew:
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2 cups 2% milk
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons instant coffee granuales
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 dashes chili powder
1/2 cup heavy cream - you could add more milk to thin it out, but I had heavy cream to use and Adam would get mad if I'd use all the milk :)
;

In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate chips in the milk over medium heat, stirring very frequently. Once all the chips are melted, reduce to low heat and add the coffee, cinnamon and chili powder. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in heavy cream. You should drink this right away but if you have leftovers, you'll have to reheat and whisk it well before enjoying for the second time (I'll be doing this later today!).
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This is very rich cocoa but all the flavors happening in the little cup are to die for!!

The chocolate chips melting in the milk for the cocoa.

On a different note, I am in love with Script's song, Breakeven. Give it a listen.

Dark Chocolate Chip Scones

I get the Brown Eyed Baker newsletter by email and all of her goodies look so tasty! I've been wanting to try these chocolate chip scones for awhile becuase I've had all the ingredients except the heavy cream but due to grocery store shortages and my distraction with other projects, Adam finally just went and found me the cream last night. And thank goodness because these have been a special treat this morning. I love that they are so easy to make and not overly sweet.

Dark Chocolate Chip Scones

Yield: 24 scones
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups (12-oz) package dark chocolate chips - I used Hershey's Special Dark chips
2 cups chilled heavy cream
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Additional sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

Stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in chocolate chips.

Stir whipping cream into flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are moistened.

Turn mixture out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently until soft dough forms (about 2 minutes). Divide dough into three equal balls. One ball at a time, flatten into 7-inch circle; cut into 8 triangles. Transfer triangles to prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar, if desired.

My First Blogiversary celebrated with Blueberry Orange Muffins

This time 365 days ago I sat down to write my first blog post on Hope in the Kitchen. 187 posts later, I am thrilled with the results. I've tried cooking some things I've never cooked before, visited some great restaurants and met some fun people. I hope my writing has been a source of entertainment for you all, if nothing else.

It is my 2010 New Year Resolution to publish more posts. Since I've met Adam, our lives have been so wonderfully busy. And then we added to our little family when we brought Baxter home 6 weeks ago. I just get caught up with the greatness of my friends, family and boyfriend, that I don't make time to cook. I'm going to work harder to spend more time in the kitchen with my trusted (and handsome) assistant and our little (but growing quickly) pup at our feet waiting for scraps to fall (sometimes directly into his mouth).

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I want to do a series on 20 Healthy Foods. I was thinking 20 Foods in 20 Days but then I got to thinking harder, and more realistically, then reconsidered. So this 20 foods project will be featured along with a recipe but it may take more more than 20 days. These 20 Healthy Foods series is inspired by an article in Oprah's January 2010 edition of the O Magazine.

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Today is the first day of 20 Healthy Foods and I am featuring blueberries, which are packet full of wholesome nutrients. Maybe muffins aren't the best way to eat these sweet little bluies, but I couldn't resist the recipe.

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In addition to containing high levels of age defying antioxidants, from O I've learned blueberries contain anthocyanins, a plant compound that may have antidiabetic effects. Also, through new research, blueberry nutrients have showed to protect heart muscle from damage.

So this morning I was feeling extra ambitious and surprisingly woke up at 6 am to make blueberry orange muffins. These rather healthy muffins are less sweet than traditional blueberry muffins and have a rather long and diverse ingredient list. The use of brown sugar makes the sweetness more pleasant than white sugar.

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Adapted from Eating Well.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries (I used Dole frozen blueberries, thawed)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 12 muffin tin with liners.

Whisk all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Whisk egg, egg white and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add yogurt, orange zest, orange juice, oil and vanilla; whisk until blended.

Make a well in the dry ingredients; add wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar. Bake until tops are golden and spring back when touched lightly, 20 minutes - be sure not to overbake because they will get very brown very quickly. Carefully remove muffins from pan and let cool on cooling rack.

Made sure not to let too much of the liquid from the bag of frozen berries into the batter.

Bulgur Breakfast Porridge

Now I've never been a fan of hot oatmeal - as a child or now - until I tried Quaker's Simply Harvest Instant Oatmeal. It was super good! Then one day I couldn't find it in the grocery store so I assumed it was discontinued (or my specific grocer dropped it from inventory) and kind of forgot about hot cereals until about a month ago...

I recently bought bulgur to make tabbouleh so I had some extra in the pantry. Shortly after, I found this recipe in an Everyday Food magazine (forget the issue) and thought it would be a filling breakfast. It is and to me, it's a nicer, more delicate consistency than oats.

1/2 cup medium-grind bulgur

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup milk

1 cup water

pinch salt

brown sugar

berries

In a medium saucepan, combine bulgur, raisins, milk, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Continue to simmer on medium heat, stirring often, for 15 minutes - until it's the consistency of oatmeal. Serve with brown sugar and berries.

This recipe serves 2.

I've made it twice - the first time with fresh strawberries and the second time with thawed frozen blueberries (pictured).

Billy D's Ice Cream Shoppe and Bakery

Greg and I have been watching for the opening of a new ice cream shoppe/bakery on Linglestown Road. After much anticipation and curiosity, Billy D's opened their doors about a month ago and we've visited a few times. They carry several flavors of Hershey's ice cream and feature lots of sundae combinations and a long list of toppings. We have yet to try ice cream there because Greg and I made a deal that we have to finish our Easter candy before we can go out for ice cream... I'm working on that candy as I type!


Their bakery goods are fresh and delicious. I recently tried the Maine Blueberry Pie and it was scrumptuous! They sell their pies whole or by the slice. There are freshly brewed coffee in at least 6 flavors as well as hot teas. You fix your own coffee or tea; kind of gas station style, but it's ok and the coffee is good. They have a frequent drinkers club so when you buy 9 hot beverages you get the 10th free. They have a nice system because you don't need a card - you just give the cashier your name and they keep track in on their register system. Greg and I are having a race to see who got their 10th cup free but he tends to cheat... like when we went on Saturday and each got a coffee... he put both the coffees under his name even though I paid! It's ok though. I'll get him back...





When Greg and I went for breakfast on Saturday we each tried their Breakfast Ciabatta Sandwich - bacon or sausage, egg and cheese with a roasted red pepper pesto (well they call it a pesto but it's more like a red pepper mayo). The ciabatta was very good but the eggs were, I'm guessing, nuked in the microwave, and I'd prefer them cooked on a griddle. However, the sandwich wasn't bad because of the bacon, cheese and ciabatta!! We got the 'pesto' on the side to test it first.

We also shared an iced cinnamon roll, which was fresh a not overly large, like lots of cinnamon rolls tend to be. Greg asked for it to be warmed, which was a great call.

Billy D's also serves salads and sandwiches.

I think I'll stick to the coffee, ice cream and baked goods here (there are cute cupcakes I want to try!).

Here is a link to Billy D's Facebook page where you can find some pictures of the restaurant and their bakery items.

I'm going to start going more often in the morning so I can beat Greg to that 10th cup of joe!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Since we were having a 5:00 dinner on Sunday and didn't go to our church's Easter breakfast, I decided to whip up these pancakes. In all honesty, I just wanted to make plain pancakes using Bisquik and toss in a few chocolate chips but since we were all out of Bisquik and chocolate, I looked for a pancake recipe. In the Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania cookbook, I found a whole wheat pancake recipe and I had whole wheat flour so I was set! These cakes topped with butter, powdered sugar ans syrup, with a side of turkey bacon, held us over until dinner.

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix all together. Pour desired amount onto a hot, buttered griddle. Cook on both sides til browned to your liking.

Here by bother is giving them a thumb up... but that was before he tried them. He thought they were bland. So maybe you could add a little more sugar and a touch of vanilla extract. Also, Adam and I don't like syrup so we just use butter and sugar... I am sure smothering them in syrup - like the other breakfasters did - would make them quite flavorful!