Category Archives: Breakfast

Pigs in a Blanket

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Let’s reminice, shall we? I randomly remembered going out to breakfast, as a kid, on the Cape, and getting pigs in a blanket. Once I thought of it, I was obsessed. It may have happened the very next night. I am kind of on the fence about sweet breakfast. It always seems like a good idea at the time, but I really only want savory items in the morning. This is such the best of both worlds.

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When I was a kid, I got sausage links with a pancake rolled around it. The crumbles just seemed much easier. And I was using sausage from the freezer.

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I served them with some brown sugared apples
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They were fluffy and sweet with the perfect hint of savory.

Guest Post: Huevos Rancheros

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Today Mr. J provides a guest post for you. He’s quite the cook, though he doesn’t get as many chances to make dinner. With dinners like this, he could be cooking a lot more often! 

First and foremost, I do not claim to have a Mexican cooking background nor is this an authentic recipe. This was my interpretation of Huevos Rancheros based on looking at a few recipes online and determining what we had on hand for ingredients. I was looking for a quick weeknight breakfast meal for dinner and came across several Huevos Rancheros recipes online, many of which offered different variations on preparation and ingredients.

I didn’t have all the ingredients to make a fresh salsa, so I chopped some fresh tomato and added it to some existing jar salsa to freshen it up a bit.

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I preheated the oven to around 250 degrees, and then heated some olive oil on a griddle pan. I dropped two flour tortillas on the pan for about 2-3 minutes per side, just long enough to get some browning and bubbling, and then transferred them to the oven to stay warm.

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The eggs are the key ingredient in my mind, and I noticed some recipes taking a shortcut by using scrambled eggs. I prepared them sunny side up, because the runny yolk ties everything together and is so delicious.

When the eggs were almost done, I pulled the tortillas from the oven and topped with shredded cheese,

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Then topped that with the sunny side up eggs,

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Followed by the salsa,

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Finally finishing with more shredded cheese and a dash of parsley.

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I was really pleased with how these turned out. They didn’t take more than 10-15mins to prepare and are perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

What I Ate: Easiest Banana Muffins

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What I Ate is a series that might not necessarily require a recipe but these muffins are a prime example of a recipe to file away and whip it up when the time is right.

Pinterest introduced me to a shortcut banana muffin recipe just like the pumpkin muffin shortcut I loooove. Do you follow me on Pinterest? They’re so quick and really easy to make. I’m not a big baker but these came out perfectly!

I made these guys before I knew how badly I’d need warm banana goodness. Work has gone bananas…to put it mildly. Bananas I tell you. Thank goodness I had these for the week. I think my crisis is averted. I’ll be sure to shower my local co-workers with these soon to thank them for all their support. When the goings get tough, the tough get going. For sure.

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Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
4 very ripe bananas (small or 3 large)
2 eggs

Directions:

Mash bananas or use a mixer, or food processor.
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Mix in eggs and cake mix.
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Add in cinnamon, nuts, dried fruit, chips, or anything you like! (I added cinnamon & cinnamon chips)
Fill muffin cups or a sprayed loaf pan.
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Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out cleanly.
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These are suuuuper easy and are such a good use for discount bananas. I love discount produce and these bananas were a steal. Forty-three cents for 6 bananas. Forty three cents. I froze some of the least ripe bananas in chunks for future smoothies.
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Cost Breakdown:
uber ripe bananas: $0.43
cake mix: $2.25
2 eggs: $0.30
cinnamon chips: $1.35 (1/2 bag)
total: $4.33, or $0.30 per muffin

Citrus Smoothie & Smoothie Tips

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This smoothie is another example of just how many different ones I’ve whipped up (literally). I have more to come too! I have a few tips with this fresh tasting smoothie. Smoothies are a great breakfast to get back on track. I didn’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (I was being a lazy leprechaun) but we’re having a green/St. Patty’s Potluck today at work so that’ll give me some spirit. I’ll share it with you soon, as in later this week? maybe next week? Did you celebrate?

Juice versus milk for the liquid:
In this smoothie, I used low-cal juice to keep it more juicy/clean-textured rather than creamy. Milk would hint toward the yogurt. I think it waters down the smoothie. That’s a personal preference or flavor combo. Juice hikes up the calorie count. If the fruit is fresh (and not frozen) ice cubes will add that frozen slushiness while the fruit will add the liquid. 
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Not-just-berry-smoothie:
The mix of berries and peaches is perfect. Pineapple could have made it too acidic for me. I think the peach reminds me of a frozen cocktail on the beach. Mixed berries are great, but the seeds of raspberries can get to me. I only want to crunch down so much when sipping away. Banana is a pretty typical choice to add good thickness. I also love blueberries and mangos. 
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Yogurt & Citrus:
I like the tart  to contrast with the smooth creamy yogurt. Orange juice would be good too. I only recently discovered that I like pink grapefruit juice. It is a different flavor I don’t have all the time. So for me, that’s what makes it special.

Other Add-Ins:
I love peanut butter in smoothies. Honey is a great touch to make it a bit sweeter. I want to try adding cocoa mix…I’ll be sure to report back on that. I loved nutella too. I’ve never added chocolate chips or nuts but that could be good. I want to try oatmeal.

What makes a good smoothie to you? What do you want when you’re sipping away at breakfast?