Yum!

Spinach, Sausage and Potato Breakfast Casserole

from bonappetit.com

Ingredients

• 16 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 12 ounces fresh breakfast sausage links
• 2 cups sliced leeks, white and green parts only
• 2 russet potatoes (1 1/2 lb.), peeled, shredded, and lightly squeezed
• 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (4 oz.) grated Gruyère
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz.) grated Parmesan

Preparation

1. Position a rack in top third of the oven; preheat to 350°.

2. Whisk eggs, cream, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 3/4 tsp. pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a 12” cast-iron or nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add sausages and cook, turning often, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add leeks to skillet. Season with salt; cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

4. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, spreading out in an even layer. Cook without stirring until bottom and edges are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Slide potato pancake onto a large plate. Invert onto another large plate. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Slide potato pancake into skillet browned side up; cook until bottom is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

5. Scatter spinach, leeks, and sausages over potato pancake, each in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper, then pour in egg mixture. Sprinkle both cheeses over.

6. Bake until casserole is puffed and golden brown, 35–40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Baked Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

from the www.thekitchn.com
serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1 cup pumpkin or squash puree
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 375°F. In a 3-quart (or larger) saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. (Your burner shouldn't be on at full blast, but the butter should melt quickly.) When the butter foams up, stir in the oats and fry them, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until they smell toasted.

Push the oats up against the side of the pan, and drop the second tablespoon of butter in the now clear center of the pan. Dump in the pumpkin puree. Fry it in the butter, only stirring after about a minute. Stir in the sugar and spices and continue frying the puree for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the color darkens slightly and the raw smell disappears. It's OK if a few dark brown spots appear as the puree sticks to the pan.

Pour in the milk and whisk everything to combine. Whisk in the water, vanilla and salt. Put a lid on the pan and put it in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven, and carefully lift the lid (be cautious as steam will billow out). Stir the oatmeal. It will look quite loose still, but the oats should be al dente and tender. The oatmeal will thicken rapidly as it cools.

Eat immediately with a drizzle of cream or milk and maple syrup, or let cool and then refrigerate. Heat up bowls in the microwave or on the stovetop.

It's time to get baked....if you're oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for coating baking dish
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts or almonds, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup fine-grain natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups milk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 1/2 cups huckleberries, blueberries, or mixed berries
Maple syrup, for drizzling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Combine the oats, half the nuts, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg, half the butter, and the vanilla.
4. Arrange bananas in a single layer on the bottom of the coated baking dish. Sprinkle with two-thirds of the berries, then cover with the oat mixture.
5. Slowly drizzle milk mixture over the oats. Gently tap dish on a work surface to distribute liquid.
6. Scatter remaining berries and nuts across the top.
7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set.

Let cool slightly. Drizzle with remaining melted butter and maple syrup.

We make a big batch at the beginning of the week and cut off pieces throughout the week for breakfast. Just heat it up in the micro and drizzle on your maple syrup.

Team Coco...nut Granola

• Double Coconut Granola
• 
  
• 8 cups oats
• 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup chopped almonds/walnuts
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, stir together the oats, oat bran, coconut and almonds. Divide between two large baking sheets, and spread into an even layer.
2. Bake for 7 or 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly toasted. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then return to the large bowl.
3. While the oats are toasting, combine the coconut milk, coconut oil, vegetable oil, malt syrup and honey in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until it comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla. Pour the syrup over the granola in the bowl, and stir until the dry ingredients are fully coated. Divide between the two baking sheets, and spread evenly.
4. Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until fragrant and toasted. Cool in the pans, then mix in the dried cranberries. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Egg Mcmuffin sans bun

These have been on my list of recipes-to-try for awhile, especially since I went gluten free. Father's Day was the perfect occasion to try them out and they were a hit! The recipe can be altered with various ingredients--use whatever you have leftover from the week's groceries. The little babies can also be put in the fridge and heated for a quick breakfast throughout the week. They are delish!

Egg Mcmuffins
served 4 people

8-10 eggs
1/3 cup of cheese, shredded (feta, cheddar, gouda, anything would be good here! Switch it up!)
3 chopped scallions
few tablespoons of chopped panchetta
1/2 red pepper
1 small zuchini, chopped into small pieces
salt and pepper
pam cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2.In small skillet, brown panchetta for a few minutes. Add zuchini and pepper to get some water out as well. Let cool off in the fridge until room temp.
3. Using a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add in the shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Add in the cooked veggies and mix until mostly combined.
4. Spray 2 muffin tins (6 muffins each) with Pam. Using a measure cup or ladle, fill the muffin cups with egg mixture until about 3/4 full (they will rise). You could also use muffin liners here.
5. Carefully put tins into oven. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. They should be lightly brown on top when ready.
6. Run a knife around the edges before trying to release from the tin. Serve warm.

Cleanse Meal #2: Breakfast of Champs

One of the few things you can have for breakfast on the cleanse is oatmeal. Let me tell you, I love oatmeal but on day 3 I am ready for something a little different. Unfortunately our options are limited. I decided to take our cleanse oatmeal to another level this morning. Here is what I came up with:

Banana Bread Oatmeal
serves 3 or 4

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
6 cups water
Dash salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
handful of toasted walnuts
a few generous tablespoons of pure maple syrup
vanilla almond milk (if desired)
1 banana, cut into little pieces

Bring water to a boil over stove. Add salt. While water is heating up, combine oats, cinnamon and ground ginger, mix until spices cover the oats. Add to water when it comes to a boil. Stir on high heat until oats start to come together, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Take off heat, add nutmeg. Dish out into serving bowls. Add a little almond milk, top with banana slices, nuts and maple syrup.

Gimme some more

I love granola. Absolutely love it. I used to buy it from the bulk bins at Whole Foods, but apparently they don't have those in NYC. Boo. So this weekend I made my own and it is equally delicious. You can add or subtract ingredients as desired. I used the base of the recipe from Cooking Light and then just add stuff I had from my pantry (dried coconut, whole almonds, walnuts, chopped dates). I love to eat this with milk for breakfast or for lunch with Stoneyfields vanilla yogurt.

Maple Almond Granola
Cooking Light

4 cups regular oats (I used Bob's Red Mill GF oats)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water (I used apple juice instead of water)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
Cooking spray
1 cup minced dried apricots (I swapped these for craisins)
1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Combine water, honey, syrup, sugar, and oil in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Pour over oat mixture; toss to coat.

4. Spread oat mixture on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray.

5. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until golden, stirring every 10 minutes. Place in a large bowl; stir in apricots and raisins. Cool completely.

Note: Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Mid Morning Munchie

At about 11:00 am everyday at work, I get a pang of hunger. With lunch over an hour to go, I need something with a little protein to keep me going through the day. These are the perfect solution--the quinoa bulks up the muffins without making them too dense. I throw in 1 tbsp orange zest, some dried cranberries in addition to the raisins and even a few chocolate chips. You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts or other fun treats that give the muffins a little excitement.

Quinoa Muffins
From Everyday Food

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup vegetable oil, such as safflower, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa
and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until
water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil; dust
with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together
flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa;
reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add
milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide
batter among prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes
out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer
to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up
to 5 days. Makes 12 muffins.