I love scrambles! When I’m not ordering pancakes at a breakfast place, I’ll go with an egg dish like a scramble. This particular recipe has some of my favorite ingredients: spicy Andouille sausage, mushrooms, spinach, onions and, of course, eggs. And while I don’t think the devil should get any credit for something good, this dish gets its name from the spicy sausage and red pepper flakes. Oh yeah! It makes a great lazy Saturday morning breakfast…enjoy!

Devil’s Mess
-recipe from The Sunset Cookbook (Oxmoor House, 2010)

A big, spicy scramble of eggs, hot pork sausage, vegetables, and red chile flakes in which all the flavors remain distinct.
Serves 6.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped andouille sausage (about 6 oz.)
10 large eggs
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes, or to taste
6 ounces spinach, washed and thoroughly dried (about 2 qts.)
Hot sauce

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and stir often until onions are light golden, about 10 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high, add sausage, and stir often until sausage has browned slightly and released some fat, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and 3 tbsp. water.

Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and chile flakes. Stir until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach to pan and toss with tongs until it has wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer sausage-vegetable mixture to a bowl and wipe pan clean.

Add eggs to pan and scramble just until set, 4 to 5 minutes, then gently stir in sausage-vegetable mixture. Serve with hot sauce if you like.

Sunset, OCTOBER 2008

I’m linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Delicious Dishes
Tasty Tuesdays
This Week’s Cravings
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tags: Andouille sausage, Breakfast, Eggs, mushrooms, onions, scramble, spinach

If you’re a granola lover like I am then you know that it can be a spendy item to buy on a regular basis. That’s the beauty of making your own granola…it’s super easy to whip up a batch of it and you get a lot more granola for a lot less money.  

This recipe is a great one to play with. You can use different dried fruits and nuts depending on what suits your fancy. I decided to use dried apricots and a combo of chopped pecans and sliced almonds. I didn’t have unsweetened coconut so I used the sweetened variety. I also added 1 tablespoon of flax seeds, 1/8 cup of wheat germ and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla. The granola turned out great! I like to mix it with plain yogurt drizzled with a bit of honey. Yumm!

Everyday Granola
-recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine

Yield: Makes about 5 cups

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut*
3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup assorted dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 30-40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight.

* Available at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores.

I’m linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Delicious Dishes
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tasty Tuesdays
This Week’s Cravings

Tags: almonds, apricot, Breakfast, cereal, dried fruit, granola, honey, old-fashioned oats, pecans, shredded coconut

Looking for a good banana muffin that tastes great and is healthy, too? Give this recipe a whirl. My kids loved them…so did I! The struesel topping elevates them from plain ol’ banana muffin to something special.

I didn’t have plain yogurt for the recipe so I used 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup buttermilk. The muffins make a great breakfast treat or after-school snack. Enjoy!

Banana Oatbran Muffins
-adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe

Moist, tender, and banana-y, these muffins represent comfort food at its best.

Batter
1/2 cup yogurt (I used 1/4 cup buttermilk & 1/4 cup sour cream)
1 large egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed banana; 2 to 3 large bananas
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup oat bran
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping
¼ cup brown sugar
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon soft butter

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard muffin tin, or line with papers and grease the papers. 
 
Combine the yogurt, egg, oil, mashed banana, sugar, and oat bran in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside for 10 minutes. 
 
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. 
 
Work the topping ingredients together until the mixture is crumbly. 
 
Whisk the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost full; the muffins won’t rise much. 
 
Sprinkle muffins with the topping. 
 
Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes, until the muffins are set and browned. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and enjoy warm.
 
 

Tags: banana muffins, Breakfast, brown sugar, nutmeg, oatbran, rolled oats

Everyone needs an apple cake in their baking repertoire, and this recipe is excellent! The cake is super moist, velvety, slightly tangy from the cream cheese, and loaded with apples…YUMM!

The recipe calls for a 12-cup Bundt pan. My Bundt pan doesn’t say how many cups it holds but rather gives the size (9 3/4″ x 3 3/8″). It can hold 12 cups of water but it’s filled to the rim of the pan. This recipe has a bit too much batter for my pan so I spooned as much into the pan as I could without filling it to the very top (leaving some room for it to expand while baking). Any extra batter can be baked in greased and floured ramekins or muffin tins (they’ll bake in less time, of course).

If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can use a different baking pan but your baking time will vary. Check out this link for different baking pan size equivalents. Because my oven is old and tempermental, I use the baking time in a recipe as a guideline. Sometimes the item in the oven needs less time, sometimes more time. If you use a different pan size, you’ll need to adjust the baking time.

The apple cake keeps covered at room temperature for several days. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Apple Cake 
-recipe from The Grand Central Baking Book by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson

Grand Central has baked this cake in every shape and size imaginable: as cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting, in rounds baked in springform pans, as classic Bundt cakes and currently in long Pullman loaf pans. Because it stays moist for several days, this large cake is tailor-made for a long weekend with friends, providing dessert the first night and leftovers to nibble on for several days to come.  Serves 14 to 16.

3 cups (15 ounces) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (8 ounces, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups (1 pound, 1.5 ounces) granulated sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds tart apples (3 or 4 apples), peeled and diced into 1/2-inch chunks
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very light in color –almost white–and the texture is fluffy, about 8 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once during the process to ensure that the butter is evenly incorporated.

Crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup and add the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the eggs, letting them fall in one at a time and incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice during the process. 

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients; stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated. Fold the apples in by hand using a stiff spatula, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The cake is ready when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Cool completely, then cover with a thick dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

I’m linked to:
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Idea Sharin’ Wednesday
What’s Cooking Wednesday

Tags: apples, Baking, Breakfast, bundt cake, butter, coffee cake, Cream Cheese Apple Cake, Dessert, Grand Central Bakery

My mom has me hooked on the combination of scrambled eggs with green chilies! Sometimes I crave it, which is what led me to this recipe for Tortillas with Eggs. It’s a great breakfast or brunch dish and can easily be doubled or tripled to feed more people. You can also get creative and add other ingredients to the scramble: diced tomatoes, cooked chorizo, cheese, etc. Yumm!  

Tortillas with Eggs
-recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine

This dish is a twist on chilaquiles, a tortilla-based hash. It’s great served with salsa for breakfast. Serves 2.

1 tablespoon corn oil
3 5- to 6-inch tortillas, halved, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
4 eggs, beaten to blend
1/4 cup canned diced green chilies
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Heat oil in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tortillas and stir until softened, about 1 minute. Add eggs, chilies, and cilantro. Stir until eggs are softly set, about 3 minutes. Season with hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper.

I’m linked to:
Foodie Friday
It’s a Hodgepodge Friday
I’m Lovin’ It

Tags: Breakfast, brunch, cilantro, corn tortillas, diced green chilies, Eggs, hash, scramble

I love berry treats and desserts and was lured into buying the Stonewall Kitchen Favorites Cookbookbecause of this recipe for Raspberry Muffins. How can anyone resist a moist, freshly-baked muffin flecked with berries and finished with a crunchy streusel topping? Certainly not I!

I’ve made these muffins a few times with great results. I had a hard time getting them out of the muffin tins this time, though, so maybe I didn’t grease the pan good enough. Next time I might try using muffin liners. I used fresh raspberries but the recipe says you can use frozen, too (although the muffins may take longer to bake). These muffins make a great breakfast treat or afternoon snack! Enjoy!

Raspberry Muffins
-recipe from Stonewall Kitchen Favoritesby Jonathan King, Jim Stott, and Kathy Gunst

You can make these muffins year-round–with fresh berries in the summer, or any time of year using good-quality frozen raspberries. Makes 18 muffins.

For the topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

For the muffins:
Vegetable oil spray, for the pans
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the topping: mix the flour and the sugar together in a medium bowl until blended. Add the butter, and using your hands or a fork, mix the ingredients until homogenous and crumbly. Set the topping aside.

To make the muffins: Spray 18 regular muffin tins with the vegetable oil. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl until blended, and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing the batter on low speed until smooth after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl if necessary. Add the vanilla, and mix to combine.

Add about one-third of the dry ingredients to the batter, and mix on low until blended. Add half of the sour cream, mix, and repeat with another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the sour cream, and the remaining dry ingredients, mixing between each addition. Use a wooden spatula to stir in the raspberries by hand.

Fill the prepared muffin tins until almost full, and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the topping onto each muffin (don’t worry if it looks like a lot of topping).

Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes. Using a kitchen knife, gently lift the muffins out of their tins and transfer to a cooling rack.

Linked to:
Foodie Friday
Finer Things Friday
Favorite Things Friday
New Friend Friday
Friday Favorites
Friendly Friday Follow
Friendly Friday
I’m Lovin’ It Fridays

Tags: Breakfast, Muffins, raspberry, streusel

I love muffins, and I’m always trying to find new and delicious ways to whip up a batch of these easy-to-make treats. The house smelled so good while these Sweet Peach Muffins were baking! The recipe says to eat them 5 minutes after they come out of the oven. I tried that and burned my fingers on molten chunks of peach. I suggest waiting a bit longer for the muffins to cool, especially if kids will be enjoying them. One of my kids even inhaled two of the muffins in one sitting.  The combination of perfectly ripe peaches, warm spices and the streusel topping is delicious!

I skipped the walnuts in the streusel topping because I’m not a fan of walnuts. Pecans would be a great substitute but I chose to forgo the nuts because I thought the kids would like the muffins best without them. Either way, the streusel topping is tasty. This recipe is versatile and can be used with a variety of fruits depending on season. I haven’t tried any of the other versions, but I’m looking forward to trying the muffins with pears and apples in the Fall. Yumm!

Sweet Peach Muffins with Brown Sugar-Walnut Streusel Topping
-recipe from The Foster’s Market Cookbook by Sara Foster with Sarah Belk King

These are best when peaches are at their summer peak, although they’re good made with frozen peaches, too. The streusel topping can be made in advance. These muffins are best eaten warm. Variations: Almost any fresh or frozen fruit (except for very soft fruits like bananas, papaya, or mango) can be substituted for the peaches. Try blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. In autumn, try chopped fresh apples or chipped pears.

Makes large 12 muffins.

Brown Sugar-Walnut Streusel Topping:
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Muffin Batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon dark rum or pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups peeled, pitted, chopped peaches

For the topping: Combine the walnuts, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter and mix until well blended. Set aside or refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.

For the muffins: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 large muffin cups with paper liners and spray the top part of the pan lightly with nonstick spray.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, sour cream and rum or vanilla until well blended. Fold in the peaches.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just moist and blended. Do not overmix.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan with a large ice cream scoop (1/3-cup scoop). The batter will come to the top of the paper liner or pan. Sprinkle with the Brown Sugar-Walnut Streusel Topping and lightly press the topping into the muffin batter.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out of the pan, and serve immediately.

I’m linked to:
Foodie Friday
New Friend Friday
Finer Things Friday
Friday Favorites
Favorite Things Friday
Cupcake Tuesday
Delicious Dishes
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesday Tastes

Tags: Baking, Breakfast, brown sugar, cinnamon, Foster's Market, Muffins, peach, Sara Foster, streusel

I ran across this recipe for Blueberry Cream Cheese Rolls recently and was intrigued by the use of blueberry jam as a filling for sweet rolls. Not only are they good, but since you make the dough the day before and refrigerate it overnight, the rolls come together quickly the next morning. Next time I make them, I’d like to try apricot or raspberry jam instead of the blueberry; feel free to substitute your favorite flavor, too. Whatever flavor you choose, your house is going to smell fantastic while they’re baking!

For other recipes, check out: Foodie Friday.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Rolls
-recipe from Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
One 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
4 cups flour
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces cream cheese
One 10-ounce jar blueberry preserves

Combine 1/4 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and the yeast; let stand for 5 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in 1 1/4 cups milk, the egg and the yeast mixture. Gradually add the flour at low speed. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight to let rise.

Using an electric mixer, beat the confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons milk.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Spread the blueberry preserves on the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Roll up lengthwise and seal the edges. Slice into 12 pieces and place in the pan cut sides up. Bake until golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with the cream cheese icing.

Tags: blueberry jam, Breakfast, cream cheese icing, sweet rolls

This refreshing tropical smoothie has just a hint of lemon flavor and is a perfect summertime snack or quick breakfast. The frozen banana and mango chunks make it thick without watering down the flavor like ice does.

Morning Mango Smoothie
-from the Little Black Book of Smoothies

The perfect breakfast for mango lovers!
Makes 1 smoothie.

1 cup chilled mango juice
3/4 cup low-fat lemon yogurt
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup frozen mango chunks

Pour mango juice into blender and add yogurt, banana, and mango. Blend at high speed until smooth.

Tags: beverage, Breakfast, mango, smoothie, snack

Last night, my kids said they wanted pancakes for Saturday morning breakfast. Always happy to oblige a food request, I did a quick search online for buttermilk pancakes and was intrigued by an Alton Brown recipe from foodnetwork.com. His recipe for “instant” pancakes is made from a pancake mix that you make ahead of time and store (good for 3 batches of pancakes; stores for 3 months). When it’s pancake time, all you do is measure out a few cups of the mix and stir in some buttermilk, eggs and melted butter. Seriously easy and seriously good! The mix and the pancakes themselves only took a few minutes to make and I thought they had better flavor and texture then the boxed mix variety. Plus, since the pancakes are homemade, they aren’t loaded with added preservatives and “natural” flavorings (Yukk!). I think the pancakes are best served with a little butter and real maple syrup.

 “Instant” Pancake Mix
-Recipe courtesy Alton Brown – foodnetwork.com

Makes enough mix for 3 batches of pancakes

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (check expiration date first)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to mix. Use the mix within 3 months.

“INSTANT” PANCAKES:
2 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups “Instant” Pancake Mix, recipe above
1 stick butter, for greasing the pan
2 cups fresh fruit such as blueberries, if desired

Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F. Heat oven to 200 degrees F.

Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter.

Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don’t try to work all the lumps out.

Check to see that the griddle is hot by placing a few drops of water onto to the griddle. The griddle is ready if the water dances across the surface.

Lightly butter the griddle. Wipe off thoroughly with a paper towel. (No butter should be visible.)

Gently ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and sprinkle on fruit if desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the griddle-side of the cake is golden, gently flip the pancakes. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.

Serve immediately or remove to a towel-lined baking sheet and cover with a towel. Hold in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes. Yield: 12 pancakes

Tags: Breakfast, buttermilk, pancakes, Quick Cooking