Cranberry Quiona Cookies

So we all have the mornings when there's not even time for a bowl of cereal so you walk out the door and hope that the cup of coffee will keep you tided over till lunch.  By the time you hit traffic, you think to yourself that the morning decision of skipping breakfast might have been a mistake.  Well these little nuggets might be just what you were looking for.  They are super simple, especially if you have some leftover quinoa from last night's dinner.

I've mentioned it a couple times on my facebook page that I have ventured in the realm of quinoa cookies.  I first saw my inspiration at Once A Month Mom's page for their veggie menu selections.  They has a chocolate quinoa muffin and I was blown away.  Could it be?  A quinoa muffin that was delicious enough for breakfast and yet easy, quick and an on-the-go snack?  This is one that almost anyone can enjoy - it's a nut free, dairy free and gluten free bite sized nugget of goodness.  After three attempts, I think I might have the recipe to share with you guys.  Finally.  This is yet again one of those adaptable recipes and would be great made a little bigger and frozen for those mornings when there just isn't enough time in the day.  Also, let me preface that this is not my best photography in the world.  : )

Cranberry Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
2 c. gluten-free oats (quick-cooking rolled)
1 1/2 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. cranberries
2 ripe bananas - mashed
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c. maple syrup/agave/honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl except cranberries and quinoa. 

Mash up the bananas and mix all the other wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl.  Combine bowls and mix well.  Add in quinoa and mix again.  Toss in the cranberries and mix one last time.

This is where you can choose to do a couple things.  Roll into balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet making sure to smoosh just a little bit.  Or you could spray a tablespoon with cooking spray and scoop it batter, tap onto parchment paper and repeat.

Or you could press the mixture in a parchment lined glass baking dish.  The choice is up to you!  However, I would advise that you do individual cookies rather than bars to get the texture that I enjoy.  Slightly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.




Bake for about 20 minutes at 350.  The tops should just be starting to brown.  If you've chosen the bar method than the edges should be pretty golden.  If you went with the cookie, the bottoms should look like this:

Store out in the open in the fridge or in an airtight container.  That is of course if they last that long.  Enjoy!

Baked French Toast with Strawberries

I must say I'm addicted to sales.  Garage sales, discounts at the grocery, coupons...you name it and if it's on sale, I'm sold!  So while strolling through the grocery store, because this is what I do with two kids (yeah right!), I tend to graze the day old bread section and always find something that I can use.  Most of the time you'll find not day olds but just the "we made too many of these items and now they're on sale!" stuff.  But you can get way more creative with these items than just the usual accompaniment to pasta and soups.  They make the most wonderful brunch items! 

Stratas or french toast bakes are the the number one thing I go to for a delicious weekend brunch item.  With my day old sale bread on hand it makes it super easy!  Not to mention, these items freeze well too so you can always hand some on hand.  This past weekend I had my bread that was staring at me on the counter and some sad looking strawberries.  So while the husband slept and the kiddo enjoyed some Sunday morning cartoons, this is what I came up with...

Baked French Toast with Strawberries
1 loaf of day old bread (I used a multi-grain) + a couple slices of regular bread
2 1/2 c. milk of choice (Coconut is great here - nice and thick)
6 eggs
3/4 c. sugar (unrefined, organic if possible)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
8-12 strawberries - roughly chopped
1/4 c. brown sugar for sprinkling

Spray 9x13 glass baking dish and preheat oven to 350.  Crack eggs and whisk till blended.  Add in milk, sugar, extract, spices and salt.  Whisk again till all incorporated.  Fold in cubed bread. Make sure every piece is equally soaked and pour into prepared baking dish.  Press down bread mixture with back of spatula and pop in the oven for 25 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and evenly spread strawberries on top.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and continue baking an additional 15 minutes or until sugar has caramelized and toothpick comes out clean from center.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

 

We enjoyed ours with a little shmear of butter and a drizzle of syrup.  The options here are endless.  You can sprinkle with blueberries, raspberries or pineapple.  You can also fold in some diced apples and top with walnuts.  If you choose to fold in the fruit, you might want to cut back on the liquid a bit.  

We had leftovers for a couple days and they kept beautifully in the fridge.  What's better than yummy french toast on a Monday morning?  : )

 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry 'Cookies'

After my cooking marathon that you might have read about in Lemon Pesto Sauce Recipe, I was left with some canned pumpkin.  Normally I would throw them into some pancakes and freeze but as you might imagine...I was fresh out of freezer space.  Even the ice machine was being used to store all the goodies I made!  Yikes!  So I searched for some inspiration online via my business page, Round the Table, and folks shouted bread or pancakes.  I decided to take it a step further as we were missing our dessert fix.  Out of this one little can I was able to make a dozen Cocoa Pumpkin Muffins with Cherries (scented with Cinnamon and Cayenne) and also had about 10 little of these pumpkin delights. 

 

 Prior to baking

This is a rough recipe but I think you will find it suitable for the end product.  Which is far less like a cookie than I had hoped but much more like a breakfast bar which a delightful surprise.  With all this being said, do not attempt to hand these out as cookies to unsuspecting 3 year olds.  They will not be fooled.  When they think cookie, they're wanting that sugar high which you will not find here.  

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry 'Cookies'

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1 1/2 c. oats

2 tbsp flax seed - ground

1/2 - 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 - 1 c. coconut milk

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. agave

1/4 c. maple syrup

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk. Mix wet ingredients together.  Add to dry.  Stir till just incorporated and add in cranberries.  Drop onto lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until center is set and toothpick comes out clean.  You should be able to pick these little gems up and the bottom will be golden and browned.   Store in an openish container - like an open ziploc bag or a container with a very loose fitting lid.  They could be frozen as well and thawed when you need a nice filling snack!  Thaw in microwave for about 60-90 seconds and enjoy.  

 

  

Leftover grain = Amazing quick breakfast!

Happy Friday to everyone!
 
As the craziness of moving seems to be settling down, I realize the importance of starting your day on the right foot.  I.E. Starting it with the right things in your belly.  Most days I normally start my eating routine about 9 or 10 though my kiddos wake up at 6.  It just seems to be the time that I can actually sit down and eat which as other parents may know, can be a rarity.  Quickness is also key to eating great in the morning.  If you fill your face with high sugar cereals and empty calorie juice, you simply won't have the energy to sustain you throughout your day.  So let's look at what you had for dinner last night...

Did you happen to have a side of rice?  Or quinoa?  Or couscous?  Well why not make a little extra next time and save it for the morning?  I was inspired by my pantry this week.  I have all these bulk grains that *tisk*tisk*, I didn't label.  Insert frownie face here.  I'm not the best at deciphering between them all in their raw form so I've decided to cook up these so-called mystery grains.  My first adventure left me with this slightly chewy, nutty, almost sweet tasting grain that I have determined to be oh so wonderful barley.  And I have quite a bit of it!  So after mixing it into some baby food and forming it into patties with red beans, I still had a few cups left.  So of course...I make breakfast!  My favorite meal of the day.

This recipe is pretty adaptable to your taste buds.  Feel free to substitute any leftover grain you might have in your fridge.  I would recommend something on the sturdier side.  As with the others I mentioned, forbidden black rice would be another excellent choice.

Rise & Shine Breakfast Barley
1/2 c. cooked grain (Barley)
1/4 c. lite coconut milk (or any other milk you prefer though I like the thickness of coconut)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 c. cranberries
1/4 c. unsweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp coriander
1 orange of choice (I used mandarin)

Mix together all ingredients except for grain and heat on medium for 1-2 minutes.  Add in grain and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with zest of orange. And peeled slices.

Oh My Goodness, Breakfast Strata Bake

Okay ladies and hopefully gentleman...this one is easy and SUPER delicious!  I have recently begun cooking for a family that requested some weekend breakfast fare during their mini vacation to the mountains.  I gladly obliged as breakfast foods are one of my favorites.  I scoured the internet, as I usually do, and my cookbooks to find the perfect recipe for these folks.  The dad voiced that he preferred juicy, eggier breakfast dishes so I was thinking a crustless quiche perhaps when I stumbled upon a wide variety of strata variations.  This dish really has it all.  I mean seriously...everything you could want in a breakfast dish, this one's got it.  You have bread of your choice, cheese, meaty part, veggies, eggs and an almost gravy like coating to it all.  I can't wait to dip my feet into the world of stratas, both savory and sweet varieties.  The possibilities are endless and that is what I truly love about cooking.  There are so many flavor combination with different ingredients that the options and variations are truly unimaginable. 

Okay enough with the rambling of how amazing this dish was and onto the recipe. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture of this dish while composing but will post a picture soon of the finished dish shortly.  Please keep in mind with this dish I was also trying to use up ingredients, as I normally do, and was grabbing almost everything in there.  You do not have to abide by these measurements exactly.  If you don't have the tofu, add an extra egg.  If you're short on zuchinni, who cares?  Throw in some shredded carrot or diced celery or simply omit it altogether. 

Breakfast Strata
1 lb sausage/ham
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 clove minced garlic
3/4 c. diced onion
1 c. zuchinni chopped
1 med carrot, grated
3/4 c. green pepper
1/2 c. nonfat milk
5 eggs
8 oz tofu
1/2 nonfat half and half
1 c. mixed cheddar cheese
2 oz cream cheese (I would have used more if I had it on hand...probably more like half a block)
3 c. day old bread (or lightly toasted fresh bread) cubed *I used an Italian style loaf for this and it was perfect*

Preparations instructions are again, up to you a wee bit.  You can brown the meat in one pan and the other ingredients in another if you're meat is super oily.  Just make sure you drain everything before throwing it together, but here's how I did it this time around...

1.) Saute onion in a wee bit of olive oil for 3 minutes over med heat.  Throw in green peppers and saute for addition 4-5 minutes till onion is crisp tender.  Add in garlic, carrots, mushrooms, zuchinni and frozen Morning Star Farms Sausage Style Crumbles.  Stir and cover.  Let heat for 5-6 minutes before stirring and adding seasonings of your choice.   I used thyme, oregano and celery salt.  And of course the obvious salt and pepper. Continue sauteing an addition 5-6 minutes till the mushrooms have done their thing.  Turned a darker brown and look juicy.

2.) Turn out onto paper towels if you have used real meat to drain off excess grease.  Blot with extra paper towels if necessary.

3.) While things are simmering away.  Heat your cream cheese if not already softened in a large bowl in the microwave.  Blend together with half and half and milk.  Once combined, add in your eggs and stir thoroughly until the mixture is creamy and smooth.  Add in cheese and bread and toss to coat.

4.) Add in veggies and meat to bread mixture.  Pour into lightly greased 11x7 baking dish.  Place in 350 degree, preheated  oven for 35-45 minutes until fork or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and your house smells like you've died and gone to heaven.

5.) Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.  At this time I sprinkled a tiny bit more cheddar cheese on top and let it stand until melted.

Serve and enjoy!!!

Variations I look forward to making in the very near future:

Including only asparagus and mushrooms with an Italian cheese blend
Apple French Toast (I have a thing for apples and french toast)
Blueberry Cream Cheese
'Chicken', swiss cheese and 'ham'

Let me know what you come up with!  I'd love to hear how they turn out.