Last Minute Waffles

Feeding Landon is an exercise in futility. The kid doesn't love food. He inherited this from his father and sometimes it feels like I am living with the wrong group of people!! When Landon shows interest in food, any type of food, I usually jump at the opportunity to feed him. One day we were driving and he mentioned wanting M&Ms. Now, this may be a typical experience for an almost 3 year old, but Landon has NEVER requested candy, food, or anything that he could eat. So, being the Jewish mother that I am, I quickly pulled over to the nearest CVS, ran in, and got him a bag. Guess how many he ate? ONE. One. ONE!!! Who eats one M&M?! (Not me... I ate the rest of the bag.)

Anyway, recently Landon requested waffles. My mom had made him a waffle when she was babysitting and I guess it hit the spot. Only problem was I didn't have any frozen waffles. I did a quick Google search to find a recipe that had standard ingredients that I'd have on hand and VOILA- these occurred. I much prefer waffles that have buttermilk in them but these were good for a last minute recipe. They made a ton- I cut them each in half and froze them for later.

Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tbsp white sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1- Preheat waffle iron. 

2- Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. 

3- Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.

4- Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. 

5- Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Every week I buy a bunch of bananas. Some weeks I get to the end of the week and I have a ton left, some weeks I get to the middle of the week and have to go buy more. Typically I eat one almost daily. Landon goes through spurts where he eats them constantly and spurts where he's not interested, so really he is the deciding factor here on what's left at the end of the week. I recently found myself with 5 or 6 black bananas at the end of the week and knew I couldn't just chuck them. Seeing as how Landon is obsessed with chocolate I knew these would be a great treat. My son really loves being in the kitchen with me and rarely lets me cook alone. If he sees me go in the kitchen he wants to come help. I love muffins/cookies/cakes... anything where he can really help with the pouring and stirring. Together we whipped up these muffins in no time. Well, to me it was "no time"... to Landon it was an eternity. Little man stood at the oven the whole time they were baking complaining that he wanted to eat them NOW and did not want to wait. What can I say... he is my son.

This recipe was wonderful. They tasted great, as was expected, but they also baked up so beautifully. I shared the batch with a friend and they enjoyed them as well! A great classic muffin recipe.

Source: Life and Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1- Preheat the oven to 350°.
2- Mix the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended. 

3-Stir in the chocolate chips.
4- Divide the batter among 12 lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. 

5- Bake the muffins until the tops are golden and a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean (other than melted chocolate), about 30-32 minutes. 

6- Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Blueberry Scones

About a month ago I found myself home on a snow day (surprise!) and was in the mood to bake. Pretty much at that exact moment my good friend, Gina, posted a recipe on her blog's facebook page and I knew I'd have to go make it. I had all the ingredients on hand so it seemed perfect. I ended up altering it a bit here and there, mostly by using frozen blueberries instead of fresh and putting a chocolate drizzle over it instead of a lemon glaze. I was hoping to draw my son in with the chocolate... and it worked.

See those little hands? They are trying to steal the chocolate... 

These scones were delicious. I know some people don't like scones, they don't see the point in eating a dry pastry, but I personally am a fan of any and all baked goods. I also really enjoy Bisquick and tend to enjoy anything that involves it so any excuse to bake with it is a good one in my book!

Source: Adapted from A Hungry Teacher

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp apple sauce
3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2/3 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, use parchment paper to line 2 baking sheets
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pancake mix and sugar
3. To that, add the applesauce and vegetable oil. Use a fork or pastry cutter to mix until small crumbs form
4. In a separate, smaller bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to incorporate into dough, do not over mix. If too wet, add spoonfuls of pancake mix to thicken it up
6. Add blueberries and fold in
7. Place dough on a heavily floured surface and use your hand to flatten it to about ¾ inch thick.
8. Cut one slice down the middle lengthwise, then cut diagonals so that you are left with triangles
9. Use a spatula to pick up scones (they might still be sticky) and place on prepared baking sheet
10. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking time. They should be golden brown when taken out.
11- Allow to cool. When ready, melt chocolate chips and drizzle over the scones. Allow to set before serving.

The Creamiest, Fluffiest Scrambled Eggs

Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2014 my dear friends!

This year we switched things up for Christmas and started a new tradition. I hosted a small breakfast on Christmas morning for my immediate family where we all opened gifts, then we all migrated to my sisters later that day where she hosted a big dinner for our family and her fiancee's family. It was great! When it comes to breakfast food, however, I have to admit it's just not my speciality. For one I don't eat eggs or most breakfast meat. Give me a bagel or a pancake and I'm thrilled. So when it came time to host I knew I had to serve some type of egg dish but wasn't sure what to make. I'd remembered seeing Cassie's blog a few weeks back with this egg recipe and decided to try it. My mom is a purest when it comes to food so when she saw me whisking cream cheese into the eggs she was a little concerned (and truthfully I tried to do this before she got there as to not alarm her but my timing was off!) but in the end these were a hit. Every last bit went and now I know for next year that I need to make almost double the recipe. Everyone who had them loved them, and poor Landon who is allergic was yelling, "I want eggys! I want eggys!"

Source: Cassie Craves

Ingredients:
8 whole eggs
3 tablespoons cream cheese (regular or any savory flavor)
Splash of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter

1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the cream cheese, milk, and salt and pepper, and whisk well. The cream cheese will still be in small clumps, but that's fine.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook, scrambling gently, to desired doneness.

Toddler Tuesdays: Microwave Chewy Chocolate Granola Bars

It's been a long time since our last Toddler Tuesday post. Landon has become a better eater as of late and has been eating more and more of what we eat so I've really been making less "special" food for him. The ultimate goal is to have him eat what we eat but clearly that doesn't always happen.

Lately Landon has been on a "bar" kick. He loved the Earth's Best or Trader Joe's apple granola bars (like Nutrigrain) and eats them almost daily. He has always wanted to try the Quaker Chewy granola bars but they have so many fake ingredients and really aren't something I'd want him to eat daily, so I decided to try a homemade version. This was Landon's first time cooking with me and it went over SO well. He loved it! He helped pour, stir, and pat the granola down. He even taste tested a few bites as we went along.

I have to say these bars came together in no time. Once they were done I happily tried one and they are awesome. They are much better than the Quaker ones and are so easy to make. I think it took 3-5 minutes to make. Can't beat it. The result is a soft, sweet bar with hints of chocolate. It was truly perfect. However, I have to be honest... Landon still hasn't tried them fully cooked. Once they came out of the freezer I asked Landon if he wanted a bar and he started crying when he realized I meant something other than his Earth's Best bar. Whomp whomp. We'll try again tomorrow. I know he'd love them because he ate the mix as we went along, so clearly he likes them. And if he doesn't.... John and I do! So more for us!

Source: Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
1 1/4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 Tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1- Place butter, brown sugar and honey in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl and heat mixture in microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute. 

2- Remove from heat and stir then return to microwave and heat on HIGH power 1 1/2 minutes. 

3- Carefully remove from microwave and blend in vanilla, then add in quick oats and stir until evenly coated. Fold in Rice Krispies and toss well to evenly coat, then push firmly into a buttered baking dish. Push until it's settled well onto the bottom of the dish.

4- Sprinke chocolate chips and press into bars. Transfer to freezer and chill 10 minutes, then remove and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

Toddler Tuesdays: Sunbutter and Honey Muffins

Yay for Toddler Tuesdays! Time to see what Landon's been eating lately... and surprise... it's a bread product! The kid lives on bread.

I'm still in a bit of denial that I have a child with peanut allergies, among other food allergies. I remember being pregnant and joking with a foodie friend that I'd die if my kid had food allergies since I live, breathe, and die food. Well, low and behold I have the most adorable and amazing boy who is highly allergic to so many things! I guess it's a blessing that I am a foodie though because I am able to take on the challenge of making him foods that are tasty and yet accommodate his needs.

If you have a child who goes to daycare or school you're aware that many schools are peanut free, and some are even tree nut free as well. I have discovered that Sunbutter is the alternative of choice to nut-free butters, and Landon is a fan! I mix Sunbutter in many things for him, but this was my first time baking with it. These were so easy to make and were tasty. They were soft and delicious. Perfect for school treats since they are nut free and easy to pack!

Source: Adapted from Becky Bakes

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons sunbutter (sunflower seed butter)
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup milk 

Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3- Add the sunbutter and oil and mix with a fork until crumbs form.
4- Add the milk and honey and mix until combined.
5- Pour into muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are golden brown and spring back when you touch them. (If making mini muffins adjust bake time to 8-10 minutes).

Toddler Tuesdays: Yogurt Dip

This dip is a game changing Toddler Tuesday post in my household!

In the past week or two Landon has discovered dipping. He loves dips! Even when he refuses all food he will happily dip his meal in whatever is around. This weekend alone he ate a healthy dose of ketchup, salsa, and potato soup (yes... he used soup as a dip) by way of dipping. So with that said, I've decided to capitalize on his love of dipping and try to make some healthier dips that pack some nutritional value (you know... more than the ketchup he ate for dinner last night). 

This yogurt dip was delicious. John basically wanted to steal it from Landon, but I forced him to share with the baby. You can make as many varieties of this as you want by using different flavored yogurts with as many different dippers as you want. Overall I can see us making this several times a week for my little man!

Since I plan to make this regularly for Landon, some dippers I thought of were fruit, waffle sticks/pancakes, toast cut into strips, crackers, and graham crackers. If you have any other ideas feel free to tell me in the comments!

Source: Inspired by I Was Born To Cook

Ingredients:

4 oz Greek yogurt (I used banana)

1 heaping tsp Sunbutter (or peanut butter)

Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:
1- Stir all ingredients together. Serve cold.

Toddler Tuesdays: Greek Yogurt Pancakes

A new Toddler Tuesdays recipe is up and I'm so excited- it's a real winner! What toddler doesn't like pancakes??

If you've read my blog at all in the past month you've read about the insanely difficult time we've had feeding Landon. During this month I didn't really make new things for Landon because was so resistant to food. I don't know what changed in the past week but he seems to be snapping out of it and coming around. I decided to seize the opportunity and try some new things- first up were these Greek yogurt pancakes! Landon loves pancakes, and really any bread products that he can hold in his hand and bite- so I decided to try a healthier version of a classic recipe. These were more dense than a traditional pancake but he didn't mind at all.

I should also add that the batter is sturdy- I made it and kept the prepared batter in a sealed bowl for two days, making fresh pancakes each morning with the batter. The batter is also VERY thick. When you spoon it out you'll be thinking you went wrong somewhere- you didn't. Once the first side browns and you flip it you can squish down a little to morph it more into a pancake shape and they'll be perfect. Prior to smushing it down with the spatula it was sort of... thick? I don't know- it retained the shape of the scooper and didn't spread like I'm used to but once smushed it was perfect. We are huge fans of these in this house. Best of all you can really feel good about giving your child pancakes when they have more protein and nutrients in them from the yogurt.

Source: Slightly adapted from Everyday Belle

Ingredients:
1 6 oz container Greek yogurt, any flavor (I used vanilla)
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
Blueberries (optional)

Directions:
1- Stir the yogurt until it's smooth and creamy. At this point add the egg and continue stirring until they are well incorporated and easy to stir.
2- In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking soda. Mix well.
3- Pour the yogurt mix into the flour mix. Stir well. If using blueberries fold them in, to taste.
4- Heat a skillet with butter. Drop batter onto hot skillet and flip once golden. The recipe will yield about 8 medium sized pancakes.

Blueberry Waffles

So I mentioned in my last post that Landon is getting pickier with what he will and won't eat. Dinner is usually hit or miss but breakfast... now breakfast is almost always a sure bet. I can typically count on getting a substantial meal in him first thing in the morning so when he recently started snubbing foods we thought he'd like we were at a loss. For example, the little man loves homemade blueberry pancakes and frozen mini waffles. However, the little man hates frozen blueberry mini waffles. Say whattttt? Isn't it just a combo of two things he likes? Well... no... apparently not. So enter this recipe. I figured if he was going to hate on the frozen variety I'd give it a shot homemade. I had seen this pancake recipe floating around Pinterest and I was dying to try it so I threw in some blueberries and made it into waffle sticks using the waffle stick maker John's parents got me for the holidays. They are the perfect size for the baby. Depending on the day he eats one to two of these. They freeze beautifully too so I can make a double batch and keep them for a few weeks.

If you don't have a waffle stick maker or even a waffle iron just make them as pancakes! That's the beauty of batter... it's so versatile. And this batter is a beauty. It is so fluffy and light. A real must try.

Ingredients: Slightly adapted from Coleen's Recipes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 - 1/2 cup mini blueberries (I find the frozen blueberries are smaller than fresh- I defrost them and use those)

Directions:
1-Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes to "sour" (you will NOT taste the vinegar but it will make the milk thicken). Set aside.
2- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soured milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone, but don't over beat. Fold in blueberries.
3-The batter will be thick, don't add any more liquid. Let the batter sit, undisturbed for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will see bubbles in the batter, DON'T STIR.
4- Gently dip out batter and fill waffle iron, cooking as iron directs. If making pancakes use 1/4 cup batter per pancake.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Stuffed French Toast

John and I are big fans of breakfast for dinner. I don't do it often but every time I do I wonder why I don't do it more often. When I saw this recipe I immediately added it to our weekly menu. John is a huge fan of PB&J as well as french toast so I was sure it'd be a winner. When we were eating John took his first bite and goes, "This is different... Strange... Very good!!!" He clearly went through the gamete of emotions before deciding he liked it. By the end of the meal he was praising it and saying he was anxious to have it again. I must mention this is very filling. I only ate half of my plate, which worked out to be half a sandwich. I imagine this would be a huge hit with kids, how could it not be? Give this a shot- it's great for any meal of the day!

Source: Heavily adapted from Heat Oven to 350

Yields 2-3 servings

Ingredients:
6 slices cinnamon swirl bread
Peanut butter
Jelly
1 tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1- Using the bread, peanut butter, and jelly, make 3 pb&j sandwiches. Slice the sandwiches in half, set aside.
2- Meanwhile beat the eggs, milk/cream, and cinnamon together in a shallow dish.
3- Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet. Once it melts dip the sandwiches in the egg mix, flipping to coat both sides, and cook until the bread is nicely golden. Serve with syrup.

Apple Cider Waffles

I know apple season is long gone. I know you're seeing this and thinking, "Ok... you're a few months late with this..." but throw away your preconceived notions of "seasonal recipes" because I have to share this recipe. You see, John is on an apple cider kick lately so we constantly have fresh apple cider in the house. Because of that when I saw this recipe pop up I knew I needed to make it. Originally I wanted to make this for John on his birthday but I couldn't get it together in time so I decided to do them later on in the week. The original recipe calls for making these into pancakes but I was feeling lazy so I pulled out my trusty waffle iron and make them into waffles. DE-LISH. They tasted cinnamon-y and comforting. I don't know if the apple flavor really was the star, I'd say it was more the cinnamon, but they were still incredible. We were big fans and it made for a great special breakfast for my special husband.

Source: Adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 cup apple cider

Directions:
1- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir well.
2- Beat in the egg, oil, milk, and cider.
3- Set aside and let stand 5 minutes while heating your waffle iron.
4- Spray the waffle iron and cook according to waffle iron directions.

Yields approximately 5 waffles.

Mini Banana Muffins

Baking makes me happy. Something about mixing the ingredients, the fragrant smells that come out of your kitchen, not to mention the delicious treats you end up with in the end. I am a big fan of baking. And yet... lately, I've been barely doing it. Partly it's because I'm too lazy to drag out my Kitchen Aide (I know... lazzzzyyyyy) and partly because I just haven't found any recipes I've felt I needed to make. However with 3 black bananas on the counter I decided it was time to whip something up. These were perfect. The recipe was super easy and came together in a couple minutes- plus I didn't need my stand mixer- score! This yields a lot, I got over 30 mini muffins, so I froze over half of them for easy snacking once the baby gets here. I think the absolute best part is you probably have all the ingredients on hand!

Source: Very slightly adapted from  So Tasty, So Yummy

Ingredients:
2-3 over ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup applesauce (cinnamon, natural, whatever you prefer)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a mini muffin tin with liners or spray with nonstick spray.
2- In a mixing bowl combine the mashed banana, sugar, applesauce, and egg. Stir well.
3- Mix in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Spoon into the muffin tins, bake about 15 minutes.

Crispy Sugar Crumb Triangles

I have fallen into a deep love with Pinterest. Aside from the fact that I get tons of hits from there (thank you to people who pin my recipes, I REALLY appreciate it!) to the fact that I am exposed to lots of new recipes, it's a favorite site of mine. When I saw these I knew I needed to make them for John. John loves anything with cinnamon and sugar, especially if a crescent roll is involved. Boy was I right, he was so obsessed with these he ate half the batch in one morning. I have to agree with him though, they are so good. They taste like a crumb cake but require a fraction of the effort and seriously no skill.

On a somewhat unrelated note, the original name for these is "sugar crumb crispy" but I felt like it was missing a word. It sounded like a bunch of describing words but no object of description. The title also made me think of this school lunch they serve where I teach: crunchy cheese squares. Descriptive, but I still have no idea what a "crunchy cheese square" is except that it's presumably crunchy, cheesy, and square shaped. I'm not sure why those things came to mind but the whole time I was making these I was trying to envision a "crunchy cheese square" and decided to rename this recipe something that wouldn't leave you confused based on it's title!

Source: Adapted from Chef In Training

Ingredients:
1 roll of crescent rolls, divided into 8 triangles
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp. water

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 400. Lay the crescent rolls out on a silpat or wax paper covered cookie sheet.
2- In a bowl combine the sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into the mixture until a crumb forms (it's ok if it is not all crumby, mine was partially crumby and partially just a sugar mixture).
3- Sprinkle the crumb topping over the crescents. (I only used about 3/4 of the crumb topping- it made a lot and I didn't need it all).
4- Bake for 8-12 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool, then slice in half (unless you want to leave them large).
5- Assemble the glaze by combining the two ingredients. Add more water if you want it runnier or less if you want it thicker. Drizzle over the bars.

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins

I am almost embarrassed to post this recipe because it's so easy. I mean, do you need me to tell you how to combine three ingredients? Well... if you do, here it is! The other day I was feeling this burst of energy, which honestly never happens this late in the pregnancy game, so I decided I needed to capitalize. I whipped up a mini batch of these (I made 1/4 of the recipe) so we had 4 little muffins to snack on. They were delicious. A little sweet (as if that's a bad thing...) because the main ingredient is a cake mix and definitely very moist. But as long as you like sweets you certainly will enjoy this. Not to mention your whole house will smell incredible!

Source: Adapted from All Recipes

1 box yellow cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sugar
Cinnamon

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners, or spray with cooking spray.
2- In a bowl combine the cake mix, pumpkin, and cinnamon, mixing well. Divide into 12 muffins.
3- Top each muffin with a pinch of sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving.

Best Banana Bread...Ever

Banana bread isn't something I typically get all excited about. I mean, it's good, but it's not something I'd ever write home about. Until now. Oh.My.Goodness. This bread has changed that for me. I had two bananas decomposing quite ripe on my counter so I decided to throw this together. I wasn't really expecting much, because as I mentioned before banana bread is pretty standard. This recipe really takes it to a new level. Is it the fact that there is a TON of sugar in it (hello- white sugar, brown sugar, and honey)? Yes.. most likely. This bread was moist and the cinnamon crumb topping was amazing. I had a slight issue (or mental break down involving me needing to leave the room- I blame the pregnancy hormones, don't judge me...) getting the bread out of the pan. I didn't spray the pan enough and the bottom stuck a bit, so when I tried to manhandle it out the crumb topping kind of shattered... resulting in me getting abnormally dramatic. Lesson? Spray your pan. Well. Like, really well. And then let your husband take it out of the pan while you pout in the corner. Yup... I'm not proud of my behavior, but I am proud of this bread- so make it!

Source: Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar


Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5x3-inch metal baking pan (or use nonstick spray- a lot of it). 
2- Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk next 5 ingredients in large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients; stir to blend. Transfer batter to pan. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and brown sugar; sprinkle over batter.
3- Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. 
4- Cool bread in pan 30 minutes. Turn pan on its side; slide out bread, being careful not to dislodge topping. Turn bread right side up and cool completely.

Boston Market Cornbread

Growing up we would get Boston Market every now and again for dinner. I don't remember the chicken, but I do *clearly* remember the macaroni and cheese and the cornbread. Ohhhh do I remember the cornbread. It was sweet and delicious, light and fluffy, crisp on the sides but soft within. Once I hit college there was a Boston Market near campus where my roommates and I would go sometimes... and guess what I'd get? Yup- a side of mac and cheese with 2 pieces of cornbread. (And I wondered how I gained the freshman college fifteen twenty....)

Now, there's no Boston Market close to us plus I have some pride and wouldn't want to eat mac and cheese and cornbread for dinner (well I'd want to, but I'd feel guilty). Even after all these years the desire for that cornbread just won't go away! So I turned to my best friend, Google, and found a knockoff recipe. This is pretty close! And now I understand why it's so good- it's basically cake. It should be called "Corn Cake" but I'll let that one slide. Best of all this gave me another chance to use my mini loaf pan I got for the holidays from my parents. I love having uses for my random kitchen tools! So give this a shot- if you don't have a mini loaf pan just put it in muffin tins. You can't lose.

Source: Food.com
*I halved this and if made 10 mini loaves.


Ingredients:
2 (8.5 oz) boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 (18 oz) box butter OR yellow cake mix
5 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup butter, softened

Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350.
2- Combine all of the dry ingredients, mixing well.
3- Add the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
4- Pour into well greased muffin tins or mini loaf pans.
5- Bake about 30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6- Allow to cool in the pan. Then remove to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I'm not going to surprise you by telling you that when I think of muffins my mind quickly goes to chocolate chip muffins. Something about dessert disguised as breakfast is quite appealing! However, lately I've been craving fresh, spring-like flavors. I think it's the warmer days, the sunshine, and the lack of snow after a long, cold winter. I decided to make muffins recently and I knew I wanted something that encompassed the flavors of spring. Enter lemon.

I had never tried lemon poppy seed muffins before, so this was a new experience for me. When I took the first bite I was transformed out of my classroom and into a whole different world. I saw a red and white checkered cloth on a grassy field, friends in shorts and tank tops, tall shade-bearing trees, brimming glasses of lemonade with drips of perspiration on the cold clear side... I just felt *summer* and I knew these muffins were a winner. Shortly after my out of body experience John sent me a text expressing his experience with the muffins- "Babe, these are GOOD!" Yeah... so my experience was a bit more dramatic than his, but hey, we all know I'm the foodie in this couple.

 I never thought I'd love these as much as I did. They reminded me of a cross between pound cake and muffins. They were exquisite and I will be making them again very very soon. When I made these I cut the recipe in half, next time I think I'd just freeze the rest! Also, the original calls for a glaze which I left out, but if you want a glaze visit Annie's blog.

Source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)


Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line a muffin pan with paper liners.  Combine the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  
2- Stir briefly to combine.  In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  
3- Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.  Mix in the lemon zest and the vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the yogurt, beating each addition just until incorporated.
4- Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. 
5- Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  
6- Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

White House Granola Bars

Did you ever wonder what President Obama and his crew eat for breakfast? NO!? Well.. honestly, I haven't either. It's just not something that crosses my mind. It would probably be significantly stranger if I did wonder about that, right? However, when these granola bars popped up on my radar as the granola bar recipe that they make in the White House I scanned the ingredients and figured if it's good enough for the President it's good enough for me!

These granola bars were delicious. I have become more and more interested in making my own granola bars. Most of my old favorites are loaded with ingredients that I don't like to eat too often. Not to mention if you do buy the organic or all natural options they are over $5 a box which is nuts when I can make a huge batch using ingredients I have on hand. These were very crunchy and not at all soft. They had a nice texture though- I thoroughly enjoyed the crunch. They don't take the place of my favorite granola bars but they are a very nice alternative. Once they cooled completely and were sliced I wrapped them individually in Press and Seal wrap, then placed them in an air-tight container. It kept them perfectly for almost a week.

Source:  Adapted from Health For The Whole Self

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, olive... you choose)
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3/4 cup dried fruit (I used Craisins and a raisin blend)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a small baking dish with nonstick spray. (My dish was 6x4 but I know this isn't a typical size, you want something smaller than a standard square baking pan.)
2- Place seeds and oats in a large dry skillet. Heat over medium heat until slightly toasted, about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly.
3- In a saucepan combine the honey, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Heat until hot and well combined, stirring often.
4- In a mixing bowl combine the oat mixture, liquid mixture, fruit, and cinnamon. Stir well.
5- While the mixture is hot pour it into the prepared baking dish and press down with a clean spoon.
6- Bake 25-30 minutes or until brown and set. Transfer the dish to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Chocolate Chip Waffles

Breakfast in my house isn't really a big to-do. If I'm being honest with you, I just ate a handful of Ritz crackers and I'm calling it breakfast. John is playing video games downstairs, and presumably he ate a bowl of cereal. We just aren't huge breakfast people. As a child I hated all things breakfast related. The only way my mom could get me to eat any food before school was to feed me pizza (Ellio's to be specific) or chicken nuggets. I've said it before, but my poor mom- I was impossible.

I became aware of how weird I was in second grade. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Cook, used to line us up for gym by asking questions like, "If your favorite color is blue, line up." Well... one day Mrs. Cook decided to get all fancy and ask what we had for breakfast. I sat there, smiling, completely unaware of how weird I was. She called the standards- fruit, cereal, toast, bagels, pancakes, etc. And yet, with everyone on line, there was one child still sitting. ME. So she asked, "Stephanie, what did you have for breakfast?" I simply replied, "Pizza." I mean... who doesn't eat pizza for breakfast, right?! Oh, well... I quickly learned how wrong I was. But I wasn't a liar- I didn't get on line with the cereal kids- I waited. And Mrs. Cook learned to adapt. She then added "pizza" to her list so I didn't always have to be last. Now looking at this interaction through the eyes of a teacher I know two things for sure. 1- Mrs. Cook was a great teacher. 2- I was surely talked about in the faculty room that day during lunch.

I've come a long way since my pizza days, I mostly eat fruit and nuts or fruit and a granola bar... but sometimes I get all fancy shmancy and actually make breakfast. I made these waffles Valentine's Day weekend for my valentine. They were delicious. Actually, they were the perfect texture. Crisp and light. I would love them even without the chocolate chips. I actually liked them so much I didn't use any syrup- I felt they were nice and sweet alone. A must try- that is, if you're not eating pizza for breakfast. ::wink wink::

Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 large egg white
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1- Preheat your waffle iron. Coat with cooking spray.
2- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir and set aside.
3- In another bowl beat together the egg yolk, butter, and milk. Stir into flour mixture.
4- In a small bowl beat together the egg white and sugar until stiff peaks form (you can use a stand mixer if you prefer). Fold into batter.
5- Fold in the chocolate chips.
6- Spoon about 1/2 cup batter and cook according to your waffle irons directions, about 3-5 minutes, depending on your waffle iron.
7- Serve hot.

Strawberry Doughnuts

So ever since my first attempt at doughnuts I've been hooked! I love my doughnut pan and love researching fun new recipes to try with it. A few weeks ago we had a new addition to our family, a beautiful baby girl- my first niece, and I am simply smitten with her. When she was born I wanted to bring a few items over to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law to ease some of the burden of being home with a newborn. I decided to make them some form of breakfast, and decided to go with these doughnuts. They are a tad bit healthier than traditional doughnuts as in there is no glaze or icing, and they are a bit more muffin-like than a doughnut. I also liked that there was some fruit in them... because clearly fruit makes them healthy, right?! RIGHT?! These aren't your typical overly sweet doughnut, but they are still quite tasty. John and I were fans and I hope the new mommy and daddy were too!

Source: Stetted

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup diced strawberries
1 tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 and grease doughnut pan.

In a small bowl, stir together berries and syrup. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients, then add milk, egg, and butter, stirring until just combined. Add berries. Fill each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 7-9 minutes, until tops spring back.