Category Archives: Breakfast

Puffy Muffin Quiche

by Sarah

Cary and I recently went to the Puffy Muffin for lunch.  One of the nice things about the Muffin, as I like to call it, is that they have all sort of pre-made delights that you can take home.  Cary mentioned we could get a quiche and have it for breakfast throughout the weekend.  I thought this was a lovely idea and went to the counter to see what kinds of quiche they had and the price (YIKES).  After picking myself up off the floor and Cary mentioned he felt a great disturbance in the force later on, I realized I had the Puffy Muffin Cookbook and off I went.

 

This cookbook is filled with delicious, easy Southern recipes.  I LOVE it. (On a related note, I wished it had the Mocha Crinkle Cookie Recipe….)

The quiche recipe is surprising simple.   Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.   Combine the following ingredients and mix with a wire whisk.

  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of half and half
  • 1 1/2 cups of cream
  • 1 tablespoon of flour mixed with 1/4 cup of water

Sprinkle one cup of any kind of shredded cheese (we used a mixture of different kinds of cheddars) in the bottom of a deep dish uncooked pie shell.  Next layer any herbs you feel like and 1 cup of add-ins (broccoli, ham, bacon, sausage, asparagus, onions, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, etc).   We used a little pepper and 1 cup of ham.   In the future I’m going to add a little cayenne pepper.

 

Pour the egg and cream mixture into the pie crust.   Even though we had a deep dish pie crust, we had a little bit of the mixture left over.  Bake for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

Quiche is normally served warm, so you need to let it sit for about 20 – 25 minutes before serving.  I opted to cook it the night before serving and re-warm the next morning.

Easy Pumpkin Bread

by Sarah

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I love the changing colors and Cary loves football.  Every fall I try a pumpkin recipe.  Last year it was pumpkin bars.  The year before that it was pumpkin whoopie pies.  This year I felt like making something to take to The Bug’s teachers at his daycare and decided upon pumpkin bread.

I was goofing off on pinterest…  (I’m seriously addicted.  Help me.) …  and found this delicious looking recipe.  I’ve made pumpkin bread before, but let me tell you, this was WAY, WAY better than anything I have ever made.  It’s also pretty easy too, which is always a plus in our house.

Here are the ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup butter, melted in the microwave
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla
  • 1 16 oz can of pure pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray either 2 medium loaf pans or 4 small loaf pans.

Mix the flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a smallish bowl. 

In a stand mixer, cream the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the pumpkin and mix until well blended (about another minute or so).

In a few small batches, gently add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.

Pour the batter into the pans and cook for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!  :)

Oven Baked French Toast

by Sarah

One of my favorite breakfast items is baked French toast.  My mom used to make it for me all the time.  The cinnamon and nutmeg reminds me of Fall, my favorite time of year.  When we first got married, I made these for Cary.  He said they were a “thing of wonder”.

To make my Mom’s French Toast (hi Mom!), you’ll need:

  • 5 eggs
  • 1 and 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon Splenda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • Sweet Treat to taste

Beat the milk, eggs, Splenda, salt, vanilla and nutmeg together in a small mixing bowl.

Spray a  13” by 9” baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place the bread in the dish.  We experiment with all sorts of bread.  We’ve used french bread, challah bread, and sourdough bread.  All turned out great.  We tend to like breads with a crispy crust a little better.  This time we tried Italian sandwich bread.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread.

This is Sweet Treat, a mixture of cinnamon and vanilla.  We found it on a trip to New Orleans at the New Orleans School of Cooking.  We use it liberally.

Sprinkle Sweet Treat over the bread.  If you don’t have Sweet Treat, you can use cinnamon sugar. Turn each piece of bread over to coat well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees.  Place the bread on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake the bread for 8 minutes.  Turn the bread over and continue to bake for 8 more minutes or until brown.

Update:  We’ve moved since this post.  This temperature/time burns our toast.  We’ve adjusted to 425 degrees for 9 minutes on each side. 

Enjoy with your favorite syrup, fruit topping or whipped cream!

Update:  Welcome Tip Junkie readers!  Please check out some of our other recipes here, here, and here!

Baked Oatmeal with Cherries

by Sarah

School is right around the corner (sigh).  With a long commute to work, most of the time I eat breakfast in the car.  I wanted to make something that was healthy and portable.  I saw baked oatmeal over at Macheesmo and was intrigued.  Unfortunately, his recipe called for letting the oatmeal sit in the refrigerator overnight.  Cary and I had a bit of bad timing when we started this blog.  We are building a house and are currently living in the smallest apartment I’ve ever been in.  The kitchen is tiny and there is no room in the fridge for a 9×13 pan.  So after a bit more searching I found this recipe. 

Here are the ingredients:

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 and 1/3 teaspoons Bakewell cream
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup dried cherries

The instructions are incredibly easy. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Melt the butter on a low setting in the microwave.  Beat the eggs.  Mix everything together.

Grease a 9×13 pan.  Pour the mixture into the pan.  Bake it for 40 minutes.

This makes a great breakfast bar, but it also makes a very nice dessert with cool whip.  This made 10 servings and according to my calculations, there is approximately 260 calories in each bar.  A great way to start the morning!

*Note:  We also made this with dates and it was excellent!