Peanut Butter Toast: Lots of Nutrients

We put our Peanut Butter Toast under the broiler for a couple of minutes
to make everything warm and crispy. Mmmm.

If you are worried that your toddler may not be getting enough nutrients, here's some great news about Peanut Butter Toast: one tablespoon of peanut butter on a slice of whole wheat bread with an 8-ounce glass of low-fat milk provides plenty of nutrition for your toddler. Before the age of 4, this will fulfill:

• 100% of your preschooler's protein requirement
• 33% of his grain recommendation
• 50% percent of his daily dairy
• 65% percent of his need for zinc
• 32% percent of vitamin E
• 18% percent of iron, and
• 65% percent of his calcium needs

I was really encouraged by the amount of nutrition this simple little meal provides!  These stats came from this article on BabyCenter which contains lots of great ideas for getting your toddler to eat healthier. 

Love, Lauren

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

Bananas Foster Oatmeal - tastes like dessert for breakfast!

My mother-in-law loves Bananas Foster for dessert.  Here in Houston, Brennan's makes the best Banana's Foster. They share their delicious recipe here, and about once a year I make this as a special dessert that we all enjoy. We usually serve this Banana's Foster over Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream... but I think oatmeal makes a very acceptable breakfast stand-in. It's the buttery-cinnamony-banana topping that is the real magic anyways. (Note: I omitted the rum and banana liquor that the Brennan's recipe calls for and substituted low-fat milk.)

Also... I just signed up for Weight Watchers online. (My son is 2 1/2 - I can't still call this "baby weight"!) I'm still learning their Points Plus system, but I will try to include points in recipes where I have figured them out. 

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

serves 4; 5 WW Points Plus per serving

1 cup dried steel cut oats + 4 cups water (or any prepared oatmeal)

2 bananas, sliced lengthwise

1 Tablespoon butter

3 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons low-fat milk

For the oatmeal: I love steel cut oats, but since they are heartier than quick cooking oats, they take much longer to cook. I never have 45 minutes to prepare them in the morning, so I use a shortcut that begins the night before: boil 4 cups of water in a pot. Add 1 cup steel cut oats and simmer 1 minute. Cover pot and store overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, cook the oatmeal on low for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (You can even keep leftover oatmeal in the pot, store it back in the refrigerator, and re-heat on the stove the next morning.) Honestly, instant or quick cooking oatmeal would make a fine substitute here. Use whatever oatmeal your family likes. While the oatmeal warms/cooks, prepare the Bananas Foster Topping.

Steel Cut Oats cooked with the shortcut method

For the Bananas Foster Topping: Combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a skillet. Place the pan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Stir or whisk in the milk until the mixture is thoroughly blended. You will want a smooth, slightly thickened, caramel colored mixture.  Place the bananas in the pan and cook until the bananas soften and begin to brown, about 5-7 minutes. 

Scoop oatmeal into bowls; add 1/2 of a banana and a drizzle of sauce to each bowl.  (Make sure to let this cool enough for little mouths before serving!)

Note:  WP prefers his Bananas Foster Topping mixed into the oatmeal. He also prefers instant oatmeal - I think the texture of the steel cut oats is ‘different’ than what he expects from oatmeal.  

Happy Breakfast! ~ Lauren

Owl Toast

Have you ever noticed that an 'up-side down' piece of toast is the perfect shape for making a yummy breakfast owl!?  I never had... until this morning!  My little guy is feeling crummy, so I was trying to come up with a breakfast that would make him smile.... this did the trick. He actually giggled and said "Oh, how funny!" when he saw it!  In addition to being cute, Owl Toast is healthy too (approximately 2 WW Points Plus.)

Owl Toast

Bread

Egg Whites

Turkey Sausage links (I LOVE Applegate Farms' all-natural turkey breakfast sausage)

American Cheese

Cooking Spray

Toast the bread in the toaster. Turn the toast 'up-side down' and use a small circle-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the eyes (and save the cut-out circles!) Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add the toast to the skillet and pour egg whites into the holes. After a couple of minutes, when the egg whites have 'set', remove the toast and eggs from the pan.  Trim any egg white run-off. Add slices of turkey sausage rounds to the eyes and cut out a diamond of American cheese for the beak. Cut each of the toast circles (from the eyes) in half and use the semi-circles for wings and feet. Owl Toast! 

If the toast is flat against the skillet, there shouldn't be any 'run-off'.
Mine obviously wasn't, but I just trimmed it off before serving!

Pancake fun

I found this squeeze bottle at Bed Bath and Beyond and thought it would make for some food fun. You can let the kids decorate cookies or cake or you could use it to fill things like pastry or strawberries, etc.  And, really, you could just keep a bottle of icing in the fridge to bust out in emergencies- "MOM! My pancakes are too plain!  We must ice them!"    

 Or . . . you could use the bottle to make interesting pancakes that don't need to be iced! or look prettier iced!

Best Ever Waffles

Here are our leftover waffles, stacked between coffee filters, ready to go in the freezer for a future breakfast

I am extremely grateful to Molly at Orangette for introducing me to the best waffle in the world. I didn't even like waffles that much before trying this one. But now, this is one of my favorite breakfasts - a favorite of my whole family too. I have made this recipe MANY times, and I have lots of tips and tricks on making it for a family and/or a crowd (see below).  But first, I need to gush about Molly. 

I love so many of Molly's recipes. I have her book 'A Homemade Life', and about 10 recipes from that book have become staples in our house. That's saying a LOT. I LOVE cookbooks. I have many cookbooks. I read them like they are novels.  I try lots of recipes from them (and dislike many.) But if I find even just one or two recipes from a cookbook that are good enough to incorporate into my cooking routine, then I consider it a worthwhile book. Needless to say, Molly's book and blog are among my very favorites. I bet I don't go a week without making something of hers.  She not only has great recipes, but she writes so beautifully. Every recipe comes with a story. I dare you to read one of her recipes and not try it... it's almost impossible to do!

Last year Molly blogged about this 'Winning Waffle', and by the way she described it, I had to try it.  I have borrowed her words from her blog because she PERFECTLY describes these waffles.  Read this and tell me you do not want to make them.  

  

"Here’s the thing. For me, the Marion Cunningham waffle, the yeasted one, is capital-W Winner. It’s incredibly light and crisp, but the inner crumb is soft, tender, almost custardy. I can’t say enough about that texture. I wanted to eat waffle after waffle after waffle, just for the way it felt between my teeth. It isn’t particularly sweet, which I like very much, and at first appraisal, it can even seem a little salty. But as soon as you pour on some maple syrup, it makes sense: the salt and the sweetness make each other hum. That complexity, plus the complexity brought by the yeast, plus the good hit of butter in the batter, combine to make the kind of flavor that lasts, that hangs around long after the waffle itself is gone. Plus, and this is a big plus, because the yeasted batter requires an overnight rest, you do 90% of the work - which is very easy work - the night before. The morning of, you have almost nothing to do, except make some coffee and turn on the radio and feel pleased that you have almost nothing to do. It’s heaven. It’s the top. I wouldn’t change a thing."

Visit Orangette here for the awesome waffle recipe. Keep these things in mind when you make them:

• 90% of the prep work is done the night before (awesome if you are not a morning person!)
• The recipe calls for whole milk. The waffles turn out best if you use whole milk, and do not substitute for a lower-fat version.
• The waffle batter is really thin. I think a standard (not Belgium) waffle maker works best.
• The texture of these waffles is part of what makes them so perfect. To keep them crisp and warm, place waffles on a wire rack in a jelly roll pan and keep them in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve. (Don't set a hot waffle on a plate! The steam will hit the plate and make the waffle soggy.)
• If you are on vacation and/or have a house full of people who want waffles but wake up at different times, just make the batter and let each person cook their own waffle. 
• I serve these waffles to WP alongside a demitasse cup of warm pure maple syrup so he can dip them. For an extra-special treat, I sift powdered sugar on top of the waffles - tastes just like a funnel cake!
• Do not throw away leftovers! These waffles freeze and reheat beautifully!  I separate mine with flattened coffee filters and store them in a freezer bag. I reheat waffle quarters in a toaster and they taste perfectly fresh. 

This is what the batter looks like once it is complete.  

Because the batter is thin, be careful not to over 'flood' the waffle iron. 

Store waffles on wire racks, in a jelly roll pan, in an oven set to 200 degrees until they are ready to be served.

Happy 2012!

Lauren

Eggs Benedict for a Crowd

The green basil and pink prosciutto make it look Christmasy, don't they? 

Assemble all ingredients on baking sheets and muffin tins so they can bake at the same time.

Eggs benedict might be my very favorite food. It is definitely my favorite breakfast food. My mom used to make it on Christmas mornings, so it has lots of happy memories associated with it. And, before WP was born, the husband and I used to go out to eat... a lot. We only half jokingly claimed that eating was our "thing we do together."  I have probably eaten 30 different versions of Eggs Benedict. This recipe includes elements from all of my favorites... including my mom's Hollandaise Sauce.  I have made true Hollandaise sauces from scratch (with egg yolks), but this one is by far the most flavorful, the lightest, and the easiest to make.  I have also altered the cooking methods a bit to make this easier to prepare for a crowd. I'm excited to share this recipe - it is one of my very favorites! 


Lauren's Eggs Benedict - serves 6
2 cups water

12 eggs

12 slices Italian bread (or 6 rolls, cut in half)

8-16 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (6-12 thin slices)

2 large tomatoes
Salt & pepper

capers (optional)

'Hollandaise' Sauce

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

The key to preparing this dish for a crowd is to prepare all of the ingredients on baking sheets and in muffin tins so they can bake in the oven at the same time. 

Preheat oven to 400. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  While the water boils:

• Slice bread into small toast-sized pieces. Butter the bread and place on baking sheet or in muffin tins. (I have also used King's Hawaiin Rolls in place of Italian bread. Kids love this sweet bread!) 
• Pull the thin slices of proscuitto apart and lay them individually on a foil-lined jelly roll pan (some of the fat will cook out, so make sure your pan has sides.) 
• Slice the tomatoes and lay the slices out on a foil-lined jelly roll pan (same one as the prosciutto if you have room.) Lightly salt & pepper the tomatoes.
• Lightly spray 12 silicone muffin cups with cooking spray.

Once the water is boiling, place 2 tablespoons water into a muffin cup then add one egg. Cover the egg with 1 additional tablespoon of water. Repeat until all eggs are in muffin cups. (Note: if you don't have silicone baking cups, you could still follow this same process with a muffin pan. It's just easier to remove the cooked eggs if you have the silicone cups.)

Place the eggs, bread, tomatoes and prosciutto in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Check the eggs for doneness.  The eggs are done when the whites are set/white.  Cook a bit longer for firm yolks, less for runnier yolks. Remove ingredients from oven.  Use a paper towel to dab water from the tops of the eggs. 


While the ingredients bake, prepare the sauce by whisking together mayonnaise, milk, lemon juice and basil. 


Assemble Eggs Benedict: bread, tomato, prosciutto, egg, sauce and capers (optional).  

Print recipe here. 

Veggie Muffins

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies go into these muffins!

I found the original recipe for these muffins in the Keeping Good Company cookbook I have here at home.  I love everything I have made from this cookbook, so when I saw all of the fruit and veggies in these muffins, I knew I had to give them a try.  To my delight, they tasted great, and WP ate them too!

As you can see, he can't keep his hands off them!

The original recipe was very good, but I made some modifications to make it more healthy and kid friendly.  They make great regular size or mini muffins and are one of my favorite things to take to a morning play date. I usually freeze the leftovers (any that won’t be eaten within 3 days) and then thaw them out in batches the night before I need them. They keep well in the freezer for a couple of months. 

Veggie Muffins

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup peeled, grated carrots (2-3 large carrots)

1 cup peeled, grated zucchini (1/2 large zucchini)

1 large green apple, peeled and grated

2 eggs

1/4 cup applesauce (I use Central Market's Organic Cinnamon Applesauce)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (2% or whole; I use Fage)

1 tsp vanilla

Preaheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients (flour through salt). Stir in carrots, zucchini and apples. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, applesauce, oil, yogurt and vanilla and then add to the flour/veggie mixture.  

Spoon batter into greased, paper-lined, or silicone muffin molds, filling each cup to desired fullness.  They don't rise a whole lot, so it's fine to fill them to the top. The will rise a little, and some will spill over, giving you a nice, crusty top.  But you can fill them as little as 1/2 full if you want a smaller muffin for little hands. 

Bake regular size muffins 22-28 minutes (less for mini muffins), or until center of muffins springs back when touched. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

Makes 12-24 muffins, depending on how full you fill each one.


Note: I have made these two ways: one way is to grate the veggies/apples and the other way is to pulse them in the food processor into fine pieces.  I prefer the grated way - you can see little grated pieces in the muffins, and you know what you are eating is fresh.  The grated pieces don't bother WP... but if your kiddo is big on texture, you may want to use the food processor to break the veggies/apple into tiny pieces that will be undetectable in the muffins. If you do this, the muffins might turn out a bit drier and/or need less bake time - so watch them closely.

Print recipe here. 

Love, Lauren

Kim says: "Thank you Lauren for dropping this off!  The boys loved them!!"

Now you see it . . .

Now you don't!

Pumpkin Apple Muffin

Sorry for the uber-close shot (some ingredients are out of frame).  KC was going for the eggs.

Flexible, yummy recipe for breakfast, snack, or dessert. 

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Print Recipe
    2 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat is great too)
    1 cup brown sugar
    1 T pumpkin pie spice
    1 t baking soda
    1/2 t salt
    2 large eggs
    1 cup canned pure pumpkin (I sometime have a bit leftover from making something else- you can add mashed banana to make a cup if needed)
    1/2 cup ricotta cheese (if using low fat do half veggie oil/half cheese)
    2 medium apples, peeled and diced (can also sub banana)

    
   Optional add-ins: raisins, nuts, chocolate chips . . .

    
   Optional toppings: streusel (1/2 c flour, 1/4 c brown sugar, 4 T butter, 1/2 t cinnamon, combined with fork), granola. OR ice them like cupcakes- cream cheese icing (1 pkg crm cheese, softened, 1/4 c butter softened, 1 c powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract)! 

Combine flour, sugar, spice, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, pumpkin, and ricotta.  Stir dry ingredients into wet; then add apples and any other add-ins.  The batter is thick but bakes up nice and  moist.  Spoon into 18 lined or greased muffin tins. Top with streusel or granola, if you'd like.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Perfect. 

Turkey Pancakes

We made these turkey pancakes yesterday morning, and the boy talked about them all day!  They only take a tiny bit more effort and ingredients than regular old pancakes.  

Ingredients:

• Your favorite pancake mix, prepared (I used 1 1/2 cups of Bruce's Sweet Potato Pancake mix, "the breakfast vegetable!" which yielded 2 turkey pancakes.)
• A few drops of red and yellow food coloring (optional)
• Sliced strawberries
• Raisins 

Step 1: Prepare pancake mix and add food coloring (optional.) I separated the prepared pancake mix into 3 bowls, and added yellow food coloring to one bowl and yellow+red food coloring to another bowl.  The tail feathers of the turkey are the yellow and orange colored mix... but you can't really tell once they are cooked!  Maybe it's because the sweet potato mix already has a darker color to it.  If you want to save some time, don't worry about the food coloring! 

Step 2: Add the pancake mix to plastic 'piping' bags (I used Ziploc.) Squish the mix over to one side, and cut a small hole in one corner.  If you have plastic squeeze bottle, that would work too. But, honestly, it's really nice to just throw away the bag when you are done with it!

Step 3: "Draw" the turkey parts on the griddle.  Sorry, this picture is kind of unappetizing. Some of the 'turkey parts' actually look like turkey parts. 

Step 4: Assemble the turkey on the plate with strawberries, raisins, or other fruit you have on hand (bananas would be cute too!) WP loved this. He even ate the strawberries and raisins first!

For more, and cooler, pancake ideas, check out Jim's Pancakes. 

~ Lauren