Baked Breakfast Cake and Mac and Cheese

So I stayed home today since I didn’t think the school would appreciate me coughing up my lungs and spreading more germs.  Which also meant I was able to sleep in today.  But Buster woke me up at 7am wanting to go outside, but then I went back to bed and was surprised to wake up at 11:30am.  Today was also the first day I could finally breathe out of my nose again. Yippee. 

When I got up this morning I wasn’t all that hungry like I normally am first thing.  I can never leave the house without eating breakfast.  I didn’t feel like my normal Green Monster or bowl of oatmeal, so I decided I wanted to make a breakfast cake.  It’s been a long time since I’ve made this.  I originally found a version of this recipe @ Oh She Glows. 

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BAKED APPLE BREAKFAST CAKE

This recipe makes enough for 3 breakfasts.  Since I obviously don’t have time in the morning during the week to make this breakfast, I’ll make it in the evening and keep in fridge for the next few days.  Feel free to play with the ingredients…there are so many possibilities.  I’ve even made it with pumpkin purée instead of yogurt. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup  hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 Tbsp  vanilla
• 1 Tbsp  maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp  cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp sprouted chia/flax seed
• 1 Tbsp  Navita’s Naturals Protein Twister Power
• 1 cup  Almond Milk… you could try this with coconut milk (hmm)
• 1 apple, unpeeled and cut into chunks
• 3 Tbsp Chocolate Chips
• some oats for garnish

HOW TO MAKE

First preheat your oven to 350F and grease 3 large ramekins. 

The rest is so simple …all you need to do is add all ingredients (excepts for the apple) into your Vitamix and blend until smooth.

2.  Pour the mixture into the ramekins.  Divide the apples and the chocolate chips equally between the 3 ramekins.  Top with some rolled oats.  Place on a cookie sheet and place in oven and bake for about 35 minutes.

You probably don’t want to dig into it right away after coming out of oven, unless you want to burn your taste buds.  So I let it sit for about 10 minutes before eating. I let the other 2 cool down and covered with saran wrap before placing in fridge.  All I have to do tomorrow morning is stick it in the microwave for a couple of minutes and drizzle with some maple syrup. 

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MAC AND CHEESE

For dinner tonight I came up with my own version of Mac and Cheese.  I haven’t had a chance to make it to the grocery store this week to stock up my fridge, so I figured I might as well make an effort to eat what was in it before the food spoiled.  And so my creation tonight turned into this….

Here is how to make this

I chopped up 1/2 an onion, 1 jalapeño pepper and about 6 strips of bacon.  Not in pictures are 2 garlic cloves.  While preparing these ingredients, I also boiled a pot of water and then cooked 2 cups of Rice Pasta. 

Make sure you remove the seeds and wash your hands really well after chopping up the pepper.  And most importantly, DO NOT touch your eyes until after you’ve washed your hands.  (Even I have to learn the hard way sometimes – haha). 

  In another pot, heat about 1 Tbsp Olive oil and add the bacon.  Cook until browned, drain the bacon and set aside.  You’re going to add the bacon to the pasta later.

When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander.  Wash the pot and return to stove.  Turn heat to medium and add 2 Tbsp Olive Oil.  Add the onions, garlic and jalapeño pepper.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Also add about 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. 

Now return the cooked pasta and the bacon to the vegetable mixture. 

Add 1 cup grated cheese. 

I also added 1 cup of Almond Milk, 2 Tbsp of Chicken bouillon, salt and pepper to taste.

Make sure to mix everything together really well.  Cook for a couple of minutes so that your mac and cheese is nice and hot and enjoy the cheesy goodness. 

Actually, it wasn’t too cheesy, it was just perfect. 

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So there is my day for you.  It’s supposed to snow tonight.  We have a snowfall warning in effect (up to 10 cm).  Tomorrow is a professional development day for the staff at my school.  No kids to worry about infecting, just the teachers , but depending on my night, I may take one last day at home. I’ve got some yummy breakfast cake and some mac and cheese to look forward to tomorrow as well. 

Have a great night y’all. 

Bea

xoxo

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Hey guys,

Hope your weekends have started off well.  Have I got a treat for you today.  Since I had to attend a Strata meeting for my complex this morning, I spent the night at my place instead of Trevor’s because the meeting was here.  And since I am President of my Strata Council, I better attend.  So when I woke up this morning I took the opportunity to make my world famous Gluten-Free Pancakes…it’s been so long.  Enjoy… I sure did

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup  Sorghum Flour
• 1 cup  Buckwheat Flour (or Millet flour – or 1/2 cup of each)
• 2 Tbsp  Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp  GF and Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
• 2 Tbsp  Navita’s Naturals Twister Power (Maca, Hemp, Cocoa Blend)
• 2 Tbsp  Sprouted Flax/Chia Seeds
• 1 medium apple, grated with peel
• 1 egg, beaten (can use my egg substitute – see recipes tab)
• 1 Tbsp pure organic Vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp  pure organic maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cup almond milk

First sift together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl like this.  Then set aside.

Next mix together the wet ingredients in a small bowl (apple, egg or egg substitute, vanilla and maple syrup).  DO NOT yet add the milk. 

Now you can add the apple mixture to the flour mixture and mix well.  Add the milk about 1/2 cup at a time and stir together with a wooden spoon.  Keep adding the milk until you get a thicker batter, but it can’t be runny or lumpy.  I had to add another splash of milk to the batter so that it was thin enough to spread around in pan. 

Heat up a shallow frying pan to a medium-low heat and use some non-stick spray in pan each time you are going to make the pancake.  Remove pan from heat and using a ladle, add a scoop full in center of pan.  Tilt so that it can spread out evenly and return on element. 

The pancake is ready to be flipped when you notice that the sides of the pancake start getting brown or batter starts bubbling a little bit. 

Should be nice and brown but not burned when ready to be flipped.  I’ve noticed that you have to sometimes turn down your element to prevent burning.

Place pancakes in a preheated oven (200F) to be kept warm until ready to serve. 

If desired, serve with some organic non-fat yogurt and pure maple syrup. 

I love how it makes enough pancakes for leftovers the next morning.  I’ll sometimes even have pancakes for lunch.  I’ve even made pancakes the night before during the school week and then pop them in the microwave for a quick weekend breakfast on a weekday.  I just don’t have the time during the week to make pancakes.  And one of the great things about my pancakes is that they are really filling and very satisfying. 

What is your favourite weekend breakfast meal?  How about a weekend breakfast during the week?

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On another note, I’ve been trying to upload a video to the blog and it seems to be taking forever.  It just keeps saying “Uploading Video”.  Anybody in the blogging world have any tips?  I use a program called:  Windows Live Writer 2011.

 

Take care everyone,

 

Bea

xoxo