smoothie kits

I'm on a smoothie kick and you know I like to streamline things. These smoothie kits live in the freezer and all you do is add milk and blend.

In each bag:

4 ripe banana slices

5 strawberry quarters

5 blueberries (not pictured)

1 Tablespoon of Super Seeds

1 scoop of Naked Pea protein powder

1 big ass kale leaf, stem removed

1/2 tsp of grated turmeric (not pictured)

generous sprinkles of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger

I don't like a super sweet smoothie so if you do, add some honey or whatever.

The important thing is to freeze these FLAT so you can break them up into chunks so they blend easier. If you freeze them in a solid block, they will be impossible to blend.

I add 3/4 cup (6 oz) of soy milk and blend away. Makes a 12 ounce smoothie that looks ugly and green but I like it. Sometimes I pair it with an extra toasted english muffin with almond butter.

frozen scrambled egg kits

We are not morning people. But we really like breakfast. Which means that most work mornings are rushed.

I created these to help streamline breakfast prep. Really all they are is ingredients that we like to put in scrambled eggs, divided into baggies and frozen.

These include:

onions

mushroom

peppers

sausage/ham

spinach/kale

I use the food processor to chop everything quickly, unless I'm in a meditative mood and then I chop by hand.

When we're ready for a hearty breakfast, we toss the contents of a frozen bag into a hot pan, let everything cook for a few minutes, then add eggs and scramble.

Ooh, I should add potato to the next batch.

Note: if you want to add cheese, wait until the very end.

Waffles, updated

Capturing the waffle recipe evolution...

We eat waffles a little differently than we used to.

First of all, we traded the big waffle maker for the dash mini waffle maker. It makes smaller, more crispy waffles. Sure, they're one-at-a-time, but Sunday mornings are for leisurely making waffles, and if you prefer to make a batch ahead of time they freeze beautifully.

These are dairy free and egg-free. Because eggs got expensive and I adapted the recipe and I like them better this way.

Waffles

1 T. flaxseed meal

3 T. hot water

1 T. olive oil

1 t. apple cider vinegar

1/4 t. salt

1 t. honey

1 c. almond mik

1 c. gf flour mix

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

Plug in the waffle maker to let it heat up.

Mix the flaxseed meal and water in a 2 c. measuring cup. Add in the olive oil, vinegar, salt, honey, and almond milk. Measure out 1 c. of gf flour mix, and top with baking soda and baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well. 

Pour appx 2 T. of batter onto the waffle maker. Spread it to the edges and close the lid. Cook for 4 minutes. Repeat. Makes 6 waffles.

We like them with crunchy peanut butter, syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

Pumpkin Scones

Whoa these scones are an absolute delight. Not too dry, not too sweet. 

Pumpkin Scones

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl:

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1 T. molasses

2 t. vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl:

1 1/2 c. gf flour mix

1/4 c. dark brown sugar

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 T. pumpkin pie spice*

Add a stick of butter to the flour mixture (I used Country Crock Olive Oil) and cut it in using a pastry blender, until it looks like little pebbles. Stir in the wet ingredients.

Plop the dough onto the parchment paper. It will be soft. Form the dough into a circle with your hands. Using a knife or offset spatula dipped in gf flour or sprayed with cooking spray, separate into 6 wedges. The dough will be sticky but the wedges should hold their shape. 

Sprinkle with cinnamon and turbinado sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. A toothpick will come out clean, and the edges will be a little crispy.

Perfect with a hot cup of coffee.

*[Pumpkin pie spice:]
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t.ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

banana muffins

When faced with the choice between making "bread" vs "muffins," I almost always choose muffins because they cook so much faster. (or donuts bc why not)

Which is why this recipe is for banana muffins and not banana bread.

Mix in a bowl:

1 really ripe banana, mushed with a fork

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. oil

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. gf flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Pour into a greased muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Top with nuts, seeds, chocolate, or nothing. I couldn't make up my mind so I did a couple of each. 

Makes 6 muffins.

cinnamon sugar donuts

There is always a higher chance of donuts on Sunday mornings. Today we got cinnamon sugar donuts. You expect a baked donut to be a little dense, but these are fluffier. Can't decide which I prefer.

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

1 c. gf flour mix

2 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 egg

2 T. oil

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. vinegar

1/2 c. almond milk

Topping: 1/4 c. sugar + 1 t. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. 

Transfer the batter into a sandwich bag and clip a corner. Pipe into a greased donut pan. These rise quite a bit- the batter should be level with the center indentation. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Spray the top of a warm donut with cooking spray and dunk it into the bowl of cinnamon/sugar. Do this twice for each donut.

Makes 6 donuts

Banana donuts

Banana muffins... but make it a donut. Because why the heck not?

Banana donuts

Mix in a bowl:

1 really ripe banana, mushed with a fork

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. oil

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. gf flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Pour the batter into a sandwich baggie and cut off the corner. Pipe into a greased donut pan. Top with cinnamon sugar, walnuts, chocolate chips, etc.

Bake at 350 for 13 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 6 donuts

Pumpkin donuts

Y'all, I do not regret buying a donut pan. I always thought they were no different from, say, muffins, but things really do bake up differently in a donut pan.

I've tried a few different recipes for pumpkin donuts and this is my favorite, adapted from here. 

Pumpkin Donuts

1.5 c. GF flour mix
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1 t. pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 t. cinnamon

1 egg
1/2 c. pumpkin
2 T. oil
1/4 c. almond milk
1 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Then mix it all together.
Spoon the batter into a sandwich baggie and cut off the corner. Pipe the batter generously into a greased donut pan. It should fill 6 wells. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

These are good on their own, but the maple cinnamon glaze (adapted from here) really makes these fantastic.

Maple Cinnamon glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 T maple syrup
2 T. almond milk
dash of salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl wide enough to dip the donuts.  Microwave for 15 seconds to help the flavors meld (I hate that "stale" powdered sugar taste). Dip the donuts and let the glaze set.

*Pumpkin pie spice:
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

frothy milk without fancy equipment

Good morning! This post comes with a story. Normally I hate that, so scroll to the bottom to skip it.

There's a reason why I care so much about foaming milk without fancy equipment.

It starts with my preference for strong black coffee. My stomach became irritated with it, so I tried adding unsweetened almond milk to buffer the jet fuel. It helps. A LOT.

My stomach has felt better, but I don't exactly like the way it tastes. I still prefer that bitter, un-adultered cup of coffee. Do you know what it's like to wake up in the morning and NOT look forward to your coffee? It sucks.

I recently visited a friend who likes lattes in the morning. She uses a milk steamer and it got me thinking... I like lattes, and I could get on board with being fancy every day. I almost bought myself a milk steamer, but we already have 2 coffeemakers and I don't want another gadget cluttering the kitchen counter.

Luckily, all I needed was a glass jar.
(I happen to have a glass jar problem and have plenty laying around. I think this one is an old pizza sauce jar- I like it because it has markings on the side for easy measuring.)

Here are the steps to get frothy almond milk:

1. Add almond milk to the jar. Sometimes I add turmeric or cinnamon.

2. Microwave it for 1 minute (with the lid OFF)

3. Feed the cat while it's heating

4. Place the lid on the jar

5. Shake for a few seconds

6. Pour into a cup of dark, strong coffee

Now, I look forward to my cup of coffee again.

breakfast quinoa bowl

Usually I eat the same thing for breakfast. An egg, some greens, and fruit.

Last night we had some leftover quinoa that doesn't really incorporate well into the rest of the meals planned for the week, and I didn't feel like making it into a side salad, so I figured I'd work it into my breakfast. 

I made a bowl with the following:

kale, torn into small pieces

finely sliced red cabbage

quinoa

olive oil

salt and pepper

fried egg, over medium and chopped up

diced avocado

It was pretty good, and has kind of inspired me to try some other variations of quinoa for breakfast. 

Not sure how a sweet version would taste, with cinnamon, peanut butter, or fruit, like instead of oatmeal? 

Eh, I might just stick to savory.

Hotel room eggs on the mini griddle

I bought the cutest little DASH mini griddle (in pink).

Measuring around 6 inches round by 3 inches tall, it fits really easily into my suitcase and totally changes my hotel room cooking game.

This morning, I used it to fry an egg in less than 5 minutes.

1. Plug in the griddle and let it heat up until the light on top turns off.
2. Crack an egg on it.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Close the lid and let it cook for 3 minutes. I like my egg yolks mostly firm and slightly runny, so adjust the time according to your liking.

4. Serve.

I also used it to make an omelet with onions and spinach. All it takes is 2 minutes on the griddle.

How awesome is this??

veggie-ful breakfast

Look at how pretty this is.

I still have a bunch of shredded beet and carrot and kale, so I shoved as much of it as I could into breakfast. It was actually really delicious.

Place a smallish pan on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium.

Drizzle in a bit of olive oil, a few pieces of onion, some kale that's been torn into pieces, some shredded beet and carrot, as well as any other appropriate veggies, and let that cook a little. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over it and stir. Let it cook a little more.

In the meantime, beat an egg in a bowl with a splash of water. Make sure the veggies in the pan are evenly distributed and have softened up. Pour the beaten egg over the veggies and swirl the pan so that the egg is evenly distributed. Cover and turn the heat to low. When the egg is set, it's time to eat.

Transfer to a plate and enjoy.

Pumpkin veggie muffins

Today I have for you, another edition of "put as many veggies as I can into whatever I'm eating."

Inspired by the random bowls of shredded veggies in my fridge, today we get muffins, again.

These are so good, and you can't even tell there are veggies in them.

Seriously, when I took the picture, I thought to myself, "Did I forget to put in the beets?" because they disappeared. If you look closely, you can see tiny flecks of the zucchini, but the beets, I suppose, are a secret.

Pumpkin veggie muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix in a bowl:
1/2 c. gf flour mix
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

Mix in another bowl:
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T. light olive oil
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. shredded beet
1 t. fresh shredded ginger

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and scoop into a muffin tin. Top with slivered almonds and a few dried cranberries. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip: If you're not making a full pan of muffins, and don't own a 6-muffin pan, pour a little bit of water into the empty wells. It keeps the muffins moist and prevents the pan from warping.

*[Pumpkin pie spice:]
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t.ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Pumpkin carrot muffins

I'm not sure how these muffins happened.

I woke up, headed creakily into the kitchen, and before I even had a few sips of coffee, my subconscious had taken over and the next thing I knew, I was looking at this:

I'm so glad my sleepy autopilot brain knows how to make muffins, because by the time I was ready for my second cup of coffee, these were ready to come out of the oven. And they are delightful.

Pumpkin Carrot Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix in a bowl:
1/2 c. gf flour mix
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

Mix in another bowl:
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 T. light olive oil
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. shredded carrot

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and scoop into a muffin tin. Top with slivered almonds and a few dried cranberries. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This made 5 muffins that taste like fall and have veggies in them. Win.

*[Pumpkin pie spice:]
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t.ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Microwaved egg, hotel edition.

Microwaved egg? Really?

Don't knock it until you've tried it. And if you've tried it, you might prefer it to the questionable egg-like substance served at the hotel breakfast. I certainly do.

This recipe does require that you have a microwaveable container with you. I travel with one, but a forgetful moment is easily remedied by purchasing a container at the grocery store.

Microwaved egg, hotel edition:

1 egg
2 slices of lunchmeat, torn up
torn up kale or other chopped veggie
pepper

Mix the above ingredients in the container with a fork. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir and, if needed, microwave for another 30 seconds or until the egg is not wet.

See? Not bad.

I really enjoy these small warm meals to start the day. Sure beats staring at the same sad honeydew and dried up sausage (with probable gluten content) at the hotel breakfast and deciding it's best to do without.

Pumpkin Bread

It's pumpkin (spice) season! Yeah!

My little basic heart is so happy when it arrives every year. I fully support putting pumpkin into everything right now. Breakfast, sweet, savory, it doesn't matter really.

I was not looking for a pumpkin bread recipe, but this one from Minimalist Baker fell into my lap serendipitously, and of course I suddenly needed pumpkin bread.

Of course I can't follow a recipe as it's written to save my life, so I tweaked it to fit my needs.

And oh, it's gorgeous. It's pumpkiny. It's spice-y. It's that perfect spot between being moist but not soggy, and doesn't crumble. It's not too sweet and it's particularly delightful with a generous smear of butter.

Pumpkin Bread

2 eggs
1/4 c. light olive oil
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 t. pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 c. GF oats
1/2 c. almond flour
1 c. GF flour

Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl or stand mixer, mix the wet ingredients. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Mix the two together.
Pour into a greased loaf pan and top with chopped nuts. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*[Pumpkin pie spice:]
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t.ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

cornmeal pancakes

Sundays are for waffles.

(Actually, lately our waffle tradition has... waffled. Probably for the better. Waffles are not exactly waistline friendly fare.)

Which is why it was odd that this morning I woke up wanting pancakes. The pancake gods must have whispered sweet pancakey nothings into my ear while I slept.

Who am I to deny the dreamland pancake gods?

For a pancake that had a more rustic, stick to your ribsy effect, I opted to add some cornmeal. It was a good decision. The edges were a little crispy and the whole pancake experience was upgraded.

Cornmeal Pancakes

1/2 c. GF flour mix
1/2 c. GF cornmeal
1 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
2 T. oil (I use extra light olive oil)
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 c. water or milk

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients well with a whisk.

Preheat a griddle/ pan until water droplets dance around a few seconds before disappearing.

Ladle in about 1/3 cup of the batter and let it cook until you start seeing bubbles in the middle and the sides are set. Flip, and cook for a few minutes until the center is done.

This will make about 4 pancakes, or 2 sets of short-stacks.

Especially good with a light drizzle of real maple syrup.

GF Honey Nut Cheerios

Hello, old friend. It's been roughly 8 years.
I may have squealed in Target.

The best part? They're the SAME price as the regular kind! Thanks for not jacking up the price, guys. ♡

Coffee cake bites with cream cheese streusel

There's nothing like a sweet treat on a Saturday morning when the sun decides to shine between the cracks in the blinds and creep around the curtains and demand that you enjoy the gloriousness.

The truth is, these muffins would be mediocre without the streusel topping. I'm not above admitting that.
This streusel is not just any streusel. It's a cream cheese streusel. Because I saw it in the fridge next to the butter and thought, "Why not?"
It's not the first time I've subbed cream cheese for butter, and once again, cream cheese enabled these mediocre muffins to become special. [With the help of our friends sugar and flour, of course.]

Coffee Cake Bites with Cream Cheese Streusel

1 c. GF flour mix
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. milk
2 T. light olive oil (or melted butter)
1/2 t. vanilla

Streusel topping:
Using forks or a pastry blender, crumble together:
1/2 block cold cream cheese
2 T.  GF flour mix
1/4 c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and oil.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into a greased mini muffin pan.
Top with the streusel.
Bake 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Makes 24 mini muffins

Frittata

The other day I told Chris I was making a frittata for dinner. When it came out of the oven in all its glory, he looked at it and said, "Oh, you made a quiche." To which I replied, "No, I made a frittata."
While we conversed back and forth about what to call it, we both agreed that it was tasty.

This is one of those loosey goosey recipes that pretty much involves using up leftovers in our house. A little bit of this? A little bit of that? Typically I plop them into a soup, but this time I went with a frittata.

The idea is simple. Eggs, veggies, herbs... whatever you want.

This particular frittata involved:
6 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt & pepper, with a splash of milk
1/2 cubed potato
1/4 c. chopped sweet peppers
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 c. frozen broccoli
1 sprig of rosemary, stripped and chopped finely
1 sprig of sage leaves, chopped finely
1 sprig of parsley leaves, chopped finely
the last handful of sad old salad; spinach and arugula, chopped
a bit of shredded cheese

I sauteed the potato, peppers, and onion in a cast iron skillet until they were softened up. Then added the eggs straight into the hot pan with everything else and mixed it up. Baked at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center came out clean. I want to say 20 minutes? I didn't really time it; just checked it when it started to smell good.

The cool thing about making everything in the skillet is that when you add the eggs to the hot pan, it kinda forms its own crust.
The other cool thing is that you can serve this type of dish for breakfast or brunch or dinner and it pretty much fits the bill.

P.S. If we had it readily available [aka leftovers], I would have added sausage and fresh tomatoes.

P.P.S. The Frittata vs Quiche debate, resolved.