Pinterest Projects: Muffin Tin Eggs

Since I have to avoid dairy while nursing Ladybug, my go-to breakfast of cereal has been nixed.  Yes, I use almond milk but it just isn't quite the same for a daily meal.  I've been searching for new quick breakfast ideas.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be amazing.

Eggs...baked in single serve portions.  The best part is that they are freezer friendly and perfect for building a quick English muffin sandwich.  I will definitely bake eggs like this again.  After a trial way of packaging, Jon and I decided to freeze the eggs separate from the English muffins.  We don't mind spending the extra time building it fresh that morning.  Now I should fry up some sausage patties to freeze and have the ability to make a quick and easy Egg and Sausage Sandwich.

Easy Morning Glory Muffins

Yesterday, Sweetpea and I made these Easy Morning Glory Muffins from Money Saving Mom with a few adaptations for our family.  She woke up from naps first and loved that she was able to help by herself! 
I discovered these back in June and my kiddos love them!  Since Buddy and Sweetpea don't mind the orange color, I shred my carrots as finely as possible because otherwise they won't eat it if they "see" carrots.  Also, I omit the coconut and add in two apples and extra raisins. 
Although a bit labor intensive, the beauty of these muffins is that they freeze for a healthy quick breakfast (or snack).  Starting the day with hidden carrots is not too shabby!

French Toast Casserole

Last night I read a post from I Can Teach My Child about French Toast Casserole and it sounded amazing!  Instead of putting this in a file of recipes to try later, I immediately got up and made it to put it in the fridge for breakfast today.  I think her comments about not being a morning person were what convinced me since this fit my description of myself. Sometimes I feel semi-guilty that I am not the mom who cooks breakfast every morning before her family wakes up...I am often the last one out of bed!  I love special breakfasts that I can make the night before like this or the bread machine cinnamon rolls and just pop into the oven in the morning.  While it cooks, I am able to drink my cup of coffee and wake up!

Above was my plate today and I really enjoyed it...so this may be too good of a discovery.  Buddy and Sweetpea devoured their plates as well and asked for seconds.  It was a nice deviation from yogurt, cereal, or bananas for breakfast. 

If you love French Toast and hate to stand in the morning cooking over a griddle, try this recipe out!

Amazing Black Bean Brownies

Yesterday, I made Black Bean Brownies by Melissa d'Arabian.  The recipe was passed on to me by a friend and I was a little leery to try it.  Black beans...in brownies?  But taking my friend's glowing recommendation, I went ahead and baked them. 
When I cut them last night to try them, Buddy and Sweetpea devoured the brownies!  Buddy finished his and was up before I could turn the camera on and this was the picture I got of Sweetpea, the last bite being crammed in her mouth. 

I've had a huge sweet tooth these last few weeks and I don't feel as guilty eating these brownies.  I highly recommend trying this easy recipe for homemade brownies!

Pumpkin Bread

I recently made pumpkin bread with the leftover pumpkin puree from the pumpkin scones.  I love how this bread tastes and so do Buddy and Sweetpea.  Since the pumpkin bread isn't covered in icing like the scones, I wasn't sure if they would enjoy it but they ate the slice I gave and promptly asked for more!

 I only made a half a batch of the recipe but it still made six mini loaves.  We brought some to my parents and I put the rest in the freezer to enjoy with Buddy and Sweetpea in the next few weeks. 

This recipe was given to me by a friend and I am so glad she shared it with us.  I hope you enjoy too!

Pumpkin Scones

Today Buddy, Sweetpea, and I made a new recipe of pumpkin scones.  I've eyed this recipe for a week and finally took the time to make them.  I mixed together the dough during naptime and, while the scones were baking, Buddy and Sweetpea helped me make the two icings.  Yes, you read correctly, two icings! 

I gave them both a plate and they began to "paint" the scones.  Buddy enjoyed this part even though the icing wasn't green, his favorite color.

Sweetpea had a blast working by herself and she sampled every bit that landed on her hands.

I helped them drizzle the spiced icing since I made it a little too runny and these are the finished products.

'

Look at that happy face!

We each enjoyed a scone as dessert after supper.  I plan to make another batch and freeze the scones for easy breakfasts.  If you are looking for a yummy fall recipe, try out The Shoebox Kitchen's pumpkin scones!

4th of July Healthy Popsicles

Today, Buddy, Sweetpea, and I made Red White and Blue popsicles to help beat the heat this Fourth of July weekend.  The best part about these treats is not only are they yummy, they are also really healthy. 

Here is how we made them.

Red White and Blue Popsicles

What You'll Need:

Plain Yogurt

sliced Strawberries

Blueberries

sliced Bananas

Sugar

Popsicle molds

Food Processor

Blend yogurt and banana in the food processor and pour back into bowl.  Blend yogurt and strawberries in the food processor with a little bit of sugar to taste.  Blend yogurt and blueberries in food processor with a little bit of sugar to taste.  Pour in layers into popsicle molds. 

Freeze...it took ours about 5 hours to completely set up.

And enjoy!



Sopapillas

A friend, Janice, made sopapillas for Cinco de Mayo and they were super good.  I was, finally, able to try the recipe for our family celebration of Father's Day after begging her for the recipe back in May.  We celebrated Father's Day early since the kiddos and I will still be on vacation on Sunday.  The sopapillas turned out great!  My only complaint was completely my fault in that the oil would get to hot and fry them too fast to puff up or the oil would cool down and the dough would take forever to cook. 
We ate them all for dessert after supper so quickly and it was the perfect end to our meal of enchiladas.  I mixed up a little cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top and drizzled with honey.  Both Buddy and Sweetpea wanted more and, I have to admit, I did as well. 
If you are looking for a great dessert to try out with family or friends, these homemade sopapillas are a quick and easy way to impress.  Or you can try like Janice and make stuffed sopapillas with just about anything.  I am hoping to try taco stuffed sopapillas soon now that I know how easy it is to prepare. 

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

First of all, I want to apologize for being absent most of the week.  Sweetpea, Buddy, and I were going to drive to my parents house by ourselves for vacation but my mom surprised me by flying into our area to drive with us.  It was a huge surprise so thank you Mom, Dad, and Jon!  Needless to say, I was a little flustered and did not get my entire list, things like prepare auto-post on typed blogs, completed before we left.  Blogging took a backseat to family and traveling.  We are now at my parents' house and loving being on vacation.  Buddy and Sweetpea did so awesome on the long drive and packing for children in plastic ziploc bags worked very well.

Before I left, I tried out a new recipe for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls and it was super easy and super yummy! 

I have several cinnamon roll recipes but this, by far, was the easiest.  As I made this batch, I learned several tricks to make it easier to make uniform cinnamon rolls the next time. 

Tip 1:  Use a serrated knife to cut through the dough

Tip 2:  Use a little less butter, otherwise is squeezes out the end.

Tip 3:  If making the cinnamon rolls the night before, space the rolls out more as they will continue to rise overnight.

These cinnamon rolls were a delicious special treat and I will be saving the recipe to use in the future.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Homemade Frappuccino

Today I had an email from Money Saving Mom and in the email was a recipe for a Homemade Frappuccino.  I just had to pass along this recipe.  Jon and I both love coffee so it automatically caught my eye.  One of my favorite treats during the hotter months is a nice cold frappuccino but I hate the coffee shop price.  This is a pretty simple and cheap recipe that I will have to try out soon.  The recipe calls for a Magic Bullet but I'm sure it can be made in a regular blender and poured into a cup.  Hope you enjoy this throughout the summer!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Today I tried the Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins from Gina's Skinny Recipes.  I love blueberry muffins but hate the guilty feeling of eating them when I know muffins are primarily disguised cake. 
This recipe uses whole wheat flour and applesauce to provide a moist muffin.
Buddy and Sweetpea really enjoyed these this morning and both ate two whole muffins.  I have to admit that Jon's reaction was "They taste healthy" and I had to add a little melted butter inside to really enjoy them.  But, I would have added butter to regular muffins as well so I don't necessarily feel bad about that.  My muffins did not look as pretty as Gina's since I used the frozen blueberries instead of fresh so they turned a little more purple in color.
All in all, this is a recipe I will be adding to our family collection.  It was super easy to whip up and took 30 minutes to make start to finish.  If you are looking for an easy and healthy breakfast, give this blueberry muffin recipe a try!

Yogurt Pie

I just wanted to share an easy and delicious recipe for pie for the summer months.  A friend shared this recipe with me and I have really enjoyed it ever since! 

Yogurt Pie
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 8 oz Cool Whip
3 individual size yogurts, any flavor

Mix Cool Whip and yogurt together.  Pour into pie crust and chill until semi-solid.  Serve.  (Optional:  top with slices of fresh fruit)

Recipes can not get much easier than this one!  My favorite kind of yogurt to use is the Mixed Berry flavor from Yoplait but Strawberry Banana yogurt topped with slices of strawberry and banana is really yummy too.  This pie is perfect for summer months as it is very cool and refreshing and a hot oven never has to be used.  I hope you enjoy!

Banana Nut Bread

I recently discovered the wonderful substitution of applesauce for butter and have been wanting to try it out in different recipes.  Today, Sweetpea and I (yes, Sweetpea) made Banana Nut Bread.  I held her and talked her through each step as we made the bread together.  She was completely fascinated!  After dinner, we all tried a piece and I could not tell a difference between my normal banana bread and this recipe.  Sweetpea ate her entire piece and wanted some more.  Here is the awesome recipe:

Banana Nut Bread
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
3 ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Lightly whisk eggs in bowl then add in the applesauce, bananas, and vanilla.  Blend together until bananas are mushed.  Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in another bowl.  Fold in the dry ingredients until batter is completely mixed.  Do not over-mix.  Stir in nuts.  Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Loosen the edges with a knife and let completely cool on a wire rack.  (Bread may be frozen for up to 2 months)

I love banana bread and by using the applesauce instead of butter, the bread becomes just a little bit healthier to eat.  I hope y'all enjoy as much as our family has!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Tonight I was a little adventurous with supper and tried the Garlic Cheddar Biscuits from Gina's Skinny Recipes and they were amazing!  Mine do not look as pretty but the biscuits were definitely tasty.  I think I got a little anxious and pulled them out of the oven too early. 
Either way, if you like biscuits then you will love these.  My favorite part of trying this recipe, besides the taste, was how easy it was to prepare.  I was a little iffy about preparing the garlic parsley butter but it came together without a worry.  My only critique was that the parsley flakes kept falling off but that is not a deal breaker for me.  Also, these biscuits are relatively healthy as far as biscuits go thanks to using ingredients like Heart Smart Bisquick. 
If you are looking for something new and relatively healthy to try as a side for dinner, give the Garlic Cheddar Biscuits a try.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Baking Christmas Cookies

J and I made our Sugar Cookies today and we had a blast.  He loves to bake, especially measuring and dumping in flour and sugar.  Today he discovered a new love of baking...while my back was turned he reached in a grabbed a handful of the creamed butter and sugar.  I turned around when I heard "MMMM!" to see him starting to reach for more! 

We rolled out the cookies and used our new cookie cutters to make the Christmas cookie shapes.  J's favorite was the candy cane because to him it was simply the letter J!

After baking the cookies, we made our icing and finished the cookies. 

J's favorite part is obviously adding sprinkles. 

And of course, most of all, eating them!

When I was growing up, my mom and aunt would make these cookies for my siblings and cousins to decorate.  We probably ate more icing than what made it onto the cookies but we always a great family fun time together.  I have lots of wonderful memories of decorating cookies with my family!  This is a tradition that I continued with J last year and will continue into our future as a family.  It is a great time together and fun for all.  I can't wait for H to join us next year!

And if you'd like our recipe for sugar cookies, check out my Recipe page.