Tofu Scramble

I am not a huge fan of tofu. It has to be just right for me to eat it. And, with celiac, I am finding it harder and harder to find cheap and easy meal ideas. I purchased one of the frozen meals that was "tofu scramble" and thought I would try it. It was so good, but pricey for such a small portion. I realized, there has to be an easy way to make this at home, for a fraction of the cost. And so, I made it. Same price as the frozen meal, but I can get 7 meals out of the ingredients I bought. Easy.

Serves 1
1/8 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup firm tofu
2 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Heat a medium sauce pan with olive oil on med heat. Add mushrooms and peppers, saute about 3 minutes. Add crumbled tofu, spinach, and ground ginger. Saute, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes.
Serve alone or with hash browns

Blueberry French Toast Bake

Years ago my father gave me a recipe book that I love. This recipe in particular he had highlighted as one that we may like to try. And, it took me this long to finally get around to it. I wish I had not waited so long. I am not a blueberry person, but this is delish. I cut a few things out of the recipe, like the 16oz of cream cheese. We have made a french toast bake before, but never with blueberries. And, I am sure you can add whatever berries you want to it. But, I have to say, the syrup is what makes it. The best part, if you have leftover syrup, it goes wonderfully on ice cream....so I've heard.

Blueberry French Toast
1 large french baguette
1 cup blueberries
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk

Cut bread into cubes and arrange in greased 9x13 pan. Pour blueberries on top. Beat eggs, add maple syrup and milk. Pour over bread and cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. To bake, preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30 minutes covered, uncover and bake for and additional 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 cup water
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup blueberries

Stir sugar, corn starch, and water over high heat in a saucepan. Add butter and blueberries and cook until the blueberries pop. Serve warm over french toast. (or ice cream!)

Overnight Oatmeal

I have been hearing and reading about this recipe a lot lately. Basically, its just oatmeal and a few other ingredients put into a jar, left overnight, and then eaten cold in the morning. I know. Cold oatmeal? Can it really be that good? I was willing to try it but there was one great problem. The recipes all call for Greek yogurt. Ugh. The one thing in the world I detest. I also refuse to make anything with yogurt, especially smoothies, so there was no way I was putting it in my oatmeal.
I did some experimenting and figured, why do you have to use yogurt? I omitted the yogurt, added almond milk, some fresh strawberries, shredded coconut, and a drizzle of Tupelo honey and oh...my....word. I am hooked. 5 jars in my fridge. It really is perfect because you can make them ahead of time and just grab one and go. No need to heat, unless you really want to. With my busy school schedule, I am in love.
The only thing that would be perfect, that I did not have anymore left of is chia seeds....yes, as in Cha cha cha Chia! These babies are packed with protein, essential amino acids, and so much more. Truly a SUPER-FOOD. They do not have a taste really, and they kinda plump up a little and remind me of tapioca. Just add a teaspoon or so to the mix and you have it all!

Overnight Oatmeal
1/2 cup gluten free oats
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup fresh fruit. cut up
1 Tbsp coconut (optional)
1 tsp honey/agave nectar
Put all ingredients into a jar, shake gently, and store in the refrigerator overnight. Stir before eating!

Breakfast Quinoa

I was introduced to quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) a little over a year ago. Well, I should say I tried it for the first time. I have always heard about it, but never tried it. It is a grain, most typically prepared like a rice dish with veggies and such. It is small, round and when cooked becomes transparent. But, the wonderful thing about this is that it is an amazing protein superfood. This stuff is packed with protein. So, for vegetarians this stuff is great.
I, being one who does not like breakfast, is allergic to eggs, and the only real thing I enjoy to eat, oatmeal, I have to be careful of unless it is certified gluten free, needed to try something. What if I cooked this grain and prepared it like I would my oatmeal? I mean, it works with rice, right? Rice pudding is delish, by the way. So, I cooked it and instead of water, used milk, and added some brown sugar, and fresh berries. And, it was amazing. My new favorite breakfast. Bonus, packed with that protein so with my busy schedule, it keeps me going until lunch time!
Breakfast Quinoa
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Bring milk to a boil in a small pot, add quinoa and cook for about 8 minutes. Add brown sugar and cinnamon. Continue to cook until the quinoa has soaked up all the milk and it is cooked through. Serve with added milk, brown sugar, or fresh berries....or all of the above.
Makes 4 servings
(I make a batch and keep the left-overs in the fridge for the rest of the week)

Holiday Sticky Buns

Christmas is full of traditions. One that I love is Christmas morning breakfast. Growing up, my dad always made eggs benedict. Since our kids were little, I have always made Monkey Bread. Until this past year. Bryan and I came across a recipe for sticky buns seen on Barefoot Contessa- Barefoot in London. They looked so good and it seemed simple enough to make, so we decided to try it. Let me tell you....EASY. And, you could easily substitute any of the add-ins. I used regular raisins instead of white raisins. You could omit them all together if you want, even. I did not get to eat any, but they looked amazing and the family loved them. Looks like this is our new Christmas morning breakfast tradition!

• 
  
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
• 1 package (17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup white raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees f. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 12 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, 1/4 cup of the cranberries and 1/4 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam-side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, about 1 1/2 inches each. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Breakfast Smoothie

I am NOT a breakfast person. Not only am I too busy to sit down and make myself something, but I have never really liked breakfast. Don't get me wrong. I'll eat breakfast foods. I enjoy them. But I would rather drink my breakfast. Its faster. Otherwise, I don't sit down to eat until 11 and by then, I'm making lunch.
So a few years ago, I started making my traditional breakfast smoothies. I love smoothies any time of the day. And I have a whole lot of smoothie recipes to share. But, I will start with this one.

1 cup frozen fruit (I use frozen so that I don't have to add ice. And, I like peaches, mangoes, and strawberries, but you can use whatever you want)
1 cup spinach leaves (tasteless when added to the smoothie)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 silken tofu
1 Tbsp milled flax
1 tsp agave nectar
1/4 cup POM juice

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. You may have to add some more milk, depending on the consistency that you want.
Now, the tofu gives the protein to help jump start my morning. Only problem, I cant find silken anymore, so I just use soft tofu. And the agave nectar, you can substitute honey for. I just like it because it adds a little sweetness, but not too sweet.