Green Pumpkin Smoothie

Green Pumpkin Smoothie
 
Ingredients:

2-3 cups packed spinach or kale
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1/4 cup banana
3/4 cup of plain pumpkin puree
1 serving of protein/vitamin supplement
Almond milk or filtered water until you reach your desired consistency

Whole Grain Banana-Pecan Muffins

Whole Grain Banana-Pecan Muffins


Ingredients:
 

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey (you can substitute 1/4 c. sugar here if you prefer)
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large bananas or 3 smaller ones)
1/3 c. low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
1/4 c. packed brown sugar


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners--you'll need about 15-16.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey (if using), and butter. Add each egg in one at a time, combining completely after each addition but not over-mixing. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined (don't over-mix).

Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among 15-16 muffin tins. Combine the chopped pecans and brown sugar and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling. Serve with breakfast or as a snack.

Mini Breakfast Quiches

Mini Breakfast Quiches

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 C egg substitute* or an additional 4 whole eggs

3/4 C shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 C cottage cheese

5 oz frozen spinach, defrosted, water squeezed out and roughly chopped

(that's half a standard frozen box of spinach)

1/3 C roasted red peppers, diced (jarred, or make your own)

1 oz finely diced ham, Canadian bacon, or crumbled bacon (about 1/4-1/3 C)

1/4 C sliced green onions

1/4 t kosher salt

1/8 t black pepper
1/2 t hot sauce

foil muffin tin liners OR 12 slices ham

*1/4 egg substitute = 1 whole egg, so if you're using all eggs, or some eggs and some egg whites, you can adjust accordingly.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

In a bowl, combine all ingredients (except ham slices) and stir well.

If using ham slices, spray muffin tin with non cook spray and place one piece of ham in each well to form a bowl.  

If using foil muffin liners, spray the insides of the liners with non-stick spray. 

Evenly divide egg mixture between the 12 muffin wells (about 1/4 C each), being careful to keep ingredients well dispersed.  You want them to fill right up to the top.

 

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The tops should be puffed and just barely set on top. Eggs will sink after cooling.

Store them in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze them. When reheating in the microwave, make sure to take off the foil liner! And if you're reheating from frozen, I try to take them out the night before so they can thaw in the fridge. Then when you microwave them, set them on a folded paper towel to drain excess moisture.

Eat them alone, or for a well-rounded breakfast crumble on top

Easy Breakfast Crescent Braid

Easy Breakfast Crescent Braid

Ingredients:

1 roll Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations
Scrambled Eggs (I used 3 eggs + 1 egg white + 1 1/2 T milk + salt and pepper)
4-5 strips bacon (sausage would be great too)
1/2 C grated cheese , or more...

optional: Hot sauce

Directions:

Scramble eggs in a skillet. Since this will cook again in the oven, under cook your eggs. You want them to be cooked enough to hold together, but leave them a bit wet. Cook bacon strips and set aside. (I bake my bacon in the oven. Just lay flat on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 12 minutes or until crisp)

Next, use a rolling pin and a lightly floured work surface to roll out the crescent dough to about 10 in x 12 in. Lay the eggs down the center of the rectangle, leaving room on both sides and the 2 ends, as pictured below. Top with bacon, cheese, and a couple shots of hot sauce if you want.

Use a pizza cutter to slice even slits on the sides of your rectangle:

Fold over both ends:

Now starting on one end, bring the side pieces in and overlap them. You'll want to alternate- one from the right, then one from the left and so on and so on. Does that make sense?

Keep doing it until you get all the way to the end.
When you get to the end, just tuck where you can to make it pretty!

Then you'll have this pretty little papoose. Yes I just called it a papoose. Isn't it fancy?

Bake according to package instructions. I believe it's 375 for about 15-20 minutes (but who knows, I threw away my package!) It might take a little longer than the package directs because of the way it's braided. And actually, if you want it shiny on top, give it a quick egg wash before you bake. When it's done, it should be golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Slice on a slight diagonal and eat immediately!

One great thing about this is that it holds together really well. I thought when I cut it the filling might fall out, but the filling baked into the dough and it all stayed in there perfectly. So it's great finger food for a mess-free breakfast/brunch buffet and great for little fingers. My toddler loved this- and so did his parents! Also, I didn't try it, but I'm thinking you could easily make something like this the night before and just wrap it with plastic wrap so it's all ready to just pop in the oven when you wake up.

So next time you're at the store, grab a tube of this crescent dough. It's a great thing to have on hand for quick and easy meals and it gets 2 thumbs up from the Best Biters!

Crispy Baked Breakfast Taquitos with Lime-Chipotle Dip

Crispy Baked Breakfast Taquitos with Lime-Chipotle Dip

Ingredients:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
12 large eggs
1/2 C Breakstone's Sour Cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 C grated pepperjack cheese
1/4 C chopped roasted red bell peppers
1/4 C sliced green onions
1/4 C chopped cilantro
1-2 tsp hot sauce

16 6" flour tortillas
cooking spray or olive oil

Dipping Sauce:
1 1/2 C Breakstone's Sour Cream
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt


Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up.  Spray with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Crack eggs into large mixing bowl.  Whisk in 1/2 C sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  When skillet is hot, add egg mixture to pan.  Using a rubber spatula, gently scrape bottom of pan and fold eggs over to scramble.  Remove from heat when slightly undercooked.  Add cheese, roasted red peppers, green onions, cilantro, and hot sauce to taste.  Gently fold to combine. 

Warm tortillas in microwave to ease rolling process.  Working with a few tortillas at a time, place a scant 1/4 C egg mixture into the center of each one and roll up into a cylinder.  Place rolled tortillas on prepared baking sheet, seam-side down, so they are not touching each other.  When all tortillas are rolled and filled, lightly spray tops with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil.  Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and crisp.

While taquitos are baking, coming 1 1/2 C sour cream, lime juice, chipotle chili powder and kosher salt.  Stir to combine and store in fridge.  Remove taquitos from oven , let cool for 5 minutes, and then serve with dipping sauce.


Make Ahead Prep:  The egg mixture can be made a day ahead of time and stored in the fridge until ready to use.  You can also prepare the taquitos and instead of baking right away, cover tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight, or freeze for later use.  To prepare frozen taquitos, place (un-thawed) directly on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.  Follow original baking instructions, increasing time by 5 minutes or until taquitos are golden brown.

Pop Up Pancakes

Pop Up Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Grease 24 muffin cups
Mix all ingredients in a blender then pour into muffin cups
Bake 15 minutes

Monkey Bread Muffin Cups

Monkey Bread Muffin Cups

Ingredients:


2 tubes of biscuit dough (20 biscuits in total)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar


Directions:

Spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray. Cut each biscuit into 4ths. So in total you should have 80 little pieces of dough. In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Dip each piece of dough into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until totally covered. Divide evenly between the 6 cups. (about 13-14 in each cup) In a saucepan boil the butter and brown sugar. Spoon about a tablespoon of the brown sugar/butter mixture over each muffin cup. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until baked through. Best when hot and fresh out of the oven!

makes 6 jumbo muffins

Pumpkin Waffles

Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbs packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
pinch ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
3/4 cup cooked pumpkin puree (use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling)
2 large eggs, separated
4 tbs unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Directions:

Preheat a waffle iron, and if you plan to hold the waffles until serving time, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, slat, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, and egg yolks until completely blended. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until firm, but not stiff.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the milk/egg mixture, blending gently only until the ingredients are combined. Add the butter in a slow stream, continuing to blend until the butter in incorporated. Gently fold in the egg whites.

Pour a generous 1/2 cup batter (or more, depending on the size of your waffle iron) into the waffle iron and, using a metal spatula or table knife, spread batter to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Close the cover, and cook approximately 3 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Serve the waffles immediately, or place them in a single layer on racks in the preheated oven while you finish with the remaining batter.

Serve the waffles with the topping of your choice. Serves 4 to 6.

Chunky Monkey Pancakes

Chunky Monkey Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C flour
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C buttermilk *
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs canola oil
1 large or extra large egg
2 small-med ripe bananas
1/4 C mini chocolate chips (or reg. chips roughly chopped) tossed with 2 tsp flour
Cooking Spray or butter for pan

1 C maple syrup
1/2 C peanut butter

*As a substitute for buttermilk, place 1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice or vinegar in a 1 1/2 C measuring cup and then fill the remainder with milk.


Directions:

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined. Place bananas in a bowl and roughly mash with a fork. Fold into batter. Add the chocolate chips that have been tossed with flour and stir.


For syrup, heat peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add maple syrup and gently whisk to combine. Heat in the microwave for another 30 seconds, whisk, and then set aside.

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Coat pan with little butter and then pour on pancake batter. Use1/4 C batter for large pancakes (4-6") and 2 T for kid-sized ones (2-3"). Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip.

Reheat syrup if necessary and pour over warm pancakes.

Yield:
28-30 2-3" pancakes (using 1/8 C batter measure)
14-15 4-6" pancakes (using 1/4 C batter measure)

Freezer Instructions: Let cooked pancakes cool to room temperature. Place in a single layer in the freezer until frozen and then place pancakes in a ziplock bag or airtight container. Reheat in a microwave or toaster until heated through.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup1olive oil or vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
5 medium sized very ripe bananas mashed into large chunks
1 cup chopped peanuts (roasted and salted)

Peanut butter glaze:
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 tbs butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Preheat your oven to 350 and spray your 6″x9″ loaf pan with pam.
Chop the peanuts lightly in your food processor and set aside.  Peel and roughly chop the bananas and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, and cinnamon, set aside.
In another bowl whisk together the eggs and the vanilla, set aside.
In a large bowl use your mixer to  combine the sugar and oil with the speed on medium/low.  Once combined add the egg/vanilla mixture.  Mix until blended.

Combine the buttermilk and the baking soda in another small bowl and set aside.
Slowly add the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk/baking soda and continue to combine.  Once the mixture is perfectly blended slowly add the peanuts and chopped bananas.
Pour the mixture into two loaf pans and bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Test your bread by sticking a tooth pick in the center.  When the tooth pick comes out clean the bread is finished.  Once the bread has cooled slide it out of your pan and pour the glaze on top.   Yummy!

Peanut Butter Glaze
As soon as the Banana Bread is pulled from the oven begin to make the icing.  Melt the butter on low in a small sauce pan.  Add the powdered sugar and stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the peanut butter and continue to stir until the peanut butter has melted and a soft glaze has formed.  If the consistency is too thick feel free to add in more butter until you have a fairly runny consistency.  Make sure you do NOT use low fat peanut butter.  You need regular peanut butter that is full flavor or your glaze will be too thick.  Pour the glaze over your cooled loaf and let it sit for a few minutes so the glaze will firm up a bit as it cools.

Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce (can substitute yogurt)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 cups of quick cooking oats
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cup fresh seasonal fruit
Vanilla or plain yogurt, cream, or milk

Directions:

Mix it all together, put it in a pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Mexican Eggs

Mexican Eggs

Ingredients:

1 lb. Monterey jack cheese, grated
3 oz. can chopped chilies
1 dozen eggs
1 16 oz. container sour cream

Directions:

Spread chilies evenly over the bottom of a 9×13 pan (those classic Pyrex casserole dishes are perfect), followed by the grated cheese.  Whip eggs and sour cream in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Pour over cheese and chilies.  Bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes.  Cooking times vary oven to oven and altitude to altitude so watch the casserole while it cooks.  It will have some nice browning and a nice, souffle like appearance when it is done.
Serve with fresh Pico de Gallo or Salsa Verde.

BLT Steak Restaurant Popovers

BLT Steak Restaurant Popovers

Ingredients:

4 c. milk, warmed
8 eggs
4 c. flour
1 ½ heaping tbsp. salt
2 ¼ c. grated Gruyere

Directions:

1. Place the popover pan in the oven. Heat the oven and pan to 350º.
2. Gently warm the milk over low heat and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs until frothy and slowly whisk in the milk (so as not to cook the eggs). Set the mixture aside.
4. Sift the flour with the salt. Slowly add this dry mixture to the egg mixture and gently combine until mostly smooth.
5. Remove the popover pan from the oven and spray with nonstick vegetable spray.
6. While the batter is still slightly warm, fill each popover cup three-fourths full.
7. Top each popover with approximately 2 ½ tbsps. of the grated cheese.
8. Bake at 350º for 50 minutes, rotating pan half a turn after fifteen minutes, until the popovers are golden brown.
9. Take out of oven, remove from pan, and serve immediately.

Serves six (approximately twelve popovers)

Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes


Ingredients:


3/4 cup oat flour (you can make this by pulsing rolled oats into a food processor or spice grinder until finely ground; 1 cup of oats yielded 3/4 cup oat flour for me)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon Kosher or coarse salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (plus extra for the pan)
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup cooked oatmeal*
1 tablespoon unsulphured (not blackstrap) molasses or 1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs

Directions:

Whisk the dry ingredients (oat flour, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the butter, milk, cooked oatmeal, honey and eggs together until thoroughly combined. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a light hand is important for tender pancakes; the batter should be slightly thick with a holey surface.

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron pan or griddle over medium heat until water sizzles when splashed onto the pan. Lower to medium-low. Rub the pan generously with butter; this is the key to crisp, buttery edges. Working quickly, dollop 1/4-cup mounds of batter onto the pan, 2 or 3 at a time. Once bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancake, flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is dark golden-brown, about 5 minutes total. Wipe the pan with a cloth before griddling the next pancake. Continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve the pancakes hot, straight from the skillet or keep them warm in a low oven. Makes about 18 pancakes

Do ahead: Although the batter is best if using immediately, it can sit for up to 1 hour on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator. When you return to the batter, it will be very thick and should be thinned, one tablespoon at a time, with milk. Take care not to overmix.

* Make oatmeal, if you don’t have any leftover: Bring 2 cups of water, 1 cup of rolled oats and a pinch of salt to a boil and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Let cool. You’ll have some extra oatmeal, which you can eat while you’re cooking.

Gingerbread Waffles

Gingerbread Waffles

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, separated
3/4 cup buttermilk (may substitute regular milk if necessary)
1/4 cup molasses (may substitute maple syrup if desired)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
for serving (optional)
confectioner’s sugar for dusting
whipped cream and cinnamon sticks to garnish
warm maple syrup

Directions:

Gather 3 bowls: 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small. Preheat waffle iron.
In the large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients (flour through ground cloves); blend thoroughly. In the medium-sized bowl, mix brown sugar and egg yolk with an electric mixer until fluffy; add buttermilk, molasses and butter. Stir into the dry ingredients (in larger bowl) until just combined—do not over mix.
In the small bowl, beat the egg white and cream of tartar using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the existing batter.
Quickly (and evenly) spoon batter onto a preheated waffle iron. Bake according to manufacturer’s directions, until light golden brown. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired, and/or garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon sticks. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Seven Wives Inn Granola

Seven Wives Inn Granola

Ingredients:

8 cups oats, not instant
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)
8 oz. almonds
8 oz cashews
8 oz coconut, unsweetened large ribbon
3 oz sunflower seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup raisins

Directions:

Mix first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Heat water, oil, honey, and peanut butter until it begins to bubble. Add vanilla and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well and spread on two large cookie sheets. Bake in 200 degree oven for about two hours or until coconut is golden. Stir occasionally while baking. Add raisins when cool. Store in an airtight container

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Oatmeal Pop-Tarts

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Oatmeal Pop-Tarts

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (milder and better for pastry than regular whole wheat)

1 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup cold or frozen shortening (if you are averse to shortening, butter may be substituted. Pop-tarts should be frozen before baking, however.)

2 tablespoons cold butter (chopped)

1 egg

1/3 cup buttermilk or plain fat-free yogurt

Filling:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 generous tablespoon raisins (optional)

Directions:

First: Add all ingredients for filling to food processor bowl and process for 1 minute or until raisins are chopped fairly small. Pour into small bowl and set aside.

Second: Combine oatmeal and flours in bowl of food processor and process for 15-20 seconds. Add shortening and butter and pulse 12-15 times. Mixture should be coarse. Don’t go too far with this. You should have small but visible fat lumps throughout. In another small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg. Pour over flour mixture and pulse 5-7 times. Remove lid and blade.  Use hands or spatula to press dough together.  All crumbs should come together into a ball.

Third: Divide dough in half and place each in a separate gallon-size zippered plastic bag.   Place dough ball at the center of the bag. Begin to roll out with dough remaining in plastic bag. Roll dough evenly to all four corners. Open bag and re-close to remove air or wrinkles. Flip bag and roll on reverse side to help with wrinkles. Try to roll it as evenly as possible. Holding the bag up to a window or light will show you where the dough may be too thin or thick.  Place flat dough in freezer. Repeat process with second dough ball.

Fourth: When  frozen hard, remove one bag of dough from freezer. Let warm 2 minutes , + or -. Dough should not be so hard it breaks, but also not soft. Use kitchen shears to trim all 4 edges of zippered bag.  Use pizza cutter or knife to  lightly mark cutting lines for 12 equal rectangular pieces. Without removing from bag, cut apart with kitchen shears. Do in this order:

# Cut bag in half.

# Cut each of those halves in half length-wise so you now have 4 long strips.

# Cut each of the 4 long strips into 3 equal lengths.

Place squares in freezer and repeat Step 4 with second bag. Place those squares back in the freezer for a few minutes until completely hard.

Fifth: When squares are frozen hard, take from freezer. Remove plastic from 12 squares and divide between 2 cookie sheets that have been covered with parchment paper. Place spoonful of filling in the middle of each square. Remove plastic from remaining 12 squares. and place one on top of each square with filling. If at any point, dough becomes unmanageable, return it to the freezer until hard.  Seal squares with a fork.

At this point you can bake them or freeze them.  If freezing, place tarts in the freezer on a cookie sheet unwrapped until frozen hard.  Cut paper around each pop tart and place in plastic container or bag with paper still attached. When ready to bake, place pop-tart with attached parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake immediately.

Sixth: Bake in oven preheated to 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. If you plan to toast later, bake only until very lightly browned. Otherwise, bake until golden brown. Frost if desired when cooled.

Frosting:

Mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon butter or margarine and 1 tablespoon coffee (for brown color, but does not really taste like coffee) or milk. Do not try to toast frosted pop-tarts in a vertical toaster. Frosting will melt and make a mess. Kinda makes you wonder what they put in commercial pop-tarts to keep them from melting.

Filling Variations: Try thick jelly or preserves–but expect it to leak a bit during baking. Check out the picture below for an awesome filling using a slice of cold cream cheese and a spoonful of blueberry preserves or lemon curd. You might call them “Cheesecake Pop-Tarts.”

Makes 12 Pop-Tarts

Coconut Muffins

Coconut Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 cup flaked coconut

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, egg, oil and extract. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in coconut. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
Combine the topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 8 muffins.

Banana Chip Muffins

Banana Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk, oil, banana and applesauce; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

Ham & Cheese Egg Bread

Ham & Cheese Egg Bread

Ingredients:

6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy, about 1 minute. Add milk and mustard. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in bacon, ham and cheeses. Transfer to a greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan to remove. Slice and serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 6-8 servings.