Friday Five: Crustless Breakfast Quiche!

This is another GREAT breakfast meal to feed a crowd (a.k.a. just my family) and even prepare in advance. Just cook it up a day ahead of time, and then bring to room temp and reheat for a few minutes in a 250 degree oven. Easy as pie....or should I say, quiche?

CRUSTLESS BREAKFAST QUICHE

NOTE: There are so many adaptations for this recipe so experiment according to your liking. These are just some basic ingredients to get you started (and to keep it eligible for the "Friday Five!") This goes great alongside these biscuits! This recipe makes two pies.

*12 - 15 eggs, scrambled

*1/2 lb cooked ground breakfast sausage

*1/2 cup shredded cheese (any blend you prefer, I used Colby-jack because that's what I had on hand)

*1/2 cup cubed potatoes, cooked (I used leftover roasted potatoes. You could quickly boil some to soften them up for this recipe. You could also brown some in the pan first, and cook for a bit with the lid on... just don't use raw potatoes, they'll never cook all the way through.)

Fill a deep pie dish with the sausage, cheese, and potatoes. Season your egg mixture with salt & pepper to taste. Pour into pie dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean. MANGIA!!!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

These are such an easy idea for a quick breakfast that smells like you've been laboring in the kitchen for hours! (It really takes less than 20 minutes to prep and bake these yummy biscuits)I mix up the batter and drop tablespoons on parchment paper to bake. I have also tried rolling out the dough and using biscuit cutters, but I just think the drop method works best for this recipe...plus it's easier!

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

4 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly milled soft white wheat)

8 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4 TBSP oil

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately in two bowls. Then mix both combinations together with a spoon until combined. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the un-greased parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes!

Voila! EASY Buttermilk biscuits that make the perfect compliment to any breakfast:)

FRIDAY FIVE! Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Introducing....the Friday Five!

....where we'll showcase recipes with five (or less!) ingredients to simplify your life & time in the kitchen!!! If you have a "Friday Five" recipe that you would like to contribute, then please link it to this post, or email me at unamamma1@gmail.com, and I will use it as part of our once a month guest posts!

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SYRUP!

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water

A dash of salt

1 tsp. Vanilla

*Combine cocoa, sugar, and salt in a saucepan on low heat.

*Add water and mix until smooth.

*Bring mix to a boil.

*Allow to boil for 1 minute, careful not to overboil.

*Remove from heat & when cooled, add vanilla.

This is not meant to be a thick fudge, but rather more of a syrup. Pour it over ice cream, or in a smoothie, or make chocolate milk with it!!! ENJOY!

FRIDAY FIVE! - Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

This is a light and fluffy icing recipe that works great for something like my bananna cupcakes or zucchini bread:

1/2 cup whipping cream

3 oz. cream cheese

4 TB honey

1 tsp. vanilla

*Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and honey until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

* Beat the heavy cream in a separate bowl until soft peaks form.

*Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

*Spread on the cake & enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bananna Cupcakes - YUM!

This is a super easy, one bowl recipe that uses my beloved whole wheat flour!! There's a ton of reasons why I am coming to loathe white flour, mostly discovered after reading this book. But in my quest towards healthy flours, I've realized that whole wheat is not as yucky as everyone makes it out to be. It's good and good for you!

SO here's a fool proof, really good recipe for banana muffins/cupcakes (is it a muffin? is it a cupcake? who cares its good). You could also substitute white flour for the whole wheat, and white sugar for the Evaporated Cane Juice (organic unbleached sugar) I suppose...

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice crystals (organic sugar)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Add wet ingredients and incorporate well. Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Wouldn't these be twice as yummy topped with some vanilla cream cheese icing?!?!

MANGIA & ENJOY!!!!

Whole Wheat French Bread!

Okay, knowing that you'll need the basics: (flour, water, yeast, salt, olive oil, and honey) this is the easiest way for me to format these instructions for you.

The following steps should make it simple for you to stay organized as you prepare this yummy, healthy, whole wheat recipe...

Dissolve and let activate for 5-10 minutes:

5 tsp. (or two packages) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110-120 degrees)

1/2 tsp honey (this feeds the yeast and is a super great secret to good rising!)

Combine together with:

2 TB honey

2 TB olive oil

2 tsp. salt

2 cups hot water

Stir in:

6 1/2 - 7 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 TB vital wheat gluten flour

(I found that I only needed about 6 1/2 cups to start with, and added the rest in the kneading process. Less is more with flour!)

Directions:

Knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place ball of dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. (Hint: place on top of or inside a warm oven for great rising!)

Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes.

Divide dough in half, roll each into a 12 x 15 inch flat rectangle.

Roll up the rectangular dough, starting from the 15 inch edge.

Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Make some slashes on the top and brush with an egg wash. Cover & let rise until doubled.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Warning: This could possibly be the easiest & yummiest "healthy" bread you'll ever taste. And trust me, I am NO baker, and I pulled this one off! I milled my flour fresh (more on that later) and the taste was exquisite. If you do not love whole wheat flour, I would suggest using a ratio of 3/4 whole wheat flour to 1/4 white flour - it might make the adjustment a bit easier.