Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘breakfast’

Blueberry banana pancakes and why my children’s teeth are purple

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on July 9, 2015| 1 Comment »

Blueberry Banana Pancakes ~ bonjourHan.com

These pancakes look and smell amazing. I’m sure they would taste amazing too, but unfortunately I don’t like bananas. “Don’t add bananas,” you might say. But these faces love bananas.

This is why I make banana pancakes even though I can't stand bananas.

So the bananas stay.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 2 Tbs cornmeal
  • 1 Tbs sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil
  • 1 – 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (My 3-year-old is lactose intolerant)
  • Butter for greasing the pan (Not THAT lactose intolerant)
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 banana, thinly sliced

I doubled the recipe and froze most of the pancakes. On busy mornings (or regular morning, let’s be honest) I can just pull a few out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave. My kids eat them unadorned with their hands, and aside from random smears of blueberry juice, cleanup is minimal. Unless the 3-year-old wants to see what happens when he crumbles the rest of his pancake into his cup.

Directions

  1. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl beat the eggs.
  3. In a third bowl or microwavable measuring cup, heat the almond milk and coconut oil in the microwave until slightly warm (try 30 seconds). The coconut oil should be melted, but you should be able to stick the tip of your finger in it without feeling pain. That is my highly technical method for calculating the temperature of my baking liquids. If it is too warm, let it sit for a few minutes.
  4. Slowly pour the milk/coconut oil mixture into the egg bowl while whisking.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and whisk gently until mostly smooth (some lumps are ok). It should be somewhat thin, like cake batter.
  6. Gently fold in the blueberries.
  7. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and when hot, “draw” all over the griddle with the unwrapped end of the stick of butter (or do something more civilized, whatever).
  8. Ladle about a 5″ circle of batter onto the griddle and drop a few banana slices on top. Repeat until you run out of space. Once the tops have lots of tiny bubbles and the pancakes appear to be more solid, flip them over to finish cooking.

I then cool them on a cooling rack and pop the whole thing in the freezer to flash freeze before removing them to a gallon-size plastic bag. Because I’m not the awesome mom who cooks breakfast in the actual morning (ain’t nobody got time for that).

Blueberry Banana Pancakes from bonjourHan Blog

 

This recipe is adapted from a book called “Cast Iron Cooking” by Dwayne Ridgaway.

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Breakfast Frittata

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on July 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Breakfast Frittata - bonjourHan.com

 

We try to limit the amount of carbs we eat, and this frittata gives us a healthy option to grab in the mornings. I usually make it at night and then slice it into eight pieces and stick it in the fridge. For the next few days we grab a piece and microwave it for about 45 seconds for breakfast. It’s good for you, and it’s full of flavor. It’s also very flexible with what you have in your fridge.

Ingredients

It changes every time I make it, but this is what I used most recently.

  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 to 1/2 of a large onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 package sliced mushrooms (This ingredient can be substituted for any number of other vegetables. Roasted red pepper is delicious too!) (Also, I can’t remember off the top of my head how many ounces are in a package of mushrooms. Is it 8 oz.? Basically, you’re going for one of those regular containers or mushrooms with the plastic wrap over the top. Or another kind. it doesn’t really matter.)
  • 2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach (or kale, or swiss chard, or any other leafy green besides lettuce)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
  • 8 eggs
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (you could also use sour cream or heavy cream or even milk, though if you use milk, I would reduce the amount to about 1/3 cup)
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of another cheese, grated or crumbled (Our favorite in this is feta, though it’s also delicious with cheddar, monterey jack, etc. We even used goat cheese once, and it was amazing.)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

It takes a little time, but most of it is hands-off. I use my cast-iron skillet, so I don’t have to change pans to put it in the oven. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can sauté everything in one pan and transfer it to a pie pan for baking.

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Heat the butter and oil in a pan over medium heat.
  2. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are tender.
  3. Add the mushrooms and sauté a few minutes more, until they begin to soften.
  4. Add the spinach and stir until it begins to wilt. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. If not using a cast iron skillet, dump the contents into a pie pan.
  5. Whisk together the eggs, Greek yogurt, both cheeses, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
  6. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet or pie pan and gently stir to distribute everything evenly.
  7. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes (you may need to watch it off and on for the last 10 minutes to keep it from getting too brown on top).

You can also mix everything up at night and store the sautéed vegetables separately from the bowl of whisked eggs. In the morning, just combine and pop into the oven.

Having a frittata ready to go in the fridge helps me actually eat breakfast, since I’m usually busy with these two cuties:

Brotherly love - bonjourHan.com

 

He squints one eye when he smiles, just like his daddy.

 

 

 

Smiling baby - bonjourHan.com

Mommy and big brother - bonjourHan.com

 

What would you put in your frittata?

 

Read Full Post »

Cinnamon Rolls

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on March 10, 2011| 8 Comments »

Homemade cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven

I really wanted to make cinnamon rolls one day, but most of the recipes I found required ingredients I didn’t have on hand. I had already told Stephen of my plans, however, so there was no turning back. After a quick search, I found a recipe (with normal ingredients!) on this adorable blog called Shoplifting in a Ghost Town. Side note: Who calls them cinnamon buns? It sounds like a hot dog bun. Mustard and ketchup for breakfast, mmm-mm!

Hers was a little hard to follow, because you have to scroll all over the place to match up the ingredients with the directions. However, it’s the cutest recipe I’ve ever seen, so at least go check it out just to make you smile!

Ingredients

Surprise, surprise – I didn’t make any drastic changes! Here’s what I used:

Dough

  • 2 1/4 tsp (or 1 package) yeast
  • 1 1/4 cup warm (not hot; she says go for “baby’s bathwater” temperature) milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 Tbs butter, softened (I always use unsalted)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbs vanilla extract (I use Mexican vanilla… YUM)
  • 4 1/2 cups flour

Filling

  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 Tbs softened butter

Icing

  • 1/2 package cream cheese, very softened (I used the “1/3 less fat” neufchatel cheese, but it ended up slightly lumpy, so it might be smoother with real cream cheese)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 Tbs vanilla extract (or less, but I love the extra flavor)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar (I used a little less than a cup)

Directions

It’s pretty easy to make, but you need to block out some time to let it rise. I actually made the dough ahead of time, let it rise and then stuck it in the refrigerator for a few days. It lost some of its “pouf” because of it, but not much, and it still turned out perfect. I would definitely go the refrigerator route again, especially if I wanted to make the cinnamon rolls for breakfast without a huge wait.

  1. Warm the milk in a mixing bowl and pour on the yeast. Let it sit for a few minutes before stirring.
  2. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 Tbs vanilla, 2 eggs and 6 Tbs butter and mix.
  3. Stir in the 4 1/2 cups flour. I started with 2 cups, stirred in 2 more cups, and then added the last 1/2 cup. It should be thick enough to knead together.
  4. Heavily flour a flat surface (like a kitchen counter) and knead the dough for a few minutes until it’s smooth. Flour your hands too!
  5. Lightly grease another bowl and place the ball of dough inside. Make sure the bowl is big enough, because the dough should double in size after rising. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp dishtowel and let it rise in a warm place. I set the bowl on a stool near a space heater (but make sure it doesn’t get too hot!). It should take about 1 1/2-2 hours, or until it doubles in size.
  6. While it rises, you can mix together all the ingredients for the filling (except the butter) and set aside.
  7. When the dough has doubled in size, flour that flat surface again and place the dough on it. Roll it into a large rectangle. Some people use a rolling pin. I use a bottle of smoky olive oil. To each his own…
  8. Spread the 2 Tbs of softened butter on the dough rectangle. And by “spread,” I mean smear it around with your fingers. Cover it with the filling mixture.
  9. Roll it up long-ways and cut about every 1 1/2 inches. Place in a buttered dish (I ended up using 2 small dishes for 12 cinnamon rolls). Optional: let it sit in the pan for about 30 minutes to expand some more. I didn’t do this and they turned out great. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes.
  10. Beat together the frosting ingredients and pour on top of the cinnamon rolls when they’re finished.
  11. Devour with your husband and sister-in-law (or whoever is in the vicinity). Leave no prisoners.

I didn’t get any pictures when I initially made the dough, but here’s what it looked like when I put it together:

Cinnamon roll dough with filling spread out

Rolled up cinnamon roll dough

Unbaked cinnamon rolls in the pan

Bowl of icing for the cinnamon rolls

Close-up of fresh homemade cinnamon roll

Read Full Post »

Homemade granola

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on August 18, 2010| 2 Comments »

I have great memories of a time one or two years ago when two of my friends and I got the urge to make homemade granola. After a “quick” Whole Foods run, a pecan-chopping adventure (involving two cans, a bowl and some saran wrap) and a lot of taste-testing, we ended up with some of the best granola I’ve ever eaten. This all occurred in Tram’s kitchen with my two favorite journalism students.

Groceries

I got the taste for homemade granola last week, so I worked it into my grocery budget. The main ingredient (rolled oats, aka oatmeal) is incredibly cheap, but I had to dance around some prices for the nuts (a necessity). I had about a cup of slivered almonds in my pantry, so I just needed to buy a bag of walnuts. I had everything else on hand in my pantry.

Recipe

As with everything else, I worked with what I had and ended up with my own version of a granola recipe. I’m currently munching on still-warm oatmeal mixed with unsweetened plain yogurt, and it’s delicious.

Ingredients

  • 5 cups rolled oats
  • 3 cups chopped or slivered nuts (pecans, almonds, walnuts…)
  • 2 1/2 cups dried coconut flakes (I only had sweetened, but I definitely recommend unsweetened)
  • 1 1/2 cups raisins and/or craisins
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Add wet ingredients to the mixture. Hint: If you use the same cup to measure the honey that you already measured the oil with, the honey will come right out! Mix well.
  4. Place 1-2 inches thick in cake or loaf pans and bake.
  5. Gently mix approximately every six minutes. Take it out when it’s a light golden color. Don’t overcook!

Approval

As always, Stephen got to do his official taste test, and he even waited until it had slightly cooled. He ate a bowl with yogurt as well and proclaimed it delicious. I think I can take his frequent trips to the kitchen to grab extra bites of granola as a good sign…

Read Full Post »

%d bloggers like this: