Zucchini Slice (Quiche)

I made this quiche this morning and it was so easy! Preparation took less than 15 minutes. After picking my husband up from an early morning class, we came home and I threw this in the oven to bake. 30 minutes later, we enjoyed brunch! He rated this 10.5 stars out of 10. That means it's a keeper- and good enough to share with you! Next time, I plan to add broccoli and tomatoes as well. What a wonderful veggie filled way to start your day!

Zucchini Slice (Quiche)
Serves 6-8
recipe adapted from About Face

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper (capsicum), chopped
2 cups grated zucchini (courgette)
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 cup cheese, grated (I used mild/cheddar)
5 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F (160 C if fan forced).

Combine dry ingredients in a large glass bowl, then add other ingredients and mix well.

Pour into a greased pie plate and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top, and set in the middle. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy! And be sure to let me know if you try it!

Practically Perfect Pancakes

Practically Perfect Pancakes

We love pancakes in this house. My little guy eats hotcakes like they're going out of style, so I generally make a double batch and refrigerate the extras for weekday breakfasts. When I first made these, my husband said they were better than (or as good as) Strawn's Eat Shop which is a huge compliment. Strawn's pancakes are Louisiana famous... they're big, they're fluffy, they're sweet and salty, they're about the best pancakes we'd had, up until this recipe. Hands down, these are the best fluffy pancakes ever made in our home. Serve with a side of bacon and pig out! :D

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups white flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar (brown is essential to making them "perfect")
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 teaspoons baking powder (yes, 6 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

 In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs (by hand) for about a minute. Then add milk and oil and beat for another minute until smooth. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix well, and add to the egg mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix until a smooth but slightly lumpy batter forms. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto a greased skillet over medium high heat. Cook until cake begins to bubble, then flip and cook for another 45 seconds or so. Stacking the cakes as you go keeps them warm until it's time to eat. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

My lovely sister introduced me to this recipe and I am officially hooked! What could be yummier than the combination of oats, pumpkin and pecans?

photo courtesy of my niece, Holly.

Oatmeal:
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon milled flax
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon allspice & 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon butter, softened
3/4-1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk (we used almond - use your favorite!)

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 teaspoon softened butter
2 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375° and grease 4 individual ramekins - then set them aside. If you don't have ramekins, you can use any oven safe dish.

Combine ingredients and mix well. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins or spoon the entire mixture into an oven safe dish. If using ramekins, place the them on a baking sheet (this makes it easier to get it in and out of the oven) and bake for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the topping.

After the oatmeal has baked for 10 minutes, remove and divide the topping evenly over each one, then bake for an additional 7 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I soaked the oats the second time I made this recipe and the result was much creamier and softer. If you prefer firm oats, make it according to the recipe above. If you want them soft, soak the oats in 1 cup of milk overnight and then continue as directed above, but be sure to bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until the mixture reaches desired consistency. It will jiggle slightly in the middle until it cools, then it will be firm.

Enjoy! Check out some other yummy recipes at my Sissy's blog here: Home and Lovin' It!

I Can't Believe It's Vegan... French Toast

Last Sunday, I made vegan french toast. It seems that people are picky about their french toast, and we are no exception. I looked for recipes and finally decided to try this recipe. While I'm sure many people might be happy with the results, we didn't love it. It produced a rather dense and chewy piece of soaked and fried bread. Not exactly what we were looking for. But we ate it, criticized it and decided to try again next weekend.

Fast forward to this morning.
My husband and I joined forces and made up our own recipe.
Our version is inspired by the batter that is used for the Monte Cristo sandwich [oh my that is definitely not vegan], with some minor adjustments made for a sweet rather than savory fried treat.
We were thrilled with the results...so much that this recipe made it to this blog.

This batter produces a light, fluffy and crispy crust. When fried quickly at a high temperature, it cooks thoroughly to a deep golden brown, sealing the oil out and as a result, keeping the bread oil and soggy free.

Perfect Vegan French Toast

Ingredients:

Sourdough bread slices, cut in half
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the Batter:

1 flax egg
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup almond milk (soy would work well too)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Fill frying pan with oil, about 4-5 inches, so that there is room for the bread to float. If you are using a non-stick skillet, sticking shouldn't be a concern, so less oil will be needed. Heat oil on medium high heat, test with a teaspoon of batter, if it floats and browns, the oil is ready, if not, turn up the heat and test again.

Whisk dry ingredients. Blend wet ingredients. Mix together and stir until smooth.

Coat each half slice thoroughly, letting excess batter run off and then carefully place in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, and flip. Cook 2-3 minutes more, remove and place on a metal cooling rack, to allow excess oil to drip off. If desired, heat your oven to 200° and place slices on a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm.

Serve with powdered sugar and your favorite syrup. We used agave nectar, but I'm thinking that next time we'll make a raspberry syrup to top it with. Enjoy! Oh, and please let me know your thoughts if you try this!

Vegan Oatcakes

Vegan Oatcakes

Ingredients:

1.5 cups oats
2 cups vanilla soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla  
2 flax eggs
1/4 cup melted Earth Balance (pea or soy)



1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

 In a large mixing bowl, add first five ingredients and let soak.
 In a separate bowl, add white and wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to blend ingredients. Add to the large mixing bowl and beat on medium high until well mixed. Add extra soy milk if the mixture is too fluffy. Add your choice of fruit or nuts at this time, or you can sprinkle them on before flipping them (my preferred method).

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium high heat. Spray with olive oil after every other pancake.
Scoop 1/4 cup batter and cook until bubbly in the middle, flip and continue to cook until golden brown.
Stack the pancakes to keep warm and serve! We like to top ours with Earth Balance and Organic Agave nectar. Enjoy!





 

Waffles and Blueberries

We made these waffles on Sunday morning and my oh my were they good. We used eggs (they're almost gone, only 3 left!) so we'll have to try them with an egg substitute next time!

Mom's Best Waffles

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add milk, eggs and oil; mix well.
Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.




We topped them with this Blueberry Breakfast Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

In a 2-qt. saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in water. Add blueberries; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Serve warm or cold over French toast, pancakes or waffles.

It was such a treat- and we splurged big time- I ate FIVE waffles smothered in that sauce! Both David and James loved them as well!


They freeze well too, so place each waffle in a zip baggie, freeze, and pop in the toaster when you're ready for one. James always has a stash of pancakes or waffles that we reheat on weekdays, and I was used to refrigerating pancakes and reheating them during the week, but we still used Kashi or NutriGrain waffles a lot. A few months ago, there was a month long waffle shortage (I have no idea why!) and we were left without waffles so I got inspired to make my own. Before we switched to homemade, we were spending $10+ a month on our waffles. Now, they are fresh, yummy and homemade with love, and you know you can't buy love! :)

Home Made Bagels

We eat bagels for breakfast often, and have grown to love Thomas's honey wheat quite a lot. They are chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. One of David's old favorites is blueberry and mine used to be cinnamon raisin, but they both contain coloring and other additives. Not surprisingly, they all contain preservatives.

I decided to try to make my own bagels, and what do you know, though it took some time, (2 hours or so), it was a lot of fun and they turned out great!

Honey Wheat and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
inspired by this recipe

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups (whole wheat and white wheat mix)
2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tbs sugar or honey
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs sugar

In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast.
Combine warm water, 3 Tbs sugar or honey and the salt.
Pour over the flour mixture.
Beat at low speed of electric mixer for about 30 seconds scraping the bowl as you mix. Beat 3 minutes at high speed.
Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mixing with a spoon.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (knead 6-8 minutes total).
Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

(if you want to add cinnamon and raisins, add 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup raisins now and knead well)

Cut into 6 or 12 portions, depending on the size you want. (6 will be similar to Thomas' bagels in size)
Shape each into a smooth ball.
Make a hole in the center of each and pull gently to make a 1 1/2-2 inch hole.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover, let rise 20 minutes.
Broil on low 5 inches from heat 3-4 minutes, turning once (tops should not brown).



Heat 1 gallon of water and 1 Tbsp of sugar to boiling; reduce heat.
Cook 4 or 5 bagels at a time for 7 minutes, turning once; drain.



Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375* for 25-30 minutes.






Let cool, then slice. Enjoy!

Very Berry Coffee Cake- Vegan Style

Our favorite coffee cake needed a make-over once we decided to go Vegan. I was nervous to bake without eggs but milled flax seed mixed with water turned out to be a great egg substitute! Everything looked "normal" and it rose well and cooked evenly. In the end, it turned out to be a little bit more moist and dense, which in my opinion, is a good thing!

Very Berry Coffee Cake- Vegan Style!


So for all you Vegans out there, here's the revised recipe.

batter:

mix together these ingredients in medium sized bowl:

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tbs cinnamon

then mix together these ingredients, and add to the dry mixture and mix well.

1 Tbs milled flax seed + 3 Tbs water (mix together and simmer over low heat until egg like consistency is reached, about 5 minutes)
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1/2 cup earth balance, melted
1/2 cup soy milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract


pre-heat oven to *375

struesel topping:

1/2 cup demerara sugar, packed
3 Tbs white flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 Tbs earth balance, soft

mix in a bowl and use a fork to make crumbly. my mixture turned into a paste because my margarine was melted, but it worked out fine, I just had to work harder to spread it on the top.

filling:

2 cups of mixed berries (I used 1 cup of chopped strawberries and one cup of blueberries- frozen is fine as long as you thaw them first)

OR

2 apples (I used one granny smith and one gala)

Core, quarter and slice. Do two layers, one of each apple.

OR

2 cups of canned peaches, drained


grease a 9x9 baking pan. spoon half of the dough into the pan. cover with fruit. scoop remaining dough on top of the fruit. spread as evenly as possible. top with streusel and bake for 40-45 minutes. check center with toothpick.

enjoy!

Apple Fritter Holes

I made this recipe a few days ago after craving a Starbucks apple fritter. Believe it or not, there is only one Starbucks in all of Minot, and they stopped carrying apple fritters a while ago. Boo!
Oh well, I suppose we'll survive. David especially loves apple fritters though and I'm not the type to refuse fried dough- or fried anything for that matter- so I decided to try making my own. They came out nothing like the Starbucks ones, they were much more like doughnut holes to me, but they were still quite good.

Next time I will probably use an apple (or pumpkin!) puree to avoid the strange texture the chunks of apple add. And now I could really go for a Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut. Soon! :) James actually loved these too!



Apple Fritters

Fritter:

* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/3 cup milk
* 1 egg
* 1 cup chopped apple

Glaze:

* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon. Stir in milk and egg until just combined. Fold in apple. Pour oil into skillet so that it is approximately 1 1/2 deep. Heat oil on high. Oil is ready when dough floats to top. Carefully add dough to oil in heaping teaspoons. Cook until brown, about 2 minutes, then flip. Cook another 1-2 minutes, until both sides are browned. Transfer briefly to paper towels to absorb excess oil, then transfer to cooling rack. Make glaze by stirring milk and powdered sugar together in a small bowl. Drizzle over apple fritters. Wait approximately 3 minutes for glaze to harden, then flip fritters and drizzle glaze over the other side. Best served warm.


Recipe credit: The Picky Apple