breakfast

Three Easy Valentine’s Day Breakfasts

By in Breakfast, Valentine's 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

valentine's day breakfasts

I know some people king of have a thing against Valentine’s Day – that it’s a hallmark holiday. But, I think February would be awfully dreary without it. A day set aside to celebrate love? Why not? Count me in! Besides, I don’t go out and buy stuff for Valentine’s Day, I make it myself (it being FOOD). Which, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to show that you love someone – make something.

And what better way to kick off a day of love then with an extra special breakfast. Even if the rest of the day, you all head off in different directions, a special breakfast brings you together at the start of the day, guaranteeing some time well spent enjoying each others company.

In light of that, I’ve got three delicious recipes for you today. They’re all uber simple and easy to make. And, they’re all different enough that hopefully you’ll find one here that brings a smile to someone you love.

P.S. For more Valentine’s Day recipes head here.

Egg in a Heart

egg in a heart

For a savory treat take a favourite – egg in a hole – and switch it up with a fun heart shape. It’s so easy to make and should satisfy any toast and egg lover.

If you don’t have a heart shaped cutter you can use a sharp knife to cut the shape. It’s probably obvious that, that’s what I did in the photo above, because for some strange reason I still have yet to buy a heart shaped cookie cutter. But, I personally like it when things look a bit rustic (and homemade) so I’m fine with it. Plus they still made my kids happy and that’s all the matters, right? :)

Egg in a Heart

  • 1 slice bread
  • butter
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • dried parsley, optional

Cut a heart shape out of a slice of bread. Place a nob of butter into a skillet that has been preheated over medium heat. Once melted add bread, along with heart shaped cut out. Break egg into the centre of the hole, season with salt and pepper. Once the bottom is toasted and browned flip the bread, egg, and cutout. Cook until bread is toasted and egg is cooked as desired. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley, to serve.

Serves: 1

Sweetheart Smoothies

sweetheart smoothies

This two-layer smoothie is so luscious, it just tastes like a special treat. It’s starts with a layer of creamy strawberry smoothie and is topped with another layer of raspberry. It doesn’t make perfect layers but when you swirl them together with a straw it creates an ombre effect – so gorgeous! The taste is so decadent, the mouth-feel so smooth, it kind of feels like dessert for breakfast.

Sweetheart Smoothies

Strawberry Layer
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 tablespoon liquid honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Raspberry Layer
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 tablespoon liquid honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients for strawberry layer in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 large, or 4 small, serving glasses. Immediately fill blender with raspberry layer ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour over strawberry layer. Swirl with a straw, if desired, to make an ombre effect. Serve immediately.

Makes: 2 large or 4 small servings

Strawberry Heart Pancakes

strawberry heart pancakes

Strawberry pancakes in the shape of hearts may sound like a lot of work, but I promise, it’s not. To make the hearts you simply put the batter into a ziploc bag, snip the end and pipe heart shapes onto a preheated skillet. And, these light and tender pancakes have only one extra step to regular ones – pureeing the strawberries to put in the batter. See? What’d I say? Easy peasy.

I chose to use frozen berries since the fresh ones at the store are so expensive and bland this time of year. I also chose to puree them because I find that chunks of strawberry tend to give pancakes a still-raw texture wherever the strawberries are. Definitely not the case here. The strawberry flavour is quite subtle but they do lend the pancakes such a pretty shade of pink, and when served with a spoonful of warm strawberries on top, it tastes like strawberry pancake heaven.

Strawberry Heart Pancakes

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 heaping cup frozen strawberries, thawed
  • 1/2 cup milk (approximately)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • thawed strawberries (warmed) and maple syrup, to serve

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place thawed strawberries into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour strawberry puree into a liquid measuring cup, add milk to equal 1 cup total. Whisk in oil, egg and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until evenly moistened (lumps are fine).

Preheat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spoon in 1/4 cup batter. Allow to cook until edges have set and bubbles pop on top. Flip over and cook until browned on other side. Place cooked pancakes on a plate and put in an oven turned to the lowest setting, to keep warm. Continue with remaining batter.

Serve with additional thawed strawberries and maple syrup, if desired.

To make heart shaped pancakes: Pour batter into a zip top bag, push out excess air and seal the top, snip of a corner of the bag (alternately you could use a pastry bag with a round tip). Squeeze the batter into heart shapes, filling in the centres as you go. The batter will be quite runny so you will need to turn the bag upside down to stop the flow (I put mine upside down in a cup while I wasn’t using it). Cook as instructed above.

Makes approximately: 9 pancakes

Breakfast Wafflewich

By in Breakfast, Lunch 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

breakfast wafflewich

Max’s favourite breakfasts are toast and eggs or oatmeal. He’s gotten so good at helping me make these things that he knows just what to do and how to tell when his eggs or oatmeal are done. I love making breakfast with him but I was getting a little tired of the same old, same old. So, I came up with these sandwiches to switch things up a bit and help add some veggies to our favourite breakfast. They were a hit! He ate an entire sandwich himself and then asked for another.

You can sub out the veggies in these for whatever veggies you prefer. Tomatoes won’t be super tasty for too much longer so we might swap them out with some roasted red bell pepper, sautéed mushrooms or green onions. Feel free to mix and match to your delight.

I kept it light on the condiments because we were having it for a weekday breakfast but if we made these on a weekend (a.k.a special breakfast) we might just spread the outside with butter to make it more grilled cheesesque or add some mayo to the inside to make it more like a breakfast BLT, and while we’re at it we might even swap out the the ham for bacon! But for an everyday/weekday breakfast we’ll keep things a little healthier as described below.

I love that this breakfast looks like a waffle but tastes like a panini. It makes it great for grabbing on the go and so much fun for kids.

Breakfast Wafflewich

If desired you can spread the bread lightly with butter to give it a grilled cheese effect.

  • 4 slices soft wheat bread
  • sliced cheese
  • 4 slices deli ham
  • 2 fried eggs (firm yolks)
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 1 handful baby spinach

Preheat a square-style waffle iron. Divide toppings between two slices of bread, starting with a layer of cheese and ending with one more slice of cheese (to act as glue). Top with remaining bread. Place in preheated waffle iron and press down firmly to create a waffle impression. Allow to cook 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally if needed, until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Makes: 2 sandwiches

Maple Pecan Granola

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I”ve come to love homemade granola. When I first discovered my favourite granola recipe, no store-bought granola could compare. And the fact that it”s sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar gives it extra bonus points in my book! I”ve been craving maple and pecans lately so I decided to switch things up a bit and adapt the recipe to make it more maple-pecan-y. It was a good decision and I”ll be happily putting this recipe into rotation.

And, since it”s back-to-school, you can turn this into a portable breakfast by packing it into jars (or tupperware) for kids to take on the road – so if you have any late sleepers they don”t have to miss out on breakfast. Just don”t forget to pack a long a little bottle of milk! (I make my own using Starbucks Frappuccino bottles.)

Maple Pecan Granola

  • 4 cups rolled oats

  • 1 cup quick oats

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup chopped pecans

  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut

  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (optional)

  • 1/4 cup warm water

  • 6 tablespoons canola oil

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 2 teaspoons pure maple extract

  • 2/3 cup raisins

Mix together oats, salt, pecans, coconut and flaxseed in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan combine water, oil, maple syrup and extract. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and pour over oat mixture. Toss to coat.

Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and line with parchment paper (this will keep the paper from sliding around). Using your hands, squeeze the granola mixture together to create clumps as you transfer it to the baking sheet.

Bake at 275ºF for 30 minutes. Stir in raisins and cook an additional 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Allow to cool completely before storing. Granola will crisp up as it cools. Store in a sealed container for up to one month.

Makes approximately: 8 cups

Toasted Almond Muesli

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I”m surprised every time my kids get excited over oatmeal. I don”t remember ever being excited about eating oatmeal. In fact, I”m pretty sure I groaned the moment I walked down the stairs and saw that”s what we were having for breakfast. But, I do love it now and am more than happy that my kids like it too.

Consider this muesli a make-ahead oatmeal, that”s served cold. Ok, that kind of sound gross, but I promise you it”s not! I think this is a great alternative to traditional oatmeal for the summer, because it doesn”t heat up the kitchen at all and it”s nice to start a hot day with a cool and nutritious breakfast once in a while.

This recipe is for the muesli base. We top ours with whatever fruit we have on hand at the time. That could be fresh berries, chopped apple, sliced peaches or banana; basically any fruit, even raisins. I also substitute the almonds for whatever nut I”m feeling at the moment. Whatever you have lying around is great mixed in or served on top. It”s so versatile and is a great quick breakfast to keep in your fridge.

To a healthy, refreshing and filling breakfast!

Toasted Almond Muesli

  • 1.5 cup rolled oats (not instant)

  • 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds

  • 1 cup greek yogurt

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 2 tablespoon coconut

  • serve with fresh or dried fruit and a drizzle of honey (optional)

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add oats and almonds; allow to cook just until fragrant, stirring often. Allow to cool. In a bowl, mix the oats and almonds with yogurt, milk, maple syrup and coconut. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To serve, top with fruit and drizzle with honey.

Serves:4

Southwestern Breakfast Skillet

By in Breakfast, Main Dish, Mothers Day, Pork 4 Comments Tags: , , ,

southwestern skillet

Going to a diner for breakfast has always been one of my favourite meals to eat out. Nothing like a plate full of grease to get you going in the morning! :) It’s actually been forever since I’ve gone out for breakfast. Somehow getting young kids ready and out the door with grumbling tummy’s just isn’t so appealing. I can’t even remember the last time we went out for breakfast but, I do remember that my favourite thing to order has always been breakfast skillets. And, if given the choice – southwestern please!

Since it’s been so long, I figured it was about time to recreate one at home. They’re so easy to make and since there’s no reason to get dressed before devouring it, you can enjoy your “diner” breakfast in your pj’s, bed head and all. Bonus!

The great thing about these kind of meals is they make quick dinners too. Breakfast for dinner is definitely one of our fallbacks when things are busy.

If you wanted to make this in true diner style you could top it with some homemade nacho cheese sauce. I think that would take it over the top in a major way.

Have a great weekend!

Southwestern Breakfast Skillet

If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet you can assemble to whole thing in a casserole dish before baking.

  • 6 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 pound spicy italian sausage
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 3-4 tablespoons oil
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • salsa and sour cream, to serve

Whisk together eggs and milk, season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into preheated 12 inch skillet, coated with 1 tablespoon oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just set. Place eggs in a dish and cover with tinfoil. Set aside.

Wipe out skillet with paper towel, place back over heat. Add sausage, cook until starting to brown then add the onion and bell pepper. Once the sausage is cooked through and peppers are tender scoop into a plate and cover with tinfoil. Leave drippings in pan.

Add a bit of oil to skillet, turn up heat to medium-high and cook hash browns in skillet until brown and crisp. Season with salt and pepper. Once potatoes are ready remove from heat, layer sausage mixture and eggs over top then top with cheese. Bake at 400ºF for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and food is warmed through. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Serves: 4-6

Fruit-Bottom Yogurt

By in Breakfast, GF Sides, Gluten Free, Homemade, Snacks 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

When it comes to packing lunches I”m no great authority on the subject. My husband gets fed lunch every day at work and my son”s barnehage makes him fresh snacks and meals every day. I”m a lucky woman. But, it also means I”m stumped for tips on packing meals to take away. At least for now.

One thing I am getting better at though, is snacks. I eat all day long, especially now that I”m nursing, so snacks is something I”m well acquainted with. And since snacks are usually something thrown into lunch boxes to help round out the meal, I thought I”d share our current favourite – yogurt. And, not just any yogurt, but homemade Fruit-Bottom Yogurt.

“These fruit-bottom yogurts stay good for a week in the fridge, so you can make a batch on Sunday to last the whole week. Throw them into lunch boxes, sprinkle them with granola for breakfast or save them for an afternoon snack that the kids can grab for themselves after school.”

I took a hiatus after my daughter was born but am now back at Simple Bites as a regular contributor. Head on over to find out how you can make your own fruit-bottom yogurt.

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