So remember two weeks ago when I was all excited about the Ravens playoff win and those cranberry muffins? Well now I’m not so excited about the Ravens–it’s been nearly a week and I’m STILL in shock at that missed field goal. Seriously, how do you miss that? Le sigh.

But I am still excited about oat based quick breads–and I made this one that night of the football excitement. Oats just make everything so warm and delicious. Like a big thick, snuggly blanket turned into bread. And the apples allow this quick bread to be low on sugar, but still big on taste. And thanks to the oatmeal, this bread stays nice and moist…and dare I say it, even better the second day than the first?

But the bread wasn’t the only thing I was excited about that weekend–my cousin Christi was also up to visit! Christi deserves a special shout out, because I’m pretty sure she’s one of the longest regular readers of the blog, even if she isn’t a big commenter. We all grew up together, but had fallen out of touch for a few years, and I’m so happy to have her back in my life! We had a great weekend together–girl talk, Once Upon a Time, Beauty and the Beast in 3D (my favorite Disney animated movie EVER, even with an unfortunate interruption for a power surge) and sushi happy hour! And I’ve seen her three times in the last year, which means I get to cross another one off the list!

Apple Oat Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1-1/2 cups (about 2 medium) chopped apple
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and oats in a large bowl. Add apple, eggs, milk, and oil. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Mixture will be stiff.

Put mixture into prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until done. Let sit for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

It’s freezing. Like literally. I tried to go out for a long long run this morning and I ended up cutting it to a medium long run, because 5 miles in my legs were so frozen that they weren’t moving. No good.

So for the rest of the day, I’ve been cocooning in the house. Cuddling on the couch, watching football, and of course, baking. Okay, that sounds way more blissful and relaxing than our afternoon actually was. We were really stressed out watching the Ravens game and trying to keep Noel from breaking things at the Broadkill Beach Club. Yikes!

But there was baking! And what better thing to make on a cold day than some warm and hearty muffins so keep you warm and satisfied on a cold January day? And these muffins are so easy, you can whip them up during a commercial break from the football game!

Cranberry Oat Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup regular oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
1 cup milk
1 egg

Toss cranberries in granulated sugar to coat.

Combine dry ingredients well. Stir together milk, egg, and melted butter. Combine liquid ingredients with dry mixture. Add cranberries. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in 12 well greased muffin cups at 425°F.

Happy Day After! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Is anyone alive on this Black Friday?

I hope I am! We were at the Ravens game on Thursday night, so hopefully I made it home alive and happy with a win! (It’s currently Tuesday, I haven’t entered some wierd space-time continuum on Friday where I don’t actually know what is going on!) But where ever you are on this day after Thanksgiving (I hope you all had a great one!) I bet you have leftovers. A TON OF THEM.

So this is an idea for using some of those leftovers that are hanging around–mainly the bread and that open can of pumpkin puree you have–to make something completely different. And I know you’re thinking “pumpkin?” after eating all of that pie yesterday, but really, the pumpkin here lends creaminess, not so much taste, to this fun twist on french toast! And it’s worth making on a regular fall or winter morning too!

And if you’re thinking that panko + french toast is weird, well, stop thinking that! Because it gives this french toast a delightful crunch that takes it to a whole new level! So break it out and add a bit of cinnamon sugar!

Panko Crusted Pumpkin French Toast
Adapted From Recipe Girl

The recipe below will make enough egg mixture for about 6 slices of regular bread, or 8 slices of french bread. It’s easily doubled to feed a crowd! The panko amount is just a guess, so you may not want to measure it out, rather just add it with a biof cinnamon sugar as you go along!

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1/2 half and half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 cups panko
8 (3/4-inch thick) slices of day-old French bread

Directions:

In a flat bottomed bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, half and half, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In another bowl, mix together the panko, sugar, and second measure of cinnamon. Add enough of the panko mixture to another flat bottomed bowl to cover the bottom.

Heat skillet or griddle to medium-heat, brush with butter. Quickly dip bread on both sides into the egg mixture, then place into panko mixture, flipping over to coat both sides. Place in hot skillet, and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining bread. Replenish the panko mixture between each slice of bread, or as needed.

Serve immediately with maple syrup.

On the night of our apple picking adventure, I decided on something unconventional for dinner. In short, it was breakfast for dinner time!

When I was a kid we ate breakfast for dinner ALL.THE.TIME. Oh those bowls of Lucky Charms (as an aside, is it weird that I can remember Lucky Charms fondly, but now the thought of actually eating them makes my stomach turn a bit?). But Noel didn’t really grow up with the breakfast for dinner so he’s never been a big fan. And since he does most of our dinner cooking, we end up eating what he’s making. But the night of apple picking dinner was my job and there was an open can of pumpkin in the fridge…so you can see where this is heading!

I thought these were perfect as breakfast for dinner…mainly because they’re not very sweet. They’re almost a savory cake with the traditional pumpkin spices. Top it with an egg or some bacon and you’re totally going in the savory direction. The dark pumpkin beer we enjoyed with them also threw them firmly into the “dinner” category. Win.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk (I used skim milk + 1 tablespoon of vinegar)
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl (through the nutmeg). In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients (stop with the vanilla), mixing to make sure that the eggs are broken up. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then add the brown sugar. Stir until just combined. This mixture will be thick, but that’s okay.

Use an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure to spoon batter onto hot griddle, spreading the batter slightly with the scoop as you drop it on. Cook about 3-4 minutes on a side, or until pancakes are golden brown. It’s important to cook these pancakes on MEDIUM heat, so that they have enough time on a side to cook all the way through.

Enjoy, possibly with a side of blurry pumpkin beer:

How are all of you this fine holiday monday? Yes, I’m lucky enough to have Columbus Day off. Thank you Mr. Columbus for not actually discovering America! I really needed the extra day this weekend, since I was feeling seriously under the weather Saturday and then running/painting wiped me out yesterday! The good news is the painting is almost done, and hopefully there will be a big reveal soon!

Luckily for me (and Noel and Carlos) I wasn’t too tired Saturday morning to make this baked oatmeal, which has been making it’s way around these interwebs.

One of the things I’ve always liked about blogging and the blogging community is how things can take on a life of their own and just buzz right around the internet. Like this pumpkin baked oatmeal. When I saw it pop up on Biz‘s blog last week, I knew I had seen it somewhere. Turns out it was originally from Jen‘s blog, another one of my favorites. It’s been back and making the rounds with a vengeance this fall season!

And oh holy yum, after making this I know WHY it’s making the rounds. IT’S AMAZING. Like, I wanted to eat the whole pan myself amazing. Good thing Carlos was willing to come over and safe me from myself eat some too. This will definitely become a weekend staple in our house–it’s too easy not to make a return appearance!

Baked Pumpkin Apple Oatmeal
Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium apples chopped with skins on

Preheat oven to 375 and spray and 8 by 8 pan with cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients (through the baking powder) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then stir in apples. Spread in the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until middle is set and top is golden brown. Serve hot.

Fall is in the air!!

This past weekend was glorious–temps in the low 80s with NO RAIN!! And the rumor on the weather blogs is that the weather is going to get even nicer–highs in the 60s with lows in the 40s over the weekend! I LOVE cooler weather (even if I have come to love the summer and my beach bum lifestyle this past year) so I’m am psyched! Especially since the arrival of the cooler weather coincides with my second first big race of the fall season, Rock n’ Roll Philly on Sunday, a race I was CERTAIN was going to be blistering hot and miserable when I signed up for it way back last winter!

Of course as soon as I saw those nighttime temps sneak into the 50s, my brain immediately started going for fall foods. And as a self confessed pumpkin lover, it should be no surprise to anyone what my first fall craving was for. Something pumpkiny. And I must have still had those overnight yeasted waffles on the brain too, because my brain immediately jumped from pumpkin to pumpkin + waffles = AWESOME!!

I recruited the usuals to be pumpkin guinea pigs (it sounds like it’s horrible and I FORCE food on them all the time, but I can tell you, no one is complaining!) At the last second we ended up with some extra breakfast guests since Noel bumped into my Dad and his neighbor, Ruth, at the farmer’s market. So we were a merry crowd with a very festive fall breakfast. Dad has already requested it for Thanksgiving weekend!

[please note, I made so much waffle batter I needed TWO irons to cook it all up! Yes it was overkill, but it was delicious overkill]

Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I added this to up the kick!)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk (or milk with 2 tablespoons vinegar)
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

Mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and then fill with batter (according to the instructions of your iron). Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

So one of the things about being home unexpectedly on a weekend where EVERYTHING is closed? It gives you time to do some things that otherwise never get done.

Like clean the whole house. And torment the cat until she BITES you (yes Ariadne, I’m still mad about that ONE!), and the aforementioned Harry Potter marathon.

And make waffles. Overnight waffles, that I’ve been thinking about for about about a million years, or at least since Wendi posted about them. And I had a captive audience to eat them. Double score.

For some reason, I thought that yeasted waffles would be a lot of work. I think it may have been because of the word “yeast”, which generally signifies kneading, stirring, waiting, and rising. But really, all these waffles needed was time. They were really easy to mix up, then throw in the fridge for an overnight wait, which is why these may end up in my permanent rotation. Because wouldn’t I love to wake up to easy breakfast prep on beach house mornings?

Overnight Yeasted Waffles
I honestly can’t remember where this is from, but it was one of the first hits on Google.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups milk (I used skim)
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, yeast, vanilla, and salt; add milk, eggs, and butter. Mix thoroughly. Cover loosely and place in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Stir batter. Pour about 3/4 cup batter onto grids of a preheated, lightly greased waffle baker. Close lid quickly; do not open until done. Bake according to manufacturer’s directions. When done, use a fork to lift waffle off grid. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm. Discard any remaining batter. Makes about 16 (4-inch) waffles.

And for fun, a shot of Carlos, running buddy and bacon master, wearing a Fractured Prune shirt. We all ended up wearing Delaware shirts so we could be on the Delmarva in spirit through the storm.

A few weeks ago in one of my posts about that incurable illness I have (running), I mentioned that after Saturday’s race and fun we made a stop at the Fractured Prune, Delmarva’s famous donut shop.

The Fractured Prune’s claim to fame is that they sell awesome, fresh, hot hand dipped donuts that you can then customize with ANY topping you want. Think of Cold Stone, but for donuts. Delicious donuts.

Since the Prune makes their donuts fresh for you while you wait and there are a ton of dips and toppings, the flavor combinations are endless. But the Prune has a “menu” of suggested toppings to make your own Reeses Cup, Trail Mix, Blueberry Hill, or OC Sand donut. Just to name a few of my favorites.

During this visit, we also discovered that the Prune sells breakfast sandwiches, served on, you guessed it, two Plain Jane donuts. I wasn’t quite brave enough to sample the sandwich, but Carlos had one and claimed it was delicious!

So next time you find yourself on the Delmarva peninsula longing for a bit of fried dough, stop into the Prune. The donuts are delicious and you won’t regret the trip. Trust me–they’re the only donuts I’ll eat that I don’t make myself or that I buy fresh out of the fryer from the lady at the Broadkill Mall!

Check another one off the 30 before 30 list!

This past weekend, Noel and I hosted our seven year old niece, Brehan, for the weekend, AND we returned her in one piece! We had an action packed weekend, with a visit to the new American Girl store in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia on Friday (followed by an obscene amount of traffic), then two fun filled days at the beach!

Bree was her sweetest self all weekend so Noel and I really enjoyed being responsible for a wee one for the weekend. I’m not sure what my favorite part of the visit was–American Girl was fantastic. I’ve been a longtime fan since I got my first doll many, many years ago and I guess I’m now what people would call an adult collector/fanatic. It was fun to shop with someone just as enthusiastic about the dolls as I am!

It was also really nice to soak up the sun during a picture postcard perfect weekend at the BBC. Seriously, beach weekends don’t get better than this–perfect weather in the 80s, low humidity, nice onshore breeze. Add in my sneak off time with my sister Kori Saturday afternoon to see the new Harry Potter movie, and this weekend was a pefect 10!

But maybe my favorite thing we did with Bree was one of the things we do best–cooking. We made mussels and grilled chicken. We churned ice cream. And we tricked Bree into breakfast (her least favorite meal of the day) two ways, first, by making blueberry oatmeal pancakes with a side of bacon and second, by starting our first morning together by making muffins. There were ripe bananas on the counter, chocolate and cinnamon chips in the cupboard, so a new recipe was tried. It was a little on the sweet side for me, but a big hit with everyone else this weekend–Bree included!

Banana Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Muffins
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

This is another winning recipe from my favorite bakers at KAF! Someone didn’t even know she was eating a healthy breakfast as she woofed these down!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana, about 2 medium or 1 1/2 large bananas
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk (I used half and half since we were out of milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar till smooth. Beat in the mashed banana, then the egg, vanilla, and milk.

Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour, stirring till smooth; if the mixture has a lot of lumps, beat at a higher speed until they’ve nearly disappeared. Stir in the chocolate chips and cinnamon chips.

Heap the thick batter into the prepared muffin cups, mounding them quite full. Bake the muffins for 20 to 23 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the middle muffins in the pan comes out clean.

Something odd happened to me TWICE on Monday.

I had to leave work early for an appointment, and afterwards I was running a few errands. I stopped in at a Starbucks close to the place where my appointment was, and the woman working said she didn’t need to see my ID for my unsigned credit card because I was in there “all the time.” Now, I’m not much of a Starbucks girl, especially not one 30 minutes from my house. I sort of shrugged and said, “I don’t think so” but she was insistent!

And then a little bit later, I was at the car wash, where the guy at the desk swore that I was a regular and in their membership program. Clearly he didn’t see my car, which was flithy. [As an aside, maybe I should become a member--I'm really enjoying having a clean, sand free car!!]

So wherever my supposed “twin” is, will you please show yourself! Because this is a little weird and it is freaking me out! If you one more person who I’ve never seen before tells me they “see me all the time” I’ll be really freaked out!

But one place I do frequent and where you can see me most weekend mornings is the griddle at the beach house, where I cook up pancakes for whatever crowd is around for the weekend. I normally stick with plain old buttermilk pancakes, but this past weekend after I found some fantastic local blueberries at the market I decided to mix it up. After finding a fantastic looking recipe for oatmeal blueberry pancakes, I mixed it up and gave it a whirl. And was not disappointed!

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

These pancakes were lighter than most oatmeal cakes I’ve tried in the past, and I think it’s thanks to the instant oats and all of the milk! I think these would be lovely with any berry mixed in, or just by themselves! No Beth required for cooking!

Ingredients:

1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups milk
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. If not non-stick, coat with butter or cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, mix oats and milk. Whisk in eggs and meted butter. Pour into the flour mixture all at once. Continue mixing until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour batter about 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared griddle. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until bubbly. Flip, and continue cooking until lightly browned.