Breakfast is the hardest meal for me.  I am not a morning person so I sleep until the last second, get ready for work and out the door with on a few minutes to spare.  So these type of muffins are really great for me to bake on the week-end and have ready through out the week.

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter , melted
1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 1 bunch)
3/4 cup diced Canadian bacon (3 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper

Preheat oven to 400?F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil and butter in a medium bowl. Fold in scallions, bacon, cheese and bell pepper. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).

Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Individually wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, remove plastic, wrap in a paper towel and microwave on High for 30 to 60 seconds.

Reheat & Run

Bake muffins on weekends and enjoy the leftovers for grab-and-go weekday breakfasts. Wrap leftover muffins individually in plastic wrap, place in a plastic storage container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To thaw, remove plastic wrap, wrap in a paper towel and microwave on High for 30 to 60 seconds.

Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per muffin
Calories: 217 cal     Carbohydrate Servings: 1 1/2
Carbohydrates: 24 g   Dietary Fiber: 3 g   Cholesterol: 50 mg
Fat: 9 g   Sodium: 339 mg   Saturated Fat: 3 g
Protein: 9 g   Potassium: 113 mg   Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (25% daily value), Fiber (13% dv).
Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 meat 1 fat

Need a quick breakfast to eat on the run?  Try these great muffins.

2 large eggs
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium)
1 cup buttermilk (see Ingredient notes)
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (see Ingredient notes)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400?F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in bananas, buttermilk, wheat bran, oil and vanilla.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, if using.  Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (they’ll be quite full). Sprinkle with walnuts, if using.

Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Ingredient Notes: You can use buttermilk powder in place of fresh buttermilk. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.  Unprocessed wheat bran, also known as miller’s bran, can be found in the baking section.  Do not substitute bran cereal in this recipe.

Health Advantages: healthy weight, heart healthy, low sodium, low cholesterol, low sat fat, low calorie.

Nutrition Information
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per serving
Calories: 196 cal     Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Carbohydrates: 32 g   Dietary Fiber: 4 g   Cholesterol: 36 mg
Fat: 6 g   Sodium: 182 mg   Saturated Fat: 1 g
Protein: 5 g   Potassium: 167 mg   Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g
Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (17% daily value).
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fat

I would like to thank my friend Jan for sharing this recipe with me.

This week while in training in South Carolina, I came upon a dish that was very interesting.  In the South we love our sausage gravy and biscuits.  But this was Shrimp gravy over biscuits.  I’m not a shrimp person, so I cannot testify as if this is a good recipe or not.  However, I did not know that this was a southern dish.  Please let me know if you try this recipe.

3/4 cup chopped raw bacon
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 cube beef bouillon
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving the grease in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the pan. Cook and stir until transparent.

In a small bowl or cup, stir together the flour and water. Mix in the evaporated milk. Pour into the pan with the onions; cook, stirring constantly, until gravy has thickened. Stir in the bouillon cube, garlic salt, chives, salt and pepper. Return the bacon to the skillet, and add the shrimp. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until shrimp are pink and opaque. Serve over grits, biscuits or rice.

• 1/2 cup dairy eggnog
• 1 egg
• 4-5 thick slices bread
• powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting

In small bowl, combine egg and egg nog stirring with fork just until egg breaks up.

Dip sliced bread into egg mixture (Texas Toast, french bread, or raisin bread all work just as well as plain white bread). Turn over and allow to sit in egg mixture 2-3 minutes per side.

In skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons butter and saute each slice over medium heat 2 1/2 min or until golden brown.

Turn over and cook an additional 1 1/2 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with sugar and a pat of butter. Or pour over a little maple syrup, if desired.

Serves about 6

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
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
additional melted butter for brushing waffle iron
additional butter for serving with waffles
warm maple syrup

Pre-heat oven to 250?F and pre-heat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk eggs in a large bowl until blended, then whisk in milk, buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until smooth. Brush waffle iron lightly with melted butter and spoon batter into waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions for quantity of batter. Cook according to manufacturer?s instructions. Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Repeat until all batter is used. Transfer waffles to a large platter and serve with butter and warm maple syrup. Makes about 12 waffles.

Breakfast Cornbread    

2 Cups of Yellow Cornmeal

1 1/2 Cups Flour

2 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

2 Cups of Milk

1/4 Cup of Melted Butter

1 Lb. Breakfast Sausage (I like mild)

1 Large Onion, chopped fine

2 Cups of Grated Cheddar Cheese

1 Doz. Eggs

(Optional) 1-3 Large Japeleno Peppers, chopped extra fine (I prefer with seeds)

Directions:

Using a 12-14″ Dutch Oven, brown the sausage. Drain the fat, leaving approx. 3 Tablespoons. Since we don’t add cooking oil to the cornbread, this will help prevent sticking. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, milk, butter & sausage in the dutch oven. While stirring, beat in the eggs, onions and peppers. Finally fold in the cheese. Cook at 350 degrees until done. (Approx 30 min.)

1-1/3 cups extra crunchy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups quick oats
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together peanut butter, brown sugar, butter and honey. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mixing until well combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into 18 bars.

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Makes 18 servings.

Nutrition Per Serving: 280 calories, 8 g protein, 16 g fat, 29 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 40 mg cholesterol, 310 mg sodium, 6 points