Breakfast

Cranberry Oat Muffins

Happy New Year! May this year be better than last! I don’t even want to mention 2020 so I’m not going to. Let’s all move forward and bake some cranberry muffins 🙂 These are so good! The perfect start to a new year, perfect for breakfast or snack anytime. Although, my husband and son don’t like cranberries so I guess more for me! I had exactly 1 cup of cranberries left over from Christmas and I didn’t want them to go to waste. Behold, these delicious muffins! I hope you all aren’t too hungover to make these, but if you are, there’s always tomorrow 😉

Start your ovens!

What you will need:

Muffin tin lined with cupcake liners

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

For the streusel topping:

2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, salt, baking powder and soda. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together egg and both sugars. Whisk in oil and sour cream until combined. Pour flour mixture into wet and stir until combined. Fold in cranberries.

Fill muffin pan just over half full and set aside while you make the streusel topping. To make the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using your fingers, smash the butter into all the ingredients until you reach a wet sand consistency. Put some on top of each muffin.

Bake for 18-22 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Store covered at room temp.

Cinnamon Bundt Cake

Fall is upon us and I can’t believe it! This summer kind of sucked but we made the most of it. I hope you all are healthy, mentally, physically, emotionally during these times. I’m definitely limiting my time on social media because I just don’t need any added negativity in my life right now. So instead, I bake something delicious for my family!

This cake is the perfect treat either in the morning with coffee or afternoon tea. Tonight I’m actually going to have it a la mode style with some vanilla ice cream. Yum! Instead of frosting, you pour a cinnamon glaze over the warm cake and it is finger lickin’ good 🙂 So, let’ go start our ovens and bake!

What you will need:

1 bundt pan, greased

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2/3 cup milk (preferrably whole)

For the glaze:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until creamy and smooth. Add in vanilla and 1 egg, beating until combined. Add other eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.

Slowly mix in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

To make the glaze, put all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly for several minutes until the mixture is slightly thickened.

Place a plate or some parchment paper under a wire rack. Invert the cooled cake over a wire rack. With a toothpick, prick a bunch of holes all over the top and sides of the cake. Pour the glaze over the cake and let it run over the sides and middle.

Slice and enjoy! Cover at room temperature or refrigerate. Serve warm with ice cream or as is! Enjoy!

The Best Zucchini Bread

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Once again, the year is flying by! I can’t believe it’s almost August and summer is coming to an end! So we need to live up the next few weeks. The weather in Chicago has been amazing lately so plants, flowers and gardens are looking great. A friend of mine gave me some zucchini from her garden so of course I made a zucchini bread 🙂 This recipe is so easy and delicious, one that will please everyone.

So let’s go start those oven and bake!

Note: Grate the zucchini on the large side of a box grater.

What you will need:

Loaf pan, greased

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (do not drain liquid!)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the zucchini, both sugars, applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store covered in the refrigerator. This bread is best served chilled. Enjoy!

Blueberry Banana Muffins

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I love being able to just whip up a batch of muffins for my family 🙂 I had blueberries and 2 very ripe bananas so voila! Perfect snack for after school, work or for breakfast. Super easy, not many ingredients, here we go…

What you will need:

Muffin tin greased or lined with paper cups

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup butter at room temp
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Beat in sugar, egg and butter until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture. Fold in blueberries.

Fill muffin pan 2/3 way full and bake 17-19 minutes. Allow to cool a bit before removing to a wire rack.

Store covered at room temp. Enjoy!

Ricotta Cake

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I seriously LOVE ricotta cheese. Give me a spoon and I’ll just eat it all out of the container. Or I like it with Ritz crackers. But here it is in a pound cake! So, so, so good! You can eat it as a snack, a dessert dusted with powdered sugar and fresh berries, or even for breakfast!

I just got back from walking to the beach because it’s almost 50 degrees out and sunny and the sky is beautifully blue. So I’m about to cut me a huge slice of this. I’m so glad I decided to make it earlier this morning… So come on! start your ovens and make this delicious, easy ricotta cake!

What you will need:

Loaf pan greased and lined with parchment paper

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups full fat ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another bowl, beat together butter, sugar and ricotta cheese until fully combined. Note: make sure your ricotta cheese is not wet. Drain any excess liquid before adding.

Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Slowly beat in flour mixture until just combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for about 15 minutes and THEN lower oven temp to 325 and bake for about 40 minutes more. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Slice and enjoy! Store covered at room temp or in the fridge.

Applesauce Muffins

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It’s snowing here in Chicago and I must admit, I’m listening to Christmas music as I bake these! Why not, right?! I just love this time of year. It makes me so happy! I decided to make these muffins for an after school snack. Also, if we all like them, I’ll make them again next week because we are going on a road trip to Mississippi for Thanksgiving. Yes, it will be a looong drive, but it will be nice to see and spend time with my father-in-law. We haven’t been to visit him since Liam was 2 so it’ll be great to make more memories and this time Liam will remember it 🙂

These muffins are super easy to make and you can easily double the recipe if you are having a big party. Or, you can even freeze them! But the recipe here makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular. So, go put some tunes on, preheat your ovens and let’s get baking!

What you will need:

Muffin tin sprayed with non-stick spray

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Beat in applesauce. Slowly stir in flour mixture until just combined. Fill muffin tin a little over halfway and bake for 10 minutes if using a mini pan, or 18-22 if using a regular sized pan.  Allow to cool slightly before taking muffins out and cooling on a wire rack.

Enjoy! Store covered at room temp.

BEST Banana Muffins Ever!

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Literally. So good. And the best part? Liam pretty much made them all by himself! I told him what ingredients to get out, I measured, he put them in and mixed. And then I put the batter into the muffin tin and baked. Thanks for the help, Liam!

Seriously, though, these muffins are so delicious! And the recipe makes exactly 12 muffins! Perfection. I think these turned out so good because of how much banana is in the batter. So the more bananas, the better in my opinion. Go ahead and start your ovens and let’s bake these guys…

What you will need:

Muffin tin lined with liners

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large bananas, smashed with a fork (or 4 smaller ones)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, beat together butter and both sugars. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in banana. Slowly beat in flour mixture until just combined.

Pour into prepared muffin tin almost to the top. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool a bit before removing from pan and then cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Store covered at room temperature.

Pumpkin Muffins

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Who doesn’t love the perfect fall snack in the middle of the day?! I made these while Liam was at school because 1. I wanted them and 2. I never know when he’s going to invite a friend over after school and I want to be able to offer food! He is SO hungry after school because the kindergarteners eat lunch at 10:45! Super early. They do get a snack at 2:00 but it’s just not enough. These muffins are the perfect energy treat before dinner or even breakfast!

So, if you’re feeling the pumpkin vibe this October and want THE perfect snack, look no further! Let’s get to baking…

What you will need:

Muffin tin either sprayed or lined

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (see note)
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin purée

Note: instead of using pumpkin pie spice, you can also use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon cloves. Add whatever spices you like!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together both sugars and oil. Add in eggs, vanilla and pumpkin and whisk until combined. Slowly fold in flour mixture until just combined. Batter is thick.

Fill the muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes before taking the muffins out and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

 

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I need to add super easy to the title because it really is! And of course oh so delicious 🙂 Plus, you can literally serve this whenever you want! Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or midnight snack. What I love the most is that you can make it ahead of time and just heat it up right before serving. So easy! I got the idea to make this from my cousin Lorna (hi!) because we had it at her house recently. And I make breakfast for my family every weekend so I thought this would be the perfect thing for our Saturday breakfast. I hope you all like it as much as I do!

This recipe is for broccoli cheddar but you really can add in whatever ingredients you like.

What you will need:

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9 inch pie plate
1 pie crust
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup whole milk
5 large eggs
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a pan, cook the onion until just beginning to brown. Place in a large bowl with the broccoli, cheddar cheese and milk. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the eggs. Pour into the broccoli mixture, season with salt and pepper and stir gently until combined.

Place the pie crust into your pie plate, making sure the bottom and sides are completely pressed to the pan. Pour the batter into the crust, smoothing out the top, making sure it’s even. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the crust is beginning to brown and the middle is set.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

Store covered and in the refrigerator.

Super Quick and Easy Cinnamon Bread

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I have made this bread so many times I lost count! It really is super quick and easy and when I have last minute guests coming over, this is what I make. I (usually) already have all 7 ingredients so I don’t need to make a trip to the store and it’s so delicious and can be served literally anytime. No kneading, just 1 bowl and 1 spatula. Have it for breakfast, after school snack, dessert, whenever! So, go start those oven and let’s bake some cinnamon bread…

What you will need:

1 loaf pan, greased

For the batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk

For the cinnamon sprinkle:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Whisk together flour and baking soda and set aside. In another large bowl, stir together butter and sugar until well mixed. Stir in egg until combined. Gradually stir in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk until everything is combined.

In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan and then evenly sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour the rest of the batter on top and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool a bit before inverting and cooling completely. Slice and enjoy!