breakfast

Peach Yogurt Muffins

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

First, before you get any further – I should note that the title of this recipe may be confusing. These are not made with peach yogurt. Could they have been? Yes, but I made them with Greek yogurt and added peaches. Ok… now that that’s shared, I can get started with this recipe.

Here we are, back at school and back with another muffin recipe. This week as I was preparing snacks for the kids’ lunches, I made some mini banana muffins again, and, realizing I had a surplus of nectarines and peaches that were starting to go bad, I decided to make these peach muffins. Yes, we bake a lot of muffins, but they are such an easy snack inside or outside of school!

As usual, I’m not claiming these are the healthiest recipe. But they’re homemade, have white whole wheat flour and plain Greek yogurt, so I feel good about my kids having these every so often. And they’re easy to make, store and transport, so they really are a win for a back-to-school snack.

Peach Yogurt Muffins

Makes 12

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (plain or lightly flavored; lemon works wonderfully!)
  • ½ cup avocado oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • 1½ to 2 cups fresh chopped peaches (nectarines are a great substitute)
  • Optional: cinnamon-sugar for topping

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray or lining with baking cups. I like to use a silicone muffin tin.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the Greek yogurt, avocado oil, eggs, vanilla and milk until smooth. Stir in the sugar.
  4. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined — do not overmix.
  5. Fold in the chopped peaches, gently stirring until evenly distributed.
  6. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. If desired, sprinkle the tops with cinnamon-sugar.
  7. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. Cool before enjoying.  

These store well in the fridge for about 5 days, but like most muffin recipes, I like to keep them in the freezer and take them out the night before enjoying them. I pack 1 in my kids’ backpacks, still frozen, the night before and they’re defrosted and ready-to-eat by their snack time the next day!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you like peaches or nectarines more? When I was younger, I preferred nectarines. Now I like them both and tend to buy more peaches!
  • What kind of yogurt do you buy?

Mini Banana Muffins

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

We’re back to school, here, which means it’s back to baking some snacks and treats for the kids to take with their lunches. If you’re new around here, here’s something you should know — we eat a lot of muffins, so I bake a lot of muffins. 

My oldest son now has snack OUTSIDE during the school day – it’s the same time as his recess – so he asked me to start packing him some smaller, bite-sized snacks. I’ve made energy bites (maybe that recipe will come soon), and the latest snack for him and his sister to bring — mini banana muffins. 

Now, I’m not claiming these are the healthiest recipe. But since they’re homemade, have some flaxseed and white whole wheat flour, I’d like to think they’re healthier than those pre-packaged muffins I’ve seen at the store. And they’re super easy and fast – in one hour (or less if you’re faster than me and not sidetracked with your ADHD) on a Sunday, you have snack for the week ready to go.

Mini Banana Muffins

Here’s what you need:

  • 3 medium, ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 2 TB ground flaxseed (optional, but adds some fiber
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice mix
  • Optional: cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling on top

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 24-count mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  
  3. In a large bowl, melt the butter. Then add mashed banana, honey, egg and vanilla.  Combine well.
  4. Add dry ingredients into the large bowl with banana mixture. Stir with a spatula to combine, but don’t overmix.  
  5. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin.  
  6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into muffins comes out with a few crumbs (not wet mixture), about 11-12 minutes. 
  7. Cool before enjoying.  

These store well in the fridge for about 5 days, but I like to keep them in the freezer and take them out the night before enjoying them. I pack 2-3 for my kids’ snacks the night before in their backpack and they’re defrosted and ready-to-eat by their snack time the next day!

Some questions for you:

  • What kind of snacks do you or your kids enjoy?
  • What’s your favorite muffin flavor? Are you a corn muffin, banana or blueberry muffin lover?

Chia Jam (So Easy!)

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This is another one of those recipes that’s not really a recipe – it’s so easy! It only has three ingredients and takes 15 minutes to make. If you have kids — or anyone in your family — that loves jam, you HAVE to try chia jam! It’s a yummy, healthier alternative. Don’t get me wrong, jelly and jam still have a place on our house, but this is a great addition to our rotation. Try it today!

Continue reading →

Easy Homemade Granola

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

For those of you that have been reading ICTW for a long time, you’ll be thinking, hey this isn’t the first time you’ve made granola before. And you know what – you’re right! I’ve been making granola for years. I grew up with my mom making a batch of granola nearly weekly (thanks to my brother’s obsession, which he passed along to me) and when I moved out of the house I missed it a ton. The store bought granola, while yummy, just didn’t cut it. So, every so often, I get on a granola kick and have to make a big batch for myself.

Luckily for me, my kids are loving granola these days as well. So, now I have someone to share it with!

This is another one of my mom’s recipes that she has been making for a while. I shared another one of her granola recipes here, but these days, the recipe below is what I’ve been craving.

easy homemade granola - easy to make and made with maple syrup! - i crashed the web

Easy Homemade Granola

Here’s what you need: 

  • 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats, or organic oats
  • 2 cups slivered almonds
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 3/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened (Note, if you can’t find and need to use sweetened, it’s okay, I’ve been there)
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup avocado oil
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup (I’ve also used honey)
  • Optional: 2 cups dried fruit (I love dried cherries and blueberries)

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl – oats, nuts,  coconut, cinnamon and brown sugar.
  3. In a small bowl, combine avocado oil and maple syrup. Once mixed, pour over dry ingredients. Mix well so it’s evenly distributed.
  4. Pour out mixture onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking and stirring at about halfway through.
  6. Now the hardest part — let cool and enjoy!  I add in the optional dried fruit AFTER baking, so the fruit does’t also dry out any more.

Suggestions – if you’d prefer not to just eat granola right out of the jar, you can also serve over yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal or on top of your favorite smoothie bowl!

Questions for you:

  • What’s your go-to breakfast?
  • What’s your favorite type of granola?

I’m linking up with Meatless Monday with A Whisk and Two Wands and Confessions of a Mother Runner

Meatless Monday: Easy (and adaptable) Overnight Oats

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

It has been a while since I’ve written a Meatless Monday post – and I don’t know why! I’ve had a few meatfree meals lately, but I haven’t taken the time to truly capture them and write down a recipe and then post them.

So, today’s meatless post is a meal you can enjoy for breakfast. Overnight oats! I make these sometimes when I’m craving something other than my typical egg white and spinach and veggies for breakfast and have been asked how I make them. The answer? It’s always different. There are so many ways to make them. It depends on what ingredients I have. So here you go – a standard overnight oats recipe for you to enjoy and it’s adaptable so you can add or remove the toppings as you please!

Easy Overnight Oats - icrashedtheweb

Here’s what you need:

  • ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ⅓ cup yogurt (for this recipe, I used  plain Greek yogurt)
  • ½ cup milk (unsweetened vanilla almond milk is my favorite, but I didn’t have any on hand so I used regular milk)
  • 1-2 teaspoons your favorite nut butter (I love almond, peanut and sun butter!)
  • 1-2 teaspoons Chia seeds
  • 1-2 teaspoons honey
  • To top your oats (wait until you’re ready to eat to add these): fruit (I like 1/2 banana, blueberries, nuts and more nut butter)

overnight oats ingredients

basic overnight oats ingredients

 

Here’s what you do:
  1. Combine oats, yogurt, milk, nut butter, chia seeds and honey in a 10-12 ounce jar. Stir with a spoon or shake until everything is pretty combined.
  2. Let sit in fridge overnight or at least 7-8 hours. When ready do serve, add toppings! I love adding some freshly sliced banana, blueberries, a few nuts and even more nut butter.
  3. Enjoy a hearty and delicious breakfast. Or snack. Or dessert. I’m not judging!

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Isn’t that easy? Some modifications I’ve enjoyed include:

  • Adding more milk and less yogurt for a less tangy and less thick oatmeal.
  • Adding some diced banana to the oats in the overnight version and peanut butter. Then topping with more banana and more peanut butter for a peanut butter and banana oats.
  • Adding PB2 or another powdered peanut butter before mixing for a more peanut buttery flavor.
  • Adding dried fruit or coconut to the top when it’s ready to serve
  • Adding flax seed (1-2 teaspoons) for some extra fiber/grit/texture.
  • Topping my oats with more oats (meaning: homemade granola) or a few mini chocolate chips if you’re feeling ambitious.

That’s one of the things I love about overnight oats – in addition to being super easy and not at all time consuming, the possibilities really are endless!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you like overnight oats? What’s your favorite combination?
  • What’s your go-to breakfast?

Disclosure: While I was not compensated for this post, some of the product (nut butter, oats) was  provided to me by Swanson Health. My views and comments are solely my own and do not represent those of Swanson. AND I’ll likely be doing a giveaway so you can get some goodies too, soon 🙂

For more Meatless Monday posts, check out some of my past recipes or visit the linkup below! I’m linking up with Sarah and Confessions of a Mother Runner .

 

WIAW #16: B Cooks For Me …

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

Surprise- not only is it National Running Day, but it’s also time to talk about another one of my favorite subjects – food! That’s right, it’s  What I Ate Wednesday! These were my eats from YESTERDAY, because that is when I remembered to take photos. I really need to start taking photos on a different day of the week.

Basically as I’m typing this, I realize how lucky I am. B makes me soooo much of my food. It’s not that I don’t enjoy cooking or don’t know how to cook – it’s frankly because some days I’m just too crazed to think about cooking/eating/etc. and B takes care of me. So not to be overly gushy, but I can’t help write this post without acknowledging that. Anyway, breakfast included egg whites with hot peppers, spinach and frozen veggies. B made me the breakfast at home and I brought it into the office – and plated it – so I could eat this delicious meal at my desk.

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I also had a blueberry snack mid-morning.

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This week is our office’s Wellness Week so for lunch we had a salad bar potluck! Each person in our office contributed some ingredient for a salad and we made our own salads at lunch. BEST IDEA EVER. Check out my delicious salad- there’s feta cheese, blueberries, spinach, mixed greens, craisins, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, a few bites of chicken, chickpeas, carrots, cucumbers, and beans. No dressing – I’m weird like that. And served with an apple!

BEST SALAD.

BEST SALAD.

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Snacks the day included baby carrots, a nectarine and perrier, a handful of cashews and wintergreen mints.

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Dinner was great, as usual. I fully intended on making dinner but some client work popped up unexpectedly so after I started to chop up veggies, B took over. He made some pork from the West Side Market, cauliflower and broccoli.

pork cauliflower broccoli

Yum! I was going to end the day with an Arctic Zero sundae, but I simply was too tired to do so.Yup, too tired for dessert … it doesn’t happen often, but it happens!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have someone in your life that makes you meals when you’re short on time?
  • What are your favorite salad toppings?

Meatless Monday: Sweet Potato Zucchini Hash

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted a recent Meatless Monday blog post. I’ve been eating plenty of meatfree meals (I give up meat for Lent every year) but I guess I haven’t been blogging about them! For example, here are some photos of the meals I’ve been enjoying: (these were originally from my Instagram account – feel free to follow me there @koskim for more gratuitous food shots)

Curried lentils with sweet potato and cauliflower

Curried lentils with sweet potato and cauliflower

breakfast for dinner! egg white omelets with potatoes, peppers, onions and avocado

breakfast for dinner! egg white omelets with potatoes, peppers, onions and avocado

veggie burger with a side of - veggies!

veggie burger with a side of – veggies!

cabbage and papaya salad with peanuts

cabbage and papaya salad with peanuts

spaghetti squash with homemade spicy tomato sauce and tofu

spaghetti squash with homemade spicy tomato sauce and tofu

Anyway, finally, I’m sharing a recipe with you so that you can eat meatless on Monday (or any day!). I LOVE making this recipe and have made it or a variation of it probably too many times in the past month to count – but it’s so simple and so delicious and healthy that you should try it too! Leftovers are great as well – I typically have four 2-cup size servings with this recipe and then have enough leftover for 2 lunches.

sweet potato zucchini hash-icrashedtheweb

Sweet Potato Zucchini Hash

Serves 4

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 TB olive oil, divided
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 zucchini, diced
  • 2 bell peppers, finely chopped
  • 1 sweet potato, diced
  • 2 tsp. cumin, divided
  • 2 tsp. ground paprika, divided
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder, divided
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, divided (or more if you like it spicy! Note – if you have fresh hot pepper – like chili peppers or jalapeño, feel free to substitute with this)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, hot sauce, tofu, sunny side up egg (not vegan)

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 and finely dice all your veggies. If you’re like me, this may take a little while.
  2. Place diced sweet potato on a prepared baking sheet (I spray mine with Pam or olive oil spray). Sprinkle generously with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. Cook in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Check often so not to burn and toss potatoes halfway through.
  3. While potato is cooking, heat half of olive oil in a large pan. Sautee onion for a few minutes or until translucent. Add in remaining chopped up veggies – peppers and zucchini. Add in remaining cumin, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne pepper and cook for about 7-10 minutes  or until veggies are browned and softened.
  4. When potatoes are done, add to pan with rest of veggies. Toss to incorporate. Finish until cooked but not mushy!
  5. Enjoy! I like mine topped with cilantro and tofu. Other fun toppings include avocado, hot sauce and/or a sunny side up egg. I’ve also served it over spinach for an extra nutritional boost. The one pictured (above and below) has tofu crumbles in it.

So many veggies!

So many veggies!

sweet potato zucchini hash-icrashedtheweb

Linking to my first MM linkup!

Question for you:

What meatless meal should I add to my repertoire?

WIAW: Leftover Chinese Food

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

Once again – here’s a look at my Monday eats from this week. Enjoy this edition of WIAW!

Monday’s breakfast may look familiar. That’s right – once again, I had egg whites with hot peppers and frozen veggies. And B made it.

Sadly, we had no more leftover spaghetti squash to enjoy – I thought I did but after tasting it I noticed it was bad (ice) so it was just veggies and egg whites. Oh, I also had some coffee again!

For those of you that have read my other WIAW posts, this may look familiar ...

For those of you that have read my other WIAW posts, this may look familiar …

Lunch was leftover Chinese food! B and I had FEASTED at Wonton Gourmet in Asiatown on Saturday night, getting lomein, szechuan fish, Chinese broccoli and more. Thankfully we had leftovers of my favorite – the fish and broccoli.

Not quite sure what kind of "fish" this is?

Not quite sure what kind of “fish” this is?

Snacks during the day included:

A sweet potato with honey and cinnamon and a handful of salted almonds. Sweet and salty ftw!

Probably about a handful of almonds - 12ish? - with my sweet potato. Some are hiding.

Probably about a handful of almonds – 12ish? – with my sweet potato. Some are hiding.

Carrots and cinnamon gum. Not together …

carrots and gum.

carrots and gum.

Homemade caramels – I made them over the weekend at my Ladies Craft Beer event and they are SO DELICIOUS.

Don't worry, I didn't eat ALL of these. Just about 2 or 3 :)

Don’t worry, I didn’t eat ALL of these. Just about 2 or 3 🙂

Some Arctic Zero!

I didn't quite eat the whole pint ..

I didn’t quite eat the whole pint ..

For a Meatless Monday dinner I made some sweet potato zucchini hash with tofu. Yup, more sweet potato. YUM- I topped with cilantro.

I'll be sharing the recipe for this soon - it is so GOOD and i make it all the time!

I’ll be sharing the recipe for this soon – it is so GOOD and i make it all the time!

And for dessert? A small peanut butter cheesecake cookie bar. I’ll be posting the recipe for these asap because they are SO SO amazing.

I swear I only had one small one of these bars. Not the whole plate :)

I swear I only had one small one of these bars. Not the whole plate 🙂

And here’s my fitbit activity for the day- I got in a 4 mile run and short elliptical workout in the morning and that’s about it for activity.

Screenshot_2015-03-03-15-40-01

Some questions for you:

  • Do you WIAW? Share the link – I’d love to see!
  • What’s your favorite dessert you’re jamming on right now?
  • Do you eat the same breakfast each day too?

 

French Toast Casserole

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I have a confession to make. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m not reallllly a brunch person. I’m picky about my breakfasts. I don’t really like pancakes. I’m not a huge french toast fan. Waffles? Could do without them. Eggs? Only if they’re very runny, or just the white. Granola? Love it – but I’m used to my mom’s homemade kind so it better be close. Orange juice? Ick. Cereal? Absolutely – as long as I can have 4 to 5 different kinds and can mix them together and eat it dry (without milk). I know – it’s like a crime for a girl in her late 20s to not be a fan of brunch. What can I say – I’m special?

Anyway, I know I’m in the minority. I know most people love brunch and wouldn’t rather be eating a salad, turkey chili  or chicken for breakfast so I compromise. So when B suggested we have some friends from out of town over for brunch I happily obliged. And as you do know, I LOVE baking. So of course I got excited at the prospect of baking for brunch – baking a French Toast Casserole!

This recipe turned out reallly realllly good. It was so easy to prepare (you do most of the work the night before) and made our apartment smell amazing. If you have brunch plans anytime soon, I highly recommend you make this. We served ours with champagne, a fruit salad, scrambled eggs and nitrate free bacon. Cheers!

french toast casserole-ictw

Overnight French Toast Casserole

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cut diagonally in 1 inch slices
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup or maple syrup

Here’s what you do:

  1. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the bread slices, layered, throughout the dish.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs (beaten well), milk, half-and-half, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour liquid over bread and refrigerate, covered, overnight.
  3. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While oven is preheating, in a small pot over medium-high heat, combine butter, brown sugar and syrup. Stir well and heat until the mixture just starts to boil and bubble. Pour over bread and egg mixture.
  4. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Enjoy warm. B topped his with syrup, I thought it was sweet enough without it.

french toast casserole-icrashedtheweb

Pumpkin Biscotti

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Confession: I bought more canned pumpkin. I know, I know – after the cookies, granola and scones you think I’d be done. But I’m only just beginning! I’ve got to fuel my pumpkin addiction.

When I told B I had more pumpkin he literally groaned. When I told him I was thinking of making some pumpkin sheet cake or a pumpkin roll and he seemed less than enthusiastic, I knew I had to stray from my traditional baked goods. And when he asked, “Can you just make something not too sweet that I can have with my morning coffee?” I knew that a pumpkin bundt with cream cheese filling was probably out of the question.

Enter – pumpkin biscotti. I knew they’d be perfect – not just for B (he loved the chocolate pistachio biscotti I made), but also for my parents who would be in town visiting.

And they were. Crunchy but not too hard (pumpkin makes everything somewhat soft), sweet but not too sweet – they were just what the pumpkin doctor ordered … now what to do with the rest of that pumpkin ? 🙂

breakfast - pumpkin biscotti - i crashed the web

Pumpkin Biscotti (modified from here)

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. allspice
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. Mix in cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger until thoroughly combined and somewhat thicker. I used my KitchenAid and let it all mix for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add four mixture into pumpkin/egg bowl and mix on low speed until evenly distributed.
  5. Using a spatula or large spoon, add in almonds and white chocolate chips.
  6. Now it’s time to make your logs! Divide dough into quarters. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, shape portions into logs, about 8-10 inches by 2-3 inches.
  7. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or mostly hard. Remove logs to a cooling rack and cool for 3-5 minutes.
  8. Keep the oven on! After the logs are cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board and cut each log into 1/2 inch slices on a diagonal.
  9. Bake the dough again! Take the slices and place with the cut side face down on baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes on each side until hardened. I took mine out after about 15 minutes total (7ish min on each side) because I like my biscotti a little softer.

Enjoy! They make a great breakfast addition or snack. Or dessert before your half marathon (yes I had 1-2 before our half marathon last week).

pumpkin white chip biscotti | i crashed the web