Happy Insides

Recently in our house we have started making our own butter.  It isn't anything all that exciting or difficult, but it is so nice to have fresh butter.  Just pour some cream in the Kitchenaid, turn it on and let it go for awhile.  It really can't get a whole lot easier.  Also if you want to add stuff like salt or honey you can really customize it to your dish.  Besides the awesome outcome of fresh butter you also get the bonus of fresh buttermilk!  We have had an abundance of buttermilk in our house recently and I must say we are loving having nice weekend breakfasts of buttermilk pancakes and buttermilk biscuits.  We decided last weekend to give buttermilk waffles a go and a quick Google search landed us with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  It was just what we were looking for and the result were light and fluffy waffles with an excellent flavor.

 
Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 4 generous servings

2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. evaporated cane juice or sucanat
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 3/4 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, seperated
4 T. butter, melted and cooled
1/2 t. vanilla extract
canola spray

1) Preheat your waffle iron.  In a medium bowl whisk together your whole wheat pastry flour, salt, cane juice or sucanat and baking soda.

2) In a separate bowl mix together the butter milk, egg yolks, melted and cooled butter and the vanilla.  Combine the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients. 

3) Either by hand or with an electric mixer (recommended) whisk the egg yolks until they hold soft peaks.  Gently fold them into the batter.

4) Spray the waffle iron generously with canola spray and then ladle the batter onto the preheated waffle iron.  Bake until the waffle is done.  It took about 6 minutes in our machine, but it varies machine to machine.  Serve warm with whatever topping you choose.   

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For Passover this year Cassie decided to make a big batch of mini frittatas for our breakfasts.  She got the idea from an old Clean Eating magazine recipe, but when the time came to make them she couldn't find to old issue with the recipe so we decided to wing it and make our own recipe.  These turned out great and froze very well to last us the entire span of Passover. 

These were made for Passover, but the recipe makes a great breakfast year round and would be great on your next brunch menu.

Mini Frittatas
A Jason and Cassie Original
Makes 9 servings (2 frittatas per serving)

2 c. grated potatoes
1 large egg
1/4 c. unsalted matzo meal (or breadcrumbs)
1 T. olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 c. chopped broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic minced
12 large eggs
6 oz. jack cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste or Pepperman to taste

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 18 muffin pan wells with non-stick cooking spray making sure to fully coat them. 

2)  In a clean tea towel place grated potatoes and wring out any excess moisture from the potatoes.  In a medium bowl mix potatoes with 1 egg and the matzo meal.  Place a small amount of potato mixture in the bottom of each muffin well.  Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until the potatoes begin to soften and brown at the edges.

3) Meanwhile heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet.  Add the onion, bell pepper and broccoli to the pan and saute for about 3 minutes until softened.  Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool somewhat.

4)  When the vegetables have cooled beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Mix in the cooled vegetables, cheese and salt and pepper or Pepperman.  Fill muffin wells mostly full (but not all the way to the top) with the egg mixture.  Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until the eggs are set and the tops of the mini fritattas begin to brown.  Let cool and either serve warm or freeze the frittatas in freezer bags for individual breakfast portions.  To reheat let the fritattas defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then place them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes until heated through.   

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Mitch Hedberg was a very hilarious comedian.  He took some of the simplest jokes and made them amazing through his laid back delivery.  One joke of Mitch Hedberg that comes to mind is when he was talking about how you have to "start a show strong and end the show strong.  You can't be like pancakes.  They are all exciting at first, but by the end your f*cking sick of them."  Well Mitch...We can assure you that you won't be sick of these pancakes when you are done with them.  They are not only delicious and easy to whip together, but they are packed with whole grains so you don't feel a huge carb crash after eating them.

Whole Wheat Pancakes
Adapted from Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin
Makes 4 very generous servings

2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice or sucanat
2 1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 large eggs
2 1/4 c. milk
4 T. butter, melted and slightly cooled
vegetable oil spray or a non stick pan
maple syrup

1) Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  In a large bowl whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, evaporate cane juice, baking powder and salt. 

2) Whisk eggs in a medium bowl.  Add in milk and melted butter.

3)  Pour the egg mixture in with the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. 

4)  If you are not using a non stick pan spray pan with oil spray.  Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup on batter into the pan for each pancake depending on how large you like your pancakes. 

5) Flip pancakes when bubbles begin to form in the top of the pancake and don't disappear after they have burst.  Cook for another few minutes until both sides are nice and golden brown.  Serve immediately with maple syrup and butter. 

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Buttermilk biscuits are a comfort food that we haven't indulged in recently.  We like biscuits a lot, but since they aren't normally the picture of healthy food we tend to only have them on special occasions.  Well we recently had one such special occasion...Christmas.  We decided to make some buttermilk biscuits for Christmas morning this year, but instead of using normal all purpose flour we decided to go ahead and try our hand at making them whole wheat as we both just enjoy whole wheat stuff so much more these days.

We selected whole white wheat flour since it tends to be more mild and palatable than a lot of normal (or red) whole wheat flours.  We also thought it would be mild in flavor to let the buttermilk and buttery flavors shine through.  We certainly weren't disappointed.  What resulted was a warm and flaky biscuit that had a great soft texture, but the heartiness of whole grain.

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It's Hanukkah and that can mean only one thing.  A whole lot of good food.  Not just any food either, fried food!  You eat fried foods on Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle of the oil.  For many that means latkes, but another traditional Hanukkah food is sufaganiyot, or jelly filled donuts.  Donuts were never a tradition in Cassie's family, but when we heard they were a traditional food we felt that they deserved to be part of a new tradition for the family.  So this year we gathered the ingredients and set about making some delicious donuts.  Theses were really easy to make and fun to do at the same time. 

Sufganiyot
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Makes 12 donuts
1 T. active dry yeast
4 T. evaporated cane juice, divided
3/4 c. warm water
2 1/2 c. all purpose flower
pinch of salt
1 t.ground cinnamon
2 eggs, seperated
2 T. butter, softened
Apricot preserves (or any flavor you want)
organic powdered sugar
vegetable oil for frying

1) Mix the yeast, 2 T. of the cane juice and the water.  Sit to the side and let it proof for a few minutes.  It should bubble.  If it doesn't your yeast is not active and you will need to get some more.

2) Sift the flour and mix it with 2 T. cane juice, cinnamon, and salt.  Then add the egg yolks and the yeast mixture.  Mix well until combined.  Knead the dough to form a ball and then add the butter and knead until it is well incorporated into the dough.  Place in a bowl and cover with a towel.  Let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight. 

3) In the morning remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about half an hour.  Then roll it out till it is about 1/8 inch thick.  Take a juice glass or a any 2 inch circular cookie cutter and cut out 24 rounds.  Place a 1/2 t. of fruit preserves on 12 of the rounds.  Take the remaining 12 rounds and place them on top of the rounds with the preserves.  Using your thumb and forefinger crimp the edges of the rounds together very well and then seal them with egg whites. 

4) Cover the completed sufganiyot with a towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes. 

5) In a medium sauce pan heat about 2 inches of oil over medium heat.  Test the oil by throwing a small bit of bread into the pot.  When it bubbles your oil is ready.  Fry your donuts in small batches.  Make sure the oil doesn't get too hot.  You don't want to be left with doughy insides and burnt outsides.  You should fry the donuts about 3-4 minutes total flipping midway through.  Place them on a plate with paper towels to drain.  When they have drained roll the sufganiyo in the powdered sugar to add a thin coating.  Serve either warm or room temperature.  Enjoy!

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For about 3 or 4 years now we have been eating roughly the same breakfast every weekday.  Toast with peanut butter.  There have been a few times where we have experimented, but it always comes back to toast with peanut butter.  We decided recently to start playing around with some different breakfast recipes that were easy, tasty and healthy.  We found these protein waffles and they are great to make ahead of time and put in the freezer.  Every morning we can just pop one into the toaster and TADA, waffles for breakfast.  You can top them with whatever you want, but of course we have taken to topping them with peanut butter and just a drizzle of honey.  What can we say?  We are creatures of habit (that and we are pretty giant peanut butter fans).  This recipe makes 10 4" waffles.  We usually just double the batch and we have enough to get us through 2 weeks.  The waffles are made using a base of beans and oats.  You would never know though.  They taste great and are very hearty.  They aren't a whole lot different than regular waffles.

High Protein Waffles
Adapted from  NutritionMD.org
1/2 c. dry cannellini, white kidney, or great Northern beans
2 1/4 c. water
1 3/4 c. old-fashioned oats
2 T. sugar or 1 T. agave nectar
3/4 t. whole flaxseeds
1 T. baking powder
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. salt
5 scoops of plain protein powder
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
non-stick spray

1) The night before you make the waffles soak beans in cold water so that it covers the beans completely. 

2) Drain the beans and discard the soaking water.  Place all ingredients through the whole wheat pastry flour in a blender or a food processor and blend until the beans and the oats are smooth. 

3) Heat waffle iron.  Once it is heated spray the iron with non stick spray and then add 1/3 c. of batter to each 4" waffle spot in the iron.  Let cook for 8-9 minutes until fully cooked.  If the waffle iron is difficult to open then let the waffles cook for another minute or too.

Note:  If you plan on freezing the waffles let them cool completely then place them in a zippered freezer bag to freeze.  They need to be cooked at a medium setting in the toaster. 

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Egg nests is one of our favorite meals.  It is delicious, easy, super healthy and you feel great after you eat it.  We frequently make these for breakfast on Saturday mornings.  They are a great way to use up any leftover veggies in your fridge from the previous week.    You saute veggies in a pan and then make small wells and crack eggs into those and the eggs cook and adhere to the vegetables making them into a nest around the egg.  The recipe below is just what we happened to use the day we took this picture, but really the possibilities are endless.  You can use any type of green, add any vegetables that you want and try any combination of spices that you desire.

Egg Nests
Got the idea from the blog Clean Eating Machines
2 Servings
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 head kale, washed and chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 jalapeno, minced (seeded or not depending on your preference)
4 eggs
2 T. Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1) heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Add the zucchini and saute for about 2 more minutes.  Add the kale and saute until wilted.

2) your vegetables should cover the entire bottom of the pan.  Make four wells in the vegetable and crack an egg into each well. Cover the pan and let the eggs cook until they have cooked through, about 4 minutes.  They should still be slightly soft to the touch.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

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What the heck is biscuits and gravy doing on a healthy eating blog? Well we both firmly believe that a healthy lifestyle contains the occasional unhealthy food. Splurging once in awhile helps keep you from feeling deprived and then binging. Biscuits and gravy really don't need any kind of introductory hype. They're just flat-out, savory goodness. We've made basic biscuits and gravy before, then we discovered a recipe for Cheddar, Bacon, and Fresh Chive Biscuits in Bon Appetite magazine, so we thought why not use those instead of your regular buttermilk variety. We adapted the recipe to include jalapenos and no chives, which added a complimentary spice.

Gravy (found at: http://www.foodreference.com/html/artbiscuitsandgravy.html)

½ lb. ground breakfast sausage.
2 T. butter
4 T. all purpose flour
3 c. cold milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the sausage until it is cooked and has released as much of its fat as possible. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and do NOT drain the grease. You'll need it to make the roux...

You should have about 2 tablespoons of rendered pork fat. Add the butter and melt it. Then add the flour a little at a time over medium heat, constantly whisking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Now start adding the cold milk a little at a time, whisking incessantly. Toward the end of the milk add the sausage back in. When you reach the desired consistency add salt and pepper to taste.

Cheddar, Bacon, and Jalapeno Biscuits (adapted from Bon Appetit, Feb. 2010)
Makes 6 biscuits

3 thick-cut bacon slices
2 cups bread flour
3/4 T. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1/2 c. chilled, unsalted butter,
cut into half inch cubes
1 jalapeno, minced
3/4 c. chilled buttermilk

Position rack just above center of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown. Transfer bacon to paper towels and drain, then chop coarsely.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in processor. Add butter cubes. Blend until coarse meal forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer flour mixture to large bowl. Add cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and copped bacon; toss to blend. Gradually add buttermilk, stirring to moisten evenly (batter will feel sticky).

Using lightly floured hands, drop generous 1/2 cup batter for each biscuit onto prepared baking sheet, spacing batter mounds about 2 inches apart.

Bake biscuits until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Now, split two biscuits onto each plate and pour the gravy on top.


Remember, you don't have to live in the deep South to eat like the world is going to end tomorrow, so when you're craving something that'll leave you and your dinner guests speechless, give this a try.

Servings: 3

Calories: Don't ask

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Huevos Rancheros is definitely one of our favorite meals. We both love it a lot, but it can be pretty unhealthy with a little tweaking we have been able to take Emril Lagasse's recipe for Huevos Rancheros and turn it into a meal that can be enjoyed any time and with a lot fewer calories and less unnecessary fat. We actually love to make 2 servings of this during the week and then use the remaining ranchero sauce and make 2 more servings on Saturday mornings for a nice, but healthy weekend breakfast.

Huevos Rancheros
Adapted from Emril Lagasse

Ranchero sauce:
1 T. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped white onions
1 c. chopped bell pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cayenne
1 minced jalapeno (with or without seeds depending on your preference)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 c. chopped fresh tomatoes and their juices
1 c. low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
3 T. chopped cilantro

4 corn tortillas
1 c. refried beans (preferably low sodium)
2 T. butter
8 large eggs
2 oz. pepper jack cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the Ranchero sauce, in a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers, and cook stirring for 3 - 5 minutes. Add the cumin, salt, cayenne, jalapeno and garlic. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook stirring for 2 minutes. Add the stock and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the cilantro. Cover and keep warm.

Put 1/4 of the refried beans on each tortilla and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 7-9 minutes until the tortilla is slightly crispy at the edges and the beans are warm.

In a medium skillet melt 1/2 T. of butter. Break 2 eggs into the skillet and fry until begining to set. Repeat until all eggs are cooked.

Place 2 eggs on top of each tortilla with refried beans. Top with 1/4 of the ranchero sauce and sprinkle 1/2 oz of cheese on top.

Server immediately.

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