Banana - Squash Oat Bran Muffins

Hey there. Summer is on its way out and fall is almost here ~ so I have a special chocolatey treat or breakfast recipe that fits both. Its light, healthy, tastes great, and hello has chocolate! If your summer has been anything like mine with trips, fun, kids being home all day from school, vacation or people visiting you on their vacation.... you need some chocolate. Goes great with coffee - just sayin'. 

I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been just busy with life  kiddos, moving, house hunting, and medical stuff with our littlest smile. Our youngest has a complicated medical history. About a year ago we moved our family across the united states to experience a different life style, snow, and history on the east coast. It's hard to want to make new recipes when all you want to do is collapse into a pile of goo into bed as soon it seems late enough after the kids are asleep.  

I have this really great muffin recipe though - perfect for those beginning early back to school mornings that my friends are already having to deal with in Arizona & those upcoming here in New York. 

See you need this. Like I need to stop taking food pictures with my cell phone instead of my nice camera. Ugh. Sorry. I haven't blogged in awhile and it shows. At least the food is good. 

Getting kids ready for school is really hard. This will make it easier. Breakfast will be done. You can make them the night before and just throw it at them as they are grumbling their way to the bus stop or into the back seat. Goes great with yogurt or an apple. They can nibble it as they are "remembering" that form they were supposed to give you days ago crumbled from the bottom of their bag. Is that a boy thing or do all kids have this remembering problem? 

YOU have to try it. Seriously I know I have made a bran muffin before on this blog but this version is way better and since I am obsessed with yellow squash and zucchini it totally works for my family - ahem - especially since they don't know its in there? Trust me. Its good. The veg is clearly undetectable. 

But oat bran muffins you may ask? Why oat bran muffins? I know I know "bran muffins" have a certain unsexy vibe clinging them to them but healthy is the new cool. My husband hates it when I say "I know". Lol. So yeah. Just think of them as banana chocolate chip and you'll be fine. I just want those who are looking for a healthier approach to find it easily. 

Just incase you were wondering bran is actually pretty cool. It is the reason why brown rice is brown. Its the outside layer of the grain that is otherwise milled off - which also explains why brown rice takes so long to cook. More layers means more cooking time to soften and expand.

Banana - Squash Oat Muffins - 

adapted from my other recipe which you can find here.

Active time: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Makes 8 - 10 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 large eggs 
1 cup / 2 medium very over ripe bananas (the darker the better - think black)
1 cup pureed squash* See note below
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (do not substitute with bran cereal)
1 Tbs oil
1 Tbs vanilla bean paste or extract
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon heaping ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips (as many as you want) 
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 Tbs milk if you think it needs more moisture 

Turbinado sugar (optional) sprinkle a pinch on each one for flare and fun

Note: To make squash puree its very easy. Wash and then cut a smaller summer yellow squash into 8-10 rounds. Put it in a glass or microwavable bowl with 1/4-1/2 cup of water and steam it in the microwave for approx 4 minutes. If its soft when you check it at 3 or 4 minutes then its done. Carefully pull the bowl out of the microwave using oven mitts and dump the entire thing in the blender. Blend until smooth and tahhh dahhh you have squash puree. Super easy. Super cheap. Super healthy. Super undetectable. And unlike its cousin the zucchini there isn't even green specks to give it away. It blends right in! Lol. Sorry bad joke. If you still want to do this and don't have a microwave you can do it in a small pan on the stove. Or if you want to skip this step and just buy a container of pureed squash from the baby food isle - its there and it will cost you about $1-1.50 and you'll need 2. 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray - with or without liners. I usually don't use liners unless I am baking for friends or the freezer. 
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer whisk eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Add the bananas, squash puree, wheat bran, oil and vanilla paste. Whisk until it is homogeneous.
4. Into the same bowl, measure & whisk in all remaining dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) one at a time. Don't over mix. If you are using a stand mixer be careful. Grains will toughen if overworked. Tough dough = dry muffins. 
5. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes. 
6. Scoop or pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups until batter is gone. The muffin cups should be full. They make really good size muffins. 
7. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, approximately 18-20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges with a small knife and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Easy. Peasy. And now lets go enjoy whatever is left of summer! 
Thanks for stopping by.
Stephanie

1 can of pumpkin

As previously mentioned, half of September, and the entire month of October was beyond hard. Our little guy was born 6 weeks early due to some complications and since then had several surgeries and is fighting like a champ to overcome all his present challenges and diagnoses. So I didn't get to do my normal fall stuff until November. But not letting my favorite season pass by too quickly I bought like 10 or 15 cans of pumpkin puree. Seriously. I had some catch up to do! My goal for this fall was to make my own puree using a pumpkin - but yeah. But to be real, with having a newborn in the house, and neither one of us sleeping thru the night yet, thats not happening this year. 

So playing catch up, because thats what it feels like, heres what I did with my first can of pumpkin puree.  Enjoy! 

1. Breakfast: Double Chocolate Pumpkin Donuts. Healthy. So good you'll want the entire batch. 

2. Breakfast/After-noon Snack: Pumpkin - Yellow Squash Bread. I used a favorite nutty zucchini bread recipe and used grated squash and pumpkin puree to create a new fall favorite. I will be sharing this recipe soon. 

3. Breakfast: Pumpkin Pie French Toast. Fall flavors developed and showing off with an easy recipe by one of my favorite bloggers. 

happy fall to ya

Stephanie

P.S. Heres what I am planning on making with my next can(s) of pumpkin puree - just in case you need some ideas too :)

1. Starbucks  Pumpkin Scones Copycat Recipe
2. Pumpkin Gingerbread
3. Healthy Whole Wheat & Oat Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt Bread

This pumpkin bread, that I made for breakfast this morning, tastes like pumpkin pie. Totally serious. It made my house smell like one of those expensive candles too. It has all those familiar spices ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and that earthy mild wonderful pumpkin flavor. Yes, I would love some pie for breakfast. If I was still prego I could probably get away with it too. But now that I am trying to start fitting back into normal clothes - this healthy breakfast, brunch bread, after school snack bread that simply tastes like pie - is exactly what I need in my life. You do too. 

The recipe can't be simpler. I grabbed all the ingredients and started just mixing them one by one (wet ingredients first) in my mixer and within 5 minutes the batter was made. Treat your taste buds to some fall by clicking here which will take you to the original recipe which I followed almost exactly. I left out the pecans and added turbinado sugar to top of the batter after pouring it in the greased loaf pan. Since typing in-between feedings isn't the easiest I decided to not rehash a very well written recipe. My took 15 minutes longer to bake than his, so please watch your bread and adjust as needed. 

Enjoy your fall day! 
Stephanie

Bed rest and Banana Bread

Hi there. I hope your February is going well. It's been interesting at my house. Here I will give you a snapshot. I have been on bed rest for the last 7 days. Usually in my house I plan all the meals, do majority of the cleaning and cooking, and shopping. For me to be on bed rest and off my feet completely without everything falling apart, I had to do some careful, crazy planning, and then choose to ignore everything else. Because no matter how you plan, life happens. So there has been lots of tv watching, movies, fast food, and my hubby gracefully stepping up to do things he doesn't like because he loves me. 

This is where the moist and delicious freezer banana bread recipe comes in. My guys loved baked goods - muffins, banana bread, coffee cakes - sweet yummy stuff and if its fresh out of the oven thats even better. Who doesn't love a hot chocolate cookie or a warm crumbly coffee cake? One thing I knew I wanted to try and make ahead for my time on the couch was a freezer banana bread I found in a cookbook. The recipe that "supposably" claimed to make 4 banana loaves all at once, still tasted good after being baked, frozen, and defrosted for later use. I thought that was a tall order. I have tried to freeze muffins and banana bread before but they always ended up dried out. The process of freezing just sucks the moisture out, and in the end rather sucks on your taste buds. I was excited that we would be able to have a yummy breakfast even though I was out of the kitchen.

Two weeks before surgery, give or take a day, I made the four loaves of banana bread freezer recipe. I wrapped them carefully with foil and put them fully cooled into freezer heavy duty bags and said a little prayer. Okay all of them but one. If they were going to fail because they dried out I wanted one fresh from the oven on the counter, and honestly that delicious bread smell floating and filling my kitchen was too great for me to hide and the guy's stomachs to ignore. It was delicious! 

The only changes I made to the original recipe were adding walnuts to one of the loaves, and whole wheat white flour instead of all purpose flour plus vital wheat gluten. I heart walnuts. My hubby doesn't feel as strongly about nuts so I only put 1/2 cup chopped in one loaf. 

Fast forward almost three weeks to today. Loaf #3 is sitting on the counter. I am amazed it is still there but it was the biggest loaf of the 4. I have been defrosting them about a week apart. So far we have served it for breakfast with sausage links, another time with just scrambled eggs, and another time with yogurt & granola and cereal. Each loaf has fed my family for 1-2 breakfasts.  Love that.  

After eating and enjoying this banana bread several times now, I determine it is a huge success. This will be a great freezer staple from now on. Once every couple months I can make a large batch and have it there when I need to supplement some meals or give a yummy loaf to a friend. 

The only problem I had with it was you have measure the batter into baking loaf pans carefully for even sized loaves. When you make this you are mixing a very large quantity of banana bread batter in one giant bowl. I didn't measure when I did this. I just poured the thicker than pancake batter into pans until it looked even. One of my loaves was tiny and another one was huge and the other two were medium sized. It was like the story the three bears small medium and large :) Next time I am going to make 3 bigger sized loaves instead of 4 and measure measure measure measure. 

The banana bread recipe comes from the cookbook "Not Your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher" page 290. Please check it out. It is definitely worth your time. Provides an easy healthy breakfast option, stocks up your freezer, and by making all 3 or 4 loaves at the same time you save time and money with one shopping trip and one baking afternoon. I just ordered my own copy from amazon last night and will share the recipe with you another time. My original copy was from the library and they sort of wanted it back after I renewed it like 4 times. 

Enjoy some banana bread from me on the couch. 

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chip Oat Muffins

I think I am in love. These muffins are amazing. They are light, delicious, easy to make, freezable, with a beautiful golden crunchy top (thanks to some turbinado sugar). If you haven't ever heard of this delectable sugar let me take a moment to introduce you. It will change your life. A small sprinkle takes mundane things like oatmeal, muffins, cookies, and turns them into magic. No it's not fake sugar a sugar substitute. No it's not low fat. It's just fun. Because turbinado sugar is made up of crystallizing sugar cane juice that have been spun in turbines (thus the name turbin - ado), the sugar looks like tiny crystals, giving a dynamite crunch and sparkle to anything it lands on. The best time to add this to muffins or cookies is right before you put them into the oven. I haven't experimented with adding into things in the place of white or regular brown sugar, but that seems like a logical next step.... while I think about that I think I shall munch on another one of these amazingly healthy & tasty muffins. 

Did I mention we had a muffin crisis the first time I made these? We accidentally ate a whole batch in 2 days. We couldn't keep our hands off of them! Healthy eating in 2014? Not a problem. Moderation and portion control meh we'll get to that next year. 

Whole wheat Pumpkin Chip Oat Muffins

original recipe from: jensfavoritecookies.com

prep + baking time: 25-30 minutes

batch easily doubled

Ingredients
6 T butter unsalted organic, softened
1/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened 
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp vital wheat gluton
3/4 cup heaping pumpkin
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup quick oats
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

5 Easy Steps:

1. Cream the butter, sugar, and pumpkin over medium speed with a mixer

2. Add in everything else except choc chips.

3. Once everything else is fully mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

4.Divide the very thick batter evenly among 12 muffin lined cups. I found it best to lightly spray the muffin cups but I may be just paranoid about things sticking. 

5. Bake these wonderful things at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool a bit before eating and the complements start to flow. No one will even guess they are "healthy". 

Orange Cardamom Vanilla Swirl Bread

This isn't my recipe. I wish it was. I would've changed it up a bit but sometimes you shouldn't mess with something that you suspect to be perfect. This orange cardamom vanilla swirl bread is sweet, tender, creates perfect french toast, perfumes your house with the most wonderful scent, and wellll frankly is perfect. It has a tighter crumb than other breads I have made - which makes slicing it for the toaster or to make french toast a breeze! The swirl looks so sophisticated and professional, but its no more complicated than making cinnamon rolls. I promise. The taste is not overly orange but the sweet citrus pairs very well with the floral cardamom. Its a mild burst of flavor perfect for coffee and other breakfast foods.

Logistics... yes this bread takes awhile to make, but it keeps for 4-5 days easily in your pantry or counter. It is so worth your effort!!! Use it for french toast on day 3 or 4. It really soaks up bread/egg well. I suspect it would be great in a breakfast casserole or bread pudding as well. Everyone has their own favorite blend of french toast so I am not adding in here. Just showing you how it looks when its done. Be sure to cut it on the thick side... hello gourmet breakfast! 

Orange Cardamom & Vanilla Swirl Bread

adapted only slightly from Take A Mega Bite and Betty Crocker 

Makes 2 loaves

Rising time + Baking time + Resting time = roughly 3 hrs

Hands on time is easily only 15 minutes.

Bread ingredients:

4 1/2 tsp regular active dry yeast

2 cups of warm water

1/2 cup of white sugar

2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

zest from one orange

3 cups of bread flour 

3-4 cups of all purpose flour 

(start with 3 and add more if you need it)

Swirl ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

zest from one orange

1 tsp ground cardamom

a little oil for brushing the dough

Due to the perfection of the recipe and since the only change I made was using vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean. To complete the recipe head on over to Take A Mega Bite. 

For the make ahead option.... make both loaves as directed. Freeze one or both of them after they have fully cooled (at least an hr). Wrap them individually in plastic wrap, heavy duty foil, and then place in a large food storage bag.  In my experience they are good in the freezer for a month. Haven't experimented beyond the one month mark (yet). This is good bread... it should be eaten as soon as possible! This is perfect for the holidays... make it now pull it out 24-48 hrs before thanksgiving or christmas and have a wonderful breakfast. 

Thanks for reading 

Have a wonderful fall day

From my kitchen to yours

Oatmeal Honey Rolls - Breakfast or Anytime

This morning was one of the easy weird mornings in which the kid slept in, and the husband slept in. Ah quiet mornings - I love those rare moments. So I made these delightful rolls. These rolls are wonderful. You should make them. They were tender, soft, and sweet from the honey. 

At breakfast I served them with some fruit and hard boiled eggs. Easy. My 4 yr old gobbled his down with some butter and honey drizzled on the the cut sides. My hubby put some butter on one, and pb on another one, and I am pretty sure he grabbed a 3rd one walking out of the kitchen later. LOL. Yes I dare you to eat just one. I put my egg in one and kinda smashed it down. It was the softest loveliest breakfast little sandwich ever. I loved knowing that they both were getting some healthy ingredients hidden in them. From the baking perspective, the ingredient list had all normal stuff no speciality items. It was easy to do, and the ingredient list was short. My favorite part about this roll was that it was sweet, but not overly sweet like a cinnamon roll. It felt like I was having a bit of a dessert when really I was eating something pretty healthy. 

My fluffy perfect Egg Sandwich

Because of the word honey in the title, and since it was my first time baking these, I made the assumption they would be very sweet. In my head sweet bread equates to breakfast. But after eating them I understand they really could pair nicely with soups or salads or a snack in the middle of the night... just sayin'. That doesn't happen in MY household. They are elves. The elves that leave big husband size messes. 

Enjoy these golden honey the next time you have an easy morning. Really its about  5-10 minutes hands on time - that's it. The rest is waiting for it to rise and then bake. 

I almost forgot the most important part. It tastes amazing with coffee AND the recipe makes a good family sized batch for busy days and they freeze up to 3 months! 

Oatmeal Honey Rolls

recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour & Tutti Dolci 

Ingredients for the rolls:
3 cups bread flour
1 cup of rolled oats
 1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast or 1 package of yeast
1 1/4 cups of milk (1-2 percent), organic
3 Tbs honey
cooking spray
2 Tbs unsalted organic butter, softened

Ingredients for the topping: 
1 Tbs unsalted organic butter
1 Tbs honey


Directions
1. In a mixer or big bowl combine flour, oats, salt and yeast.  Mix this together thoroughly on low. 

2. In a small microwave safe measuring container or bowl measure out the milk. Heat it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. You want it pretty warm (about 120-125 degrees F). 

3. Add the honey and butter to the milk.  Note: If you spray just a tiny bit of cooking spray and rub it into the measuring spoon for the honey it comes out easier :)

4. Add the honey mixture to the flour mixture in the mixing bowl. 

5. Let the mixer mix the ingredients until they come together just barely. Then switch out the type of beater for the dough hook. If you are doing this by hand, which could be very therapeutic (I have heard), this is the part you put your hand mixer down and start kneading for about 5 minutes. 

6. While the dough is kneading for 4-5 minutes, grab some coffee, pull out the box of plastic wrap, use cooking spray on the bowl you want the dough to rise in, and also put some cooking spray into two round baking dishes.

7. Put the finished dough in the prepared bowl when it is ready. It should be fully pulling away from the sides of the mixture. Mine took me about 4 1/2 minutes. What to do if its not? If the dough is sticking to the sides  or not pulling away, add 1 Tbs of flour. Wait for a minute, and let the mixer knead the flour in. Then add 1 more Tbs as needed. The only warning here is that it's easy to add to much so have a light hand. 

8. Put the finished dough in the bowl to rise. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Relax and wait for it to double in size. This took me about an hr. 

9. Put some flour on the counter or cutting board where you will be working and when the dough has risen, you can double check this by putting two fingers in the dough and the indent stays, and turn the dough out and punch it down a few times. Its kinda cool to hear the air escape. 

10. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.  

11. Divide into 2 portions one for each pan. Set aside one portion of dough. Take the first portion and divide it into fourths and then those 4 pieces in half. Gently stretch the top of each little ball and pull it done the sides almost over itself until the two ends are touching at the bottom. Pinch it closed and put the ball seam down in the prepped baking pan. Arrange the 8 rolled dough rolls about an inch apart. Then repeat with the 2nd portion for the 2nd pan.  

12. Cover the baking pans with plastic wrap. Let them rise for 30-35 minutes.  

13. Preheat your oven during the last bit of the rising time to 350. 

14.  Top each roll with some of the topping - either poured on brushed. 

15. Bake the rolls for 16-18 minutes or until they are light golden colored

16. Let the rolls rest in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then take them out of the pan and eat while warm :) Store extras after they have fully cooled in an air tight container. 

Yum!! 

Enjoy from my kitchen to yours

Almond Banana Bread

Confession: when I think of Banana Bread my taste buds immediately think of walnuts. Do you have a favorite nut that ONLY goes with a specific dish? If so you know what I am talking about here. I LOVE walnuts in banana bread. To me they are a perfect match. My husband just puts up with them. The nuts are tough and nutty and the bananas are sweet and mushy. Its love at first sight. I love almonds too, just in a different way. So I went out on limb and picked some almond extract to see if there could be a match with bananas and almonds. 

This almost dessert fun breakfast loaf was tasty the verdict was that my husband and son LOVED it but I noticed the difference and next time will be sticking with my old standby walnuts :) But do try this if you enjoy almonds. 

 Makes 1 loaf good for 4-6 people 

Mix all these ingredients in bowl. I made the batter/dough 1 day ahead of when I was going to need it and covered it and put it in the fridge. The bananas made it turn a little darker but because I let it sit on the counter and come to room temperature before baking it, it turned out great. So this definitely can be a make-ahead sort of breakfast or brunch food. 

3/4 cup course corn meal (next time I will use a finer ground - although it was a nice change of pace)
1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 tsp almond extract (was a bit overpowering only 1 tsp next time)
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup heaping apple sauce
1/2 cup of finely chopped almonds
1/2 tsp salt
4 really ripe bananas
1/4 cup scant honey (don't fill to the top of the measuring cup)
2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened, organic if you have it


Preheat your oven to 375. Butter your loaf pan. 

Pour the mixed batter in. 

Bake it for 50 minutes and check it with a tooth pick. 

If the tooth pick comes out clean leave it on the counter to cool in its pan for 10 minutes. 
If the tooth pick does NOT come out clean, lower the temp to 350,  cover the loaf with tin foil, return the bread to the oven for another 5 minutes.  Check it again with a tooth pick until it comes out clean. Mine baked for 55 minutes. 

Do leave it in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before trying to slide it out. It will come out in one piece every time. For even slicing let it cool a few minutes beyond that (like 5) on a plate, cooling rack, or just the counter. 

Serve with cold yummy milk or coffee. 

Happy Thursday! 

The weekend is coming. Enjoy some banana bread and coffee and Friday will be here before we know it. 

From my kitchen to yours! 

Other related recipes found in the recipe index:

Walnut Chocolate Banana Bread

Whole Grain Banana Bread

Turkish Pear Coffee Bread (freezer friendly) 

Very Berry Breakfast Bread Pudding: A delightful Savory Make ahead Brunch

Very Berry Bread Pudding with Sausage

Its 7am approx my husband has strolled in from a long night of work. I am sitting with my coffee totally excited (grinning ear to ear) about what I had just made. I tell him the name of the newest recipe. He eyes me suspiciously... I see a quick grimace and a scowl in the direction of the oven, as if it is the oven's fault.  He turns and asks, "Is it sweet?" 

Please note, my husband does not like bread pudding, so I was obviously clinging to a limb here far above the ground, in hopes he might like it anyways. How did I miss that he didn't like bread pudding? I didn't. I was busy entertaining delightful visions in my head, of how much I adored my thanksgiving bread pudding, made with leftover homemade citrus-y cranberry sauce. Thus jumping head first into this this savory dish without really thinking about anything else, including my dear sweet husband. You should’ve saw me dance around the bush when trying to describe the cheesy, meaty, eggy wonderfulness of the food. See that... I tried to point out all the things I thought he would be interested in. Eggs check. Meat double check. Cheesy good. I was clearly beating around the bush as it were and after almost 10 years of marriage he so saw the signs too. I was able to answer truthfully. It wasn't sweet. The only thing remotely sweet was the earthy, semi-sweet, semi-tart, scattered, whole blackberries. Those berries that turned into warm juicy bits were pushed aside on his plate. I love how the berries stayed whole but were completely heated through and tasted like homemade jam. Unbelievably good! Yet despite the berries, my patient husband devoured seconds. So even if you don’t like bread pudding - try this one. I added more meat than I probably should’ve, but since I began painting like crazy at our new house my growling stomach has been dictating the meals. 

Making it. Totally Easy. I made the dough for the bread on a Sunday afternoon. The dough took approx 5 minutes to make. Super quick and easy. Covered it, and threw it in the fridge. When I had time on Tuesday I baked the bread.  On Wednesday I let the bread still out and dry out a little bit. Wednesday night I threw the dish together and covered it and put it in the fridge. This part took about about 15 minutes because I had to grill the sausages and that took a few minutes. The next morning I pulled the dish out of the fridge and let it come to room temp while my coffee was brewing and then popped it into the oven after 20 minutes. It still felt cold to me but I couldn’t wait any longer. Baking time was 40 minutes and then letting it sit for 5 minutes is super important for making nice even slices or squares.The longer you let it sit the easier it will be to cut.  So it is a  bunch of little easy steps but it is homemade which makes me feel good about feeding it to my family. 

My inspiration came from a website & recipe by Karen Miner at www.sheknows.com - there is a interesting version of ham and cheese bread pudding there. This was my first time making a savory bread pudding - I am totally hooked :) 

This serves 4 adults. 

Recipe:

1 small loaf of whole grain bread - or half of a whole grain  berry bread recipe,  dried out

3 eggs

1 cup of 2% milk

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp herbes de Provence, salt free

1/8 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp salt, 

1/8 tsp pepper

butter - for the baking dish

2 green onions, finely diced to mix in or use as a garnish - your choice

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese *

1/2 small pkg of blackberries (approx 8 berries) 

1 tsp dried parsley

3 sweet Italian sausages grilled and then sliced into round chunks and then quartered**

*I used cheddar, shredded, because that's what I had on hand, but next time will try something else. The cheesy factor was nice - the cheddar was okay. It was overpowered a bit which was okay for me. If you want to taste the cheese try something else or add more.

**If you use ground sausage you can skip the step of slicing and it will save you a few minutes... I was just using what I had in my freezer. I also have to dice this up a bit smaller since I have a three year old and I don't want him to choke. 

Making the Bread Pudding:

• Get the berry bread ready or use store bought bread. 

• Make the bread dough, and bake it or bake it on a day you have some free time. This particular dough can sit in the fridge for up to 5 days - yay! If you do make the bread, which is hugely recommended. The dough makes awesome bread for french toast and or muffins. So don't feel like you are going to get stuck with half of a thing of berry dough and not know what to do with it. 

• Let the bread sit out on the counter uncovered for part of a day or a full day to dry out a little bit.

• Cut half of the bread into slices for the bottom layer. Dice the other half of the small loaf into cubes. 

• The evening before you want to eat this - assemble it. 

• Whisk the egg and milk together in a flat dish or bowl. 

• Stir in the spices

• Start grilling up the sausages or browning ground pork/turkey sausage. The meat needs to be almost fully cooked or cooked before added to the dish. I would strongly advise against using raw meat. 

• Butter up a baking dish. I used my glass square one. 

• Let the bread slices soak in the egg mixture for a minute and turn it over and let it sit for another full minute. If you are using a bowl takes it a bit longer since all the slices probably won’t fit in at the same time. I got 6 slices out of my first half which i managed to squeeze into the bottom of my dish for a solid first layer. 

• Slice and dice up the meat if using links or whole sausages and put them in the baking dish to create a yummy meaty layer. 

• Drop all of the cubes in the egg mixture and stir it around. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes to absorb the liquid. If you are mixing in the green onion do it in this step with the bread. 

• Add the cheese and half of a small package of blackberries to the cubes and egg mixture. Gently toss it together. LOL don’t make jam. 

• Pour the entire bowl of cubes, cheese and egg mixture into the baking dish. Pat it down with your fingers to create a nice level layer.

• Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight or at least 7 hours. 

• Bring it to room temp or a minimum of 20 minutes while you are preheating the oven.

•  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

• Sprinkle on the green onion if you didn't previously mix it in. Let it sit for 5 minutes to firm up and then dive in! 

Enjoy savory or sweet breakfast at home.  

From my kitchen to yours!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

So banana bran muffins. The title isn't amazing. Yes I know. I am tired. Its been a busy week. After house hunting twice, two long days with my visiting father and three yr old, and playing host my dad who is on vacation in our home, I am exhausted. Still. I feel bad for not trying harder to make these sound as incredible as they really are. The title doesn't make people start drooling or put everything down to see if they can make it tonight. BUT they are good. That and only that is the reason why I am still sitting here typing about bran muffins. Bran muffins in my head were for old people with awful taste. I never thought I would be excited about them. I hope they surprise you too. 

These muffins have a lot going for it besides a sexy name. It has whole grains paired with banana sweetness, small amount of choc chips (yay chocolate), they are healthy enough for an adult to eat two or three for a meal, and are easy enough for a basic cook to make them.  To add to their accolades,   these muffins are extremely healthy, but don't taste "healthy". Let me explain. When I made these last week,  I introduced them as banana muffins. My loving husband and father were none the wiser. As much as I love those two, both men love to eat sweets. They ate these without even asking if they were healthy because they were so light & tasty. In my book, that reads success. My former preconceptions about bran muffins are banished. 

 Pssst: These would be great  to have ready for Monday morning when you are trying to rush out the door forgetting half the stuff you need plus spilling coffee. Has anyone else been there? Mondays. Yeah. This. would. even. make. Mondays. better. Cheers 

This is not my recipe. I have adapted a Eating Well Magazine recipe. Click here for the original But I love the results of mine a wee bit better.

RECIPE

Active time: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Makes 12 muffins, 1 dozen

2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup / 2 medium very over ripe bananas (the darker the better - think black)
1 cup buttermilk 
1 Tbs orange juice
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (do not substitute with bran cereal)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon heaping ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

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

Whisk or shift the dry ingredients the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. 

Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, whole grains will toughen if overworked. A electric mixer wouldn't be your friend here. Stir in the chocolate chips. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes. 

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups until batter is gone. The muffin cups should be full. I didn't use liners and didn't have a problem. But if you are taking these places a muffin cup liner would be helpful.

Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 20 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.

There easy and light and delicious 

from my kitchen to yours!