The morning can be busy

Start the day with some Cherry, Almond and Cinnamon Granola! I've been into granola since Christmas. It's a simple way to eat quickly and somewhat healthily. I love it with Chobani yogurt; it's greek yogurt, high in protein, and zero fat.

This recipe is tweaked to my liking and health (oil was lessened)...originally from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

Ingredients

* 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
* 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
* 2 cups sliced almonds
* 1 cups dried cherries, chopped
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1/3 cup good honey
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, and cherries together in a large bowl. Pour the vegetable oil and honey over the oat mixture. Add the cinnamon, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated with the liquids. Pour onto a sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Add chopped cherries.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

Ultimate Banana bread

This was yummy. I've never made a banana bread that I haven't liked, but this one did have really nice texture and looked pretty (although this isn't my picture). http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=25349

Apple Strudel Muffins

I made some really good apple muffins over the weekend. I think they are just as good as the banana crumb muffins....just with apples. I got the recipe from allrecipes, but I'm going to put it in here with my modifications...

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (depending on how much you like nutmeg)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped apples (I used my food processor and shredded the apples, since I thought it would go over better with the boys. And I used a little more than 1 1/2 cups I think.)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Corn Waffles and Strawberry Butter

I think I'm going to make this for dinner tonight. Yum.

Waffles

1 cup flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1 cup fresh corn, removed from cob just before adding (I've used canned and frozen)
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, whip together the egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter, water, corn, and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to flour mixture and mix until just combined. Heat and oil waffle iron, and cook waffle according to manufacturer’s specifications.

Strawberry Butter

1 10-ounce package frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsweetened butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Combine all ingredients in processor. Blend until smooth, scraping bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer strawberry butter to medium bowl. Cover and chill. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Mommy's French Toast

This is the recipe that Mommy uses. Now I have something yummy to make with my overcooked Challah from Easter. :) Alissa, have you had this? I know you're not a fan of french toast - neither am I, but this is GOOD!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oven-Baked-Caramel-French-Toast/Detail.aspx

Whole Wheat Pancakes

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk, plus more if necessary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon artificial sweetener OR 2 T Sugar

I add a mashed banana with alittle cinnamon. :)
Chocolate chips are good too!

DIRECTIONS
Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. Beat together the egg, milk, salt and artificial sweetener in a bowl. Stir in flour until just moistened, add blueberries, and stir to incorporate.
Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and spray with cooking spray. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn, and continue cooking until golden brown.
Note

You may need to use more milk than 1 cup. The batter should be thin enough so that it pours, but not so thin that it's runny. We find that 1/4 cup additional milk is about the maximum needed.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Wheat-Blueberry-Pancakes/Detail.aspx

England-like Scones

INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk --- better yet eggnog, make (recipes below) or buy

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

EASY EGG NOG

INGREDIENTS
1 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup low-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon rum extract
1 dash ground nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
Blend together eggs, sugar, milk, extract, and nutmeg.

Banana Crumb Muffins

This recipe is for Mer if she hasn't tried it yet. Alissa and I love it.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Crumb-Muffins/Detail.aspx