Bacon, Egg & Cheese Spaghetti

Who says you can't have spaghetti for breakfast?!? Bacon, eggs, American cheese and onions make it totally breakfast-worthy! This recipe is a classic from my childhood! It was a favorite of my family and was often my mother's go-to fish for Christmas morning. You could totally lighten this recipe up and use whole wheat pasta, turkey bacon, and light cheese. But sometimes you gotta splurge! Enjoy!

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 16oz. package spaghetti noodles

8 slices bacon, cut up

1 medium onion, diced

4 eggs, slightly beaten

4 oz. American cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. 

Cherry Chocolate Scones with Almond Glaze

I've never made scones before and found them a little intimidating. I've red many recipes that said you needed a special attachment for your mixer or had to cut the butter in a specific way. This made me nervous, so I kind of avoided scone recipes before. However, I recently read a version that used a cheese grater to cut the frozen butter, and I thought I would give it a shot. I recently bought some delicious sweet black cherries and thought they would be great combined with some chocolate chunks I had in my pantry. I finished it off with a delicious almond glaze. I wish I would have made scones sooner, because they were actually really easy to pull off! Mine didn't turn out that pretty, but they tasted good! I'll definitely be experimenting with different combinations in the future. Enjoy! 

Cherry Chocolate Scones with Almond Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, frozen

1/2 cup fresh (or frozen and de-thawed) black cherries, pitted and quartered

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon Light and Fit)

1 large egg

For glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3-4 tsp. non-fat milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl and stir until well combined. 

3. Grate butter with large holed cheese grater. Use fingers to mix butter in with flour mixture until coarse crumbly texture is reached. Gently stir in cherries and chocolate. 

4. In separate bowl, whisk together yogurt and egg until smooth. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Press the dough into a ball. 

5. Transfer dough ball onto lightly floured wax paper and pat into a circle about 8 inches thick. Cut dough into 8 equal triangles using a knife. 

6. Place triangles onto greased cookie sheet and bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. 

7. While scones are baking, combine powdered sugar, almond extract and milk in mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Allow scones to cool 5-10 minutes before applying glaze. Enjoy! 

Maple & Brown Sugar Oat Muffins

Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

3 medium over-ripe bananas, peeled

2 tbsp. butter, melted

2 large eggs

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup white whole wheat flour

¾ cup old fashioned oats

¾ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

 

For Brown Sugar Crumble:

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup flour

2 tbsp. butter, melted

 

For maple glaze:

2 tbsp. butter, melted

¼ cup pure maple syrup 

½ cup powdered sugar 

½ tsp. vanilla extract

 

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. In large mixing bowl mash bananas. Add butter, eggs, sugar, syrup, and vanilla. Stir until well-combined.   

3. In separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Wisk together until incorporated.

4. Gradually add ¼ of dry ingredients at a time to wet ingredients, mixing until combined each time. 

5. In separate bowl, combine sugar, flour and butter for crumble topping. Mix with hands until desired consistency is reached.

6. Pour batter evenly in to greased muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Sprinkle evenly with crumble topping.

7. Bake muffins at 325 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

8. While muffins are baking, make glaze by combining butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until completely dissolved. Sift in powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined. Allow glaze to cool a bit so that it can thicken up (about 8-10 minutes). Give the glaze a quick stir and pour over the banana bread. Allow the glaze to harden before enjoying muffins!

Homemade Cinnamon Apple Sauce

Applesauce makes a great breakfast or snack! And this recipe is completely natural with no sugar added! Tip: use applesauce in baking to add moisture instead of butter or oils.

Homemade Cinnamon Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

1 bag apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup water

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Place prepared apples in saucepan and add water. Cover and cook on medium heat 30-45 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring about every 10 minutes. 

2. For chunkier consistency, use a potato masher and mash apples to desired consistency. For smoother consistency, use immersion blender or food processor. 

3. Add cinnamon and lemon juice. Enjoy hot and fresh or refrigerate and keep up to 1 week. 

Italian Simmered Eggs

My boyfriend and I are pretty obsessed with breakfast, usually at 2 in the afternoon. I'm especially partial to my breakfast sandwiches, but every once and awhile, I like to change it up a little bit. 

I made some home made marinara sauce about a week ago that needed to be used up, and this was my solution. The result is cheesy and delicious eggs baked in marinara sauce! Yummy!

Italian Simmered Eggs

Ingredients:

1 cup marinara sauce

4 eggs

1/4 cup skim milk

3 small fresh mozzarella balls, quartered

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Toasted bread for dipping 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Pour sauce in to oven-safe dish or pan. For individual portions, divide evenly in two ramekins. 

2. Top with eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and seasoning. Bake 10-15 minutes or until whites of eggs are cooked throughly. 

3. Serve with toasted bread and enjoy!

Jalapeño, Jack & Bacon Breakfast Grits

Grits are one of those foods that can be completely disgusting or simply amazing. It's all in the way they are prepared. Luckily, working at a BBQ restaurant for 4 years gave me exposure to some delicious cheddar grits, and I have always been a fan. 

My boyfriend was reluctant to try this, as he has only tried the slimy, tasteless version. I promised him that he would like my recipe, I mean, how could he not? My grits have cheese, bacon, and jalapeños. That's a winning combination. Is decided to top it all off with a fried egg, and it was amazing! The yolk combined with the spice of the peppers, the salt of the bacon, and the richness of the cheese is simply amazing! 

Jalapeño, Jack & Bacon Breakfast Grits

Ingredients:

8 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

2 small or 1 large jalapeño, seeded and diced

1 cup skimmed milk

3 cups low sodium chicken broth 

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cups corn grits/polenta

1 tsp. salt

2 cups reduced fat shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided

4 eggs

1/4 cup green onions, sliced (for garnish)

Directions:

1. In large sauté pan or cast iron, add bacon and jalapeños. Cook over medium heat until bacon is crispy. 

2. Remove from heat, transfer bacon and peppers on to plate with paper towel. Pat with towel to remove grease. Drain grease from pan and set aside. 

3. In large sauce pan, add milk, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and slowly add the grits and stir with whisk. Reduce heat and continue simmering 5-7 minutes or until grits have thickened, stirring frequently. 

4. In the mean time, fry eggs in frypan used for cooking bacon. I prefer mine sunny-side up, but cook eggs however you like them. Remove eggs from pan and set aside. 

5. Once grits reach desired consistency, add salt, bacon, jalapeños and half of the cheese. 

6. Transfer to fry pan, top with remaining cheese and broil in oven 2-3 minutes to melt cheese.  

7. Top with green onions, spoon evenly in to four bowls and top each with 1 fried egg. Enjoy!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Coconut Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins 

Tis' the season for an abundance of zucchini! Summer means zucchini overload, which is fine by me! My grandma gave me some zucchini from her garden this past weekend. I just happened to have all the ingredients to whip up some zucchini bread, and decided to put a little twist on it. If you follow my blog you know about my coconut obsession, so I opted to go in a sweet direction, adding coconut oil, shredded coconut, and some chocolate chips! At about 250 calories per muffin, this recipe is perfect for breakfast or a low-guilt dessert! 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 medium zucchini, shredded squeezed and drained

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pan and set aside. 

2. In large bowl whisk together both flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

3. In another bowl, mix together zucchini, sugars, oil, egg, and extracts. 

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Finally, mix in shredded coconut and chocolate chips. 

5. Spoon mixture evenly in to muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from tin. Enjoy!

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

I've said it a million times, breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day, hands down. However, finding the motivation to cook breakfast every day is hard. This recipe is great because you get all the delicious layers of breakfast-y goodness and you can prepare it the night before! My recipe makes enough for 2-4, but double it and make enough for company too! My recipe below gives low-cal substitutions for those of you watching your weight! Yum!

Ingredients:

4 uncooked Johnsonville original breakfast sausage patties (or 1/2 log Jennie-O turkey breakfast sausage or 1 cup Morning Star Farms breakfast sausage crumbles)

1 tsp oregano, divided 

4 large eggs (or 6 egg whites)

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup Mexican Four Cheese Shredded Cheese (or light/reduced fat shredded cheese blend), divided

20 frozen Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns tater tots (or sweet potato tots)

1 tbsp chives, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. In fry pan, cook and crumble sausage until fully cooked, stirring frequently. Drain excess grease and add 1/2 tsp oregano. Spread evenly across bottom of small casserole dish. 

3. In cereal bowl, whip together eggs with fork. Season with salt, pepper and remaining oregano. Pour over sausage in casserole dish. 

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded cheese over egg mixture. Place tater tots evenly across top of egg mixture. 

5. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. 

6. Allow casserole to cool 5-10 minutes. Garnish with chives and enjoy! 

Peaches 'n Cream Smoothie

Peaches 'n Cream Smoothie

Ahhh, summertime! The best time of the year! One thing that is great about summer is the amazing quality of local fruit! This summertime smoothie is super light and tasty for the perfect breakfast or snack!

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen peaches

1 container Light & Fit vanilla Greek yogurt 

1/2 cup Tropicana Trop 50 orange juice

1/2 cup Silk light vanilla almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp honey (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. 

(If more sweetness desired, add honey. If thinner consistency is desired, add more orange juice or almond milk.) Enjoy!

Brunch Chilaquiles

I am a huge fan of brunch food, mostly because it is perfectly acceptable to eat at 2 pm and still resembles breakfast. Chilaquiles are one of my absolute favorite dishes of all time! I was first introduced to the dish working at a Cuban restaurant in Michigan. This is definitely one of my go-To's for an impressive brunch dish that everyone will love! 

Brunch Chilaquiles

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cooking oil (olive, coconut, or vegetable)

4 cups good quality, restaurant style tortilla chips (the thicker and crunchier the better)

4 eggs 

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup green onions, chopped 

1 can enchilada sauce or salsa verde

1 cup reduced fat Mexican style shredded cheese 

1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 avocado, diced 

Optional: 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños (recipe here: http://www.jocelyndieboltdesigns.blogspot.com/2014/04/soy-pickled-jalapenos.html?m=1)

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium in oven safe fry pan. Add tortilla chips and cook in oil about 5-10 minutes until very crispy and golden brown, stirring frequently. 

2. In a separate pan, fry eggs to your liking. (For this recipe, I like my eggs sunny side up.) Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

3. Add green onions, enchilada sauce, and half the cheese to the tortilla chips and mix lightly. Top with eggs and the rest of the cheese. 

4. Turn on oven broiler. Broil pan in oven 1-3 min on high until cheese melts. (Make sure to watch carefully!)

5. Remove pan from oven and top with cilantro, avocado, and jalapeños of you want more spice. Enjoy!

Spicy Mini-Quiche with Turkey Bacon

Looking for a hot home-made breakfast? These mini-quiches are a great quick and simple go-to breakfast recipe. Make a bunch on Sunday and have breakfast for the whole week! Also, feel free to change customize the ingredients to your liking. Here is my favorite version:

Spicy Mini-Quiche with Turkey Bacon

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup jalapeño monetary jack cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup mild cheddar cheddar cheese, shredded

2 jalapeños, diced + 1 jalapeño, sliced for topping

Non-stick cooking spray

1 package bacon, (I like Trader Joe's un-cured peppered turkey bacon)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Add cheese and diced peppers and mix until well combined. 

3. Coat muffin tin with non-stick spray. Line each cupcake pan with 1 bacon slice.

4. Scoop egg mixture in to cupcake pan using 1/4 cup measuring cup. (Remember that eggs will "puff up" as they bake.) Top each muffin with jalapeño slice.

5. Cook at 350 for 15-20 min or until eggs browned on top and bacon is crispy.

6. Let cool 5 minutes and remove from pan. Enjoy!

ENJOY LATER:

7. Refrigerate and reheat for 30-45 seconds in microwave. Quiches are good in refrigerator for about 5 days.