Breakfast for me, during the work week at least, is very boring. I typically have cold cereal with unsweetened organic soy milk and 1/2 a cup of cranberry juice to chase down my morning vitamin. I do love my Berry Berry Kix but I am an adult who loves to cook so why not find something tasty for breakfast. This weekend I made two great recipes that made for perfect breakfasts for the work week: bran muffins and orange jubilee.
My mom used to make these muffins when I lived at home and I loved them. I finally got around to asking her for the recipie and made a batch this weekend. I love muffins but usually they are so full of sugar and just heavy. These muffins are moist and dense and packed with fiber which leaves me full for the morning!
Bran Muffins
* You can prepare the batter as much as 3 weeks in advance & store it in a tightly covered container in the refigerator.
Makes 24-26 Muffins
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F.
Ingredients...
3 cups whole-bran cereal (i.e. All-Bran, Bran Buds)
1 cup boiling water
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 cups regular milk with a dash of white vinegar & let sit for a while)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit (optional)
Steps...
1) In a medium bowl soak the cereal in the boiling water. Set aside to cool & then stir in the buttermilk.
2) In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter & sugar until they are well-blended. Beat in the eggs and then mix in the bran/buttermilk mixture.
3) Sift or stir together the flour, baking soda & salt. Add this mixture to the bran mixture, stirring ingredients just enough to combine them. Add the raisins or other dried fruit, if desired.
4) Either refrigerate the batter in a tightly covered container for later use or divide among 36 well-greased small muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3s full.
5) Bake muffins in a preheated 400 degree (F) oven for 15-18 minutes. Remove them to a rack to cool down. They are best eaten warm.
I purchased an immersion blender last year and haven't used it much. As I was thinking about something tasty for breakfast it occurred to me that the immersion blender would be a much easier (with less clean up) appliance to use to make smoothies than my blender. Baby steps for me apparently. I've made this Orange Jubilee drink before and it truly is perfect for breakfast. I made a double batch on Saturday & left it in the immersion blender container with the lid on in the fridge. When I wanted another serving I gave the container a good shake and poured away.
The best thing about this drink? It tastes JUST like an Orange Julius but I know all the ingredients that went in to it. I know the recipie has tofu in it...trust me, it is good & you can't taste the tofu at all but it does add a great source of protien for breakfast.
Orange Jubilee
From: Tofu 1-2-3 by Maribeth Abrams
Serves 2
Ingredients...
1 1/2 cups orange juice (I prefer pulp free to keep the texture of this smooth)
1/4 cup silken tofu, soft works best
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (not the fake stuff, the pure is so tasty!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Steps...
This part is hard (not really!). Combine all ingredients in a blender or container suitable for an immersion blender, and blend until smooth. The top will be foamy and bubbly when ready.
5 comments:
My favorite breakfast TREAT is leftover dessert from the previous evening!
But most mornings, I go for old-fashioned oatmeal made with skim milk and Craisins. Boring, but filling.
Mmm, looks good! I am very boring and usually have cereal for breakfast. Then I usually have a sandwich and yogurt for lunch...very predictable! Perhaps I should change things up. :)
Thanks for that muffin recipe--I'm always looking for good recipes!
My breakfasts are pretty boring, too. It's usually oatmeal, cold cereal and the occasional waffle or muffin.
I used to make bran muffins--the recipe called for 3 different kinds of bran cereal! They were really good, too. I have never eaten Tofu, but this orange drink sounds like a good reason to try it. I used to fix a home version of Orange Julius that was popular (before you were even thought of!lol).
Thanks for your thoughtful answer about music. Isn't it odd--that you can have a passion for something ---something you never thought you'd give up!! And the --poof! Maybe we'll both pick it back up one day, but at my age, I sorta doubt it!
Wow, interesting idea to use tofu in a smoothie - I might have to try that. We wanted to make something w/tofu to try it out the other day, and literally had no good-sounding recipes. So this might be a good first try.
Oh, and oatmeal from steel-cut oats. Seriously will change the way you feel about oatmeal. :)
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