Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I haven’t bought very many cookbooks since you can find so much online for free! and because my mom has always had some good ones that I could use as resources. But there are a few books that I have been hoping to get my hands on for a while, one being Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything. 

Last Friday I was checking out one of my favorite used bookstores during my lunch break and saw the book sitting there and I quickly grabbed it and got it for a bargain! I walked with the massive text back and forth from work, carrying it like a prize. When I got home I dug right in and have been obsessing over it ever since.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Muffins

I’ve baked my share of cupcakes but somehow I have never baked muffins. I have decided that it’s time to put my muffin tins to good use and whip up some goodies that aren’t cupcakes! So when I found this recipe for coffee cake muffins and read all of the rave reviews, I decided they would be perfect.

And they were perfect! They were moist and just sweet enough for my morning taste. The recipe called for blueberries, but I’ve had chocolate chips sitting in my pantry for a while now and decided to use them instead. I would double the amount of salt used next time, but other than that, this recipe is great as it is.

Apple Cinnamon Scones

I never thought I could successfully bake scones. Just looking at them, they always have appeared slightly more complex that my baking skills could handle. I am really like a third grader in the kitchen and scones seemed to be something that only real bakers make.

I am not a huge fan of having a big breakfast. I prefer to have a smaller one consisting of a cereal bar, bowl of oatmeal or an occasional bagel and then I try to snack healthily the rest of the day until lunch. Scones would fall right into my perfect-sized kind of breakfast I enjoy. So I just decided to do it already! If they turned out bad, whatever. I had all of the ingredients already so no loss. And if they turned out amazing, I could gloat and brag that I am not a legit scone maker-baker.

Crème brûlée French Toast

I don’t really have anything to say about the Crème brûlée French Toast at Green Eggs Cafe, but I took a picture of it and I feel that it warrants its own blog post. Green Eggs Cafe in Philly might be known for their red velvet pancakes, but o…m….g….this perfectly sweetened version of the classic breakfast dish will leave you unable to think about anything else for the rest of your day. The berry compote, the Chantilly cream, the anilla anglaise, it’s all too good for words.

Red Velvet Pancakes

The prettiest pancake you’ve ever seen…right? Yes, sarcasm. 

From the first time he heard the words, my boyfriend Andrew was obsessed with trying Red Velvet Pancakes. Anytime we went out to brunch he’d search the menu for the elusive flapjacks. When it wasn’t on the menu, he’d make it a point to ask the server, in an act of total desperation, if the restaurant had them anyway. Usually his question was met with an overall confused glare or that squinty-eyed face people make when they’re trying to understand what you’re saying.

I don’t know. The idea was just not that appealing to me. I love red velvets…but before lunch!?

Well, I gave in and agreed to test them out. We used a recipe from  allrecipes.com because it seemed like the easiest one…and I wasn’t feeling that enthused to begin with…and it was too early to think too hard.

The pancakes were certainly good-looking but they didn’t do anything for me just as I expected. And no, I didn’t put any of the crazy cream cheese icing on top because this is BREAKFAST, people and I just can’t do that! The picture would have turned out a lot better had I put a dollop or so on, though.

Everyone else I know loves them so the cheese might stand alone here. What else is new?

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I have been on the lookout for a breakfast/snack recipe that I could make ahead of time and enjoy for a week or so. I found this chewy granola bar recipe on Food Network’s website the other morning and decided this would be the one I try. When I saw that no baking was needed, I was sold because that meant there was no way I could mess it up!

Well, SOMEHOW I messed it up. The worst thing for me about baking is I always know when I mess up but I am so determined to push through it that I convince myself it will work out. This time especially it did not. I knew I didn’t have enough honey and after reading some comments on the website, I should have used more butter. This meant there wasn’t enough “glue” holding the bars together. What you see below is one of maybe 4 bars that actually turned out well.

As soon as I picked this off the plate to move to a plastic container, it literally disintegrated in my hands.

With a ziplock bag full of crumbles of once great granola bars being all that remains, I will just say that I made really tasty trail mix. I will have to give this another whirl sometime…and make sure to have plenty of honey in the pantry closet!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 cups low-fat granola mix (not cereal)
• 1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions

On medium heat combine the brown sugar, vanilla, butter and honey in a medium saucepan until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Cool.

In a large bowl, combine granola, coconut, raisins, 1/2 cup chocolate chips and almonds. Then stir in the brown sugar mixture to the bowl of granola. Spread evenly in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan and press the left over chocolate chips into the top. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until completely cool. Cut and serve.