Weekend Cooking: Gluten-free bread and Easy Strawberry Jam

For the past few month, we've been trying to go gluten-free. For me, it's easy to have lettuce-wrapped burgers and skip bread with dinner. But breakfast. Breakfasts are made for soft warm bread, fluffy pancakes, and huge waffles. So I've been trying to find good gluten-free alternatives. 

When I mention making jam, my dad's eyes perk up. For some reason, he loves jam. And while he does eat the store bought kind, homemade is his favorite. I had spied this no cook strawberry jam so I decided to give it a try. 

While searching for a gluten-free bread recipe, I stumbled on this gluten-free bread in a cup recipe. I was highly dubious. In a cup. In the microwave? Yeah, this has disaster written all over it. But I thought, what the hell, give it a shot. And for bread made in the microwave, it's pretty awesome. Perfect for a quick breakfast. 

And when I topped it with the strawberry jam, it was like a strawberry shortcake. My new favorite breakfast.

Have you ever tried a recipe that you didn't think would work out and were surprised it did?

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: Pumpkin Poppers #pinitdoit

I love pumpkin. I look forward all year to fall so I can make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pie. I broke out my cans of pumpkin last weekend and made these pumpkin poppers. I wanted something for the Readathon that I could snack on. I ate most of them at breakfast!

Here's mine:

Here's the original:


I used whole white flour rather than just plain white. But pumpkin covered with butter and sugar, who wouldn't like that? I didn't wait too long to cover them with butter and sugar. Next time I would wait til the poppers were fully cooled first. I think they'd be more like donut holes at that point.


Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Egg and Bacon Muffins

If you've been reading my blog for long, you've heard me mention my quest for alternatives to eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. I'll make french toast sometimes but I struggle to find delicious variations. So when I stumbled on Mrs Paleo's Breakfast of Champions, I was eager to find a morning to make them.
So good and fairly easy to make, always a plus in my book.

I added sauteed spinach and mushroom to the eggs but the variations are endless. Both Tai and I enjoyed them. I made corn pancakes to accompany our egg and bacon muffins. I'll definitely be making these again.

Pin It and Do It: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

I decided to give myself a break from granola and yogurt for breakfast. I wanted to make some sort of healthy muffin or breakfast cookie but I didn't want to go to the store. I wanted to make something with what I had on hand. No blueberry muffins or pecan breakfast cookies since I had no blueberries or pecans. Finally I stumbled on these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. Oatmeal is healthy right?
Here's the original pin:

Here's mine:

Yum! Ok, I made 2 substitutions. I used coconut milk (I had some for another recipe) and I used sour cream in place of applesauce. Yeah, I made them even healthier! Anyhow, they are delicious and I would make them again.

Weekend Cooking: Nutella times two #pinitdoit

Tai loves Nutella so a weekend that includes two Nutella dishes was a great weekend for him.
Tai's work was having a potluck the following week. I wanted to make these 3 ingredient Nutella cookies but wanted to make a test batch. While I pulling out the Nutella to make the cookies, I started thinking about breakfast. I wanted to make french toast, but could I incorporate the Nutella in the french toast. Pinterest to the rescue.
So my first pin is the Nutella french toast:

Here's mine:

I had some leftover rolls from Ezell's (local fried chicken place) which worked perfectly. The french toast was very decadent and delicious. I will make these again.

So my test batch of Nutella cookies.
Here's the original pin:

And here's mine:

I took my test batch to my work and people raved about them. No one believed me that that there were only 3 ingredients. I made them small since they were very rich.

What's your favorite recipe to use Nutella in?




Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: Almond Brioche Sticky Buns

I put Aidia Mollenkamp's Keys To The Kitchen on hold at the library after reading about it on Cooking With Amy. I loved the second part of the title: The Essential Reference For Becoming a More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook. I'm definitely trying to be a more accomplished and adventurous cook.
Mollenkamp goes over types of meats, veggies, and herbs. She gives concise overviews on how to choose foods and what seasons they would be the freshest. Mollenkamp advocates eating seasonally. I loved all the pictures and the details given to the techniques at the beginning. The first half of the book talks about techniques and teaches a lot about preparing food. The second half is recipes. But even the recipe are demonstrating techniques.
I decided to make Mollenkamp's Almond Brioche Sticky Buns:

Despite the fact they have a difficulty rating of hard, I thought they were fairly easy. A little time consuming but not too difficult. I would definitely make them again.

The only thing I disliked about Keys To The Kitchen was in the recipe section. Mollenkamp talks a lot in the beginning about eating seasonally but the recipes are mashed together. There's no suggestion of which season each recipe might be from. I'm still learning how to eat seasonally so more information would have been helpful for me.
Mollenkamp's Keys To The Kitchen is a must buy for me. Others who share their thoughts on Keys To The Kitchen: The Kitchn, The Spiced Life,  Edible Living, Turntable Kitchen, and Food Gal.



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Pin It And Do It: Baked Eggs with Broccoli, Mushrooms and Cheese

I pinned this baked eggs recipe in my ongoing quest for yummy breakfast ideas. I had some left over broccoli and mushroom from my Full Circle box. Plus I had some ramekins that I got from Marta as wedding gifts. I can't believe it took me this long to use them.
Here's the original pin:

Source: poorgirleatswell.com via Linda on Pinterest

And here's mine:

It was a delicious breakfast. You could change up the veggies. Spinach, onions, and peppers would also be good in this too. Also could change up the cheeses. I will be making this one again.

Pin It and Do It Challenge: Spinach Artichoke Mini Quiches

I pinned these Spinach Artichoke Mini Quiches because they are diary and gluten free. I figured they would be a great breakfast/brunch option and they were.
The original pin:

Source: carascravings.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's mine:

I had fresh spinach so I used that instead of frozen spinach. I loved artichokes. I would definitely make this again. I did miss the cheese so I might add it next time. But loved the mini quiche idea.

Pin It and Do It Challenge: Brussel Sprouts Hash

As part of my ongoing quest to find new and interesting breakfast ideas, I pinned this brussel sprouts hash. We love brussel sprouts so I thought this would be a great recipe to try. I was right. We loved it.
Here's the original pin:

Source: kitchengirljo.blogspot.com via Linda on Pinterest

And here's mine:

I found a couple more similar recipes so you might see some more variations on this in the coming weeks. 

Pin It and Do It Challenge: Sweet Potato, Mozzarella and Baked Eggs

I'm always looking for something different for breakfast. I love eggs and bacon but sometimes it get tired. So when I spotted this recipe for Sweet Potato, Gorgonzola and Baked Eggs, I had to pin it and make it. But when Saturday morning arrived, I didn't any gorgonzola so I substituted mozzarella.
Here's the original pin:

Source: naturallyella.com via Linda on Pinterest

And here's mine:

So I used a leek in place of the red onion and mozzarella instead of gorgonzola. It was delicious. You could roast the veggies the night before and add the eggs in the morning to make this a faster breakfast. But I liked that I could put the food in the oven and do other things like tidy up the kitchen. It didn't require my complete attention.
The recipe also suggests that it be served with toast which I did. We found the toast unnecessary so I won't bother with it next time.

Weekend Cooking: Sweet Potato Hash

I enjoy making breakfast on the weekends. But we get tired of the eggs-bacon-toast routine. I'll make french toast for a few weeks but then that no longer becomes exciting. A few months ago I found this recipe for sweet potatoes with andouille sausage. We had enjoyed it and I wanted to make it again. But on this particular morning, we didn't have andouille sausage. We had pork belly.
I had gotten pork belly as part of the meat package from Full Circle. I had no idea what to do with it. Yes, I'd eaten pork belly at a restaurant but this pork belly looked like bacon. Hey, wait a minute. What if I cooked it with the sweet potatoes, made a hash. Would that be a good breakfast? Hell, yeah.

I like topping things with eggs.

New breakfast achievement unlocked!

Sweet potato hash

2 large sweet potatoes (or yams if that's what you have), cubed
1/2 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 pound pork belly (bacon would also work)
3 tbs Emeril's Essence (Old Bay would also work or your own combination of spices)

Heat oven to 375.
Fry pork belly. You need to render the fat here. I fried the pork belly until it was pretty crispy. All that leftover pork belly fat will be mixed with your potatoes later. Save fat, put crispy pork belly aside for now.
Mix sweet potatoes, onion and pepper in large roasting pan. Pour pork belly fat over potatoes/onions/pepper mix. Add seasoning and mix to coat potato/onion/pepper mix. Cook for 40 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft.
Chopped up pork belly and stir into hash. Cook for another 10 minutes. Plate hash and top with a fried egg.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see thewelcome post.

Weekend Cooking: Egg Surprise

Another pinned recipe. I'm always looking for new ideas for breakfast. When I spied these Egg filled baked potatoes. It seemed like a novel breakfast idea.

I baked the potatoes the night before. I followed her directions pretty closely. I refused to toss the tops of the potatoes. I brushed them with butter and put them on the top of the potatoes. This made it harder to check the egg but that crispy piece of potato was delicious. I would put them on the side of the pan instead next time. I'll also dig more room out of the potato. More room inside the potato means more cheesy goodness.

Weekend Cooking is a chance to share the food love. On Saturday mornings, I'll publish my post -- perhaps a cookbook review or maybe just some favorite food-related quotes.
At anytime during the weekend, if you care to share a similar post, please come on back and hook up with Mr. Linky, so we can read what you have to say. I hope you'll join in when your weekend (or recent) reading or movie watching fits in with the theme. Remember, the definition of Weekend Cooking is free and easy, if you think your post even remotely fits the theme, grab the button and sign in to Mr. Linky.