Search Results for: breakfast

Overnight French Toast with Pecan Praline Topping {Breakfast Recipe}

September 13, 2012 by Danielle

I love having people over. I enjoy being forced into cleaning my home and making yummy food for my guests to enjoy.

I recently hosted a My Favorite Things party and similar to my first My Favorite Things party, I included a menu that highlighted my favorite eats. Since I hosted this event in the morning I served my favorite overnight french toast. It’s simple and easy to make the night before and tastes amazing after a whole night of soaking the flavors in.

Plus it’s topped with an out-of-this-world pecan praline mixture before it’s baked. Heaven! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: bread, Breakfast, coffee, Coffee-Mate, overnight french toast

Kitchen Sink Egg Cups {Breakfast Recipe}

June 8, 2012 by Danielle

One of my favorite meals of the day is breakfast. The versatility of it, the flavors, the mimosas you can pair with it… So I love making breakfast foods. There’s one breakfast recipe that I make that EVERYONE asks for once they’ve tried it. And it’s a recipe I never make exactly the same each time. Don’t you love those types?

These egg cups are easy, portable, and re-heatable. You can switch out the meat, veggies and cheese for any other kind and they’ll taste equally as good. I love to add chicken sausage to give it a little kick every once in a while.

If you have a brunch to attend or a playdate to go to, bring these! They’re sure to be a hit. I know they’re a hit at my playgroup. And I have to thank my friend Rachel for introducing me to them.

Kitchen Sink Egg Cups

4 pieces bacon, crumbled
8 eggs, beaten
1 (16 ounce) container fat free cottage cheese
1 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1 onion, diced
3 cups swiss chard, washed and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside to cool. Crumble or cut up into smaller pieces.
Add onions into pan and sautee. When almost done add swiss chard and cook until wilted. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, veggies and cooled meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or use right away).

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cheese mixture from refrigerator; stir in flour, butter, baking powder and salt. Spoon batter into 24 lightly greased muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until cups are slightly golden on top.

Filed Under: Breakfast, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Breakfast, Egg Cups, Eggs

Coconut Oatmeal with Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil {Breakfast Recipe}

May 23, 2012 by Danielle

We’re always trying to find great alternatives to classic favorites in this home. Since my daughter consistantly eats oatmeal for us for breakfast we wanted to continue our luck with the one meal we know she’ll finish. So when I received my Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil I knew exactly what I’d to do try it out… put it in our oatmeal!

When I was done making the first batch of coconut oatmeal I went into the fridge to grab the kids some milk for their sippy cups. I looked over and saw an open package of mini chocolate chips from my husbands latest baking adventure so I grabbed the bag and sprinkled a few chocolate chips over the top of each bowl for an added treat. OMG! This oatmeal tasted exactly like my favorite chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. Delicious!

I cannot wait to start using Tropical Traditions coconut oil in other recipes. Added benefit? We can use it as cloth diaper friendly diaper cream too! Who knew? Plus there are so many other ways to use this stuff. Go here to find more!

Coconut Oatmeal

1 cup milk
1 teaspoon Tropical Traditions coconut oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips (optional)

Pour milk into a small saucepan and heat on medium.

Stir in coconut oil and coconut flakes. Stir until oil is completely melted. Add in oats. Sprinkle on cinnamon and continue to stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Pour into a bowl and sprinkle with chocolate chips for an added bit of sweetness!

Serves 2 (or 1 adult, 2 kids)

Do you use coconut oil? I’d love to hear how!

Disclaimer: I received a 32oz jar of Tropical Traditions coconut oil for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Breakfast, cloth diaper accessories, Cloth Diapers, coconut oil, diaper creams, healthy recipes, Toddler Food, Tropical Traditions

Peanut Butter Oatmeal {Breakfast Recipe}

April 26, 2012 by Danielle

As I mentioned yesterday, my daughter now has to take an iron supplement. We’ve had great luck over the first few days with making her smoothies when it was time to take her supplement but now she’s no longer interested.

So this morning I thought I’d put a spin on her favorite breakfast meal. I added her two favorite foods, peanut butter and oatmeal, and threw in a banana to find that this finger-licking good meal would be completely devoured before my eyes!

The results were exactly what this mama wanted.

The first time since we started her iron supplements and she actually finished a whole dose! In the form of peanut butter oatmeal, of course.

And an even better bonus is the fact that one serving is only 4 points. Paired with a banana this makes a delicious breakfast for my kids and me. And it’s a bit faster to whip up than my baked peanut butter and banana oatmeal squares.

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon brown sugar
banana to top, optional

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan. Cook on medium low heat stirring frequently. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until oatmeal is creamy and all ingredients are incorporated.

Spoon into a few bowls and enjoy this delicious breakfast!

Serves 2 | 4 WW+ Points

First my daughter tried eating her oatmeal with a spoon.

When that didn’t get it to her mouth fast enough she went with her hands and got much more!

The oatmeal was so good she licked each finger clean after finishing her bowl! Now that’s a success.

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Breakfast, healthy recipes, iron deficiency, Toddler Food

Apple Carrot Walnut Muffins {Breakfast Recipe}

April 11, 2012 by Danielle

These Apple Carrot Walnut Muffins are the perfect quick and easy breakfast recipe to let the kids help make!

I hosted a playgroup playdate at my house yesterday morning and didn’t really have much planned in the form of snacks. I had the usual toddler fair of goldfish, snap pea crisps, and pretzels but nothing of substance for the mamas. So I asked Ethan what he wanted. And like your typical kid, he asked for cupcakes. So I made the next best thing.

I grabbed one of my recipe books and started flipping. And fell upon a recipe that I had all of the ingredients for (sans a few substitutions). And the results were pretty darn yummy. I’ll definitely be making these muffins for future get-togethers.

Apple Carrot Walnut Muffins

12 servings | 3 WW+ Points*

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 egg
1 cup greek fat-free yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter
1 small apple (, shredded)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup pecans (, chopped)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or prep with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl whisk flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together until well mixed. In a separate large bowl whisk the egg. Add yogurt, vanilla, and butter. Stir until combined.
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated together. Do not over mix. Batter will be thick and dough-like. Fold in apples, carrots, and nuts.
Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to fill muffin tins 2/3rds of the way full. Mix 1 tablespoon sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Top each muffin with sugar blend. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

*by omitting the nuts you can reduce this recipe to 2 WW+ points each

What is your all time favorite muffin flavor?

Love this recipe? Check out these great ones too!

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Filed Under: Breakfast, In the Kitchen, Recipes Tagged With: Baking, muffins

Green Monster Smoothies {Breakfast Recipe}

March 23, 2012 by Danielle

One of my favorite new ways to get greens into my kids is by blending them up into smoothie form. And this smoothie started it all. Now this is just your basic Green Monster. There are so many different variations of this smoothie and my kids and I love to experiment with what we put in it when we make it.

For some awesome ways to shake up the original recipe check out my friend CB’s Green Monster journey over on her blog See Cupcake Run. Just search for “green monster” since I’m not sure how to link to one of her categories.

Green Monster Smoothie

1 cup milk
1 ripe, frozen banana, peeled
3 handfuls organic spinach
1 tablespoon ground flax
1 tablespoon peanut butter (or PB2)
4-5 ice cubes

Add 1 cup of milk to the blender.

Now add in the chia or flax (if using) and nut butter.

Next, add in the spinach followed by the banana on top.

Blend until smooth.

Add in your ice cubes and blend some more.

Serves 2 | 4 WW pp+ with PB2 (not including banana)

Filed Under: Drinks & Refreshments, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, Weight Watchers Tagged With: Breakfast, Health, Healthy Eating for Kids, healthy recipes, Kids Health, smoothie, Toddler Food

Baked Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal {Breakfast Recipe}

March 13, 2012 by Danielle

If you’re a peanut butter lover AND watching your figure don’t walk, run to go make these! They are so tasty. And super filling. And, really, if you look at the recipe, there’s nothing “diet” about them. I mean they have butter and real sugar!

No skimping out on this one. And if you’re like me and eat a hearty breakfast every morning help yourself to a serving piled with bananas on top and non-fat vanilla yogurt on the side for an awesome and very tasty breakfast.

My son begs for these and I love that I can make a large batch and re-heat in the morning for him. He loves to help make them as well. Since it’s pretty straight forward I can usually pre-measure everything and let him take the lead.

Seriously… go make these now.

Inspiration: Two Pink Hippos (if you don’t already follow these ladies you should!)

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Baked Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup 1% milk
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 9* baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Take peanut butter & bananas and mash together until combined. Add egg, vanilla and melted butter and mix well.

Add peanut butter mixture and add to the dry ingredients. Top with milk and stir until combined.

Spread out evenly in the baking dish. Bake 30-35 until the edges are golden brown.

* You can also use a 9×13 dish and cut the cooking time to 20 minutes

What’s your favorite breakfast recipe?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Baking, Baking with a Toddler, Banana, Breakfast, Charlie Banana, healthy recipes, Peanut Butter

Birthday Celebration – Hob Nob Hill {Breakfast Review}

March 20, 2011 by Danielle

We just went to Hob Nob Hill for breakfast this morning in celebration of my birthday and I was definitely over impressed with the service we received. We used a voucher we bought off of Sign On San Diego’s daily deal website ($15 for $30 worth of food) to try it out but will definitely be back for more.

Our waitress, Stacy, was quick to bring our drinks and take our order. She even brought some complimentary apple muffins to the table since she knew from her experience (and from being a mom herself) that children get a bit restless if they aren’t fed right away). Shortly after that our food arrived. We were pleased with the speedy service and the quality of the food.

My one problem was with the special I got for breakfast – a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and side of sausage. I assumed that fresh strawberries meant plain cut up strawberries on top of the waffle. But my strawberries had a sugary glaze on them. Being on WW I was already splurging as it was on the waffle… I didn’t need extra glaze to add to the calorie content of my breakfast! But it was amazingly good. The waffle light and fluffy and the strawberries were fresh. Joseph enjoyed his waffle special with eggs and bacon (well… he didn’t make a peep the whole time he was eating and continued to polish off his plate so I’m assuming all was good).

E enjoyed his breakfast as well. Kids get their choice of eggs, pancakes, or french toast and the meals come with a side of applesauce or potatoes, toast or muffin, and bacon or sausage. We also got a nice side of fruit for him. And being a picky two year old we assumed he’d hardly touch his food. We were wrong. He ate at least 1/2 of everything on the plate!

And on top of the great service throughout our meal, at the end of the meal we asked what the cost of a cookie was since our son saw the cookies on display when we first arrived. Her response was that they were free for adorable little kids and she grabbed one right away for my son. We left a large tip to let her know we appreciated her going above and beyond our expectations.

Can’t wait to try out lunch and dinner!

Review on Yelp!

Filed Under: Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With: Restaurants

The Perfect Easter Egg Hunt Ideas for Toddlers in Playgroups

March 20, 2018 by Danielle

Check out these perfect Easter Egg Hunt Ideas for toddlers when you’re planning an egg hunt for your playgroup. We’ve been planning playgroup egg hunts for years and have nearly perfected the art of the perfect playgroup egg hunt! And we’re sharing all of our tips today!

I am not sure if you know this about me but I actually ran a playgroup of moms and kids for about 5+ years. I jumped in when my good friend moved out of the area and needed someone to take over her playgroup. Because I had such a great experience when my youngest was an infant and had built true friendships, it was a win-win situation for me. Sadly, with work and life (and our kids going to school) we no longer have playdates regularly but we still get to see each other on occasion.

From this experience, I have a lot of knowledge of all things playdate. And planning the perfect playdate becomes an art form after a while. That includes holiday-based playdates. With Easter right around the corner, I thought it’d be the perfect time for me to share how to plan the perfect Easter egg hunt for toddlers and preschoolers. These ideas are great when paired with an active local playgroup in your area or a good group of friends and kids.

Easter Egg Hunt Ideas for Toddlers

In a playgroup setting, it can be really fun to gather friends for a classic Easter egg hunt. Especially for toddlers and preschoolers. Not only is it smaller than, say, a community gathering, there’s also more control over the overall experience for your little one. We’re sharing some of our top tips for planning and executing a seamless Easter egg hunt for toddlers.

Planning the Perfect Easter Egg Hunt

1. Choosing the right location – The perfect location for an Easter egg hunt is just as important as the planning of the hunt itself. You want to consider the age group you’re planning for and the level of difficulty they’ll need to make the event fun. Here are a few things to consider:

Is the event space easily accessible for parents? Does it have close parking for parents of multiple children or parents of infants?
Does the event space have a large amount of grass to run around on?
Are there taller hiding areas for older kids in your group? Are there areas other than the ground you can hide eggs in or around?
Are there restrooms close to the event space? It may not sound like a big deal but for potty training toddlers, having access to a bathroom is ideal.

2. Getting the invite out – Planning an event, like an Easter egg hunt, can be very easy if you use services available to you. When I ran my playgroup, I used Meetup.com to faciliate the playdate scheduling and RSVPs. But you can use something as simple as SignUp.com or even evite to set up your event. When you are creating your invitation, make sure to be very clear on a few things:

Ask each parent to bring at least 10 filled plastic eggs per child they’re bringing. That way each child will collect the number of eggs their parent brought (no one is left out!).
Be clear on any specifications of what can and cannot go in the plastic eggs. If you know a child with an allergy will be attending, look for non-food options to stuff your eggs with. Some great ideas for this would be stickers, age-appropriate toys like finger puppets, erasers, sticky hands, and age-appropriate jewelry.
If you are enjoying snacks before or after the hunt, ask each parent to contribute a dish to the event. And just like with the eggs, consider allergies when preparing dishes for the group.

3. Setting up the event – As the host, try to arrive at your event about 30 minutes prior to the event starting. That way you can scout out where the best spots for hiding eggs are and can secure a bench or area for your playgroup to create a home base.

It’s helpful to bring a trash bag or two just in case the area doesn’t have accessible trash cans. That way you can take out anything you brought in with you.
If you’re serving food, don’t forget the wipes!
Create a station at your home base for parents to dump in the pre-filled eggs they brought with them so that once everyone arrives, you can hide the eggs while the kids are enjoying their time playing together or sharing a snack.

4. Starting the egg hunt – Once all of the parents have arrived, it’s time to get the egg hunt started!

Enlist one or two parents to help you start hiding the eggs while the kids are distracted.
Once all of the eggs are hidden, come back to the kids and make sure each has a basket or bag to collect their eggs.
Instruct the kids to only collect the number of eggs they brought with them. Once they are done collecting that number, have them come back to home base for some fun revealing what’s in their eggs.

Since each child is collecting the same number of eggs that they’ve brought, you don’t need to worry about starting one age group before the next. The toddlers can take their time collecting eggs (or picking dandelions like my kids do) while the older kids race ahead.

Easter Egg Hunt Snack Ideas

If you’re looking for ways to spice up your Easter egg hunt, here are few cute recipes and snack ideas to serve at your Easter egg hunt:

Peeps Rice Crispy Treats

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Easter Egg Cups

Want more Easter fun? Here are some posts we think you’ll enjoy!

Inexpensive Easter Basket Ideas for Kids

3 Ways To Dye Easter Eggs with Toddlers and Preschoolers

How to Make Confetti Eggs

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Filed Under: Easter, Holidays, Parenting

Irish Soda Bread Biscuits Recipe

February 14, 2018 by Danielle

This Irish Soda Bread Biscuits recipe is sure to hit all of the right spots when you pair it with a delicious cup of tea or coffee morning, noon, or night! This Irish Soda Bread Biscuits recipe is easy and quick. Perfect for those times you can’t make a full loaf of Irish Soda Bread for the family.

I love a good breakfast scone. Perfect to pair with coffee or tea and fills me up! With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner I thought I’d take one of my family’s favorite quick bread recipes for Irish Soda Bread and turn it into a mini version to appease the kids. And these unique biscuits really hit the spot.

This Irish soda bread biscuit recipe is not only simple but can be made with ingredients found right in the pantry. And the results are just heavenly! Flakey, soft, and delicious. Especially with a schmear of butter. If you’re looking to start your day off with the luck of the Irish then this biscuit is for you!

Making Irish Soda Bread Biscuits with Kids

By taking our favorite soda bread recipe and turning it into biscuits, I’ve been able to teach the kids how to make quick breads and tips for adapting recipes based on our needs. It’s a great way to introduce kids to bread baking before jumping into yeast recipes.

Another great part about sharing the baking experience with our kids is that we get to spend quality time together. I’ve found that I can talk about a number of different topics when we’re in the kitchen together that they may not have been as receptive to if we were talking in the car or around the dinner table.

When the kids are doing something with their hands, they seem to keep the conversation going without any real prompting. It’s a beautiful thing! I find that these types of recipes are good for all ages. From toddlers to teens, you can’t go wrong with an irish soda bread biscuit recipe.

If you’re looking for a good Irish Soda Bread recipe to try after these biscuits, check out Alea’s Irish Soda Bread recipe.

Irish Soda Bread Biscuits Printable Recipe

Irish Soda Bread Biscuits

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cold butter (diced)
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup buttermilk (see note if you don't have buttermilk)

Preheat the oven to 375. If using stoneware, place stoneware in the oven while it’s heating up.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Work in butter by hand. Make sure to use your fingers to mix it into the dry ingredients.
Add in the raisins and buttermilk and combine together with your hands. Pat out the dough and form into a disk about 1 inch thick.
Divide the disk into 6 equal pieces and roll into 2-inch rounds. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.

If you do not have buttermilk, grab some low-fat milk and vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar). Combine 3/4 cup milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.