Friday, April 27, 2012

Ham and Egg Crepe Squares



from www.framedcooks.com

INGREDIENTS
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
9 thin slices ham
9 eggs
Chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, four eggs and the melted butter in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Heat a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with butter. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is very lightly starting to brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Loosen edge of crepe with spatula and then either using large spatula or your fingers, lift it up and flip it over. Cook another 1-2 minutes and then slide out of skillet onto wax paper. Repeat until all crepes are done. You should have about 9 when you are done.
4. Preheat oven to 350. Place crepes on a rimmed baking sheet (you can fit 3-4 per sheet). Place ham slice in center of crepe and carefully crack egg onto ham. Fold edges of crepe toward center, using the egg white as a kind of glue. Season with salt and pepper and bake until egg white is set, about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve at once.
Recipe adapted a bit from Everyday Food

Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies



from www.kumquatblog.com

Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies

1 1/2       cups gluten-free rolled oats
1             cup unsweetened coconut flakes 
1             tablespoon golden flaxmeal
1/2          teaspoon salt
3/4          cups coarsely chopped pecans
1/2          cup dried blueberries
3             very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4          cup coconut oil, warm enough to be liquid
1             tablespoon agave nectar
1             teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, coconut, flaxmeal, salt, pecans, and blueberries. Stir in bananas, oil, agave nectar and vanilla until well combined.

Press 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Continue with remaining mixture.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan.
Yield: about 15 cookies.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

No-Bake Energy Bites

from www.gimmesomeoven.com


No-Bake Energy Bites 
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
  • 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
Method:
Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like.  (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.)  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Makes about 20-25 balls.
Ali’s Tip:
Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients!  Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter.  And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed.  I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.
Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:
  • chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
  • dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
  • chopped almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds
  • other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, etc.)
Update: Many of you in the comments have asked about substitutions for other ingredients.  The joy of these bites being “no bakes” is that this recipe is super flexible.  If you end up needing to omit one of the dry ingredients (such as coconut or flax), just add in some extra of whatever other dry ingredient is remaining (for example, the oats).  If you feel like your energy bites are too dry, just add in extra honey or peanut butter.  Enjoy!!!
Source: Slightly adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots.