Cheddar Dill Breakfast Quinoa & Brunch with the Girls

Don’t you love when you totally throw something completely random and new together in the kitchen and it ends up being a huge success!?

That’s what happened in this kitchen last weekend.

This time it was breakfast, and I love making breakfast on the weekends so it was fun coming up with something new and different.  If it bombed?  Oh well, it was the weekend and I could make something else :)

We had a container of leftover, cooked quinoa in the fridge.  There was a good amount of it, so I was hoping to incorporate it into breakfast!  I’ve seen various “breakfast quinoas” around the blog world…many times made similar to oatmeal (which I want to try), but I was more in the mood for something savory.

Plus some cheese and fresh herbs make anything better.

I give you…

Cheddar Dill Breakfast Quinoa
serves 2

• 1T olive oil
• 1/4 cup white or yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (really you can use as much as you want, obviously the texture will change as the ratio of quinoa to egg is altered).
• 3 eggs
• splash of milk (about 2T)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• 1T fresh chopped dill

In a non-stick skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until just getting soft.  Add in quinoa, and continue to sauté for another 2-4 minutes. 

In a small bowl, crack in eggs and beat together with a fork.  Add milk and beat that into the eggs.  Pour eggs into quinoa mixture.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  After about 30 seconds, start to scramble mixture together.  Add in dill.  Continue to cook/scramble.  Once eggs are just about done to the point where you like your scramble eggs cooked, add in cheese.  Give another stir and remove from heat.

We had ours with some bacon and sides of yogurt with a sauce of cooked down berries (plus some lemon juice and maple syrup) and walnuts.

Iced latte

We both LOVED the quinoa!!  I think I liked the texture even more than regular scrambled eggs.  Plus the possibilities are endless for flavors…different cheeses, herbs, spices, veggies.  The beauty of breakfast egg dishes :)

Try this!!

Keeping with a breakfast theme…I’d also like to share some photos from a brunch I had at my place with a few of my girl friends.  You know how sometimes there are friends or groups of friends that you just don’t see as often as you’d like or used to see?  Well that was my problem.  So to solve it I just invited them over one Sunday morning for a quick and delightful brunch!

I was excited to do a “girly” table setting with some pink linens.

I love using baskets and trays to group my centerpieces

I actually was too busy prepping food and chatting that I forgot to snap some photos before we ate!!  But I grabbed a few after…much of the food is gone but you get the gist.

Smoked Salmon/Capers/Cream Cheese/Red Onion/Mini Whole Wheat Bagels.

This is an easy one.  No cooking involved and you can present it as nice and you want! 

One of my friends brought this zucchini bread…and now I need the recipe!  It was amazing!!

So moist and it created this awesome crust around the edges.

Bacon, fresh pineapple, a coffee cake brought by another friend

My favorite brunch dish to make for a group…French Toast Strata!

A delicious frittata…

• This one started with butter in the skillet, then lots of thinly sliced onions…caramelize.
• Once mostly caramelized, add in chopped zucchini.  Sauté for a couple more minutes.
• Then add eggs (think I used 6 eggs, beaten + some milk)
•   Add in chopped fresh thyme.  Then top with LOTS of goat cheese.
• Broil for a few minutes (be sure to use an oven safe skillet!  I love using cast iron), until set and just starting to brown.

More fruit!

Baskets also useful for condiments (salt, pepper, maple syrup) and cream and sugar for coffee.  

I like to use some of my real creamers/pitchers for cream and maple syrup.  It’s not much more effort and looks so nice!

Brunch was  a success.  Caught up with friends, and then we all still had the rest of the day to get our Sunday-type errands done :)

I heart breakfast food.

Sweet and Savory Pancakes {paleo}

I experimented with a couple pancake recipes this weekend, both of which would fall under the “paleo” category.  Of course then I went a head and had maple syrup on the sweet ones, and cheese on the savory ones…but really, who wouldn’t? 

First on Saturday, I made some Almond-Coconut pancakes!



Almond Coconut Pancakes
serves 2

• 1 cup Almond Flour (or Almond Meal works too)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (or unsweetened coconut, I actually had some organic unsweetened defatted coconut that I used)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3-3/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk (I used vanilla flavored unsweetened Almond milk)
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil (melted if needed)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine almond flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together to combine.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork then add almond milk, coconut oil, and honey.  Mix to combine, then add wet ingredients to dry.  Stir until mixture is combined.  If your batter is looking too thick, or thickens upon standing, add a little milk until it's pancake batter consistency!

Heat a griddle or skillet over med heat.  Use coconut oil or grassfed butter to grease the pan.  Once the pan is hot, add batter in desired size, cook until edges look done then flip.  Adjust heat while cooking incase the pan gets too hot.  Cook 2-3 more minutes or until pancakes look done. 

Serve as desired! 

Like I said we had real maple syrup, banana sliced, and Brian had butter on his (I’ve never been a fan of butter on pancakes). 

These were light, and had a nice subtle coconut flavor to them!  Really delicious.  I’m think next time I might add 1/4 tsp almond extract to really make the almond flavor come out as well. 

Brian loved them too, and he could care less about them being Paleo/low carb.



My savory pancake recipe was a true experiment, as I’ve never made anything like them before.  
I was flying solo this morning, Brian had gone up to NH for a friend’s b-day Sat night-Sunday, I stayed home with my new cold that came about Friday :/

I was hungry but had no idea what I was in the mood for.  Then I spotted a leftover, fully cooked sweet potato from the other night!  I also wanted an egg, and maybe something with cheese and hot sauce. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve made potato pancakes but I do remember egg was the binder.  I guess this would be more like a mashed (sweet) potato pancake!

Savory Sweet Potato Pancake
serves 1

• 1 small cooked sweet potato
• 1 egg, beaten
• hot sauce (to you’re liking)
• 1/4 tsp dried garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1-2 tsp butter
• optional: cheddar or gouda (or your favorite) cheese, about 1 slice or a few small slices if it’s cut from a large chunk.

Cut your cooked sweet potato in half then scrap out all the flesh into a small mixing bowl.  Mash with a fork to get rid of any big lumps.  Add the beaten egg, hot sauce (I did about 4-5 shakes, wish I did more!), and garlic (I used Garlic Gold).  At this point you could really add any other seasonings you might want! 

Heat a small skillet over med-high heat, melt some butter in the pan, just enough to have a nice coating on the bottom.  Once the pan is good and hot, make 2 equal size pancakes with your batter.  Cook 3-5 min per side until cooked through and golden browned. 

Add cheese on one half and place other pancake on top.



Serve with sour cream if you like!  I actually added some more hot sauce on top too.
I really loved these!  I think next time I’d grate the cheese and add it right into the batter. 
If I had to eat them without the cheese or sour cream, I’d like some sliced tomato with them to add a cool refreshing contrast to the pancake. 



For a breakfast “dessert” I had some blueberries and banana



In other news, I have an important decision to make.  I ordered some new sneakers for Crossfit and of course it’s down to the colors ;)



My initial favorite was the pink/green, but I’m actually leading towards the purple/orange ones!  Thoughts?  I’m picking one by the time I go to Crossfit tomorrow night!
And for fun, and Outfit post!

  

One of these days I’ll take a nice "fashion” shot, outdoors with the wind blowing in my hair and the sun casting a nice glow on my skin. 
But for now, it’s iphone in the office bathroom…  yeah. 
This outfit was revolved around that blue skirt…love that skirt.

• blue pencil skirt – Ann Taylor
• grey cardigan – Old Navy
• magenta shirt (which you can’t see) – Banana Republic
• mustard scarf – Target
• grey/yellow/gold t-strap heals – Seychelles from Nordstrom

If you have tomorrow off…lucky you!  I’ll be heading back to work like normal.  At least traffic will be a lot better.

Time for some frozen yogurt and then getting to bed early!  I hope :)

What’s your favorite thing to put in or on pancakes???  Maple syrup…all the way, the real stuff of course.  I look for any excuse to put maple syrup on anything!!  (except savory pancakes that is)

Brunch and Babies

My friend’s babies…sorry to disappoint any of my family reading ;)

I love brunch and breakfast foods.  I also love entertaining friends with delicious food!  However, other than Thanksgiving and our summer BBQ, I really don’t have people over as much as I’d like.

So, I invited some of my good friends over for a brunch! 

If you’re not used to entertaining, I’d say a brunch is a good way to start.  Most dishes are simple to prepare and there are lots of options that you can cook a head of time :)  Breakfast foods also tend to be cheaper too! 

I was even able to fit in a much needed manicure/pedicure…

(that’s Essie’s Glamour Purse)

AND a quick apple picking excursion, the day before the brunch!

It was the last weekend in September and I HAD to go apple picking!  It’s my favorite fall activity EVER.

Unfortunately the usual cool sunny fall weekends of previous year’s apple pickings, was replaced with a hot HUMID post-rain day!

At least the crowds weren’t bad.  But the humid stagnant air + being out amongst nature = mosquito fest 2011. 

Another bad equation to factor in:
Post-pedicure lotioned legs + mosquitoes = mosquito MAGNET! 

It was bad, I instantly got about 6 bites within 15 min.  So we hurried up.  Brian would fetch the apples and I’d stand with the bag constantly slapping those little bastards off my legs!

I felt much better when we were back in the car with AC, 1/2 bushel of apples, 1/2 dozen HOT cider donuts, 1 caramel apple, and a burger for Brian.  Oh and the extra strength Benadryl cream I was slathering on my calves ;)

Back to Brunch.

The Menu:

Mimosa’s (brought by a guest)
Other juices (guest)
Coffee and Espresso drinks (me)

Pumpkin bread and banana bread (guest)
Mini lemon poppy seed muffins (guest)

Baked blueberry French toast (me)
Egg Bake with wild mushrooms, shallots, thyme, goat cheese, and gruyere (me)
Tomato Basil frittata (me)
Roasted red and sweet potatoes with onion and rosemary (me)

Have guests bring drinks and apps.  In this case, I had some friends bring muffins/quick breads that people could snack on while they waited.

French toast casseroles like this usually have to be made a day in advance anyways so they can sit and absorb the liquid.  These are always a crowd pleaser

Serve with maple syrup on the side.

Egg bakes/baked frittatas or quiches can also be baked ahead of time and just warmed up before serving.

I baked this on earlier in the morning.

  Unfortunately potatoes can’t be cut too far ahead of time, so leave this until the morning of.

I bought some flowers, and my friend also brought a beautiful arrangement.

I also love using big bowls/vessels of seasonal fruits for decor (apple picking apples!)

I’ll be back with recipes.  In the meantime here are some of my friend’s adorable babies!

I couldn’t believe there were FOUR little ones at my house today!  Exciting and scary at the same time :)

First date:

So cute :)    

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  Once again, SO not ready to go back to work tomorrow…*sigh*

Speaking of brunch:  What’s you're favorite brunch food to either eat or make!?

Brunching on Boston Harbor

I’m on a boat…

Actually I was on a boat twice in the past 4 days!  I had some great opportunities to really enjoy the beauty of Boston harbor.

My first boating adventure was Thursday night.  It was my company’s summer outing and we took a ferry to Spectacle Island for a clambake!

I didn’t take any food photos, but got some great shots of the sunset. 

Summer Shack caters these events, and Jasper White was even at this one!  There he is below, piping whipped cream onto the strawberry shortcakes (which were really good btw).

   

Coming back into the city in the dark was gorgeous too!

  It was a fun night with my new co-workers!!

The next trip out to sea was earlier today!

I was lucky enough to win a spot on the Boston Bruncher’s July brunch on The Odyssey…a Boston harbor cruise. 

We also each got to bring a guest!  I was so excited to finally bring Brian along to one of these awesome brunches!

We started on one of the lower levels of the ship, where we had 4 tables to work with and a large buffet of food at our disposal!

Usually with brunch buffets I always start with “breakfast” and then have “lunch”. 

Started with a mimosa and coffee of course.

Bloggers!

 

My first plate was filled with breakfast goods to try out…  I only ate about 2/3 of this.

Here we have some:

• pastry
• bacon
• homefries
• scrambled eggs
• waffle piece
• salmon/capers/onion

It was your standard breakfast fare.  I really liked the potatoes, bacon, and smoked salmon with capers. 

I was REALLY excited to see chocolate chips as a topping option for the waffles…I grew up putting choc chips on my waffles and pancakes, and you never see that at restaurants unless they are cooking into the batter.  However I was a bit disappointed that they only had fake “maple” syrup, and the whipped cream was more or less Cool Whip…not my thing. 

Breakfast is usually my thing, but I actually enjoyed their lunch foods way more. 

Plate 2:

• fruit
• Caesar salad
• Penne primavera
• grilled veggies
• Maple-glazed chipotle chicken
• a slice of sirloin from the carving station

Again, classic buffet items, but I was really enjoying this plate!  I think my favorite was that maple-glazed chipotle chicken!

The best part was that after we ate, we had almost another 2 hours to go up to the open air decks, grab a drink, and enjoy the views as we cruised around the harbor.

I was also excited to catch up with some of my favorite local bloggers.

Elizabeth!!  Brian and I had a great day chatting with her and her boyfriend!! 

Also got to see Megan, Daisy, Bianca, Renee, and meet Stephanie

There was also a boat parade going on…anyone ever heard of a boat parade??

More views…

After spending enough time in the heat of the sun, a few of us headed back down to our tables for some AC, drinks, and dessert. 

I had a few bites of a chocolate cake that hit the spot, and a really yummy lemon poppy seed cake!

Overall it was such a nice and relaxing day, and beautiful weather to spend some time outside in the sun with the sea breeze.

The food wasn’t anything spectacular, but I think The Odyssey would be a great idea for a special night out, or a fun event with friends!  It’s a different way to enjoy Boston, and I think for their dinner cruises you can get dressed up :) 

Disclosure:  This brunch was provided free of charge for me and my guest!  We only paid for any drinks we consumed on the other decks of the boat. 

Thank you SO much to The Odyssey Boston and Boston Brunchers for such an enjoyable Sunday!