Taste & Create: Tasty, Tasty Biscuits

In my house, we call these "crater biscuits." It comes from my husband's family. It is cutely appropriate, don't you think?

I know what you're thinking, all of Arundathi's delicious recipes I could have selected for Taste & Create (and there are PLENTY!!), and I picked biscuits? You see, I love them. I do. And I rarely, if ever, would make them from scratch. I would get those little Betty Crocker bags (or whoever makes them), add water, and go. I loved the idea of making them my very own self. And let me tell you, it gets no easier than this.

I happened to double the recipe, because when I had the dry ingredients in the bowl, it seemed small. Doubled, you'll get 4 biscuits - which is perfect for the two of us! I used Greek yogurt, because it was what I had on hand, and it lent the finished biscuits a tangy almost-buttermilky twist. I omitted the garlic powder and the cheese, because I wanted the option of slathering them with jam.

They baked beautifully - and topped with cheddar, breakfast sausage, and a little scrambled egg - terrific breakfast! It was just what we needed to get our errand-filled day going!!

Thank you, Arundathi, for showing me how to make delicious crater biscuits at home - and a big thank you to Nicole for a great pairing!!

Crater Biscuits
adapted from My Food Blog

12 Tbsps all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
6 Tbsp skim milk
3 tsp Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix dry ingredients. Quickly mix in milk and yogurt.

Drop into mounds and bake for 10-13 minutes.

Makes 4 biscuits.

See the recipe...

Oat Bran Breakfast

On a whim, I picked up some Arrowhead Mills Organic Oat Bran hot cereal. I know I'm not supposed to be grocery shopping, but I needed oatmeal for my work breakfasts, and I was there, so... I got it. Dave likes grits, and the it seemed like a decent substitute.

In addition, we're in somewhat of a weekend breakfast rut - but we're ok with it. Bagels in bed, and its lovely. A little bran didn't hurt anybody, and we'll go back to bagels tomorrow.

The directions were easy and quick, I got to stir them around and feel like I was doing something useful. I will say that if you let them cool a little, they lose their shininess, so serve immediately.

Dave had his with just a little butter, salt, and pepper. I had a spoonful of almond butter and some sliced bananas. We were both happy. If you find yourself in need of a healthy hot breakfast that doesn't require a lot of work, pick up your own box!

See the recipe...

Crunchy French Toast

I am so glad that Elise at Simply Recipes has updated her blog - I saw her french toast recipe and had to make it! It was super easy and super yummy! Perfect for a sunny Sunday morning! Thanks!!!

Crunchy French Toast
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/005093crunchy_french_toast.php

2 or 3 slices of bread, cut into quarters

1 cup cornflake cereal

2 large eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

2 drops of vanilla Butter and pancake syrup

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

Put the bread pieces on a lined baking sheet into the warming oven (it does not need to be at full temperature) to toast lightly for 5 minutes. Cool the bread completely.

Seal the cornflakes in a heavy plastic bag. Crush them with a rolling pin to the size of rolled oats. Pour into a pie pan or a shallow dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk to mix the eggs, milk, flour and vanilla until blended. Be sure there are no lumps of unmixed flour. Pour into a pie pan or shallow dish. In batches, lay the bread pieces in the egg mix. Soak about 1 minute on each side in the egg mixture. Be careful not to rip the bread.

Place the bread pieces in the cornflake crumbs. Coat both sides with the crumbs. Place on the lined baking sheet.

Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes on one side. Then flip over with tongs or a spatula and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until the crumbs begin to turn brown. Eat warm with butter and pancake syrup.

Makes 2 or 3 servings.

See the recipe...

Yummy Blueberry Muffins

I'd told Stephanie about these blueberry muffins a few weeks ago, and I'd promised to bring some to her next time I made them. Since she'd spent the night Friday, I figured what better way to breakfast her than to have these!

My husband, who, if asked, will say that he doesn't like blueberries, happily eats these.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/blueberry-muffins-with-crumb-topping

These muffins are easy to make: Simply mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine them. Since the baking powder, which lightens the muffins, is activated by moisture, get the batter into the oven immediately. For soft edges, use liners; for crisp edges, use a well-greased, unlined pan. You can easily replace the blueberries with other kinds of fresh fruit, such as raspberries or peaches (chopped into small pieces). In the off-season I used IQF (individually quick-frozen) fruit; there’s no need to thaw.

Crumb topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Muffins:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners or spray 2 muffin tins with cooking spray.

Make the crumb topping:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the melted butter, then pinch the mixture until it forms pea-size clumps.

Make the muffins:
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and canola oil and beat with a handheld electric mixer at low speed until combined. Beat in the whole milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture all at once and beat at low speed until the batter is smooth. Stir in the blueberries.

Spoon the batter into 18 of the cups, filling them about three-quarters full. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of each one and bake for about 30 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the blueberry muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

Once cooled, the blueberry muffins can be kept overnight in an airtight container.

See the recipe...