Breakfast/Brunch

Slow Cooker Maple Spiced Steel Cut Oats and Quinoa

November 21, 2016 by Asharae Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving Week! Anyone traveling this week? Or welcoming family into your home? Anyone preparing to feed lots of friends and family? If you’re in need of a super simple homemade breakfast option for feeding lots of people this week, I’ve got the perfect recipe for you. And if you’re making this recipe for just one or two, I’ve got instructions for freezing any leftovers to have later!

This Maple Spiced Oats and Quinoa dish is healthy-ish, hearty, so delicious and can be customized to suit each person you’ll be hosting this Thanksgiving. When you’re worried about getting the turkey in the oven, all the pies made on time, and getting Grandma’s stuffing just right, you really don’t need to be thinking about anything complicated for breakfast! Just get up early and throw all these ingredients in your slow cooker (try doubling it and adding some time if you have more than 8 of guests.) You can set out lots of topping options so everyone can customize their own bowl, and this dish is hearty enough that it’ll give everyone energy to help out with all your Thanksgiving dinner prep!

This recipe is adapted from two I found online – this Pumpkin Overnight Oats recipe from Well Plated and this Slow Cooker Overnight Quinoa and Oats by Chelsea’s Messy Apron. Feel free to adapt and adjust to fit your preferences!

Slow Cooker Maple Spiced Steel Cut Oats and Quinoa

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 10

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1 1/2 c steel cut oats (do not use old fashioned or quick cook oats)
1/2 c quinoa rinsed (or purchase pre-rinsed)
3-4 c water depending on how thick you want your oatmeal to be
2 c milk
2 Tbs chia seeds
2 Tbs ground flaxseed
1/4 c brown sugar
2 Tbs maple syrup
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs cinammon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice

Garnishes

Sliced almonds
Dried cranberries
Additional brown sugar
Chopped apples
Additional cinnamon nutmeg, or allspice

Method

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.
Rinse quinoa well, using a fine mesh sieve. (Skip this step if you bought pre-rinsed quinoa)
Combine all ingredients except garnishes in slow cooker, stir well to combine.
Set on high for 2-3 hours, stirring after an hour and a half so you know how much longer to cook it. This will depend on how hot your slow cooker gets. (See note below.)
Oats are finished when they reach the consistency you desire - I like mine to still be slightly chewy, so I cooked mine for just over 2 hours.
Turn off heat and serve topped with dried cranberries, sliced almonds, extra brown sugar, or whatever you like!

Notes

The recipe I adapted this from said to cook it on low for 7 hours or high for 4, but mine would have been burnt to a crisp if I let it go that long. Use your best judgement depending on how quickly your particular slow cooker operates.

If you want to make this recipe to save for later, use a muffin tin to divide the remaining cooked oats and quinoa. Let cool completely on the counter, then place in the freezer for a few hours. Remove oats from muffin tin once frozen, store in a freezer safe ziplock bag, and keep in freezer until ready to eat. Reheat in microwave, top with garnishes, and enjoy!

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

May 23, 2016 by Asharae 2 Comments

Lately I’ve been on a baking kick which is actually really unusual for me. Not sure if it’s the pregnancy talking as I’m still riding the high of my second trimester energy. Or if it’s my unusual craving for sweets that’s pushing me to bake more than normal. Either way we’re all benefiting from it!

Just the other week Tim and I had a sweet in-home maternity session with our dear friend Alicia White (check out her work! It’s amazing!) We decided to go strawberry picking early in the morning, come back to the house and make breakfast, drink coffee on the porch, listen to big band music on the record player, and play in the garden. Basically all our favorite things. It was really special to set aside some time to have Alicia capture this fleeting season of our lives. I’m a photographer as well, so I’m biased, but I highly recommend documenting each life season not just for having the photographs, but to practice slowing down and noticing the here and now.

I decided to experiment with this recipe for our photo shoot as the original is actually made with blueberries instead of strawberries. We couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out! These muffins are delicious and oh-so-pretty! If you haven’t already made a date with your local strawberry patch, hurry up and go berry picking before they’re all gone!

Adapted from Honestly Yum

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries hulled and sliced
1 cup plus 2 Tbs sugar
2 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbs butter melted and cooled
1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 c plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Streusel Topping

1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
A pinch of salt
1/4 c flour
2 1/2 Tbs warm melted butter

Method

Make the streusel topping by combining the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Slowly add the melted butter, stirring with a fork until mixture is combined and reaches a crumbly consistency.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Make the filling for your muffins by placing 1 c sliced strawberries and 1 tsp sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened and the strawberries begin to break down. Set aside and let cool to room temperature. (Place in the fridge for a few minutes to hurry the process along if need be.)
In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and remaining sugar until thickened. Slowly add the butter and oil to the egg mixture, whisking as you go. Whisk in the Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
Fold this egg mixture into your flour mixture. Fold in the remaining c of strawberries, being careful not to over-mix your batter. It's okay for it to be a little lumpy.
Prepare your muffin pan, either by greasing the pan or using paper muffin cups.
Use a spoon to divide the batter between muffin cups. The batter should completely fill the cups.
Evenly divide the cooled strawberry filling mixture between the muffins, using a chopstick or skewer (or your finger) to poke the filling down into the strawberries. This part doesn't have to be perfect - any berries left showing through will make the muffins look pretty!
Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of your strawberry-filled muffin cups.
Bake in your preheated oven for about 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

May 28, 2015 by Asharae Leave a Comment

We have these friends, Brandon and Christy, who are extraordinary question-askers. They are the kind of people who ask questions that make those around them feel known. It’s such a gift. I’m not even sure they’re aware that they’re doing anything different – they’re genuinely curious and they truly care about their friends and family – but it really shows through the questions they choose to ask. Again and again we have felt so cared for by them because they ask good questions and they listen well.

I aspire to ask questions like these friends of ours. I want to learn how to ask the questions that dig a little deeper, rather than taking the easy way out and simply asking “how’s it going?” I always hesitate when asked that question – how much do you really want to know? What sort of answer are you looking for? Do I spill my guts and tell you how utterly overwhelmed I am? You probably weren’t looking for that, so do I just say that I’m fine? Is there some better way to answer that question?

I’ve been having all these thoughts rolling around my head lately and I happened upon this article over on Donald Miller’s Storyline blog. I love this quote from Melton’s article:

We learned that if we really want to know our people, if we really care to know them – we need to ask them better questions and then really listen to their answers.

We need to ask questions that carry along with them this message: “I’m not just checking the box here. I really care what you have to say and how you feel. I really want to know you.”

Isn’t that what we all crave? To be known? Not just to have people that know our favorite foods and our birthday, but to have people that know our dreams and our fears. It’s such a treasure if you have people that ask you those questions. But why not also be the person that asks those questions?

Instead of simply waiting for someone to enter into our world and ask us those questions – why don’t we put ourselves out there and ask someone else the difficult, potentially awkward questions. It’s in that space that growth happens. The process of knowing one another and truly being known can feel so extraordinarily uncomfortable. But the reward of deeper relationships far outweighs any potential awkwardness along the way.

Confession time – I’ve been holding out on you guys. This is one of my absolute favorite recipes. One fateful day in college my roommate Anna returned from a quick trip home and brought with her the most incredible loaf of chocolate chip banana bread. We sat on our little futon in our room, hunched over the foil wrapper of heavenly crumbs. I’d never had banana bread with chocolate chips in it before and I’m pretty sure I ate half the loaf with no shame at all. I vowed then to learn how to make banana bread that was at least half as delicious – I like to think this one has turned out pretty great.

This banana bread doesn’t look like much, but don’t let that fool you. It’s so so good. I’ve been making it since college and it always gets good reviews. You can always add walnuts or pecans as well – I recommend 1/2 c nuts and reducing your chocolate chips to 1/2 c as well if you go that route! And if you find you’ve always got bananas on-hand, you can put the extra brown ones in the freezer to use in this recipe later. Peel the bananas and place them in a freezer-safe bag before putting them in the freezer. Thaw them before using and then use the same way you would use fresh bananas. Fair warning – they’ll look totally gross once thawed, but they’ll taste just as good once you bake them into the bread!

This bread is best eaten while it’s still warm from the oven or the next day. Be sure to wrap the loaf of banana bread tightly with plastic wrap – this keeps the bread moist and delicious. I like to think it also locks the flavor in as it gets better a day or two after you bake it. This is a great breakfast treat, dessert, or any-time kind of snack. It’s especially good for those late-night-I’m-avoiding-studying-baking-sessions in college. I speak from experience. Enjoy.

Adapted from Food Network

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 5

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c sugar
2 very ripe bananas peeled and mashed
1 c chocolate chips

Method

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a small measuring cup with a spout, whisk eggs and vanilla together.
Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch bread loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment) cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy. Slowly add the egg and vanilla mixture, mixing till combined. To save on dishes, use the same measuring cup to mash the two bananas with a fork. Add the bananas to your mixture, combine well. At this point the mixture will look a bit lumpy and curdled - that's okay!
Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pour batter into floured pan.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the bread for 5-10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Let cool completely (if you can resist) and then wrap bread tightly in plastic wrap to store (this is VERY important to keep the banana bread moist and delicious.)

Simple Granola

March 5, 2015 by Asharae Leave a Comment

Do you ever stand in the cereal aisle, lusting over the boxes of granola, wondering to yourself, “Why are those boxes so tiny? And why on earth are they so expensive??” Me too, my friend. Me too.

Making your own granola really isn’t difficult at all. I’ve adapted this recipe from Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook – she’s already done the hard work of perfecting the granola crunch, sweetness ratios, and all that. I just simplified it a bit further by only using what I had on-hand. She uses a 1/4 c of wheat germ in her recipe, and I’ve yet to find it at our local grocery store – so mine has no wheat germ. Feel free to add it back in if you like! I also added a bit of nutmeg and let the nuts be an optional addition. If I’ve got some on-hand, I’ll add them. But this granola is still delicious without!

I remember when my mom would make granola it always seemed to be a big production – huge bowls of ingredients, multiple pans in the oven at a time, and all that stirring. So much stirring.

For this recipe you just need one bowl (okay two actually), one pan, and you only have to stir the granola once in the middle of baking. Super simple. And delicious. Enjoy.

Adapted from Deb Perelman

Simple Granola

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

3 c old fashioned rolled oats
1 c sweetened shredded coconut
1 c walnuts optional
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 c real maple syrup
1 large egg white

Method

Preheat oven to 300 F.
Stir together oats, coconut, walnuts (optional), cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Add olive oil and maple syrup to oat mixture, stir together.
Whisk egg white in a small bowl until frothy. Add to oat mixture and stir well to combine.
Spread oat mixture on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and use a spatula to turn granola, being careful not to break the pieces too much. Bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until granola is brown and toasted.
Let granola cool completely on the pan. Move to an airtight container and store up to two weeks.
Serve with milk, over ice cream, or sprinkled over plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and some dried cranberries - that's my favorite!

Notes

If you're wondering what to do with the egg yolk you're left with after making this granola, you could always make these cookies! They call for one egg and one egg yolk.