brunch Archives - Page 8 of 8

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

July 6, 2011 ·

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are made with whole wheat flour, studded with blueberries and a bright flavor from the lemon. These are a wonderful breakfast treat!

Recently, my favorite (well,…only) pancake turner met an early and unfortunate demise. Let’s just say the combination of a very hot pan, quesadillas sticking to said pan and a non-silicone turner resulted in a slightly melted pancake turner (and a slightly not pleased Alida). Now I am armed and dangerous with a fancy silicone pancake turner, ready to take on the world…of pancakes!

What better way to christen this handy new tool than by making ricotta pancakes. Ricotta pancakes are delicate to flip, so they’re sure to put this new device to the test.

Not just any ricotta pancake recipe would do, however. It was time to liven up my go-to ricotta pancake recipe from Everyday Food. First I swapped lemon zest for the orange zest, and whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour. I then decided to add vanilla and blueberries to the recipe.

The result was fabulous! We thought they were perfect without any topping, though you could add a little confectioners’ sugar or maple syrup, if desired. While these pancakes are easy to make, the batter is quite thick, thus requiring a few extra minutes to cook and extra care when flipping. In the end, it is all worth it – trust me!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

Author: Alida Fischbach

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

15 ounces low fat ricotta cheese
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 cup blueberries
cooking spray
confectioners' sugar or maple syrup, for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a medium bowl. whisk together ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, grated lemon zest and vanilla extract.
Fold in flour until just combined; add blueberries, gently mixing until combined.
Spray large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-low heat. Add batter, using a scant ¼ cup for each pancake. Cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to a paper towel-lined plate.
Serve hot, with confectioners' sugar or maple syrup, if desired.

Adapted from Everyday Food

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: blueberries, blueberry, brunch, lemon, pancakes, ricotta

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

June 29, 2011 ·

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins are an easy, healthy muffin recipe made with lots of fresh strawberries and Greek yogurt.

After picking up 8 pounds of strawberries from a local farm, I noticed these were the most perfect strawberries I have ever seen. They had a perfect shape, a perfect stem and were a deep red throughout (no white inside these berries). My husband wondered what I could possibly do with 8 pounds of strawberries? Spend a LOT of time experimenting in the kitchen, that’s what!

In fact, I was thinking 8 pounds might not even be enough. I eat strawberries on my plain Greek yogurt every day. My son eats strawberries by the fistful. There is also a long list of goodies that I want to make with strawberries…hmm.

For the longest time, I have been searching high and low for the perfect strawberry muffin recipe. I was inspired by this recipe for Strawberry Bread on Cate’s World Kitchen. I love that Cate uses yogurt, a good dose of vanilla, and this recipe uses more actual strawberries than other recipes I found. From the original recipe, I reduced the amount of sugar and used plain nonfat Greek yogurt. The recipe below is written accordingly.

These muffins smelled incredible while baking in the oven. It was hard to resist digging in while they cooled, but I knew they would be worth the wait. And worth the wait they were indeed! They are moist, delicious and have bits of sweet strawberries in every bite. We are definitely going to make another trip to the farm to pick up more strawberries, and I will definitely be making more of these muffins!

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1½ cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups strawberries, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, oil and vanilla until blended. Add to flour mixture and gently mix until combined (Be careful not to over mix). Gently fold in strawberries.
Divide batter evenly between muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer muffins to wire rack and let cool completely.

Adapted from Cate’s World Kitchen

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: brunch, easy, muffins, strawberries, yogurt

Tomato Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese

June 13, 2011 ·

After taking a bite of this frittata, my husband sat for a minute and then said ‘Goat cheese is great, when done in the right way.’ Uh oh…and while I couldn’t agree more, I do know he’s not as fond of goat cheese as I am. Fortunately he followed that up by saying ‘This way was definitely the right way!’ and quickly cleaned his plate!

Goat cheese is definitely an ingredient that makes a statement. Too much can ruin a dish. Just the right amount can take an ordinary dish and make it extraordinary.

So is the case with this frittata. Goat cheese is the perfect complement to liven up the sauteed vegetables and eggs. I reduced the amount of goat cheese from the original recipe, as I found it a bit overpowering. I was a little generous when measuring the leeks because I love the subtle flavor and beautiful color. Since I had large grape tomatoes, I halved them, and they still burst with each bite. Beating the egg whites gives this frittata a souffle-like quality that just melts in your mouth.

The result is an exquisit blast of flavors in a light and airy frittata.

Tomato and Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese
Yields 4 servings

3 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups sliced leeks
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes
6 egg whites
4 egg yolks
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium. Add leeks ; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Cover; cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Cover; cook 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and wipe out skillet.
In another bowl, beat 6 egg whites with salt and pepper to stiff peaks. Whisk in 4 egg yolks.
Heat skillet with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add eggs; sprinkle with vegetables and goat cheese. Cook over medium until sides are dry, 3 minutes. Transfer to oven; bake until eggs are set, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Adapted from Everyday Food

Filed Under: breakfast, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: brunch, dinner, eggs, frittata, goat cheese, leek, quiche, tomato

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

June 6, 2011 ·

Raspberry season is upon us with a plethera of delicious berries to do with as we wish.

And I wish for Raspberry White Chocolate muffins. Seriously. I have been waiting all year for raspberry season just so I could make them.

These muffins are definitely one of those muffins. The kind of muffins that feel like dessert for breakfast…and well….it kind of is. But there’s fruit, so it’s totally legit.

Raspberry and white chocolate are such a classic combination. The juicy raspberries burst in your mouth and the white chocolate chips provide a nice texture. The cream cheese gives the batter a sticky consistency, resulting in beautiful, rustic-looking muffins. Enjoy!

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) light cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup fresh raspberries
½ cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
Combine the flour and baking powder.
Add dry ingredients to the cream cheese mixture until just blended. Stir in chips. Gently fold in raspberries.
Distribute batter evenly amongst 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

Slightly adapted from Taste of Home: Cupcakes & Muffins

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, Recipes Tagged With: brunch, cream cheese, muffins, raspberries, white chocolate

Crustless Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

May 26, 2011 ·

Welcome to Alida’s Kitchen! For my inaugural post, I am sharing with you a tasty crustless quiche recipe made with a few simple ingredients. It is so easy to put together! The cheddar cheese really adds a nice flavor to this egg dish, and broccoli adds great texture. My husband and I enjoyed this quiche for dinner with a side salad (and leftovers made for great lunches the next day!), although it would be excellent for a brunch or anytime really.

Crustless Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
Adapted from Everyday Food

10 oz. frozen broccoli florets
6 large eggs
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Ground pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) cheddar cheese
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 inch pie dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli; cook 1 minute. Drain well; transfer to a cutting board and blot dry with paper towels. Chop coarsely.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half and nutmeg. Add ground pepper to taste. Stir in broccoli and cheese.
Pour broccoli mixture into pie plate and bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Yields 4 servings

Thank you for visiting Alida’s Kitchen. Have a happy day!