Homemade egg mcmuffins

What's better than McDonald's breakfast? Truthfully, probably nothing. But this comes close! These impostor egg mcmuffins are a great way to start a lazy Sunday.

Ingredients (for 2 sandwiches):
2 T butter
2 english muffins
2 eggs
2 slices American cheese
2 slices ham
salt & pepper

Directions:
heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.
add 1 T butter until melted and tilt pan to spread. 
place the english muffin in the toaster.
crack an egg over the pan.
let the egg cook until the edges curl and the whites start to set.
butter english muffin and add cheese (microwave for 10 seconds if cheese doesn't melt).
flip the egg and cook for about a minute.
place the egg on the english muffin.
add ham slices to skillet and fry for about a minute (be careful not to burn, just want it to brown a bit on each side).
add ham to sandwich.
sprinkle with salt & pepper.

tips & extras

Frying eggs - I'm still not that great at frying eggs. My dad is amazing at it, but I think it gets a little better each time I try! If you're really afraid to fry an egg, just scramble some. The sandwich will be just as delicious. 

Cracking eggs - If you aren't the best egg cracker, crack the egg in a bowl or ramekin and then slowly add it to the skillet. 

Over-easy - For this recipe, I prefer to make my eggs over-easy because the sandwich is a bit difficult to eat if they are too runny. 

Open-faced - I like my sandwich open-faced, similar to eggs benedict. My husband likes sandwiches. For open-faced, use 2 eggs and 1 english muffins. For a sandwich, use an entire english muffin and 1 or 2 eggs. 

Ham - Use whatever ham you like or have on hand. Canadian bacon is even better.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Chunky Apple Muffins

Apples, apples, and more apples. I just can't get enough of them right now! I'm not an apple pie fan, but I wanted to make something sweet with a big bag of honeycrisps I picked up at the farmer's market.

While searching for apple recipes, I stumbled upon this great article for how to make healthy muffins from what you have available. With some additional inspiration from Martha, I created healthy greek yogurt chunky apple muffins. They are perfect for breakfast with a big cup of joe. 

greek yogurt chunky apple muffins

Ingredients:
1 C all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 C rolled oats
1 C honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 C 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 t powdered cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla extract

optional: 1/4 C walnuts, chopped

Directions:
preheat oven to 350.
spray a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray.
peel, core, and dice apples.
combine dry ingredients in a large bowl - flour, oats, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, & cinnamon.
add apples and walnuts and mix to coat.
in a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
fold yogurt mixture into dry ingredients. 
fill each muffin cup with batter (about 75% - 80% full).
bake 22 - 27 minutes.
cool 5 minutes and serve.
store in an air-tight container and serve at room temperature.

dry ingredients

diced apples (also make a nice mid-recipe snack)

coat apples & walnuts with dry ingredients

get ready to whisk!

two bowls, get ready to fold

fold wet ingredients into dry

fill muffin cups ~ 80% full

when done, tops are golden brown

look at those chunks of apple - yum

tips & extras

brown sugar - You can use normal sugar to make these, but I felt the ingredients really went with brown. These are more of a breakfast muffin. If you want something a bit sweeter, double the sugar.

yogurt - You can use plain yogurt if you can't find Greek. Since there is no butter in this recipe, use 2% or full-fat yogurt. 

apples - Any apples will work! Something sweet is best. Dice them into as little or big pieces as you want. 

helpful kitchen tip - Annoyed with needing to use an ice pick to break up your brown sugar? Store brown sugar in a zip lock bag in your refrigerator. It will last forever and will stay soft & crumbly.

Rice Pudding

When I was little, we would go to my Yiayia Effie's house for Sunday dinners. She usually made a roast and served rice pudding for dessert. Grandparents are the best because they'll let you break the rules. She always made me a miniature serving of rice pudding as a pre-dinner treat. 


This rice pudding is creamy and sweet. It's the perfect end to a large meal and a great dessert for a dinner party. 

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour


Ingredients:
1/2 gallon (8 C) whole milk
1 C water
1 C long grain white rice
1 C sugar
2 eggs
cinnamon


Directions:
Boil 1 C water & 1 C rice in large saucepan until most of the water is absorbed. 
Stir frequently to prevent rice from burning.
Lower heat to low-medium. 
Add 1/3 of the milk.
Stir occasionally to prevent from sticking. 
Keep adding balance of milk until thick (about 1 hr total).
Remove from heat.
Beat 2 eggs.
Add eggs to thickened rice mixture while stirring.
Add sugar and mix thoroughly.
Pour into serving bowls.
Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.

Tips & Extras


Milk - Use whole milk (organic if possible). I have tried the recipe using 2% and the texture and thickness are not the same. 


Cooking - I usually keep the heat on low to medium. You do not want it to boil because it will boil over the top. When I initially add the milk, I will turn the heat to medium and then back to low when it starts to thicken. You will know if you burn the bottom because goldish brown pieces will show up floating around in your rice pudding. It still tastes good but you may or may not want to serve it (depending on who your guests are). 


Vanilla - Add a tsp of vanilla for more flavor. If you do this, add the sugar gradually and taste to make sure you have the right balance of sweetness.


Sugar - Sometimes I only add 3/4 C of sugar, especially if I'm planning to eat this for breakfast. Depending on your preference, you can add a little more than 1 C if you like things super sweet. 


Cinnamon - Leave a few of the serving cups plain. Some people do not like cinnamon or only want a tiny bit. 


Serving suggestions - I usually make this before dinner, pour it into dessert serving bowls, and serve it warm. It's also delicious cold if you want to make it the night before and refrigerate. However, the rice pudding sets into whatever you pour it into. I think it generally looks better to serve it in individual dishes rather than a large bowl. Your guests will love having their own little servings. 

Sally's Banana Bread

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is bake. It's football season, which means my husband is glued to the couch for college football on Saturdays, NFL on Sundays, and Monday night football. It gives me free rein of the kitchen and makes the house smell wonderful. This weekend I went for banana bread.


My friend Beth's mom made the best banana bread growing up. She shared the recipe with me and it is my favorite - very moist and sweet. I always end up eating too much because I consider it "healthy" bread. It has fruit in it, right? This recipe is great because you can make it in 3 small loaf pans and give it away as gifts (so you won't eat it all)!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 C vegetable oil

3 C sugar plus 1/2 C sugar

4 eggs

6 ripe bananas

1 C sour cream

4 C flour

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 t baking sodea

2 t vanilla

1 C chopped pecans

Directions:

Beat eggs in small bowl.

Combine oil, 1 C sugar, beaten eggs, bananas, & sour cream and mix.

Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Add salt & baking soda while beating.

Gradually add flour 1/2 C at a time and beat on low.

Pour into 3 loaf pans (not more than 2/3 full).

Sprinkle mixture of 1 C pecans and 1/2 C sugar over top before you bake.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. 

Tips & Extras

Bananas - I always buy a bunch of bananas and never eat them all. There's usually a pathetic wounded soldier sitting on my counter in about a week.  I put these overripe bananas in the freezer. When I have enough bananas, I make banana bread. You just have to defrost them for about 30 minutes at room temperature. 

Pan - You don't have to grease the pan but I like to spray a little vegetable oil cooking spray so it slides out nicely. I halved the recipe and only used one pan. I filled it a little too high (big mistake - ended up pouring over a bit in the oven). Make sure you only fill the pan 2/3 full!

Recipe size - This makes a LOT of banana bread. I cut it in half sometimes (as I did here) or make a loaf of bread and some muffins. 

Cooking time - Check the bread with a toothpick or thin knife to make sure it's cooked. If it comes out clean, the bread is ready. If you make muffins, make sure you monitor the cooking time on the muffins so they don't dry out. Check the oven at around 30 minutes.