Breakfast Update

Chia Pudding with Berries and Popped Amaranth

Cook Time: 10 minutes | Servings: Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk, plus more if needed
½ cup chia seeds
¼ cup light agave nectar
Pinch of fine sea salt
¼ cup amaranth
1 to 2 cups fresh mixed berries (any combination of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)
¼ cup crushed manzanita berries (optional)
Small fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:
In a lidded quart container, vigorously whisk together the 1 1/2 cups almond milk, chia seeds, agave and salt. (This ensures the chia seeds are evenly hydrated.) Let the mixture soak in the refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to overnight, so it develops a rich, creamy texture that is similar to that of rice pudding. If the mixture becomes too thick, whisk in more almond milk.
While the pudding soaks, heat a small skillet over medium-high. Add the amaranth and cook, shaking the skillet, until the amaranth begins to smell toasty and about half of the seeds have popped, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the amaranth to a plate to cool to room temperature. (Popped amaranth can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored in a lidded container in a cool, dark place.)
To serve, whisk the pudding to incorporate any liquid on top and break up the chia seeds, then spoon pudding into bowls. Top with the berries, popped amaranth and mint sprigs.

The amaranth is fun but you'll never finish a whole bag of it. Walnuts work just as well. Putting manzanita berries in this recipe is nothing but a douchey flex from the coastal elites at NYT cooking who walk past a Dean and Deluca every morning on the way to work. Don't put up with that shit.

Sun-Dried Tomato, Scallion, and Feta Egg Bites

Cook Time: 1 hour | Servings: 12 egg bites

Ingredients:
12 ounces (1½ cups) cottage cheese
12 large eggs, divided
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, patted dry and chopped
4 scallions, sliced thin

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position. Place rimmed baking sheet on rack and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Bring kettle of water to boil.
Process 1½ cups cottage cheese in blender on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of blender jar frequently during processing. Add 1 egg to blender and process on low speed until just combined, about 10 seconds. Pour cottage cheese mixture into large bowl. Add remaining 11 eggs and ¼ teaspoon table salt and whisk until well combined.
Divide 1 cup crumbled feta; ½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, patted dry and chopped; and 4 thinly sliced scallions evenly among prepared muffin cups. Using ladle, distribute egg mixture over filling (cups will be very full). Use skewer or chopstick to stir each muffin cup to evenly disperse fillings.
Transfer muffin tin to baking sheet in oven and pour enough boiling water onto baking sheet to fully cover bottom. Bake until sides have begun to pull away from muffin tin and centers of egg bites register 170 to 175 degrees, 24 to 28 minutes.
Transfer muffin tin to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Run plastic knife around edges of egg bites, if necessary, to loosen from muffin tin, then gently remove and serve. (Egg bites can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month [thaw overnight in refrigerator if frozen]. To reheat, microwave until warmed through, 30 to 45 seconds for 1 egg bite and 46 to 60 seconds for 2.)

Alright. This is the exact recipe from America's Test Kitchen, but I have to get real here. First, skip the boiling water in the baking sheet thing. No one does that. Also, 325 degrees is enough heat to make the raw eggs warm unless you want to bake these for an hour. Go 375 and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Next. Unless you love scrubbing burnt egg out of a muffin pan, you should use a silicone muffin pan and you can skip greasing it. If you get your silicone muffin pan from Amazon chances are it's (from China) slightly smaller than the standard metal ones. In which case you can keep the 12oz of cottage cheese, but you really only need around 8- 9 eggs.

Don't overthink measuring out the cheese, sundrieds, etc. Just drop a what you would think is a reasonable amount into each cup. If you have spinach or hot sauce or anything else you like with eggs you can throw that in there, too.

Overnight Oats

Cook Time: 5 minutes | Servings: Yield 2 cups

Ingredients:
½ cup old-fashioned oats
¼ cup dried fruit, cut into small pieces, if needed
1 tablespoon chia, flax, poppy or sesame seeds
1 cup milk or unsweetened dairy alternative, such as almond or oat milk
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Maple syrup, honey or brown sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped or sliced nuts, toasted, if desired

Directions:
Mix oats, dried fruit, seeds, milk and salt in a pint jar or 2-cup airtight resealable container. Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or up to 5 days.
Uncover, stir well, and taste. If you prefer more sweetness, stir in some sweetener. Top with the nuts just before eating.

I know you know how to make overnight oats. But now it's in an easy format to add to your shopping list.

10 Grain Muffins

Servings: Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup 10 Grain Hot Cereal
1-1/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Cane Sugar
1/3 cup Butter or Margarine (non-hydrogenated)
3 Tbsp Honey
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 cup Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix 10 Grain Cereal and milk together. Set aside and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Cream sugar, butter, honey and egg together. Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and milk/cereal blend.
Stir until just combined.
Spoon into greased muffin pan.
Bake for 15 minutes.

This is a great 20 minute muffin recipe that I got from the back of a Bobs Red Mill cereal bag, and you can do it any day of the week. I also use whatever hot cereal I have on hand. 10 grain, 7 grain, steel cut oats (soak these longer), rolled oats, cream of wheat, a mix of these, add chocolate chips, whatever. See above about silicone muffin pans (they are the way), but I can cram this entire recipe into a smaller silicone pan.

Dutch Baby

Cook Time: 40 minutes | Servings: Yield 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Syrup, preserves, confectioners' sugar or cinnamon sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar and nutmeg in a blender jar and blend until smooth. Batter may also be mixed by hand.
Place butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet or baking dish and place in the oven. As soon as the butter has melted (watch it so it does not burn) add the batter to the pan, return pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake five minutes longer.
Remove pancake from oven, cut into wedges and serve at once topped with syrup, preserves, confectioners' sugar or cinnamon sugar.

So, I have made maybe 200 dutch babies over the years for my kids, and I am going to tell you exactly how I do it.

First, I heat the oven to 425. Then I melt 2 or 3 tbs of butter in the microwave and set it by the stove. I then blend the ingredients with my immersion blender (I'm married. Sorry ladies.). A regular blender works too, but you'll get cement-like egg and flour putty stuck inside. But it's fine.

When the oven is close to 425, I heat up my cast iron skillet on the stove on high until it is smoking hot. Now comes the crucial part: I quickly dump the melted butter in the pan, quickly swirl it around and immediately dump the egg mixture in before the butter burns and takes on an unappetizing brownish black color. Then its into the oven for like 20ish minutes. Keep your eye on it.