Endless Ideas For Breakfast

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Ok, I know that not everyone drinks coffee. But all of us normal people can't get enough of the stuff!

I like my coffee pretty much the same way every morning - nice and hot, with lots of cream and sugar. Although fancy lattes are pretty good and I love a white mocha every once in a while, who has $3-5 to blow at the coffee shop every day?

Here's a fun idea for a way to change up your typical caffeine intake. It's good for special occasions or if it's really hot outside. Make a frappe (iced blended coffee drink.)

Here is a delicious frappe recipe that you can make at home:
Espresso Frappe

Fruit smoothie are the BEST! Obviously they're not a meal all by themselves, but they go really well with pretty much anything else you have for breakfast. Not only are they delicious but they are outrageously healthy, too. I usually make a smoothie with breakfast every day.

The beautiful thing about smoothies is that you can make them with whatever you have in your fridge.

Here are some tips for making the best smoothies (from a homemade smoothie expert - everyone who tries my smoothies loves them)

- Frozen fruit makes a better smoothie than fresh fruit. It makes it colder, icier, and gives it a thicker consistency. You can always make it thinner with more liquid if that's how you like it (I personally prefer a nice thick smoothie) but you can't thicken up a runny smoothie unless you add frozen fruit or ice. So start with frozen fruit if you can. What's nice about frozen fruit is you can keep it in your freezer forever and it never goes bad, where as fresh fruit has just a day or two of optimum ripeness.
- Be aware of which fruits have seeds. Unless you are a seed-lover, chances are you will probably want a smoothie with less seeds or none at all. Strawberries and blackberries have seeds. They are delicious, but if you add too many of them, the amount of seeds can be overwhelming. Balance it out with blueberries, papayas, mangoes, pineapple, and other seedless fruits or leave the seedy fruits out altogether. Unless of course you don't mind. Then have at it!
- Add a banana or yogurt (or both) to your smoothie. It gives the smoothie a better consistency and will prevent it from separating right away like some smoothies do. Plus they taste good and are really good for you!
- Ideally the mixture should include all of the following: frozen fruit, a banana and/or yogurt, and fresh juice or iced tea.
- To get the perfect consistency: Start with all of your frozen fruit and banana and yogurt mixture. Add a fair amount of juice, but don't fill it too full. If it doesn't blend, add a little more juice. Continue adding juice in small increments (about 1/4c at a time) until it begins to blend evenly. Don't add any more if you like a thick smoothie. If you want to thin it out a bit, add a little more juice until its just right. I recommend letting it blend for 1-2 minutes and pulsing it a few times just to make sure you get all those chunks of unblended fruit out.

If you're worried about just winging it, here are some excellent fruit smoothie recipes:
Tropical Fruit Smoothie
Papaya Banana Smoothie
Orange Banana Smoothie
Sunrise Smoothie

I absolutely love fresh fruit in the morning! It's so good, and "good for you - good for you" (as Christopher Walken would say.)

Any fresh fruit can be tossed in a bowl to make a yummy & healthy way to start your day - grapes, blueberries, strawberries, mango, banana, apple, peaches, oranges, pineapple, plums, pears, whatever you have!

Eat it plain or drizzle a little lemon juice, yogurt or condensed milk over the top and mix it all up. Heaven!

I love eggs - they are egg-cellent! More often than not my breakfast includes them in some way. There are so many ways to make them. Here are some wonderful egg-citing possibilities!

- Scrambled
- Over easy
- Over hard
- Sunny side up
- Poached
- Hard boiled
- Soft boiled
- Shirred
- Basted
- Steam basted
- Fried
- Deviled
- Coddled

And of course, don't forget all of our favorite egg-featured breakfast dishes:

- Omelette
- Frittata
- Breakfast Pie
- Eggs Benedict
- Eggs on Toast
- Steak and Eggs
- Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs

Check out this cool lens on cooking eggs by a restaurant professional:
How To Cook Eggs

This is one of those favorites that we just can't get enough of! Basically you take two halves of an english muffin, put bacon or ham on them, then put poached eggs on that and top it all of with hollandaise sauce.

Please excuse my drooling.

If you love this wonderful dish, be sure to try some of these fun variations:

- Eggs Florentine: Instead of meat, use spinach.
- Eggs Blackstone: Add a slice of tomato.
- Eggs Royale: Use salmon instead of ham or bacon.
- Irish Benedict: Use corned beef instead of ham or bacon.

Frittatas are absolutely delicious and you can make them with whatever is in your kitchen.

I could go into all of the details but there are some really wonderful resources out there from people who explain it better than I do. :) So here is a really cool site describes in great detail... How to Make a Frittata. There is also a video below you can watch.

I love this simple dish! It takes about 45-50 minutes to make but is very tasty and you can throw in whatever you have in the fridge.

You will need a glass pie pan and the following ingredients:

1/2 c. bisquick
1 c. milk
2 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. whisk ingredients together in a bowl. Grease a small pie pan (glass works best but you can use whatever) and make an even layer on the bottom of whatever ingredients you want - cubed ham or crumbled bacon, grated cheese, mushrooms, peppers, onion, fresh herbs (I like to cook the onions first but it just depends on your taste). Pour the thin batter over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

My favorite combination is is bacon, sage, onion, and cheese.

Tips:
- If you don't have bisquick you can substitute 1/2 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp oil
- If you want to make a higher volume, don't double the batch and cook it in a bigger pan. It won't cook through the middle. Make multiple pies.

There are a lot of different ways to get your grains in the AM.

The Simplest Versions
- Toast
- Bagels
- Biscuits
- English Muffins
- Muffins
- Scones
- Banana Bread
- Croissants
- Rolls

And Of Course, the Sweet Versions
- Strudel
- Coffee Cake
- Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Doughnuts
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Pastries and Danishes

There are hundreds of variations of these classic breakfast breads. I could list recipes or thoughts but I think you can probably take it from here. :) Sometimes it's just the reminder of the possibilities that makes you think of what Grandma used to cook every Sunday morning...

I love meat in the morning. Okay I'm sorry, I can't say that without it sounding totally wrong. Especially with the picture. But the damage is done... you know what I mean!

- Sausage
- Bacon
- Ham
- Steak (I heart Steak and Eggs!)
- Chicken (Excellent in Scrambled Eggs)
- Chorizo

I can't leave out this time old classic! This is one of my favorite breakfast dishes, and not one that usually comes to mind when most people think of that first meal of the day. The key to making good gravy is using yummy meat (sausage or ham) and adding just the right balance of other ingredients.

This is my favorite gravy recipe!

3/4 cup diced sausage or ham
2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup beef or chicken broth
Splash of worcestershire sauce
Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley
2 TBSP flour

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and simmer the meat in it for a couple of minutes. Add all of the other ingredients except for the flour. Stir until completely mixed and hot and simmering. Let it cook for a few minutes then sift the flour into the mixture. Let simmer for another minute and then remove from heat. Pour over your favorite biscuits. To die for!

Ohh, the breakfast sandwich! So simple, so versatile, and so yummmmmy!

- Start with toast, biscuits, an english muffin, or a bagel.
- Add eggs.
- Add bacon or ham or a sausage patty.
- Don't forget CHEESE!
- Add anything else you want... spinach, tomato, mushrooms, onion, peppers... the possibilities are limited only by your palate!

Another versatile dish that is very accommodating to the contents of your fridge. This is one of boyfriend's favorites. :)

All you need are tortillas, eggs, meat, cheese, and any number of other ingredients... tomatoes, spinach or lettuce, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, beans, rice, salsa, avocado, you make it up! Go wild.

I can never get enough of breakfast potatoes. Topped with ketchup... aahhhhh *dies*

You can buy hash browns at the grocery store and fry them up yourself. Or (for a healthier version) you can simply take potatoes and slice them in thin fry-size strips and fry them on low heat in a frying pan with a little butter and/or oil. Don't forget to season them salt, pepper, and garlic powder on top. They take a little extra time to cook but man are they worth it!

Yes, they really have their own section. Why? Because tomatoes are just. so. good. And they are one of my favorite things to add to any breakfast plate. Sometimes I'll make scrambled eggs and put sliced fresh tomato (salted of course) on the side. *Mwah!* Delicioso!

Another one of my favorite things to do is take the hot pan that I just cooked eggs in and take a bunch of fresh salted tomato slices and drop them in for about 20-30 seconds on each side, just so they are hot and slightly melty. They are great by themselves or on top of eggs.

My boyfriend's favorite thing ever (and actually my best friend's, too) is cottage cheese and tomato. Okay, I know it might sound really simple, but I dare you to try it and not love it. Just dice up a tomato, toss it into a bowl of cream cheese, add salt and mix it up. It's so good that sometimes I just eat it as a snack. But it makes a great side dish on a breakfast plate too.

Warm, gooey pancakes lathered in hot melty butter and sticky maple syrup... is there anything better? Probably not. But if you love pancakes and are tired of them always being the same, try tossing some blueberries or banana slices into your favorite pancake batter before it hits the hot griddle. There are so many pancake variations that you will never run out of ideas! Here just a few fun ones just to get you started...

Almond Pancakes
Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

I have to admit, I think I like waffles just a little more than pancakes! :) But it's a pretty close race. It all depends on the pancake and the waffle.

Store-bought waffles aren't too shabby, but nothing beats a truly delicious homemade waffle! Bigger, fluffier, gooier, and you can make them any way you want! The only downside is, you have to have a waffle iron to make waffles. So if you are a waffle lover, you might want to invest in a waffle iron. There are a lot of different kinds and I'm sure you will be able to find one that fits your budget. And once you have one, you can make your own waffles forever! :D

Mmmm... french toast. So simple. So good.

Pre-heat a griddle so it's nice and hot. Beat an egg or two together with some milk. Add seasonings like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. When it's nice and smooth, dip a piece of bread in until it's totally coated (but be careful - too long and it will get soggy!) Put a little tab of butter on the griddle to keep the french toast from sticking, and then lay your soaked bread on top. Cook until golden brown on bottom, then flip and cook until it's cooked all the way through. Put on a plate and eat while it's still warm! Top with butter, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. Or whatever you want!

There are so many different types of cereal, and they can all be a great addition to a meal or simply good just by themselves!

- Sugar
- Whole Grain
- Bran
- Granola

And don't forget the hot cereals!

- Oatmeal
- Grits
- Cream of Wheat
- Cream of Rice
- Multigrain