Brunch | Stephanie's Slice Of Life

Category: Brunch
- Oatmeal Bowls, This Is Not Your Mother’s Oatmeal
  
  Posted at 10:16 am by StephMo
  
  Apr 12th
  
  I may be dating myself by saying this, but when I was young we just had a bowl of oatmeal. Now the new trend is oatmeal bowls. So what is the difference between a bowl of oatmeal and an oatmeal bowl? Oatmeal bowls are focused more on packing lots of healthy ingredients and protein in with the oatmeal, it takes the bowl of yesteryear and makes it a superfood. It’s kind of funny actually, but I have to admit I am in on the trend and love the creativity with flavors and they just look pretty. I was unaware of this new trend until my daughter’s friend started an oatmeal Tiktok and I saw how delicious all of these combinations looked. If you are on Tiktok you should take a peak at case1y, I think I am going to try one of her mocha bowls soon.
  
  My mother would make oatmeal with a little milk, a pat of butter, and maybe some raisins. Or she would make Maypo, does anyone remember that and does it still exist? I’ll have to check that out after I’m done with this. While I do still make those comforting bowls of oatmeal, minus the butter, I have been having a little fun creating some healthy bowls packed with protein as well.
  
  So how do you make an oatmeal bowl? First you make oatmeal just as you normally would, the steel cut version of oats is the best as far as healthy goes. You combine 1/2 cup of oats with 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for about 5 minutes and it is done. Then just add whatever fruits you like. You can add granola, chia, honey, nuts, there are so many different options.
  
  One of my favorite bowls is this one. I added hemp, flax, unsweetened coconut, strawberries, blueberries, and these delicious dark chocolate covered pumpkin seeds.
  
  Personally if I am going to have oatmeal for breakfast I would rather a plain old bowl of oatmeal. These bowls can be a little much for breakfast in my opinion, but perfect for lunch or dinner.
  
  One night I had one for dinner and amped it up a little bit with apple, peanut butter, flax, hemp, cinnamon, and pumpkin seeds. It was actually very filling and satisfying for dinner.
  
  I made this one for my son recently and he asked if he was allowed to stir it together or had to eat it as it was lol. His had almond butter, sweetened coconut, blueberries, flax, and cinnamon. I think he prefers a regular old bowl of oatmeal, however.
  
  You can even use oatmeal bowls to let your inner child come out 😛
  
  I love oatmeal, and as my mother used to say it “sticks to your ribs”. Enjoy!
  
  Posted in Brunch, Oatmeal Bowls, Recipes | Tagged food blog, food blogger, healthy foods, oatmeal, oatmeal bowl, oatmeal bowls, stephanie's slice of life
- French Toast
  
  Posted at 3:04 pm by StephMo
  
  Oct 13th
  
  French toast is such a delicious breakfast treat that is quite easy to make. It can be made with just about any type of bread, but a thicker slice of bread is preferable. I like to use a thick Texas Toast or my favorite is Challah bread.
  
  This is one of those recipes that I have been doing for years and don’t measure the ingredients. While making it this morning I tried to pay attention as best I could to the amounts I was using but nothing was measured.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  Bread, thick sliced
  
  Eggs
  
  Milk
  
  Salt
  
  Sugar
  
  Vanilla
  
  Slice some nice bread into thick slices. The bread I used today was a Brioche I believe. My favorite bread for French Toast is Challah, but this was the closest I could find.
  
  For two slices of french toast you can use 1 egg, for four slices just double the recipe, etc. Today I was only making two slices so I used 1 egg.
  
  Lightly beat an egg in a shallow bowl. Add an equal amount of milk, which means you have to eyeball it and it won’t be exact.
  
  Add a splash of vanilla – maybe a 1/2 tsp, a dash of salt, and a little sugar. Mix well.
  
  Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Dip both sides of the bread into the egg mixture and place in the hot pan.
  
  Cook for approximately 4 minutes per side while checking after about 2 minutes to make sure it isn’t browning too quickly. The bread needs to cook through and if the heat is too high it will brown the outside before the inside egg is cooked. If it is browning too quickly just turn down the heat. You can also flip the bread if this is happening and cook longer on a lower heat.
  
  Also pat the bread lightly with a spatula occasionaly while cooking.
  
  That’s it! Just add a little butter, syrup, or powdered sugar. I had a very happy son this morning.
  
  Here is some French Toast I made a little while ago on Challah bread, so good!
  
  Posted in Brunch, Recipes | Tagged breakfast ideas, breakfast recipes, brunch ideas, challah french toast, challah french toast recipe, easy french toast, easy french toast recipe, food blog, food blogger, french toast, french toast recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
  
  Posted at 10:07 am by StephMo
  
  Oct 6th
  
  Yesterday was not supposed to be a day where Blueberry Muffins would be baking in my kitchen, but low and behold they were. While I didn’t technically bake these muffins, I wanted to share the recipe anyway. As some of you may know I already have a favorite recipe for Blueberry Muffins (separate Blog post) and once I get a favorite, I don’t stray. However, after trying these muffins I may have to conduct my own “bake off” some day to see which I prefer because these were really good.
  
  So yesterday as I was polishing silver in my kitchen my son very casually walked in to the room carrying his open computer while in the midst of his Zoom cooking class and said, “I guess we’re cooking today and making Blueberry Muffins, I didn’t know”. If you have children you may also have some of these kinds of children that never know and it’s never their fault.
  
  Once I confirmed his computer was on mute, I made it clear how I felt about his not knowing while I ran around my kitchen avoiding his computer’s camera and softened butter, defrosted frozen blueberries, got the ingredients, bowls, measuring cups, etc. I probably should have let him suffer the consequences and have this being a learning moment, but instead he ended up being the most prepared student in the class with an avid baking mother sitting at the table coaching him.
  
  I have looked on-line and there seems to be many slight variations of the famous Jordan Marsh muffins and I am not sure if this recipe is “the recipe”. I am also writing the instructions from memory of what I observed and coached. I also have to say I have never tried a Jordan Marsh muffin, my mother and I were strictly Filene’s shoppers 😛
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  
  1 cup sugar
  
  2 eggs, lightly beaten
  
  2 cups flour
  
  2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  1/2 cup milk
  
  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
  1 1/2 cups blueberries
  
  In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
  
  In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.
  
  Combine the vanilla with the milk, and alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk mixture into the butter mixture.
  
  The recipe recommended mashing some of the blueberries before adding to the muffin mixture, but we just added them un-mashed.
  
  Fill either a greased or paper lined muffin tin 2/3 way full with batter. Sprinkle tops with sugar if desired.
  
  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
  
  Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
  
  Posted in Brunch, Muffins, Recipes | Tagged blueberry muffin recipe, blueberry muffins, breakfast recipes, brunch, brunch recipes, food blog, food blogger, jordan marsh blueberry muffins, muffin recipe, muffins
- Chocolate Waffles
  
  Posted at 10:55 am by StephMo
  
  Sep 16th
  
  What is better than a thick, warm, waffle? How about a thick, warm, chocolate waffle! So delicious and decadent. Chocolate waffles make a perfect dessert treat with some ice cream, but today they were a special breakfast treat for my son. I thought I had some strawberries in the house to top them with to make it seem somewhat healthy, but I’ll just have to get some fruit into him later.
  
  Waffles might seem like a difficult thing to make, but they are actually quite easy. The only reason I don’t make them more often is because I have to go get the waffle maker from “down cellah” as us Bostonians say.
  
  So let’s make waffles!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 1/2 cups flour
  
  3 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  
  1 cup milk
  
  2 large eggs
  
  4 tbsp. butter, melted
  
  mini chocolate chips, optional
  
  Sift together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. As I always say, make sure to sift when using cocoa powder because it really makes a difference.
  
  Whisk in the milk, eggs, and melted butter until smooth.
  
  I added a few mini chocolate chips because that’s how I roll. Honestly, when are chocolate chips ever a bad thing? Right?
  
  Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and heat per the manufacturer’s instructions.
  
  Once heated, ladle the batter into the iron and let cook for about 4 minutes. I used a fork to remove them.
  
  I spread the batter out a little more for my second batch.
  
  Serve warm with fruit, ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, or whatever you like. Yum, yum, yum!!
  
  Posted in Brunch, Chocolate Waffles, Recipes | Tagged brunch recipes, chocolate waffle, chocolate waffle recipe, chocolate waffles, dessert waffles, food blog, stephanie's slice of life, waffle recipe, waffles
- Baked French Toast
  
  Posted at 11:31 am by StephMo
  
  Apr 13th
  
  This baked french toast will be your “go to” brunch recipe from the moment you taste it. I started making this years ago for Easter brunch, and it has become a dish that my family looks forward to all year. It has become such an awaited favorite that I am pretty sure I would be disowned if I ever were to decide to make something else. No joke, it’s that good.
  
  This recipe makes enough for a large and a small glass baking dish of french toast. Since this year it was only the four of us, I started to just prepare one dish and the evil stares I received from my children made me quickly realize that was a bad idea. I guess if you wait 365 days for something, you want as much as you can get. A few days extra of this yummy treat for breakfast was a small price to pay for my children’s happiness.
  
  To make your new brunch favorite you need:
  
  2 large French breads
  
  8 eggs
  
  2 cups of milk
  
  1 1/2 cups half and half
  
  2 tsp. vanilla
  
  1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  
  3/4 cup butter
  
  1 1/3 cups brown sugar
  
  3 tbsp. light corn syrup
  
  Butter a large and a small glass baking dish. Cut the french bread into 1″ – 1/2 ” pieces and arrange in the baking dishes.
  
  Whisk together eggs, milk, half and half, cinnamon and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
  
  Ladle over the bread ensuring that every piece is covered.
  
  Cover and refrigerate overnight so the egg mixture can absorb into the bread.
  
  The next day combine the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan over low/medium heat until everything is melted.
  
  Spread the mixture on the french toast until evenly coated. I never use it all, but that is up to you.
  
  Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, sometimes longer, until the egg is fully cooked. You may need to cover with aluminum foil near the end to prevent excessive browining.
  
  Absolutely delicious! You will see why my family counts down the days until I make this french toast again.
  
  Posted in Baked French Toast, Brunch, Recipes, Uncategorized | Tagged baked french toast, baked french toast recipe, brunch, brunch recipes, food blog, food blogger, french toast, french toast recipe, make ahead french toast, make ahead meals
- Pumpkin Pancakes
  
  Posted at 3:22 pm by StephMo
  
  Feb 25th
  
  My family loves pumpkin pancakes all year round, and not just in the Fall. These pancakes are one of our favorite pumpkin foods other than my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Have you tried making that bread yet? If not, make sure to take a look at that blog after you read this one. It’s so good! This pancake recipe is so amazing and requested quite often by my children with no complaints by me.
  
  My family is split down the middle in regards to whether or not there needs to be chocolate chips in the pancakes, so I always make half with chips and half without chips.
  
  Here is what you need to make these yummy pancakes…
  
  Ingredients:
  
  2 cups flour
  
  3 tbsp. brown sugar
  
  2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 tsp. baking soda
  
  1 tsp. cinnamon
  
  1 tsp. ground allspice
  
  1/2 tsp. ginger
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  1 1/2 cups milk
  
  1 cup canned pumpkin
  
  1 egg
  
  2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  
  2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  
  Mini chocolate chips
  
  Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.
  
  In a separate large mixing bowl combine all the rest of the ingredients, except chocolate chips, with a whisk.
  
  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until well mixed, the batter will be thick.
  
  Heat a frying pan on medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
  
  Ladle the batter into the heated pan and flip when the bottom turns slightly brown. These pancakes don’t really bubble like other pancakes will, so you kind of have to get used to when they are ready.
  
  If you are using chocolate chips, just sprinkle them on right after you ladle the batter into the pan. The thickness of the batter requires they cook a little longer than regular pancakes.
  
  Once they are finished you will have trouble trying to stop eating them. Yum!
  
  Posted in Brunch, Pumpkin Pancakes, Recipes | Tagged food blog, food blogger, pancakes, pancakes recipe, pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pancakes recipe
- Homemade Waffles
  
  Posted at 4:00 pm by StephMo
  
  Feb 17th
  
  There is nothing like a thick, soft homemade waffle, and a waffle iron is not a bad appliance to have in the house. They are not only great for breakfast with syrup and butter, or with strawberries and whipped cream, but make a perfect dessert sundae! One of my children’s favorite ice cream places is a waffle sundae shop, and since I was making chicken and waffles for dinner I decided to make a few extra for a treat for the next day.
  
  My son loved his treat, who wouldn’t?
  
  I have made chocolate waffles in the past for ice cream sundaes, but I stuck with regular waffles this time. Especially because chicken doesn’t really go well with chocolate waffles. Here is a picture I had taken of the chocolate waffle and it looks so good that I think I need to make these again soon.
  
  I have also made gingerbread waffles from a Stonewall Kitchen waffle mix which was quite good.
  
  Ok, I am digressing and getting very hungry, let’s get back to the waffles I am currently blogging about.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  2 1/2 cups flour
  
  4 tbsp. sugar
  
  2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  3 eggs
  
  2 cups milk
  
  Cooking spray
  
  Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  
  In a small bowl beat the egg yolks. Add the milk, and then add egg milk mixture to dry ingredients.
  
  In another small bowl beat the egg whites until foamy, and then add them to the other mixture.
  
  Heat your waffle maker and cook waffles per the instructions. Mine cooked for about 3 minutes.
  
  Serve them warm and enjoy!
  
  Posted in Brunch, Recipes, Sweet Treats, Waffles | Tagged food blog, food blogger, homemade waffles, how to make waffles, waffle maker, waffle recipe, waffle sundae, waffles
- Easy Cheesy Grits
  
  Posted at 1:32 pm by StephMo
  
  Feb 11th
  
  Lately I seem to be making and craving lots of Southern food and I’m not exactly sure what is prompting this. I guess because it’s yummy? Seems like as good of a reason as any. Grits are not something I ever had growing up, and I think I only tried them a few years ago. I honestly had no idea what grits even were, which I found out are ground dried corn. Oddly grits were available to me two separate times over the last month, and it made me want to try making them.
  
  When I went to purchase grits I had to stop and think about whether to buy quick cook grits or regular grits. Then I remembered the line in the movie My Cousin Vinny, “No self respecting Southerner uses instant grits”, so regular grits it was. Good thing I have all this impressive knowledge readily available in my brain.
  
  In addition to all of this Southern food I’ve been making, I also really want to start saying “y’all”. I’m not sure how that would mix with my Boston accent though, “y’all gonna pahk ya cah or what”. I think I may just need to stick to the food and not the slang.
  
  So, how do you make grits? Well, I looked on-line at a bunch of different recipes and decided on my own way. Here’s what you need to make my version:
  
  1 cup of grits (not quick cook!)
  
  4 cups of milk
  
  salt
  
  1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
  1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
  
  pepper
  
  1 tbsp. butter
  
  Splash of cream
  
  Bring 4 cups of milk to a boil while being careful not to burn the milk. Add a dash of salt to the milk. Whisk in the grits. Turn the heat down to low and simmer covered for 15 minutes.
  
  After 15 minutes uncover and whisk well. If the liquid isn’t absorbed cook for a few more minutes.
  
  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. I used about an 1/8 tsp. of pepper to start, and then added a tiny bit more after I tasted them.
  
  And that is all y’all need to do to make cheesy grits! Yum!
  
  Posted in Cheesy Grits, Comfort Food, Recipes | Tagged cheese grits, cheese grits recipe, cheesy grits, cheesy grits recipe, food blog, food blogger, grits, grits recipe
- Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
  
  Posted at 12:58 pm by StephMo
  
  Feb 2nd
  
  What better recipe to follow up my biscuit recipe, than a biscuits and gravy recipe! For some reason when it is just my children and I home for dinner we almost always have breakfast for dinner. I love breakfast for dinner, don’t you? For some reason it just tastes better. That could be because I hardly ever make anything other than cereal or bagels for breakfast, at least during the week, and a big home cooked breakfast is such a nice treat.
  
  So, last night we decided on one of our absolute favorites, biscuits and gravy. Pumpkin or regular pancakes are usually our choice when we have breakfast for dinner, but we decided to treat ourselves to something healthier, not! But it’s ok to treat yourself every once and awhile.
  
  I had never even heard about biscuits and gravy until a few years ago, and it has been a family favorite ever since. Biscuits, of course, but never with sausage gravy.
  
  The first step is to get yourself some biscuits. If you haven’t already seen my biscuit blog, the link is at the bottom of this blog. Once you’ve made your biscuits, then it is time to make the gravy.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 lb. breakfast sausage
  
  1/3 cup flour
  
  4 cups of milk
  
  1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
  
  1/2 tsp. pepper
  
  Brown sausage in a frying pan until it is no longer pink. Personally I like to use the tubes, I think you would call them tubes, of either Jones or Jimmy Dean sausage. They have a seasoning in them that really adds to the flavor of the meal.
  
  Add flour to the sausage in small increments and mix well until it is really incorporated into the sausage. Cook for a minute or so.
  
  Add milk and stir well.
  
  Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until it thickens. Stir and scrape the pan frequently.
  
  Once it thickens add seasoned salt and pepper, stir well and cook for a few more minutes on low heat.
  
  Serve over biscuits! As promised, here is the link for my homemade biscuit recipe.
  
  https://stephaniessliceoflife.com/2020/02/01/butter-my-biscuits-easy-biscuit-recipe/
  
  Posted in Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Brunch, Dinners, Recipes | Tagged biscuits, biscuits and gravy, biscuits and sausage gravy, biscuits recipe, easy biscuit recipe, food blogger, homemade biscuits
- Spinach Sausage Strata
  
  Posted at 10:45 am by StephMo
  
  Dec 14th
  
  Who doesn’t love a meal that you can put together whenever you want, and then just pop in the oven at dinner time. I don’t know about you, but for me dinner time is always when I have the least time, or I’m just the most tired. Life has slowed down somewhat now that my children are getting older, but this recipe was great during the crazy car pooling or sports days. Even though a strata is a perfect brunch dish, I make this for dinner along with a salad. It makes a ton, and freezes well for another night’s dinner.
  
  The nice thing about a strata is that you can pretty much put whatever you want in it. You can add mushrooms, or use different vegetables instead of the spinach. This is the recipe that I enjoy making (and eating) and I hope you will enjoy it as well.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  Loaf of French bread (cut into cubes)
  
  Package of Jones or Jimmy Dean sausage
  
  Fresh spinach
  
  1 cup shredded cheese
  
  A dozen eggs
  
  2 1/2 cups milk or half and half
  
  Salt, pepper, and dried oregano
  
  Cook sausage in a frying pan until it is no longer pink. I like to drain the grease on paper towels while I am preparing the other ingredients.
  
  In the same pan I saute a bunch of fresh spinach. I’m not exactly sure how much I use, I guess as much as I can fit in the pan because it cooks down so much. I probably should have used a larger pan because it didn’t yield much cooked spinach.
  
  Once the sausage and spinach are both cooked, you can start putting the strata together. Grease a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish with cooking spray and use half of the bread, sausage, spinach, and cheese for the first layer, then repeat the ingredients for a second layer ending with the cheese. I used 2% Mexican cheese in this strata, but you can use whatever cheese you prefer.
  
  Once the layers are complete, beat a dozen eggs with 2 1/2 cups of milk, salt, pepper, and dried oregano. I use about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of each spice, it all depends on how much seasoning you prefer. Sometimes I might use some half and half in place of the milk. This time I used 2 cups of 1% milk, and 1/2 cup of half and half. If you would rather it fattened up a bit, use all half and half.
  
  Once your egg mixture is beaten, slowly pour it into the glass dish making sure to cover every bit. Since I tend to make a mess, I use a ladle.
  
  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Overnight is best, but at least a few hours. When you are ready to put it in the oven, remove the plastic wrap and cover with aluminum foil for about the first 35-40 minutes of baking at 350 degrees. Remove the foil and cook about another 10 minutes or until it starts to brown.
  
  Posted in Brunch, Dinners, Recipes, Spinach Sausage Strata | Tagged brunch recipe, food blog, food blogger, make ahead dinners, recipe blog, sausage strata, spinach sausage strata, spinach strata, strata, strata recipe
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