Scrambling for Breakfast

When it’s cold outside, I tend to want something warm for breakfast.  Oatmeal is great and all, but I also like having more savory options.  For that, one of my favorite things is a scramble.  What’s a scramble?  Think omelet, but all mixed up.  I’m going to show you how to make everything you need ahead of time so you can throw it together in just a few minutes.  It’s more of a technique than an actual recipe.  Here’s what you have to ask yourself.  “What do I like in an omelet?”  For me, the answer is broccoli, zucchini, and ham. 

Your answer might be something completely different, and that’s ok.  Onion, bell pepper, spinach, mushrooms, bacon, chicken, sausage… you can use any combination of ingredients you like.  Just make sure any meat is cooked before you begin.  Then, just cut everything into little pieces.  I had about 2 cups each of the zucchini and broccoli, and maybe 1 ½ cups of the ham. 

In a pan, melt 1 Tablespoon of butter over medium heat. 

Add your veg. 

Sprinkle on ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Stir it all together and pop on the lid. 

Allow it to cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  You want the vegetables to just begin to soften and give off a bit of their liquid.  You don’t want them cooked all the way because they’re going to do a bit more cooking later.  Remove the lid and add the meat. 

Stir that in and turn off the heat.  Allow it to cool, and then separate it into individual portions.  Scoop out ½ cup of the mixture. 

Then just put it into a little zip top bag.  The snack size ones work great for this.  They’ll be fine in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, or in the freezer for probably a month or two. 

When you’re ready, you can pull them straight from either the fridge or freezer.  Butter a pan over medium heat and dump one in.  Place the lid on and give it a couple minutes to warm up.  When everything is nice and hot, pour in two scrambled eggs. 

Stir until the eggs are cooked.  For me, there is a fine line between cooked and overcooked.  My eggs cannot show the slightest sign of slime, nor can they be even remotely browned.  This is why I prefer scrambles over omelets.  It’s hard to get an omelet cooked all the way through and not browned at all on the outside. 

I like to add a little sprinkle of cheese.  Do this right at the end after you’ve turned off the heat.  Then just stir briefly and place on the lid.  Allow it to melt while you’re waiting for the toaster to do its thing. 

Serve with some whole wheat toast and a glass of fresh squeezed juice and you have a fabulous, (dare I say gourmet?) breakfast, and it took less than 10 minutes to make. 

What do you like in your omelet? 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ok, so ordinarily you expect the words oatmeal chocolate chip to be followed by the word cookies, but well, I went in a different direction with this one.  Although these pancakes are every bit as delicious as the cookie version, they are actually much healthier.  Where cookies are mostly sugar and butter, these are mostly whole grains, and only a little bit of sugar and fat.  Don’t get me wrong… I’m not trying to sell these as health food.  I’m simply saying it’s not like having cookies for breakfast.  It’s like having cookies for breakfast minus the guilt and the heartburn. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• Whatever other spices you like
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons oil 

See those flowers in the background on my table?  Hubby had a coworker over for dinner, and he brought those lovely roses for me.  How nice was that? 

Now, back to pancakes.  First up, throw all your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  They’re not in the picture, but throw in the oats and chocolate chips, as well.

Stir the together until everything is evenly distributed. 

Set that aside and move to the wet stuff.  Measure the buttermilk, then add the egg, vanilla, and oil. 

Whisk that together and pour it over the dry ingredients. 

Stir just until it all comes together, and you should have a nice, fairly thick, pancake batter. 

Heat a pan over medium heat (or if you’re using a griddle, set it for something like 300-350).  Wipe the pan with just a touch of butter, and pour on the batter. 

You’ll know they’re ready to flip when they’ve kind of puffed up and you have bubbles like this forming, and staying, around the edges. 

And hopefully you’re a better flipper than me, because wow.  Look at that mess.  Oh well, they’re still going to taste fabulous. 

I served mine with homemade coconut syrup.  I’ll share that recipe with you soon, but you can certainly just use maple, or honey, or just go naked. 

Just look at that fluffy, chocolaty goodness!