Brunch Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on February 11, 2012

My mom had told me about this granola recipe after she made it in the fall. I thought I didn’t have the right oats because the original recipe calls for rolled oats and I only had old-fashioned oats. My mom assured me that old-fashioned oats would be fine. I finally got around to making it in January and I have made it several times since. This granola is amazing and healthier than most granolas because there is no oil and less sugar. For all of January, I had this granola with a few ounces of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt for breakfast. It was good enough to get me out of my warm bed every morning to get some more granola! I cut the original recipe in half just so it would stay fresher and it made about 6 servings (a rounded 1/2 cup.)
Pumpkin Granola

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Old Fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp.cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 and 1/8 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup of dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone non-stick mat. In a large mixing bowl mix in oats, spices and salt. Mix until combined. Next in another mixing bowl , whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, apple sauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract until smooth. Combine wet and dry ingredients until oats are coated evenly. Spread oats out on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir with spatula. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until granola is golden and crispy. Once removed from oven, mix in the dried cranberries. Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container.

Source- Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod originally adapted from Baking Bites

Weight Watchers PointsPlus- 5 PointsPlus for 1/6 of recipe (about a rounded half cup)

-K

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on February 2, 2012

One of the more frustrating things about cooking is having little odds and ends of extra ingredients that are leftover from other recipes. However, it’s a great feeling when you can take all those extras and whip them up into their own little recipe. Certain types of recipes are great at using up whatever ingredients you have around- stir-fries, soups, and one of my favorites- quiche. I had a bunch of extra ingredients from the past week of cooking taking up room in my fridge: leftover pie crust, green onions, a few slices of bacon, and two types of shredded cheese. Along with a few staples I usually have on hand (eggs, milk, and half & half), I came up with this quiche recipe.

Bacon & Green Onion Quiche

Ingredients:
-1 refrigerated pie crust (half of a 15-oz package)
-4-5 bacon slices, preferably applewood smoked bacon if you can find it
-3 green onions, chopped
-1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
-4 large eggs
-1/2 cup half & half
-3/4 cup milk
-1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Set the pie crust out and allow to warm up to room temperature. Meanwhile, put the bacon slices on a baking sheet and cook for 12-15 minutes until done. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Crumble the bacon once it has cooled.

Once the pie crust has reached room temperature, unfold and press crust into glass pie dish. Press foil onto the crust and cover with dried beans/rice so it holds it shape. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove foil and dried beans/rice. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs. Mix in Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped green onions, milk, half & half, and salt. Once crust has baked for the first 10 minutes, pour the egg mixture into the crust. Bake quiche for about 45 minutes (until a knife comes out clean). Let quiche stand 5 minutes before serving.

6 servings

Source: adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook: fast easy fresh

What recipes have you pulled together using leftover ingredients?

-m

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on January 27, 2011

This past weekend, we hosted a brunch and invited a few friends over who had not yet gotten a chance to meet Baby T yet. Since time has been at a premium lately with taking care of T, I bought a number of pre-made items from Whole Foods. Here was the menu:

Food:
-Whole Foods’ quiches- Quiche Lorraine and Asparagus & Gruyere Quiche (these are really good if you have not tried them!)
-Baked French Toast (thanks to twitter user LimoncelloSTYLE for the great recipe!)
–Bananas Foster Bread (from Cooking Light)
-Whole Foods 2 bite blueberry scones
-Greek yogurt, berries, and granola
-Aunt N’s salad (I’ll post this recipe soon!)
-Coffee cake from friend SM
-Pastries from Joseph’s Bakery thanks to friend LB
-Blueberry bread from friend LG

Beverages:
-Coffee
-Mimosas with Whole Foods’ fresh squeezed orange juice
-Bloody Mary’s (I like Mark Bittman’s recipe in his cookbook How To Cook Everything)
-Ice Water

Overall, I thought the event was a great success. Brunch is a pretty easy and casual event to host as I just put all the drinks and food out and everyone could mingle and grab food whenever they felt like it. It is also at a time where most people do not have prior plans and are able to attend. It was definitely a great way to catch up with a number of friends all at once and enjoy a great meal together on a Sunday morning!

-m

Posted by Meaghan Barry on March 6, 2010

Living in South Boston, we usually end up throwing a St. Patrick’s day party for the annual parade. Over the years, I’ve tried out serving different types of food for the event. I’ve never tried making corned beef and cabbage, as that sounds like a truly terrible dish to me. I like to stick with brunch ideas as the festivities usually start around 11 or 12 on a Sunday. Here are some ideas:

-Make-Your-Own Omelette Bar: This is pretty easy to put together. Gather a number of small bowls and fill them up with things that people might want to put in their omelette: mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, spinach, ham, shredded cheese, etc. Also, in a large bowl, crack a few cartons of eggs and whisk together a large batch of egg mix. Everyone can pick exactly what they want in their omelettes and everyone is happy.

-Breakfast Sandwiches: Cook a couple packages of bacon in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Put the bacon on paper towels to soak up the grease afterwards. Cut a couple packages of English muffins in half, put on a cookie sheet, and toast under the broiler. In the meanwhile, start cooking eggs sunny-side up. About 30 seconds before they are done, put a slice of cheese on top of each egg and allow to melt. Put one egg on each English muffin bottom, top with bacon and the other half of the English muffin.

-On the side, I like to make a large fruit salad and have a couple of pitchers of beverages. While most people stick to beer on St. Patty’s day, I like to make Bloody Mary’s and a sparkling pomegranate juice for the non-drinkers. In small cups, put limes, lemons, and celery for people to add to their drinks.

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

-m