Savory Breakfast Muffins (Makes 12)

The muffin craze continues at our house. This week I made another batch of Strawberry Shortcake Muffins (yes, they really are that good!). 

More muffins please!

I also came up this recipe for a savory breakfast muffin. They work just as well in a lunch box as they do for breakfast. 

This recipe is Henry-approved.

Ingredients

1 cup deli ham, diced (about 1/3 pound)

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup broccoli, chopped

2 Tablespoons green onion, diced

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup flour

1 cup 1-minute quick oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Savory Breakfast Muffins ready to bake.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dice the deli ham into ½-inch pieces or smaller. Place in a medium bowl.

Grate the cheese. Add the cheese to the bowl with the ham.

Rinse and finely chop the broccoli. Rinse and finely chop the green onion. Add the vegetables to the ham and cheese.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the egg, sour cream and applesauce.

Slowly stir in the flour to the egg mixture. Then add the oats, baking powder and baking soda.

Add the ham, cheese and vegetables to the muffin batter.

Scoop by large spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin.

Bake for 35 minutes, until they begin to brown at the edges. Serve warm.

Savory Breakfast Muffins fresh from the oven.

How your kids can help

• 2-year old: Stirring together the egg, sour cream and applesauce.
• 3-year old: Stirring in the flour to the egg mixture.
• 4-year old: Stirring the ham, cheese and vegetables into the muffin batter.
• 5-year old: Scooping large spoonfuls of muffin batter into the muffin tin.

Savory Breakfast Muffins and fresh strawberries to start the day.

Veggie Pizza Muffins (Makes 12)

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been in the mood to bake muffins lately. This week’s recipe is a savory muffin that tastes like pizza. I bet your little ones will like these as much as Henry.

Feel free to use other vegetable combinations in this recipe, such as black olive, bell pepper and mushroom.

This recipe is Henry-approved.

 Ingredients

1 cup kale, chopped

½ cup zucchini, grated

½ cup carrot or parsnip, grated

½ cup onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tablespoons fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 ½ cup Italian cheese, grated (I use a combination of Parmesan and Mozzarella)

½ cup tomato sauce

1 egg

1 ½ cup dry bread crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

Veggie Pizza Muffins ready to bake.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and chop the kale into small pieces. Rinse and grate the zucchini and carrot. Peel and dice the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Place all the veggies in a large mixing bowl. Add the basil, oregano and black pepper to the bowl.

Grate the cheese and add it to the bowl of veggies.

Stir in tomato sauce, egg, bread crumbs, and baking powder until all ingredients are well combined.

Scoop by large spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin.

Bake for 25 minutes, until they begin to brown at the edges. Serve warm.

Veggie Pizza Muffins hot from the oven.

Veggie Pizza Muffins served alongside turkey meatballs, pasta with mushrooms and a few fresh strawberries.

How your kids can help

• 2-year old: Adding the herbs to the bowl of veggies.
• 3-year old: Peeling the onion and garlic.
• 4-year old: Grating the zucchini.
• 5-year old: Grating the cheese.

Henry gobbled up these Veggie Pizza Muffins.

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins (Makes 12)

I have been baking a lot of muffins lately, both sweet and savory. This week I wanted to share one of our family’s new favorites, a muffin that tastes like strawberry shortcake. Daddy enjoyed these so much that he asked me to make another batch before we had even finished the first dozen.

This recipe is Henry-approved.

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries

½ cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup maple syrup or agave syrup

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups flour*

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

*You can use all-purpose white flour for this recipe. I like to replace ½ cup with whole wheat flower for a slightly denser muffin.

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins - delicious!

Directions

Soften the butter by letting it come to room temperature while you prepare the strawberries.

Rinse the strawberries and remove the stems. Cut the strawberries into large chunks. (For a standard size strawberry, I usually cut it into quarters. Small strawberries may only need to be halved.) Set the strawberries aside in a small bowl.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer on low speed to beat together the butter, syrup, eggs and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the baking powder, salt and flour.

With the electric mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in ½ cup increments until just combined. Blend in the yogurt.

Be careful not to over-blend the muffin batter.

Grease and flour a muffin tin using cooking spray and 1 Tablespoon flour. (Alternatively, you can also use cupcake papers, but these muffins tend to stick to the paper.)

Fill the muffin cups ½ full of batter. Place 4-5 strawberry pieces in each cup. Add another layer of batter. Top each muffin with one additional strawberry chunk.

Layer the batter and strawberries to prevent the berries from dissolving into the muffin batter.

Top each muffin with a beautiful red strawberry slice.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool before serving.

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins hot out of the oven.

How your kids can help

• 2-year old: Topping each muffin with a large strawberry slice.
• 3-year old: Placing 4 or 5 strawberry pieces on top of the first layer of muffin batter.
• 4-year old: Cutting the strawberries into large chunks.
• 5-year old: Slowly adding the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in ½ cup increments.

Enjoy Strawberry Shortcake Muffins for breakfast. We topped the muffins with a dallop of plain Greek yogurt and served them with orange slices.

Northwest Salmon Nibbles (Makes 12)

I’m back with another delicious dish using leftover rice. I was inspired to create this recipe with the locally smoked salmon that we found on opening day of a nearby farmers market. These salmon nibbles make a unique and healthy appetizer or side dish. I hope you enjoy them as much as our family.

This recipe is Henry-approved.

Ingredients

1 cup cauliflower, diced

¼ cup green onion, diced

1 cup apple, grated

1 cup Swiss cheese, grated

1 cup smoked salmon, flaked

1 cup cooked sticky rice

1 egg

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Northwest Salmon Nibbles hot from the oven.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and dice the cauliflower and green onion into small pieces.

Rinse and grate the apple.

Grate the Swiss cheese.

If you have a smoke salmon fillet, flake it into small pieces.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until well mixed.

Scoop by large spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin.

Bake for 30 minutes, until they begin to brown at the edges. Serve warm.

Northwest Salmon Nibbles served alongside tempura halibut and vegetables.

How your kids can help

• 2-year old: Stirring all the ingredients together.
• 3-year old: Scooping large spoonfuls of the salmon mixture into the muffin tin.
• 4-year old: Grating the Swiss cheese.
• 5-year old: Grating the apple.

Northwest Salmon Nibbles make a delicious appetizer.