Breakfast

10 Jan 2013 No Comments

Lussebullar- Swedish Saffron Rolls

Saffron rolls web-1

Most Swedish food I don’t like. All the fish stuff? No thank you! But I have some Swedish foods that I absolutely love, including Swedish Meatballs and these Saffron Rolls, or Lussebullar in Swedish. I have been begging my mom to make these for me for years and she never has (they do take quite a bit of time to make). This year my littlest sister was having a Christmas party and my mom decided that she would make these. That’s right- she made them for my little sister but not for me! But there were a lot left over so I have been enjoying them for the past few days :)

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These Lussebullar are so good! They remind me of my childhood. If you like the taste of saffron, you will love these rolls. They’re soft, flavorful, and a little bit sweet. I love the raisins on top because they add a bit of sweetness. These rolls aren’t sweet like cinnamon rolls, but they’re definitely sweeter than just plain rolls and like I said before, the saffron adds a great flavor!

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I definitely recommend that you make these! They are one of my all-time favorite foods. I will admit that I have never made these by myself before, but I certainly have eaten them! I love them for breakfast or a snack!

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Lussebullar (Swedish Saffron Rolls) Recipe

Note: This recipe is a European recipe, but I’ve tried to convert the measurements

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1  gram saffron strands
50 g fresh yeast (I used 2 packets of dry, powdered yeast)
170 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp fine salt
about 1 kg plain flour (I weighed it out on the scale, but I believe it’s about 7 cups)
250 g (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 and ¼ sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, divided
raisins or dried cranberries

*extra sugar and softened butter* (We added some extra butter and sugar to make them sweeter- see directions, Option 2, below)

Directions:

  1. Heat milk in a small saucepan until steaming. Remove from the heat, add saffron threads and leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes. You’ll need to cool the milk to about 37-38 C (about 100 degrees F). When the milk is lukewarm, then crumble in the yeast and stir, until dissolved. (The dry yeast doesn’t need to dissolve, really. Just mix it in.)
  2. Add salt, sugar and about half of the flour. Stir until combined, then add the cream cheese, butter, ONE egg (lightly whisked), and then gradually knead in the rest of the flour. The final yeast dough should be soft and supple.
  3. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm room for 30-60 minutes, until doubled in size.
  4. Knead the dough gently and turn onto a lightly floured work surface.
  5. OPTION 1- Twist small amounts of dough (about the size of a large egg or a tennis ball, depending on whether you’re making small or larger buns). Roll each piece of dough into a long “sausage”, then twist it from both ends to form a letter S.
    OPTION 2, Sweeter Rolls- Roll the dough out pretty flat and cover it with extra butter and sugar. Then cut the dough into strips, twist the dough, and then create the S-shape rolls.
  6. Place the shaped buns onto a baking sheet that’s been covered with a parchment paper. Leave to rise for another 10-15 minutes, then press a raisin or a craisin into each end.
  7. Brush with an egg wash (an egg whisked with a spoonful of water).
  8. Bake in a pre-heated 425 F oven for 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown.
  9. Remove from the oven, transfer onto a metal rack to cool a little. If you want softer buns, then cover them with a clean tea towel when they’re cooling.
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by Amilia @justeverydayme in Baking, Breakfast, Christmas, Holiday/Seasonal Tags: , , , , , , ,

03 Jan 2013 5 Comments

Healthy Recipe Ideas

If you’ve spent any time at all on this blog, you may have noticed that most of the recipes I post are of the…unhealthy variety ;) I love baking somewhat crazy and delicious desserts. But I have seen a HUGE spike of people searching the blog for my healthier recipes (I’m assuming with the new year’s resolutions coming in) so I thought I would list some of my healthier recipes in one post so it would be more convenient for you guys!

Disclaimer: I’m a fan of eating healthy, but I also believe that fad diets and restrictive diets are pointless. Eating healthy is a day-to-day challenge and some days I do well and some days I don’t. But if you try telling yourself that you’re never going to eat a dessert again, it generally won’t work out well. I hope we can all do better at striving for balance, which means checking out these healthier recipes but also indulging a few times a week :)

*Anything labeled “Daniel Fast” is Vegetarian, Vegan, and Daniel-Fast approved* 

Also, for those of you interested in the Daniel Fast, I answered a lot of questions about it in THIS post :)

Healthy Breakfast and Snacks:

DF smoothie web

I love smoothies! They are so easy to make and very customizable. Depending on what you put in them, they can provide you with fruit, dairy, and protein to kick-start your day! I usually try to add some sort of fruit, yogurt or milk, and peanut butter :)

Daniel Fast Smoothies

Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Smoothie

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I also love breads and muffins! Here are two recipes that I have adjusted to make them much lighter than the usual muffin/quick-bread, but you really cannot tell the difference between these and their less-healthy counterparts.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Healthier Banana Bread

Zucchini Bread

Healthy Lunch and Dinner:

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These recipes are all ones that I love and think taste really good. I recently made Hot Spinach Dip again and was reminded of how good it is! And the Daniel-Fast approved Potato Wedges and Veggies is one of my all-time favorite meals!

How to Make White Rice

Salad with Maple Mustard Chicken Tenders

Hot Spinach Dip

Daniel Fast Chile

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Potato Wedges and Veggies

Daniel Fast Lettuce Wraps

Daniel Fast Taco Salad <- another really great one!

Daniel Fast Vegetable Soup

Desserts:

Cookie Dough Balls

Gigantic Peanut Butter Candy Cookie <- I included this one because it makes one cookie which lets you have dessert without too many leftovers!

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by Amilia @justeverydayme in Baking, Breakfast, Cooking, Daniel Fast, Dessert, Dinner, Fasting, Round-Up, Snack Tags: , , , , , , ,

05 Aug 2012 2 Comments

Zucchini Bread

A few days ago I posted my review of Brown Cow Cream Top Greek Yogurt (speaking of which, go over and enter to win the giveaway!). I knew I wanted to make some sort of quick-bread with the plain Greek Yogurt and decided on Zucchini bread. I had never even tasted Zucchini bread before, but I had a feeling I would love it. And I was right! Not only did I really like this bread, but my entire family did, too- we finished off pretty much the entire loaf the day I made it.

Because our oven is broken, I went over to my neighbors and made this at their house. While it was baking I watched the Olympics- I have absolutely loved watching them this past week. My favorite sports are gymnastics, swimming, and sprinting. I also love the equestrian events, but I haven’t seen any being aired! What are your favorite Olympic games to watch?

So anyway, back to this bread. My middle sister was worried because it had zucchini in it, but this doesn’t taste remotely healthy! It’s sweet, not dry, and the outside is nice and crisp. I love eating it heated with butter on it. I think this bread, as with most quick breads, gets better overnight, but I wouldn’t know since we ate it all ;)

I liked this bread enough that I am going to make it again tomorrow! I would definitely recommend it.

And finally, get on over to this post to win some delicious yogurt! The giveaway is open until August 18th.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini (you’ll end up with about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of zucchini once it has been shredded and wrung through a towel to rid of excess liquid)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used Brown Cow Plain Greek Yogurt)
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease the loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. Chop the very ends off the zucchini and finely shred it, peel and all. Place the shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel, wrap the towel, and wring the ends to squeeze out all the excess water. You should have about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of dry zucchini. Set the zucchini aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk the sugar, yogurt, eggs, sour cream, apple sauce, and butter until combined.
  4. Gently fold the yogurt mixture and zucchini into the flour mixture, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold the ingredients together until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
  5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 45-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then turn out into wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour. Store well-covered for up to three days.
Very slightly adapted from Mels Kitchen Cafe :)
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by Amilia @justeverydayme in Baking, Breakfast, Giveaway, Snack Tags: , , , , , ,

01 Aug 2012 20 Comments

Brown Cow Greek Yogurt Giveaway!

**I am excited to announce the winners of the Brown Cow Giveaway! The winners are comment #11, Elisabeth, and comment #14, Whitney! Congratulations to you both. I am emailing you so you can claim your prize! Thanks to everyone who entered!**

A few weeks ago I got an email from Brown Cow, asking me if I wanted to try their new Cream Top Greek Yogurt and blog about it. I was pretty excited about the opportunity to try a new product and share it with my readers. Now being completely honest, I have never been a huge fan of Greek yogurt. I really want to like it, but haven’t in the past. But I thought that I might as well try Brown Cow’s product!

I picked up the yogurt at my local Whole Foods and tried it as soon as I got home. The flavor I was most excited to try was the Maple. I was definitely not disappointed- it was really good! The cream top was my favorite part of the yogurt- it’s a thick layer at the top of the yogurt that is extra sweet. The Maple tasted just like maple and was perfectly sweet. My mom and I both agreed that we would buy the maple flavor in the store.

Next I tried the Blueberry. I didn’t read the container and didn’t realize that this was a fruit on the bottom yogurt and was expecting the actual yogurt to be blueberry flavored. I am not a huge fan of yogurts with fruit on the bottom- it just has a weird texture. I would much rather prefer a blueberry flavored Greek yogurt, with bits of blueberry mixed in. But it certainly didn’t taste bad, it’s just not my thing :)

And finally the vanilla. I wasn’t sure that I would like it because the vanilla Greek yogurt I’ve had before hasn’t been too great. But I actually really liked this! Again, the cream top was my favorite part but the entire thing was nicely flavored and was sweet enough for my crazy sweet tooth ;)

I tried the Plain yogurt (the one in the big container) and it was definitely not sweet enough for me to eat by itself. But I am planning on making some recipes with it, so stay tuned :)

So not only did I really like this Greek yogurt, but Brown Cow is humane certified. I love finding companies that treat animals well! My one main criticism of this yogurt was that the cream top was broken apart when I opened the yogurt cups so it didn’t look very pretty and made it a little harder to eat just the cream top…but it was still my favorite part of the yogurt! I can definitely see myself buying these at the store.

Brown Cow is inviting everyone to try their new Cream Top Greek yogurt! They are going to have free sampling events at every Whole Foods in the country on August 18th so you can try this product for free and get a $1 off coupon. In addition to that, 2 readers are going to win a weeks worth of free Brown Cow cream top yogurt!

How to Enter:

Required: Leave a comment on this post answering these questions- Are you a fan of Greek Yogurt? What flavor of Brown Cow Cream Top yogurt are you most excited to try?

Additional Optional entries (leave a separate comment for each thing):

-Like Just Everyday Me on Facebook.

-Subscribe to Just Everyday Me by email.

This giveaway will run until midnight (central standard time) on August 18th! 2 winners will be chosen at random and will be emailed on the 19th!

*I was given Brown Cow Greek Yogurt free of charge for this review, but my opinions are my own*

 

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by Amilia @justeverydayme in Breakfast, Giveaway, Snack

31 May 2012 1 Comment

Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

I got up yesterday morning and thought “hmm I’m going to make that stuffed french toast I saw the other day.” By the time I got downstairs, I was thinking “eh…maybe I’ll just have Coco Crispies.” And while Coco Crispies are a completely delicious cereal, I’m so glad I decided not to be lazy and made this french toast instead!

This Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast is really simple and we had all the stuff to make it on hand which is always a great thing.

I had just finished up making it and was about to eat when my littlest sister, Ella, came downstairs. After trying it, she loved it and so I shared my breakfast with her. When my middle sister, Celina, came downstairs, the first thing Ella did was brag that she got to have french toast. So then Celina pouted because she didn’t get any french toast.

Me: You weren’t awake to have any!

Celina: You didn’t make any extra!

Me: You didn’t ask to have any.

Celina: Well youu didn’t offer!

So what did I do? I made french toast for Celina. And then another piece for Ella because she wanted some more. I think I should get some sort of good-big-sister prize ;)

We all agreed that this was the best french toast ever and Ella asked to have it for her birthday and Christmas. This is honestly better than any french toast I’ve ever had at a restaurant, and it’s really easy and fun to make! You can customize it however you want, using different berries and toppings. I think that tomorrow for breakfast (or today for dinner) you should forgo your cereal and make this instead :)

Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast
.

Makes one serving, unless you’re feeling generous enough to share.

2 slices of bread (the drier the better)
About an ounce of cream cheese (I used whipped cream cheese spread)
2-3 strawberries
Sprinkle of sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons half and half (heavy cream and milk work, too)
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Butter/PAM for frying
Powdered sugar, whipped cream, maple syrup, and strawberries to garnish
.
Directions:
  1. Take out your 2 pieces of bread and lightly toast them to dry them out (if they weren’t already dry).
  2. Spread the cream cheese on one side of each slice of bread (you may have to microwave the cream cheese to get it soft enough if you’re not using the whipped spread).
  3. Thinly slice up the strawberries and put them on one side of the bread. Sprinkle a little bit of sugar on them.
  4. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg, half and half, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Soak the bread sandwich in the egg on both sides until it had soaked up all the mixture.
  5. Heat a pan on medium head and spray some Pam on it. Cook the french toast until it is browned on each side.
  6. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on the toast, pour on a ton of maple syrup, and serve it to your demanding sisters :)

Enjoy!

Source: Yammie’s Noshery <- Love her!

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by Amilia @justeverydayme in Breakfast, Dessert Tags: , ,

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