Fruit, Cereal, & Yogurt Parfait

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Fruit, Cereal, and Yogurt Parfait

With three little boys, I’ve got a rowdy bunch in the morning that is always hungry. We do eggs and toast alot – but bowls of cereal and yogurt and fruit are our main staples for breakfast during the summertime.

This super-easy and tasty parfait combines the best of both worlds. I used Honeycomb cereal, as it’s always been one of our favorites. I love the sweet crunch, and it’s a refreshing twist to granola that the little ones really enjoy.

Layered with honey-flavored yogurt, and fresh seasonal fruit – it’s a quick and easy breakfast that can’t be beat!

Fruit, Cereal, & Yogurt Parfait

1 cup honey or vanilla flavored yogurt
1 cup Honeycomb cereal, crushed
1 cup blackberries
1 cup nectarines, peeled and roughly chopped
honey, for drizzling
fresh mint, for garnish

In a sundae glass or mason jar, place a few blackberries and nectarines in the bottom. Sprinkle with a small handful of the crushed cereal. Then add a hefty dollop of yogurt.

Repeat layer again. Then top with additional fresh fruit and crushed cereal.

A drizzle of honey and a sprig of mint for garnish, if desired.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Post Honeycomb Cereal. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

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Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Have you guys been taking advantage of all the glorious blueberries that are in season right now? I need to make some time for a trip up to our local pick-your-own-blueberry place soon. We’ve also got our Chincoteague Blueberry Festival coming up in the next couple weeks. We always make a “girls trip” of it with my best friend and her daughter.

It’s not very big in terms of most folks idea of a festival, but there’s always lots of unique vendors and great blueberry-centric things to try. Not to mention a blueberry vendor from New Jersey that sells them by the box. I usually buy one and freeze half of the berries, and then we brew a blueberry beer with the other half. Good stuff!

So, this coffee cake. Tender, moist cake is studded with juicy fresh blueberries and chunks of cream cheese throughout, then topped with a delicious crumble topping that is the signature of any good coffee cake. I’d imagine it would also be wonderful with raspberries or strawberries as well. Perfect for any breakfast or brunch get together – as well as a sweet treat for after dinner. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
6 oz cream cheese, cubed

For the crumb topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter, cold

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 13×9 inch baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk.

Toss blueberries with remaining flour. Stir blueberries and cream cheese into creamed mixture (batter will be thick). Transfer to prepared baking dish.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Source: adapted from Taste of Home

Buttermilk Pancakes

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Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes

I love making breakfast for my guys. Usually during the week it’s something quick – like oatmeal, or Nutella toast and yogurt. But on the weekends I like to do something special like biscuits and gravy, waffles , or these pancakes.

They’re absolutely perfect – basic ingredients (if you don’t consider buttermilk a basic ingredient – you should) that come together quickly in one bowl. The batter pours well and cooks up beautifully. It makes quite a few pancakes, but leftover pancakes can be frozen and reheated in a warm oven or the toaster for a quick, homemade breakfast.

Deliciously light, moist, and fluffy. Blueberries or bananas can easily be tossed into the batter for a fruity twist. Or, two words: chocolate chips. It’s easily one of our favorite breakfasts, and something that I think we all look forward to on the weekends. I know your family will too!

Buttermilk Pancakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
5 Tbsp butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and make a well in the center of the ingredients. Set aside.

In a separate bowl or large liquid measuring cup, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it’s ready!

Pour the wet mixture into the well of the dry mixture, and use a rubber spatula to combine. Stir until it’s just blended together. Do not over stir – batter should be slightly lumpy.

Pour or scoop 1/3 cup of batter onto the griddle, I’ll usually do three at a time. Cook until bubbles become visible, then flip. Brown on other side.

Cooked pancakes can be stored on a baking sheet in a warm oven while you finish cooking the others.

Source: adapted from Allrecipes.com

Fresh Strawberry Syrup

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Homemade Strawberry Syrup

It’s the end of March, officially spring, and there’s 6-inches of snow on the ground outside my front door right now. While I love snow, I’ve had my fill of snow cream for the year. It astonishes me that it can be 70 degrees one day, and 20 the next!

One thing that does have me feeling like spring are the delicious strawberries I’ve been getting at the store recently. While snow might be still blanketing the ground here – in warm, sunny Florida it’s strawberry season! So whenever I see any berries from the sunshine state  in my local grocery store, I can’t pass them by without picking up a package. I haven’t had bad berries yet!

Most of the time they just get gobbled up, before getting the chance to be transformed into something else in a recipe. But, I did get a chance to make this delicious strawberry syrup a couple of weeks ago. It’s perfect over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, stirred into a cold glass of milk, served over hot Belgian waffles, or mixed into a cocktail to give it a fruity twist. It’s also wonderful to toss with some fresh sliced strawberries and then pour into a graham cracker crust for an easy, but delicious dessert.

The batch I made barely lasted a week, and I’ve already made it a couple of times since then. It’s so wonderfully versatile, and it’s nice to have that burst of fresh strawberry flavor in my refrigerator anytime I’d like!

Fresh Strawberry Syrup

4 cups strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1 3/4 cups of water
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Crush the berries in a heavy saucepan. Add one cup of water and the lemon zest. Bring mixture to boil then reduce heat to a simmer for five minutes. Skim any foam that forms off the top.

After five minutes of simmering, set the mixture aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place the sugar and the remaining 3/4 cup of water in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup reaches 260°F on a candy thermometer. Set aside.

Strain cooled strawberry mixture through cheesecloth, squeezing to separate the majority of the seeds.

Pour the strained strawberries into a heavy saucepan with the sugar syrup. Bring to a boil and cook for eight minutes.

Store in Mason jar or another air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Source: adapted from StrawberrySue.com