Muffins, and Eggs, and Smoothies, Oh My!

Breakfast is my favorite meal to make. It can make your entire house smell delicious for the rest of the day, depending on what you choose to make. It might be debatable whether some find the bacon aroma superb or not, but I LOVE it! Mixed with the fragrance of my fresh brewed cup of coffee, I believe that bacon plus coffee, should be bottled up and sold!
I always enjoy making muffins because it allows me to have something on hand for the entire week. Penelope occasionally likes a muffin with her lunch, or for a snack when she wakes up from nap with a big cup of cold milk. I have tried a zillion muffin recipes and not until recently have I hit the jackpot. I think what I was always missing was the crumb topping.
Here it is in all its crumb topping glory!

Blueberry Muffins
(sorry for the fuzziness, the camera had some smudges on the lens!)

I've stated before that I often simplify a recipe if I can. This recipe instructs you to brown the butter in a skillet and instead, I chose to just microwave the butter. Many other muffin recipes I've tried have you microwave the butter so I thought why not use this method instead. I'm sure browning the butter in a skillet will give you a different taste (and maybe even better if that's possible!) but as far as I'm concerned, this effortless method still created a phenomenal muffin.

Another breakfast we enjoy around here is something that combines the egg with the toast in a most fabulous marriage! It's extremely easy and tasty and if it weren't for my dear friend Dena, I never would have learned about it. It's the Pioneer Woman's egg in the hole.

Egg in the hole

And here is a happy girl eating her egg in the hole!



And last but not least, another Pittman fave is smoothies. I always keep plain yogurt, frozen bananas, and frozen blueberries in my fridge. Some mornings I break out the blender and make Penelope and myself a hearty smoothie. I also incorporate oatmeal in my smoothies, even if it doesn't call for it. I find that I like the thickness it gives the smoothie. And it never hurt anyone to have a dash of more oats in your diet! Here are some of the recipes I have enjoyed.

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

(instead of the ice it calls for, I use frozen bananas which give it a thicker texture!)

Your Southern Peache's Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
(again, I substitute the ice with frozen bananas)

Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Smoothie

I hope this has inspired you to try something new! If you have a favorite morning meal, please do share and leave your recipe in the comments section! I'd love to test it out!