3 c. white bread, cubed (about 6 slices)

2 tsp. butter

1/2 red onion, diced

8 whole eggs

4 egg whites

2 c. skim milk

1 c. frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 lb. Morningstar Farms vegetarian sausage crumbles (in the freezer section)

2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (Gruyere or Swiss cheese would be nice for something different)

1 Tbsp. fresh chives (or dried)

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Preheat oven to 350 deg.

Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with bread cubes.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in nonstick skillet. Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly translucent.

Whisk whole eggs, egg whites, and milk together. Add spinach, mustard, sausage crumbles, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine well. Pour over bread.

Sprinkle with cheese and chives (this makes it taste awesome and looks pretty).

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serves: 4-6

2 egg whites

7 whole eggs

7 Tbsp. nonfat milk

1 1/2 slices Morningstar Farm vegetarian bacon

6 slices center cut bacon

handful fresh chives (or about 2 Tbsp. dried), cut into small pieces

1/2 c. frozen spinach (defrosted and water squeezed out)

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Optional: 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, cooked bulk sausage, and any other ingredients you would put in an omelet.

Preheat oven to 450 deg.  Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

In large bowl, whish together egg whites, whole eggs, and nonfat milk.

Cut vegetarian bacon into small pieces. Cut center cut bacon in half. Line 6 of the muffin cups with the 2 halves of bacon.

Pour just under 1/4 c. egg mixture into each of the 12 muffin tins.

Add small amount of the vegetarian bacon to the other 6 muffin tins. Add small amount of the spinach.

Top with salt, pepper, and some chives. At this point, you could add the cheese, if using.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until egg is puffed up and cooked all the way through (shake the pan… if no eggs jiggle, they are done)

Run a butter knife around edge of each muffin tin…using 3-pronged meat fork, stab each breakfast cup in the center and put knife under cup to lift onto serving platter.

2 c. unbleached flour

5 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder (aluminum free, if possible)

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

zest of 1 orange (washed & dried first)

6 Tbsp. butter (cold, right from the fridge), cut into small pieces

2/3 c. fat-free milk

2 Tbsp. orange juice (squeezed from the orange you zested)

1/2 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 425

Place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in mixer bowl. Mix briefly to evenly distribute ingredients.

Add butter, a few pieces at a time. Combine until butter pieces resemble small pebbles in the flour. Add milk and OJ. Mix until just combined.

Add dried cranberries. Mix until just combined.

Turn out dough (it will be sticky) onto well-floured surface. Gently “knead” dough about 3 times to cover in a light dusting of flour.

Pat (no rolling pins!) dough into circle, 1” thick. Using pizza cutter, cut dough into 8 triangles.

Place on ungreased baking sheet, about 1/2” apart. Brush with a bit more milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool on racks. {If you let scones sit on baking sheet, they will begin to stick}.

Store in airtight container on counter for up to 3 days. These freeze well in a gallon zip-top bag.

1 c. nonfat milk

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

2 egg whites

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 c. raisins

2 Tbsp. molasses, unsulphured

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. oat flour (3/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats blended in food processor until consistency of flour)

OPTIONAL: 1/3 c. chopped pecans

*Preheat oven to 350

*Line muffin tins with foil cupcake liners (I prefer using foil as opposed to paper, foil peels off easier).

{If you would like to prepare these as bars, simply spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray, pour in batter, and bake as you would for the muffins.}

*Combine lemon juice and milk in glass measuring cup, stir, set aside for at least 5 minutes.

*In large mixing bowl, combine next 11 ingredients (pumpkin puree through Kosher salt). Add milk. Whisk until well combined.

*Add white flour, wheat flour, (pecans, if using), and brown sugar to pumpkin mixture. Use wooden spoon to combine, ensuring to scrape bottom of bowl to incorporate all ingredients well.

*Place about 1/8 c. of batter into prepared muffin tins (batter should not be overflowing, but liners should be about 2/3 full). If you like, you can sprinkle some rolled oats on top of the batter before baking.

*Bake for about 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean

*Cool in muffin tins for about 5 minutes, then place muffins on wire rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container on counter for about 3 days. These FREEZE VERY WELL.

Whether you call them flapjacks, griddlecakes, hotcakes, or pancakes…you will call these delicious! Store leftovers in a gallon, zip-top bag (separate the layers with wax paper) and keep them in the fridge or freezer and reheat in the microwave. Effortless!

When our son, Zach, was about 5…he expressed how much he loved pancakes. And, I enjoyed making them for him. However, I quickly tired of the “traditional” pancake. So, I started scouring my cookbooks, not sure if I would find any fun variation on the classic ‘cake. I was shocked to find so many different recipes. So, I messed around a bit with one (from the cookbook “1,000 Vegetarian Recipes”), and this one turned out to be a favorite. When you serve these around Thanksgiving or Christmas, they are even more fun.

1 1/4 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

3 egg whites

1 1/2 c. nonfat milk

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

*Preheat griddle to 375 (a nonstick griddle will quickly pay for itself, cost about $20, SO much easier than using a skillet)

In large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour through ground cloves). Mix with wire whisk to combine well.

In medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients (wet ingredients—egg whites through vanilla extract).

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients (doing the opposite doesn’t work as well).

Mix well with wire whisk. Let stand about 5 minutes (results in a fluffier pancake).

Place about 1/4 c. of batter on griddle. Turn with slotted turner when bubbles appear on surface of pancake.

Enjoy.