OK. It’s Christmas morning. Everyone else in the house is relaxing. However, YOU’RE exhausted, YOU feel like you’ve been cooking, shopping and entertaining non stop since Thanksgiving and you STILL have to make one more dish for brunch. When I tell you this strata couldn’t be easier, I mean it. The bonus is that kids love it too. And really, what’s not to love? Eggs, cheese, bread and sausage….yummy. Best of all, you can make it the night before, refrigerate it and all you have to do is throw it in the oven Christmas morning. I made so much recently that Kenya wound up having Breakfast Strata and then Dinner Strata for 2 nights in a row! He loved every bite.

Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole (Serves 12)

1 Lb Ground Breakfast Sausage (I used chicken apple sausage)
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Cups Mushrooms, sliced (I like to use cremini or white)
1 Tsp Salt
Pepper to taste
1 Loaf Italian Bread, Ciabatta or Baguette (crusty bread), cut into 1 inch cubes (about 8 cups of bread) *Also a great way to use up day old bread
1 1/2 Dozen Large Eggs (18)
1 Cup Whole Milk
Salt
1 1/2 Cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
Butter for baking the dish

1. Cook the sausage in a saute pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, breaking it into bite size pieces. Add the mushrooms, bell peppers, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for
3. In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk. Add the cheese and stir to combine.
4. Butter the 13×9 inch baking dish and add the bread cubes and cooled sausage mixture. Toss to combine.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and sausage, pressing the bread mixture down gently to soak up some of the egg mixture.
6. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
7. Uncover the dish and continue to bake an additional 20 minutes.
8. Serve.

Ooey, Gooey, Yummy! These are the words that come to mind when I make these heavenly breakfast treats. These aren’t like those Mc-whatever sandwiches; filled with all sorts of unhealthy additives and saturated fats, these are the real deal, only much more fresh and healthy.
You could even wrap them up, roll over to the park and have the perfect picnic.
These wee-muffins only took me minutes to prepare, and we all salivated in the test kitchen when we took the first bite. I was a little wary about giving Kenya such a mountain of a
sandwich, so I cut it into bite size pieces for him. He and I sat out in our front yard (our version of a picnic) and he let out a big “mmm’s” bite after bite.

Egg Wee-Muffins (Makes 2 Sandwiches)

2 Eggs
1 Tbsp Milk
2 Slices Canadian Bacon
1 Tsp Butter plus extra for English Muffin
2 slices cheddar cheese
2 Whole Wheat English Muffins

1. Whisk the egg and milk in a bowl.
2. In a saute pan over medium heat, cook canadian bacon 2 minutes on each side.
3. Remove to a plate add 1 tsp of butter to the pan
4. Cook the eggs for 2-3 minutes, forming the eggs into the shape of an omelette.
5. With a knife, cut the omelette in half.
6. Place cheese slices on top of each omelette in the pan and cover. Cook over low heat for 1-2 more minutes.
7. Toast english muffin and spread with butter
8. Place bacon, egg, & cheese in the English muffin and serve.

I’ve been making this dish for Kenya for several months but only now did I think of putting it on weelicious. Duh!! This is an amazingly quick, easy and tasty dish. I guarantee you’ll end up adding your own twist and wind up making it on a regular basis.
What could be more simple then eggs, pasta and cheese? Of course, for added flavor, color and nutrition I add the zucchini and sun dried tomatoes, but you could replace them with anything you have on hand to jazz the dish up. Even better, you can make a bunch of pasta, let it cool, add a splash of olive oil and keep it in the fridge for several days, so you can conveniently whip Pasta Wee One whenever you feel brain dead and can’t think of something warm and delicious to eat for lunch or dinner. And even better, no matter what shape of pasta you have on hand, it will work perfectly.
I made this for Kenya’s dinner and of course my husband took one sniff and asked if I would make it for him too. Luckily I had tons of leftover pasta and veggies in the fridge ready to go!

Pasta Wee One (Makes 5-6 Toddler or 4 Big Kid Servings)

1 Cup Pasta, cooked (I used mini bow ties, but whatever kind you choose is great. Just follow cooking time on package.)
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Milk
2 Tsp Butter
1/2 Cup Zucchini, shredded
1/4 Sun Dried Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Parmesan (a cows milk cheese with a complex fruity/nutty taste) or Pecorino (a salty sheep’s milk cheese)

1. Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter.
3. When the butter is melted add the zucchini and sauté for 1 minute.
4. Add the pasta, sun dried tomatoes and then the egg mixture.
5. Stir continually for 1 minute until the egg coats the pasta.
6. Add the cheese and continue cooking another minute until the eggs coat the pasta and vegetables.
7. Cool and serve.

As a kid growing up in the south, cornbread in any form — be it sticks, muffins, whatever — was a staple. My grandmother used to take her old seasoned cast iron corn pone mold (a southern style cornbread) and grease it with fat drippings she kept in a jar above the stove. Then she would fill it with sweet corn batter which came out crisp, tender and delicious. I just can’t imagine how many calories there were!
Sadly (or should I say “fortunately” — sorry grandma!), we don’t keep a jar of drippings in our kitchen, but the taste of these muffins run a very close second, are healthy and they only take minutes to prepare. I especially like this recipe because they have a crunchy top, a tender middle and they’re perfectly sweet from the agave instead of a cup of sugar like my grandmother’s recipe calls for.
I made 2 dozen of these thinking I would have plenty for days. Nice try, they were gone within 48 hours. My husband would eat like five in one sitting. Oh well, better double the recipe next time.

Lil’ Corn Muffins (Makes 24 Muffins)

1 3/4 Cup Cornmeal
3/4 Cup Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Agave
1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Whisk the remaining wet ingredients in a separate bowl until
thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the cornmeal mixture into the wet ingredients and thoroughly
combine with a whisk.
5. Pour into 24 greased mini muffin cups.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when
inserted inside.
7. Cool and serve.

When I was 6 months pregnant with Kenya, my husband and I went to Paris for some work as well as some much needed R and R. I had actually lived in Paris for years when I was younger so I was excited to walk all over the city showing him my favorite neighborhoods and old haunts. There’s nothing like being pregnant in the most romantic city in the world and walking by patisseries and bistros all day. It’s an automatic excuse to eat a lot. As a result, we didn’t take one form of public transportation the entire trip, since I didn’t want to miss a single culinary delight and we needed to walk our multiple meals off!
One of my favorite treats are crepes. These heavenly, light, little pancakes are the perfect base for all types of fillings like mashed bananas, almond butter, fruit preserves and, dare I suggest, Nutella (very common in France).
I made these for Kenya and myself for breakfast and he loved them. I covered them with apple butter and rolled them into little cigar-shaped cylinders which he held and ate at his leisure. When the rest of the batch was cool, I just wrapped them up and put them in the fridge so we could still eat them for a few days.

Crepes (Makes 14 Crepes)

2 Eggs
1 Cup Flour
3/4 Milk
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
2-3 Tbsp Butter, melted

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree.
2. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight (this helps the bubbles to settle and the crepes not to tear).
3. Grease a saute pan or crepe pan with butter. Pour in 2 tbsp of batter and swirl to cover the pan.
4. Cook for 1 minutes, flip and continue to cook another 30 seconds or until just starting to become golden.
5. Remove to a plate and continue to make remaining crepes.
6. Spread with apple butter, almond butter, mashed bananas, fruit preserves or any other favorite filling.
7. Roll into a cigar shape.
7. Serve.

I fell in love with The Handstand Cookbook series the first time I saw it. It’s the perfect gift for budding little chefs and parents who want to cook with their kids. There’s a Mexican cookbook kit, an Italian kit and Chinese on the way. The books are even arranged by levels of difficulty for each recipe so you know when you should give a little extra help.
I talked to the founder of the company, Yvette Garfield, about testing one of her recipes, but giving it a weelicious twist. I salivated from the first time I read her recipe for “Lasagna into Chilaquiles”. It reminded me of a dish that my Mexican “mother” made for me when I was an exchange student living in Toluca, Mexico, so I knew had to recreate it.
By adding baked blue corn chips instead of regular fried tortilla chips and adding a little milk to make the eggs even fluffier, it lightened the dish up a bit, but kept all of the intended yummy flavor. I made these for me, Kenya and a friend for breakfast and we all sat as happy as clams devouring our perfect chilaquiles. Ole!


Chilaquiles with a Weelicious Twist (Serves 4)

1 Small Onion, diced
1 Tbsp Oil
4 Cups Baked Blue Corn Chips (I used Guiltless Gourmet)
6 Eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup Milk
1 1/2 Cups Mild Salsa (I used Pace Chunky Salsa)
1 Cup Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
Sour Cream, optional
Guacamole, optional

1. Heat a large saute pan over low/medium heat. Saute onions until soft and translucent.
2. Whisk the eggs and milk together in a bowl.
3. Add the corn chips to the pan.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the corn chips and stir over low/medium heat for 1 minute.
4. Add the salsa and cheese and cook for 3-4 minutes, continually stirring the mixture until cheese is melted. .
5. Garnish with guacamole and sour cream and serve.

The inspiration for this recipe came from some gorgeous, uber-ripe Bartlett pears I found last week at the farmer’s market. At first thought I would make Kenya some pear puree or just slice them for a snack, but then I remembered I had some canned organic pumpkin at home and wondered if that combination would work.
I’ve never seen pumpkin-pear bread, but it sounded like something yummy to eat in the autumn. The pears were so ripe, all I did was peel and mash them before adding to the recipe.
QUICK TIP: if you don’t have ripe pears you could place them next to bananas in a fruit bowl and they will ripen faster.
I’m usually not a fan of any type of canned fruit or veggie, but canned pumpkin really is a life saver. It’s really a pain to make pumpkin puree, even when you roast it, the flavors never quite become as rich and sweet as the canned variety. So, this is one of those times that I give into convenience.
When Kenya woke up from his nap, the smell of fresh bread was all through the house. After it cooled we sat and tried it with all kinds of yummy spreads like pumpkin butter, apple butter, honey and just plain butter.
Mmmm… fall really is here!

Pumpkin-Pear Bread (makes 1 9×5 inch loaf or 6 small loaves)

1/4 Cup Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree, preferably organic
1 Ripe Pear, peeled and mashed (it’s ok if there are small chunks) or a little over 1/2 cup pear puree
2 Large Eggs
2 Cups Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the butter and agave with a standing or handheld mixer.
3. Add the pumpkin and pear purees.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
5. In a separate bowl sift the flour and remaining ingredients.
6. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture a little at a time until combined. Do not overly mix or beat the mixture.
7. Place in a 6 individual greased loaf pans or in one 9×5 inch greased loaf pan.
8. Bake for 20 minutes for small loaf pans or 1 hour for single loaf.
9. Cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the loaf pan to help release on to a cooling rack.
10. Cool and serve.

*A regular weelicious Mommy made muffins instead of the bread which cooked for 15-20 minutes and replaced maple syrup for the agave. She said they were delicious!

I find it kinda funny how some recipes just seem to come to me out of thin air while others can be right in front of my eyes and I miss them completely. For example, Kenya LOVES eggs, peas and rice, so I can’t believe I didn’t think of making this dish sooner. This isn’t your usual “fried” rice, though, laden with oil and msg. This is a healthy version that has all the flavor of fried rice while still being super easy to make.
I usually prepare a big batch of brown rice to keep in the fridge for everyone in the house to nibble on all week. Also, since you can make so many fast simple sauces to mix in with brown rice, having some already cooked makes meal time that much simpler. I try as much as possible to give Kenya recipes without salt, but that would cut out a ton of Chinese and Japanese dishes I want to make him, so I use Bragg Liquid Aminos as an alternative. Bragg’s has less sodium than soy sauce and has 16 amino acids, the basic structural building blocks of proteins.
This is a great dish to take along when you don’t want to carry three different food groups on an outing. With this one, you have everything all in one dish!

Vegetable “Fried” Rice (Makes 6 Toddler Servings)

1 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
2 Eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp + 2 Tsps Oil, peanut or vegetable
1 Tbsp Scallions, diced
1 Tsp Ginger, minced
2 Tbsp Red Bell Pepper, chopped fine
1/2 Cup Peas
1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos or Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1. Heat 2 Tsp of oil in a wok or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and coat the entire pan like a pancake. Scramble for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Place the eggs on a plate. Cut into bite size pieces.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same skillet over medium high heat and saute the scallions, ginger and red bell pepper for 2 minutes. Add the peas and rice and continue to stir and cook 1 minute.
3. Add the sesame oil, Bragg’s or soy sauce and cook another minute or until all the ingredients are throughly combined.
4. Serve.

I’m always shocked to find out how many people know of and adore noodle 
kugel. I only tried it for the first time recently, but when I shared 
my feelings about how much I loved it with friends, I got some pretty darn 
passionate responses about what a recipe for noodle kugel MUST include. The variations made my head spin. Some people said nuts were a must. Others cited raisins, cinnamon and all kinds of other additions.
When I was originally doing research on kugels and their history, I 
was shocked to find that most recipes called for a cup or more sugar. That much 
sugar would send me into outer-space, so I can only imagine what it 
would do to our kids.
My version is a much healthier toddler-and-family-friendly recipe that 
you could eat as a side dish or even for dessert! After it comes out of the 
oven, cut it into squares and take a bite of the soft, tender, creamy 
noodles perfumed with cinnamon — you’re in heaven. Of 
course Kenya tried to shove the entire square I gave him into his little mouth in 
one bite which he quickly figured out wasn’t such a good idea! As for my friends with very strong opinions on what is and isn’t kugel, most of them gave this their stamp of approval.

Noodle Kugel (makes 20-25 squares)

2 Cup Eggs Noodles
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Raisins

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 5-7 minutes. You want them to be tender, but firm.
2. Strain the water off the noodles and place them in a large bowl.
3. Add the butter and toss the noodles so they’re evenly coated.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Place the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, agave and cinnamon in a food processor or blender and pulse to combine throughly.
6. Pour the liquid mixture over the noodles and stir to coat.
7. Pour the noodle mixture into a 9 x 9 greased baking dish.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.
9. Cool and cut into square pieces.
10. Serve.