Breakfast

My go-to, under-10-minute breakfast.

We have a favorite sour cream-pecan coffee cake that is made in a loaf pan, as so many breakfast breads and coffee cakes are. It makes two loaf pans, specifically. But we only have one loaf pan, and we needed to bake the whole batch of batter quickly for a crowd.The solution? A 9×13 baking dish. The batter that fills two loaf pans is perfect for one baking dish.

Ever wonder why the cream cheese in NYC delis is so delightfully fluffy? This is it.

There's actually a much tastier way to use everyone's favorite muffin mix.

It takes less than 5 minutes but tastes like it’s ​​masterfully prepared by a Michelin-starred chef.

These mini breakfast sandwiches will bring the drive-thru to your kitchen in a matter of minutes.

“It helps make sure that the crispiness of those edges is retained,” she said.

We should've thought of this sooner!

You’ve likely heard of an English breakfast, but do you know what makes an Irish breakfast?

It's all about the next-level crunch!

No new ingredients needed!

Spoiler alert: It's not on the lip of a bowl.

The first step in perfectly flipped pancakes? Put your hand in the right position.

I think we can all agree that bacon is pretty irresistible as is. That crispy, crunchy texture and smoky flavor can liven up breakfast plates and add an extra oomph to salads and sandwiches. Which is precisely why it’s time to up the ante on your next batch of bacon with the help of a few rich, sweet, spicy, and savory upgrades. Even though it doesn’t necessarily come with a mild flavor, bacon is a total blank canvas.

A simple step that takes just a couple of minutes makes a world of difference.

These are the best ways to keep your brown sugar soft so it's always ready.

If you believe blended coffee frappes are totally irresistible, coffee milk will be right up your alley.

If you actually hail from Canada, may just think of this meat as bacon. If you’re from other parts of the world, you may know it as Irish bacon, English bacon, or back bacon. No matter what you call it or where you’re from, I think we can all agree that thick slices of this bacon make a mighty fine addition to breakfast, especially in eggs Benedict, perhaps its most common use in the U.S. But what’s the difference between this good stuff and American bacon?

Have you eaten your oatmeal today?

It’s unfair. Fresh, hot, from-scratch cinnamon buns are a beloved treat, especially for tasty Christmas breakfast. Who doesn’t want to wake up to the smell of cinnamon and caramelizing sugar, or stumble down to the kitchen to find fresh-from-the-oven, slathered-in-icing cinnamon buns, just waiting for you to dive in?

It's all about the flip.

It doesn’t matter if they’re sweet or savory — homemade muffins are a timeless and comforting breakfast. (Especially when your morning involves grabbing a breakfast sandwich or quick bite as you dash out the door.) Fill them with fruit or veggies for a healthier spin, or go for something more indulgent. Either way, fresh-baked muffins are a total treat. As you crank up your oven for your next batch of muffins, be sure you’re not making any one of these muffin missteps.

A four-step process that won't let you down!

Have you ever reached for the eggs while baking only to realize that the recipe calls for large eggs, and you only have extra-large? Or have you ever eyed the medium eggs at the grocery store and wondered how different they really are from jumbo? Eggs come in different sizes and they differ quite a bit in both weight and volume. When a recipe calls for an egg, substituting them with one size smaller or bigger is not a major problem.

You'll want to memorize these.

When it comes to egg preparation, you really can’t get more versatile than hard-boiled.

The rice cooker has always been one of my favorite appliances. We eat steamed rice at least once a week and usually make enough to have leftovers for fried rice. I’m perfectly capable of cooking rice on the stove, but my rice cooker has an easy-to-clean nonstick lining and can keep the rice warm for hours, making it something I can turn on right before I leave the house in the morning. But to be honest, this appliance takes up a lot of space.

I tried this trick for making the pancake batter ahead of time and got some interesting results.

Whether we’re headed across campus for class or into the office for work, chances are that most of us have a travel mug of something caffeinated in our hands. According to the National Coffee Association, Americans drink an estimated 517 million cups of coffee per day, and 43 percent of those cups are either lattes, cappuccinos, or macchiatos. That means nearly half of all coffee consumed in the United States involves some variation of coffee + milk + foam.

A night for pizza and a night for leftovers are always on my meal plan, but there’s one other night that I always include in my meal plan. Sometimes I plan it for a specific night, or other times it is just in my back pocket as Plan B. Every meal plan needs at least one no-brainer meal that can be made quickly with basic ingredients. Mine is breakfast for dinner or, as I like to call it, “BFD.

My husband and I were traveling last weekend and stopped in for breakfast at a local coffee shop. Ordering our favorite egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, we were confronted with the option of adding a shmear of ranch dressing. What would you have said?The first morning, we both shook our heads and stayed with our tried-and-true favorite. But the idea of that ranch dressing stuck with me all day. I couldn’t stop trying to imagine what that combination of flavors would taste like.

In her tricks to help grown-ups eat breakfast, Sarah Rae suggested buying and eating food that you really like. It got me thinking about my most memorable breakfasts, and the fact that they have nothing to do with the oatmeal I usually eat – or forget to eat – each morning. So, this week, I tried something different.Some of my favorite breakfasts are those spent at the family home of an Armenian friend.

Beef bacon. It just sounds weird to say. Bacon as most of us know it comes from pigs and there’s never really been a reason to question that. Before now, beef bacon has only been available through Halal Butchers (for the most part), although it’s slowly creeping onto your local grocery store shelves. We took it for a test run this morning and as you might expect there are some differences! For our morning test run we used not only beef bacon, but uncured beef bacon.

Day 10: Friday, March 14 Today’s Assignment: Make lunch! Weekend Assignment: Plan all of your breakfasts and lunches for next week The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here Here we are at the end of the second week of our Cooking Cure. High fives all around! How did things go this week? Did your breakfast plan go smoothly? Run into any snags? Were you able to go shopping yesterday for your new lunch? Today’s assignment is simple: make — and eat! — your lunch.

Day 5: Friday, March 7 Today’s Assignment: Make breakfast! Weekend Assignment: Plan all your breakfasts for next week The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here. Here we are at the end of first week of the Cooking Cure! How do you feel? Or the better question: how are you feeling about breakfast? Your mission today, should you choose to accept it, is to make yourself breakfast. Your mission for the weekend is a little bigger.

Day 4: Thursday, March 6 Assignment: Pick 1 new recipe and shop for ingredients The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here. So far, all our assignments have involved a lot of sitting at the kitchen table and thinking about breakfast in a cerebral, big-picture sense. This has been time well-spent since by now you should have a good idea of the things you’d like to change about your breakfast routine, how you want to change them, and even a few recipes to kick off the new habit.

Day 3: Wednesday, March 5 Assignment: Find 5 new recipes to make for breakfast The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here. Earlier this week, we took a good hard look at our breakfast routines, and yesterday, we set some brand new breakfast goals for ourselves — now comes a really fun assignment! Today, we’re asking you to get cozy on the couch with your laptop or a pile of favorite cookbooks (or both!

Day 2: Tuesday, March 4 Assignment: Review yesterday’s list and rethink your breakfast habits The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here. How did it go yesterday? Have any trouble remembering what you ate for breakfast in the last few weeks? Were you able to resist skipping ahead to thinking about your new breakfast habits? Today we’ll go deeper. Let’s see which breakfasts you loved and which ones need to get the boot.

As I was planning my Mother’s Day brunch a few weeks ago, I looked back through our tips and advice for making brunch ahead of time and discovered that we have written quite a lot on this topic over the years. What can I say — most of us aren’t morning people! When making brunch, we like to get a head start.

As we sprinkled cinnamon over our cottage cheese and fruit this morning and reminisced about the weekend, we were struck by how differently we eat on weekdays and weekends.No matter how (or what or when!) we’ve eaten over the weekend, it always feels good to return to this simple breakfast on Monday morning.How do you like to start off your week?Getting up to our normal breakfast on Monday morning has become a ritual to transition us into the week.

When I crave eggs for breakfast, but want something more than scrambled or poached; or when I want a super-simple and quick dinner, I turn to frittatas and omelets. They make a satisfying meal and both prove to be a great way use up leftover veggies. While both dishes are made with eggs and involve fillings like vegetables, cheese, and sometimes meat, there are a few distinctions that set these brunch favorites apart. What’s the difference between these two favorites?

As a kid, pancakes weren’t pancakes without the good stuff. And by the good stuff, I mean real maple syrup — not that artificially flavored, corn syrup-laden imposter. We’d pick up a big jug in the spring and it would last us through the year, for special weekend breakfasts and early morning oatmeal. Now, as an adult, my pantry isn’t fully stocked unless there’s a bottle of maple syrup in it. But lately I’ve discovered that just one bottle won’t cut it.

And you probably already have some in your fridge!

It's time to learn more about that drink you love so much.

Finally, an omelet that not only looks simple to make, but actually is easy to make.

You could say that we cracked the code.

My sister-in-law was right!

You'll get berries in every bite.

How my 11-year old discovered that our coffee frother was the secret to soft, fluffy eggs.

Can a few extra steps make for one that rises well beyond the pan to create the drama we expect without compromising taste?

“Happy flipping.”

Hint: It is sitting right on your counter.

A cup of yogurt is always an easy choice for a quick breakfast or snack, but after a while it can lose its sparkle.

Some seven-year-olds are fickle. I am parenting my third seven-year-old, and he can be a little picky. For a long time, he has enjoyed two regular breakfasts: cheese toast or peanut butter on bananas. He will also eat pancakes, waffles, the occasional chicken biscuit and toad in a hole. Those breakfasts are just fine, but variety is good. MasterChef Junior has him inspired to try new things, and I love it.

oeufs durs mayonnaisen’est-ce pas Worse — they are acutely aware what a cardboard box in the fridge means: Fancy leftovers! What could it be? Ratatouille from a favorite local chef? Pad Thai from that chic Thai bistro down the street? Maybe half of a perfectly prepared, rare filet mignon! If I want my leftovers, I have to eat them early. I can take almost any half eaten dish, sauté it in a pan, throw in a handful of microgreens, and crack an egg over the top.

I used to be a caffeine junkie. Any lull in my day called for a cup of coffee (or three). I once felt actual rage at a friend’s island house, far from a grocery store or coffee shop, because the only available caffeine was in the form of a full sugar soda, and I couldn’t handle the sugar. I was near tears in a restaurant with my children when I realized the only diet soda they served was also caffeine free. And by “near tears,” I mean that I wanted to kill someone.

I’m a grown-up. Usually, I don’t have trouble eating my veggies, including the necessary dark, leafy greens. I actually love them. It took me a while, but I do. I like them so much, I eat them for breakfast almost every day, even in restaurants, if at all possible. I make a mess of greens on Monday morning to make it easy to get a jump start on my veggie intake all week long. The greens — kale, collards, chard, or whatever else is in the market — are prepared with care.

I’ve been drinking bright green hot chocolate in the morning. This is, after all, the holiday season, where I could probably go to a party every single night, so I like to start the day right. I am an admitted jumper of bandwagons and this year, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon of spirulina and liquid chlorophyll. Why not mix them with chocolate?

Think about what you ate for breakfast as a kid. If you grew up in the U.S., chances are you were eating cereal, toast, eggs, muffins, or something similar. What happens when you give American kids traditional breakfasts from countries like Korea, Finland, Poland, and Vietnam? Not only will you get a lot of questions, but you’ll also get some of the funniest facial expressions we’ve ever seen.

The breakfast landscape is full of easy choices. It’s easy to roll out of bed, shuffle into the kitchen, and pour yourself — and your kids — the customary bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice. But that which is easy isn’t always necessarily sustainable. And that which is easy isn’t always necessarily cheap, either. The costs add up — in all kinds of ways. I decided to make it my mission to get my kids off cereal.