Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Southern Sausage Balls

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Loaded with hearty sausage and plenty of golden, melted cheese, Southern Sausage Balls make the perfect appetizer, snack, or party food.

Loaded with hearty sausage and plenty of golden, melted cheese, Southern Sausage Balls make the perfect appetizer, snack, or party food.

I’m not saying sausage balls are an exclusively southern dish. I’m just saying that, while the only ones I ever had while growing up in Oregon were made by southern relatives, they’re a staple at nearly every wedding and baby shower in The South. And because most people are huge fans of anything that combines cheese, pork, and some of form of bread, Southern Sausage Balls are always a hit.

I ate them for years and loved them; I even made them myself. Then one day my mother-in-law made a batch (actually, I’m sure it was at least a double batch) with a new secret ingredient. That secret ingredient was cream cheese and, y’all, it revolutionized the sausage ball eating experience. If you think that’s an exaggeration, you’ve clearly never eaten Southern Sausage Balls with cream cheese.

The addition of the cream cheese ups the moistness of the recipe and leaves all other versions tasting dry and boring. Even if regular sausage balls are already in your repertoire, I implore you to add cream cheese. It’s a total game-changer. If you’ve never made Southern Sausage Balls at all, what are you waiting for? Make them for game-day, for a party, or just for breakfast or a snack at home.

Loaded with hearty sausage and plenty of golden, melted cheese, Southern Sausage Balls make the perfect appetizer, snack, or party food.

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Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza

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With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

I first shared this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza on my friend Kayla’s blog. She’s since refocused to share about all things Disney, so she gave me the go-ahead to share this recipe here.

It’s no secret that I love breakfast foods (see here or here), and I also love pizza (here and here). Combining the two was a natural step, and the results were everything I’d hoped they would be. In fact, this breakfast pizza is so outstanding, it even made it to a Buzzfeed post.

With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

So what’s all the hype about? To start, you toss pre-made hashbrowns with melted butter and bake to form a crispy crust. The crust is topped with tender veggies and fluffy scrambled eggs (plus any other toppings you can dream up), sprinkled with plenty of shredded cheese, and baked until the whole thing is one delightful dish of crispy, melty, whole family-pleasing goodness.

With a crispy crust, tender veggies, fluffy scrambled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese, this Hashbrown Crust Breakfast Pizza is perfect any time of day.

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No-Bake Triple Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

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Packed with flavor and with surprisingly healthy ingredients, no-bake triple chocolate breakfast cookies are a tasty alternative to a typical boring breakfast.

Packed with flavor and surprisingly healthy ingredients, no-bake triple chocolate breakfast cookies are a tasty alternative to a typical boring breakfast.

I’m always on the hunt for new and delicious easy breakfast ideas. More often than not, I make a smoothie for breakfast, but I sometimes go with overnight oats or some sort of make-ahead recipe like these no-bake triple chocolate breakfast cookies.

These cookies are deceptively delicious. My kids and my husband, who all tend to turn up their noses at anything healthy, dug in like they were eating dessert. I had to quickly transfer the cookies to a plastic container and hide it in the fridge so we’d actually have some left over for breakfast.

Don’t sweat it if you and your crew can’t wait until breakfast; these guys are perfect for snacking, too!

No-Bake Triple Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbs ground flax seed
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup crispy rice cereal
2 tbs mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Add the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and cocoa powder to a large bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. To the mixture, add flax seed, oats, cereal, and mini chocolate chips. Mix until everything is incorporated. Roll the mixture into golf ball-size balls and press into flat discs. Place shaped cookies on a cooling rack with wax or parchment paper underneath. You should end up with 12-14 cookies, depending on what size you make them.

Place dark chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until chocolate is smooth and melted. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. Allow a few hours for the chocolate to set and then store cookies in an airtight container.

Looking for more healthy bite-size snacks? Try banana bread protein bites and dark chocolate-covered almonds.

Pin these No-Bake Triple Chocolate Breakfast Cookies for later!

Packed with flavor and surprisingly healthy ingredients, no-bake triple chocolate breakfast cookies are a tasty alternative to a typical boring breakfast.

(this post contains affiliate links; to learn more, see my disclosure policy)

Triple Berry Spinach Smoothies

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CarnationBreakfastEssentials #CollectiveBias #sponsored

Triple berry spinach smoothies are the perfect deceptively-nutritious, surprisingly-delicious way to make your mornings easier.

Triple berry spinach smoothies are the perfect deceptively-nutritious, surprisingly-delicious way to make your mornings easier.

Mornings. Ugh. Am I right?

Maybe it’s because I never seem to get enough sleep, or maybe it’s because I’m still adjusting to getting three kids ready to go every morning. Maybe I just suck at mornings.

Lately, though, I’ve been feeling like a bit of a mornings ninja. I’ve been religious about laying out clothes the night before- often on Sunday, for the entire week- for the kids and me. I’ve been getting lunches made and backpacks ready to go, water bottles filled and in the fridge.

Triple berry spinach smoothies are the perfect deceptively-nutritious, surprisingly-delicious way to make your mornings easier.

The one thing I’ve been doing that has made the biggest difference is making smoothie packets for the freezer. On Sunday night, I fill five freezer bags with the ingredients I’ll need for smoothies each morning. Everything goes in the freezer and, in the morning, I just add the contents of the bag, milk, and Carnation Morning Essentials® to the blender. Breakfast is ready in less than two minutes.

My triple berry spinach smoothies are met with approval by the entire family, which is a feat in itself. As a mom, I consider it a huge win that I can whip them up so quickly, and that my kids are actually happy about eating something that’s so good for them. Convenience, nutrition, and taste all in one? Yeah, I’m definitely a mornings ninja.

Triple berry spinach smoothies are the perfect deceptively-nutritious, surprisingly-delicious way to make your mornings easier.

There are a few other awesome things about these triple berry spinach smoothies. First, you can completely adapt them to suit your family’s needs and preferences. Any kind of milk will do, and you can change up the fruit, too. I like to use Carnation Breakfast Essentials® in Chocolate, but you can stock up on whichever flavor you prefer. Second, they’re nutrient-packed, thanks to the spinach and the Carnation Breakfast Essentials®. It’s so convenient to simply open a packet and have all those vitamins and minerals at the ready.

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Oven Roasted Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

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Oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese are the perfect quick, easy, and delightfully delicious side dish for any time of day.

Oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese are the perfect quick, easy, and delightfully delicious side dish for any time of day.

I started writing this post a few months ago, sometime around the start of my third trimester of pregnancy. I craved carbs something fierce- even more fierce than usual- while I was pregnant with Q, and many nights I couldn’t think of a good excuse not to make some sort of potato dish and call it supper.

I ate Parmesan garlic roasted potatoes more than a few times, along with home fries. I had these oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese plenty of times, too.

The recipe is surprisingly quick and easy to make. Because the potatoes are cooked in a skillet still hot from frying the bacon, they cook quickly and develop that coveted softness on the side while becoming crisp on the outside. After the potatoes are cooked through, they’re sprinkled with crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese and returned to the oven to let everything melt together.

I often eat them just as they’re pictured, but they’re also great served with salsa, green onions, or diced avocado.

Oven roasted potatoes with bacon and cheese are the perfect quick, easy, and delightfully delicious side dish for any time of day.

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Easy Waffles

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No obscure ingredients here- just a simple recipe for quick, easy waffles that are fluffy, flavorful, and ready in a snap.

No obscure ingredients here- just a simple recipe for quick, easy waffles that are fluffy, flavorful, and ready in a snap.

 

I’ve discovered the secret to crisp-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside waffles. It’s all in the cooking time, y’all. I used to make waffles and, as soon as they started to turn golden, I’d remove them from the waffle iron and call it good. But they were always limp and not at all what I knew great waffles should be.

So I let them cook longer, until the golden brown got darker and began to approach more brown than golden. They weren’t burnt, not by any stretch, but they were done. These waffles had that crispy exterior that one expects from superior waffles, along with a fluffy inside. That’s a good waffle.

That’s the cooking technique, but what about the recipe itself? I went through a few of those, too. Some were complicated, calling for yeast or white vinegar or egg whites. Those ingredients are fine, they just weren’t what I wanted in a recipe for easy waffles. When I found and made this one, I knew I’d found the last easy waffles recipe I’d ever need.

I made a few tweaks, like subbing whole wheat flour for some of the white. It gives the waffles a little more body and a little more depth of flavor. You could absolutely use all AP flour. Either way, you’ll end up with fool-proof, easy waffles that are ready in a snap. Perfect for weekend breakfasts or a quick weeknight meal.

Don’t have a waffle maker? We’ve owned- and been happy with- this inexpensive waffle iron for eight years. We recently bought my grandmother this rotating one for her birthday and she loves it.

No obscure ingredients here- just a simple recipe for easy waffles that are fluffy, flavorful, and ready in a snap.

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Breakfast Calzones

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With store bought dough and a few classic breakfast staples, you can whip up a batch of easy, satisfying, portable breakfast calzones.

breakfast calzones2

Another breakfast recipe means another recipe that we don’t actually eat for breakfast. Like so many recipes before this one, we enjoy these breakfast calzones for supper. We’re just suckers for bacon and eggs; top it with cheese and wrap it in dough and we’re powerless to resist.

Like so many of the recipes I share, this one can be completely customized depending on what your family likes and what you have on hand. Swap sausage for the bacon, load it up with veggies, or add a few spoonfuls of salsa. Whatever you decide to include on the inside gets all wrapped up inside the handy dough pocket, making these breakfast calzones ideal for breakfast- or lunch or dinner- on the go.

I imagine these little pockets would be fairly freezer-friendly, but I’ve yet to give that a shot (though I can vouch for the freezability of these homemade pizza pockets). Let me know if you give it a try with this recipe!

With store bought dough and a few classic breakfast staples, you can whip up a batch of easy, satisfying, portable breakfast calzones.

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Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

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Breakfast isn’t just for morning anymore. These bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches are easy and filling enough to be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

Breakfast isn't just for morning anymore. These bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches are easy and filling enough to be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches will always remind me of my childhood. My mom has made hundreds of these in the last twenty years for me, my siblings, and an endless array of friends. She can crank them out at an unbelievable speed.

J and I hadn’t been dating long when, as an admirer of all things breakfast, he fell in love with these breakfast sandwiches. They’ve been a stable meal in our home ever since we got married.

Of course we love the obvious: crisp bacon, perfectly-cooked eggs, and melted cheese, all sandwiched between the buttered nooks and crannies of a toasted English muffin. We also love that these guys can be prepared in about 15 minutes. We use whole wheat English muffins and, when we want to be even healthier, we’ll skip the bacon.

We rarely eat them for breakfast; for us, they’re the perfect easy, filling weeknight meal. I love them served with sliced fruit and fresh home fries. They’d be perfect with store-bought hashbrowns, too.

Breakfast isn't just for morning anymore. These bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches are easy and filling enough to be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

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Home Fries

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A breakfast favorite, home fries are potato chunks cooked in a little bit of oil and plenty of seasoned salt. This yummy classic couldn’t be easier.

A breakfast favorite, home fries are potato chunks cooked in a little bit of oil and plenty of seasoned salt. This yummy classic couldn't be easier.

It’s no secret that potatoes are one of my great loves. In fact, I was almost embarrassed when I realized three or four of the posts I had planned for January feature potatoes. Almost embarrassed. But not quite because, judging by the popularity of most of my potato-related posts, I’m not the only one who loves them.

Really, what’s not to love? They’re versatile and inexpensive, easy to prepare and not too bad for you (unlike a lot of the things we like to add to them). Sure, this recipe calls for oil, but it’s a pretty small amount; it’s not like we’re deep frying anything. Life is all about perspective, right?

My mom has been making these potatoes for as long as I can remember. They’re a much-requested food for my siblings and I at our birthday dinners, typically paired with her to-die-for homemade chicken strips. I only make them myself on occasion, even though every time I think, “these are so easy. I should make them more often.” The way the exterior develops that crispy crunch while the inside remains soft and fluffy is just mouthwatering.

To be honest, I often make the recipe with only one potato and enjoy these little nuggets as a meal all by themselves. Other times I serve them as a side with supper, to accompany chicken or burgers. Home fries are also perfect for breakfast or, one of our family’s favorites, breakfast-for-dinner. You can serve them with eggs cooked just the way you like, a little bit of salsa and some shredded cheese, and you’ve got a hearty, restaurant-worthy meal.

There’s really no wrong way to serve home fries. Just like the cooking process, the presentation is pretty hard to mess up.

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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze

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These moist scones are packed with the warm flavors of pumpkin and chocolate, and drizzled with a rich maple glaze. It doesn’t get any more fall than chocolate chip pumpkin scones with maple glaze.

These moist scones are packed with the warm flavors of pumpkin and chocolate, and drizzled with a rich maple glaze. It doesn't get any more fall than chocolate chip pumpkin scones with maple glaze.

This recipe originated from my desire to make something that combines my three current favorite flavors. Chocolate is always something I’m in the mood for, and right now I’m just as smitten for all things pumpkin as everyone else seems to be. It’s like we all feel this desperate need to cram 12 months of pumpkin eating into the three months that it’s actually socially acceptable.

And then there’s the maple glaze. I grew up in a small town with the best local donut shop. My all-time favorite donut flavor is maple-frosted. It’s a flavor you can’t find on other baked goods, which is kind of okay with me; it belongs on donuts.

Since moving away and leaving those fabulous donuts behind, I’ve been on the lookout for a local version that might come close. I’ve yet to find it, partially because I’ve never even found another maple-frosted donut. I don’t know why donut shops in the south don’t carry that flavor, but they don’t, which means I don’t get a maple fixed.

Unless I make these scones. Don’t get me wrong, the pumpkin and chocolate in the scone itself is rich and moist, but still dense like a scone should be. They’re great on their own, but the maple glaze makes the pastry. It’s a sweet but deep flavor that complements the pumpkin and chocolate. These scones were a hit with my family, even the ones who don’t feel as strongly about maple as I do.

These moist scones are packed with the warm flavors of pumpkin and chocolate, and drizzled with a rich maple glaze. It doesn't get any more fall than chocolate chip pumpkin scones with maple glaze.

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