Fluffy Pancakes

I think have 3 or 4 pancake recipes I use, but I'm obviously not very loyal, because I gave these a try, and I must say that they were incredibly light and fluffy! I'll be coming back to this recipe for certain.

Fluffy Pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vinegar
Whisk together and let sit for 5 minutes. Milk will start to curdle and sour.

Then whisk in:
2 cups flour (I used half white, half whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter (I subbed canola oil)

Cook as usual for pancakes.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes
from Cooking Light

1/4 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 T canola oil
1 large egg

Blend in blender and cook them up on a lightly greased griddle. (You could mix by hand in a bowl, but then your kids are going to say things like, "Why do my pancakes have lumps in them?" Just blend those healthy oats into oblivion and save yourself the headache.) Yields 12 pancakes, 4 pancakes contain 275 delicious calories. Yum.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

The stars aligned for breakfast this morning: I had leftover sweet potatoes from last night and a recipe in my binder that I have been dying to try. I also had a little white lie in my mind prepared for when my children asked the inevitable question, "Why are my pancakes ORANGE?" but either the lighting in my kitchen is very poor or my children are horribly unobservant because they ate happily and the question never came up. ("Food coloring!" I was going to tell them...)

Sweet Potato Pancakes
3/4 pound mashed sweet potatoes (from a can, baked, boiled...I don't think it is really going to matter. Just cook 'em.)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup melted butter (I subbed canola oil)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (Of course I used Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

In a blender, blend sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, and butter or oil. (A note: my potatoes had a little brown sugar in them from when I made them for dinner last night, and I LOVED the slightly sweet taste of the pancakes this morning. If that sounds like something you'd want, throw about a 1/4 cup of brown sugar in the blender as well.)

Whisk wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients to form a batter.

Cook on a lightly greased griddle over medium heat. Serve with maple syrup.

Apple German Pancake

Dear Cooking Light,
How could something so delicious have only 173 calories per serving? Sometimes I think your "Calorie Counting Department" is staffed by pranksters.

Sincerely, Me.

Apple German Pancake

Batter:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup egg substitute
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tsp vanilla


Apple Mixture:
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup peeled and thinly sliced granny smith apple (about 1 apple)

Remaining Ingredient:
1 T powdered sugar

To prepare batter, combine flour, baking powder, 1 T sugar, salt, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk in egg substitute, milk, butter, and vanilla. Let stand 30 minutes. (Mine was slightly lumpy no matter how much I whisked it, but the pancake still turned out great.)

Preheat oven to 425.

Coat bottom and sides of a 10" pie plate with cooking spray. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg, sprinkle evenly over bottom and sides of pan. Arrange apple in an even spokelike layer in pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar (You can tell in the picture that I also sprinkled mine with dried cherries. It was delicious.).

Cook apples for 8 minutes, then slowly pour batter over them. Return to oven. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 (do not remove pancake from oven) and bake an additional 13 minutes or until center is set. Sift powdered sugar over the top, serve immediately.

Spinach Quiche

I'd say that a good 50% of my meal planning involves a thought process along the following lines:

"Dang it. That big bag of spinach I bought is about to go bad. What can I make with that, and this (insert random ingredient) that doesn't require a trip to the grocery store for anything else?"

Then I peruse my recipe binder and see if I get lucky. Today I did, and there's no wasted spinach here.

Spinach Quiche

From the Salt Lake Tribune

1 package frozen 9" pie shells (enough for 2 single crusts), or 2 homemade unbaked pie shells

6 eggs

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 cup heavy cream (I used fat free half and half)

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 green onions chopped

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (True confession: I used a pound of sausage instead. The Bruce gets a little uptight if dinner is meatless.)

1 package (10 oz) spinach leaves

1 cup grated cheese (any kind you like)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, cream, grated cheese, salt, and pepper. When smooth, set aside.

In a large pot saute onions and mushrooms or sausage. (If you are taking the vegetarian route, add about 1 T of oil to the pan before adding the mushrooms and onions.) Saute mushrooms for 2 minutes, or sausage until completely browned. Add spinach and cover the pan for 2 minutes. Stir until leaves are barely wilted.

Add the cheese mixture to the mushroom/sausage mixture. Stir over medium heat until cheese melts, then divide the mixture equally between the two pastry shells. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until top is slightly rounded and is turning golden. Let stand several minutes before serving.

I assembled my quiche this morning and kept it in the fridge until dinner tonight. It turned out great but did require more like an hour in the oven since it started out cold. If you want this quiche for breakfast I think assembling it the night before would definitely be the way to go.

Grandma's Famous Pancakes

I was at Williams Sonoma and bought myself a "Pancake Pen." It's a giant squeeze bottle, and you can unscrew the bottom and fill it with pancake batter. It has a little tip so you can write and draw pictures with your pancake batter. My kids think I am awesome because we had pancakes shaped like hearts and stars.

Grandma's Famous Pancakes
(not MY grandma, just somebody's grandma.)

2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 T sugar
1/4 t salt
3 T canola oil or melted butter
2 cups flour (whole wheat pastry flour, of course)
5 t baking powder

Combine wet ingredients then add dry. Beat well and pour onto lightly greased griddle and fry until golden brown.

Fabulous French Toast

I am a tiny bit anal about food storage. I like it well at hand and organized, and I firmly believe that food storage should only consist of things you will ACTUALLY EAT. In fact, while I do store wheat, almost all of my food storage flour is white, because I think that should the day ever come when I have to actually consume wheat berries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a slice of white bread on the plate next to it is going to taste like heaven. However, I do have a few items that mystify me a little bit. Evaporated milk is one of them. I have had exactly TWO recipes that use evaporated milk, and I tried a third this morning. It was a hit.

Fabulous French Toast
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup flour (don't pack it in)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon

Whisk together all ingredients (it will look like a thin pancake batter). Dip slices of bread in milk mixture and cook on a greased hot griddle until brown on each side.

Cinnamon-Streusel Coffe Cake

My first thought when I tasted this on Saturday morning was, "Dang. That's good." And of course, we'll thank King Arthur Flour for another winner.

Cinnamon-Streusel Coffee Cake

(Have fun repeatedly explaining to your family that it DOESN'T HAVE COFFEE IN IT. My kids must have asked me about the name 20 times.)

Streusel Topping

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 T cinnamon

6 T butter, melted

Filling

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 T cinnamon

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (this is for color only, so leave it out if you want)

Cake

3/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 1/4 cups milk

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease 9 x13 pan.

Make topping by whisking together sugar, flour, cinammon. Add melted butter, stirring until well combined. Set topping aside ( A note from me: I had read in the comments for this recipe that this topping was a little dry. I cut the sugar and flour in half and threw in a couple handfuls of oatmeal and it came out more like the topping on a fruit crisp. You make the call based on your own preferences.).

Combine filling ingredients and set aside.

To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt (I used greek yogurt), and milk until combined. You don't need to whisk out all the lumps. Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk mixture, beating gently to combine. Spread half of the batter (a little less than 3 cups, or 14 oz. if you use a kitchen scale) in the pan, all the way to edges. Sprinkle filling evenly atop the batter. Spread the remaining batter on top of the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as if you were making a marble cake. Sprinkle topping over the batter in the pan. Bake the cake until its a dark golden brown around edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean- about 55-60 minutes. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving right from the pan.

You can also assemble this the night before, then bake. Add about 5 minutes to total baking time to account for the chilled batter.

Belgian Yeast Waffles

I could surf recipe websites for hours. One of my favorites in the King Arthur Flour site, and that's where this waffle recipe came from.

Belgian Yeast Waffles

1 1/2 cups milk
6 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Heat the milk until it's very hot. (I microwaved it for 2 minutes and that seemed about right.) Place it in a large mixing bowl (you'll need lots of room for expansion), and add the butter, maple syrup, salt, and vanilla. Stir until the butter melts. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the flour to cool the mixture. Add eggs and yeast. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temp for 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight. The batter will at least double in size. Cook as usual for waffles. Yield is 5-7 waffles.

Waffles

Maybe your mom would like a homemade waffle for Mother's Day (hint, hint.) These are always a hit around here.

Waffles

2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cornmeal

Whisk together wet ingredients, add the dry, mixing well. Cook on heated waffle iron (or make pancakes).

Sometimes, when I feel like I'd like to button my pants later in the day, I make a somewhat healthier version using canola oil instead of butter, and whole wheat pastry flour.

French Toast Casserole with Buttermilk Syrup

I've been informed by my friend Lisa that this recipe blog has zero legitimacy until French Toast Casserole has been added. She's got a point: My SIL Cheryl sent this recipe my way, and since I've started making it, this recipe's been passed around like a sleazy head cheerleader. Don't skip the syrup- even if you are a little iffy on buttermilk, you won't be after you try this heavenly concoction.

French Toast Casserole
1 loaf bread (regular bread, french bread, whatever.)
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 (8oz) cream cheese (I've used lowfat with success.)
1 dozen eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Cube the bread and place in greased 9x13 pan. Blend the remaining ingredients in the blender then pour over bread. Unless your blender is very large, you will have to do this in 2 batches. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 min, until golden brown. Serve with buttermilk syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (no substitutions. Keep your margarine away from my delicious syrup.)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, buttermilk, and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and whisk in soda and vanilla. The syrup will really expand when soda is added, so use at least a 3 or 4 quart pan or you are going to be scrubbing your stove instead of enjoying breakfast.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Man, do I love Cooking Light. Here's another one.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces, for the paranoid.)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 1/3 cups lowfat buttermilk
cooking spray
2 cups fresh blueberries (I have substituted frozen blueberries that I had thawed and nothing terrible happened to me.)
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour, powder, soda, and salt.
3. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl for about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, egg, and egg white. Mix well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour, mix after each addition.
4. Spoon half of the batter into a 9-inch round baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup blueberries. Spoon remaining batter over the blueberries (Don't just dump remaining batter in or it will push the blueberries all to the edge- take it one big spoonful at a time and spread it gently around). Sprinkle evenly with remaining blueberries and 1 Tablespoon sugar.
5. Bake for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, remove from pan, then cool completely on wire rack.

***I use a springform pan for easy removal. (Burke, if you don't know what that is, Google it or go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and ask one of the nice ladies for an assist.)***