Makin' Some Pancakes

If anyone had spent much time around me, they know that I absolutely loooove pancakes.An old friend used to have "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson as the ringtone for me when I called and my roomie even says that song should be my theme song. I try a new recipe for pancakes about once a month, and I really liked this one, so I thought I'd put it up here.
I love breakfast food in general, but pancakes are just awesome. I eat them for breakfast, for a snack, and sometimes for a quick dinner. There are ven recipes out there that let you make the batter the night before.
Light, fluffly, and buttery, the little golden discs can be enjoyed topped with practically anything -yogurt, peanut butter, fruit, syrup, chocolate, etc. What's not to like about them? Also, you can flavor them with mashed fruits (bananas, pumpkins), whole fruit (blueberries), and/or spices! They are a creative playground. Yum.


Yogurt Pancakes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
2 large eggs
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 to 4 tablespoons milk, optional depending on your type of yogurt
3 tablespoons butter, melted (not hot, lukewarm or as close to room temp as possible). Plus extra for buttering skillet
1/2 cup (62 grams) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (68 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (32 grams) barley or rye flour, or rolled oats (I used rolled oats)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Whisk egg and yogurt together in the bottom of a medium/large bowl. If you’re using a thin yogurt, no need to add any milk. If you’re using regular yogurt, stir in 2 tablespoons milk. If you’re using a thick/strained or Greek-style yogurt, add 3 to 4 tablespoons milk. Whisk in melted butter. In a separate, small bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Feel free to add a pinch of your favorite spice (cinnamon, cardamom, ginger) to the dry ingredients at this point. Stir dry ingredients into wet only until dry ingredients are moistened. A few remaining lumps is fine.Heat your skillet or saute pan to medium. If you’ve got a cast-iron skillet, this is my favorite for pancakes. Melt a pat of butter in the bottom and ladle a 1/4 cup of batter at a time, leaving at space between each pancake (they will spread out). Press a few berries into the top of each pancake. The batter is on the thick side, so you will want to use your spoon or spatula to gently nudge it flat, or just let them be thick =). When the pancakes are dry around the edges and you can see bubbles forming on the top, about 3 to 4 minutes, flip them and cook for another 3 minutes, until golden underneath. If you so desire, transfer pancakes to a warm oven as they are done cooking, where you can leave them there until you’re ready to serve them, or just a plate (though they might get a bit cold on the plate).
Serve in a big stack, with fixings of your choice. There probably won't be left overs, just warning ya.

Portobello "Burgers"

I have been intrigued by the idea of a portobello burger for a while, so while I was home in Florida (and buying groceries with my mom's budget), I decided to go for it. It was a meatless, delicious meal and I definitely recommend it if you have errands to run in the evening or something, since, as long as you can get home for about 10 minutes to put the marinade together, you can go out and do something for 2 hours or so before you put in about 20 minutes to actually "cook" everything. Yay for fairly quick and easy meals.

Fyi, I am toying with the idea of reigning my grocery budget in to a mere $25 a week. I know, it's depressing, but that's kind of what happens when grad school barges in and takes all my money. So the recipes from here on out might be meatless more often and involve a lot of rice, beans, frozen veggies, and whatever happens to be on sale. That could be exciting or kind of a bummer, depending on your attitude and current situation. I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe the blog will become "Eating on $25 a Week." That may not sound like a small amount, but to me it is!

Simple Portobello "Burgers"

4 English muffins, toasted (I use whole wheat)

4 portobello mushroom caps

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 thick slices of smoked gouda cheese

1 small red onion

1 medium tomato, sliced

1 avocado, sliced

Lettuce for garnish

½ cup balsamic vinegar

for mushroom marinade:

⅓ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons cooking sherry

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

Two hours before serving, combine the marinade ingredients in a shallow dish and add mushrooms. Let them lay on their top side in the marinade, and spoon some marinade into the bottom-up side to let it soak. Marinate for two hours.

Come back to the kitchen about 20 minutes before serving and heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes, then turn off heat and set aside to thicken.

Slice red onion into rings and add ½ tablespoon olive oil into a large skillet on medium heat. Add onions and let soften and caramelize for 10-12 minutes. Set aside once finished, leaving the skillet on. Add the marinated mushrooms to the skillet top side up. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 4 more. Turn back over, add a slice of gouda on top, and turn off heat.

Top English muffin with a portobello cap, onion rings, tomato, avocado, and butter lettuce. I recommend a light sprinkle of salt and pepper on the tomato and avocado for flavor. Finish with a drizzle of syrupy balsamic and serve.

And just so you know, adding bacon to this is not a bad idea.

This is wonderful to serve with baked carrot fries or sweet potato fries.

Florida+Me=Seafood for dinner!

Growing up, I lived a mere 45 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, but somehow seafood never had much of a hold on me, that is, until I moved to Kentucky. Now when I come home, all I can think about is how I "need" to eat seafood.

The only bummer is that my dad and sister are not big fans of it, so I try to make seafood dishes that are easy for both of them to adapt to their liking. Fish tacos are great because they use white fish (pleasing my dad) and you can easily substitute beans or chicken for the fish (making my sister happy).

If you prefer, you can marinade your fish and shrimp in a citrus mix or anything you like (tequila?), but I never feel like marinades add much flavor when you consider how much work and time goes into them.

Anyway, hope you are enjoying your summer. I am loving Orlando and being so close to the beach. I went up to Daytona last night with a new friend and enjoyed a mahi mahi sandwich while watching the ocean -something close to heaven on earth. The only thing that would make it better is if I find a morning yoga class on the beach (but this is my vacation and I am not about to get up early).

Fish frying up.

Simple Fish and Shrimp Tacos Serves about 6

2 lbs. shrimp*, peeled and de-veined, un-tailed, sliced in half if they are too large to fit inside a taco
1.5 lbs. fish (cod, tilapia, catfish, flounder – any white flaky fish you like), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

20-25 corn tortillas, warmed
Lime wedges, for garnish (do not skip! A squeeze of fresh lime is essential for a good fish and shrimp taco)
Avocado wedges, for garnish
Pico de gallo, for garnish
Sour cream or plain greek yogurt, for garnish.

*I buy frozen, pre-cooked shrimp, so if you are like me, the only thing you need to do is to thaw your shrimp according to the directions on the package and take off the tails.

To make the breading for the fish, combine the panko, flour, salt, chili powder, and pepper. Whisk to combine.

Prepare two large skillets: one for the shrimp and one for the fish. Heat each over medium-high heat with a little oil to keep them from burning.

Dip the fish in the breading, then add to the hot oil in the pan, frying in batches for 2 minutes or so on each side, until golden and cooked through. Remove the cooked fish from the pan with a slotted spatula and set on another plate, then cover with foil to keep warm.

For the shrimp, cook them (in batches, depending on how big your skillet is) over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, until pink and cooked through (they will probably curl up). Place them on another plate and cover with foil until ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve, heat your tortillas in the oven or in a skillet so they are no longer completely soft, fill with the shrimp and/or fish, and top with your favorite toppings and be sure to serve with margaritas.

CousCous with Roasted Bell Peppers, Turmeric and Mango Sausage, Cherry Tomatoes

Yum, a big bowl of couscous. What isn't to love about that?

Summer makes me want simple and light dishes that rely on the boldness of just a few, high-quality ingredients. Though, I have to admit, I am in the mood for light dishes almost every day, so maybe summer just makes me want simple and bold dishes.

My roomie roasting peppers. Yep, she's that awesome.

Indian Infused CousCous

2 cups cooked couscous

2 Turmeric Mango sausages from whole foods

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup onion, finely minced

1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Place a fry pan or grill pan over medium heat and cook sausages. Add garlic and onion if using a fry pan, until softened/fragrant (it is easier to use a separate pan for the onion and garlic if using a grill pan for the sausage). Cut sausages into bite-size coins. Toss together all ingredients and enjoy!

Dollar Burgers!

Whole Foods had $1 burgers (Raw, 6oz, pre-formed patties). My roomie and I just barely got some, since there were limited quantities. We were so excited for good quality meat that we decided to go simple and just enjoy the meat itself. Going simple to us means only adding a few things to the burgers: bacon and pepper. I am sure that a bit of onion would also be yummy next time.

Bacon and Pepper Burgers

2 6oz raw burgers/ground beef (good quality beef)

4 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped/crumbled

1 tablespoon, or more, of freshly ground black pepper

Dash of salt

Asiago cheese, for slicing up and putting on the burger

Burger buns (I use whole wheat english muffins), lettuce, tomatoes, condiments

Mix the first 4 ingredients, form into burgers, grill to your preference.

Assemble burger however your heart desires, just make sure to include the Asiago.

Enjoy.

Cherry Short Cakes

I know it sounds un-American, but I don't believe I have ever had a short cake before. I have seen plenty of strawberry shortcakes and, being a nanny and all, heard plenty references to that sweetly named children's cartoon character, but never have I actually had one.

To my surprise, a short cake is simply a biscuit with fruit and whipped cream in the middle. Who knew something so simple would be so irresistible? Or that you could make them with something other than strawberries =P.

Cherry Shortcakes.

Adapted from This Blog

Biscuits:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bow. Cut in butter until butter is the size of small peas.

Add buttermilk and vanilla, mixing until just moistened.

Form dough into ball and place n well-floured surface (or floured pastry cloth, which is my personal preference.) Flatten into a disk about 3/4 or 1 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes, combine scraps and repeat to make more biscuits Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden.

Cool on wire rack.

Cherries:

1/3 cup sugar or honey (decide based on how sweet or tart your cherries are and preference)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

scant 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 lb of cherries, pitted and stemmed

Mix sweetener of choice, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan (do not turn on heat yet). Add cherries and then cook over medium-low heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, about half an hour.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Set aside to cool.

Assembly:

Either make your own whip cream (whip heavy cream and confectioners sugar to taste until mixture holds soft peaks) or buy some.

Cut biscuits horizontally in half and place bottoms on serving plates. Spoon the cherries over the biscuit bottoms, top with whipped cream, then cover with the biscuit top.

Yum.

Cherry Almond Chicken Salad

My photography skills are pretty limited, but when it comes to chicken salad, they completely disappear. However, if you are looking for a cold salad to spread on a couple pieces of toast for lunch, this is quite yummy and good for you.

I brought this to work yesterday for my lunch and was happy I did -definitely better than another fast-food breakfast burrito and those preserved apple slices.

Oh, and just a fair warning, I am driving home to Florida next week, which means I will be going through Georgia. There might be a pecan or peach week in the near future. Or I might actually control myself for once. We'll see.

Cherry Almond Chicken Salad

2 chicken breasts (6oz each or so), boiled and chopped/shredded
½ cup greek yogurt, or more to preference
⅓ cup tamari almonds, chopped
⅔ cup fresh bing cherries, pitted and stemmed and chopped
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 dash onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Suggested, pieces of whole wheat toast for chicken salad sandwiches

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl. Chill. Spread on bread, if you want a sandwich. Ta Da.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

So good, so easy. And pretty dang good for you. Definitely try this for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert.

1/2 cup dark chocolate almond milk
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
3/4 cup of fresh cherries, pitted and stemmed

Place all ingredients in a blender for 30 seconds. Enjoy!

*Feel free to adjust the amounts of milk and yogurt, or even add ice, depending on what texture you prefer.

Homemade Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream Goodness

I officially declare the week of July 10, 2011 "Cherry Glut Week."

Whole Foods had organic cherries on sale for 2.99 a pound and I got a little excited. Ok, a lot excited. So excited that I bought7.5 lbs. BUT my roomie made 5 lbs of meatballs Saturday night, so I am not alone in my overzealous excitement about food.

Here is the first chock-full-of-cherries recipe for this week.

At least 3 more to come this week. I am determined not to let a single cherry go to waste.

Have I mentioned my fingers are already stained a very nasty looking color due to all the cherry-pitting that I and anyone who enters my house have been doing?

Bing Cherry Ice Cream

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

2 cups heavy cream

• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 lb. fresh Bing cherries, pitted and halved
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tbs. kirsch
• 2 cups chocolate chips (semi sweet)

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream and milk. Heat, stirring occasionally, until steam begins to rise from the surface, about 5 minutes.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the sugar and the egg yolks until blended. Form a kitchen towel into a ring and place the bowl on top to prevent it from moving. Gradually add the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 7 to 9 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a medium-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the vanilla. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cherries and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherries are soft and have broken down slightly and the liquid has thickened, 8 to 9 minutes. Strain the cherries, reserving the liquid (you should have 1/3 to 1/2 cup liquid). Transfer the cherries to a small bowl and stir in the lemon juice and kirsch. Let the liquid and cherries cool to room temperature.

Remove the custard from the ice water and stir in the reserved liquid. Cover the custard and cherries and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions, adding the cherries and the chocolate chips during the last 3 to 4 minutes of churning. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container, cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 5 cups.

Just a hint, you should probably double this recipe (though be mindful of your ice cream makers capacity). If you don't, you will wish you did.

Breakfast Crepes, yum.

These are the perfect breakfast to make on aSunday morning. Mix the batter together when you first get up, then sit and read the paper while you wait for the batter to set in the fridge. When you finish with the paper and your body's hunger has finally woken up, your crepes are ready for the pan and quickly find their way to your stomach =).

Whole Wheat Crepes

Adapted from Southern Living

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Yogurt and fresh fruit OR nutella and bananas for filling.

• Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Gradually add flour and salt, beating until smooth. Cover and chill 1 hour.
• Coat bottom of a 7-inch nonstick skillet with melted butter; place skillet over medium heat until hot.
• Pour 3 tablespoons batter into skillet; quickly tilt in all directions so batter covers bottom of skillet.
• Cook 1 minute or until crêpe can be shaken loose from skillet. Turn crêpe over, and cook about 30 seconds. Place on a dish towel to cool. Repeat procedure with remaining batter. Stack crêpes between sheets of wax paper.

Place on serving tray, spoon yogurt or nutella onto crepe and top with fruit of choice, then roll/fold to your preference.

Bread Pudding

So my this bread pudding was definitely my pre-run snack. Believe it or not, I actually was feeling quite good at the end of my 7 mile run through horse country. I was even rewarded with the sight of these beautiful horses at the end. Of course, I stopped in at the Windy Corner Market and got some mango peach sweet tea to help with my recovery (I really like sugar).

Anyway, here's a recipe for this deliciousness. Feel free to serve with vanilla icecream and any warm, sugary, rum-filled syrup concoction of your choice.

Also, if you cut the cream down to 1 cup, it comes out more like a baked french toast, which I highly recommend for breakfast (I accidentally did that to one my trials with this recipe.)9 large croissants

Bourbon Chocolate Bread Pudding
Adapted from Southern Living

• 9 large croissants
• ⅓ cup bourbon
• 1 ½ cups golden chocolate chips (go up to 2 if you really want a lot of chocolate)
• 8 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
  Slice croissants in half lengthwise; tear bottom halves of croissants into small pieces. Layer croissant pieces evenly in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place croissant tops, crust sides up, on top of chocolate chips.
  
  Whisk together eggs and sugar. Whisk in bourbon, cream, vanilla, and salt. Slowly pour mixture over croissant tops (may want to do a bit at a time, allowing time for it to soak in); press bread to absorb liquid. Cover; chill 1 hour.
  
  Place dish into a larger pan. Pour hot water into larger pan, filling half full.
  
  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake 15 more minutes. Remove from oven, and remove dish from water pan.

*You can halve this and make it in a 9x9 pan if you do not have a pan bigger than a 9x13 to put the water bath in.

Blackened Salmon

Ok, I splurged. My grocery bill is a ridiculously large portion of my budget as it is, but this week it has definitely gone overboard. The salmon at Whole Foods was just so beautiful, I couldn't resist it. I wanted to do something simple with it so that I could really appreciate the taste of wild caught salmon. To let it shine, I chose cheesey polenta with swiss chard (from my pastor's garden) as the side.

1 tablespoon of blackened seasoning

2 6oz fillets of salmon

Sprinkle blackened seasoning evenly over fillets.

Cook salmon in 1 tablespoon hot oil in same nonstick skillet over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes on each side or just until fish begins to flake with a fork. Remove from pan onto serving plates.

Iron Skillet Blackberry Peach Cobbler

I had this wonderful invention for dessert with the salmon and polenta with swiss chard =).

The roomie and I ran out to the grocery store to get vanilla ice cream in between the main course and dessert so that we could have ice cream with it. I mean, cobbler without ice cream is just wrong.

serves 2-3

2 tablespoons butter

1 pint of blackberries

1 pint of sliced (and peeled) peaches

1 1/4 cup white sugar

1 cups flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/4 stick butter, softened and cut into cubes

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

vanilla ice cream for serving and fresh mint for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss peaches and berries with 1 tablespoon white sugar.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (I’m sure an oven-safe skillet would be okay too, it just needs to be large) over medium heat. Wait for 5 minutes until the entire skillet is hot, then add 1 tablespoon butter. Add peaches and berries and cook for 5-6 minutes to soften.

While peaches and berries are cooking, combine flour, baking soda and powder, salt and 2 teaspoons brown sugar in a bowl and mix. Add in cubed butter and mix with a fork or your fingers pr pastry blender until the butter is in smaller crumbles and strewn throughout the mix. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk. Add vanilla extract and stir until mixture comes together.

Turn off heat under peaches and berries. Spoon globs of dough on top of the peaches and berries, scattering them all around. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and drizzle over top of dough. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn down heat to 375 and bake for 15 minutes more. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese

I refuse to eat any more fast food for the rest of my life. Well, kind of.

If it weren't so impossible to avoid (especially when driving 13.5 hours from KY to FL), I would totally stick to that declaration. At any rate, I did not eat much fast food before, but after working in fast food for a mere 3 months, just for the summer, I am definitely no more inclined to become one of the millions of Americans who regularly consume pounds of deep fried potatoes and gallons of soda pop.

Ok, sorry to rant. The reason I brought fast food up is because the above picture is of the leftovers of buffalo chicken mac n cheese that I ate for lunch at work instead of eating the $7 worth of free fast food that is made available to me.

Green beans are a great side for this, by the way =).

Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese

Adapted from How Sweet Eats

serves 4-6

1 pound pasta (I used shell pasta from a local pasta company)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

11/2 cups milk

1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese (half of an 8oz brick) + more for topping

1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (a third of an 8oz brick) + more for topping

2/3 cup buffalo wing sauce

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

for garnish: ¾ cup chopped green onions, ½ cup fresh cilantro, ½ cup gorgonzola cheese, additional buffalo wing sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a medium or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Grease a baking dish (9 x 13 is fine, ir even a 4-inch deep dish). Add pasta and chicken to the cheese sauce over and mix throughly until everything is coated. Spoon or pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately top with gorgonzola, green onions and/or cilantro. Drizzle with extra buffalo wing sauce, if desired.