Fluffy Pancakes

I have to admit, I think this is the first time I've made pancakes from scratch. I usually rely on a box mix, but the other day I wanted pancakes for breakfast and we were all out of mix. So I did a quick search of the recipes I'd saved on Allrecipes.com over the years and found one that fit the bill. Simple, quick, and easy. I may never buy a box mix again!

It's very important that your griddle is preheated. You want to start pouring those pancakes as soon as you're done mixing the batter. Otherwise, the batter will start to get real thick and you won't see as good results.

FLUFFY PANCAKES
adapted from Good Oldfahsioned Pancakes on Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups milk (you may want a little more if you like thinner pancakes)
1 egg
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla, optional

Preheat griddle to med-high heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the center and add the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla, if using; mix until smooth. Pour by 1/4 cupfulls onto griddle. Once bubbles stop popping, flip and brown other side. Serve hot. Makes about 12-14 pancakes.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Here is a recipe I've been using for a couple of years now. You can make it as spicy as you can handle. I have an 8-year-old daughter so I don't make it very spicy at all. It's great served over steamed rice.

SWEET AND SPICY CHICKEN
adapted from Sweet, Sticky and Spicy Chicken on Allrecipes.com

1.5 - 2 lbs. chicken breast tenders (or b/s breasts, cut into strips)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp. ground ginger)
dash or two of hot sauce (or more if you like it spicy!)
salt & pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 green onion, sliced - optional

In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and hot sauce. Sprinkle tenders with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Brown tenders on both sides and remove to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and add sauce to skillet. Once it begins to boil, whisk in cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. water, until desired consistency. Return chicken to skillet and stir to coat. Continue to cook until chicken is no longer pink. Garnish with sliced green onion, if desired.

Rich and Creamy Rice Pudding with Blackberry Sauce

I have been remiss in posting to this blog, sorry. We moved in February and I'm just now getting my groove back. With Easter only a couple days away, I thought I'd share something springy. And can you believe it? I actually got a decent photo of my food! Let me say, Pinterest is a major motivator to get your food to actually look good so people will want to eat it, lol.

And speaking of Pinterest, that is where I got the idea for this recipe. Blackberries were on sale and I bought 3 packages, not knowing what I'd do with them. I did a search for "blackberry" and came across an intriguing recipe from Spoons 'n' Spades that involved rice pudding with caramel and blackberry sauce. I liked the idea, but wasn't so sure about the caramel part. It got me thinking. So I searched for a good rice pudding recipe (I wanted something creamy and rich) and found one on Food.com that sounded right. I made a few changes, of course, because I can never leave well enough alone. Another search for blackberry sauce led me to Smitten Kitchen, whose recipe I have, again, adapted (very slightly).

This recipe is designed to be served warm. If you wish to serve it cold, just understand that the rice will continue to soak up liquid as it cools and the pudding will get really thick. This can be fixed, however, by stirring in more milk or half-and-half to reach the desired consistency just before serving. The blackberry sauce is great warm or cold. You will no doubt have left over sauce, but it's great on ice cream, pancakes, in smoothies, etc. Or you can freeze it until next time.

RICH & CREAMY RICE PUDDING
adapted from Yummy Creamy Rice Pudding on Food.com

3/4 cup uncooked white rice (any grain will do, just not instant)
2 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half (or milk will work)
2/3 cup raisins, optional
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add milk, sugar, and salt and cook over med-low heat until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally (about 15-20 minutes):

Meanwhile, beat egg with half-and-half. Slowly stir into rice with raisins and cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Let cool slightly and serve warm.


BLACKBERRY SAUCE
slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

12 oz (1 1/2 cups) fresh or frozen blackberries*
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice

While rice is cooking: combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepan (if you don't want seeds). Scraping with a rubber spatula will help force the pulp and juice through. Heat sauce over medium heat until it boils, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and let simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to use. Can be kept in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

*if using frozen blackberries, reduce water to 2 Tbsp.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

image via

I'm starting to give up on getting decent photos of my food now that winter is here and it's dark by the time dinner is ready. So, I'm pulling photos from the interwebs and linking back their original site.

I love broccoli cheese soup. But I've had a hard time finding a recipe I really love. My favorite broccoli cheese soup is at Sweet Tomatoes - it has a slight kick to it. Last time I had it I looked very closely and noticed tiny red-orange specks floating around and realized the secret ingredient: cayenne pepper. I've included it as an optional ingredient and highly recommend adding at least a dash.

This recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman. Ree tends to think like Paula Deen, meaning "the more butter the better." I lightened this up a bit so that it doesn't cause a coronary.

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 cups fat-free half-and-half
2-3 cups broccoli florets
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or just a dash), optional
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack)

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and add the onions. Cook onions until translucent (about 3-4 minutes), then whisk in flour. Stir to combine and cook for a minute or so and then slowly whisk in the milk and half-and-half. Add garlic powder, cayenne, nutmeg, and broccoli florets. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until broccoli is soft. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pulse soup until smooth. Return to pot and keep warm. Add cheese and stir until melted. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve in a bread bowl or with sliced french bread.

Cranberry Apple Butter

I have never been a fan of apple butter. (I think it's because I've only tried store-bought apple butter and let's be honest - homemade anything is usually better than store-bought.) My brother- and sister-in-law took my daughter and I to The Flying Biscuit Cafe in Sandy Springs, GA, this summer. They serve all of their biscuits with homemade cranberry apple butter. I liked it and thought, "Oh, okay. Apple butter ain't bad."

Fast forward a week and I couldn't get that stuff out of my mind. I was craving it like chocolate and wondering if they sold it by the jar. Lucky for me, an internet search turned up the very recipe that they use in the cafe (thank you, PBS!). I bookmarked it for future use when cranberries came in season again. And here we are!

This year I hope to use my brain and freeze a couple of bags of cranberries so I have them available at other times of the year. Wish me luck.

CRANBERRY APPLE BUTTER
from The Flying Biscuit Cafe

2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup orange juice (not from concentrate)
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups cranberries
10 Granny Smith apples (about 3 lbs.), peeled, cored, and sliced

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, orange juice, and spices. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add cranberries and simmer until berries begin to pop. Reduce heat to low and stir in apples. Cook, stirring frequently, until apples are soft; about 45 min - 1 hr. Remove cinnamon stick and either blend mixture with an immersion blender or puree in blender or food processor until smooth.

Let cool and refrigerate. Will keep in fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Or fill clean, hot jars with apple butter to within 1/2-inch of rim, wipe rims clean, and screw on hot lids. Immerse in boiling water bath for 10-15 minutes. Cool for 24 hours. If any lids "pop," refrigerate jars and use within 2-3 weeks. Properly sealed jars will keep at room temp for 18 months - 2 years.

Vegetable Beef Soup

If someone out there in blogland would like to donate a DSLR camera to me, I wouldn't mind in the slightest.
It would make my food actually look something you want to eat!

This is a great way to use up a small, boneless roast. Since the beef is slow-cooked you can use a tougher cut like chuck. I make it the way my grandmother made it; with barley.

Quick pearled barley is used as a "thickener" - essentially it's a healthy filler and sucks up some of the extra broth. I've usually found it by the dried beans and rice:

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

1 1/2 - 2 lb. chuck roast
1 can beef broth
8 cups water
4 tsp. beef bouillon or base
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, sliced
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 med. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup quick barley
1 can tomato soup
salt & pepper to taste

Pat roast dry with paper towel(s). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spray bottom of large pot with cooking spray; heat over med-high heat. Brown roast on all sides; add beef broth, water, and bouillon or base and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.

Add onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes; return to a simmer. Cover and cook for another hour.

Remove roast from pot and shred into bite-size pieces. Return to pot with tomato soup and barley. Cook another 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

New York Chicken

Sorry for the lame photo. I took it just before my hubby started eating. My father-in-law loves this chicken. It turns out moist and tender and the sauce is great over white rice or egg noodles.

NEW YORK CHICKEN
adapted from Allrecipes.com

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; trimmed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 cup chicken broth
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened and cubed
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and brown both sides; remove to 9x13 baking dish. Reduce heat to med-low and add garlic and rosemary. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Whisk in cream of mushroom soup until combined; cook until hot. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese until smooth; pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until chicken in no longer pink.