Finally…a new post! Strawberry Puree Pancakes

I’ve thought about this little blog a lot lately.  I do miss it but have gotten easily distracted by other things, and I’m not sure if anyone’s even looking at it anymore as a result of my bad posting habits. We moved into a new home in a new city with a new job into a brand new home so we’ve done a lot of decorating, had our basement finished, explored, traveled, etc.  I tried a couple times and sadly both the WordPress software and Picasa picture sharing software changed, and I still need to go back and figure things out…anyone know how to make the image link work?  It used to have a link that I could image share through but now WordPress doesn’t recognize that link as acceptable…  Hopefully once I figure that out, it’ll be back to semi-regular posting.

Anyways!  Corrie’s family has a fun Breakfast at Wimbledon tradition where they partake in strawberries and cream while watching the men’s final.  This year, my mother-in-law came to visit us for it!  We had strawberries and cream as well as some strawberry pancakes which I don’t think I had honestly ever had before, but I do think will become another yummy pancake recipe in our rotation.

Strawberry Puree Pancakes

• 2 cups flour
• 4 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup strawberry puree (approximately 2 cups of fresh strawberries)
• 2 eggs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter

Blend washed, hulled strawberries in a food processor until pureed.  Set aside.

Mix together  flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  To the eggs, about 1 cup of the milk, strawberry puree, and then the melted butter.  Mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk together to get all the lumps out. If the batter is still dry or lumpy, add more milk until the batter is wet and smooth.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat, grease with butter or cooking spray.  Pour out 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  Once air bubbles have formed on top, flip and cook until done on the remaining side.

Serve with powdered sugar or syrup.

Recipe found at Heather Drive Source: Adapted from Cin Cin, Let’s Eat!

Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries and Bananas (or other fruit you have on hand!)

For Mother’s Day, I wanted to make my mommy something delicious, but also something we wouldn’t feel terrible about eating.  She likes oatmeal, and I’ve seen a bunch of different recipes around the blogosphere, so I figured why not try it!  I ended up merging a couple recipes and it turned out quite yummy.  A repeat appearance has already been requested.

I also love that you could do so many variations.  It seems like a vanilla greek yogurt would be yummy as would a variety of fruit or craisin combinations.  You could use slightly less milk if you wanted a drier oatmeal, etc.  Possibilities are endless!

Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries and Bananas

Makes 4-6 servings

•  1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup pecans, light toasted and chopped
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt, plain
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup blueberries (and/or other berries you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 375°.  Grease a 1 and 1/2 quart casserole with butter or cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: oats, pecans, coconut, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together including: maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, greek yogurt, and vanilla.

Place an even layer of the sliced bananas at the bottom of the casserole dish.  Top the bananas with 2/3 of the berries.

Evenly spread the oat mixture over the fruit, and pour the wet mixture over the oat mixture, distributing as evenly as possible.  Top with remaining berries.

Bake the oatmeal for 35-45 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve.

Recipe heavily adapted from Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson, found at Spice is Nice

Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

The one benefit of not having posted regularly is that I have developed a nice little library of recipes we’ve tried and not yet posted.  In fact, I made these cinnamon streusel pancakes when my brother visited us in our old house back in March.  Yowzers.  Although, if you think that’s bad, I still need to post a completely delicious German Chocolate Cake from my dad’s birthday 1 1/2 years ago. HA.

I don’t think I ever order plain pancakes anymore, and these were no exception.  Plus, I love streusel topping, so I was pretty much set!  The only thing I changed was that I did flip the pancake onto the streusel side for just a few seconds to melt the butter which make them not quite as pretty but just as delicious.

Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

Yields 6 large pancakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Cinnamon Streusel: In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix, batter will be slightly lumpy.

Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1 cup of batter onto heated skillet.  Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.

Serve warm with maple syrup.

Recipe found at Two Peas and Their Pod

Peanut Butter Banana Granola

Making my own granola sounded intriguing, so I decided  to try this one.  It was perfect as a mix-in to some yogurt!  I think the best thing about making granola is that it’s more difficult to make incorrectly.  I decided a few weeks later to try some bars and ended up winging it based off a few recipes, and it turned out great…unfortunately so great that we ate it all before I remembered to take pictures of it!

Peanut Butter Banana Granola

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup mashed bananas
• 1/3-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed slightly
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1-1 1/2 cups dried banana chips (I don’t really like dried banana chips so I used less so I could pick them out…)
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (I omitted)
• 3-4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the rolled oats and puffed rice cereal in a large bowl,.  In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the  honey, applesauce, mashed banana, peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar until smooth.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the oat mixture is evenly coated.  Spread onto the prepared baking sheet in a thick, even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and using a large spatula, turn the granola over in segments.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried.  If necessary, remove the edges of cooked granola and bake the remaining granola for 10-15 minutes more or until done, being careful not to over-bake.  Cool on a wire rack.

Once the granola has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl or plastic bag.  Add in the dried banana chips, honey roasted peanuts and bittersweet chocolate, if using.  Mix well to combine.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: Annie’s Eats

Spinach and Cheese Strata

For Mother’s Day, I made brunch; however, I did make one mistake with this recipe.  I wasn’t really thinking about it, and I used the wrong kind of baking dish.  As a result, I didn’t achieve “crispy” bread like I would have preferred.  However, changes in hand next time – using a baking dish with more surface area like a 9″ x 13″ Pyrex-type dish – I would make this again.

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1½ cups onion, finely chopped
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 tsp. salt, divided
• ½ tsp. pepper, divided
• Tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (I omitted.)
• 8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 oz. or 2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere
• 2 oz. or 2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 9 large eggs
• 2¾ cup milk

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Next add in the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the nutmeg (if using), and allow to cook for another minute.  Stir in the spinach, remove from the heat and set aside.

Butter the inside of a 2½-3 quart baking dish (use a shallower and longer baking dish than I did).  Layer the bottom of the dish with one third of the bread cubes.  Top with one third of the spinach mixture and one third of each of the cheeses.  Repeat these layers twice more with the bread, spinach and cheese.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Whisk until blended.  Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and spinach layered in the baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown and cooked through, 45-55 minutes.  Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats, Smitten Kitchen, originally from Gourmet, February 2003

Oatmeal Raspberry Scones

Oatmeal Raspberry Scones

• 1 large egg
• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• Pinch of nutmeg (I omitted.)
• 10 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, grated on a large grater or cut into small pieces
• ¾ cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Combine the egg and buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup.

Whisk flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter to the bowl and toss.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture so that the mixture is crumbly.  Pour the egg and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork just until incorporated.  The mixture will be sticky.  Fold in the berries gently only until incorporated.  Gently knead the dough 6-10 times, just until it comes together into a sticky dough.  Portion the dough out into 8-12 scones, depending on the size you prefer, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Found at Annie’s Eats, adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Cheddar Dill Scones

I love cheddar, and dill is probably my favorite herb, so needless to say once I saw these I was immediately intrigued.  Eventually I ended up with 1/2 a package of remaining dill, and I thought YUM!  My only change was that, as you can see, the cheddar tends to “weep” while melting.  I think next time I’d like to try using freshly shredded cheddar and see how that works!

Cheddar Dill Scones

• 2 cups plus 2 tsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, diced
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup cold heavy cream
• 4 oz. extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese, diced small or shredded
• 1/2 cup fresh dill, minced
• 1 egg beaten with  tbsp. water or milk, for egg wash (I didn’t use.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Whisk together the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture.  Combine until just blended.  Toss together the cheddar, dill, and 2 teaspoons flour and add them to the dough.  Mix until they are almost incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead for 1 minute, until the cheddar and dill are well distributed.  Roll the dough into a 3/4-inch thick, 8-inch square.  Divide into 4-inch squares and then cut those in half diagonally to make triangles.  Transfer the dough triangles to the prepared baking sheet.  Brush the tops with egg wash.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden and the inside is fully baked.

Recipe found at Annie’s Eats, adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Summer Savory Quiche

I’ve made this quiche more than most menu items.  It’s delicious, vegetarian (always handy when my awesome brother is around), and other than prepping some ingredients very simple to put together.  I used to rarely eat quiche growing up, because it always seemed to contain mushrooms; so, this is a big winner for me!

I did do one thing differently this time, which I’ll be making a few adjustments for next time.  My mom gave me one of those removable bottom tart pans, but I wasn’t thinking and had put the crust on the stove top to cool.  Well, since it’s uneven and the crust had shrunk, when I went to move the then full pan, a little overflowed out the bottom so the crust isn’t as pretty as usual.  Also, our tomato had gone bad so it was omitted, and I may or may not have forgotten to stir the basil in so it just ended up scattered on top; hey I got up early to make this so cut me a little slack.

Summer Savory Quiche

Originally found at Southern Living Magazine

• 1 refrigerated (1/2 of a 15 oz. pkg.) or homemade piecrust (I’ve done it both ways and both are great!)
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 purple onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 3 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4″ thick slices

Fit the pie crust into a 9″ (deep-dish) tart pan; prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then remove and set aside.

Saute bell pepper, onion, and garlic in hot olive oil for 5 minutes or until tender.  Then stir in the basil.

Whisk together eggs, half and half, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, and once combined, stir in the sauteed vegetables and cheeses.  Pour the mixture into the piecrust and top with the tomato slices.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until set.  The recipe says you can shield the edges with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to avoid excessive browing, but I’ve never had this problem.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving otherwise it will fall apart too much when you cut into it.

Banana Pancakes

When I was younger, breakfast foods did not excite me at all.  I thought pancakes were mediocore, waffles just okay, and sausage links were disgusting.  Luckily, I’ve matured – at least in food variety – except for the greasy sausage links.   Although I’ve learned over the years some sausage is yummy, and I have a sausage and peppers recipe to post thanks to a kind care package from a Cleveland neighbor.   Those mystery meat little black things?  Still not interested…

These pancakes were a wonderful and delicious way to use up some ripe bananas instead of the traditional banana bread.   Next time I may even try them with macadamia nuts or even a little coconut.

Banana Pancakes

Recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction/allrecipes by way of Dine and Dish

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour  (I added an additional 1/4 cup as I had some honker-sized bananas!)
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Combine the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  In a different bowl (one large enough to have the flour mixed into it), mix together egg, milk, oil, bananas, and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture into banana mixture, and stir until just combined.  The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.  Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake.  Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides, and serve while warm.

Visitors Galore

When we arrived back from IU, we were greeted by my Mom, Dad, and brother who had arrived about an hour before us.  We spent a wonderful albeit too short weekend with them, and then they headed back to Cleveland and Philadelphia.  That Friday my mother-in-law came in for a visit, full of shopping and a few new recipes, but alas everyone has now returned, and we have no visitors on the immediate horizon…hint…hint….HINT PEOPLE!!!

Since I knew my family would get here before we would after being gone a week, our house wasn’t exactly bursting with fresh groceries, so I made a few items to stick in the freezer to get us through the next morning, and luckily it worked!!

We had herbed biscuits and Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls.   Now let’s start with the obvious – I was in a bit of a rush, so I accidentally skipped one rise before you add in the final flour, etc. so I think it affected the texture a bit; they were stickier than they should have been and therefore didn’t retain their shape very well when sliced hence why it looks more like pull-apart bread than rolls.  Needless to say, still tasty, but I am definitely going to try these again when I can concentrate on what I’m doing!!

Since I didn’t change anything (on purpose) from the original recipe I’m just going to link you to it right here.   One note, I froze them after they had risen but prior to baking.  Then I brought them (close) to room temperature still covered and baked them probably 5-10 minutes longer.