Oh so good (for you) butternut pancakes

So I've been making pancakes several mornings a week for at least 2 years now. They are so easy for little ones to eat and I feel like I'm giving them something substantial to start their mornings off right. Also ... the leftovers are great snacks for later in the day!

I started out using my mom's delicious recipe, but have tweaked it here and there over the years and this is what I've come up with that we all like! :)

Mix together these dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
1 1/4 c. flour (white whole wheat from King Arthur is my favorite!)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp. ground flaxseed (I grind it myself using our coffee grinder. Works great and I know it's fresh!)

Mix together these wet ingredients then pour into the well of your dry ingredients.
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. apple sauce
1/4 cup pureed butternut squash
1 1/4 c milk

Mix batter until all is combined.
I use 1/4 cup measure to pour batter onto pre-heated pan/griddle. And I use a non-stick skillet and if it's preheated then I don't have to use any butter or oil to keep them from sticking!
We also like to add mini-chocolate chips, blueberries, diced apples, or bananas (for you Ry!) etc. in the pancakes. I just put them on the pancakes individually after they're on the pan and cooking. Yum!
Makes 8-10 pancakes

**Added BONUS ** I really enjoy this blog Simple Bites and here are some yummy homemade syrup recipes to try on your pancakes! We've only made the Buttery Maple one so far and LOVED it!

Pink Pancakes

This recipe is from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious and is the first recipe I've made where the puree is a little strong. So picky eaters probably won't like this one. But if you have eaters that are pretty good at trying new things, this is a good one. We thought they were pretty tasty. I always like to try something a little different. The puree in this one is beets.

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup beet puree (I just realized I put in half a cup of puree so maybe that is why the flavor was a bit strong. We thought it was still pretty tasty)

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 cup pancake mix

1/4 cup grated apple

1 T vegetable oil

In a blender or food processor, combine the water, ricotta cheese, beet puree, vanilla, and cinnamon and blend. Dump the mixture into a medium bowl, add the pancake mix and apple, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix - the batter will be a little lumpy.

Coat griddle or nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When hot, add the oil. Spoon the batter onto the griddle or skillet, using about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook the pancakes until the batter is set, 1 to 2 minutes. Then flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2-3 minutes. Serve warm, with syrup. Yum!

Applesauce Muffins

My friend gave me the cookbook Deceptively Delicious so I thought I would do a little series on the recipes we tried and liked. If you're not familiar with the cookbook it's a book based on sneaking veggies (by making purees) and fruits into recipes to add a few extra vitamins and minerals to your kids foods (Jessica Seinfeld is the creator of the cookbook...Jerry Seinfeld's wife). So if you have really picky eaters they may not enjoy these recipes because they do have different flavors that they may not like. I was looking for recipes of veggies that my kids normally don't eat...butternut squash, zucchini, spinach, beets. And since I'm making Ansley's babyfood, it was easy to use some of that for the purees. So this is the first recipe that we really enjoyed. It was a great breakfast treat!

TOPPING
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 T butter

BATTER
1 1/2 cups flour (I always add flax seed to my recipes so I put 1/2 cup flax seed and 1 cup flour)
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree (I used butternut squash for this one)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cupcake pan or use paper liners. To make topping, stir together the oats, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in butter. To make the batter, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a second bowl, mix applesauce with milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil, and egg with wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix-the batter is supposed to be lumpy. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Birthday Quiche

Jason made me this quiche for my birthday and it was the best quiche I have ever had. I think the key ingredient is the feta cheese. He got it off the Internet and I don't know what the link is. But here's the recipe:

~ 1/2 cup butter
~ 3 cloves garlic, chopped
~ 1 small onion, chopped (sweet onions are best)
~ 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
~ 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
~ 1 (6 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled (we just used regular feta)
~ 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
~ salt and pepper to taste
~ 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
~ 4 eggs, beaten
~ 1 cup milk
~ salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie crust.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Oatmeal

I just got this recipe from a friend of mine and it is delicious. It's a great make-ahead breakfast that is great for a Sunday morning because you make it the night before and then pop it in the oven in the morning. I put fresh blueberries in mine. Yum, yum!

BAKED OATMEAL

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (NOT quick)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher or sea salt

2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup fruit (fresh blueberries, dried cranberries,,,)

Mix all dry ingredients together. Beat in the milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir in the fruit. Spread into 9x9 baking dish. Cover and place in fridge overnight. Bake in preheated 350 over for 40 minutes. Cool slightly before eating. Refrigerate leftovers.
*For double recipe, use 9x13 baking dish.

Quiche and home fried potatoes

Ok - this might be cheating - I found this recipe on an easy recipe website. I decided we would try this for dinner one night this week and then I decided to post it here so it would be easy for me to find the directions later when I go to make it. Also, I haven't posted anything in a million years and thought it would be fun - but my life is too crazy to come up with anything original to post...so...you can call me "The Cheat" (remember Homestar runner?). Anyways, I often have my laptop on the kitchen counter (hubby always gets a kick out of that) when I am making dinner b/c I am making one of y'alls fabulous recipes from this blog - so keep posting! I may keep cheating or get it together one of these days and post something original...no promises! :)

BACON AND CHEESE QUICHE
HOME FRIED POTATOES

Bacon and Cheese Quiche:

1 9 in. Pillsbury pie crust
1 T. butter
12 bacon slices, crumbled
1 bag mixed cheese
4 eggs
2 C. heavy cream
3/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread crust into pie plate or quiche plate. Spread crust with butter. Sprinkle bacon and cheese on crust. Beat eggs w/ rest of ingredients. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes. Turn down to 325 degrees and bake 40 more min. Let stand 10 min.

Home Fried Potatoes:

4 red potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and green pepper. Cook, stirring often, until soft; about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Pour remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet and turn heat to medium-high. Add potato cubes, salt, paprika and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned; about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions, green peppers and parsley and cook for another minute. Serve hot.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Ryan, this sounds complicated, but it really isn't. Hope they turn out well!

Pumpkin-Spice Doughnuts

A friend of mine got me a subscription to Cuisine at Home and I saw this recipe in it. Since fall is my favorite season and there are no signs of it here, I like trying things like this that helps put me in the fall mode. These were so tasty! A little time consuming but so worth it. Plus if you're going to eat doughnuts, why not make them a little healthy.

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup canned pumpkin (I put the whole can in)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 T butter, melted

4 t. baking powder

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

3 cups all-purpose flour

vegetable oil

Whisk egg and yolk together in large bowl until frothy. Add pumpkin, sugar, buttermilk, brown sugar and butter; whisk until combined. Stir in baking powder, pie spice, salt and soda. Fold flour in gradually until sticky dough forms. Cover in plastic wrap and freeze 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in pan over medium heat. Pat out dough on floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out doughnuts, dipped in flour. Fry doughnuts and holes in oil until browned, about 3 minutes, turning once. Drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Finish with sugar or glaze (I did the glaze on the doughnuts and the cinnamon sugar on the holes).

Apple Cider Glaze

1/4 cup apple cider (or juice)

pinch of salt

3 cups powdered sugar

Heat juice and salt in small saucepan over low until hot. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Dip one side of cooled doughnut in glaze and let stand about 5 minutes on wire rack.

Cinnamon Sugar

1 cup sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

Toss doughnuts in bag with cinnamon sugar to coat (when they are still hot).

Overnight French Toast

A friend of mine made this one time and I had to find a recipe for it. So my mom's church cookbook had it. It's great because you can make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning.

1/2 stick butter (room temperature)

12 (3/4 in. thick) French bread slices

6 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

1 T cinnamon (or less)

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. salt

Spread butter over bottom of heavy large baking pan with sides. Arrange bread slices in pan. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake French bread 10 minutes (uncovered). Turn over and bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I love using seasonal ingredients, and since blueberries are in season right now, I thought I'd share this yummy recipe.  It's from Cooking Light.  And it's very, very good.  I actually ate it as dessert, but I bet it'd be good any morning too.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cups sugar

6 Tbs softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 1/3 cups lowfat buttermilk

2 cups bluberries

1 Tbs turbinado

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together sugar and butter about 2 minutes or until well blended.  Add vanilla and eggs and beat well.

Add buttermilk and dry ingredients to sugar mixture alternately until well combined.

Spread half of the batter into a 9" (square or round or whatever) greased pan.  Add 1 cup of the blueberries on top.  Spread the remaining half batter, then the other cup of blueberries.  Sprinkle the turbinado on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.

It's very good warm.  And sprinkle some powdered sugar on top to make it look pretty.  Then eat the whole pan. And sigh at the goodness of it all. :)

Basic Scones

I posted this on my blog at one point but I just made them again recently and thought I would post the recipe here. I found this recipe online after I tried two others...this one was my favorite by far. In fact, I think I'll go make another batch since I have some cream left over.

Blue Goose Inn - Basic Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2-1 cup filler of your choice
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into dry ingredients with pastry blender. Do not allow the butter to melt or form a paste with the flour. Stir in chips/filler of your choice. In a separate bowl, mix together egg and cream. Add all at once to dry ingredients. Mix lightly until just combined.

Gather dough into a ball and knead it gently against the sides and bottom of bowl 5-10 times. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and pat dough into an 8-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 to 12 wedges and place at least 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 degrees until the tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

• My favorite combos are Chocolate Cherry Scones, White Chocolate Cranberry and just Plain with fresh whipped cream on top....yum, yum!

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

I found a Banana Nut bread recipe that my sister gave me that doesn't have shortening. It has a few extra steps than my grandma's recipe but it is oh, so yummy. Maybe I can substitute shortening for cream cheese in my grandma's recipe?

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups flour (1 1/4 cup white flour, 1 1/4 cup wheat and 1/2 cup ground flax seed is my version)

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4)

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Beat together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured loafpans. (I did one loaf pan and 24 muffins) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (15-20 for muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool bread for 30 minutes before slicing.

*some topping suggestions for this recipe were orange-pecan, toasted-coconut, cinnamon-crisp and peanut butter streusel. If you're interested let me know and I'll put the recipe here.

Apple-Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I made this while my mom-in-law was in town and it was really good. The best part is that you can make it the night before and just pop it in the oven the next morning. Or, you could have this with a Sunday lunch and just add a few things to it. I didn't put syrup on mine b/c it's sweet already.

• 10 (3/4 inch thick) slices day-old French bread
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 medium apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon butter
  

Place bread in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine eggs, milk, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla; pour half over bread. Top with half of the apples. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining sugar; sprinkle half over apples. Top with the remaining apples. Pour remaining egg mixture over apples and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Dot with butter. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Monkey Bread

This is NOT healthy or organic. It's buttery and guilty and good.  I grew up eating a big breakfast on Sunday mornings, and I continue the tradition in our house. We had this last Sunday before church at my man's request. I can pretty much hear my arteries clogging.  But it's so delicious every once in a while.

2 cans of biscuits, each cut into 4-5 pieces

Roll the biscuit pieces in cinnamon-sugar mixture.  (1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon)

Make a syrup of 1 stick melted butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar.

Layer the bottom of a pan with half the biscuit pieces, and pour half the syrup over it. Layer remaining biscuits on top and pour the rest of the syrup over.

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Invert onto a plate and let the gooeyness run all over.  

Breakfast Casserole

So, the blog should probably be started off with something more, um, dinnerlike, but here's a recipe that Jess recently asked me for. It's one of my man's favorite breakfast dishes and part of my traditional Christmas breakfast. It's always a crowd pleaser and it's a make-ahead dish too. Oh, and it's my mom's recipe. There are many like it out there, but this one, of course, is my personal favorite.

6 eggs

2 cups milk

2 slices bread - cubed

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp salt (optional)

1 tsp dry mustard

1 lb sausage, cooked and drained

Beat eggs, add everything else.

Pour into a greased 9x12 pan.

Refridgerate overnight.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I often substitute low-fat sausage and it's just as good. And you can make it the morning of, but it's better when it sits overnight.