Favorite Food

What's your favorite food?  It's so hard to pick just one, but if I had to, I'd probably go with burritos. Or, maybe tacos.  Big's favorite food is salmon and Little's is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Middle, she loves pancakes.  She's not much of a breakfast eater and we struggle some mornings to get some food in her belly before kindergarten, but pancakes do the trick.  I make a hot breakfast once or twice during the week and on Sundays we've been making pancakes together.  Our Saturdays have had early soccer games and we rush out of the house but hopefully this winter that will change.

Middle loves to help make her favorite food and her signature touch is mini chocolate chips sprinkled on the pancakes while they're on the griddle.  This recipe is from my mom and is tried and true.  I realized that while there are pumpkin pancakes, banana pancakes, almond pancakes and other variations already on the blog, this one had yet to make an appearance.  So, here it is.  Almost as easy as a mix!

Grammy's Pancakes (serves 4)

1 cup flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 beaten egg
1 c. milk
2 T cooking oil.

Whisk together egg, milk and oil with a whisk.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just blended.  Cook on hot griddle.

*Middle suggests after pouring batter on the griddle, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips.

Pancake Pops

I've made several great recipes that I've found on Pinterest and while I love looking at some of the "Pinterest Fail" blogs sometimes, I've honestly had great luck.  I saw this idea on there some time back and when I decided to throw a Flip Flop Exchange & brunch again this year for friends, I wanted to try making pancake pops.  I was feeling great about it - found some Wilton lollipop sticks for a decent price, got the ingredients together, and then I told my husband my idea.  He laughed and thought it would never work.  So, with a group of friends and kids at my house, it was with a little apprehension that I tried this out.  But, ta-da!  It worked!  Baby girl ate 3 the first day, 4 the next morning and absolutely loved the pancake on a stick.

They are super cute but the real bonus is that I find my girls eat less syrup when they dip instead of drench their pancakes, and the little extra time it takes to make them is overshadowed (in my mind) by the time it takes to cut them into pieces.  It was fun for the party and I'll be making these again!

Step 1:  Make a batch of your favorite pancake batter.  The kind that's more cake-like will work better than the kind that is thinner and more crepe-like.  You might decrease your liquid a bit to achieve thicker batter.

Step 2:  Using a griddle, pour smallish amounts of batter and let it cook for about a minute.

Step 3:  After it's cooked for 1-2 minutes, add the sticks.  One of my friends suggested resting the sticks on the rim of the griddle so the sticks themselves didn't burn.

Step 4:  Using a spoon or spatula, smooth over the batter to cover the stick.

Step 5:  When bubbles appear, use a flat spatula to turn the pancakes - don't use the sticks to do this!

Step 6:  When they're done cooking, remove from the griddle (again using your spatula) and serve!  

No more pictures, mom!

Oven Custard Pancake

After many days and weeks of cold cereal, bagels or yogurt for breakfast, I decided we needed something hot for breakfast.  I really liked this custardy pancake but my kids weren't so sure . . . I probably shouldn't have called it "pancake" because it's not what they were expecting.  You could use other berries for topping or even in the swirl.  The pancake definitely sinks from its initial puffiness as you can see in the difference between the top and bottom pictures.

Oven Custard Pancake with Raspberries (serves 8)

from Sunset 4/2011

4 large eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp lemon zest

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

2.5 cups milk

1 cup raspberries

1/4 cup butter, cut into chunks

Optional:

Chopped fresh berries

maple syrup

Set an ovenproof 12 inch frying pan in the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees (you could also use a 9x13 pan).  Whisk eggs, honey, and zest to blend.  Add salt, flour and 1/4 cup milk and whisk until smooth.  Then, whisk in the remaining milk.

Puree the raspberries in a blender until smooth.  Strain and discard seeds.

Remove pan from oven (carefully!).  Add the butter and swirl until melted and golden.  Pour in batter.  Pour raspberry puree over batter in wide ribbons.  Reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake pancake until deep golden, about 20 minutes.  Let stand 10-15 minutes to firm up (the puffy pancake will fall).

Serve with chopped fresh berries, a little more honey, maple syrup, or plain.

Almond Pancakes

I came across this on Pinterest recently and I liked the idea of pancakes without white flour.  These would accommodate a lot of diets (they're gluten free and even Paleo, I think).  I was a bit skeptical because not all of my Pinterest experiments turn out well so I just tried out a half batch.  I knew that if I promised my kids pancakes for breakfast and they turned out bad, we'd have a major morning crisis on our hands.

As you would expect of the ingredients, they were a little gritty in texture (I did use the finely ground almond meal from Bob's Red Mills) but I liked the nutty almond flavor.  I might experiment with adding a little more water (or almond milk?) to the batter to make the pancakes a bit thinner.  They reminded me a little of corn cakes that I've had before.  After a few bites, Middle asked me to make "the other kind" of pancakes but for the amount of protein they pack, I'd eat them again!

Almond Pancakes (serves 2-3)
from www.delightedmama.com

1 1/2 cups almond meal
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
2 T cooking oil (I used vegetable oil - coconut oil would probably be tasty)
1 tsp sugar or other sweetener (optional)
dash of vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together.  Cook as you would "normal" pancakes.  They might not have bubbles on the surface as much as normal ones but if you look closely, you'll see small bubbles and dry edges indicating it's a good time to flip them over.

Happy Halloween

She is SO excited to be Rapunzel and just loves "the hair."  

Little sister hated putting on the dinosaur costume.  I have stuff to make her a little black cat as a back up.  We'll see what happens when it comes time for the Halloween party we're going to this morning.  

Scarecrow big sister . . . buying our pumpkins at Trader Joe's.  I'm a little bummed we didn't make it to a pumpkin patch this year, but I'm sure there will be plenty of years to do that.  

Both girls were really into carving pumpkins . . . for about 3 minutes.  Big sister picked the pumpkins, drew the faces, pulled one handful of goop out of the inside, and waited for it to get dark so we could light the candles inside.  It's still weird to me how little kids' memories work.  She remembers what she was for Halloween last year and trick-or-treating, but she doesn't ever remember carving a pumpkin (and we've done it every year).  Here's what my kids looked like a year ago

I'm surprised that I haven't posted pumpkin pancakes ever - you know how we love pancakes around here.  I've made a few versions of these (and there are a few mixes out there like the TJs one that are quite good) but this recipe is probably my best.  I started with half cup of milk and added about a quarter cup more.  Play with the liquid until it pours the way you like it.  The recipe is easily doubled.  This batch fed 2 of us on 2 mornings (putting the batter in the refrigerator overnight actually made it taste even better the next morning).

Pumpkin Pancakes (makes about 12 medium sized pancakes)
Source:  I think from All Recipes?  Not sure

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar.  In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.  Make a well and add the wet ingredients.  Stir until just combined.  Let set about 5 minutes.  If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk.  Cook on a buttered skillet until bubbles appear.  Flip.  Eat warm with maple syrup.

Healthier Pancakes

Big sister loves pancakes.   About two weeks ago, I made them three mornings in a row.  I usually make this recipe but I wanted to try something a little healthier by the third morning and the recipe below was the result.  No white flour or refined sugar and they weren't bad . . . a little dense because of the whole wheat flour and oats.  Play with the amount of milk (and you could easily use soy milk or almond milk) to get the consistency you like - I should have added a little more.  Also, after talking to my Aunt Kathy about thin vs cake-like pancakes, I think I'd reduce the baking powder (or leave it out) next time around.

Healthy(ier) Pancakes (makes about 8-10 pancakes)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 T baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 T honey
3 T plain yogurt
~1 cup (or more) milk
1 banana, diced

Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.   Then, add the egg, honey, yogurt and milk and stir until it's mixed.  Don't overmix - a few lumps are okay.  Fold in the banana.

Another way to do this is to put everything but the banana and oats in a blender and briefly blend until it's all mixed.  Then, stir in the oats and banana.

Cook them in a hot pan or skillet however you like to make pancakes.

Antidote for a sleepless night

Ahh, sleep.  Most of you already know the long story of how big sister didn't sleep through the night for 8 months . . . if you met me during that time, I talked about it a lot.  God has blessed me with a new baby who sleeps much better and I don't take it for granted one bit.  But, both girls have been sick and for the last 6 nights, I've been up about every 2 hours all night long.  This morning, I was really feeling those sleepless nights.

I'd like to say that I'm not obsessing about their sleep like I used to, but if I'm honest with you, I am.  I'm laying awake freaking out that the baby is never going to sleep again and then debating whether to stop swaddling the baby, how to transition her to a crib, and trying to decide what age I'll be comfortable sleep training.  Then, I started wondering if they'll both stop sleeping when we move and when they start sharing a room . . . aaahhhhh.  You have to keep in mind, that in the past week, the baby slept a 9 hour night and a 10 hour night.  All this fretting isn't necessarily warranted, but that's what consecutive nights with no REM sleep will do to you.

So, if you see me, instead of telling me, "boy, you look tired" you can tell me "hey, Bec - the baby isn't like big sister and she'll go back to sleeping through the night as soon as she's not sick any more."  Lie if you have to - I need to believe!  I woke up this morning and there they were - two bright eyed, happy girls waiting for a smiling mom to get her act together and make some breakfast.  

"Come on mom, get out of bed.  I'm huuuungry."

I brewed a big pot of coffee (our Costa Rican favorite - Cafe Britt) and made blueberry pancakes from the Julienne cookbook.  I felt much, much better after breakfast and even got a 4 mile run in this morning!  My husband and big sister wanted theirs without the blueberries but I loved the berries.  At Julienne, they serve them with lemon curd.

So, if you have a rough night, give these a try; you'll feel better!

Whisking is her favorite part

Julienne's Blueberry Pancakes (half the original recipe - serves 3ish)

1 c. all purpose flour
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 large egg
1 T vegetable oil
1 c. blueberries

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Whisk the wet ingredients in a small bowl and pour into the dry ingredient bowl, stirring to combine.  Don't stir too much - there will be a few lumps remaining.  Heat a pan over medium heat until hot.  Lightly coat the pan with butter.  Pour about 1/4 c. batter to make round pancakes and top each one with a few blueberries.  When bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes (about 2 minutes), flip and cook about 2 more minutes.

Banana Pancakes

Can't think of much better on a rainy Saturday morning than cuddling with my girls, making banana pancakes, and listening to some Jack Johnson.  These pancakes were perfect with a little maple syrup and they're a good way to use up ripe bananas.  Enjoy!

Banana Pancakes (4 servings)

1 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

2 T vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Combine dry ingredients with a whisk.  In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.  Stir flour mixture into banana mixture - batter will be a little lumpy.  Pour batter onto a heated, buttered pan or griddle and cook until pancakes are golden brown on each side.  

Breakfast for my Biggest Fan

My husband is my biggest fan.  He doesn't regularly read this blog, but he inspires ideas for recipes, compliments my cooking on a regular basis, and overlooks the grocery bills.  When we first got married, he did a lot of the cooking because I wasn't the greatest cook.  I owe a lot of my improvement in that area to his constructive criticism:  "This is really good but it would be even better if you . . . "

Since my husband loves baked apple desserts (apple pie, apple fritters, apple crisps etc.), for his birthday breakfast this year, I tried to recreate a baked apple pancake that we had in a restaurant awhile back. It turned out really good, but super sweet.  Next time, I think I might skip the butter & cinnamon sugar that I put on the top and serve it with a little maple syrup on the side.

Happy birthday honey!

Baked Apple Pancake (4 servings)

3 T unsalted butter (divided)
2 medium Gala apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3 eggs
1/4 c. brown sugar (divided)
pinch of salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in an ovenproof skillet.  Add the apple slices and heat until tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir to combine.  Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, salt, milk & flour in a bowl.  Pour over the apples in the skillet.  Bake in the oven until puffy, about 10 minutes. While the pancake is baking, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and the cinnamon.

Remove the puffed pancake from the oven, dot with 1 tablespoon of butter that you've cut into small pieces, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.  Put it back into the oven for another 10 minutes, until browned.   Slice and serve.

Cinnamon Oat Pancakes

One of the nice things about being done with work for the summer is having more relaxed mornings and making hot breakfast a little more often. I gave my daughter her choice of breakfast and, not surprisingly, she picked pancakes. I tried a new recipe from Martha Stewart Everyday Food (5/09) and made the whole batter in the blender, scraping down the sides a few times, and just stirring the last addition of oats.

You know I love both cinnamon and oats and they were thick and cake-like and even though my husband prefers thin and crepe-like pancakes, we all liked them. The amounts are easy to halve and a half batch was perfect for the three of us. I spread mine with almond butter for a little protein and it tasted great!



Cinnamon Oat Pancakes (makes about 20)

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Put flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and half of the oats (1 cup) in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times to coarsely grind the oats and combine the dry ingredients. Add the milk, eggs, and vegetable oil, and blend again, not for too long, and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Stir in the other half (1 cup) of the oats.

Heat a large skillet or griddle and lightly oil or spray. Using 2 to 3 tablespoons for each pancake, drop batter in skillet and cook until a few bubbles have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until browned on undersides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat until the batter is gone!