Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Morningstar Farms! Go Meatless...

Was given a free coupon by BzzAgent! Love Morningstar Farm.  Tons of varieties.  My favorite is the Black Bean Burger.  Taste so good.  Load on pickles, ketchup and all of your favorite toppings! Great source of protein too!
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Friday, October 12, 2012

This "pie" is NOT really a pie! Just a giant sugar cookie with tinted frosting... Such a quick and simple way to make a dessert the kids will love.

Easy as Pie!

 From FamilyFun Magazine
Easy as Pie   
Ingredients
  • 2/3 of a 16.5-ounce roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  • 3/4 cup orange frosting
  • Pecans, halved crosswise (see tip below)
  • Whipped cream
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly dust a sheet of parchment paper and a rolling pin with flour. On the paper, roll out the dough into a 91/2- to 10-inch circle. Place a 9-inch pie pan on top and trim away the dough's edges. Transfer the dough round, on the paper, to a cookie sheet and bake it until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes (do not overbake). Let it cool 1 minute, then carefully transfer it, still on the paper, to a rack to cool completely.
  2. Cover the cookie to its edges with the frosting and press the pecan pieces in place to form the crust. Slice the cookie as you would a pie and serve with whipped cream.
 
To cut the pecans more easily, use a serrated knife and gently saw them (a parent's job).
 

Microwave Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin Butter tastes so good! No matter what season it is, people of all ages enjoy it.  My daughters especially love it on crackers.  The microwave is an easy and fast way to have this on hand.  When refrigerated, this will last for several weeks... ENJOY!

Ingredients:


Directions:


Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 13 mins

  1.  Microwave sugars, water and spice for 3 minutes after mixing. Add pumpkin and mix again. Microwave again for 5 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate. Will keep for a couple of weeks.


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Pancakes...Pancakes...

My family loves when we have pancakes for breakfast.  They especially love when I make them for dinner!  I try and add things such as cinnamon, blueberries, or canned pumpkin.  Planning a "pancake breakfast"?  Try these...


http://blogchef.net/chocolate-chip-pancakes-recipe/

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Step 1: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Step 2: In a separate bowl mix together eggs, milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat the wet ingredients with the dry mixture until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
Step 3: Heat pan or griddle. Pour or spoon batter into pan (each pancake should be about ½ cup of batter).
Step 4: Flip the pancake when the top begins to bubble. Fry for 1 minute. Remove from pan and repeat until batter is gone.


Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes

Preparation Time:  20 minutes for mixing, 1 hour to let batter rest

Cooking Time:  20-30 minutes
Ingredient List:
2 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 to 1-2/3 cups buttermilk
6 Tablespoons melted butter or Crisco Oil
3 eggs
Instructions:
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Step 2: Make a well in the center and add wet ingredients.
Step 3: Stir with a wire whisk to mix, just until ingredients are blended, scraping sides and bottom of bowl to get everything incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix. Batter will be thick.
Step 4: Let batter sit in bowl for 1 hour to rise. Do not stir batter at all during this time.
Step 5: Do not stir the batter when you are frying the cakes. Just use a large ladle to scoop out batter. Fry on a hot griddle or frying pan.
This recipe makes 10-12 cakes.

Banana Pancakes

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-pancakes-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons
  • 3 ripe bananas, cut into 1/3-inch slices

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In large bowl sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In separate bowl whisk together egg, buttermilk, milk and melted butter. Slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir until the flour disappears, but being careful not to overbeat the batter. In a large cast-iron skillet, melt about 1/2 tablespoon remaining butter. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan for each pancake. Immediately press 4 or 5 banana slices into each so the batter oozes slightly over the fruit. Cook until bubbles appear and then flip and cook on the other side, about 3 minutes total. Transfer the pancakes to a platter and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining batches, adding butter to the pan as needed. Serve hot with syrup.

5 Minute Vegan Pancakes

http://www.food.com/recipe/5-minute-vegan-pancakes-132263


Fruit Pancakes That Kids Can Help Make


http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/fruit-pancakes-that-kids-can-help-make-678061/



Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
Butter


About 1 cup of fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries,


Sliced strawberries, apples, peaches or bananas
Maple syrup


Instructions: Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Show the chef how to measure accurately, using dry measuring cups and leveling off the flour. And be sure to have him check for any remaining lumps in the bottom of the sifter.


Whisk the eggs and milk in a separate bowl, then whisk in the oil. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon, but do not beat. The batter will be a little bit lumpy, but that's okay. For fluffier pancakes, substitute buttermilk for the milk and use 2 teaspoons baking soda instead of the baking powder.


Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a griddle or an electric skillet on medium high. Then, being careful not to splatter the hot butter, drop about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake (a job for older kids and parents only). Be sure to leave enough room between the cakes for them to grow. For fun, you can drizzle the batter into shapes. Pour it into a plastic bag, snip a small hole in one corner, and squeeze the batter into hearts, teddy bears, numbers or your child's initials on the hot griddle.


Ask your kids what fruits they want to add to their pancakes, then gently press blueberries, raspberries, or apple or banana slices into the batter. To help the kids pick their favorite fillings, set out bowls of the prepared fruits. Six-year-old Tom picked five blueberries and one raspberry, whereas his sister, four-year-old Ruth, said "I don't want to put anything in it, just on it."


Cook until the pancakes bubble on the top and brown on the bottom. Flip, then cook until brown on the other side. For successful cooking, use a griddle that heats evenly. Keep it on medium high--if it's too hot, the pancakes will burn on the outside and remain gooey on the inside; if it's not hot enough, the crust will turn hard and the inside will be dry. Cook a test pancake in the beginning, then adjust your heat accordingly.


Serve the pancakes hot with butter and maple syrup, if you like. Or, stockpile them on an oven-proof dish set in a warm oven for any late sleepers. Makes 20 pancakes