You know how everyone just LOVES pancakes?? …..yeah, notsomuch me or Joel. We’ve both never really been all that into pancakes. They’re too rich and usually too much “work” for a mediocre result. Give me waffles any day. Cassidy, on the other hand, LOVES pancakes. I make them for her at least 3 times a week.
However, I’ve recently had a craving for hot, fluffy pancakes lately. I have no idea why. Luckily, I happen to find a recipe that wowed both me and Joel and I’ve never looked back. I’m now a big ‘ol pancake lover! I just love how vanilla-y and fluffy these are! If you haven’t gotten on board the from-scratch pancake train, this recipe should change your mind. It doesn’t take long, and the results are far superior to anything you could get from a box! You could add in any kind of fruit you like to customize them to your tastes, too! We love blueberries!
Perfect Pancakes
1 cup buttermilk **
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
Preheat a greased griddle to medium-low heat (if you’re using non-stick, there’s no need to grease). Whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the buttermilk mixture, then the melted butter. Batter will be a little lumpy. Let sit for 5 minutes. Scoop out batter 1/3 cup at a time and pour onto the heated griddle. Cook until small bubbles start to form, then flip. Cook for another minute or so, then remove when golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serves 2-3.
**If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, no worries- just use regular milk, but add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Works like a charm!
Recipe source: adapted from Coleen’s Recipes
I hope everyone had a happy Easter! Ours was great- the Easter Bunny came to visit Cassidy, church was great, and my whole family had a wonderful meal at my parents’ house. Of course Cassidy was the life of the party. 😉
One of the best parts about the meal was surprisingly not one of the decadent desserts (one of which was provided by me), but the simple fruit salad my sister brought. Nothing but fresh strawberries, blueberries, and grapes tossed in a honey-lime dressing. It was sooo good! Something about the combination of honey and lime juice is magic! I have a feeling this will be a pool-side favorite this summer!
Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing
1 pint container fresh strawberries, stems removed and cut into halves
1 pint container fresh blueberries, stems removed
1 bunch (about 1 1/2 pounds) seedless grapes
1/4 cup honey
juice from 2 limes (about 2-3 tablespoons)
Combine fruit in a large bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice and honey until combined. Pour over the fruit and toss to coat. Serves a crowd.
Recipe source: my sister, via Oh! You Cook!
I’m going to be honest with you- since Cassidy was born, I haven’t spent one single night away from her. In fact, I haven’t spent more than 4 or 5 hours away from her! Joel has, due to various business trips, but not me. Nope. And I’ve been perfectly ok with that. In fact, every time we decide to take a couple of hours for ourselves and leave the baby with a grandparent, as soon as we leave the driveway, I’m flooded with feelings of guilt over leaving my baby. Then I’ll drive Joel nuts by asking if maybe we should’ve just stayed home. Am I alone here?? Surely I’m not the only crazy mom. 😉
But everything changed a couple of days ago when Joel booked us an overnight getaway. That’s right, in a few short days, I’ll be abandoning leaving Cassidy to go enjoy an overnight stay in a plush hotel room. There will be champagne, a couple’s massage, gourmet dining, and best of all- a night of uninterrupted SLEEP. No baby monitor, no early morning wake up call, no nothing. Nothing but sleep. This all sounds great, but truth be told, I’m still unsure how I’ll handle it. Am I really ready for a night away from my baby?? Don’t get me wrong, the room is BOOKED and there’s no going back now, but I really hope I don’t blow the whole thing by whining for my baby the whole time.
Anyway, that story has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with hash…sorry. Onto the recipe. I had some really yummy smoked ham leftover, along with a couple of really beautiful red peppers and a bag of frozen hashbrowns lying around. What else would I do but make ham and red pepper hash?! YUM!
Ham and Red Pepper Hash
1 16-ounce bag frozen hash browns
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup cooked, diced ham
1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
3 large eggs, poached or fried
salt and pepper
olive oil
Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet, then add the frozen hash browns and red peppers. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or so, until peppers begin to soften. Stir in ham and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more. Top with cheese and poached eggs. Serves 3-4.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
I think we can all agree that birthdays are special. As soon as you wake up the morning of your birthday, you want to feel special! When my sister and I were growing up, on the morning of our birthdays, my mom would make us our very own breakfast in bed. She would wake us up singing and laughing and the whole family greeted us on our special morning. Too bad I don’t get that kind of treatment anymore…(I’m lookin’ at you, Joel!) Hehe, just kidding…. 😉
On Cassidy’s first birthday, Joel and I (like huge dorks) greeted her with lots of loud, happy singing and laughing. Then we all sat down and enjoyed these yummy, festive birthday pancakes. What a great start to a happy, happy day!
These are really soooooo easy. In fact, I’m not even going to post an actual recipe, because I used boxed pancake mix. I’m not going to spend all morning making pancakes from scratch when I could be snuggling my sweet birthday girl! These are ready in less than 10 minutes! Score!
To make the pancakes: start with your favorite brand of pancake mix and prepare as directed. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles (I used rainbow jimmies- they melt a little inside the batter and give that “funfetti” look.). Cook as directed and serve with maple syrup.
Ok, I realize “World Nutella Day” was yesterday, but better late than never, right?
This is possibly one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever posted, considering every ingredient is store-bought. But hey, sometimes life can get a little crazy and you just need a recipe like this. All it takes is canned crescent roll dough, nutella, and sugar, and in minutes you’ll have a warm, gooey, comforting snack, breakfast, or dessert. Yes, please! These would actually be really cute (and quick!) for the kids’ Valentine’s Day breakfast- maybe even use a little pink decorating sugar and it’s just downright festive!
Quick and Easy Nutella Crescents
1 can refrigerated Pillsbury crescent roll dough
nutella
sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread a little nutella (about one tablespoon per triangle) on each triangle of dough. Starting with the big end, roll into a crescent shape and sprinkle generously with sugar. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately. Makes 8 crescents.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Jessica and I have been friends for over 4 years now. We met on a cooking discussion forum, quickly discovered we had lots in common, then soon discovered we were both North Texas girls! That’s how we went from internet blogging friends to real-life friends. I’ve met her family; she’s met mine. We’ve gone blackberry picking together, she came to see me in one of my operas, I’ve eaten at her family’s favorite place to get fried fish in her hometown, we made macarons together:
…we’ve seen John Mayer together, we’ve visited each others’ houses, we got stood up at a food bloggers’ dinner (man, that one was embarrassing, huh?), we met DORIE FREAKING GREENSPAN together:
…and so many more memories. Too many to list. When I first met Jess, she seemed to be looking for something she hadn’t quite found yet. Fast forward 4 1/2 years later and she’s met the man of her dreams, running stinkin’ half marathons (go girl!), and GETTING MARRIED in less than a month! She’s found everything she was missing in Chris and now they’re going to start a new life together. Wow. I am SO happy for these two I can’t even tell you! And seriously, have you SEEN her engagement photos? Amazing.
Anyway, on to the food! I’m participating in a virtual shower thrown by my good friend Nikki of Pennies on a Platter. A bunch of us got together to throw a special wedding shower celebrating the beautiful bride! I decided to make Cinnamon-Sugar Crescents because a.) I think they’d be great shower food, and b.) I know Jessica loves cinnamon. She’s always baking up yummy treats with those delicious looking cinnamon chips, and of course I’ve always been jealous because I can never find them at my grocery stores! Ugh! Don’t forget to check out Nikki and Jessica’s awesome blogs to see the full list of goodies we all made to honor the beautiful bride! And Jessica, congratulations, dear friend. I love you and I’m so amazingly happy for you.
These couldn’t be simpler; store-bought crescent roll dough, butter, cinnamon, and sugar. But ohhhh boy are they good! Soft, flaky, cinnamon-y goodness.
Cinnamon-Sugar Crescents
1 can store-bought crescent roll dough, such as Pillsbury
2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you like lots)
2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine cinnamon and sugar. Roll out the crescent dough and brush the melted butter over each triangle. Sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll each triangle into a crescent shape, then brush the tops with the remainder of the melted butter. Sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 8 crescents.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Chocolate + oatmeal + almonds = one yuuuuummy breakfast!
When you have a teething 6 month old with a fiery red-headed temper, you’re going to need a hearty breakfast to keep you going throughout the day. Let me rephrase that- a QUICK hearty breakfast. So lately, I’ve been microwaving up some quick-cooking steel cut oats and stirring in a few chocolate chips and sliced almonds. Fast, yummy, and filling!
Chocolate Almond Oatmeal
1/4 cup quick cooking steel cut oats*
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
dash salt
handful semi sweet chocolate chips
handful slivered almonds
milk, for stirring in at the end, if desired
Combine the oats, water, and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 4 minutes. Let sit for another 2 minutes or so. Stir in the sugar, chocolate chips, almonds, and milk. Serves 1.
*Feel free to use plain old quick cooking oats, if you can’t find steel cut.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
I love oatmeal. I mean, really, really love it. When I was recovering in the hospital after having Cassidy, I ordered oatmeal with brown sugar every single morning for my breakfast. Growing up, my favorite was always the instant peaches and cream variety, and chances are, 9 times out of 10, you’ll find the little envelopes of instant oatmeal in my pantry. 🙂 However, my newest breakfast obsession is the quick-cooking steel cut oats. I love them because they only take 5 minutes to cook and I can stir in anything I want to flavor it- fruit, chocolate, brown sugar, maple syrup…nutella. 😉
Nutella for breakfast is always a good idea; especially when it’s stirred into hot oatmeal and topped with fresh strawberries. THIS is my kind of breakfast!
Strawberry Nutella Oatmeal
3 cups water
1 cup low-fat milk
1 cup steel-cut oats**
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons Nutella
Fresh sliced strawberries
Combine the water and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
Stir the oats into the simmering liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, salt, and sugar. Remove from the heat and let stand 2 minutes before serving.
Portion the oatmeal into serving bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of Nutella and swirl gently into the oatmeal with a knife or a spoon. Garnish each serving with a handful of sliced strawberries. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
**I use the quick cooking steel-cut oats, which take only around 5 minutes to cook, but if you can’t find them at your grocery store, use regular steel-cut oats (or just plain old fashioned oatmeal, if steel-cut isn’t your thing) and cook for about 20 minutes.
Recipe source: adapted from Annie’s Eats
I know I’m a bit late, but I wanted to share some snippets from my very first Mother’s Day with you. To be honest, I was looking more forward to Mother’s Day than my own birthday this year- I feel so special to be able to celebrate being a mother. That is SO cool. The whole weekend was special- Joel took care of Cassidy so I could sleep in Saturday and Sunday (the best gift of all!), I got to be with family, Joel gave me a beautiful ring with Cassidy’s birthstone, and we made a big, delicious Mother’s Day breakfast Sunday morning, which included this french toast (so good!). And of course I spent most of the day snuggling my sweet little girl!
Baked french toast, asparagus and goat cheese frittata (recipe to come), grilled bacon (insanely good!) and grapefruit halves. Yummy!
All in all, the day was so, so special. I will always remember my first Mother’s Day and how beautiful it was thanks to my amazing husband and precious baby girl!
Now, back to the french toast! It’s gooey, sweet, and incredibly easy. Throw everything in the baking dish the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning! We used some leftover sourdough bread, which makes the best french toast, in my opinion, but you could use any bread you have on hand- french, challah, brioche…whatever! Give it a try next time you’re in the mood for a lazy weekend breakfast- it won’t disappoint!
Overnight Banana Caramel French Toast
3-4 cups bread, preferably slightly stale, crusts removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
2 bananas, sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup jarred or homemade caramel sauce (I like the Hershey’s brand)
Grease a 9×9 baking dish. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the sliced bananas and walnuts. Place in the baking dish.
Whisk the milk, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and salt together in a large bowl. Pour over the bread cubes. With the back of a large spoon, gently press down on the bread so that it absorbs all the milk mixture. Drizzle caramel sauce over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the french toast and bake for 35-45 minutes, until no longer jiggly. Top with additional bananas if desired. Serves 4.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
My house is an absolute wreck. A disaster zone. A nightmare. We’re still in the big middle of renovations (we should be long-since finished by now, but you know how these things go…), so all of our furniture is piled in the middle of rooms, half of our carpet is rolled up and disgusting looking, our stairs don’t even have carpet on them, so all that’s there is ugly, torn up padding and tack strips, and up until last night there was a layer of dust 1 inch thick covering every surface of my kitchen and dining room. And on top of all that, we just had a baby shower recently, so there’s baby stuff all over the place and nowhere to put it! It’s. A. Mess. Luckily, (hopefully…) everything will be finished by the end of this week (please, Lord!). So, with all this madness, stress and clutter everywhere, you can imagine I haven’t done much cooking. And by much, I mean practically none. That’s where the beauty of this recipe comes into play. You throw your oats, water, spices and fruit in the slow cooker and let it do its’ thing overnight. In the morning, you’ve got hearty, delicious oatmeal waiting for you. No standing over the stove stirring involved. It’s a beautiful thing. Not to mention really, really delicious. Give this a try this week- your family will love it!
Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
1 cup steel cut oats**
3 1/2 cups water
1 medium-large apple, peeled and chopped (I like Honeycrisp or Pink Lady)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
Spray a slow cooker with non-stick spray and place the oats, water, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar inside. Stir to combine. Cover, set to low, and allow to cook overnight (about 8 hours). In the morning, stir the oatmeal one last time before serving. Serve with milk and additional brown sugar if desired. Serves 4.
**you don’t have to use steel cut oats, but it’s highly recommended -the texture will be mushier with regular oats since they cook for so long.
Recipe source: adapted from allrecipes.com
