Something Old: Blueberry Pancakes

I'm back, food friends! After taking a week to recoup from an illness undoubtedly gifted to me by the kiddos, I'm ready to blog again. And the nice thing about blogging? You can do it even if you've lost your voice.

Today, I decided to go with something simple to share. I love pancakes, and this is the best basic recipe I've ever found. It's based on the recipe in old Betty Crocker cookbook, and you can't get more classic than that.

Crazy Tip of the Week: It sounds ridiculous, but the best way to top any pancake is with syrup and Nutella. Just try it. Do it.

Happy cooking!

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Recipe Update February 23, 2011 - I made pancakes last night and was experimenting a bit. I added brown sugar and cinnamon, and the pancakes were even more amazing. The recipe below has been edited to reflect these improvements.

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Blueberry Pancakes January 2, 2010

After a long absence for finals and Christmas, I’m finally back with more notes. Not that I stopped cooking! Definitely not! But I’m just now getting around to sharing. Hope you’ll forgive me.

This pancake recipe is my go-to for a sweet, simple meal. All of the ingredients are pantry staples, so they’re always on hand. The vanilla extract is something my Mom started adding to pancakes when I was a kid, and I've never left it out of a pancake since.

For blueberries any time of year, head for the frozen food section. Don’t like blueberries? Leave 'em out! Or substitute nuts, raspberries, chopped banana, whatever you choose.

I usually do these for dinner, but if you really want, you can make them for breakfast too!

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 large egg

¾ cup milk

½ cup blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, thaw them first!)

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ Tbsp granulated sugar

½ Tbsp brown sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

3 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat egg until fluffy. Mix in remaining ingredients, except blueberries, until the batter is smooth

2. Gently fold in the blueberries with a spoon.

3. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet to medium-low (3-4 on a scale of 10).

4. Pour about one-quarter cup of batter into the skillet for each pancake. Actual amount depends on the size of your skillet and desired pancake size, but remember the batter will spread as it cooks!

5. Cook pancakes on the first side until the bubble on top and the edges begin to pull up and turn lightly golden.

6. Flip. Cook until the other side is golden.

7. Serve with syrup (and Nutella!) and your favorite breakfast sides.

Easiest way to thaw blueberries: Place frozen berries in a bowl and cover them with

hot water from the faucet. Let sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients. Drain and use!

Gently fold in blueberries.

Make sure not to pour in too much batter!

Golden brown and ready to eat.

Happy cooking!

Apologies

Hey, food friends. I'm feeling exhausted and under-the-weather this week. If I feel better by Thursday, there'll be a new recipe up. But for now, forgive me for taking a little blog break.

Happy cooking without me!

Something New: Seven Layer Dip

I had a great night Wednesday, eating ice cream and chatting for 3+ hours with a new friend (hooray!) But that means that I didn't get home until bedtime, and didn't quite feel like writing a blog post with work dauntingly few hours away.

Such is life, food friends.

But I am delivering your new recipe now, and it's a good one! And by good, I mean simple to make and one of the best leftovers to take to work (after cold pizza).

I'm labeling this as an entrée because we added taco meat to a generally vegetarian dish. But you can just as easily leave out the beef if you want something vegetarian, or something appetizer-ian. Just mix the taco seasoning packet into sour cream!

Speaking of vegetarian: I recommend getting vegetarian refried beans over "original" if you have a choice. The "original" beans usually contain lard :/

On that note, enough chatting from me. Happy cooking!

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Seven Layer Dip

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

2 avocados

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

1-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp chopped green onions

¼ cup salsa

⅛ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp black pepper

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

1 can black olives, chopped

2 cups shredded cheese

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef, then add taco seasoning according to package directions.

2. Half the avocados and scoop out the flesh. Place in a large bowl and mash.

3. Stir in lime juice, cilantro, salsa, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.

4. Once the beef is cooked, seasoned and still hot, place it in the bottom of a glass casserole dish.

5. Layer the cheese on top, then refried beans, avocado mix (guacamole!), and sour cream. Garnish with green onions and olives.

6. Serve with tortilla chips. Store in the refrigerator and reheat as great leftover.

Beef, melty cheese, and beans.

Guac on top.

Rainbow of deliciousness.

Happy cooking!

Something Old: Beef Stroganoff

Hello food friends! Welcome to Monday!

It might not be fall yet, as it was when I posted this recipe last year, but it doesn't make the recipe any less delicious.

In fact, just looking at pictures of the stroganoff makes me crave it, even though Chase and I have yummy meatball subs planned for tonight. It's just a great dish. Impressive, simple, and perfect leftovers.

Happy cooking!

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Beef Stroganoff November 3, 2009

This entrée for two is a great way to start off fall. Warm, hearty, and lots of taste.

Chase and I made this recipe just last weekend. Chase found it in his Betty Crocker Recipes for Two book. Despite the book’s crumbly appearance, it has some great simple recipes to share.

In a delicious mistake, I bought steak cut in cubes instead of cubed beef steaks (the things you use for chicken-fried steak). About the same cost, and undoubtedly tastier, it was a great mispurchase!

Ingredients

1 pound steak or stewing beef, cubed (or 2 cubed steaks)

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 can (4 oz) mushrooms

¼ cup sour cream

2 Tbsp flour

½ tsp salt

3 Tbsp veggie oil

1-2 Tbsp pickle relish (optional)

Rice, cooked according to box directions

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook the onion in 1 Tbsp oil until tender (about 4 minutes). Remove from skillet and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, cook the rice in a separate pot according to package directions.

3. In the same skillet as the onions cooked, heat 2 Tbsp oil to medium high. Coat the meat with flour, then cook in skillet until done to at least medium-well.

4. When steak is done cooking, remove from skillet to a separate plate. Sprinkle with salt.

5. Drain extra fat from the skillet, but do not scrape clean.

6. Add onion, sour cream, mushrooms with liquid, pickle relish (I hate pickles and left this out, but Chase added it and loved it) into the skillet.

7. Warm through over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

8. Serve the steak and sauce over rice. Enjoy.

Crumbly cookbook.

So many good flavors together.

Awaiting the delicious sauce.

Happy cooking!

Something Extra: Applesauce Cookies

Something Extra has returned. I realized that my original idea was to post SE every other week, and then in my excitement about starting this blog, I got carried away and posted all of my appetizer arsenal, and then cooked no new sides or desserts for a few weeks until just a couple of days ago.

I got so carried away, in fact, that the whole episode turned into a run-on sentence.

Anyway, I have a new dessert for you! I think all the women in my family have this recipe hanging out somewhere. It's such an easy throw-together cookie, and it makes 4-5 dozen of the delicious little suckers. Which is enough to last maybe a week in this house.

Dare you to make them last longer in yours.

Happy cooking!

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Applesauce Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup applesauce

1 tsp baking soda

2 ¼ cup flour

1 cup sugar

¾ cup stick Crisco

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

¾ cup baking raisins

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream shortening and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

3. Stir in spices and one cup of the flour.

4. Warm the applesauce in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, using a 2 cup glass measuring cup.

5. Add the baking soda to the warm applesauce and stir gently. The mixture will expand to twice the original volume.

6. Mix the applesauce into the batter, then stir in the rest of the flour.

7. Finally gently stir in the raisins, using a spoon (NOT an electric mixer).

8. Spoon the mixture in tablespoon-sized balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

9. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.

Applesauce, before and after.

Ready for some spooning.

Dozens and dozens of delicious cookies!

Happy cooking!

Something New: Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp

Welcome to Thursday! Usually that means only one more day of waking up early. But this week, it means two more early mornings until my one-day weekend. Hooray for work training ... Oh well. I'll be glad to be CPR/FA certified!

Thursday also means I get to share a new recipe with the food friends. Never a bad thing.

This dish was what I always requested for my birthday dinner when I was little. My sisters don't like shrimp (or seafood of any kind), so this dish was a rarity in the house. But boy was it good when we got it!

And this last weekend I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to make alfredo sauce from scratch. This recipe always seems to bring good things.

Happy cooking!

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Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp

Ingredients

1 stick of butter

1 cup half & half

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 package (14 oz) frozen salad shrimp

1 package fettuccine noodles

2-3 cups steamed vegetables (we used a mix package of frozen peas, carrots and broccoli)

Extra parmesan to taste

** You will need TWO large pots for this recipe. **

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot and cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, steam or microwave your vegetables and thaw your shrimp. (The best shrimp thawing method: place the shrimp in a large colander and running cool water over them in the sink.)

2. While noodles and veggies are cooking, melt the butter in the second large pot.

3. Add the half & half to the melted butter and stir until warmed. Then add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to the sauce. Once the cheese is melted, turn heat down to low.

4. Drain the cooked noodles and add directly to the pot of alfredo sauce. Stir to coat noodles.

5. Add the shrimp and vegetables to the noodles and stir until combined. Add extra parmesan cheese to taste.

6. Serve and enjoy.

Creamy alfredo sauce.

Noodles in, and Chase gives a good stir.

Colorful goodies.

Awaiting plating.

Happy cooking!

Something Old: Mexican Cornbread Casserole

Hello friends! Hope everyone's week has been a pleasant one. Not much to report on this end. I just keep working and working and working. My loftiest goal for today (Sunday) is to write all the blog posts for this week in one fell swoop. Or three fell swoops.

I'm going to need some caffeine.

This week's Something Old is a dear recipe to Chase and I. As you'll see below, it was a milestone in our relationship to each other and to cooking.

Oh, and it's delicious.

Happy cooking!

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Mexican Cornbread November 2, 2009

The entire month of October flew by without a single posted recipe. Not that I didn't cook. In fact, I have at least 5 new recipes to share!

And I'll start with this one, a recipe from Chase's family. This is in fact the first food from his family recipes that Chase ever shared with me. It was a few months after we started dating and he was so nervous to share it, afraid I wouldn't like it. But he never had to worry. It is delicious.

Now this is one of my favorite quick and easy recipes, and it makes some of the best leftovers. I’m so glad Chase shared!

Don't know why I only took one picture, though ...

Recipe time!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

1 egg

⅓ cup milk

1 can refried beans (16 oz)

1 cup shredded cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Brown the ground beef. While it is browning, prepare the Jiffy mix according to package directions.

3. When the meat done browning, add the taco seasoning according to package directions.

4. Place the seasoned beef in the bottom of a cooking-sprayed casserole dish.

5. Carefully spread the beans on top of the beef, then sprinkle the cheese over the beans. Finally, pour the prepared cornbread mix over the top.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cornbread comes out clean.

7. Serve and enjoy.