Bible Lesson #8: Life's Simple Pleasures... Homemade Pancakes

Hello my friends! It has been much too long since we last met, and I must apologize for that. But as you all know and understand, the holidays create a stressful and jam-packed explosion of family and holiday parties, as well as trimming up those end-of-the-year loose ends. While I have been engrossed with holiday cheer, I still managed to think of you as I was baking, cooking, and roasting away in the kitchen.

For my first post back from the holidays as well as starting this new unexplored new year, I decided that simplicity is the best way to begin my 2012. It's bound to be a year full of new experiences into the unknown, and often times the unknown and the idea of change can create some high anxiety. Due to these reshaping moments coming up, going back to the basics and the rudimentary fundamentals is key to keeping me grounded and involved in my surroundings and most importantly - from losing my freakin' mind! So here are some tasty, yet simple reminders of how lovely life can really be...




Simply Pancakes:

2 large eggs
1 1/4 C. milk
3 Tbsp. melted butter (or veggie oil)
1 1/2 C. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. Sugar OR 1/4 C. malted milk powder (like diner pancakes)

*Use 1 cup milk if you're baking in hot, humid conditions, or if the batter will be resting for longer than 15 minutes. Use up to 1 1/4 cups milk in cold, dry conditions.

Directions

1. Beat the eggs and milk until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the butter or vegetable oil.

2. Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and sweetener.

3. Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes, while the griddle is heating; it"ll thicken slightly.

4. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat, or set an electric griddle to 375°F. Lightly grease frying pan or griddle. The pan or griddle is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately.

5. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, about 2 minutes; then turn the pancakes and cook the other side until brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn over only once. Serve immediately.

I added some delicious chocolate chips to my pancakes. Also - TIP: Wait until their are air bubbles on the top before flipping, this is right before I flip mine. Yield: 1 dozen large (4 1/2") pancakes Tips: To make waffles, substitute 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil for 2 tablespoons of the milk. Cook waffles as directed with your waffle iron. Hint - if you try to open the iron and it doesn't open easily, the waffle isn't done yet. For a whole grain breakfast treat, replace 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with 1/2 cup of ground oats. A grated apple mixed into the batter will keep the pancakes moist longer if you need to cook them ahead and bring them to the table all at once For blueberry pancakes, sprinkle fresh or thawed frozen blueberries over the batter after you pour it on the griddle. Mixing frozen blueberries into the batter before scooping will turn it blue and streaky.

Bible Lesson #7: It's Bananas - B-A-N-A-N-A-S... Banana Bread of Champions

Howdy y'all! I feel like I've been slacking since I haven't posted in a while, but here I am with a few new goodies just in time for the holidays (this makes a great neighborly holiday gift, wrapped up all fancy). Now, if you are like me, carbs and breads are the sunshine to my soul. A personal favorite growing up, and still today, is Banana Bread. It's moist, delicious, and always disappears really quickly at my house. After many mediocre attempts at making a perfect banana bread, I have discovered The One! So please enjoy, from one carb lover to another this holiday season.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3-4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour
Optional (add walnuts - my dad's fave - too bad I'm allergic)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

No need for a fancy mixer. Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in suger, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered/Pam'd 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack about 15 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely or it will be slightly doughy. Serve alone or with butter (My personal favorite to spread on it).

*Whenever I have brown bananas I'm not ready to use, I mash them up and freeze them until I'm ready to make some bread. They defrost super quickly in a bowl of warm water. 

Bible Lesson #6: Rolos, melt straight into my heart...

Welcome to the mind of a vivacious, hungry, collage-aged girl. Boys - chocolate is the cure for everything. Caramel, too? Why, yes please!

These are the only ingredients! (Minus an egg, I got a little crazy in this pic)

This is my go-to east-peasy cookie recipe that everyone loves - if they only knew how easy they were to make!

Rolo Cookies

Ingredients:
1 pkg Rolo's
1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1/3 cup oil

This is the consistency of the mix.



Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs. Take a small ball of dough and form a ball around the rolo. (Only use enough dough to cover the rolo so it can spread through the cookie.)

Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Nom nom nom nom nom... gooey goodness in my belly...

Bible Lesson #5: The Three C's - Cranberries, Cream Cheese, & Crackers

As before mentioned, being in my quasi-college/adult stage allows for a lot of raised eyebrows and skepticism among the next generation adults of my family when I ask these four little words going into a family party - "What can I bring/make?" Sometimes, it is nice to not have to worry about appeasing the masses (or my family) with some food item that those raised eyebrows are ready to pounce on. However, I've been feeling quite saucy and daring lately and decided to just bring a dish without being asked. Courageous or stupidity? That's still out for debate. However, this time consequently ended in a successful venture, or experiment would probably be a more appropriate word... phew.

Cranberry Salsa Dip:

Ingredients:
1   12 oz package fresh cranberries
1/4 C green onion, chopped
1/4 C cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper
1 1/4 C sugar
1/4 t cumin
2 T lemon juice
dash salt
2   8 oz packages cream cheese

Directions:

1. Put your cranberries in a food processor.
(blender doesn't work well, use the processor or
chop yourself)
2. Chop up your green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno
pepper into small pieces.
3. Add all ingredients (but the cream cheese and
the wheat thins) into a bowl. Mix them all together,
cover and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
The sugar needs some time to soak in to the
cranberries and break up their bitter taste.
4. When you are ready to serve, place your cream
cheese bricks on a plate.
5. Spread the cream cheese out as evenly as you
can.
6. Pour your cranberry mixture over the cream
cheese.
7. Spread it all around.
8. Serve immediately with Wheat Thins, Ritz
Crackers or Tortilla Chips.

Bible Lesson #4: Shooter McGavin is Here for Breakfast

One of my favorite simple pleasures in this life is Sunday brunch at a local cafe right by my house. It's such a welcoming, delicious, and might I add -from my poor college student perspective- cheap little hot spot. While everything on their menu is divine and fresh off their grill, lately their Shooter breakfast sandwich has been titillating and tempting my taste buds. But, let's be honest, it was one of those days when I just didn't have any motivation to put on any pants, so I stayed home and attempted to brain-storm how to get what I wanted without wearing any pants. And here is my solution. Please enjoy my own version (inspired by the one and only Billy Madison) of this Shooter McGavin sandwich.

Hole-in-one for Mr. Shooter McGavin

For 1 sandwich - 

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

1 egg

3-4 pieces bacon (optional, but trust me - you'll want it!)

butter/spread for the bread & eggs

some shredded cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions:

-If you choose to cook/add the bacon to your sandwich, cook that first and then set aside to drip some of the grease off first.

Heat a small pan with some melted butter to fry the eggs (You can leave egg as is, or scramble it like mine). While the eggs are frying, warm up another, yet larger pan -  for the bread. Spread some butter on one side of each piece of toast, grill in the larger frying pan.

(Just grilling some bread in my AMAZING Paula Deen Cookware)

Once egg and bread are done, assemble. Once slice of bread, the egg, the cheese, some bacon, and the last slice on top. And that my friends, is all in the hips.

Bible Lesson #3: Snap Crackle & Pop! Cake Batter Rice Crispies Treats

Being on the cusp of graduating college and joining adulthood, there is one thing that my college days have taught me - there is no midnight (or daytime) snack that you are too old for. While I have always been a fan of the original, gooey, and easy treats, I decided let's take it to the next level, and oh did we go there!

Yes - you may start drooling now, just don't get any on my treat!

 This is a super simple recipe to follow and fun to make/eat with the kids or a treat for yourself. It follows pretty closely with the original Rice-Crispies treat recipe, if you are familiar.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter
1 package small marshmallows (10.5 oz bag)
1/3 - 1/2 cup yellow cake mix powder
6 cups rice crispie puffs cereal
1 bottle sprinkles (I prefer Non Pareils)

Directions:

Melt butter in a large pan on the stove. Begin stirring in marshmallows until melted. Right before it is completely melted together, start adding the cake mix powder in partial increments. Once all melted and mixed together, remove from heat and mix in well the cereal so that it is all covered. While stirring cereal in, add about half of the sprinkles.

Place in a 9x13 PAM'd pan, or a large travel Ziploc/GLAD container, or however you want to serve it. Sprinkle the rest of the sprinkles on top of the rice-crispies and lightly press down so they'll stick to the gooey goodness.

Let it set up about 10-15 minutes before serving... if you can resist that long.

*Note - If they grow somewhat hard like they do at my house (if they make it that long!), cut out the size you want and throw in the microwave about 10 seconds to warm up the gooey goodness and make it just like when you first made it.

Bible Lesson #2: Funeral Potatoes are a Joyous Occasion

Now don't let the name startle you or deter you from making these simple yet oh so mouth-watering potatoes. Where I grew up this particular dish finds its way to the table at many a funerals (and especially Sunday dinners). It's a Northern delight. Once you try these, you will have died and gone to heaven and want these served at your own funeral! So whenever someone hollers out that they are craving some Funeral Potatoes, don't be concerned - get hungry!

I just had to try some right away... might have burned my mouth but so worth it!

Ingredients:

1 2lb. package frozen shredded Hash Browns
8 oz. sour cream
1 small can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cube of butter
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 C. grated Cheddar Cheese (I like a  nice Colby-Jack blend myself)*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 *
Place potatoes in a greased 9X13 inch pan. Season with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Once melted, add chopped onions, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup. Mix these items together.

Pour soup mixture over potatoes; sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until it's all completely warm and the cheese begins to melt.