Buttermilk Pancakes

I love breakfast. Seriously love it. Problem is...we aren't usually around for breakfast time on the weekends. The mornings start early with the dogs and then we are off doing our work for the day. This week I decided to have breakfast for dinner - one of the best kinds of dinners there is! We made some SENSATIONAL buttermilk pancakes with our favorite Trader Joe's applewood smoked bacon. Needless to say, this was not on my pre-wedding diet plan. :) We had some leftovers that I wanted to flash freeze - but P just enjoyed them the next morning from the fridge.

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly

Whisk the dry ingredients- flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt - together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients - buttermilk, sour cream, butter and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until JUST combined - it will be lumpy and you might have some flour streaks but that's ok.

Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium/high heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, drop about a 1/4 cup of batter on the skillet (we can usually fit 2 at a time - the finished ones go in the oven on "warm"). After the edges set (usually 2-3 minutes) flip and cook for another few minutes on the other side.
Enjoy with butter and syrup.


CHEERS!



Adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker; originally from Cook's Illustrated

Raspberry Cobbler

So I noticed that I've been posting a lot of chicken recipes lately...so I decided to switch it up today. I really like dessert - a lot. But it is hard to make 24 cupcakes every weekend...especially when it's just 2 of you at home. This is the easiest dessert I've come across in a while - no crazy ingredients, virtually no prep time and it can be scaled down to feed just a couple of people for a couple of days :) I'm pretty sure you will have all of these ingredients in your pantry too - which is always a plus.

Raspberry Cobbler

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 cup self rising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 package raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the stick of butter in the microwave and set aside. Whisk together the cup of flour and cup of sugar. Add the milk, melted butter and vanilla. Whisk together until a batter forms. Pour batter into a buttered baking dish.

Wash the raspberries and pat them dry. Sprinkle dry berries over top of the batter. Sprinkle sugar over berries.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.




CHEERS!



Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Chicken Parmesan

P is somewhat of a picky eater. He will whole heartedly deny that if you ask him to his face - but in my opinion he is picky. He likes very simple meals - and they always need to involve some kind of meat. Needless to say, he isn't the biggest fan of some of my more different meals. When he tells me that he has a favorite dish that I make...that means it has to be really good. This chicken parmesan is as he said the other night - one of his favorite meals that I make. So that means this is a good recipe people! It is super easy and always turns out great. This would make any picky eater happy.

 

 

Chicken Parmesan

 

• 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (I prefer freshly grated for this recipe)
• 2 chicken breasts, butterflied (to make 4 total pieces)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/ 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon water
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Marinara sauce
• Dried (or fresh) basil

 

 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

 

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add panko breadcrumbs. Toast until lightly browned - then set aside to cool. Get our 3 shallow bowls. Put cooled breadcumbs and parmesan cheese in one; beat egg whites and water in another; mix flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in the third. Pat chicken breasts dry and then dredge in flour mixture - then egg white mixture - and finally breadcrumb mixture. Place coated chicken on a baking sheet covered in foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

 

Bake chicken for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from over and spoon desired amount of marina sauce on each breast. Sprinkle with mozzarella and basil. Put chicken back in oven for about 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.

 

 

 

 

CHEERS!

 

 

 

Source: Annie's Eats, adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, originally from Cook’s Illustrated, October 2006 

BBQ Chicken Pizza Braid

I think one of the best things at Trader Joe's (and there are A LOT of good things there) is their ready made pizza dough. It is a lifesaver on the busy weeks when we just don't have a lot of time to cook. We use the dough to make all kinds of regular pizza - but the I discovered the pizza braid when I was browsing though the internet. Homemade pizza is probably one of the easiest things to make during the week - no measuring and not a lot of prep. Just put the toppings on and stick it in the oven!

BBQ Chicken Pizza Braid

• 1 package store-bough refrigerated pizza dough (or homemade)
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Shredded sharp cheddar
• Diced red onions
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped (I usually cook these the night before)
• Dried cilatro (or fresh if you have it!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take piza dough out of the fridge and let sit in an oiled bowl for 25-35 minutes. When the dough is pliable, spread cornmeal on a flat surface and work the dough into a rectangle. Place all of your ingredients in the center of the dough rectangle, leaving about an inch of dough around the filling. (NOTE: like I said before, no need to measure the ingredients - just put on as much or as little as you like!) Using a pizza cutter, slice the edges of the dough into strips. Pull the strips across the filling and pinch to the other side of the dough to secure. Once the entire pizza is braided, put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

CHEERS!

Pizza Chicken

Some people might call this chicken kiev - but P's family calls it Pizza Chicken. When he and his sister were kids, they would say that is always smelled like pizza when their mom was cooking it. I have had the recipe for awhile but hadn't made it yet - it turned out pretty delicious! The chicken stayed moist and the breading and sauce had great flavor. Next time I'm going to serve it with a yummy creamy noodle side.


Pizza Chicken

• 2/3 c. butter
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. basil leaves
• 1 tsp. oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 chicken breasts (split)
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 1/4 c. chopped green onions
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 375. Melt Butter. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, garlic salt and salt. Dip chicken breasts in melted butter, then coat with bread crumb mixture. RESERVE remaining butter. Place chicken in ungreased baking pan. Bake for 50-60 min. or until chicken is fork tender. Meanwhile, add wine, green onion and parsley to melted butter. When chicken is golden brown, pour butter around chicken. Continue baking for 3-5 minutes or until sauce is heated through.

CHEERS!

Source: Family Recipe