Old Fashioned Pancakes

Old Fashioned Pancakes

“Bun in the Oven” Cravings - Finale Pancake Month

I have about one month left of being pregnant with our first child. She is due to arrive on June 24th so hopefully she stays put until close to then. In honor of my final month I thought it’d be fun to have a Finale Month of all things pancakes! Pancakes seem to be the main thing I have craved weekly while being pregnant and I have become quite good and making them tasty and fluffy. Perhaps she will be a pancake lover when she is a little older and we can remake some of these recipes together as Mom and Daughter.

So, without further ado, I’d like to kick start my Finale Pancake Month with the simple Old Fashioned Pancake. 

Serves: 4 large pancakes

Recipe modified from the PocketChange Gourmet Blog

   Ingredients

     Dry Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

  3 teaspoons baking powder

 ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

 ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Wet Ingredient

1 egg

¾ cup milk

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Instructions

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

2. Add wet ingredients and mix well with a whisk.

3. Heat the pan and add a dollop of butter. Let the butter melt and pour batter onto the pan.

4. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes, flip and cook other side. 

5. I always heat the oven to about 250 degrees and put the cooked pancakes in there to keep warm.

Crepes with (Door County) Jam

While being pregnant I haven't had too bazaar of food cravings. The things to top my list of cravings are pancakes, donuts, lemonade, fruit, and milk. I must say, I've become very good at making pancakes. I'm excited to use this developed culinary skill and have visions I will make feasts of pancakes with our little girl on the weekends. Once she is old enough of course. 

Two weekends ago, my mother and I took a long weekend trip up to Door County for Mother's Day weekend. It was so nice to spend time with my mother as mother and daughter. Soon we will be mother, daughter, and granddaughter which is so exciting; but this was the last time it would just be mother and daughter and we wanted to celebrate that. 

We were driving through the back country roads to see what shops and stores we could come across. We stumbled upon a shop called Koepsel's Farmers Market. Their store was stocked full of so many fun things and tons and tons of jam and jelly. They had little 3oz jars of different flavors so I bought a bunch so that I could try them all. Yum!!!

Once returning home, I thought of different ways I could use the jam besides just on an everyday PB&J or my morning English Muffins. I found a recipe for Crepes with Jam and that immediately piqued my interest. With my craving for pancakes and crepes being very similar, I thought what better treat to make for a Sunday morning. I found the main recipe off of the blog Julia's Album and made a few additions of my own. They turned out delicious! 

Crepes with (Door County) Jam

1 cups milk

1 1/3 cup flour

1 egg

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 pinches of kosher salt

Extra:

1-2 tbsp of your favorite jam/jelly

1 tbsp powdered sugar

Maple Syrup

Cut fresh berries: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc

Whisk all the ingredients together. Heat the frying pan until it is very hot and spray with oil spray. Use a soup ladle to pour the crepe mixture into the frying pan. Roll the pan from side to side so the mixture covers the bottom of the pan evenly with a thin layer of the batter. Let sit for a minute or two, then flip the crepe over using a spatula and cook on the other side for another minute or two. Once the crepe is golden brown, transfer it to a plate and put the plate in a 250 degree oven to keep warm.

Once all the crepes are made, take the warmed plate of crepes out of the oven. Spread some of your favorite jelly/jam over one crepe, fold once then fold again. Place this crepe on a new plate. Top with some powdered sugar, syrup, and berries. Enjoy!! You'll probably want more than one...I know I did.

Portabella Mushrooms Were 49 Cents!!

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

Tuesdays are typically when I have the house to myself after work; Kevin usually has band/music practice. These are the nights when I might either just have a bowl of cereal for dinner or if the mood strikes, I'll become Chef Jackie and make a new recipe that he wouldn't normally eat. This particular week, Portobello mushrooms were on sale for 49 cents/lb!!! Jackpot! I bought two and started to think of tasty ways I could create my own stuffed mushroom using a few store bought items, but also some things I already had at home.  I'm excited to say that I created this all on my own (no help from another recipe) and it turned out amazing!! 

The second one was even tasty reheated for lunch the next day (minus the fried egg).

Italian Sausage Stuffed Portobella Mushroom 

2 Portobello Mushrooms

12 oz Mild Italian Sausage

2 Portobello Mushrooms

1 tbsp shallot - finely chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 cup Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half

1 1/2 cup Frozen Broccoli Florets

2 tbsp Trader Joe's Artichoke Antipasto

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

White Sharp Cheddar Cheese (cheese of your choice), shredded

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Wipe the mushrooms down with a damp paper towel. Set them inside a square baking dish. Begin by browning the Italian Sausage. Once complete, transfer to a plate with a paper towel to drain the juices. In the same pan as you just used to brown the sausage (no need to clean it yet...use those juices), add the shallot and garlic and cook until the shallot is browned. Then add the tomatoes, broccoli, and artichoke antipasto. Let cook for a few minutes. Add in the garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper to taste.

Add about 1/2 - 3/4 of the sausage to the pan and the cooked tomato and broccoli mixture. Once it is all combined, place about 1/2 cup of the mixture on top of each mushroom. Top with some shredded cheese and put into the oven. Let cook in the oven for about 8-10 mins or until the cheese is melted and a little browned. With about a minute left, fry an egg to place on top of each mushroom. Yum!!