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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Garlic Roasted Kale

14 May
This made a nice change for us as a side dish with dinner.

This made a nice change for us as a side dish with dinner.

A while back I posted the recipe from our visit to the White House for the 2012 Kid’s State Dinner for Kale Chips. That visit was our first experience with kale chips, but it was not our last. My kids love them and it makes a great after school snack for sure.

Recently, however, I received an email for a variation of kale chips. This recipe was for Garlic Roasted Kale from the site My Recipes.com, and I thought I’d give it a try. The things that attracted me to this recipe were the fact that it included garlic, which I love, and it also included kosher salt, which I enjoy the flavor of as well.

I gave it a try one afternoon and the kids absolutely loved it. I decided to try it again most recently as a side dish for our dinner, instead of our usual broccoli or green beans or salad. As my kids were walking through the kitchen, they each asked what I was making and each time they were so excited when I said kale. I had to just shake my head in amazement. I don’t think I ever imagined I’d get three cheers for kale. Ever.

Below is the recipe from My Recipes.com for Garlic Roasted Kale. The only thing I skipped in this recipe was the vinegar at the end because I did not think the kids would like it, although I was pretty sure I would. The rest I did as was called for.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil$
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • 10 ounces kale, stems removed and chopped$
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • DIRECTIONS
    1. Arrange oven racks in center and lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°. Place a large jelly-roll pan in oven for 5 minutes.
    2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Place kale mixture on hot pan, spreading with a silicone spatula to separate leaves. Bake at 425° for 7 minutes. Stir kale. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until edges of leaves are crisp and kale is tender.
    3. Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinegar; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

 

 

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Asparagus saute

7 May
This was such an enjoyable lunch!

This was such an enjoyable lunch!

I was having one of those days.

I was starving. It was lunchtime. I didn’t know what I wanted to eat.

Open the fridge, close the fridge.

Open the freezer, close the freezer.

Nothing seemed appealing at all.

I’d been having a crazy craving though: asparagus.

My family doesn’t love it, so I don’t get it often. I order it in restaurants whenever I can, for that very reason.

Recently however, my niece had asked us what our favorite vegetable was as part of a school project. I answered asparagus, qualifying that answer with “I’m the only one who likes it very much, so I don’t often get to eat it.”

Ever since I’d sent her that message, I’d been craving it.

When I looked in my freezer, I saw I had some in there. I decided to start there and build my lunch from the ground up.

I threw my asparagus in the cast iron skillet.

Opened the fridge (again) to see what else was there.

Half a tomato. That works. I chopped that up and once my asparagus was almost cooked to perfection, I threw the chopped tomato in and sauteed it in with the asparagus for the last few minutes.

I toasted my new favorite kind of bagel: honey oat and added some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on top.

I thought my lunch was complete and I couldn’t wait to eat it, but then I remembered a friend had posted a photo of a meal that included eggs and asparagus. Her eggs were sunny side up, but I had hard boiled in my refrigerator (I almost always do) so I decided just to chop that up and throw it on top.

It was a most enjoyable, relatively healthy lunch!

I showed one of my daughters with a more adventurous palate, and she declared that it did in fact look delicious and that in the future she’d like to try it herself, subbing in spinach for the asparagus.

So although it’s not a true dinner, this could be a healthy side dish or a breakfast for dinner meal, or as I had it for a lunch.

Give it a try!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Egg and Sausage Casserole

30 Apr
This was a great last minute save for our dinner a few weeks back!

This was a great last minute save for our dinner a few weeks back!

Ever have one of those nights where you’ve counted on leftovers for dinner but yet when you open the fridge, there aren’t any?

Yup. It really stinks when that happens, doesn’t it?

We must’ve had a very hungry week the week prior to our spring break because when we made our menu for the week, knowing we’d be going away for the break week, we tried hard to use what we had and we worked in leftovers on the menu for a particularly busy night where we’d have to eat and run. But, we did an extra good job of using what we had because when I looked, I realized I needed a new plan for dinner that night.

Coincidentally, because I get so many meal ideas and recipes in my inbox each day, one happened to catch my eye and spark my interest for dinner that night. It was an egg and sausage casserole which was supposed to be cooked in the slow cooker, most likely for an Easter brunch type of meal, but it gave me an idea for my last minute Wednesday-before-the-chorus- concert-and-dance-class night type of meal instead.

I began looking on the internet and Pinterest for egg casserole ideas. I wanted to make a good-sized one so that I could also use it for the remaining week’s breakfasts and lunches too. I am a big fan of the “Cook Once, Eat Twice” philosophy.

The recipe I came up with was well-received by my family and I even served it with an English Muffin bread, which I made in the bread maker while I was gone for the afternoon. I did not need to slow cook my casserole, so I baked it in the oven instead. It was a perfect meal.

Here is the recipe I somewhat created, based on all the recipes I saw that day.

EGG AND SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil

12 package cooked sausage (I used a combination of cut up low fat turkey sausage links (8) and what I had left of my Jimmy Dean low fat Turkey sausage crumbles.)

14 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 small onion, chopped

Several small potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces (I used six potatoes, I could’ve done with five. Six was just a bit much, even for a large casserole.)

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (we use low fat)

DIRECTIONS

I precooked my potatoes and my onions and sausage in olive oil on the stove top first. I put them into two cast iron skillets since I had such a large amount, and cooked them before putting them in the bottom of my casserole dish. I poured my eggs on top of them once in the dish, and topped with the shredded cheese.

I baked my casserole for one hour at 350 degrees. Be sure to check it by putting a knife through. The casserole looks done about halfway before it is done. Halfway through, I covered it with foil because the top was golden brown but the inside was still loose.

 

 

 

 

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Resolutions and Recipes: Sweet and Sour Beef and Broccoli

9 Apr

ORIGINALLY POSTED JANUARY 13, 2012: Earlier this month, when I talked about grocery shopping on a budget, one of the staples that I mentioned buying pretty regularly was stew meat. I have two recipes that I use most regularly when making something with stew meat (and I NEVER make stew, I don’t like it.) Recently though, I was looking for something new and different to make with the beef. I did a search of Allrecipes.com and I found one. The recipe called for cooking the stew meat through, throwing in broccoli and onions and adding a teriyaki sauce to it while it simmers and everything cooks through. I figured I’d try it out since I almost always have broccoli on hand and I had an onion. So, I went on Allrecipes.com again and found a teriyaki sauce recipe.

The end result, a one-dish meal (I love one-dish meals) that got all thumbs up all around and looked like this:

Sweet and Sour Beef and Broccoli Teriyaki

I love a meal that you can make in just one pan. Easy to cook, serve and clean up.

Below is the recipe for the sauce as I found it on Allrecipes.com.

Restaurant Style Teriyaki Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. grd. ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

5 Tbl. packed brown sugar

1-2 Tbl. honey

2 Tbl. cornstarch

1/4 c. cold water

DIRECTIONS

1) Mix soy sauce, one cup water, ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar and honey in small sauce pan.

2) Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water together in a measuring cup.

3) Add the cornstarch and water to the pan of sauce.
Heat to desired thickness, add water to thin.

I served this on a bed of brown rice.

ENJOY!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: An April Fools Day Dinner!

2 Apr
Not for pranks, but just for fun, an April Fools Day Dinner

Not for pranks, but just for fun, an April Fools Day Dinner!

If you’re a fan of The Whole Bag of Chips, you know from reading over the years that I incorporate creativity into our meals whenever the opportunity exists, whether it’s green smoothies for St. Patrick’s Day or creating a special cake for a sleepover birthday party. I always try to make things fun whenever I can.

But I don’t love April Fools Day and I never commemorate it in any way at home. In general I don’t love pranks, especially when they’re mean, but last year specifically, we had a terrible April Fools Day, with a funeral in the morning and a wake in the evening. It had been such a sad day all around, and yesterday I was thinking back to that day and all that took place throughout, and I was thinking of those two families one year later in their own lives, as well.

As sad a day as it was last year, I decided that I’d do something fun this year. For the first time ever, I’d acknowledge April Fool’s Day with some mealtime antics.

For once, we didn’t have to be anywhere before or after dinner and it was a beautiful day outside. I clicked over to Pinterest, and I searched for April Fools Day Dinners. There was certainly plenty to choose from! I quickly assessed what was offered and thought about what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to have candy or dessert for dinner, so that ruled out all of the neat ideas for making things that looked like dinner, using candy. As cool as that sounded, I wanted dinner to be dinner. I saw lots of ideas for using meatloaf and mashed potatoes for cupcakes and cakes, which I thought would have been perfect, had I not just made Shepherd’s Pie last week, and a whole lot of it, enough for leftovers a couple of times. We were meatloaf and mashed potato’d out, but it’s something I’d consider for another year.

I finally found something I could pull off: an April Fools Cake recipe that looked like a cake but was actually similar to a pizza. It was from Taste of Home, and it called for using a bundt pan, of which I only have a heart-shaped one, but I thought that’d add to the fun. At first I thought I’d do this to surprise the kids, but then I decided that time-wise that wouldn’t work out very well since I’d have to do it while they were all here. I opted instead, to let them in on the fun and give them all a job to do in creating our “cake” for dinner and they could in turn, surprise their dad when he got home from work. The months of March and April are pretty insane for an elementary principal, with lots of dinner-less late nights, and I thought this would brighten his day as well as give the kids something fun to do.

I also decided to make “Dump Cake” for dessert so that they could then say we were having cake for dinner and cake for dessert. I had them help out with that also, but that’s a post for this week’s Fun Friday! You’ll have to check back in a few days to see that post!

The recipe was an easy one and I had to modify it to use what I had at home because I didn’t want to go out to pick anything up or spend any additional money on ingredients. Their recipe called for a Bisquick type of mix, which I had here. It called for three cups, and when I measured what was left in my box it was *exactly* three cups. That was pretty great. It called for sausage and pepperoni in the “pizza” type of filling but I opted to use meatballs instead, since everyone likes them. I also threw in olives. It called for slices of mozzarella cheese for the “frosting,” which I did not have. I had shredded instead. I decided we’d be “drizzling icing” instead of frosting our cake. It worked out fine.

Overall, this was a fun recipe for April Fools Day dinner. I don’t know that it’s something I’d incorporate into our regular menus throughout the year, as we regularly make some kickin’ real pizzas that I like much better. But, it was fun, and the kids liked surprising their dad, and he liked playing up the surprise as well. He enjoyed the meal. We followed dinner by a long walk outside until after dark, and came in for our Dump Cake dessert, which was really just a perfect day to replace my memories from last year. Now next year when I look back on April Fools Day, it won’t have such a dark shadow in my mind. Instead, I’ll remember this day, which was much, much better. No sadness or pranks, thankfully, but some great, great family memories.

And I’ll take that ANY day of the year.

Below is the Taste of Home recipe as they have it on their site, with all of my modifications in italics. Their recipe served as my inspiration, but I adapted it to suit our needs quite a bit. Next year, when April 1 rolls around you might want to give it a try too!

APRIL FOOLS CAKE BY TASTE OF HOME

Ingredients

  • 1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce
  • 1/2 pound Johnsonville® Mild Ground Italian Sausage, cooked and crumbled  *I used meatballs and olives*
  • 1 package (8 ounces) sliced pepperoni *I skipped this*
  • 3 cups biscuit/baking mix
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted *I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter*
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt *I had to make my own with garlic powder and salt*
  • 5 to 6 slices mozzarella cheese *I used shredded mozzarella for icing instead of frosting*

Directions

  • In a bowl, combine the pizza sauce, sausage and pepperoni; set aside.
  • In another bowl, combine the biscuit mix, milk, eggs, butter and
  • garlic salt. Spread half of the batter on the bottom and up the
  • sides of a greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Spoon meat mixture over
  • batter; cover with remaining batter.
  • Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until browned and a toothpick
  • comes out clean. Invert onto a baking sheet. Arrange cheese over
  • cake. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  • Using two large metal spatulas, transfer cake to a serving platter;
  • serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

 

 

 

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Simple Shrimp and Chicken Stir Fry

26 Mar
I loved the flavor in this stir fry!

I loved the flavor in this stir fry!

You might think to yourself that if you’ve had one stir fry, you’ve had them all. How different could they possibly be?

I think it depends on what your ingredients are. There are so many different flavors out there, whether it’s the sauces you throw in or the ingredients and vegetables that you include.

Recently I had so many veggies left in my fridge that I didn’t want to go to waste, I decided to do a stir fry. I wanted to try a new one though, just to see what was out there. I also knew that besides the veggies I wanted to utilize, I also wanted the stir fry to include both chicken and shrimp, since I have kids who like one or the other, but not both.

I Googled “shrimp and chicken stir fry” and chose this one from http://hipfoodiemom.com and I really loved it! I had everything the recipe called for except mushrooms and snap peas, but I also had zucchini so I threw that in instead. It seemed reminiscent to me of a “Dump Cake” recipe I once read, where you literally just dump all the ingredients in together. That’s what I love about stir fry recipes, you can really throw in a lot of different things.

I think that the difference between this recipe and some of the ones I’ve tried in the past are the sesame oil and the balsamic vinegar. Those are new to any recipe I’ve tried before.

Here is the recipe as Hip Foodie Mom has it on her site. I hope you’ll pay her a visit!

It was the unique combination of sauces that made this recipe so good!

It was the unique combination of sauces that made this recipe so good!

Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Recipe type: Main
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1-2 cups broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 package mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 to 3 carrots, cut
  • 1 bell pepper (red or yellow), chopped
  • 1-2 cups sugar snap peas, chopped
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • salt and pepper
  • about 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • about 1 pound shrimp (fresh or frozen, but if frozen, make sure it’s completely thawed)
  • 2 cups rotisserie chicken; chopped
  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1-2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
  • Serve with brown rice
Instructions
  1. Get all your veggies prepped: washed and chopped. And cut up your rotisserie chicken.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. After a minute or 2, throw in all of your vegetables and allow them to cook until just tender, for about 2 minutes. Stirring occasionally. After 2 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook your vegetables or another 3 minutes or so. Season with a little salt and pepper.
  3. Add the shrimp and chicken. Drizzle the sesame oil, add the low sodium soy sauce and a splash or 2 of balsamic vinegar. Taste and add more soy sauce or balsamic vinegar if needed. Cook for another 5 minutes or so. Serve over brown rice.
Recipe by Hip Foodie Mom at http://hipfoodiemom.com/2012/12/06/shrimp-and-chicken-or-beef-stir-fry-like-mother-like-daughter/

 

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Taco Pizza

19 Mar
This was a fabulous addition to our ever-growing list of gourmet pizzas!

This was a fabulous addition to our ever-growing list of gourmet pizzas!

A couple of weeks back, I had a typical Facebook messaging exchange with my friend Gina. It consisted of the usual commiserating about the fact that neither of us knew what to make for dinner that week. I happened to mention that I did have taco meat already cooked up and frozen, but that I didn’t necessarily want to have tacos again.

Her suggestion: Taco Pizza.

“Ohhhh…..I said, I like that idea!”

Lucky for us, there’s a bakery right down the street that sells fresh dough

If you love Tacos, you'll love trying out Gina's Taco Pizza!

If you love Tacos, you’ll love trying out Gina’s Taco Pizza!

by the pound, 24 hours a day for just a little over a dollar a bag.

That’s right, 24 hours a day. If I wanted to go at midnight to get a bag of dough, slice of pizza or a cookie, I could. I don’t, but it’s nice to know the option is there.

So last week I got my dough (during daylight hours) at the bakery and came home to get ready for our pizza dinner. We had a regular work day combined with a pre-dinner meeting and Dance for one of the girls. Pizza for dinner was the perfect answer to our need for quick, easy and delicious.

I’d actually gotten three bags of dough. We were having a ham and pineapple pizza, a meatball, cheese and sauce pizza, and our newest addition: Taco Pizza, thanks to Gina.

Coincidentally, we were also having furniture delivered the next morning between the hours of 6:30 am and 9:30 am in time for us to be out the door for work and school, but right smack-dab in the middle of lunch preparations. Having pizza for dinner the night before would allow me to bag up slices of whatever flavors anyone wanted for lunch the next day, after dinner.

Easy-peasy. It took a lot of advanced planning to make the night and next morning go off without a hitch, but it was healthier than ordering take-out that night or school lunch the next day, and much tastier too!

For this pizza, the only thing I’d do differently the next time, is crush up my tortilla chips and bake them right in there with the meat, underneath the cheese. This first time that we tried out the recipe, we crushed them up and added them on top. I found them hard to eat, but in our Taco Bake recipe we put them right inside, and I think I’d enjoy them more that way on the pizza than on top.

Otherwise, this is so easy!

Spread out your pizza dough, add your taco meat on top, and throw on some crushed tortilla chips if you’d like to, before adding your cheese. We used cheddar cheese on ours because of the nature of the pizza, rather than mozzarella.

Once your pizza is cooked, it’s up to you what toppings you’d like to add, anything you’d normally add to a taco.

Here are some suggestions:

Sour cream

Avocado

Olives

Tomatoes

Lettuce

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Ham and Spinach Puff Pancake

12 Mar
A dish from my past! Delicious memories!

A dish from my past! Delicious memories!

Every so often I come across a recipe that reminds me of my childhood because it’s a recipe from my mom and I grew up eating it. Today’s recipe is one of those. I came across it when I was looking for a different recipe. It’s another one that although I grew up eating it, my kids had never had it, meaning it’s been “that long” since I’ve made it.

I like this recipe because it’s adaptable. You can fill the center of the pancake as is, or you can add in or take out ingredients or change them all together to suit your needs. We were out of mushrooms this time around so we didn’t use them even though the recipe calls for them. There are lots of combinations that would be great in the center of this pancake and it’s great for a variety of taste buds!

I love kitchen science. The kids' eyes pop when they see how big this rises in the oven.

I love kitchen science. The kids’ eyes pop when they see how big this rises in the oven.

This recipe is a little long, but I encourage you to give it a try anyway. It’s a fun recipe to watch bake in the oven because it puffs up quite a bit and it’s neat to show the kids the difference before and after. We had it for dinner, but it’d also be great for a brunch or even for a breakfast dish.

Enjoy!

HAM AND SPINACH PUFF PANCAKE
INGREDIENTS
PANCAKE:
1/4 cup butter (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)

2/3 cup flour

3/4 cup milk (I used Skim)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

We filled our puff pancake with ham and spinach. What would you put in yours?

We filled our puff pancake with ham and spinach. What would you put in yours?

FILLING:

3 tsp. butter

2 cups (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (this time around I didn’t have any so they’re not pictured)

1/2 lb. cooked and cubed to 1/2″ ham

10 oz. package chopped, frozen spinach thawed and well drained

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese ( I used very little cheese due to our dietary restrictions, and this time I used reduced fat provolone cheese.)

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a 9″ glass pie plate melt 1/4 cup of butter in oven  (2-4 minutes).

Simple ingredients make this pancake easy to prepare.

Simple ingredients make this pancake easy to prepare.

In large bowl combine milk, flour, eggs and salt.

Using wire whisk or rotary beater, beat until smooth (2-3 minutes).

Pour batter onto pie plate. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in 10″ skillet, melt 3 tsp. butter. Stir in mushrooms, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are soft (5-7 minutes).

Stir in ham and spinach. Continue cooking until heated (3-4 minutes).

Stir in one cup of cheese.

Spoon filling into center of hot pancake.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese. Heat until melted and serve.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Paninis

5 Mar
This made for an awesome Sunday night supper!

This made for an awesome Sunday night supper!

This past weekend was a busy one. We were all over the place on Saturday, and on Sunday it was much the same. It was all good, just busy.

By the time dinnertime planning time came around on Sunday afternoon, I was stumped and had to run out the door onto the next “thing” before I could help with the decision making.

As I was standing outside in the freezing cold that afternoon, helping to man my daughter’s Girl Scout cookie sale at the local grocery store, I got a text from my husband: Paninis for dinner.

YUM!!

I was so excited! We have a panini maker but I never, ever think to use it. It’s stored neatly in the box it came in, with the booklets of recipes tucked neatly inside, all in a closet in our hallway.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Apparently, the decision was a group decision made by Don and the remaining kids at home. A menu of paninis, roasted red potatoes, cole slaw (not seen on my plate because I’m not a fan), and sauteed zucchini was created and the specific types of paninis were requested.

We could have any of the ingredients on our sandwiches, or all of them.

We could have any of the ingredients on our sandwiches, or all of them.

The ingredients for the sandwiches were also decided upon together: bbq chicken, tomatoes, bacon and cheese. We could have any or all of those ingredients in our sandwiches, allowing everyone to tailor their dinner to their liking.

It was SO good. So, so good!

There were even some halves of sandwiches leftover, so they became lunch this week. Don reported his was even better the second time around!

Although we chose chicken, bacon, cheese and tomato for our panini ingredients, you can have virtually anything in yours! A list of suggested recipes were given to us as part of our gift when we received our panini maker, and a guide came with the maker itself.

Here’s a list of some suggested panini recipes for you to try. Be sure to read to the end!!

Portobello Panini

Panini with Prosciutto, Roasted Pepper and Mozzarella

Roast Turkey Panini with Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers and Fontina

Grilled Prosciutto, Soppressata, and Mozzarella Panini

Fresh Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

Pesto Chicken Panini

Grilled Eggplant Panini

Grilled Marinated Artichoke Heart, Ham and Provolone Panini

Panini Caprese

Grilled Chicken and Arugula Panini

Mediterranean Tuna Melt

Salami, Sun-dried Tomato, Basil Panini

Ham, Chestnut Honey Mustard and Gouda Panini

Turkey and Cranberry Panini

Roasted Eggplant, Sweet Pepper, Feta and Fresh Spinach Painini

Flank Steak, Vidalia Onion, Porcini and Fontina Panini

Grilled Sausage, Peronata and Herbed Goat Cheese Panini

Sweet Dolci Chocolate Panini

Dolci di Latte Caramel Sauce and Apple Panini

Ricotta and Preserved Orange Panini on Raisin Bread

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner

26 Feb
These were a fun, different kind of dinner! Of course, they'd be great for breakfast too!

These were a fun, different kind of dinner! Of course, they’d be great for breakfast too!

I’m a football widow.

Not all the time, not all season long, which is FOREVER long, but towards the end, during the playoffs and the Superbowl itself.

I can’t fault my husband in any way. He loves the sport, but even so, he’ll record a game and watch it later on so that he’s available for our family’s needs.

So, during playoffs and the Superbowl itself, it’s only fair that he be able to hang out with his friends and watch the game.

That leaves the girls and I with a few meals that are just for us, and sometimes I try to do something fun. Sometimes I’m just totally out of ideas.

Today’s meal is one of the totally out of ideas meals. It was a Sunday night playoff game and I had no idea what to cook when I got home that night with the kids. We’d been running errands, it was evening, it was winter, it was dark, and it was really any other excuse I can come up with not to want to make dinner.

But, then I remembered that a friend had sent me a fun looking recipe to try, some pancake cups, which she thought looked right about my style. She was right! Except they were breakfast, not dinner. But really, does it matter? Nope! Not in my house it doesn’t.

So on that night (the cold, winter, dark night where I didn’t want to make dinner) I made breakfast instead, trying out these cute little pancake cups, which I have fondly renamed Upside Down Pancakes, because they are made in muffin tins, and when I cooked them there was a better well for my fruit compote when I turned them upside down than there was when I left them right-side up.

And so, with a recipe from “Racing and Saving Mama,” sent to me by my friend Gina, here are the Upside Down Pancakes for your next brunch, or dinner! I have put any modifications I may have made, in parentheses.

When I flipped my pancakes over after taking them out, they had a great well for toppings!

When I flipped my pancakes over after taking them out, they had a great well for toppings!

UPSIDE DOWN PANCAKES
INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk (we use skim)

6 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange zest -optional- (I didn’t use it)

1/4 cup butter (I use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter) melted

(I also added in some Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles to half of my tins.)

The directions state to serve the pancakes with your favorite toppings so I created an apple-cranberry compote and served with whipped cream. YUM!

The directions state to serve the pancakes with your favorite toppings so I created an apple-cranberry compote and served with whipped cream. YUM!

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Blend first six ingredients in a blender. (I used a hand blender to blend them.)

Be careful to see that any flour clumps are well-blended.

Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.

Grease muffin tins well and distribute the batter evenly between the 24 tins (I got 12 but I think my tins are larger than hers.)

The author of the recipe recommends using 1/4 cup of batter in each tin.

Bake for 15 minutes until puffy and golden on top.

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