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Seven Weeks of Meals

6 Feb

A month ago, I mentioned in a post that when we were expecting our third child, my husband was working full time while in school full time and I had a two year old and a five year old. I fondly call this time “The Worst School Year of Our Lives,” but one good thing that came out of it (besides his new degree and new job and our new baby) was our Seven Weeks of Meals list.

When I was prepping for those first few crazy weeks of new babyhood, I sat and listed all of the things our family eats pretty regularly and likes. It got me through seven weeks, not counting eating out or at someone’s house, eating leftovers, or eating breakfast for dinner, anything like that.

I recently saw another blog where she listed her family’s four weeks of meals, so I’ve decided to share my list with you as well, in case it can help anyone out with their own meal planning. It’s not a list we stick to like clockwork anymore, and a lot depends on our schedule each week, but we have it if we need it and it certainly helps me when I’m planning our meals and it gives my brain a jog when I’m trying to think of what to make for dinner. We’re also always adding to our list of foods as we try new things or are introduced to new foods.

Here goes:

Flounder with Lemon and Dill (Tilapia)

We are lucky, all our kids like fish.

WEEK ONE:

Monday: Spaghetti and Tuna Sauce
Tuesday: Pork chops with homemade applesauce and rice pilaf
Wednesday: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Thursday: Chicken Marsala with white rice (or pasta)
Friday: Flounder with lemon and dill and baked potatoes or rice

Shepherd's Pie

WEEK TWO:

Monday: Stuffed Shells
Tuesday: BBQ Ribs, cornbread
Wednesday: Shepherd’s Pie
Thursday: Easy Chicken and Wine, baked potatoes
Friday: Baked stuffed fish, white rice

Sweet and Sour Beef and Broccoli Teriyaki

Sweet and Sour Beef Teriyaki

WEEK THREE:

Monday: Lasagna
Tuesday: Hanukkah Beef Brisket
Wednesday: Steak Sandwiches
Thursday: Sweet and Sour Beef over Rice
Friday: Nicoise

Cranberry Chicken is good all year long.

WEEK FOUR:

Monday: American Chopped Suey
Tuesday: Honey Dijon Pork Chops and baked potatoes
Wednesday: Marinated steaks, rice pilaf
Thursday: Cranberry Chicken, white rice
Friday: Crumb topped baked Tilapia, red potatoes

Beef Burgundy, a great one-pan meal

WEEK FIVE:

Monday: Manicotti
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken wings
Wednesday: Beef Burgundy
Thursday: Baked chicken breasts
Friday: Salmon with hollandaise sauce

Homemade "gravy" provides us with enough sauce and meat for eight weeks of meals. We can integrate it into any week's menu as needed.

WEEK SIX:

Monday: Pasta with meatballs and pork
Tuesday: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Wednesday: Quesadillas
Thursday: Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Friday: Pan fried flounder

Shrimp Scampi

Great recipe from a friend

WEEK SEVEN:

Monday: Ravioli
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Arizona Chicken Casserole
Thursday: “Chinese” Beef and Broccoli
Friday: Shrimp Scampi

And so there you have it: seven weeks of meal ideas for you! I hope this can help you in planning your weeks’ of meals. As I said, we have updated our list, and continue to update it as we add or subtract things to or from the list. It’s always fun to try new things and it’s always good to give “old” things a rest for a bit if you find yourself in a rut.

What’s for dinner in your house this week?

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Overnight French Toast-Holiday Morning version

5 Feb

Holiday Morning French Toast...it must have been a holiday somewhere.

So you all know by now I love french toast. I especially like the convenience (as well as all the brown sugar) of an over night french toast. A while back I posted my cousin Kim’s version, which we’ve made for years, and today I’m posting her mom’s version, my Aunt Fran. I’ve had this recipe so long, it’s dog-eared, and yet I’ve never made it myself. I’ve only ever had it when she’s made it. But, it’s got all my favorites in it: brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and craisins, so I have been wanting to make it myself for quite some time now.

Friday night was that time, but by the time we got home and got everyone to bed and I got started it was late, 10pm. Note to self: Don’t try a new recipe late at night. I made several mistakes in my night time prep, which I’ve noted below. And, we ended up sort of combining the ending steps of Kim’s recipe with Fran’s, which I’ve also noted below.

Either way, Saturday morning it was great to wake up to an already almost finished breakfast. We just had to throw it in the oven and we were good to go.

Everyone gave it a thumbs up, always a good sign.

Here’s the recipe including my mistakes and adjustments at the end.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter melted

3 tsp cinnamon DIVIDED into 2 tsp and 1 tsp. (FYI:  I totally missed that and didn’t divide mine. Still fine, but you’re supposed to use it separately.)

3 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and thin sliced. (Note: Peel them either before you melt your butter or while you’re melting it if you’re a fast peeler. I didn’t do that.  Also, I used Macintosh apples because that’s what I had.)

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins. I used craisins.

1 loaf Italian or French Bread (I used a loaf of Texas French Toast bread.)

6 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 TBL vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Combine brown sugar, butter and ONE TSP Cinnamon in a 13×9 dish. (This was my first mistake, I didn’t read well and put in all 3 tsp. cinnamon.)

Here is my version of apples and craisins "tossed" in the butter and brown sugar. Slice early for better tossing!

Add apples and craisins. Toss to coat well. (This was my second mistake. My butter and cinnamon had hardened back up again before I got done slicing my apples so it wasn’t really tossing, more like, spreading. Sort of.)

Spread apple mix evenly over bottom of baking dish. Arrange bread on top.

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining TWO TSP Cinnamon until well blended. (This brings us to mistakes three and four. Did I mention yet how tired I was when I made this??  Mistake three was the cinnamon again, I hadn’t done a little last time, I’d done all, so this step, I opted to omit the cinnamon. Then I misread the vanilla as a teaspoon not a tablespoon. I’m getting new glasses, seriously, next week.)

Pour mixture over bread soaking bread completely. Cover and refrigerate 4-24 hrs.

Bake covered with foil in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake five minutes.

**Here is where we combined the two recipes. We squirted maple syrup over the top of this one, even though it doesn’t call for it, baked it for a few more minutes, and then broiled it for about 5 minutes to crisp it up.

Remove from oven, let stand five minutes.

Serve warm. Whipped cream optional.

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Bonus Post from a Guest Blogger and Weight Watcher Success Story: Debi

4 Feb
Football Helmet and Football

Don't let Superbowl Sunday be a loss for your diet!

One of the things I love about modern technology is the ability I’ve had to reconnect and stay connected with so many people, near and far. One of the people I’ve reconnected with most recently is my friend Debi from college. She is what I consider to be a Weight Watchers Success Story. She has lost 70 pounds while on the program and is now a Weight Watchers Meeting Leader, helping other people meet the same success she has had on WW.

When she approached me last week about using our chili recipe for her upcoming WW meeting, and computing the WW points for it, I immediately said yes and asked her if she would share her findings as to how healthy the recipe actually was (it seemed healthy enough to me) when she finished. I asked her to be a guest blogger for today’s post. Tomorrow is the Superbowl and I thought it was important to remind everyone that the Superbowl is just one day, but diets are a day in and day out commitment. Don’t let one day throw you completely off the wagon. Here is Debi’s post. Thanks Debi!

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Super Bowl – Beyond the Game: Let’s Talk Food!

Ah, the Super Bowl, what’s better than a day filled with football, friends and food? Of course, the day would be perfect if YOUR team won! I’m not so concerned with which team wins. I’m more interested in the game itself and how it’s played. I cheer when someone makes a good play and route for the underdog when they just can’t seem to get their act together.

With the Super Bowl just one day away, and not being concerned about the game, my focus here is on the food. I can’t help but think of all the extra calories that people across the country will be mindlessly consuming on game day.

While you’re hooting and hollering, do you ever stop and think why are you eating all those tortilla chips? Are you really hungry? Do you even know how many you’ve eaten? How many beers did you drink? Were you really thirsty? Better yet, do you even remember what the beer tasted like? Being mindful of what and how much we are eating usually takes a back seat to the excitement of the game.

But, it doesn’t have to play out this way.

A couple of years ago, I would have been one of those people mindlessly eating. However, after joining Weight Watchers and losing 70 lbs., I have a new perspective when it comes to food; even more so now that I am a Weight Watchers meeting room leader.

Earlier in the week when I started preparing for this week’s meeting, I immediately knew that the timing of this week’s topic was purposely planned to help members think about how to make better food choices during the Super Bowl. I remembered that Jen had posted a Chili recipe recently and asked her if I could borrow it to illustrate how making simple ingredient substitutions can make a dish healthier.

To help guide members’ weight loss, Weight Watchers assigns a numerical value called a PointsPlus Value (PPV) to all food and drinks. Combined with Weight Watchers’ proprietary, scientific formula, determining the PPV of a recipe requires you to know three things: the ingredients, the serving size and how many servings the recipe makes. Well, Jen posted the ingredients (refer to her Chili recipe posted on Jan. 27th), but when I asked her about the latter two, she admitted that she didn’t know.

After discussing the ingredients and comparing them to other similar recipes, we estimated that the Chili recipe makes approximately 24 – ¾ cup servings. Therefore, the Chili recipe calculates to 7 PPV per serving. By replacing the regular ground beef with either ground turkey or 95% lean ground beef, the PPV decreased to 5 PPV. However, this does not include the cheese (1/4 cup = 3PPV) or the sour cream (2 Tbsp = 1 PPV) that you put on top of it, or the tortilla chips (12 chips = 4 PPV) that you choose to have alongside it.

So, the Chili itself is relatively ‘low-cost’ item. But how many of you actually measure how much you are eating? And, is this the only thing that you will eat? If you documented what you actually ate and drank throughout the game, the quantity may surprise you. Also, how many of the recipes are made with lower-calorie or healthier ingredients versus the regular, full-fledged ingredients?

One of my members reported hearing that after Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl is the second biggest eating day of the year. How much food do you eat during the ‘festivities’ compared to a ‘normal’ day of eating? Perhaps you never thought about that before, but it is never too late to start looking at food differently.

Weight Watchers has taught me how to WIN the food game regardless of the event, holiday or circumstances in which I find myself. Only eat when you are hungry, be aware of what and how much you are eating, and take control of your game!

Some final pointers to get ready for game day include:

  • Sit or stand away from the food. Being closer to the food lends itself towards mindless picking. Stay farther away from it so you have to make a more conscious decision to go get the food if you want it.
  • Practice portion control. Be mindful of the size and quantity of the servings you consume.
  • Bring a healthier snack with you to the party. Modify your recipe with lower-calorie/fat ingredients. Or, choose to bring some fruit or vegetables that you can pick on.
  • Drink wisely. Liquid calories add up quickly whether it’s from beer, wine or even regular soda. Choose lite beer, diet sodas or even water! Drinking water (even if in between each beer) will help keep you hydrated, keep you from mindless snacking and help you feel full so you don’t over indulge when you eat.
  • Get into the game. Focus on the game and socializing with friends. The more time you spend watching the game and cheering, or groaning, the less time you’ll be eating.

We cannot control the outcome of the football game, so may the best team win! However, you can make healthier choices and control the outcome of your food game. Plan ahead and join the winning food team!

Good luck and enjoy the game!

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Bonus Superbowl Week Recipe: Homemade Corn Bread

2 Feb
Homemade Corn Bread

Served warm with butter...delicious!

You didn’t think I was *really* done when I said I was done with Superbowl recipes, did you? Here’s a bonus recipe for you for Homemade Corn Bread. It goes great with the chili, or with BBQ or, just by itself. I usually double mine, especially if we have more than just the five of us to feed. Below is the single recipe.

I got this recipe out of the “Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book” a few years back, and of course it’s super fast and easy. On the back of the cookbook it says “Updated for the 90’s.” Apparently this book was new to me about 12 years ago.

**As an added bonus to this bonus recipe, see the note about Honey Butter below.**

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow, white or blue cornmeal

2 to 4 TBL sugar (I did 6 TBL for the double recipe.)

1 TBL baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup cooking oil

There's a wealth of information and recipes in here!

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a mixing bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl beat together milk, oil, eggs.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir til batter is smooth.

Pour into greased 9×9 dish (I used 9×13 for double batch)

Bake in 425 oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Single recipe makes 8-9 servings

**HONEY BUTTER**

For a single recipe of corn bread, soften- but don’t melt- about half a stick of butter in a small bowl. Add in about a teaspoon of honey, mix well. Delicious when spread on the hot corn bread! (In a last minute hurry? “Soften” your butter in the microwave by heating for 15-30 seconds or until soft enough to mix.)

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Recipe of the Day: Beef Burgundy

1 Feb
Beef Burgandy on a bed of rice with green beans

I like Beef Burgundy so much, I have to be careful not to make it too often or we'd be eating it every single week.

I love Beef Burgundy. I could get into a Beef Burgundy rut if I am not careful, I’d make it all the time. My family likes it and it’s relatively easy to make.

Here’s the original recipe with my modifications

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 pounds beef round steak (or in my house, a pack of stew meat)
oil to saute meat
2 or 3 Tbl. flour (I don’t measure, I sprinkle all over meat)
2 tsp salt (I don’t measure again, I sprinkle)
1/4 tsp marjoram (I’ve never used this, we never have it)
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Beef Boullion cubes
12 small whole onions, or 5 medium onions sliced (I do one medium onion sliced)
1 1/4 c. Burgundy wine
3/4 c. water
1/2 pound mushrooms sliced (I do a whole package and slice them)

Kids can help with slicing mushrooms.

Mushroom slicing is an easy way to get bigger kids to help out with this recipe.

DIRECTIONS:
Thoroughly chill or partially freeze steak for easy slicing. (I freeze my meat on shopping day and thaw that day.)

Cut steak into strips 1/4″ wide and into 2 to 3 inch pieces (stew meat is cubed)

In large skillet over medium heat, brown steak in hot cooking oil.

Pour off drippings.

Sprinkle steak with flour, salt, marjoram (if you have it!) thyme and pepper.

Add boullion cubes, onions, wine and water (I measure out wine into a 2 c. measuring cup, add the water to it and throw in the boullion cubes while I’m prepping everything and then just dump the whole measuring cup in together.)

Cover and simmer 45 minutes.

Because of our issues with space, I love anything that is cooked in just one pan.

Stir in mushrooms; cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until steak and mushrooms are tender.

We serve this over white rice, with steamed broccoli or some veggie like that. It’s great with french bread baguette if you have it.

Enjoy!

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Recipes and Resolutions: Easy Chicken and Wine

31 Jan
Easy Chicken and Wine

The "Easy Chicken and Wine" recipe really IS easy!

Since today is the last day of January, this is technically the last recipe in my January theme, Recipes and Resolutions. The message behind that theme for January was that you don’t need to give up on quality, even gourmet, meals just because you shop on a budget. However, I wanted to just state for the record that just because January is over and just because I won’t be calling the recipes “Recipes and Resolutions” recipes anymore, doesn’t mean we’re going off the deep end here with our budgets. Really anything I post is budget-friendly, or we wouldn’t be eating it. That’s a promise.

On to today’s recipe…Easy Chicken and Wine.

This is another one of my favorite meals from growing up. According to my mom, she’s been making this before it was published in their “Newcomers Cookbook” in 1979. The recipe was from her life-long friend Nancy Roy, whose mother, Helen Thurston, passed it along to her. You don’t need a ton of ingredients and you mix them up in one 2c. measuring cup and then pour them over the chicken before baking, so it’s super easy. All of my kids like it, so it’s a winner all around.  It does take a little while to bake, but while it does, I can do something useful; like helping kids with homework.

INGREDIENTS

4-6 breast quarters (I use split breasts which I got at Aldi’s. Each pkg. had 2 breasts in it for about $2.00. I cooked four breasts total and we had an entire one left over, which I will eat for lunch this week.) Also, as a note, I know that skin on chicken is not as healthy as skinless, and so often we do use skinless chicken. But, this recipe is just soooo good with the skin on, so it’s a treat for us. However, you can do as you please with yours. It’s yummy though, just saying.

1 cup burgandy wine (I use whatever red wine we have on hand or the Holland House red cooking wine)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/4 tsp. crushed oregano

2 tablespoons water

1 garlic clove sliced in quarters (tonight I used minced garlic)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

This recipe makes a neat "teachable moment" for science, seeing the oil go to the top, the wine settling to the bottom.

DIRECTIONS

Wash and drain chicken quarters.

Place in shallow baking dish.

Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken.

Cover with foil.

Refrigerate if there is time to do ahead. If so, spoon sauce over chicken several times before baking.

If not, bake chicken covered for one hour at 375 degrees.

Uncover and cook 10-15 minutes longer and cook 10-15 minutes longer and baste with wine sauce for further browning. This is really yummy with baked potatoes (which I put in the oven for the same baking time as the chicken) or over rice. We put the sauce into a gravy separator and use it over the chicken at the table as well.

Easy Chicken and Wine, asparagus, baked potato

Another meal brought to you by an Aldi's grocery trip! We *love* their asparagus too.

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To Coupon or Not To Coupon? That was the question.

30 Jan
Coupon holder

I will not be an Extreme Couponer, I will not be an Extreme Couponer, I will not be an Extreme Couponer, I will not be....

I admit, I am a little obsessive. Definitely a Type A personality. When I want to do something I do it and I give it 110%, no matter what it is, which is good…and bad….because how many things can one person give 110% to without losing their minds?

Sometimes Don says, “Can’t you ever just do something 75%? Just once?”

Um…No.

When I started this blog, I wasn’t going to blog EVERY day, I mean, that’s a lot. Just on occasion, when the mood strikes me.

You see my problem.

Therefore, when all of this Extreme Couponing started popping up on TV, Twitter, Facebook, etc., I was so tempted.

“I could do that,” I’d think to myself.

“I would be so GOOD at that!” I’d think.

But then, I’d remind myself: I shop at two stores for all my groceries that don’t take coupons because their pricing is already so low, namely Aldi’s and Price Rite. And, I don’t want to change that and I don’t want to go all over town buying one thing here or there just because it’s free.

Yet, I also shop at Walmart and CVS (I’m addicted to Extra Bucks) where I *could* use coupons and where I was probably missing such great deals because I don’t coupon.

I was so torn.

It kept me up at night.

Finally though… it happened. I got an email from my friend Karen. “You should really coupon…” Since she’s the one who introduced me to Don, I trust her entirely, I mean, she was so right about the husband thing…

So I decided to venture into it just a little bit. I promised myself I would NOT be an Extreme Couponer, that I would NOT spend entire days couponing or hours and hours in a store, but that I would just try to be better about having coupons for the things I do buy at Walmart, CVS and omg…I forgot about Target, love it there, and try to save even more money than I already do by shopping where I do.

The first time I went to CVS with coupons AND Extra Bucks, I was so nervous! I wanted to make sure I had the best deals to spend my Extra Bucks on so that I’d make the most of them. I was mad when I got home because I realized that they didn’t count one of my dollar off coupons, so I promised myself that next time I’d do a better job like those ladies on the TV show, of watching what goes in and what comes off the bottom line BEFORE I get home. My mom was always so good at that, still is. My attention to mathematical details…not so good.

Despite the fact that I missed getting one of my dollars off, I think I did pretty well! I came home feeling pretty proud of myself!

So, there it is. I’m officialy couponing. A little. And I have to tell you, literally EVERY time I get a tissue from one of my free boxes of Kleenex brand tissues (which would normally be a splurge in our house,) I think to myself, “This tissue was free.”

Every. Single. Time.

I’m still trying to keep to my promise of not being extreme, and I can definitely tell why people who are extreme need dedicated storage spaces for their haul, because as silly as it seems, my first thought when I got home was, “okay so where do I store four deoderants,” since I usually only buy one as I need it. But, I found a place. However, those are small items, and those extreme couponers…they buy lots of stuff and lots of bigger items.

I won’t be that way.

Right?

I won’t….

Here's what I paid for....

coupon haul at CVS!

And here's what I got for free!! Yes, that's SIX boxes of Kleenex brand tissues!!

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The Best Things in Life

29 Jan

Today we took our kids out to breakfast. We had a coupon AND a gift card, so we were good to go. We were so careful with our selections that we will be able to go out again with what’s left on the gift card on a night when they have “kids eat free.”

While we were there, we sat and planned out our meals for the next two weeks, since it’s a pay week,  making our grocery list, and then headed for the store. At Price Rite we spent exactly $200 on the two weeks’ of groceries and we got 85 items; ingredients to make two lasagnas, a roasted chicken, BBQ ribs and more, more, more.

But, despite all that we did and all that we got, the best thing of all was free….the cardboard box from Price Rite. It wasn’t even from today’s trip, it was from a different trip, but they spent the whole morning playing with it.

Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s menu:

SUNDAY: BBQ ribs and chicken with homemade corn bread

MONDAY: Poached salmon over rice with steamed broccoli hollandaise

 

TUESDAY: Sausage and Peppers

WEDNESDAY: Cranberry Chicken

THURSDAY: Spaghetti with Tuna sauce

FRIDAY: Daddy Does Dinner…surprise!

SATURDAY: Make two, freeze one Lasagna

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Superbowl Week: Easy Apps

26 Jan

Apps as in appetizers, not as in for your iPhone or iPad. I thought today I’d share two easy appetizers that you can serve on Superbowl Sunday or any time you need an appetizer idea. One of them we make often when we are asked to bring an appetizer with us and the other one, Don makes all the time for dinner on Friday nights, which is usually his night to cook while I take the girls to dance and Girl Scouts. It’s a late night and they look forward to that night’s dinner as it’s more laid back than our other nights’ meals.

The first is Kielbasa Roll-Ups, something we’ve been making for years and years. Don has pretty much taken over making these as the years have gone by and he’s really, really good at them!

Kielbasa and Crescent Rolls

These only need two ingredients: the kielbasa and the crescent rolls.

You need just two ingredients: two tubes of crescent rolls and one package of kielbasa.

First, open up your package of kielbasa and cut the pieces into bite-sized pieces, about the size of your thumb. Cook them in a frying pan in a little bit of oil. Try not to eat lots of the little pieces while you cook them.

A few easy steps and this appetizer is done.

Next, open up your crescent roll dough and cut each triangle in half. Roll the cooked kielbasa right up in the crescent roll dough and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake in the oven at the temperature on the crescent roll container until they are golden brown, about 10 minutes or so, according to the container. The kielbasa is cooked all the way through so you’re just cooking the crescents around it. Serve warm or cold and with a side of mustard if desired. You may have more pieces of kielbasa then you do crescents to wrap them in, so those you can eat while you wait for the appetizers to cook!

Next up: Loaded Nachos…this is the one the kids crave on Friday nights. When we come home and they see that Don’s made them for dinner, they literally cheer. He often makes them along with another dish like a pizza or calzones, but I could eat a whole plate of just nachos alone.

Loaded nachos

The good thing about this appetizer is you can use whatever ingredients you'd like!

The only definite ingredient you need to make a Loaded Nacho appetizer is the chips. After that you can decide what else you want to add to them on top of the chips: meat (chicken or beef), veggies (lettuce, tomatoes, olives, chili peppers), cheese, guacamole, sour cream etc. You decide.

Layer your chips first, and then the cooked meat of your choice on top. Bake for a few minutes until chips are crispy and then sprinkle your cheese on top. Cook until melted. You can even broil them a little bit to crisp them up, as long as you watch them carefully so that they don’t burn.

Add cold ingredients to the top once your baking is finished.

Enjoy!

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Resolutions and Recipes: Basic Pancakes

22 Jan
Basic Pancakes

It's good to have a variety of different syrups on hand for pancakes. We often have maple, blueberry, strawberry or boysenberry.

Last weekend I posted my recipe for Hot Blueberry Compote, and I showed it over homemade waffles. However, it’s also delicious over pancakes. We always make our pancakes from scratch and the recipe is super easy. You can put anything in them or on top of them and we vary them with toppings and fillings such as: blueberries, strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips (of course) and craisins. My absolute favorite combination is a “pancake sandwich” of two banana pancakes stacked with a chocolate chip pancake in between them. Butter, syrup…mmmmm…..

Here is our recipe for Basic Pancakes, which uses very basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand. As usual it’s the recipe I grew up with. We keep it taped into the front cover of our recipe tin so that all we have to do is lift the cover, and there it is (Don’s idea.)

BASIC PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

2 cups Buttermilk (2 TBL white vinegar and enough milk to make 2 c.)

1/4 c. canola oil (or vegetable oil)

2 cups flour

2 TBL sugar or honey

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Pour onto hot frying pan or griddle.  Add desired fillings and/or toppings.

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