Pancake Syrup

Like I said in my previous entry, we've got one bajillion pounds of fruit in this house. One thing I love to make and uhh eat, is pancakes. Family friendly, quick, healthy (potentially, unless you're my husband. In which they are laden with chocolate chips), etc. Here is my recipe for the above pictured syrups. You can make them separately or combine to make taste explosion.

Blueberry Pancake Syrup

8 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup water
4 cups orange juice
3 cups white sugar
1 cup cold water
3/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.

In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.



Peach Syrup

10 sliced fresh peaches
1/3 cup sugar
2 dashes cinnamon
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups water

Put everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until desired thickness is achieved.

The peach syrup will be slightly cloudy. That's totally normal.

Breakfast Bars

This is an incredibly delicious, healthy, but most of all easy recipe that I use all the time. It is adaptable to an endless combination of flavors too! I throw in whatever I happen to have on hand. The main component is the honey-peanut butter to bind it together and a cereal as a base so don't stress if you don't have anything else lying around. I've had great success with puffed grains as a base but I've also used Life and Cheerio type cereals too.


Breakfast Bars

1/2 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter
1-2 cups cereal
2 tbsp flax seeds
2 tbsp wheat germ
Optional additions: nuts, dried fruit, coconut, chocolate chips


In a small sauce pan melt together the honey and peanut butter until smooth. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and toss until well combined. Pour peanut butter mixture over and stir until everything is well coated. Press into an 8x11 inch pan and cool completely before cutting.

Whole Wheat Banana Hazelnut Pancakes

My kids are obsessed with pancakes so I am expected to whip up new and creative variations on the general theme. Search my archives for some successful previous endeavors. This recipe tasted almost a little too delicious to be healthy! These disappeared too quickly to take a photo of.


Banana Hazelnut Pancakes

1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (aka filberts)


Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat, spray lightly with oil.

Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar, and nutmeg and set aside. In another bowl combine milk, bananas, egg, and hazelnuts. Then add the wet to the dry and combine until smooth.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a bowl mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, and oil. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Strawberry Pancakes

This recipe will please even the pickiest of eaters I promise! My son Augustine, age 3 really loves to bake and cook with me. I asked him if he could make up a recipe and after looking through many cookbooks and our fridge/pantry for ideas he came up with "Strawberry Panpakes!" and this was the result. I made the "panpake" part and he loved, and really ... who wouldn't!?, smashing up all of the strawberries.


Augustine's Strawberry Pancakes
1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp sea salt
2-3 egg yolks, well beaten
2-3 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 cup milk
3 tbsp melted butter
1 cup smooshed up/pureed strawberries (or any other fruit)

Sift together the first 4 ingredients (whole wheat flour through salt).

Combine and beat the egg yolks, milk and butter. Add this to the flour mixture, blend. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Add the strawberry puree

Fry on medium hot griddle until bubbles are well-formed around edges of pancakes; turn and cook other side 2 minutes. Or bake in waffle iron if you want a waffle instead of a "panpake". Reheat waffle iron before putting another waffle in each time.

Makes 8 pancakes or 4 waffles.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

Today happiness is a delicious muffin served with a hot cup of tea, taking in the cool morning breeze. The title of this muffin is a bit deceiving, as it contains 4 different kinds of fruit mixed in. I debated whether or not to simply call them "Fruit Muffins" or not. Regardless, they are scrumptious, healthy, and perfect for a morning such as we've been experiencing here lately.




Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
or Whole Wheat Fruit Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 cup chopped apples (I recommend Granny Smith)
3/4 cup dried fruit (I used raisins, apricots, cherries, and cranberries)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease one 12-cup muffin tin. I made some Big Daddy muffins too, delicious!

Lightly beat egg in a small bowl. In another bowl mix dry ingredients thoroughly. In a third bowl, mix all of the remaining ingredients. Gently folding in egg. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir until barely moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Fill greased muffin tins to the top to ensure you get those delicious, pillowy muffin tops. Bake about 20 minutes until lightly browned.

Wake Up Casserole

I don't know about you but on the weekends I enjoy special breakfasts that involve a little more time and effort. Heaven knows that I'm not about to break out the eggs Benedict on a Monday morning after being awakened every few hours by a teething baby the previous night. My go-to weekend breakfast casserole is based on one from my creative mother in law and it is as easy as it is delicious! In fact I make this nearly every Christmas for brunch.


Wake Up Casserole

2 1/2 cups shredded potatoes
5 eggs
8 oz of your preferred cheese
1 cup milk
4-5 pieces of bacon OR 3-4 oz sausage
dash of salt

If you want to skip a step, you can purchase store bought shredded hash browns. Otherwise, skin and shred two potatoes then squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can from them using paper towels. Place them into a skillet with some hot oil and fry them for to desired crispiness adding salt and pepper to your liking. Place shredded potatoes in a single layer in a grease pie pan or 9 x 9 casserole dish. Crisp bacon or brown sausage and crumble. Mix that with eggs, milk, salt, & cheese and pour that over the potatoes. You could easily add your favorite vegetables here for a healthy boost - shredded carrot, red or green pepper, green onion, etc. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.

Granola

A few years ago i set out on a quest to make the perfect granola. In my searches I've come up with two very reliable recipes that I've sort of smooshed together into my own version. These would be one by of one my oldest friend's Nicole and another by Alton Brown. For me, the perfect granola is chewy, sweet, and most of all healthy. I think this recipe fulfills all of those requirements and then some. I also love how customizable it is. My husband and I have pretty different tastes when it comes to granola so I usually wind up making two different batches switching out nuts (he loves peanuts and I love almonds & walnuts) and also the fruit (I have an unspoken daily cherry regiment to keep up after all but my husband is a fan of raisins). In my opinion this is best served with Stonyfield Farm's Organic Strawberry Yogurt.


Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup chopped hazlenuts
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup coconut
3/4 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon in a pinch)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins, cherries, figs, etc.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon, flax, wheat germ, and brown sugar. In another bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, honey, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add dried fruit of your liking and enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

Not only are these muffins insanely good but they are also insanely good for you! No sugar, white flour, and minimal oils used make this recipe an excellent snack at any hour of the day. We love them for breakfast especially, try them heated slightly with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or peanut butter on top! A great source of fiber, folic acid, and potassium and they are low in fat. My favorite part is that they are so portable that I can give them to the kids on the go with no guilt! These are easy to freeze for later too.


WHOLE WHEAT BANANA MUFFINS

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 oz cream cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup honey
3 eggs
1 tbsp flax seeds
3 tbsp hot water
2 cups smooshed ripe bananas (3-5 bananas)
1/2 cup hot water

1. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and wheat germ.

2. Beat together olive applesauce, cream cheese, honey & baking powder. Then add olive oil.

3. Mix hot water with flax seeds and set aside to allow to dissolve. Meanwhile, beat in eggs one at a time, making sure to combine well before adding the next. After all eggs are in, add flax seeds.

4. Add bananas and mix until combined

5. Add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with hot water; mix well after each addition.

6. Spoon batter into 24 greased muffin cups; bake at 325 degrees for 22-25 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and test done.

7. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

Try one of the optional variations: 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries, 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans