Pumpkin Pancakes

I made these over the weekend, and lets just say... OMG YUM!  Tom and I both were in heaven.  Amazing flavor and they are so thick and dense you only need to eat two to feel full.  You make these and you may never go back to plain pancakes again!

Ingredients:
   1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
   2 tablespoons sugar
   2 teaspoons baking powder
   1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
   1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
   1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
   1 cup milk
   1 cup pumpkin puree
   2 tablespoons butter, melted
   1 egg

Directions:
1. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk together the milk, pumpkin, butter and egg in a separate bowl. Fold this mixture into the dry ingredients.
3. Melt additional butter in a skillet over medium heat.
4. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake (you will have to kinda scooch the batter around to get it to spread out) and cook approximately 3 minutes per side.
5. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Microwave Coffee Cup Scramble

I found this in the Better Homes & Garden magazine and it's proven to be a go to for a quick breakfast when the normal cereal isn't enough but there just isn't enough time for pancakes.

Ingredients:
   2 eggs
   2 Tbsp milk
   2 Tbsp shredded cheese
   salt and pepper

1. Coat 12 oz mug with cooking spray.  Add eggs and milk, beat with fork til blended.
2. Microwave on high 45 sec, stir.  Microwave til eggs are almost set, 30 to 45 sec longer.
3. Top with cheese, season with salt and pepper. (Tom likes to put hot salsa on his and loves it)

Tamale Pie

So I'm all about crockpot meals. Just makes life easier with a toddler around.  This is hardly what anyone would call mexican, but it's still yummy!

Step 1: In a large skillet warm in a Tbsp of olive oil a spoonful of minced garlic (I buy the big jars or pre-minced garlic).  Then brown 2 lbs ground beef (or any ground meat of your choosing).

Step 2: Dump meat into crock pot.  Add in 1 can each of black beans, diced tomatoes (not the Italian style), whole kernel corn, and one packet of taco seasoning (or any seasonings you want such as cumin, chili powder, pepper, etc).  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Step 3: In a bowl combine one box of corn bread/muffin mix and 2 eggs.  Spoon in small dollops over meat mixture. Do not dump in all at once, you will not be able to spread the mixture over the meat and you will get lopsided tamale pie!  Cover and cook 1 hour longer or until a toothpick comes out of the center of cornbread clean.  Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand 5 minutes to melt.

Serve with sour cream, cilantro, and anything else you think would taste yummy.

Banana Fiddlesticks/Biscotti

I adapted a recipe in order to create banana fiddlesticks for Luke.  Those with toddlers who use the Plum line of baby foods know what I am talking about and know they are expensive.  Making your own is definitely the way to go and baby biscotti are great ;)


The dough is extremely wet and sticky, but that's what I am going for as when I make these for Luke I don't bake them dry but leave them soft they way he prefers them.  

You will need:
  1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed
  1 egg
  2 tbsp. brown sugar
  1 tsp. vanilla extract
  2 cup all-purpose flour
  1/2 cup sugar
  1 tsp. baking powder
  1 tsp. cinnamon
  1/2 tsp. salt


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease your baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Combine the mashed bananas, egg, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.  Mix until well combined.  In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together to mix.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
   
    For baby biscotti (aka fiddlesticks), divide the dough into four equal parts, shape into logs as best you can using flour to prevent dough from sticking to your hands.  Place on the prepared baking sheet.   Spread into1/4 inch half-inch deep loaves. Bake for 20 25 mins, remove from oven and let cool til you can handle loaves without burning yourself.  Using a serrated bread knife, slice into 1/4 inch half inch pieces.  Place the slices back onto the baking sheet on their side and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven, flip the biscotti over to the other side, and bake for 5 more minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet.


(I was originally baking the biscotti again after cutting them when making fiddlesticks but found that they got really chewy, which Luke did not care for.  So the above strike-thru's are where I have modified my original recipe.)




    For normal biscotti, divide the dough into two equal parts, spread into two logs on the baking sheet, about 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep, leaving at least 4 inches or more between the two logs.  Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven, reduce the heat to 250 degrees F and let cool for 10 minutes.  Using a long, thin knife slice the biscotti into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces on the diagonal.  Place the slices back onto the baking sheet on their side and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, flip the biscotti over to the other side, and bake for 10 more minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet.


Adapted from Annie's Eats.

Hearty Beans & Rice

I created this off a recipe I saw in a slow cooker magazine.  It's like a cross between BBQ beans and Red beans & rice.  In fact, next time I make it I'm going to replace the steak seasoning with creole seasoning.  I also recommend reducing the spicy brown mustard from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup as the flavor was kinda obvious, but it was still tasty!

WARNING: You will need a large crock pot in order to do this!

Step 1:
Brown 2 lbs of ground beef (or any ground meat of your choosing) in a pan.  (Prior to browning the meat I recommend heating up some minced garlic and sweating a whole medium to large diced onion)

Step 2: Dump the following into a crockpot and stir:

   2 large cans of baked beans (I like Bush's original)
   2 cans kidney beans, drained
   2 cans pinto beans, drained
   1 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, sliced (or more, whatever will fit in your pot)
   1 cup BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's)
   1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
   1/4 cup steak seasoning (I used McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning)

Step 3: Cook on Low all day and serve over rice.