Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

In addition to it being Fat Tuesday, apparently today is also National Pancake Day.  As if I needed a second excuse.  When I was looking for the perfect pancake recipe for our Valentine’s dinner last week, I came across these “Pimped-Out Pumpkin Pie Pancakes” from my Looneyspoons Collection Cookbook, courtesy of Janet & Greta Podleski.  It seems that everything I have made from this cookbook has me delving into the pumpkin pie spice, but there are certainly no complaints about that.  This recipe uses half whole-wheat flour (I always use whole-wheat pastry flour as it seems to result in a fluffier texture) and half all-purpose flour, plus a cup of pumpkin — so a pretty healthy and hearty pancake.  I did cut back on the pumpkin pie spice a bit as my kids found it to be strong in the granola bars we made recently.  As expected, the kids were thrilled with another “pancake breakfast for dinner” night.  And this recipe made a ton of pancakes — we’ll be eating the rest for breakfast for sure.

Pimped-Out Pumpkin Pie Pancakes (adapted from Janet and Greta Podleski’s “The Looneyspoons Collection” cookbook):

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 to 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp each salt and baking soda

1 can (14 oz) 2% evaporated milk (note, I used a 12 oz can plus 2 oz of milk)

1 cup canned pure pumpkin

1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)

2 eggs

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat griddle to medium heat.  Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl — flours through baking soda.  Combine all wet ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking well.  Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.  Spoon batter by 1/3-cupfuls onto preheated griddle that has been lighted coated with cooking spray.  Gently spread batter to about a 4-inch diameter.  Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until cooked through (this batter is pretty thick, but be careful not to burn them).  The recipe suggests serving with vanilla yogurt and pure maple syrup (we skipped the yogurt, although that sounds good too).

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Flounder Piccata with Angel Hair Pasta

This would be a perfect dish to serve to a family that is trying to eat more fish — it is extremely mild with lemon and butter (I skipped the capers), and you can make it with whatever thin white flaky fish looks good at the store.  I used wild flounder, but tilapia, snapper, sole, and catfish would also be good.  I wouldn’t recommend a thick fish like halibut or cod for this recipe.  I had never actually cooked fish using this process of dredging in flour and then lightly pan frying in olive oil before, and it turned out so well.  The sauce was initially very strong with lemon, because I accidentally put the butter into the green beans instead of the fish sauce.  Those were some really delicious green beans (since I had already tossed them in olive oil and lemon juice!).

Both the Fish Piccata and the Angel Hair Pasta recipes are from Melissa d’Arabian.  You really want to serve them together as all the flavors combine so well (lemon, butter, olive oil, parmesan).  And if you keep some fish fillets in the freezer, this is a super easy dinner to throw together with things you already have on hand.  With the ingredient lists so short, these aren’t as much recipes as they are methods of cooking, but I’m thrilled to now know how to cook fish this way and the kids loved it.

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Mini Heart Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

My kids have been pretty good guinea pigs through all this recent cooking of mine, and so it felt great to cook up their favorite for dinner on Valentines Day:  pancakes.  With NO vegetables.  Plain, buttermilk pancakes made with healthy whole wheat pastry flour, and nothing hidden inside.  They were thrilled.  I was inspired by the fun Nordic Ware pancake pan I found at Target, which makes 7 mini heart-shaped pancakes.  On the side I made a delicious strawberry dipping sauce, which tasted more like a smoothie (and it might as well have been a smoothie, as the kids ended up drinking it with straws…).  Both recipes are from Ellie Krieger.

My girls loved the mini hearts.  I don’t consider myself to be the most coordinated person, and I wasn’t sure how I would flip those little guys back into their exact spots in the pan.  So I flipped them into a second skillet, which also allowed me to have twice as many pancakes on the go.  Ellie’s advice to keep the first pancakes warming at 200F while you cook the rest was perfect.

The strawberry sauce was amazing, and so fitting for Valentines Day.  I’ll admit that 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup to a whole pound of strawberries wasn’t going to do it for our taste, so I probably used about 1/4 cup to make it sweeter.  I could eat this sauce with just about anything — fruit, toast, maybe an old sneaker.  And while this was the perfect and much needed change from routine, it will be back to vegetables tomorrow!

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Chili Bean Corn Bread Pie

I love chili and love trying new chili recipes, but let’s face it — the window for chili-making in Texas is pretty tiny.  This fact just makes me enjoy it that much more.  This past weekend was unseasonably cold for February in Texas, and I took full advantage by trying out Ellie Krieger‘s recipe for Chili Bean and Corn Bread Pie.  It is a delicious vegetarian recipe with two kinds of beans, green chiles, and lots of spice.  The recipe called for ancho chili powder; I had chipotle chili powder on hand and it gave the dish a wonderful smoky flavor.  The best part is the very thick corn bread topping made with honey and buttermilk, which sweetens the whole meal when you mix it in with the chili.  I do like the fact that this is such a healthy recipe, but the extra calories added by including cheddar cheese in the cornbread would be worth it, so I will try this next time.

While I was happy that my husband liked the meal, I was most thrilled to see Romeo, my 11-year old Boston Terrier, stalking the oven while the chili baked.  He only does this when my Mom visits at Christmas and Easter (and cooks a turkey and a ham, respectively), and never for anything I cook.

Romeo, the Chili Stalker

Chili Bean and Corn Bread Pie (recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger’s “Comfort Food Fix”):

For the Filling:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp each ground cumin, dried oregano, and chili powder

1/2 tsp dried coriander

15-oz can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15-oz can low-sodium pink or red beans, drained and rinsed (I used pinto beans)

14.5-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes with their juices

Two 4-oz cans diced green chiles, drained

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

For the Topping:

1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 large egg

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

To make the filling, heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the tomato paste, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and coriander, and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.  Add the beans, tomatoes with their liquid, green chiles, salt, and black pepper and bring to a boil.  (I found the mixture very thick at this point and added a few splashes of stock).  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the cilantro and transfer the filling to the baking dish.

To make the topping, in a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, honey, and oil.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.  Pour the cornmeal batter over the bean mixture, then smooth the surface with a spatula.  Bake until the top is browned around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the corn bread layer comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Makes 6 servings.

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Peanut Butter Cherry Granola Bars

My family is a major consumer of packaged granola bars, breakfast bars, protein bars, etc. — you name it, we eat it.  They are just an easy (and sometimes healthy) snack to throw into backpacks and lunchbags.  While I love the convenience, the idea of having a healthy stash of homemade, unprocessed bars in my fridge is also appealing.  So I’m going to try a few recipes to see if I can find something my kids enjoy as much as the packaged stuff.

First up is a Looneyspoons Collection recipe called Goody Two Chews.  They are sweet, chewy, and have a big hit of pumpkin pie spice (if you don’t love pumpkin pie spice, cut it back or swap for cinnamon).  I found a video of Greta Podleski demonstrating the recipe, and I have included my version of the recipe below.  The original recipe calls for light peanut butter (I used regular) and dried cranberries (I used dried cherries); you can certainly swap in your own favorites.  For the low-fat granola, definitely try to use Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola.  It has pumpkin seeds but no dried fruit, so perfect for this recipe.  And, well, it’s delicious.

My kids did not care for these granola bars — they seemed put off by all the cherries (even though my youngest, Lauren, could eat a whole bag of dried cherries in one sitting).  But that’s okay, because that means more for me.  The combination of peanut butter with pumpkin seeds and cherries is quite addictive.  I really enjoyed these.  I tried them out on my husband and also my friend Beth, just to make sure I wasn’t biased…they loved them as well.  Perhaps the flavors are just a bit too exotic for the average kid palate.  They requested something more in the ballpark of chocolate chips and oats, so stay tuned.

Peanut Butter Cherry Granola Bars (adapted from Janet & Greta Podleski’s, “The Looneyspoons Collection”)

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 egg whites

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 1/2 cups Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola

3/4 cup chopped dried cherries

Preheat oven to 250F.  Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, beat together peanut butter and maple syrup with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Add egg whites and pumpkin pie spice  and beat again until smooth.

Stir in granola and dried cherries.  Divide mixture evenly among muffin cups (about 3/4 full).  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before removing clusters from pan.  Store in an airtight container.

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Bowties with Salmon & Peas

My kids (like many kids I know) are happiest when the components of their meals are all separate from one another — protein, grains, fruit/vegetables are mixed together at your own risk.  I prefer the exact opposite:  easy one-pot meals that incorporate everything into one dish.  I’m especially happy when the recipe calls for lots of vegetables, herbs, and spices (a nightmare to my children).  This kind of cooking makes for easy leftovers too.  Every now and then I will see a recipe that incorporates everything in one dish but features ingredients the kids actually like to eat, and this Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas from Self Magazine fit the bill.  Well, I take that back – they would happily pass on the peas, but you can’t get everything you wish for.

This meal turned out really well.  The sauce was thick and creamy (save some of the starchy pasta water to thin it out if necessary) and the smell of cream cheese with fresh dill was fantastic.  It was a mild, “kid-friendly” combination.  For the pasta, I used Barilla’s “Piccolini” Mini Farfalle.  When my girls first eyed their bowls, they made faces about all those peas, but after a bite of pasta I heard lots of, “Mmmm, this is actually pretty good”.  The recipe could easily be modified to use cubed chicken or ham instead of salmon, and you could switch out the peas for another favorite veggie.  I will definitely be keeping this one on hand for an easy one-dish meal that everyone at my table will eat.

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Image via Wikipedia

I have been following the progress of the Food Revolution for some time, and the achievements this group has made in terms of education and getting better foods into schools is just exciting, in my opinion.

I sent the link for my blog over to the nice folks at the Food Revolution, and they invited me to send in a “guest blog post”.  And the best part — they actually published it!  It felt so amazing to describe what the Food Revolution meant to me and my family, and even more amazing to see the number of people who read it and posted supportive comments.

The post is called  A Recipe Resolution — Tying Memories to Great Food.

When I saw this recipe for Spinach Cake Muffins from weelicious.com, I had to try them.  I know it’s not the same as eating a spinach salad, but even the small handful of spinach leaves that make up one mini muffin is more than my kids would eat on any other given day.  My first thought was to add cocoa powder so the muffins wouldn’t be green…and then I decided this would be a great opportunity to show the girls how delicious baby spinach is (assuming the muffins actually tasted good).  Luckily, these little green gems taste more like vanilla than anything else, and my kids gobbled them up.  That’s not to say they didn’t twist up their faces and stick out their tongues when I first told them about the spinach, but they were sold after the first bite.

We did a “breakfast for dinner” meal with these muffins (scrambled eggs and fresh fruit), and the kids asked if we could have them for dinner again the next night, so this recipe will be added to the regular rotation for sure.  It’s also a nice way to use up extra baby spinach, which I always have on hand.  I have some ideas on other ways to spin this recipe, so I am going to play with it and I’ll definitely post the results.

For a smile, check out the video of the recipe author’s toddler making these muffins.  I only wish I could be this relaxed with my kids in the kitchen!

Bethenny's Pesto Lasagna

I rarely cook a “real” dinner on Monday nights.  The timing of the kids’ activities means there is about a 15 minute window to sit down and eat — sometimes together, sometimes not.  I’ve been wanting to try Bethenny’s Pesto Vegetarian Lasagna for a while, and hoped that with just six ingredients, I could quickly prep this ahead of time and then throw it in the oven during the mad dash activities that tend to occur in our house on any given Monday.

I decided to cut the recipe in half, and I added a seventh ingredient – shredded parmesan cheese on top.  I covered the lasagna with foil for most of the cooking time.  While this was a delicious dish, mine did not turn out anything like the picture in the original recipe!  After it came out of the oven, the bubbly cheese settled, and the lasagna was less than an inch thick.  so I would recommend this as a side dish, not a main course.  The good news — my kids really liked it.  The pesto was the main flavor and you just can’t go wrong with basil and cheese.

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Strawberry French Toast Muffins

There is nothing better than french toast on Sunday mornings.  Being able to have it weekday mornings would be a major accomplishment, so cooking it ahead of time in muffin-form sounded perfect to me.  This French Toast Muffin recipe is a good one and relatively healthy; I didn’t change much — added extra cinnamon and used fresh diced strawberries instead of frozen mixed berries (I did this to appeal to my daughter Lauren’s taste, but since she picked around the strawberries anyway, I’ll stick to the nice assortment of mixed berries next time).  Just pop the extras in the fridge and then heat them up for 20-30 seconds in the microwave.  And of course, extra maple syrup drizzled on top is a must.