The Best Pancakes: My Mom's Recipe!

Forgive me for dismissing all other pancake recipes in favor of my mom's pancake recipe. Trust me, after tasting this recipe you will need no other pancake recipes.

The stacks of pancakes are so tall and fluffy!

One technique that my mom always emphasizes is to hand mix the batter gently. No, beating or whipping. And it's okay if there are flour lumps left. It's better to have mixed the batter too little than too much.

The Best Pancakes 

3 cups Flour

2 TBS. + 1 tsp. Baking Powder 

2 tsp. Salt

2 TBS. Sugar

2 1/2 cups Milk

2 Eggs 

6 TBS. Butter, Melted 

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a large measuring cup mix milk, eggs, and butter together.

Combine the two mix. Stir until just starts to become cohesive. The batter will be thick.

Use a 1/4 cup scoop or ladle to pour onto hot griddle or skillet. 

Turn pancakes once you see a few bubbles have popped. Cook on the second side about a minute.

Makes 10-12 Servings.

Enjoy!

Bisquets (Mexican Biscuit) Recipe

This unique biscuit is a sweet treat. The sweetness is more like an American scone than a American biscuit. The bisquet is made with a duality of leaveners; baking powder and yeast, from which it derives its unique texture; a little crumbley and a little tacky. These are very rich; lots of butter and eggs!

Bisquets 

2/3 c. Warm Milk

4 t. Yeast

4 c. Flour

1 c. Sugar

1 t. Salt

6 t. Baking Powder

1 1/2 c. Soft Butter

3 Eggs +1 for egg wash

1 t. Vanilla 

First mix the warm milk and yeast together to have it start activating.

Mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add the soft butter and mix until a course sandy texture is achieved.

Beat the eggs together with the milk mixture.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Turn out on to floured surface. Knead just enough to bring it out of the rough dough stage.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle and give it a couple envelope folds. (I explain envelope folds in my croissant recipe HERE.)

Roll the dough a final time to about 3/4 inch thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter. Use a bottle cap to cut the inner circle. (I am not sure why this is done, but it is traditionally the design.)

Place on a sheet pan. Make egg wash with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Brush wash over bisquets. Rise for 1 hour. Before the bisquets go in the oven give them a final wash with the egg wash.

Bake at 400° F. 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Pizza

 

This breakfast pizza is inspired by Casey's (the gas station) breakfast pizza. Their breakfast pizza is so good! I have thought about it a lot and I think what makes their breakfast pizza so good is the cheese sauce.

To make the cheese sauce I cut up about 8oz. of processed cheese (like Velveeta), and add about 1/4 cup of milk or broth, if I'm out of milk.

I stir this over med/low heat until everything is smooth and melted.

I would be willing to try jarred cheese spread like nacho cheese, but I rarely buy those products. I rarely buy processed cheese to begin with so I don't make recipes like this very often.

I use My Family's Favorite Pizza Crust Recipe. 

(Here's an abbreviate recap: 3 cups water, 1 1/2 T. salt, 1 1/2T. yeast,  6 1/2 cups flour. Stir barely, rise 2-5 hours. Refrigerate for upto 2 weeks.)

Spread the cheese sauce on the dough and top with things like; 

•cooked scrambled eggs, 

•breakfast sausage crumbles, 

•bacon pieces, 

•jalapenos, 

•bell peppers 

•and shredded cheese

Bake at 400° F. for 20 minutes.

Bruschetta French Toast, Really?!

 

I know it sounds crazy, but it is delicious!

1 large loaf of Asiago Cheese Bread

3 Eggs, beaten

3/4 cup Milk

8 oz. Mozzarella, shredded 

2 Roma Tomatoes

1/4 c. fresh Basil Leaves

1 clove Garlic

Cut the loaf of bread into 9 slices.

In a bowl beat together eggs and milk.

Dip the bread into the milk mixture quickly passing it through to coat, but not soak.

In a hot greased skillet cook the "French toast," turning when brown. Sprink cheese on the toast after it is cooked on one side.

Make the bruschetta by dicing the tomatoes, mincing the garlic and basil, and mixing all together.

Top each "French toast" with bruschetta mixture and serve.

Enjoy!

This was so tasty! The Asiago cheese bread really makes this recipe pop. I'm not even sure where you buy this type of bread. I have been given a few loaves. They are large, round loaves with a strong cheese flavor.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe!

Dough:

1 cup Milk, warm

1/2 cup Water, warm

1 TBS. Yeast

1/4 cup Butter, soft

1/3 cup Sugar

1/2 TBS. Salt

2 Eggs

4 1/2 - 5 cups Flour

Combine the milk, water, yeast, butter, sugar and salt.

Add 2 cups of flour.

Beat in eggs.

Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.

Knead well.

Cover and let rise until doubled. (About an hour.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 30"×10" rectangle.

Smear the surface of the dough with 1/2 cup soft butter.

Blend together 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of cinnamon (add a couple dashes of ground cloves if desired.)

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over the smeared butter.

Starting at one of the long edges: roll the dough up into a log.

Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log into cinnamon rolls about an inch to an inch and a quarter thick.

Prepare the pan(s) by coating with a generous layer of melted butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly over the butter.

Place the cinnamon rolls into the prepared pan(s). Leave space between the rolls to allow for rising.

Cover and let rise for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. 

Bake cinnamon rolls in a preheated 375° oven for 20-25 minutes. 

In the meantime make the frosting:

Maple Flavored Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup Butter, soft

8  oz. Cream Cheese, soft

1 tsp. Vanilla Flavor

1 tsp. Maple Flavor

3- 3 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and flavorings until light and airy.

Mix in the powdered sugar.

Frost the cinnamon rolls while they are still warm.

Enjoy!

Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine

 Two ways to eat fresh onions and garlic

Why eat fresh garlic and onions? These bulbs contain a component called Allicin among other health promoting components. Allicin inhibits the reproduction of bacteria and viruses. I don't know all the science, but you can read more HERE on Herbazest.com.

Whenever I am fighting a bacterial or viral infection I try to consume as much garlic as possible.

Most of the time I straight up eat garlic cloves. But, eating garlic can be way more pleasurable.

For onions try this Tomato Onion Salad.

Dice half an onion and a medium tomato.

Mix together with salt, pepper, basil, a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise and as much apple cider vinegar as you like (2ish Tbsp. for me).

This salad was so delicious that last time I was sick I was eating this salad twice a day. That makes 1 whole onion a day! I think that it did me a lot of good and it was real food as medicine.

I love garlic! There are many ways that I get fresh garlic into my diet. I've made a garlic and oil emulsion as a salad dressing. That is a good way to get a few fresh garlic cloves with a meal. My family has a tradition of making what we call Garlic Salad, which is a garlic spread made from cooked eggplant pulp, bread crumbs, olive oil, vinegar, and salt. It is similar to the Lebanese dish; Baba Ganu. I quit adding the bread crumbs and I like it much better that way. (I never told my Grandma.Shhh)

One of my favorite ways to eat fresh garlic in a meal is a variation of Huevos Rancheros.

I mix 3-4 cloves of minced garlic with a couple ounces of cream cheese.

Spread the cream cheese mixture onto toasted corn tortillas.

Top with a fried eggs and chopped cilantro.

And, for a added boost for flavor and health promoting capsaicin, add Tabasco sauce or your favorite hot pepper sauce. 

There you have it! Two ways to make food your medicine by utilizing the flavors of fresh onions and garlic!

I hope you enjoy!

Let me know if you have tried any of these before or how you use food as your medicine!

Psalms 104:14 

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,

 and herb for the service of man:

 that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

Eggnog Oatmeal Recipe

 I invented this recipe last week. My children asked me to make it for breakfast three mornings in a row. I'd say that makes this recipe a keeper! :)

Eggnog Oatmeal Recipe

1 cup Quick Cooking Oats

2 cups water

2 TBS. Sugar

Dash of Salt

3/8 tsp. Ground Nutmeg

1 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

1 Egg

1/2 cup Milk

3 TBS. Butter

In a 2 quart sauce pot, over medium heat combine oats, water, sugar, salt, nutmeg and vanilla.

Heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, beat the milk and egg together until smooth. 

Once the oatmeal has cooked, temper the egg mixture with a few spoonfuls of oatmeal. Then pour the egg mixture into the oatmeal pot. Stir thoroughly. Cook for two minutes while stirring. 

Turn off heat and add butter. Stir until the butter has melted.

Enjoy!

Improved Dutch Baby Recipe!

 

I added an egg to my Dutch Baby recipe and now it puffs up without all the care I put into it before  (Read about all my efforts HERE. I jumped through a lot of hoops to get my Dutch Babies to puff up. I write all the details in that post.)  4 eggs, instead of 3, is the way to go.

Improved Dutch Baby Recipe

3 TBS. clarified butter or clarify your own butter*

4 eggs 

3/4 cup milk 

3/4 cup flour 

1 TBS. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Pinch of salt

Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° F. While the oven is preheating place a 10 inch iron skillet into the oven. Heat the skillet for no less than 15 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Whisk until mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt, whisk vigorously to remove lumps and incorporate air, about 1 minute. Set aside batter and let rest for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Pour 3 TBS. butter oil into the hot skillet. Give the batter one last quick whisk. Pour batter into hot skillet. Swiftly return the skillet to the oven. Cook the Dutch Baby 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown around the edges.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool a few minutes. Slice into wedges and serve. Dust with confectioners sugar as desired 

*To clarify butter: melt the butter in a heat proof container in the microwave or in a sauce pan on the stove. 

Skim the foam from the top of the melted butter and discard.

Gently, dip the butter oil out with a spoon, avoiding any milk settled at the bottom of the vessel.

Menu Inspiration!

Here are five budget meals that we have been enjoying at our house this week.

Everyone knows that Ramen noodles are a budget meal. When you fix them like this, though, they feel gourmet!

I cook the noodles. I pull them out of the cooking liquid while they are still bouncy and put them in a lidded pot to keep warm while I fix the veggies and eggs.

If I have vegetable or meat toppings that need to be heated I toss them into the cooking liquid. They pick up some flavor and get hot. Then I remove them to the holding pot with the noodles.

For the eggs: I bring the cooking broth to a nice boil, and crack the eggs into the boiling liquid (about 6 eggs). I put the lid on and cook them for 3 minutes. When the timer goes off I add a bag of frozen spinach. The spinach cools the water off enough to stop the eggs from cooking hard. And the spinach gets thawed and warm. Kill two birds with one stone! 

To make the Ramen Bowls even fancier, I will sometimes use a vegetable peeler to make carrot ribbons. Scallions are always a visually appealing topping, too.

For a real authentic Japanese topping and a boost of bone-building vitamin K2; add a spoonful of natto! :) 

Ham was on sale this week for 87¢ per pound. Ham can make a lot of great breakfast-for-dinner meals. 

We really like this Egg Casserole. I swapped the sausage out for ham this week. It was originally a Crock-Pot recipe, but this time I baked it in the oven at 350° F. for 1 hour.

We also had Ham and Egg sandwiches this week.

I make biscuits for breakfast sandwiches and sometimes I make English Muffins.

English Muffins get dipped in cornmeal before setting aside to rise.

If you didn't know already, English Muffins are cooked on the stovetop. It is handy to know some recipes like this that don't require an oven. If you are ever in a situation where you don't have an oven, remember you can still make English Muffins! Here is my RECIPE.

A menu in my house wouldn't be complete without a chicken leg or thigh meal. :) I have mentioned before that I buy the 10 pound bags of chicken quarters for 59¢ a pound and cut them up myself. Even if you don't cut the meat up yourself chicken thighs or legs are pretty affordable.

Our chicken meal this week was Chicken Armenian. Chicken Armenian is a gratifying meal with a small price tag.

The chicken pieces get browned on the stovetop before going on the sheet pan to bake. The onions add some interest to the dish because they are sliced as opposed to diced. A tomato based sauce gets poured over the chicken pieces along with the sauted onions and garlic. As the chicken cooks in the oven the sauce accumulates flavor and depth. The onions sweeten, the paprika permeates, and the chicken drippings mingle. Chicken Armenian is always a satisfying supper!

Another easy dinner with ham is Ham and Cheese Melt-y Sandwiches. We had ours on homemade croissants. Recipe coming soon! :) Croissants are not the cheapest bread that you can make, seeing as how the recipe calls for 3 sticks of butter. This could be a cheaper meal if you use a less expensive bread choice.

I laid the split rolls on a sheet pan and put a layer of sliced ham on the rolls and then covered the ham with sliced Colby Jack cheese. I put the sheet pan under the broiler for 3 minutes, until the cheese was Melt-y. 

Speaking of cheese, Kroger had a sale on 2 pound blocks of cheese for $4.97 with a digital coupon this past week. Gotta keep an eye out for sales and know what a good price is in your area. I don't keep an actual Price Book, but if you are just starting out on your journey to Thrift, keeping a price log for 6 months for your grocery staples can be a very useful tool. For instance I stock up on butter any time I find it for $2.50 a pound or less. That way I rarely ever spend more than $2.50 a pound for butter. $2.50 is a good price for butter in my area. Butter keeps great in the freezer, and is one of those things that you can stock up on.

And let me tell you God provides for His own! I want to acknowledge His hand in us being able to eat affordably. I'll share a story about a grocery blessing. Back in February Mr. In the Mid-west was in the grocery store and saw half gallons of milk marked down to 49¢ a piece. The Best By date was the following day, so the manager had marked them down significantly. Mr. In The Mid-west bought all he could. We froze the milk and have pulled it out of the freezer as we need it. Our family can polish off a half gallon of milk quickly enough, once it is thawed, that none has spoiled. Now isn't that a blessing, milk prices being what they are?

And the last meal for this post is Pizza!

The pizza in the picture is a little fancier than the one we had for dinner tonight. Our toppings this time were just cheese and pepperoni. The crust we like is this RECIPE. It comes out with a chewy texture and great yeast-y flavor every time.

Share your meals in the comments! Help us all with menu planning inspiration! :)

Psalms 37:25 

I have been young, and now am old; 

yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, 

nor his seed begging bread.

Cheese Danish Pastry

 

This Cheese Danish pastry is so flaky! When combined with the lightly sweetened, lemony cream filling this becomes a treat worth going off of one's gluten free diet for! Ask me how I know. ;)

Cheese Danish Recipe

Pastry Dough

4 cups Flour

1/2 cup + 2 TBS. Cold Water

1/2 cup + 2 TBS. Cold Milk

1/4 cup + 2 TBS. Sugar

3 TBS. Soft Butter

1 TBS. + 1/2 tsp. Yeast

2 tsp. Salt

Butter for Laminating:

1 1/2 cups Butter (2 1/2 sticks)

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 8oz. Blocks Cream Cheese

2 Egg Yolks

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Lemon Juice

1 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

1/4 tsp. Lemon Oil (optional)

 

Combine ingredients to form a dough. Knead briefly.

Refrigerate over night in airtight package.

The following day, cut the butter lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips. Arrange these butter pieces on a large section of wax paper. Cover the butter with another section of wax paper. Using a rolling pin smash the butter together and roll the piece into a 7 1/2 inch square. Chill this butter square in the refrigerator while you prepare the dough.

Take the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it into a 10 1/2 inches square.

Retrieve the butter from the refrigerator and position it, at an angle, onto the dough.

Fold the extending corners of dough over the butter. Pinch the seams together, encasing the butter in the dough. As illustrated in the picture.

Roll the dough/butter package into a 8×24 inch rectangle.

Fold 1/3 of the dough over onto itself.

Fold the other end of the dough over the center layers.

Wrap the dough of plastic and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Repeat this rolling, folding, and resting twice more. Wrap in airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

The following day mix the cream cheese filling ingredients by first beating the cream cheese until smooth and then adding the rest of the filling ingredients

Take the dough from the refrigerator and press it in several places with the rolling pin to "wake up" the dough.

Roll the dough into a very long and narrow rectangle about 44×10 inches. 

Cut a couple inches off of the ends to square up the ends. 

Cut the rectangle into two even pieces. As shown.

Dollop half of the cream filling down the center of each piece of pastry.

Spread out the filling, leaving about a 1 inch space from the ends. 

Using a sharp knife cut 1/2 inch wide strips all along each edge. As shown.

To make the woven top of the pastry; 

Take a dough strip and stretch it (stretching it is supposed to help the layers flake better).

Fold the strip over the cream filling. Repeat with each strip, alternating from one side to the other side, all the down the the end.

Place each Cheese Danish on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.

Make an egg wash with the egg white left over from the filling. Mix the egg whites with 1 TBS. of water and brush each Danish with the egg wash.

Let the Danishes rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Before the Danishes go into the oven give them another egg wash.

Bake 25 minutes, rotating half way through the baking time.

Cool until warm. 

Enjoy!