Perfect Pancakes

We're a bunch of carb addicts in my household, in case you haven't noticed.  In my defence, it's hard to have breakfast without carbs.  What I like about having pancakes on a weekend morning is that
1. My daughter can help me make them. Kids love to help. :)
2. They are yummy.
3. You can dress them up any way you want, with fruit, grains, chocolate chips, whatever.  Anything goes.
4. You can freeze the leftovers and then pop them in the microwave on busy weekday mornings!

I love this recipe, they turn out fluffy in the middle and smooth golden brown on the top and bottom.  The flavor is perfection.  I wish I'd come up with this recipe; but I didn't.  You can find the original recipe here.

Here's a helpful tip that you may or may not already know.  If you're trying to make your pancakes somewhat of a uniform size, try using a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour the batter onto the griddle. :)

Fluffy Pancakes

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• cooking spray

Start by mixing the milk and the vinegar together in a small bowl which will make buttermilk. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl first, then add the wet ingredients and mix together (a whisk works well here) so that there are no lumps.

Heat your griddle or skillet.  If you're using a non-stick griddle you probably won't need the cooking spray.  Otherwise add the cooking spray before scooping 1/4 cup of batter and pouring slowly onto your griddle or skillet.  When you see bubbles forming on the top and the sides begin to look dry it's time to flip them.  Once flipped it only takes a minute to become brown on the other side.  Move to a plate and continue making pancakes until all the batter is used. 

Freeze the leftovers in a freezer plastic storage bag and when ready to warm up just put onto a microwavable safe plate and heat (still frozen) for about 1 minute in the microwave.  Microwaves are all different so the time will depend on how many you're heating up at once and the power of your microwave.

Lisa W's Calico Beans

Thank you Lisa!  I love these beans.  Lisa always makes them for our cul-de-sac parties and they are one of the things I can get my daughter to eat and my husband loves them.  We were at Lisa's house recently and she had some of these made and I jumped at the chance to get the recipe!  I made a full batch the next day and froze about half of it for another time. 

I used butter beans because my husband won't eat Lima beans but you can use whatever you like.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix it up. 

You'll need to cook the bacon beforehand.

Pour the mixture into a 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour.


Calico Beans
1/2 lb bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1/2 lb hamburger, cooked and drained
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 cans pork and beans
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Lima beans, drained (I used butter beans)
1/3 c. ketchup
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1 tsp. mustard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon, drain and crumble then set aside.  Saute the chopped onion just until slightly tender, set aside.  Brown the hamburger and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix carefully.  Pour into a 9x13 inch pan and bake for 1 hour.  Let cool slightly before serving.

Princesses and Hay Bales.

How on earth do you fit Princesses and Hay Bales into the same topic?  Well, you go to Disney on Ice and watch princesses and surround yourself with the cutest little kids all totally freaking out over their favorite princesses most of which are dressed up like one, and then you go to a fall festival in your area and pick pumpkins and play on hay bales.  Guess which one my daughter had the most fun at?  Disney you say?  Wrong!  She was just sort of entertained by the Disney Princesses but give that girl a hay bale and she's a happy camper.

Yep, we found the perfect little pumpkin that she proudly carried and showed to everyone on the wagon ride and then tossed it to me over her shoulder when she saw the hay bales.  Geesh.

Inside the arena where we were about to be dazzled by ice skaters in costume!  Well, I was dazzled and my daughter was mildly amused.  It was fun to be able to share with her the joys of living sort of close to a city.  She loves the train ride in and she loves the really tall buildings, and I love that she loves it.

Cake Mix Lemon Cookies

Update: I've made this cookie several times over the last several years and this cookie still gets ton's of attention and admiration.

They are the perfect chewy cookie with tons of lemon flavor.  The confectioners sugar that you roll them in before baking make this a very attractive cookie, it crackles when baked.  So pretty. Not to mention the sweetness that is added.

This one's perfect for outdoor parties because they can get warm and not melt all over the place.


Cake Mix Lemon Cookies
Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 box Lemon Cake Mix
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp lemon extract, I used lemon juice
• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
3. Mix all of the ingredients except the confectioners sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer.
4. Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to get a ball of dough, roll the ball in the confectioners sugar and place on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.
5. Bake for about 8-9 minutes. The bottoms will be golden brown but the tops will remain pale.
6. Let sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then move to a cooling rack.

Diamond Bread

I've had these cookbooks sitting in my bookshelf for years.  I absolutely love them because there is a picture with each recipe, they are in a three ring type book (two books actually) so the pages easily stay in place when you're making something and the instructions are easy to follow.  For some reason I never remember to look through them and actually make the things I have marked. Probably because I want to make every single page of the book, so no marking necessary. 

I finally got around to making this bread.  I only cut enough off to taste it and then I froze the rest because it's not really a sandwich type bread.  It's very hearty, nutty flavor which would be perfect with a soup or stew.  I plan to break it out again once I get into the full winter swing of things and I've got a nice new soup to try it with.  It's called diamond bread because you bake it in a 9x13 in pan instead of loaf pans and you cut a diamond shape into it before you bake it.

Recipe from "The Great American Home Baking" book.

1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 1/2 c. milk
1 large egg
1/4 c. honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c. rye flour
1 c. old fashioned oats
2 1/2 to 3 c. bread flour

Dissolve the yeast and water (105 - 115 degrees) in the bowl of your stand mixer until foamy (5-10 min.). Stir in the milk, egg, honey, vegetable oil, salt and cinnamon.  Once blended add the rye flour and the oats and beat until blended. Add the bread flour 1/2 c. at a time until a soft dough forms.

On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 -10 minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough becomes elastic.  Place the dough in a well greased bowl, turn to coat and then cover and put in a warm place to rise for about an hour until doubled in size.

Grease at 9x13 inch pan and form the dough into it, smoothing the top as much as possible.  Cover and let rise again until doubled in size.  About 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Lightly score the dough with a sharp knife with a diamond pattern, and then bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until hollow sounding when tapped.  Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Marshmallows

The first time I ever made homemade marshmallows was in Home Economics class in high school.  I've been intimidated of the process for all of these years KNOWING it isn't difficult and yet I still have put it off.  I don't know what happened to me this last weekend to make me decide that it was time to conquer my fears and try something new.  I'm so glad I did.  I really enjoyed these.  I used the basic Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder but might try the Dutch processed kind next time to really kick up the chocolate flavor.  These had a mild chocolate flavor, very soft texture just like you'd expect a homemade marshmallow to be.  After I cut these I rolled them around in a mixture of confectioners sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder.  They are so good.  I can't wait to make just regular one's and then toast them up on a campfire.  I'm not scared anymore and I plan to experiment with lots of new flavors.  So much fun!  The longest part of this process was just waiting all day for them to set up before cutting them. Once you try homemade marshmallows you will never go back to store bought.

Once you've heated the water in the microwave you can add the chocolate powder and mix until smooth.

Combine the gelatin and water in your stand mixer bowl and let sit for 5 minutes or so.

Once the gelatin has set you can incorporate the chocolate mixture and blend until smooth.

In a large sauce pan combine the remaining water, corn syrup and sugar.  Cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Once dissolved insert a candy thermometer and let cook until the temperature reaches 240 degrees - do not stir.

Ready!

Pour the hot liquid into the mixing bowl with the chocolate/gelatin mixture.

Start the mixer on a low speed and gradually increase it until it's on high.  Whip the mixture for about 15-20 minutes.  You'll know it's done when it's lighter in color, fluffy looking but streams off the paddle when you lift it up.  It'll look very shiny but be very sticky.

Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan.

Smooth out the top as much as possible and let sit for about 10 hours. When you're ready to cut them, get your work surface ready by covering it with wax paper, sprinkle it with the confectioners sugar and cocoa mixture.  While the marshmallows are still in the pan, sprinkle them with some confectioners sugar and cocoa mixture, then flip them onto the work surface.  Use the instructions below to cut them into squares.

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp cocoa powder, divided

1-1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water, divided
3 envelopes gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup powdered sugar



Line a 9x13 in pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil liberally with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small microwavable bowl, add ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp water and microwave for 2 minutes. Pour 1/3 cup cocoa powder over the hot water, and stir or whisk to dissolve the cocoa. This gets a big sticky.

Place ½ cup cold water in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and stir briefly to distribute. Let gelatin sit and dissolve for at least 5 minutes.

Spoon warm cocoa mixture into gelatin, and stir or mix on low to thoroughly combine.

Place remaining 1/2 cup of water, corn syrup, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and insert a candy thermometer.

Cook the syrup mixture without stirring until it reaches 240 degrees on the thermometer. Brush down the sides occasionally with a wet pastry brush to avoid crystallization if needed (I didn't need to). While the candy cooks, briefly run the mixer on low once or twice to ensure the gelatin and cocoa is well-mixed.

Remove the syrup mixture from the heat immediately when it reaches 240 degrees. Turn the mixer to low and slowly pour the hot syrup into the mixer bowl. Be careful, as the syrup is extremely hot. Make sure your mixer speed is set to low to begin with.

Slowly up the speed on the mixer until it is on high.  Whip the mixture for 15-20 minutes.  You will notice the marshmallow liquid changes color and as it whips it will become shiny.  You will know it's done when it's shiny and pours in an even stream when lifting the paddle out of the bowl.
Pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Allow it to sit and firm up at room temperature for at least 10 hours.

Sift the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder together. You can either cover your workstation with wax paper or use a cookie sheet to spread some of the sugar/cocoa mixture out.  Pour some of the sugar/cocoa mixture on top of the marshmallows before you take them out of the pan.  Cover liberally and then flip onto your work surface.

Peel the tin foil off of the marshmallows (mine came off very easily). You can spray a large knife with non-stick cooking spray and then coat in the sugar mixture or you can be like me and skip that step.  The marshmallows didn't stick to the knife for me but if they do for you then revert to the previous step. Cut the marshmallow into squares, coating the knife blade with sugar as needed. Roll the marshmallows around in the sugar mixture to coat all sides.
Keep the marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature.  Do not refrigerate or keep in a humid place.  They will only last about a week so they are best eaten right away.

Recipe changed slightly from here

Race for the Cure

Guess what I was doing at a unreasonably early hour on Saturday? Guess who else joined me at this ridiculous hour? I'll stop with the third degree and just let you in on all the good information.  My daughter and I got up at 5 am so we could meet some of my co-workers at the light rail in an effort to get into the city by 6:30.  We did in fact get up at 5.  We did in fact meet my co-workers at the light rail.  We did not make it to our tent until closer to 7 but that's OK because the walk we were participating in didn't start until 7:50.  It was however a chilly 52 degrees.  Very early. Over crowded. Some people where over the top cheerful which annoyed me.  My daughter didn't complain once.  She handled it like a real trooper; I'm so glad.  And with all that being said it was great to be able to walk for such a great cause.  My grandmother is one of the people I walked for today.  Grandma Mary, a recovering Breast Cancer Survivor!!!

People were wearing all sorts of interesting clothing choices.  Lots of men in pink tutu's.  Lots of dogs in pink tutu's.  Surprisingly few women in pink tutu's. There were a lot of people drinking coffee; which reminds me, I need to start drinking coffee.  14,000 of us walked/ran.  As my co-worker said - I don't run unless somebody is chasing me. Haha.  I actually would have run some of it if I didn't have my daughter with me.  It was chilly, only 50 degrees so running might have helped.

There's my little kiddo.  What a trooper she was! Bedhead and all. I love that girl!

I was baking up a storm in my kitchen over the remainder of the weekend so I'll be back soon with some actual food. Thanks to all of you who helped to support such a great cause.  We made a difference!