Whole Wheat Pancakes

We have these almost every Sunday morning. The kids love 'em and I do too! A lot of the best pancake recipes call for buttermilk. Well, I NEVER have buttermilk on hand. However, I almost always have lemon juice. I'm not exactly sure what happens when you combine milk and lemon juice other than it becomes a great facsimile of buttermilk. So, give these a try. They're the best whole wheat pancakes I've ever had!

1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 cups milk

2 cups whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour because that's what I have on hand)

2 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Whisk the lemon juice and milk together in a medium bowl; set aside to thicken -- at least 5 minutes.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl to combine.
3. Whisk the egg and butter into the milk until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; pour the milk mixture and whisk gently until just combined. Don't over mix -- there will be a few lumps.
4. Fry as normal.
5. We top these with a little vanilla yogurt, toasted nuts (put walnuts, pecans or almonds in the oven at 350 degrees when you start making the batter -- they'll be ready when the pancakes are), fruit (if I have any on hand) and maple syrup. Wow. This is making me hungry!

Cheesy Noodles

This is one of the most loved recipes in our house.  I started teaching the kids to cook this summer and had them start a blog.  You can check out my son's post on this recipe too.

1 16 oz bag of pasta (we used gluten free but any will work)

1 1/2 Cups of parmesan cheese

3 eggs

Salt to taste

Optional: mozzarella cheese

First cook the noodles according to package directions.  While the noodles are cooking break the eggs into a small bowl and add the parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  

Place drained noodles into sprayed crockpot (or oven proof dish).  Pour the egg mixture in and mix well.  Salt to taste.  (you could throw some mozzarella in at this step, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't).

Cook on High for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or low for 3 or 4 hours (if using oven cook at 375F for about an hour or till egg sets).

The kids absolutely love this and if you throw some pesto and chicken on it it's a hearty meal too.

Roast Potatoes with Garlic

We all loves these -- they're great with hamburgers or any kind of grilled or roasted meat. I found this recipe originally in Cook's Illustrated, but I've modified it a bit.

2 lbs little red potatoes, scrubbed, dried and cut into 3/4" pieces

3 Tbs. olive oil

salt and pepper

3 large cloves garlic, crushed and mashed with 1/8 tsp. salt (set aside in bottom of large bowl)

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Place potatoes flesh side down in a single layer on a shallow roasting pan. Cover tightly with tin foil and cook about 20 minutes.
3. Remove foil and roast until the side of potato touching the pan is crusty golden brown, about 15 minutes more.
4. Remove pan from oven and carefully turn potatoes over using a metal spatula to safeguard the crusts. Return pan to oven and roast until the side of the potato now touching the pan is golden brown and the skin is kind of wrinkly, 5-10 minute more.
5. Remove from oven and place potatoes in bowl with garlic paste. Toss to distribute garlic and serve immediately.
6. This is really good without the garlic as well, so if you want something a little more traditional, skip it.

Spanakopita

I first had this several years ago at my aunt's farm in Maryland; it was so good that I made it soon after I got home for my own family. It's one way that I can get my kids to eat spinach or Swiss Chard without too many complaints.

I usually prepare two batches when I make it because then I use all the phyllo dough. If I don't, the left-overs just sit in my fridge... anyone have other good uses for phyllo sheets?

8 cups chopped spinach or Swiss Chard (or 2 packages frozen, thawed)

1 onion, finely chopped

4 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. flour

1 cup milk

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 pound feta, crumbled (or other mild white cheese, grated)

dash of nutmeg

8 oz of phyllo sheets (in the freezer section of the grocery store)

1/2 cup melted, unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in frying pan, saute the onion until soft and then add the spinach. Continue to saute for 3-4 minutes until spinach is wilted and heated through.
3. Stir in flour, gradually add milk.
4. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in eggs, cheese and nutmeg until smooth.
6. In 11X14 pan, brush and layer 8 sheets of phyllo with butter. Add filling and top with 8 more buttered sheets.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Butterscotch Yums

My kids all love these, they are easy and fun to make and taste absolutely fabulous!

1 bag (12 oz) butterscotch chips

12-16 oz jar Dry roasted peanuts

9 oz can pik-nik shoestring potatoes

Melt butterscotch chips on stove over medium heat until melted through (or use double boiler).  Remove from heat and add peanuts and shoestring potatoes.  Mix well.  Using a spoon place a small (bite size) piles of mixture onto wax lined cookie sheets.  Place cookie sheet filled yums into fridge until thoroughly cooled.  Makes about 100 yums.  Enjoy!

Spice Rub for Grilled Pork

I use this whenever we have pork chops -- it's best when you grill them, but even pan fried, this tastes great. It's also wonderful on grilled pork tenderloin. 

This recipe makes enough for about 6 chops or 2 tenderloins. 

1 Tbs. ground cumin

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 Tbs. curry powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. brown sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Rub all over meat to be grilled.
3. Yummy!

Spaghetti Pie

Huge hit with both kids and adults! This is a great recipe to cook ahead of time and store in the freezer - it's easy to cook from frozen...

• 3 C Ricotta Cheese
• 1 C Parmesan Cheese
• 3/4 C Egg Beaters
• 1 t Italian Seasoning

Mix ingredients together, then add 4 cups cooked spaghetti. Spread into a baking dish and cover with 2 cups marinara (or your favorite pasta sauce). Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. When cooking from frozen, lengthen cooking time to 55 minutes.