Vanilla Dutch Baby (Puffed Pancake)

Source: A combination of recipes from the trusty ol' BHG cookbook and The Food Network

Ingredients:

• 2 T. butter


• 3 eggs


• 1/2 c. flour


• 1/2 c. milk


• 1/4 t. salt


• 1 T. sugar


• 2 t. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet. (I doubled the recipe and put it in a large, glass cake pan.) Place butter in a 400-degree oven for 3-5 minutes or until butter melts.


2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs until combined. Add flour, milk, salt, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until mixture is smooth.


3. Immediately poor mixture into the hot skillet. Bake about 25 minutes or until puffed and well-browned.


4. Top with whipped cream, syrup, fruit, powdered sugar, etc. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Comments: I've made puffed pancakes/German pancakes/Dutch babies before, but I saw a sweet version on The Food Network this week and decided to try adding sugar and vanilla to the regular recipe. So yummy, they didn't even need toppings!

As I mentioned, I doubled the recipe and baked it in a regular cake pan (so we'd have plenty!). The boys loved seeing the huge, inflated pancake come out of the oven. . .a fun change from our usual wheat pancakes.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Source (via pinterest)

Ingredients:
1 medium, ripe avocado (pitted)
1/2 lemon, juiced, plus lemon zest to garnish
2-3 garlic cloves, to taste
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 servings (6 oz) of your choice pasta (I used whole grain angel hair)
Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by blending the garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Add the avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place in a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Notes: Holy moly. This is delicious! I had some leftover avocados from making my favorite guacamole last night, which gave me an excuse to try this recipe that I've had pinned forever. It was so easy and oh so delicious! The flavor could be described as "avocado pesto." I'm not even the biggest fan of avocados, so if you're partial to the vegetable, then prepare yourself for some serious joy!

Philly Cheeseteak Sloppy Joes

Source: this site, via Pinterest

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil (skipped it)
1 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons steak sauce (didn't have any, so added 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce + 1 Tablespoon ketchup)
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
8 hamburger buns (the smaller ones)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 cup provolone, shredded (only had mozzarella, which was really kind of bland by itself, so I added a squirt of horseradish sauce and a squirt of mustard to sass it up a bit)

Directions:
In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and then brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.  (I found that two minutes wasn't quite long enough - it was really soupy stuff, so I let it simmer and bubble for a while longer to let a lot of the moisture evaporate.)

If you like toasted buns, go ahead and do that now.  If not, move on to the next step.

While the meat is cooking, melt the butter in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir the cheese.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and replace the top of the roll.

Notes:
Just another of those random recipes I've discovered due to the wonderful world of Pinterest.  This one looked fun, quick and different, so I gave it a go.  I definitely would recommend something a little more flavorful than mozza for the cheese, but other than that I was quite pleased with this recipe.

Tamale Pie

Source: Kim G. Blanchard, via The Blanchard Bistro Cookbook (but I didn't see it on the blog, so I'm posting it here)

Directions:
Brown and drain:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
Season with garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Add:
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can diced green chiles
1 can whole medium olives, drained (I left these out and substituted for 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained)
1 can tomato sauce
chili powder, cumin - to taste (I added 1 teaspoon of each)

For the crust:
Mix in a large saucepan, cook on stovetop till thick (do not cool, spread hot over filling immediately after making):
4 cups cold water
2 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder

Pour filling in casserole dish.  Sprinkle with 2 cups grated cheese.  Spread crust over filling.  Bake at 350F till crust is done and brown (about 35 - 40 minutes - I found that we needed even more time than that - closer to 50).

Notes:
I was perusing the internet one morning and stumbled across a recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe called Cowboy Dinner.  When I gave Gregg a couple options for dinner that night (I just couldn't decide), I included a link to Mel's recipe (we were chatting over gmail) and that sparked a memory of his mom's similar recipe - this recipe for Tamale Pie.  I pulled out the binder that Kim gave me at my bridal shower and low and behold they were pretty similar.  I decided to try Kim's version because the crust intrigued me.  Oh boy am I glad I did.  I loved it and I ate the leftovers for days afterward.  (I think it got better with age!)  I love cornbread, but this crust definitely isn't bready - it's more like a tamale, as the name says.  Yummy stuff here.

Cheese 'n' Sausage Calzones

Source: My mom's recipe box

Ingredients:
15 ounces Ricotta or cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (1 lb.)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup finely chopped green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
5 1-pound loaves frozen bread dough, thawed  (I decided to try a homemade version and used Mel's French Bread Roll dough - the same stuff I made the braid from a few weeks ago) (Update Dec 2017: I always use my usual pizza dough recipe and bake at 400 for about 23 minutes nowadays.)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 16 ounce jar spaghetti sauce, heated

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine cheeses, oregano and basil.  In a large skillet, saute onion, green pepper and garlic in oil until tender.  Add to cheese mixture.  In the same skillet, brown sausage; drain and stir into cheese mixture.  Divide each loaf of dough into halves; divide each section in half and roll each portion into a circle. (If you're making the homemade dough, just pinch off clumps - one batch should make about 12 or so - and flatten them in your hand or roll them into small circles - about 5-6 inches in diameter.)  Spoon 2 tablespoonfuls of filling on half of each circle.  Fold the other half over and wet the edges.  Seal with a fork or with fingertips.  Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with spaghetti sauce for dipping.  Serves 20 (freeze leftovers for lunch).  Optional fillings: mushrooms, olives, scrambled eggs, spinach, etc.

Notes:
This is a yummy and filling meal.  It does take a little time to assemble all the calzones, but in the end it's more than worth it.  And this recipe makes a TON.  We halved it for just Gregg and me, and even that fed us for breakfast, lunch and dinner for days.  Also, don't be afraid of the goop - it will most likely ooze out of your dough as it's cooking,  no matter how careful you are - just scoop it up and plop it on top!  (I don't worry a lot about presentation at my house, can you tell?)

Grandma's Gingerbread House Dough

Source: My Grandma, Margaret Elwood

Just one of many, many, many houses that have been
created using this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ginger

2/3 cup molasses

1 egg

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Use electric mixer to mix all ingredients together.  Use hands to then compact dough into a ball.  Put dough in a zip lock bag or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  Place dough on a greased jelly roll pan and roll out to evenly fill pan.  Place gingerbread house pattern (I'm working on getting this!) on dough and lightly mark outline.  Bake at 300 degrees F for about 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and use marks to completely cut out shapes (this must be done before the dough cools and hardens).  After cutting, remove pieces from pan and cool on a wire rack.  Once cool, the pieces should be very hard.  If not, place on a cookie sheet and return to oven for 5-10 minutes longer.  Pieces can then be assembled using icing or hot glue (I think that hot glue was added by my uncle, Bryan - the cheater!  ;)  We have found that using meringue powder works wonders for making a really stiff, hard setting royal icing that holds those houses firm . . . though there were years in the early days when there were a few tears shed because of a sinking roof and I really would have loved to use glue!)

Notes:

This is one of those traditions that has been going on and on for as long as I can remember.  I've never missed a year of the gingerbread house making extravaganza at Grandma's house (usually takes place Thanksgiving weekend, but not always) till this year.  Luckily, my mom whipped up a batch for me and Gregg to take home with us after our trip to Utah for the wedding.  She even included a little baggie of meringue powder and directions for making the royal icing.  Then we just scrounged around our apartment for "decorations"* and voila!  A masterpiece.  (*My grandma has been doing this for so many years that she has a big bin of candy that we just keep reusing - think old, hard, stale stuff - replenishing just a few things each year as needed . . . this worked fine till Gregg came along because we never ate our gingerbread houses before - he had a different idea about things, and as it turns out, the houses are pretty dang good to nibble on, too!)

PB & J Muffins

Source: here, via Pinterest

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour (I used 1 cup white + 1/4 cup whole wheat)
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (don't know what this is - so I just used regular sugar)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (regular salt for me)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cup whole milk (we have 1%)
1/4 cup jam (whatever you like - I did some with homemade jumbleberry and some with store-bought strawberry)
1 teaspoon vanilla (I added this because my sugar was not "vanilla sugar")

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In another microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter. Lightly beat in the milk until creamy, then the eggs, one at a time.  Pour into the dry ingredients and the stir until there are no dry spots.

Using a cookie scoop (I used a rounded 1 Tablespoon), fill each muffin cup halfway. Make a well, add about a teaspoon of jam, and scoop the remaining batter over the top.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden.  Let sit in muffin tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes:
Yep, another muffin recipe from Kimma.  I admit I have a problem.  But really, these were so yummy!  Especially when they were still a little bit warm from the oven with a mug of cold milk.