Blueberry Pancakes

This summer has been great so far. I'm not committed to anything and I have just been taking it easy. One thing I did decide to do is preparing myself for next school year. I love to cook and most nights I have no problem making dinner but there are times when I'm stumped on what to have or I'm just too tired to make anything.
We were given a freezer recently so I am doing my best to make meals this summer and freeze them so we can have more wholesome meals on those tiresome nights rather than frozen pizza.

Along with dinner I get sick of deciding what to have for breakfast. I also give myself barely anytime to whip anything up in the mornings. I decided to make these pancakes for breakfast today and then freeze the rest for the school year. All I will have to do in the mornings is pop them in the microwave! My kind of breakfast :)


Blueberry Pancakes
Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil


In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda). Use a whisk to blend together. In a 4 cup measuring cup or another medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the blueberries and vegetable oil (buttermilk, sour cream, eggs and melted butter) with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir the wet mixture in gently with the dry ingredients just until it starts to fully combine. The batter will be a bit lumpy. If you see streaks of flour, it's okay, but just don't overmix! Let the lumpy batter sit aside for about 10 minutes before you start cooking.

To prepare for cooking, use a 10- or 12- inch nonstick skillet and heat 1 teaspoon of oil or spray with cooking spray.


Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray enough to coat the bottom. Once the pan gets hot, carefully wipe some off the cooking spray from the pan with a pape towel. I like using a large scoop or even a small soup ladle to measure my pancake batter. You can also use a 1/4 cup measure if you prefer. Take a scoop/ladle or 1/4 cup full of batter and pour into your hot skillet. You should be able to fit 4 small pancakes in a pan, but fit whatever works for you. Top the pancakes with a sprinkle of blueberries once you pour them into the pan.

Cook the pancakes until the edges start to bubble, which means it's starting to set. Take a peek at the bottom of the pancake to see if it's golden brown and that the pancakes start to form bubbles that break on the top of the pancake. At this point, you can flip the pancakes with a spatula. Continue to cook the second side until golden brown.

Serve the pancakes immediately or to keep warm, transfer them onto a wire rack set in a 200 degree oven.

Spaghetti Sauce

I am loving my summer vacation so far. I have a list of new recipes to try and a list of things to make to stock up my freezer!
Tonight I decided to try a new spaghetti sauce recipe. I had this recipe starred in my google reader and the picture is what drew me to trying this. I was really impressed with this sauce. It was delicious and so easy. It does not take much time except for chopping up your veggies which you could always do ahead of time. I hope you take the time to make this it is so much better than a jar of sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce
Source: Carrie's Sweet Life

•1 lb. Hamburger
•1 large onion diced
•1 green pepper diced
•dash of cyan pepper
•1 lg. Can of sliced tomato
•1 med. can of tomato sauce
•1 sm. can of tomato paste
•Thin with tomato juice
•Bay leaves
•Sweet Basil
•Oregano
•Hot Sauce
Brown the hamburger, onion and green peper together in a pan, drain off excess fat. In large pot add meat and veggies, tomato products and seasonings to taste. Simmer on very low heat for around 10 hours(I let mine simmer four about 30 minutes and it still tasted great) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lemonade Pie

I recently took dinner to a family who just welcomed a new baby boy! For their dessert I chose this pie. Here in Indy our temps went from cold to HOT! I thought this dessert would be perfect to help stay cool!

Lemonade Pie
Source: There's No Place Like Home

Mix 1 tub of cool whip
1 can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
and 6 oz of frozen lemonade (or you can use limeade too)
After it is mixed together, put it in a baked pie shell( I used a frozen pie crust) and freeze it overnight.

Like suggested on There's No Place Like home. I made two pies as well so we could enjoy our own pie!

Taco Pie

Summer break is finally here! I have not cooked in my kitchen in two weeks. The last three weeks of school I had something to do each night! I am so happy for summer to be here and the busyness to be done! I have a list of recipes to try and old favorites to get to as well.
For dinner tonight I chose this taco pie. Super easy and super delicious! I found this recipe from Meal Planning Mommies and as their site shows it is also a very inexpensive meal for your family. I hope you enjoy!


Taco Pie
Source: Meal Planning Mommies

Here is what you need:

1 tube crescent rolls
1 pound hamburger
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
2 cups sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed taco chips(Fritos)

Step 1: Brown hamburger, drain fat and then add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup of water. Cook until most of the water has evaporated.
Step 2: Put crescent rolls along the bottom and up the sides of a 9x9 dish. Sealing around the edges. (Instead of buying crescent rolls I bought "crescent creations", it is basically the crescent dough in a sheet instead of triangles)
Step 3: Place 1 cup taco chips on crescent rolls
Step 4: Put meat on top of crushed chips
Step 5: Put 2 cups of sour cream on top of meat and spread around.
Step 6: Place 1 cup cheddar cheese on top of sour cream
Step 7: BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 20 MINUTES.
Step 8: Take out and add 1 cup of crushed taco chips, then bake for 5 more minutes.

Chocolate Cheesecake

This is my second dessert I made for mother's day with my mom in mind. I will say I have never made a cheesecake!!! I will be whipping up some more from now on. I love how this recipe uses the food processer to mix everything. It made it so easy. I actually made both of my desserts simultaneously and it wasn't difficult at all.


Low & Lush Chocolate Cheesecake
Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures
recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan
Filling:
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1 graham cracker pie crust - homemade or store bought


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut each bar of cream cheese into quarters and toss the pieces into a food processor, along with the sugar. Process, scraping down the bowl 2 or 3 times, for a full 2 minutes. You’ll see how dramatically the cream cheese changes; it will look like white velvet at the end of its beating. Add the eggs, vanilla and salt and give the batter 4 longish pulses, the scrape down the bowl and pulse 2 more times. Pour in the chocolate and pulse and scrape a few times to blend the batter well.

Remove the bowl from the processor and rap it hard on the counter a couple of times to de-bubble the batter. Scrape the batter into your prepared graham cracker crust.

Bake the cheesecake in the preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes if you are using a large store bought graham cracker crust or a 9-inch pan or 45 to 50 minutes if you are using a standard store bought graham cracker crust or an 8 1/2-inch pan. The top should be puffed and set, but if you tap the pan gently, the center of the cake will still be a little shaky–that’s just fine. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or for up to 3 days. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate, if desired, before serving.

Cinnamon Cupcakes

For mother's day today I made two desserts with my mom and MIL in mind. These cinnamon cupcakes were for my mother-in-law. She enjoys cinnamon treats so I thought these would be perfect.
They were extremely easy and tasted great.

I just realized I didn't get any pictures of my desserts!! Just know they looked and tasted delicious.:)

Cinnamon Cupcakes
Source: Loves to Eat

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

½ cup whole milk

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. grated orange zest

½ tsp. vanilla extract



For the frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. ground cinnamon



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Stir milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat just until butter melts; set aside.



In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick enough for the batter to fall in a heavy ribbon when the beater is lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Add the flour mixture; beat just until blended. Add in milk mixture slowly. Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.



To make the frosting, cream the butter and the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the vanilla extract and cinnamon and mix until incorporated. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and keep adding until you reach the desired consistency and sweetness. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Source: adapted from A Southern Grace

Cheddar & Cracker Chicken

Jolen did it again! She made another meal (which she found from Real Simple) I can add to my list! This recipe takes barely anytime to put together. With the cracker cheddar mix you can always make enough to have extra left over for another night. (Just be sure to set aside what you want to save before you dip the raw chicken into it.)

Cheddar and Cracker Chicken
Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

16 buttery crackers (such as Ritz), crushed (about 3⁄4 cup)
6 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-2 stalks scallions, thinly sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, scallions and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Pound the chicken to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickeness with a meat mallet. Dip the pounded chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.