Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

I absolutely love pancakes unfortunately they are traditionally not very healthy. Especially when they are smothered with butter and syrup. So when I saw these healthy pancakes on Cara's Cravings I was very excited. Not only are they good for you but they taste great and are filling too. A win, win in my book. I made these on a Sunday night for the coming week's breakfast, and they tasted just as fresh on Friday as they did when I made them.

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes:
Source: http://carascravings.blogspot.com

1 cup quick cook oats
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c non fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 c skim milk
1 egg + 1 egg white (I substituted 1/4 c egg beater for the whole egg)
2 T apple sauce
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:
1. Combine the first 6 ingredients is a microwavable mixing bowl and mix together, then stir in the milk and yogurt.
2. Microwave for 90 seconds.
3. Beat egg and egg white until light colored and frothy. (a few minutes)
4. Fold the egg into the oatmeal mixture along with the applesauce, cinnamon and the blueberries.
5. Drip by 1/4 cup fulls onto a non stick griddle and cook over medium low heat, flipping when tops are bubbly.
Makes 10 pancakes

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: 2 pancakes
163 calories
2g fat
30.5 carbs
2.6g fiber
8g protein

Banana Muffins

These muffins are not only good but also guilt free with less than 1 gram of fat per muffin. Even though they are on the healthy side I still didn't want 22 muffins in the house, so I sent a dozen of them to work with Dan were they gobbled them up. These have a great flavor when following my additions and pretty dense.

Banana Muffins:

Source: Joy of Baking

My changes are in bold.

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added an additional ½ tsp)
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas, mashed well, I used 4 medium bananas
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I added an additional ½ tsp.)

Optional: 1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts (optional). Set aside.

3. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas (I mashed mine in my kitchen aid), eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

4. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)

5. Use a cookie scoop to evenly distribute the batter into the lined muffin pan.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the muffins from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. These muffins can be frozen.

Yield: 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf or 22 muffins

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I almost always publish my posts as I finish them, somehow this one slipped through the cracks. I made this last August and thought that I had lost the recipe, until now I had no I idea that I had the post almost finished and that I just needed to write about it (the hard part). I'm so happy that this recipe is not lost forever because I could not remember where I had found the original recipe. Now that I have found it I can make it again and share the recipe with all of you. This coffee cake is so freaking good, I know that I say almost the same thing about everything I make, but for the most part I only blog about foods that turned out well.

Blueberry Coffee Cake:

Source: All Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

For the crumb topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Coat a Bundt pan well with cooking spray.
3. Make the streusel topping: Mix 1 brown cup sugar, 2/3 cup flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup butter or margarine; topping mixture will be crumbly. Set aside.
4. For the cake: Beat 1/2 cup butter or margarine in large bowl until creamy;
5. add 1 cup white sugar, and beat until fluffy.
6. Beat in egg and vanilla.
7. Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; add alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
8. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Cover with berries, and add remaining batter by tablespoons.
9. Cover with streusel topping.
10. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, until deep golden brown.
11. Remove pan to wire rack to cool.
12. Invert onto a plate after cake has cooled, and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Need a way to use up leftover buttermilk, then these biscuits are for you. I have been meaning to make these for the past several months but I keep forgetting when I have buttermilk. In my opinion these biscuits are much better than the ones that come in a can, and the way that I look at it the are also healthier. I justify this because you get a larger biscuit for the same amount of fat or possibly even less (not 100% sure because I have not compared the nutrition info for both). When I served these I made them into egg & cheese biscuits and served the leftovers with boysenberry preserves.

Buttermilk Biscuits:

Source: Alton Brown

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.)

3.Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
4. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times.

5. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, (I used a drinking glass) being sure to push straight down through the dough.

6. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they don't (original directions say for them to touch) touch.

7. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.

8. Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes. (mine baked faster, about 12 mins.)
Yield: 10 biscuits

Nutritional Information:

Calories		145.2
Total Fat		5.3 g
	Saturated Fat	2.6 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.9 g
Cholesterol		8.6 mg
Sodium		427.5 mg
Potassium		64.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		20.8 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.7 g
	Sugars	1.2 g
Protein		3.4 g

Calculated using SparkRecipes

Cinnamon Rolls

I halved this recipe and it made 8 rolls (the recipe claims that it makes 12 for the entire recipe). These are by far the best cinnamon rolls, so much better than the type in the can, which in my book makes them worth the effort. Dan loved them, so I know I will be making them again.

Clone of a Cinnabon

from: Allrecipes.com
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted (I used butter)

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast (also known as fast rising, rapid rising, or instant yeast)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Icing:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Bread Machine Directions:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

Alternate directions using KitchenAid mixer:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warmed milk, along with 1 tsp sugar from the 1/2 cup white sugar. Let stand, covered, about 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. In the bowl of your KitchenAid mixer, add the yeast/milk mixture, eggs, melted margarine, 3 cups bread flour, salt, and remaining sugar; mix on medium speed with the flat beater until combined.

3. Switch to the dough hook and start kneading the dough on speed 2.

4. Add 1/2 cup of bread flour at a time, until the dough becomes soft and elastic and no longer sticks to the bowl (approximately 4-1/2 c). This will vary depending on the humidity of your kitchen, but you can definitely start to see when the dough stops sticking to the sides. It will start to follow the dough hook around as it spins and will start flopping around the bowl in a large ball. After you reach a total of 4-1/2 cups, start adding the flour a tablespoon at a time so you don't risk adding too much flour.

5. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp towel for approximately 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. (Heat your oven to 150°F, turn it off, and then let the dough rise in the warmed oven.
6. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

7. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

8. Roll dough into a rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup melted butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

9. Roll up dough (lengthwise) and cut with a bread knife into 12 rolls (I use fishing line to cut the rolls) (approximately 1-3/4" each, or three finger widths).

10. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. (If you want to make these the night before, follow the instructions up to this step but then cover and refrigerate your rolls before the second rise. In the morning, take them out of the refrigerate and allow them to rise before baking.)

11. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

12. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). (Or bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.)
12. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

13. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt.

14. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I am looking forward to fall and what a great first fall recipe these pancakes are. I have already made these twice because they are a true crowd pleaser. *These pancakes take longer to cook than most pancakes because they are thick* They also reheat well and are pretty good cold. Try topping them with real maple syrup and cool whip.

Pumpkin Pancakes:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (1 1/4 c milk ¼ c half and half)
12 oz pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Directions:
1. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Easter Tea Ring

This bread was delicious, but I can not take any of the credit for it. That's because my talented husband made it for us. I hope that he makes it again sometime soon.

Recipe by Jenny Shapter author of Bread Machine (We adapted the filling)

Ingredients:

6 T milk

1 egg

2 c. bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 T sugar

2 T butter

1 tsp yeast

For the filling:

1/4 chopped almonds

1/4 chopped cranberries

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 brown sugar

1 T melted butter

For the glaze:

3-4 T orange juice

3 T powered sugar

Directions:

Steps 1 & 2 may need to be reversed based on the type of bread machine that you own.

1. Add flour, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the yeast.

2. Pour the milk, eggs and melted butter into the bread machine pan.

3. Set the bread machine to the dough setting, use basic dough setting if available. Press start and lightly oil a baking sheet.

4. When the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough from the bread pan. Place it on a lighly floured surface. Punch the dough down gently and roll it into a 12 by 18 inch rectangle.

5. Chop the almonds and cranberries (a food processor works well). Melt the butter and mix in cinnamon, brush over the dough. Sprinkle almonds and cranberries over dough, top with brown sugar.

6. Starting with the long edge, roll up the rectangle of dough, similar to rolling a jelly roll. Turn the dough so that the seam is underneath.

7. Curl the dough into a circle, brush with a little bit of milk to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

8. Using a pair of cooking scissors, snip through the circle at 1 inch intervals, cutting 3/4 of the way through the roll. Twist the sections so that they start to fall sideways.

9. Cover the ring with lightly oiled plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until the dough is well risen and puffy.

10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

11. Bake the ring for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

12. While the ring is still warm, prepare the glaze and drizzle over the ring.

Waffles

After making these waffles I never want to eat waffles from a mix again. I can't wait to make these again and top them with a yummy fruit syrup. This recipe makes a lot of waffles, more than Dan and I could eat in one serving. Thankfully the batter stays fresh for a few days in tightly sealed. I think I had the batter in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Waffles:

Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 large eggs, well beaten

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (use 4 Tbsp for reduced fat and 16 Tbsp for the crispiest most delicious waffles ever, tip from "Good Things Catered" which you can find here: http://www.goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/)

1 1/2 c. milk

Directions:

In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients. (I sifted them)

In another bowl whisk together eggs, butter and milk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.

Gently whisk them together with a few strokes. (The batter should have a pebbled look, similar to muffin batter)

If you wish, fold in about 1/2 c. of mix in of choice.-Spoon 1/2 c. of batter (or the amount recommended by waffle iron manufacturer) on hot iron.

Bake until golden brown.

My batch made 10 waffles

Apple French Toast

Apple French Toast
Idea from: http://sweetsavorysouthern.wordpress.com/

French toast:
5 eggs
½ c whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 loaf french bread, cut into 1 inch-thick slices

2 Gala apples

Syrup:
4 T unsalted butter
½ brown sugar
¼ c whole milk

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a casserole dish, crack eggs and add milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined then lay bread slices in mixture to coat and absorb it all, turning occasionally.
3. In a small sauce pan over medium high heat melt the butter and sugar, stirring frenquently, until the sugar has carmelized.
4. While the sugar is melting, peel and core apples and cut into slices.
5. Remove from heat and gently risk in the whole milk.
6. Add sliced apples to syrup mixture
7. Top french toast with apples and syrup
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes