Oven Pancake

I think I've talked about it before but I am a huge fan of breakfast. It is definitely my favorite meal of the day and I cannot skip it. Our go to for breakfast is scrambled eggs but we mix it up every once in a while. One of my favorites to make is oven pancakes, my mom made it for us growing up and it was always a very special treat. It can also be referred to as dutch babies or dutch pancakes. Charlie loves to help out in the kitchen and this time I decided to snap a few shots of him helping beat the eggs. He was quite pleased with himself, he definitely did not want to give up control of the whisk.

Oven Pancakes
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Milk

1. Preheat oven to 400. 
2. Beat eggs in blender or by hand for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Slowly add flour, then salt and milk.
4. Pour into well greased 10-inch skillet or baking pan.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown and puffy. 
6. Top with butter, powdered sugar, and lemon juice.

Play Dough

Our first experiment with play dough was a huge success! I didn't actually want to buy it because I wasn't sure that he would actually enjoy it, and plus it turns out it is super easy to make. I used the recipe from here. It literally took less than 5 minutes to mix up and then you just had to wait for it to cool. I actually made it all while on the phone with my sister. So, you should definitely give it a try.
Also we leave for camping today and I am so very excited for this trip! Wish us luck and that Andy doesn't give himself any more injuries!

Play Dough
1 cup water
2 tablespoons canola oil (original recipe calls for vegetable oil but I didn't have any)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
food coloring (enough to get the color you want)

1. Heat water and oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the remaining ingredients. Lightly stir together to combine. It will be very clumpy.
2. Cook, stirring constantly until it forms a ball, about 3-5 minutes. 
3. Remove dough from pan and place on plate to cool.
4. Once cool, knead the dough.

Maple Oatmeal Scones and Homemade Mascarpone

Last week I decided that I really wanted a scone and I had pinned this recipe a while ago and decided to give it a shot. It was pretty delicious. The only thing was that it was a bit too salty, but I did use salted butter and I'm assuming she did not, so next time I would just drop the salt to like 1/4 teaspoon. Also I didn't have any buttermilk, but I used this technique and it worked perfectly. But they were wonderful and I definitely want to make them again.

The next thing on my list was homemade mascarpone cheese! I have been wanting to make cheese for a while but I just never had the ingredients (rennet specifically). I know that I should just get some and give it a try but this mascarpone recipe only called for cream and lemon juice! It was so easy! I used it in a baked mac & cheese recipe and it was wonderful, didn't taste any different than when we used store bought. The only thing I did differently was not leave it for the second night, because when I twisted the cheesecloth to get more moisture out, there was none. End of story, you should all try these two things, maybe not together, but you should try them.

Carrot Soup

I am definitely in my pajamas. And it is definitely past two o'clock. But, you know what? I'm ok with that. I've done some chores and made some granola and did some homework. So I'd say that I've been rather productive in my pajamas. But anyways, this post is actually about this amazing carrot soup that I've fallen in love with. It's super simple and super delicious. The original recipe called for some other spices that I don't ever have on hand and I didn't think it was missing anything. So, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Plus it's awesome as leftovers, especially for soup. No clumping stuff out, just pour and reheat. Yum. It was definitely my lunch.

Carrot Soup (slightly adapted from this recipe)

8-10 unpeeled carrots, washed and sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
6 cups of chicken stock
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon dill
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

1. Saute onion in oil until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for a minute longer.
2. Add carrots, stock, and spices. Bring to a boil then simmer on low for 45 minutes.
3. Add the heavy cream and let simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
4. In either a blender or with an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. 

Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving went by so fast! I can't believe it is already December! I know everyone has been saying that, but man, it just went by so fast! We celebrated our Thanksgiving by making Lefse in the morning after watching the parade. Then we went home and napped Charlie for the big shebang of a dinner. And was it a big shebang of a dinner. Yum. 

I made the Lefse and Gifta this year and they were absolutely delicious. They are traditional foods that my family made every year. Lefse is a Norwegian food that is basically a potato based tortilla. Gifta is something that I was always told was Norwegian, but come to find out we don't know where it came from. But we eat it all the same. I didn't snap any photos of this before it was eaten, but it's pretty delicious.

Our Lefse making station

As soon as Ben came over with a plate of food the children all flocked over. It was adorable.

Lefse

4-6 potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1. Drain potatoes and mash them with the butter and salt.
2. Cool for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.
3. In a stand up mixer, mix the potatoes with cream and flour until dough forms.
4. On a heavily floured surface, roll out (about) 1/4 cup balls into thin circles. 
5. Bake on a hot griddle or frying pans until bubbles form, then flip and bake another 30 seconds (or until brown spots show).
6. Place finished lefse between a folded dish towel in a plastic bag, this keeps the lefse warm and moist.
7. Serve with butter and brown sugar.

Gifta

1 can wholeberry cranberry

1 pint heavy whipping cream

6 oz. gingersnaps, crushed

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Whip the cream. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla towards the end (this is very sweet so you can put a smaller amount of sugar in).
2. In a glass dish layer 1/3 of the cranberry, bread crumbs, and whipped cream. Repeat 2 more times.
3. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Chicken Melts

These chicken melts are freakin' delicious. They are my new favorite thing. Seriously. The only thing is you have to have a precooked chicken but if you have chicken the night before then you're golden. The recipe is only slightly adapted from this RealSimple recipe. I sure do love RealSimple and the soup to go along with it is delicious as well. But we decided to make it for lunch.

Chicken Melts with a Maple-Mustard Sauce

4 slices of bread (any kind but we used whole wheat)
1 roasted chicken breast, shredded
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
slices of red onion
6 slices of cheddar cheese
spinach

1. Set oven broil and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the mustard and maple together and spread evenly on the bread slices.
3. Then place the shredded chicken, onion, and cheddar on the bread.
4. Place in oven and remove when the cheese has melted, about 3-5 minutes. 
5. Remove from oven and place spinach on top of cheddar and enjoy!

Pomegranate Orange Scones

I really had been wanting to get a pomegranate ever since I saw a video on how to properly cut them open and eat them. The only other time that I've actually had one was in grade school when a teacher brought one in for everyone to try. I don't actually remember the taste of it at all but I was convinced that I would love it. And you know, it was pretty good, but I could only eat a few of the seeds before I didn't want anymore. So I had to find something to do with them, so of course I turned to Pinterest and found this recipe. And it was amazing! I think that it is my favorite scone recipe ever. I don't know how often I'll actually make this since pomegranates are kind of expensive, but I definitely will add orange to the next one. 

Pomegranate Orange Scones (adapted from this recipe)

1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Pomegranate Seeds

1 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Zest of a large Orange

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1. Sift your dry ingredients together into a medium sized bowl.
2. Add the cream and vanilla; mix until well combined.
3. Add the pomegranate seeds and zest and mix.
4. Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and make into a circle then slice into 8 pie shape slices. Spread the slices out onto parchment paper on a baking sheet.
5. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
6. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Ham, Spinach & Dill Soup

This soup is one of my all time favorites, it might actually be number one. I just love it, all of it, the best. We got this recipe from a friend and have named the soup after her. I'm not sure if that was because we didn't know what to call it or what, but we refer to it as Esther's Soup. But seriously, I think I'm going to make this at least once a month if not once a week. 

Ham, Spinach & Dill Soup (aka Esther's Soup)

1 Medium Onion, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Oil (I use extra-virgin olive oil)

5 cups Chicken Broth

1 1/4 cup Potatoes, chopped

1/2 cup Rice

1 teaspoon Chicken Bouillon

1 teaspoon Dried Dill

1/4 teaspoon Pepper

2 cups Cooked Ham, cubed

6 ounces Fresh Spinach

1 cup Half & Half

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil. 
2. Add broth, potatoes, rice, bouillon and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes. 
3. Add ham and spinach; simmer covered for another 2 minutes.
4. Stir in half & half and heat through but do not boil.

And this is what Charlie does while I make dinner. Lies on the floor and shoves his face into the ground. It's pretty awesome.

Pumpkin Pound Cake

Now, neither Andy or I are huge fans of pumpkin things. I decided to get a can of pureed pumpkin to see if Charlie would eat it and also to try my hand at a few things pumpkin. Well, it turns out that Charlie was not a big fan of it so I ended up with a whole can of pumpkin to try and use up. I did make some Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies that were delicious and then I found this recipe for Pumpkin Pound Cake. It turned out great! I didn't have an hour to bake the cake so I ended up putting the batter in two pans rather than one and baking for half the time, but it still tasted wonderful. I also made some Pumpkin Pancakes this morning and they turned out quite delicious as well. Maybe I've been missing out on something wonderful? 

Pumpkin Pound Cake (Adapted from this recipe)

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Fat Free Vanilla Greek Yogurt

3 Egg Whites

1 cup Canned Pumpkin

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk together the sugar, egg whites, and yogurt until well combined. Then stir in the pumpkin.
3. Once that is combined add the dry ingredients. Mix well.
4. Pour batter into a greased bread pan and bake for 60 minutes. (I didn't have an hour to bake the cake so I split the batter into two pans and baked for half the time).

• 
  

Lemon Bars

I made these lemon bars last week for a girls spa night with Arbonne. It was a very nice and relaxing time with friends and eating delicious food. This recipe was from my mom and is super simple and you probably have everything to make this in your kitchen now.

Lemon Bars
For the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
For the lemony goodness:
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
dash of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350. For the crust blend the flour, butter, and sugar together. Press into an oiled      9x9 pan and make sure you put it slightly up the sides. 
2. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
3. When the crust has finished baking mix all the ingredients for the lemony goodness until smooth. Pour over the crust.
4. Bake for 25 minutes. When cool sprinkle with powdered sugar.

6 Grain Bread

We have been obsessed with Dave's Killer 21 Grain Bread recently and just can't seem to get enough of it, especially Charlie. The only thing is that it's quite expensive and Charlie can go through a loaf in a week by himself (if we would let him). And not that we don't want to give him good stuff to eat, but he's just a baby. So I decided that I needed to try my hand at baking some and then it would be cheaper. And this bread is actually pretty close, not as many seeds or grains, but pretty close. I'm hoping that I can figure out the right pan to bake it in so it would work for sandwiches too.

6 Grain Bread (slightly adapted from this recipe)

2 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup cracked wheat
1/4 cup red oats
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup quinoa
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (the original recipe calls for all whole wheat but all I had was 2 1/2 cups)
3 cups all purpose flour (approximately)

1. Add your warm water and yeast to your bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid); let yeast dissolve. Add the honey, salt, molasses, coconut oil and mix a bit.
2. Add the salt, flax seeds, cracked wheat, red oats, sunflower seeds, and quinoa and mix again.
3. Add flour until the dough pulls away from your bowl. Put dough on a floured surface and knead until the dough stops absorbing flour.
4. Coat a bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl; cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
5. Punch down, knead it again, and place back in the bowl. Let rise until doubled in size again, about another hour. Punch down, knead it out and cut the dough in half. Place the dough in two oiled loaf pans. Brush the top with olive oil and cover with towel again and let rise; about 30 minutes.
6. Heat oven to 425 and bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Grandma's Simple Granola

This granola is the best recipe, simply because it is so dang simple. The ingredients are not crazy and the result is delicious. This is a very basic recipe so you can add whatever you'd like and I'm sure it would be just as delicious. I think my next batch will have some cinnamon in it for fall. Yum. This recipe makes about 2 gallon sized zip lock bags full. It's quite a bit, I think I'll make a half batch next time but since I haven't tried the other ratios out I thought I would just put the whole thing up here. Andy's grandma makes this and it is his absolute favorite. He won't even try any other granola because to him it will always taste inferior. I hope you like it just as much as we do!

Granola
1 cup Canola Oil
1 cup Honey
8 cups Old Fashion Oatmeal
2 cups Sliced Almonds
1 cup Chopped Pecans
2 cups Wheat Germ

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Heat the oil and honey for 1 minute in the microwave.
2. Mix all the ingredients together.
3. Bake, uncovered, for two 10 minute intervals; stirring after each interval. Then stir in 5 minute intervals until done (about 40 minutes total). It will seem pretty soft and chewy at first but it does harden when it cools.

Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love me some desserts and these cookies are one of my favorites and Andy's as well. We make them at least once a month and they are devoured in about two days. I seriously ate 6 last night and I would have kept going except we ran out. Bummer. This is one of my moms recipes that she passed down and I've made just a few modifications. This recipe makes about 45 cookies and is extremely simple. Enjoy!

Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies                           

1 cup butter 

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips 

1. Preheat oven to 400 and grease baking sheets.

2. Cream butter; add sugars, eggs, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add remaining ingredients and mix. 

3. Make into golf ball size balls. Bake on a greased sheet for 6-8 minutes. Do not over-bake. Cool on racks.

And of course my little helper :)

(Burnt) Dehydrated Strawberries

Last year I got a (new to me) dehydrator from Andy's family farm. I used it for apples and they worked pretty good. So, when my dad picked me about 5 pounds of strawberries I thought it would be the perfect time to experiment with it! I simply rinsed and sliced them and then stuck them on the dehydrator racks. I ended up dehydrating them a bit too long and then ended up tasting a little burnt :( I had tried them when they were eight hours in, but I thought they needed more time so I left them in there for another four or five hours and they were crispy, but had a hint of burnt flavor. What a bummer. Oh well, it was worth a shot. I'll have to try it with just a few strawberries next time.

In unrelated news, Charlie is doing so good at sitting up!

Roasted Strawberry and Yogurt Popsicles

I just got a set of new popsicle molds (you can buy them here) for our anniversary and I've been dying to make some popsicles! I had some strawberries and yogurt and thought I'd give this recipe a try. Now it was a good popsicle, but it wasn't my favorite. I have a pretty good sweet tooth and this just wasn't sweet enough. And I think that I've realized that I'm not the biggest fan of frozen yogurt, like real yogurt that is frozen, because I do love me some fro yo. I don't know if I'd make this specific recipe again but it was a good try.

Roasted Strawberry and Yogurt Popsicles (Adapted from this recipe)

- 2 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- dash of salt
- 1 tablespoon + 1/3 cup honey
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, gently toss berries with the sugar, a dash of sea salt and 1 tablespoon honey. Pour the berries onto the prepared baking sheet and arrange the berries in a single layer. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway, or long enough for the berry juices to thicken but not burn (watch the edges in particular).
2. While the fruit is roasting, blend together the Greek yogurt and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Mix in honey to taste, until it is barely sweet enough for your liking (add more lemon juice if you want tart popsicles).
3. Let the berries cool for at least ten minutes, then scrape the berries and all of their juices into the bowl of yogurt. Use a big spoon to gently fold the mixture together (for a marbled effect, do not mix thoroughly).
4. Use the spoon to transfer the yogurt blend into the popsicle mould and freeze for at least four hours. When you’re ready to pop out the popsicles, run warm water around the outsides of the moulds for about ten seconds and gently remove the popsicles. Enjoy immediately.

Spring Roll Attempt

I had seen this recipe online and really had been wanting to try it so last week we did! Andy and I originally planned on having the spring rolls for dinner but it fit perfectly to have it as a lunch instead with Becca and the girls. We left out quite a few of the veggies that the original recipe called for (because we might not like mushrooms and I forgot about the acovado) but I think they were still pretty tasty. I just would have to practice the rolling for next time because they did not look the best. But when the food tastes good it doesn't make THAT much of a difference how it looks, right?
Also, the Thai Peanut Sauce for dipping was delicious. It really made the whole meal I think. It would be kind of bland without it. We will definitely be having these again.

Thankfully, Andy did not cut himself while slicing the veggies.

Spring Rolls (adapted from this recipe)

-Red and Yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced

-Carrots, thinly sliced

-Cucumber, thinly sliced

-Avocado, thinly sliced (although we forgot this I think it would be delicious)

-Cilantro 

-Spring roll wrappers/rice paper

1. Slice all your vegetables; make sure they are no longer than the length of a bell pepper. 

2. Fill a pan about a 1/4-inch deep with warm water, take one sheet of rice paper, and soak it in the water for 15-20 seconds, until pliable. Be careful not to soak too long, or it will tear to easily to handle. 

3. Lay the soaked sheet of rice paper on a clean plate. Lay all your fillings in the center of the paper and then fold the ends towards the center and roll from the right to left (or left to right). Now my rolling skills are not the best and this not the best way to roll it up. Here is a link to a video of how to really roll your spring rolls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTOgdljDwa0

Thai Peanut Sauce (slightly adapted from this recipe)

-1 cup full-fat coconut milk

-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

-1 teaspoon yellow curry powder

-2 tablespoons soy sauce

-1 tablespoon white vinegar

-1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (I used some crushed refrigerated ginger)

-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. The consistency of the sauce should be thick.

Zucchini Brownies

I love zucchini. I always thought that I hated zucchini until about two years ago and now I can't get enough of that stuff. Some of our favorite dinners include zucchini and I really wanted to try my hand at baking with zucchini. So I decided to try a zucchini brownie. Now, my absolute favorite brownies are the Ghirardelli brownies made from the box (they are pretty much perfection). And I never really liked homemade brownies because they never taste as good as the ones from the box. But this one actually came really close to the Ghirardelli ones, especially with some delicious homemade whipped cream on top. Yum! And not only did they have zucchini in them, but I also made them with whole wheat flour. I was very happy with how they turned out! I even fed them to my niece and brother and they both liked them without knowing what was in them! I am definitely going to be making these more often.

(Sorry for the blurry iPhone photo. And yes, that is our Bumbo that Charlie has a love/hate relationship with.)

Whole Wheat Zucchini Brownies (adapted from this recipe)

-1/2 cup canola oil
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-2 cups whole wheat flour (I just get mine from the bulk bins at Winco)
-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (I just used a whole medium zucchini)
-1 1/2 cups Ghirardelli milk chocolate baking chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the whole wheat flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

2. Bake for 40-45 minutes in the oven (or until a toothpick comes out with just a little goop on it, if you want your brownies gooey that is). The original recipe bakes the brownies in a 9x13-inch pan and you only have to bake it for 25-30 minutes (I just like to use my 8x8 because it doesn't stick as much).