Buttermilk Pancakes

This is my Grandmother’s recipe and we just love them.
For a special treat we eat them with ice cream and strawberries on top.

Large Recipe
1 qt buttermilk
2 t. salt
3 T sugar
6 eggs
2 t. baking soda
4 C. plus flour
4 Tbls melted butter


Mix together and fry. If you do not fry these all the first day, store the mix with some cling wrap right against the batter as the air will start to turn it green. It is still fine just does not look as good.

Swiss Potato Casserole

I will be asking my mom to make this for me when we get to the US as I can't buy hash browns here (and sour cream is hard to come by).

This dish works as a breakfast, with a side of ham or bacon, or as a potato dish at dinner. It can be mixed the night before and put in the oven later, but if you do this you may wish to reduce the onion. It also re-heats well.

2, 1 lb packages hash browns (I recommend Simply Potatoes)
1/2 C. melted butter
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c. chopped white onion
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
10 + oz grated cheddar cheese

Mix hash browns with all ingredients in large bowl. Blend well. Place in a greased 3 qt casserole or 9x13 pan (I always use the 9x13 pan). Top with a sprinkling of paprika.

Bake at 375 for 50-60 min, covered. (till center is very warm)
Remove cover and bake 15 min more.

Enjoy! (Man I miss this!!!)

Swedish Oven Pancake (Plus Bonus Recipe)

This puffed egg pancake is wonderful with a side of ham. I usually make it for guests and it always gets rave reviews. Recipe can easily be halved, put in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, and then will serve 2-3 depending on how hungry you are.

I serve with sliced fruit, usually strawberries, and whipped cream. But, below I am posting an alternate recipe along with an apple topping.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix:
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour

Add slowly while beating: 2 1/2 c. milk

Put butter the size of an egg into a 9x13 pan and melt. (I use a glass pan.) Pour butter into batter and then patter into pan (or you could just spray the pan and then add the melted butter to the batter I guess).

Bake 1/2 hour.
Serve right away (it will deflate). Top with fruit and whipped cream that are on the side. Enjoy!


Below I am also posting an alternative puffed oven pancake recipe from Great Cooking for Two. This version is heaver/thicker as it doesn't use as many eggs or as much milk. It's still good and is for 2 people.

Spray 8 1/2" pie pan with non-stick spay
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix:
2 eggs
1/3 c flour
1/3 c milk
dash of salt.
Put batter into pan and bake for 25 min. Serve right away.

Spiced Apple Sauce (for 2 people):
1 med to large apple, thinly sliced
1 T raisins (optional)
2 T butter
2 T brown sugar
2 T apple juice, apple cider or water
2 T half-and-half, light cream or milk
1 T apple brandy or orange juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
2 T chopped nuts (optional)

In medium saucepan cook apple, raisins and butter until apples are almost tender, stirring frequently. Add brown sugar, apple juice (or cider or water), half-and-half (or milk), apple brandy (or orange juice), and cinnamon (or other spice). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 min. Stir in nuts.

March's Theme - Breakfast

March's theme has been revised to be breakfast foods. YUM! Thanks, Diplowhat, for the suggestion and thanks to everybody who weighed in on the poll. I'm looking forward to getting some new breakfast/brunch ideas. (And trying to make some of the fancy pancakes that have been promised!)

We do have a label for "breakfast" and now one for "eggs" as well. Let's keep the "eggs" one for dishes that are primarily egg-based or eggs are a big component - omelets, egg bakes, frittatas, breakfast burritos, etc.

• Pancakes are a classic breakfast food, and here's Pusher's recipe for Ricotta Pancakes.
• Nectarine's Pumpkin Spice Muffins would be nice to have on hand for those mornings when you're running out the door and need a quick-to-grab, eat-during-the-commute breakfast.
• Pusher posted a Wild Rice, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Frittata a while back that might be a lovely brunch dish (or supper or lunch or breakfast!).
• These Orange Butter Scones aren't quite your typical scones, but they are delicious, if I do say so myself!

Looking forward to hearing YOUR breakfast/brunch recipes!

Wednesday Fun #72 - Fat Tuesday Foods

Ash Wednesday Greetings to you all! You've probably noticed that I like to tie these WFs in with something current when possible, asking you to name your favorite green food for St. Patrick's Day, reflecting on the previous year and talking about resolutions as the year changes, tomatoes in late July, etc.

So for Ash Wednesday, um, I could poll you about your favorite fatty/fried foods that you might have had on Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday. Or I could ask if you're giving up any foods/beverages for Lent. Or, um, I could ask you to tell a funny story about burning up food on the grill or in the oven until it was ashes?

In Ireland, as in many other places, pancakes are the Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday food. Sometimes it's even called Pancake Tuesday. So in honor of that, and since I had my first paczki yesterday, let's go with the Fat Tuesday route, huh? Are there any foods that you make a point to eat, of religious or cultural or traditional significance (or just habit!), on Fat Tuesday?

March theme?

In this past Wednesday Fun's comments, Diplowhat suggested/requested we do "Breakfasts" as March's theme. That's peachy with me, but we'd originally had "Soups & Stews" scheduled & I just want to make sure nobody's been waiting for the chance to post a specific recipe with that in mind. So, I threw a new poll up to the right, if you'd help out by weighing in. I'll go with whichever's got the most votes by the end of Feb/beg of March. (We'll have visitors again on the weekend, so there might be a small delay, but I'll get there.)

Also, I'll add the tags "eggs" and "breakfast" right away. Let's use the "eggs" label for dishes that are primarily or substantially egg-based, not just, say chocolate chip cookies 'cuz they're in there, ok?

Thanks for the suggestions, Diplowhat!

Citrus Chicken

An embarrassingly long time ago, The Sexy Blonde made this for Wednesday Dinner. It was delicious, and I said she should post the recipe to Recipeeps. But, with the whole new mom + full-time-job thing, she didn't think she'd have time.

"Oh, I'll do it!" I said. So she promptly emailed me a link to the recipe. I not-so-promptly failed to post it here for a very long time. Oops?

Anyway, this is delicious and makes your kitchen smell heavenly. From Cooking Light.


Citrus Chicken

1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups bagged prewashed baby spinach

Preparation

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Pour 1/4 cup juice mixture into a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag. Seal; let stand 5 minutes. Add oil to remaining juice mixture; stir well with a whisk.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Place 1 1/2 cups spinach on each of 4 plates. Divide chicken evenly among servings; top each serving with 1 tablespoon juice mixture.

Wednesday Fun #71 - Sickie Food

As I write this on Tuesday, my 4 year old is home sick from school. She's had a low grade fever for a few days now, and I'm really hoping she shakes this bug soon. (Yes, if she doesn't, I'll take her in to see her dr.)

Her throat's been sore, her appetite is lessened, and her whining has been a little increased, so we've been trying to feed her nice, soft foods that she likes. Which has been rather hit or miss - she even turned down homemade noodles from chicken soup.

It got me thinking about "sickie foods." You know, the ones you crave when you're feeling under the weather. Maybe it's something your mom only gave you when you were sick, or good ol' fashioned chicken soup, or something spicy to clear out your sinuses... For me, it's Mrs. Grass's Chicken Noodle Soup (with golden nugget!). It's nice and warm, the noodles are small and soft (no hard chewing!), and you can put it in a mug and curl up on the couch under some blankets. I try to keep some on hand just in case.

How about you? What's your favorite sickie food?

Molten Lava Cakes

Ok, this is actually from All-Knowing Jen, but I pulled it out of a comment so that it'd show up on searches with labels and such. Yay for chocolate!

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I made Chocolate Lava cakes last year -sooo yummy!

Molten Lava Cakes- Recipe courtesy Paula Deen/Food Network

Ingredients:
6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (I left this out, didn't have any, they were still good!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

Quick Pickles

I meant to post this back in January. Sorry. Anyway, this is a wonderful summer treat as it's nice and cool, but really is good any time. You can adjust this to add or subtract anything you like.

1 c. white vinegar

3/4 -1c. sugar (I prefer 3/4)

Mix these two together in a casserole dish or any other container that can hold the rest of the ingredients. It will take a bit of stirring.

1-2 regular cucumbers, sliced, or 1-3 Chinese or English cucumbers, chopped (depending on size) (see pictures)

Layer the cucumbers in any dish with a layer of salt in between each layer of cucumber. Let the cucumbers "sweat" for 1-2 hours. (Will need less time if using Chinese or English cucumbers). Rinse.

Put cucumbers in the vinegar/sugar mixture. Also add (at any time):

1/2 - 1 onion, sliced and cut in half (easy to eat slices)

3-4 red chilis (optional) de-seeded and sliced (They will not be spicy after soaking, but add a good flavor.)

1/2 - 1 red or yellow bell pepper (optional)

Put this all in the fridge and chill for at least 1 + hours. Enjoy! Will keep in the fridge for 3+ days.

*if the cucumbers taste at all salty after marinating for an hour, don't worry. The longer they soak, the less salty they will taste, until there is no salt taste.