Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes

2 c. oats

2 c. buttermilk

½ c. flour

2 Tbs. Sugar

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Baking soda

½ tsp. Salt

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. butter, melted then cooled

Combine oats and buttermilk in a bowl, cover and let sit in the fridge overnight.

Combine the dry ingredients.

Add eggs and butter to the oat mixture. Stir in dry ingredients.

Cook pancakes.

After Cori shared her yummy pancake recipe, I thought I'd share one of our new favorites. (By the way they were yummy, the syrup totally made the pancakes, go try them!) These were super yummy. We have made them several times and you should too!

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Every time I eat pancakes I think of my Dad. Growing up, when mom was away and it was dads turn to cook he always cooked, or at least tried to persuade us that we should eat pancakes. They are his specialty. My kids even know this. When we go to visit they always are waiting for Grandpa to make them pancakes!! Well Dad I found a new recipe to add to your collection! I found this recipe on Real Moms Kitchen. I even stole the picture from her. She found the recipe from Tasty kitchen which is a site started by Ree the Pioneer Women. These are so yummy. And syrup is the perfect match to these pancakes. Well the syrup is perfect for just about anything that needs syrup! When I made the syrup for these pancakes I doubled the recipe. We had some left so I heated it up this last weekend for french toast. To die For!! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• 3 Tablespoons White Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 2 whole Eggs Beaten
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
• ¼ cups Butter, Melted
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon with a whisk. Whisk well to make sure everything is combined.
2. In separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Brown on both sides.
4. Serve warm with maple-butter icing drizzled over the top. Makes 12 pancakes.

Maple-Butter Icing (I recommend doubling the recipe)

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• ¼ cups Butter, Melted
• Dash Of Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
• ¼ cups Whole Milk (more If Needed)

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding the milk slowly. Add enough milk for desired consistency.

One pot chicken and penne parmesan

My family loves this. It has saved the day many times when I haven't felt good enough to cook, its quick, easy and taste so yummy!

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3/4lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1-3/4 cups(14-1/2 oz. can) chicken broth
1/2 (8oz) package penne pasta uncooked
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower mix
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided ( some times I have used Cheddar cheese when we didn't have Parmesan and it still tasted yummy!)

in 5-quart saucepan over medium head, melt butter, add chicken. Cook 5 minutes or until no longer pink. add broth;heat to boiling. Add uncooked pasta, vegetables, and pepper, stirring to coat pasta with liquid. Heat to boiling, reduce head. Cover, simmer 13 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, or until pasta is tender and most liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together soup, milk and 1/2 cup cheese until smooth, stir into chicken mixture. heat until mixture just comes to a boil; sprinkle with remaining cheese. MAKES 8 SERVINGS.

Zucchini Brownies

I know it's not really zucchini season, but we had tons of it in our garden last year, and froze a lot! I needed to make a dessert for something this week, so I decided to pull out one of my many unused bags in the freezer and use it today. So that is why I decided to post it today.

Zucchini Brownies
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c. zucchini, grated

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Mix together oil, sugar, and vanilla. In another container mix together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt). Add the dry ingredients to the oil, sugar, and vanilla. It will be really dry, and crumbly (don't panic, the recipe is right, there are NO EGGS in the recipe). Stir in the zucchini until incorporated. If you are using frozen zucchini that has been thawed you will have water that comes out of the zucchini as it thaws, just add all of it into the bowl. If you are using fresh zucchini, your "batter" might seem really dry, but trust me, it'll be fine. Put your "batter" into your pan, you might have to press it in, depending on if you are using fresh zucchini or not. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Frost with frosting when cooled.

Frosting
6 Tbs. cocoa
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powder sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Then add the rest of the ingredients. You might need to add more powder sugar, depending on how thick you want your frosting.

Swedish Meatballs

I will admit that I am a big wimp when it comes to trying new foods. And for some reason Swedish Meatballs have been on my list of things I never wanted to try. I really am not sure why, maybe because they have Swedish in the name I assumed they would be crazy weird. I know that there are some recipes for them that have veal or some other crazy ingredients. Then I saw this recipe over at Tasty Kitchen, which is a great site started by Pioneer Women ( this women is amazing a deserves a whole post to her self. But check out her website and her new cookbook). I made this last night, so Yummy and so Good!! And most importantly the kids devoured it as well. They are meat ball lovers of any kind so I wasn't surprised. I added a few more spices but other then that followed it exactly. Next time I make it will double the gravy recipe, well at least the liquid part, the gravy was really thick so next time I think Iwill 1 1/2 or double the liquid and not the flour. We had a perfect amount of meatballs enough for dinner and Colin to take a Lunch to work. Here is the recipe, Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

• 1-¼ pound Ground Turkey Or Beef- I used beef
  
• ¾ cups Dried Bread Crumbs
• ⅓ cups Finely Chopped Onion (or 1-2 T Dried Minced)
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
• ⅛ teaspoons Nutmeg
• 1 whole Beaten Egg
• 2-¼ cups Milk, Divided
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 2 teaspoons Beef Bouillon Granules (or 2 Cubes)
• ⅛ teaspoons Pepper
• ½ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste

In medium bowl, mix meat, bread crumbs, onion, parsley and nutmeg ( I also added some kosher salt and pepper and then a little garlic powder). Beat egg and 1/4 cup milk together and add to the meat mixture. Blend together until combined. Shape into 25-30 meatballs (depending on size). Bake in a 375F oven for 20-25 minutes, until done.

While meatballs are cooking, in large skillet on the stove, whisk together the remaining 2 cups milk, flour, bouillon and pepper. Cook over medium heat until thickened, then add the salt. After meatballs are done, add them to the skillet, and coat with sauce. Serve over rice or pasta. Makes 4-6 servings.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

For my sisters Birthday dinner she requested my homemade chicken noodle soup. So of course I did that, but at a restaurant a while ago I had some really good chicken and wild rice soup and I wanted to see if I could find a yummy recipe. I found one, and made it along with chicken noodle soup for Aprils birthday. It was so yummy. My brothers loved it as well. This soup has almonds in it and I would forget that when I would take a spoonful. So when there was something crunchy in my mouth I thought maybe the rice hadn't cooked but then I remembered it is the almonds. So if you don't want something hard and crunchy in your soup leave those out. This recipe also makes a huge pot, and I was able to put some in the freezer for another day. I will let you know how it handled being frozen. Hope you enjoy this yummy soup!!


Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
I found this recipe on mykitchencafe

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ - 1 cup frozen corn (or ½ cup chopped celery, if preferred)
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 ½ cups chicken broth (can use 7 bouillon cubes plus 6 ½ cups water)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won't believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won't thicken properly - let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.

A Long Hiatus

Wow it really has been a long time since I have even thought about this blog. But I am ready to start posting and reading some of your favorite recipes again. I need to first apologize for neglecting this blog. Last May I discovered I was pregnant, and I get so very sick. So eating thinking or looking at food was not a priority. Now that our Sweet boy is here and life is getting back to normal ( I guess normal for life with 4 kids) I have been craving good food and wanting some fun new recipes and to share some of the ones that I have found. So I am starting up this blog again. I am wondering if any one is still interested in adding their own recipes? Or if any one else wants to join in on the fun. Erin I know you have started your own food blog, and some of you other girls are in the same boat I was in, the thought of food makes you want to run to the bathroom. So I thought we would see where we stand and who is still interested. Amanda and Laura there are some recipes I am dying to get from you. And If we do start this up again there are some things I would like to change. I am not going to do a weekly theme and I would like to add a print option and a few other things. So let me know what you think ladies. Are you ready?

-Cori