Pancakes

I love pancakes.  I didn't use to.  I merely tolerated them.  But all of the sudden, they are like manna and I am filled with great joy at the sight of them.  They are just what I want!

You could make pancake-like substances from that weird mix where you just add water and shake.  Or from that other weird mix where you open a box and add an egg or something (I forget).  Those aren't as tasty as the real thing.  And the real thing is actually easy to make.

This recipe reflects the fact that I have 4 pancake-loving children and a husband who also likes pancakes.  You may want to halve it if you are humans.  Then again, I should note that pancakes keep nicely in the fridge or freezer.  I always make extras so we can just microwave them the following day.  Bam.  Pancakes.

Pancakes
adapted from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook

4 large eggs
4 c. flour (I used white with the bran added back in, but wheat is fine, too)
3 c. milk (more for thinner pancakes)
3 tbsp. sugar
3/4 stick of butter, melted (if you use the whole thing, I won't tell)
3 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs in large bowl with whisk, hand beater, fork, or sheer will.  Mix in remaining ingredients just until smooth.  Let it rest while you heat up your electric griddle (375 degrees) or frying pan.  You can grease your pan if you have to, but I don't.  If you can drop a few drops of water on the pan and it dances, then your pan is hot enough.  I use a 1/2 c. ladle (or just use your 1/2 c. measure) to scoop the batter onto the pan.  Let them cook until the edges start to look a little dried out.  Flip and cook the other side (it won't take as long).

You can keep them on a plate in a warm oven if you want to serve everyone at once.

You can adjust what you put in these little gems.  When you pour the batter out, you can sprinkle with frozen or fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, crumbled bacon, perhaps?  I am doing the bacon thing next time.  I've been dreaming about it for long enough.

I think it's pretty common practice that the pancake chef often jacks up the first pancake (too dark, too doughy in the middle, maybe both).  So don't be sad if it happens to you.  I have only recently gotten to where the first one is consistently good, and I have been making them since 1995, when my lovely friend Brenda taught me the ways of pancake-making.


What, you want a picture?  We ate the picture.

Bacon really does make it all better

I don't normally consider myself to be a very creative person.  I'm not crafty.  I'm not artistic.  But, I can look at a fridge and pantry full of goodies and see something delicious!

This week's CSA brought (more!) beets, as well as potatoes and onions.  This looked like a perfect recipe for breakfast.  Only...something was missing.

BACON.

Oh, I love bacon.  It makes the boring exciting.  I think I could go vegetarian if it were not for the bacon.

I only used the beet greens.  I think that a lot of people don't eat greens, which I find kind of sad.  They are super easy and tasty.  They soak up all the flavorings in the dish, so, in my opinion, they end up being the best part.  In this case, second only to the bacon.  I set aside the actual tuber part of the beets for another dish.  What?  I don't know.  I'm open to suggestions.

I just rinsed the greens, and coarsely chopped them.

Yummy, and pretty!

I had a bunch of cute little red potatoes.  I cubed them.

I also coarsely chopped the bacon, and fried it up in my trusty (non-cast iron, sadly) skillet.

Mmmmmm.  Bacon.

Greens & Potato Fry with Bacon

1 bunch greens of choice (beet, kale, spinach, chard, collard)
a few potatoes
1 lb. of bacon (yes, I used a whole pound.  I don't want to have regrets.)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt
pepper

Wash and coarsely chop greens.  They should still be quite damp (but not wet) when they go into the pan.  Set aside.  Chop and fry bacon.  While bacon is cooking, cube potatoes.  Chop onion and garlic.

Remove bacon, once crispy, and drain.  I poured off most of the bacon grease, but I am not your cardiologist.  So do what you want.  You need some fat in the pan for the potatoes.  I won't tell if it's bacon grease or olive oil.  Whatever makes you happy.

Add potatoes, onion and garlic to pan with fat (or oil) in it (medium to med-hi heat).  Then leave them alone!  They need to brown.  Give them a few minutes to start browning, then stir and let them sit again.  After they are brown, you could cover them with a lid to help the middles steam.  This will probably take about 10 minutes or so, depending on how small your potatoes are.

When potatoes are done (taste one to see, but don't burn your tongue), throw in greens.  They will cook down in a couple minutes.  Sprinkle generously with salt & pepper.  Mix in the cooked bacon.

Log on here to thank me.

Egg in a Hole

This morning I made Pioneer Woman's Egg in a Hole. It was easy, and fast. And my kids thought their breakfast was very funny! Really, you can't go wrong with this much butter.

I will say, that for me, I had to turn the heat up to med-high after I put the egg in so that the toast would toast. Other than that, an excellent recipe. Do not be afraid to sprinkle the salt and pepper all over the bread.

You can take the girl out of the south....

I've been doing FlyLady (which is probably a whole different post), and as a result of my shiny sink (and the clean kitchen that naturally follows), I have been cooking up a storm. Today I fried up some potatoes for breakfast and they were just so easy and delicious that I had to share.

Fried Potatoes with Onion

4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and baked (I used Yukon Gold)

1/2 medium onion, chopped (more or less, whatever you like)

salt

pepper

garlic

2-3 tbsp. oil (I used canola, but olive would work)

I baked my potatoes while I was baking something else for last night's dinner. Then I just stuck them on a plate in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you just have to chop them into chunks, the same size for making mashed potatoes, about 1/2-1 inch cubes. They are already cooked, so it doesn't matter that much. You are just going to heat them and make them extra tasty.

Heat up the oil in a skillet on medium-high. When it's hot, toss in the potatoes and chopped onion. Spread them out and then leave them alone.

Sprinkle the salt, pepper, garlic powder (I know, but I was out of real garlic), and really whatever spices you like, over top. We're not making a stir-fry here; you want the potatoes and onions to brown. After a minute or two, you can flip them over with a spatula. Then let them sit again. Season them again if you feel like it. If it makes you feel better, you can stir them around a little at this point, but again, make sure you leave them alone long enough so they are browning. They won't dry out and get crunchy. Well, unless you burn them. When they are as done as you like (I tasted a potato and an onion to be sure), then they are ready to eat!

I really wished I had a bell pepper to put in these potatoes, but I didn't. I recommend one for you, but they were still great with just the onion.

Why is it onions turn into candy when you cook them?

Egg Casserole

I really didn't burn the bacon. But it photographed like that.

If you're like me, you find a number of occasions that call for a breakfast casserole. Or, maybe you have 4 kids and this is a thrifty way to feed them. Either way, I've stumbled upon something tasty here.

Egg Casserole

1 lb. bacon, chopped (I used turkey bacon)

1 medium onion, chopped

8 oz. shredded cheese (I used extra sharp cheddar)

about 2 cups bread, cubed (I used 5 leftover biscuits)

7-8 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. cumin (more or less or omit, whatever you like)

salt

pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

Fry up the bacon pieces with the onion. I did this the night before so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. Shred your cheese, if you're shredding your own. Grease/spray a 13x9 casserole dish and put the bread cubes in the bottom. You are looking to cover the bottom. Layer cheese on top, followed by cooked bacon with onion. Whisk together eggs with milk and seasonings. You could add more eggs or milk if you want. Pour over top of your dish. You want the bread to be wet. Let sit at least 10-15 minutes so the bread soaks up some liquid, or cover and chill overnight. If you chill overnight, just pull it out while the oven preheats to come to room temperature. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or so, until it's as done as you like.

You can alter this recipe in a number of ways. I know a lot of egg casserole recipes call for dry mustard, and not for cumin and garlic. But I like what I like. I already pretended this was healthy by using turkey bacon, but you could also add a can of mushrooms, or leftover veggies, like broccoli.

Scrappy enjoys his egg casserole with some hot sauce.