Toasted Pecan Pancakes

Anyone who follows me on Facebook or Twitter know that we travel quite a bit due to Kyra’s BMX races.  Those who don’t follow me now know. 
A couple of weeks ago we left the house Wednesday evening after Tony finished work and drove north towards Morristown, TN.  Not much happening in Morristown, TN other than a BMX race but we still managed to have a great time.  Other than the races the fun for us is the drive there…the drive home sucks.  Trust me on that!
So what does all of this have to do with pancakes? 
On our drive north the GPS took us through our old vacation destination of SC and NC mountains.  Just as the sun was coming up we passed a sign that said Cherokee, NC. 

This is where Tony and I started trout fishing about 20 years ago…

Funny thing is we had been talking about NC and our great vacations there just a week or so ago and were asking the kids if they even remembered being there.  Sadly hardly any memories at all.  One thing they do remember is the crazy Bear Park where you buy food and feed the bears (horrible for the bears but fun for the kids).  This is where we decided to go.  Unfortunately the bears seemed to be sleeping so we looked for a spot to have breakfast.  Luckily we found a place that was open (off season!).  Thanks Peter’s Pancakes and Waffles!!!  This where we had the toasted pecan pancakes.  Absolutely delicious.  I decided to try and recreate them. 
They were a hit…Kyra had 5 before she waved the white flag!!!

Toasted Pecan Pancakes
Ingredients
2 cup all pupose flour
1 Tbs sugar
6 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg
2 cup milk
4 Tbs vegetable or canola oil
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped (toasted in a skillet until fragrant and the oils have begun to be released)
Directions

• Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl (except pecans)
• Whisk all wet ingredients together
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. You may have to add additional milk to make the mixture thinner.
• Lightly oil a pre-heated griddle or pan.
• Pour using a 1/4 cup measuring cup.
• Sprinkle with pecans.
• Cook on first side until you see bubbles on the surface. Flip and cook until the other side is browned.

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for a quick, healthy and easy breakfast to feed the girls.  Our mornings are sometimes a little (lol!) hectic and having some thing made ahead or that is fast makes it oh so much better.  Usually they get these really tasty breakfast sandwiches but when I saw these on Kristen’s blog (Dine and Dish) I knew I would have to try them.

They were a real hit.  I ended up changing it and using bacon that I cooked up the night before because I didn’t have any ham.  The kiddo’s loved them.  Lauren will eat 2 of these at a sitting.  Easy to make a dozen and heat them up over the next couple of days…

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups (Dine and Dish)
Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1 cup chopped cooked bacon
• 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Spray a muffin pan generously with Pam cooking spray
3. Crack one egg into each hole of the muffin pan, using a fork to gently break the yolk.
4. Sprinkle each egg with bacon, salt, cracked black pepper and cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Pop out of muffin tins and serve.

Badly needed Energy Bars

I guess most of you, or at least anyone who follows me on Facebook and Twitter, know that I have taken up running.  It’s only been a couple of months but I am really loving it.  Now I am only running between 2-4 miles 3 or 4 days a week, but add that to the walking and weights I have been doing and I need some energy help during some workouts. 

You also know that we eat very few processed foods with granola bars and energy bars being the exception.  At least now you can buy them with no artificial sugars or dyes…anyway, I need something that I can grab at 5:00AM when I head out the door for my run and these are just about perfect.

Energy Bars Adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dried apples
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup pitted dried dates (I used ones with sugar but would like them without next time)
• 1/2 cup powdered nonfat dry milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place all ingredients except the syrup and eggs in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste.

Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly pressing in with your fingers. Bake until lightly browned and just done, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then cut into 24 squares.

These can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for about 3 days or wrap individually and freeze for up to  3 months.

***I really loved these and so did the family.  I think that this is a really versatile recipe and am looking forward to playing with the dried fruits and nuts used in it.  The recipe calls for almonds and apricots so I may try that with some cranberries thrown in…endless possibilities!

***WW points has it as a 3 point recipe but I think with all of the good fats and whole grains in it it is worth the splurge!

Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberries and Syrup

So I woke up bright and early this morning as seems to be my M.O. lately and pulled some bacon out of the freezer.  My thought was that I would make breakfast sandwiches when everyone woke up.  This was one of those lazy Sunday mornings that I NEVER seem to get and I was just planning on enjoying it.  The girl’s woke up and crawled into bed with us (I was reading and Tony was still sleeping).  Dogs climbed in and it got way too crowded for me so I got up to tackle breakfast…

That’s when the plans all changed.  I wanted something fresh and light.  After the requisite 5 minutes of standing in front of my fridge wondering what to do (I know you do it too…), my plan came to me!

Light and Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberries and Strawberry Syrup (adapted recipe from the kitchn)

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
makes 8

1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Set ricotta in a fine mesh strainer about 30 minutes before you start cooking, to drain off excess liquid. We used fresh ricotta from Whole Foods that was pretty dry. If you are using a commercial brand that's runny, you may want to drain it longer (or make your own).

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat, and brush the surface with butter. Use a ladle or measuring scoop (we used a 1/3 cup measure) to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes for about 3 or 4 minutes, then flip, cooking until both sides are golden brown.

Changes I made: 

Less sugar. I was making syrup and strawberries for these so I reduced the sugar to 1 1/2 tsp.

Did not brush the griddle with butter.  I cooked them without any oil or fat and they turned out beautifully.

For the topping all I did was slice up some strawberries and add some sugar to them and let them sit.  How much sugar?  Not sure so just do it to taste (if you want them sweeter add more…).

The syrup I “made” was just a jar of Smucker’s Simply Fruit Seedless Strawberry micro waved for about 40 seconds until it was a syrup like consistency!

***The pancakes on their own are 6 Weight Watchers points add your topping to it and total it out for a total point value.

You may have noticed that it’s been a long while since I last posted.  I am really working hard to change this!  I spent an incredibly busy month doing things for BMX.  We travelled one weekend out of the past month but had another weekend of clinics and then the State Championship in which Kyra is now ranked 8th for 9 year old rookies in the state of FL.  I was just totally uninspired in my cooking through all of this and really didn’t think you would want to see the sandwiches that we were sometimes forced to eat for dinner!  Hopefully I am now back and feeling the inspiration!

Strawberry Scones

This isn't the first time I have made these scones and it will certainly not be my last. I love this recipe and cannot thank Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict enough!!! She came to my rescue one day when I tweeted looking for a good scone recipe for a school project that my daughter was working on.

Turns out to be the easiest and most forgiving recipe I have come across in a long, long time!

Scones – from "Tamasin's Kitchen Bible" by Tamasin Day-Lewis (converted to imperial measures)

Yield 12-24 (depending on how you shape them)

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup (450g) All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup (50g) sugar (+ more for sprinkling)

6 Tbsp (85g) butter (cold)

and either

2 tsp baking soda + 2 tsp cream of tartar + 1-1/4 cup (300ml) buttermilk, sour milk, yoghurt or sour cream (mixed together)

or

2 tsp baking soda + 4.5 tsp cream of tartar + 1-1/4 cup (300ml) homo milk (full fat) (mixed together)

1/2 – 3/4 cup strawberries(100g) or other fruit or dried fruit

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425F/220C and line a baking tray with parchment
• Sift together flour, salt and sugar. Grate/rub in butter and quickly mix in liquid until spongy.
• Lightly knead until smooth and roll to about 1/2" – 3/4" (1-2 cm) thickness.
• Cut out scones with a 2" cutter...or whatever size you want, set on prepared tray for 10 minutes. Lightly brush with egg/milk wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes on sheet pan then move to rack to cool.

***I have made these with blueberries and also dried cranberries with some lemon zest added in. Truly a wonderfully versatile recipe!

****For anyone following Weight Watchers this is a 4 Point item based on the 15 that I made using non-fat plain yogurt.

Breakfast Sandwich that’s better than that other place…

My girls are pretty self sufficient in the morning when it comes to making their own breakfast but usually it is just a bowl of cereal with some fruit, toast or some oatmeal.  This works out great for me because I work every morning and when it’s busy I just don’t always want to stop to make them something to eat! 

On special days or days when I know they have worked their little bodies pretty hard the night before (BMX or Ice Skating) I will get up early and make them their favorite breakfast…

It’s really nice and simple and they truly love it…

Breakfast Sandwich (makes 2)

     Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon, cut in half so they fit on the Sandwich Thin
2 eggs
2 slices of American cheese
2 Arnold’s Select Multigrain Sandwich Thins

 

Directions:

Place the bacon slices in your cast iron skillet (works best but you can use any skillet), cook until nice and crispy.

Toast your sandwich thins once the bacon has cooked.

Cook your eggs in the same skillet with the hot bacon grease.  Salt and pepper the egg and gently break the yolk.  Turn the egg to make it over easy and have the yolk mostly hard.  Top with the slice of cheese and allow to melt slightly.

Top one half of one of the toasted Sandwich Thins with 4 slices of the bacon (cut in half so they fit right?), then top with the cooked egg and melted cheese and the other Sandwich thin half.

Repeat for second one.

**They really like this with a cut up banana and some OJ.

***We have been known to have this for dinner as well…We love “Breakfast for Dinner Nights”!

Happy Pancake Day!

What you didn’t know it was Pancake Day today?  Funny isn’t it when you grow up with a tradition and then almost 30, ummmm, maybe more years later you realize that not everyone even knows what it is???  That’s what happened to me this morning with Pancake Day. 

I was on twitter (follow me at www.twitter.com/nofearentertain) and I mentioned that I was making pancakes for the girl’s for Pancake Day.  That’s when I was forced to realize that not everyone celebrated the way we always had.  Here is a good link to some history behind “Pancake Day” and all of the other traditions and names that  this one day has!!! 

Shrove Tuesday 2010 (Pancake Day)

I grew up in Canada and my Mom is from England so that explains why we call it Pancake Day!  What do you call it???

Here is our favorite “Breakfast For Dinner” recipe that would be perfect for your dinner on Pancake Day!

Apple Pancakes (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
14 tsp nutmeg
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used macintosh and a honey crisp apple.  You could use any)
Directions:

1. Mix the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples.
4. Heat a thin layer of oil in an electric skillet on medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and flatten it out a little (otherwise, you might have trouble getting them to cook in the center) and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.

I sprinkled these with cinnamon sugar and topped them with maple syrup but apple sauce will be great on them too!

Apple Pancakes for dinner…

We are still in our crazy, running all the time, trying to find some sense of balance in our lives mode.  So I am making dinners in the crockpot or else finding things that I can make ahead of time and just reheat for a quick meal between activities (BMX racing, ice skating, and karate).  I made a really good white chicken chili but ate it all without a single photo.  So will post when I make it again and you can bet I will be making it again, it was just that good.

Anyway, these pancakes came about because I had some fruit that badly needed to be used up or tossed out tomorrow.  There were 6 apples, 4 bananas and 2 pears.  3 of the bananas went into banana chocolate chip muffins (1 had to be tossed), and 3 apples went into the pancakes.  I am going to make apple/pear sauce with the remaining fruit to use as topping for the pancakes!  These pancakes are delicious and a perfect way to use up some of that fruit.  They can be made ahead and just warmed up (for dinner) but of course they are way better hot off the griddle!

Apple Pancakes (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
14 tsp nutmeg
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used macintosh and a honey crisp apple.  You could use any)

Directions:

1. Mix the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples.
4. Heat a thin layer of oil in an electric skillet on medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and flatten it out a little (otherwise, you might have trouble getting them to cook in the center) and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.

I sprinkled these with cinnamon sugar and topped them with maple syrup but apple sauce will be great on them too!

Big and Bold Blueberry Muffins

I made the best muffins I have ever made the other day.  This is another recipe that I have been meaning to try and just never got around to it.  Silly me. 

This recipe was pointed out to me by Kelly of Sass & Veracity.  She had  posted these muffins and told me they were the best.  If you haven’t been to her blog you really need to check it out.  Kelly is an amazing cook and baker but my favorite thing about her recipes is that she always adds notes on the end.  These are almost like her own personal notes that she has written along the side of the recipe in  the magazine or the cookbook.  Sometimes they are things she would do different the next time or reasons why she did what she did this time.  I have cooked many of her recipes and have never had a “fail”.

I can’t wait to make these again and again.  The possibilities are endless.  You can use just about any flavor combo that you can imagine with these.  When making these muffins Joanne Chang advises that if you want to add fruit or chocolate to the master recipe, do so in 1-1/2 cup quantities and if you are altering flavorings such as citrus zest, or spice, then 2 tsp. of zest is recommended, and/or 3/4 tsp. spice.  Also these are really easy.  You don’t need a mixer and only 2 bowls being dirtied.  Love that…

Joanne Chang's Master Muffin Recipe
Makes 12 big top muffins

3-1/2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar 
10 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 c. whole milk at room temp
1 c. sour cream at room temp
2 lg. eggs at room temp
1 lg. egg yolk at room temp
1 1/2 c. of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and set aside.  In another bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, milk, sour cream, and eggs.  Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix gently until nearly all the dry ingredients are moist and the batter is still lumpy.

Gently mix the additional ingredients into the batter being careful not to over mix.  Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cups, and spray over the top of the muffin pan lightly.  Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups, mounding it.  Bake in the center of the oven about 30 to 35 minutes or until tops are golden brown and centers set.

Cool muffins in the pan placed on a baking rack for about 20 minutes before removing them to a platter.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Cinnamon Rolls from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

This week was a week I was totally looking forward to.  Not only from the BBA perspective – we were baking cinnamon rolls but also from a personal perspective.  My oldest daughter is a 4th of July baby so the 4th is one of those holidays that is near and dear to my heart.  To add the icing to the cake I was going to make Cinnamon Rolls for her birthday breakfast!!!

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

I LOVE cinnamon and these rolls were incredible.  I loved the dough and how it came together and felt. 

Peter Reinhart gives us several different options when making these.  We could also make cinnamon rolls or sticky buns.  I opted for the cinnamon rolls but will be trying the sticky buns in the near future! I decided to use buttermilk and lemon extract instead of whole milk and zest.  Also in the fondant icing I decided to use vanilla extract instead of the lemon that was called for.

This is after they have been pulled from the fridge and rested for about 3 or 4 hrs.  See how nice and puffy they look?

Seeing as I wanted to make them for breakfast and not a late brunch I made them the night before.  Shaped them and placed them on the baking sheet and then popped them into the fridge overnight to rest.  This is not a step called for and these wonderful rolls can be made in one day!!!  I pulled them out of the fridge at about 4:00 AM and then preheated the oven about 7:30.  Baked them and iced them and watched them get eaten up.

 Fresh out of the oven and iced!

Will I be making these again?  Oh yes I will!!!  They turned out wonderfully and I will be making these again and again!!!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Raisin Walnut Cinnamon Bread!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Strawberry Quinoa with Basil Lime Syrup

Strawberry Quinoa with Basil and Lime Syrup!

It has been a long, long time since I last participated in the Royal Foodie Joust which is held each month by my very dear friend Jenn, The Leftover Queen! Way too long!

The Royal Foodie Joust is a monthly challenge that is hosted by Jenn-The Left-over Queen. Every month the winner from the previous month is allowed to choose the 3 ingredients that must be used in the up coming challenge. She also gives out prizes for the best overall winner, best photograph, and the most unique interpretation of the ingredients! Sounds like fun huh? Click here to join in on the fun, you have until tomorrow at noon, plenty of time!!!

The ingredients this month were chosen by LK from Healthy Delicious and they were:

Strawberry
Whole Grains
Basil

I immediately knew what I was going to do but I needed to have all of the ingredients on hand and the time to do it. In other words that stars had to be perfectly aligned for me to pull this off!!! And the other day they were!!!

I have made the cereal part of this many times and usually top it with honey but the basil and lime syrup paired perfectly. Lori used the basil lime syrup with a fruit salad and that is exactly what I am doing with the extra syrup that I made. Check out her post here!

basil and lime infused simple syrup!

Strawberries Quinoa with Basil and Lime Syrup (Quinoa from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks and Basil and Lime Syrup from Lori of The Recipe Girl)

Strawberry Quinoa Cereal:

1 cup low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons Basil and Lime Syrup

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in strawberries, transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon Basil and Lime Syrup.

Basil and Lime Syrup:

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
½ cup (packed) basil leaves
1 Tbs grated lime rind

Combine sugar and ½ cup water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in basil and rind. Cool. Strain sugar mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids & keep syrup.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

We are still in Pennsylvania visiting T's family until tomorrow. As we were sitting around the huge pan of lasagna last night our conversation once again turned to food. We started throwing out ideas for breakfast and someone mentioned sausage gravy and biscuits. My FIL's eyes went real big! This would be a huge hit in the morning. Funny thing is this is such a simple meal to make. Who knows why we don't have this more often!

Simple Biscuits (no idea where I got this from. I have been using it forever!)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown.

Now onto the sausage gravy. This is T’s deal. For some reason he has always been the cooker of the gravy!

Sausage Gravy (T’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5# loose breakfast sausage
• Flour
• Milk
• salt & pepper to taste
• Fresh Sage

Directions:

1. Fry sausage on medium high until cooked through. Add flour (estimate same amount of flour to grease produced by sausage) reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Start adding milk a cup at a time stirring until thickened then add another cup of milk until after 10 minutes of cooking gravy is not getting thicker.
3. Season with salt, pepper and fresh sage.

Serve the sausage gravy over the fresh baked biscuits and enjoy. This is one of our favorite breakfast and is always requested by guests!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Look at my breakfast!

I am trying to eat healthier in the New Year. Christmas and New Year's did me in this year and my energy was not where it needed to be. By eating healthier and lighter meals I am rapidly correcting this! Having my wonderful CSA box right now helps a whole bunch but you can do this with food from your grocery store too!

Today it was an egg scrambled with Asian spinach and tomato. Yesterday it was the same egg scrambled with leftover pizza sauce and cremini mushrooms.

All I do is reach in the fridge and find something fresh and cook it up. When it's just about cooked I add the beaten egg and there you have it. Breakfast in less than 5 minutes!!!

Weight Watchers - 1 egg is 2 points. Most veggies are 0

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Pumpkin Pancakes!

I know, I know. It's a lot of pumpkin but it is pumpkin season and I can only do this at one time of the year. I took a huge pumpkin and roasted it and pureed it and that was my inspiration for these. I basically took my regular WW pancakes and added spice and pumpkin puree instead of all of the milk and oil!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 Cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 Cup of Canola Oil
1 Cup pureed pumpkin (canned or homemade)

Directions:

• Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix all wet ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Be careful to not over mix stir just til moist.
• Using a 1/4 cup measure cook on a hot lightly oiled griddle or skillet.
  

These were delicious topped with warm maple syrup! I will be making these again, next time with some spiced whipped cream!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Whole Foods and homemade breakfast sausage!

Now "what" you may ask do the 2 things have to do with each other??? Last weekend we took a short drive (about 45 minutes) to Naples to the new Whole Foods store there. I have never been in one before and I was really curious especially about there meats. I had been warned that this would be an expensive shopping trip as the glitz and the shine will entice me to buy way more than I needed! I was prepared...but you know what? I think because we don't eat processed and prepackaged foods I really didn't see a whole lot that I would buy. They have aisles and aisles of things but I can get alot of that stuff elsewhere or can make it myself!

But the meat...OMG the meat! I have never seen so much "happy meat" in one place in my entire life!!!! We bought beef, pork, chicken...It was wonderful. But alas their is always that one sad spot. They had no pork breakfast sausage! My youngest daughter LOVES, LOVES, LOVES breakfast sausage.

I ended up buying some ground pork and trying my hand at sausage making. No way was I going to stuff any casings but she also likes patties so I was good there! After searching the internet for a sausage that wasn't too sweet, here's what I came up with...

Breakfast Sausage (Homesick Texan)

Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground pork
1 tablespoon of sage
2 teaspoons of marjoram
2 teaspoons of thyme
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Form into patties and fry six minutes on each side.
Keeps in the refrigerator for a week.

***This made spicy sausage. Maybe a bit too spicy for the girls but play around with the pepper flakes and the cayenne until it suits your taste!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Super Cereal

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a new product that was showing up in the juice section of the supermarket. I am always looking for pure, fresh, all-natural food and this caught my eye! Tropicana Pure. It is being touted as the next generation of juices. Well whatever. Don't they all make the same claims? Generally I like to juice my own juices but I bought some of this.

Tropicana Pure 100% Juice-Raspberry and Acai.

Now we've all heard about the benefits of Acai by now. I actually like the flavor that it adds to juices that it is mixed with.

I came up with this to try and find something for the girls to help get them to eat a better breakfast. They loved this and I will be making it again and again!!!

Breakfast Quinoa – Super Cereal (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Tropicana Pure 100% Juice Raspberry and Acai

1 Cup of Water

1 Cup of Quinoa (rinsed)

2 Cups of fresh raspberries

½ tsp ground cardamom

¼ tsp cinnamon

1/3 Cup chopped walnuts

Honey as a sweetener

Directions:

· Combine the Tropicana Pure 100% Juice, water and quinoa in a medium sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil.

· Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

· Turn off the heat and let stand for about 5 minutes.

· Stir in the cardamom, cinnamon and raspberries.

· This makes 4 servings. Top each serving with some walnuts and drizzle honey to taste.

Has anyone ever heard of this before???

I kinda feel like this is a cheater post but in my defense I spent the whole morning in a Dr's appt and then ran errands right up until now. I get to pick the girls up in about an hour so my day is pretty much done!

Anyway, my Mother-in-law sent me an email last week asking me to try out something that she was sent. I have to say I was skeptical at first. Like come on who would make and omelet in a Ziploc bag??? We gave this a test run the day that we left to go to the Keys...

just making sure you remembered...anyway they worked. And really, really well. We all had our omelets ready at the same time and exactly the way we each wanted them. T. even had jalapeños in his! This is great for a weekday morning or a rushed weekend one as well!

Breakfast Ziploc Omelets

Good for when you're alone or when all or when all of your family is together. The best feature is that no one has to wait for their special omelet. Have the guests write their name on a quart size Ziploc freezer bag with a permanent marker. (These are not my pictures. They came with the email. I am sorry to have "borrowed" someone else's pics but that morning was very rushed and I took no pictures!)

• Crack 2 eggs into the quart size bag (not more than 2) and shake well.
• Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, salsa etc. Pretty much anything that you would put in a regular omelet.
• Everybody adds the prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shakes the bag to mix them well.
• Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.
• Place the bags into rolling boiling water for EXACTLY 13 MINUTES. You can cook 6 - 8 omelets in a large pot. If you have more omelets, make another pot of boiling water.
• Cut the bags and the omelet will roll out easily (yep - it really does!!!)

• 
• This is nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake. Everyone gets involved in the process.

• You can even get these ready the night before andjust plop the bags in boiling water while you get ready!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes for Breakfast and Islamorada for Dinner!

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

I am going to do this backwards. For breakfast this morning we had Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes and dinner last night was in Islamorada, one of the Florida Keys. How cool is my life?

The breakfast this morning was a treat for the girls and a treat for us in another way. I always make a double batch of these yummy pancakes because they refrigerate well and can be reheated or eaten cold for the next couple of days. Makes for a nice stream lined breakfast for a busy weekday morning. Oh and did you know, blueberries are in season here!!!


Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup Whole Wheat flour
1 Tbs sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 T vegetable or canola oil
1 cup fresh blueberry (any berry will work)

Directions:

• Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl whisk all wet ingredients together.
  

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. You may have to add additional milk to make the mixture thinner.

• Lightly oil a pre-heated griddle or pan.

• Pour using a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

• Cook on first side until you see bubbles on the surface. Flip and cook until the other side is browned.

***This recipe can be doubled to make additional pancakes which can be refrigerated and heated up the next day for a quick breakfast during the week.

***You can add 1/2 cup of berries to this mixture to have berry pancakes.

Note the beautiful color of the water!

Trying to catch some spray!

Onto yesterday...we got up early in the morning and fed the girls a quick breakfast (I will post this really cool simple breakfast later this week) and pointed the car due South. We wanted to be in Key Largo before lunch. I had made reservations for us to go out on Spirit Of Pennekamp which is a glass bottom boat that takes you out over the coral reefs off of the Florida Keys. We are lucky enough to have the 3rd largest coral reef in the world. Unfortunately we decided that our youngest daughter was just too young for snorkeling so at least they offered this other amazing option. The boat ride alone is worth the price of admission. If any of you are anywhere near the Keys this is truly a must see! The guides were incredible and the boat captain was amazing. Just hovering over the reef while being told which way to go. We were able to see scores and scores of fish. Puffer fish, nurse shark, sea turtles, coral and the list goes on and on!

We then headed to Islamorada which is more southernly and had a wonderful dinner at a beautiful gulf side restaurant. Islamorada Fish Company Restaurant , located at mile marker 81.5 (how cool to be on a mile marker???!!!). We both had a couple of tropical cocktails and for dinner we had locally caught yellow tail snapper! The kids had alligator and clam strips but then back to reality...

and alas, all good things must come to an end and for us instead of hanging around for the night we opted on traveling home and not fighting the exodus on Memorial Day For us the drive is about 3 1/2 hrs but completely worth it!!! With Webkinz as our co-pilots we crossed our fingers (saw many, many, many drunken drivers) and once again headed North!

This is really hard to see but if you click on the picture it will appear better. See all of those things out there? Those are boats...hundreds of boats all anchored up by a sand bar in the Atlantic Ocean at Holiday Isle. It's a tradition that is carried on virtually every weekend with the holidays and race week being the most congested.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Quinoa and berry breakfast!

Healthy and delicious way to start another busy day!

I have recently fallen in love with quinoa. I have used it in soups, as a side dish and most recently like grits or oatmeal for breakfast. The great thing about quinoa is it huge nutrient boost. Its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete food. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest.

With all of this in mind I have been using it when ever I can and the other day I happened upon Heidi's blog at 101 Cookbooks and saw this incredible breakfast recipe using quinoa as the base! My youngest daughter is a tough one to feed breakfast to so I am always looking for something new and healthy and my oldest daughter needs all of the energy foods she can get (with karate and figure skating she burns a lot!). I woke up a little earlier this morning and started cooking. This was a nice easy recipe and I knew how healthy it would be. The recipe easily feeds 4 so there was enough for all of us. Heidi's pictures are way better than mine so be sure to visit her blog to check out the pics!

Can you tell it was pretty early! This is the bright morning sun that shines right onto the pool.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe (Heidi Swanson - 101 Cookbooks)

Heidi used a red quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like, white/buff colored seems to be the most common. Also, a few notes and tips from the book: low-fat soy milk may replace the low fat milk, blueberries may replace the blackberries, dark honey may replace the agave nectar, and walnuts may replace the pecans.

1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa, (hs note: rinse quinoa)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar, such as Madhava brand

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Serves 4.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com