Thursday, February 20, 2014

Muffin Tin Pancakes-Candace

How To Make Muffin Tin Pancakes

June 5, 2013 
by KarenH • 9 Comments
I love breakfast food. I can easily eat eggs for breakfast or dinner, and I am happy as a clam.  My kids are the same way about pancakes. They will eat them any time I take them to IHOP my husband makes them.
When I read Anissa’s post, How to Make a Puff Pancake That Will Get You Laid, I immediately thought, now there is a pancake that I want to make!  However.  I have two young children that may get in the way of any well planned romantic interlude, let alone a spontaneous romp.  So in the normal that is my life, I decided to try making these
Super Easy Muffin Tin Pancakes.

I can easily distract the children with the variety of tasty mix-ins to sneak upstairs for a little alone time with the huz.  I found this fun idea on Pinterest, but unlike many of the ideas that fill my crazy theme boards, this is an idea I actually tried.
I used a variety of fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, and even stirred in a little maple syrup in our muffin pancakes. I was a little disappointed the tops of the muffins didn’t really brown, but the texture was typical for a pancake, and the flavors were spot on with the kids. The chocolate chip muffins disappeared first, which should not be surprising, given any kid’s desire to eat candy for breakfast.

This idea would definitely be good when you have a bunch of hungry mouths to feed all at once, like a sleepover, a fun brunch side item, or even making them in advance as a quick reheat, grab and go breakfast. We will definitely be making them again, and since we always shoot for the mediocre here at Aiming Low, feel free to use the premade pancake mix of your choosing.  No judgement.  I swear!  But, just in case you were overcome by the intense need to overachieve one weekend morning, I am including my husband’s recipe for homemade pancakes.
Make these fun pancake muffins with a side of this Brown Sugared Bacon, and I bet you can easily distract your husband, as well as the children, and sneak off for a well deserved nap.

What’s your favorite type of pancake?

Easy Muffin Tin Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups of flour
3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1 1/4 Cups of milk
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons of canola oil
Assorted mix-in ingredients like fresh blueberries or chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. In large bowl combine dry ingredients
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add milk, egg, and oil
4. Stir to combine thoroughly
5. Spray muffin tin with baking spray
6. Fill each muffin cup about halfway up with pancake batter
7. Add in preferred mix-in
8. Cover mix-in with little more pancake batter
9. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes or until done

Kale, White Bean, Potato Soup-Candace

Yield
Makes 7 cups
Serves 6
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Ingredients
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves torn into small pieces (4 cups)
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed

Directions
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, and carrot until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add potatoes and 4 cups water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Mash half the contents of the pot until slightly thickened.

Add kale and beans and continue cooking until kale is tender, 6 to 8 minutes more.

 Drizzle with oil before serving.

Baked Broccoli Qunioa Bake-Candace

One 10 oz can condensed Cream of Broccoli soup (or mushroom), low-sodium if you prefer (*see note for gluten free)


2 tablespoons milk

1 1/4 cups reduced fat shredded cheese (cheddar, colby-jack, etc)



1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

.
2 cups cooked broccoli

1 1/2 cups  COOKED quinoa (see note)

Feshly grated Parmesan cheese

.
To cook quinoa:

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

.
Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear.  In a small saucepan combine the quinoa, water, and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy and the white ring/tail is visible.  Fluff with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a shallow (8×8 in or 5-6 cups) casserole dish – or individual ramekins – with vegetable cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine the soup,  milk, shredded cheese,  pepper, and nutmeg until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.
Spoon mixture into prepared casserole.  Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes (20-25 minutes for ramekins) or until bubbly on the edges and golden.  Makes 8 generous 1/2-cup servings.

Per Serving: Calories 199,  Protein 10 g; Fat 9 g; NET Carbs 14 g; Fiber 2 g; Sugar 1 g; Sodium 297 mg

*NOTE FOR GLUTEN FREE…Progresso makes a Creamy Mushroom Soup that is gluten free…or  here is a recipe for a Cream of Anything Soup.  Haven’t tried it, (a comment-er  below did and loved it…) but it’s been a big hit on a Celiac/Gluten Free forum.)

.

Condensed “Cream of Anything” Soup

1 cup cold milk
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper

Instructions
In a small saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch till well blended.
Stir in butter, bouillon, salt, and pepper.
Heat to a boil, stirring frequently. Simmer on low for one minute more to thicken.
Use in recipes to replace one can of cream of anything soup.

CONDENSED CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP:
Stir in a drained 4 ounce can of mushroom pieces to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.

CONDENSED CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP:
Stir in 1/2 cup cooked chicken pieces to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Chicken Soup.

CONDENSED CREAM OF CELERY SOUP
Stir in 1/2 cup sautéed chopped celery to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Celery Soup.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Korean Beef-Candace

Korean Beef
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (depending on how spicy you like it)
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced
Rice, cooked
Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.

Apple Cinnamon French Toast-Candace

APPLE CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST


PRINT
PREP TIME
10 mins
COOK TIME
10 mins
TOTAL TIME
20 mins

Dessert or breakfast? It’s hard to tell with this rich and indulgent french toast! The perfect treat for a long awaited weekend!
Author: Tiffany
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 3-4
INGREDIENTS
2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
¾ cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
6 slices white bread
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup milk
⅓ cup flour
¼ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Optional: powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Add apple slices, brown sugar, and butter in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until brown sugar has dissolved and butter has melted. Add vanilla and cinnamon and reduce heat to simmer, cook 6-8 minutes longer. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly and thicken while you prepare toast.
In a large, wide bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon. Stir in flour and whisk until smooth. Completely submerge one slice of bread in the mixture, careful to coat both sides. Lift the bread out of the liquid and allow to drip off excess. Cook toast in a large pan over medium heat 1-2 minutes until lightly browned, then flip and cook other side 1-2 minutes. Repeat with remaining bread slices. Generously top toasts with apple-cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

One Dish Chicken-Candace

One chicken tenderloin per person
Fresh green beans-about a cup
4-5 red potatoes cut into chunks
2 tsp olive oil
1 pkg Italian seasoning

Spray a glass casserole dish with cooking spray.
Place chicken, green beans and red potatoes in the dish.
Sprinkle the Italian seasoning packet and drizzle the olive
oil over the ingredients and bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.

Enjoy! :)

Friday, November 15, 2013

Tortilla Chicken Casserole-Candace

Tortilla Chicken Casserole 

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
8 multigrain flour tortillas
3 cups chopped chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
19oz black beans
14oz canned corn
1 tsp chili powder
3 cups salsa
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cup jalapeno monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a casserole dish large enough to fit tortillas. Heat olive oil in sautéing pan; sauté onion and red pepper for 5 minutes, until softened. Mix in chili powder, remove from heat, stir in black beans and corn. 

In a medium bowl, mix salsa and sour cream. Layer tortilla, salsa mixture, chicken, tortilla, vegetables, cheeses. Repeat 4 times, or until you reach the top of the casserole. *NOTE: Stop layering once you reach the top of your casserole dish and top with cheese* Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbly and browning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into 12 pie shaped wedges...