Buttermilk Pancakes

Hi!

Before we talk about the buttermilk pancakes that will knock your socks off, I'd like to apologize for not showing up here very often in the past few weeks.  Family comes first, and I would like to thank you all for understanding that!

Now, let's get on to the purpose of this post.  I'm not a big pancake person, but my boys are.  I'm more of an eggs, bacon, and toast lady.  These pancakes though?  These are my favorite because they're not overly sweet and have a great texture.  We've tried other types of recipes:  chocolate chip, blueberry, and ordinary pancake recipes that call for special sauces made from strawberries or bananas.  It doesn't matter.  This is the recipe I always come back to because it tastes the best.  Jason got the recipe from his host family when he was a student teacher years ago.  We love these pancakes so much that I make them in the morning every year on our anniversary.  They're especially delicious with strawberries and champagne!  I hope you try them.  More importantly, I hope you love them!

Mr. T's Buttermilk Pancakes
(no, not that Mr. T.  I pity the fool)

Beat 2 eggs
Add:
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Mix the above ingredients well.  Whisk in 1 1/2 cups flour, leaving the mixture lumpy.  Fry with Crisco or butter.  This recipe yields about 20 small pancakes.

Do you have a favorite pancake recipe?  Please, let me know!  I'm always looking to try a new favorite family recipe!

*****

I'll be back tomorrow with some signs of spring in our home!  See you then!

Thanksgiving Turkey Herbs

I know, I know.  Thanksgiving is over and we've all moved on to Christmas.  I know.  Me too.  But, allow me one last post about Thanksgiving, as it was almost complete (but not quite) before the great turkey roasts around America.  I'm sorry.  Maybe you'll thank me next year, or the next time you need some seasoning for your roasted chicken (because it works for that, too)!

To make this turkey rub, you will need one teaspoon of each of the following dried herbs: 

basil

rosemary

marjoram

thyme

oregano

savory

sage

lavender

Crush them together in a mortar and pestle, or a food processor if you have one.

Store in an airtight container for up to three months.  Enjoy on all poultry dishes!

Next time, we'll be moving on to Christmas.  I promise.

Cheddar Cream Soup with Soft Pretzels

This recipe is a new one for us at our home this winter but we really love it!  If you're apprehensive about making a cheese soup, don't be.  This soup is not your typical thick, cheese fondue kind of soup, not that that's a bad thing!  You know how we like our fondue around here.  The addition of a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper gives it a little heat, perfect for these last cold winter days.

I had never attempted to make pretzels before, but using Alton Brown's recipe was simple and easy to follow.  This winter I've also come to love making my own fresh bread, rolls, and buns.  I used to be intimidated by yeast, but no more of that nonsense!  Now I can bake bread like I'm Ma Ingalls or something.  You know, this lady.

Image found via http://www.edelweisspatterns.com/blog

Did anyone else watch this show religiously or was it just me and my sisters?

Here is the recipe for the soup.  I hope you try it!  Please let me know if you do!

Cheddar Cream Soup*

serves: 6  total time:  40 minutes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup flour

4 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups half and half (or whole milk, if you so choose)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup dry white wine

12 ounces sharp Cheddar Cheese (you may use yellow or white)

Salt, to taste

Optional:  green onions or chives, to garnish

Heat butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  When hot, add the onion and saute' until softened.  Add the garlic and saute' for one minute more.  Sprinkle flour on top of the onion, butter mixture and stir for two minutes.  Whisk in the chicken stock and half and half and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Add the cayenne pepper and wine until well incorporated.  A little at a time, add the cheese into the soup and after each addition, stir until smooth.  Taste soup and season with salt, if needed.  The cheese may make it salty enough.  

Serve hot and garnish with green onions or chives.

*This recipe was adapted from Sunday Soup by Betty Rosbottom

Cream of Broccoli Soup

We love Martha's recipe for cream of broccoli soup.  Throw in some shredded cheddar cheese and it is an amazing little bowl of soup.

We had a little bruschetta with our soup and it made for a pretty good meal.  Rubbing a clove of garlic over the pieces of toast is the trick to making them taste extra special, or so those cooking show people say.

I topped half of those little toasts with some Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and basil.

The other half got some leftover caramelized onions, kalamata olives, Parmesan, and rosemary.


Winter, you're really not so bad as long as there is soup.

Bloody Finger Cookies

Happy Halloween!

These bloody fingers have become a tradition in our home for Halloween.  I saw the idea in a magazine a couple of years ago and decided to make them with Henry when he was first interested in helping in the kitchen.  We love this shortbread recipe for our Christmas cookies, so I decided to use our own recipe instead of the one from the magazine.  I had two little monsters help me this year.

For this recipe you will need:

1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks) room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

To decorate the cookies you will need:

Red icing or gel

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Add the flour in small amounts.  Add the milk and vanilla last.  Mix well.  The dough may be a little crumbly at first.  Be patient!  The dough should look like this when you are finished.

Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead about 1 minute.

Pinch off about a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball.  Shape the balls into "fingers."  To make an indentation for each fingernail, use the flat end of a table knife.  Using the same knife, make slashes on the finger for knuckles.

The boys were very excited to use their own knives for this!  Oh, and sorry about the blurry pictures and wonky colors.  One doesn't have time to play with the settings on your camera when one is baking with impatient boys!

Here are the boys' fingers.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 13-15 minutes, watching closely.  The cookies should almost be white when ready to remove from the oven.  Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.

To make the fingers appear "bloody" add some red icing to the end of each nail bed.  Press a sliced almond over the icing for a fingernail. 

Creepy and delicious!

Oh, and a happy Reformation to all my Lutheran friends out there!  ;)



Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Hello and happy Monday!

Our van is now at home in our garage, thank goodness!  We didn't have too much damage done to the bank account, thanks to some hard work done by my husband.  He was calling back and forth between garages and insurance companies all week long and his persistence paid off.  We are thankful to say the least.

Today I want to share one of my favorite fall recipes.  I found it in one of my Taste of Home Magazines a couple of years ago.  We make it a couple of times every fall season and really enjoy it!  You can find the recipe here.

 The recipe tells you to combine the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, but I just dump it all in together.  Call me crazy but it works.  This bread is super easy and delicious.

What is your favorite fall recipe?



Rustic Italian Ravioli Soup

Hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  We spent our time hiking a local park, trying in vain to hunt down some bittersweet sprays from local nurseries and florist shops, eating good food, and watching football.  It was a great weekend and like always, it went too fast!

I made this soup for the first time a couple of days ago.  Jason and the boys really liked it, "green things" and all!  I thought I would share it with you!  The recipe is adapted from Almost Homemade by Taste of Home, the edition was on shelves until August 2011.  It was originally called Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup.  Since we're more ravioli people in this house, I substituted ravioli for the tortellini.  Here is the original recipe.

Here is what you will need, according to my version!

Rustic Italian Ravioli Soup

3 Italian sausage links, casings removed (about 12 oz total)
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz beef broth
1-3/4 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package frozen ravioli (about 9-10 oz)
1 package (6 oz) fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon minced rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste

Remove sausage from the casings.  Chop the onion and mince the garlic.  Or, if you're like me, you'll coarsely chop the garlic.  I love biting into big bits of garlic!

Cook the sausage and onion in a Dutch oven over medium heat until the meat is cooked and the onion is tender.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add the broth, water, and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil. 

Don't forget to scrape up those lovely bits on the bottom of your pan!

Add the frozen ravioli, spinach, herbs, and pepper.  Cook until the spinach is wilted slightly and the ravioli is tender.  Aren't those colors so pretty?

I am going to miss cooking with fresh herbs from my garden!  Unfortunately, my green thumb does not extend into my house.  I've killed more herbs in my kitchen than I would like to admit...

I served this soup with some homemade garlic Parmesan cheese bread.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.


Enjoy!

Happy Monday, all!  I hope you are having a great day!

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Our garden is overflowing with these beauties.  They are threatening to take over...
I don't mind.  They're quite delicious!

I've made salads, three batches of pickles, sliced them for snacks and had almost ran out of ideas for them.  Then I stumbled across this recipe.  To make this refreshing soup you will need:

4-5 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt

1 green onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

4 1/2 teaspoons fresh dill

Place the cucumbers in a colander over a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Discard the liquid from the bowl.  Rinse the cucumbers under cold water, drain, and pat dry.

Chop your herbs and garlic.

Combine all of the ingredients into a food processor.  Cover and process until smooth.

Serve immediately.  Garnish with the dill and onions.


This soup is best served as an appetizer.  It is delightful on a hot day and has a wonderful, fresh taste.
When I made this soup, I substituted chives for the green onions.  It still tasted great!

I hope you're all enjoying these last days of summer!