Thursday, June 24, 2010

Best Pancakes Ever!

My mom made these pancakes at our family reunion, and we all agreed they were the best homemade pancakes ever, plus you can freeze the mix and use all month long!

Makes about 6 cups of mix, enough for 3 batches of 8 pancakes each.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 cup non-fat milk powder
3/4 cup malted milk powder
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

Instructions
•Process all ingredients in food processor until no lumps remain and mixture is texture of wet sand, about 2 minutes. Freeze in airtight container for up to 2 months.

•To make 8 pancakes: Whisk 2 cups mix, 2 lightly beaten large eggs, and ½ cup buttermilk in large bowl until smooth. Pour ¼-cup portions of pancake batter onto lightly oiled large nonstick skillet or griddle and cook over medium-low heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Repeat with remaining batter as desired. Serve. (If you don’t have buttermilk, make clabbered milk by whisking ½ tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice into ½ cup whole or low-fat milk and letting the mixture thicken for 10 minutes.)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Glazed Chicken with Apple Salad

This is another Pampered Chef recipe, but no fancy tools or exclusive spices are needed. I LOVED this. And, in fact, I'm craving it. Good thing I have all the stuff at home to make it again. The salad by itself is divine and would work well with any dish. The salad has a coleslaw-ish factor, so I also might add some shredded cabbage the next time I make it.


Glazed Chicken with Apple Salad

Dressing and Apple Salad Ingredients:
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp apple jelly (I had no trouble finding this at wal-mart, but you can also use apricot preserves)
1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise (I used fat free)
1 Granny Smith apple
1 red apple such as Jonathan, McIntosh or Gala (I used Gala)
1/2 cup lightly packed watercress, plus additional for serving (I would double this in the future)

Chicken and Glaze Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I had tenders on hand, so that's what I used)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp prepared stone-ground mustard
1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
For dressing, mix together vinegar, jelly and mayonnaise; set aside. For salad, slice apples into julienne strips. Remove leaves from watercress stems (discard stems); coarsely chop watercress leaves. Combine apples and watercress in medium bowl; set aside.

For chicken, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Meanwhile, flatten chicken to an even thickness with a mallet or meat tenderizer. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken 4-6 minutes or until grill marks appear. Turn chicken over; cook 4-6 minutes or until center of chicken is no longer pink.

While chicken is cooking, prepare glaze. Combine jelly, mustard and brown sugar in small bowl. Brush chicken with glaze during the last minute of cooking.

To serve, arrange additional watercress on serving plates, if desired. Pour dressing over salad just before serving; toss to coat. Top watercress with salad and chicken.

Serves 4

Nutritional info:
Calories 280, total fat 7g, saturated fat 1.5g, cholesterol 65mg, carbohydrate 28g, protein 26g, sodium 560mg, fiber 1g.

Diabetic exchanges per serving:
2 fruit, 4 low-fat meat (2 carb)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Spinach, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Pizza


Jeremy I love watching Sam Zien on Just Cook This on Discovery Health. His recipes are so accessible, and he's pretty entertaining. I've made a lot of his stuff, and I always love it. And they are easy!!

I made this pizza for lunch because I knew Jeremy wouldn't eat it (I think the goat cheese weirds him out). It was sooooo good! Meredith even ate it.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients


1 10"-ready-made pizza crust

1/2 cup softened goat cheese

1/3 pound pound shitakes, sliced thin

1/3 pound crimini, sliced thin

6 ounces baby spinach (one of those already cleaned kinds)

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan



Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.



Heat large pan, add oil and cook mushrooms until softened. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Then add spinach and stir in until the spinach wilts all the way down—only a minute or so.



Spread goat cheese on crust and top with mushroom-spinach mixture. Sprinkle a bit of shredded Parmesan on top.



Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.