Cream of Wheat Pancakes

So, this morning was Cream of Wheat pancakes.  One of my favorite breakfasts!  We had these at an IHOP years and years ago (Country Griddle Cakes they're called, I think) and fell in love with the texture.  I've played with recipes a lot getting it just so.  It had to be somewhat healthy, but still the same pancake and I think this is the best adaptation because we've been using for years now.

Cream of Wheat Pancakes


Dry:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cream of wheat, not prepared
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all dry ingredients together well, set aside.

Wet:
1 egg
1 1/2 cup milk, with 1 TB of white vinegar added ( buttermilk was originally called for but this lightens it up and I never seem to have buttermilk here, even when I put it on my grocery list!)
1/4 cup oil

Mix all wet ingredients together well and then mix into the dry ingredients. 

We use a griddle set at about 350 and cook each pancake for about 3 min per side.  Serve with whatever syrup, fruit or just plain too.   They're pretty great that way too because it is not a dry kind of pancake. 

In my house, hubby is the pancake/waffle cook and all I have to do is make the batters so these breakfasts are a nice treat all around.  He even does the same for the daycare morning meals.  The kids love it!

Menu Planning

I am so happy to be back to my blog today!  I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Saturday.  Typing has been a bit difficult lately because I have a pinched nerve in my neck and typing seems to aggravate it.  But today, I'm soldiering through because I just wanted to be here and share!

I was reading an article this morning about how much money menu planning can save a family, and after spending $140 at the grocery store this morning, I thought it might be nice if I shared my weekly menu with everyone out there - every little bit helps!  My budget is a bit higher because I also feed 6 children in my home daycare, in addition to my family of 4, which includes my adult daughter and teenaged son.  We also eat mostly organic, little processed foods which drives our costs up.  I am also a vegetarian so some changes are made for my meals in addition to the family's meals.

So, my weekly menu is this...

Saturday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon and Egg Biscuit sandwiches
Lunch: Chicken soft tacos
Dinner: Pizza, Salad

Sunday:
Breakfast : Cream of Wheat pancakes (one of our favorites!), Sausage
Lunch: Cheeseburger stromboli
Dinner: Leftovers/Sandwiches

Monday:
Breakfast: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Lunch: PB&J;, Sweet Potato Fries, Peach slices
Dinner: Veggie Lasagna

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Cereal Bar,  Banana
Lunch: French Toast, Apple Fries w/PB dip, Shredded Carrot salad
Dinner: Mac & Cheese, Stewed Tomatoes

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast, Baked Apples
Lunch: Mac & Cheese, Fruit Cocktail, Peas & Carrots
Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas, Black Bean & Corn Salad

Thursday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, Smoothie
Lunch: Pizza, Corn, Tossed Salad
Dinner: BBQ Turkey Cutlets, Smashed Potatoes, Veggie mix

Friday:
Breakfast: Waffle, Cherries on top with whipped cream
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, French Fries, Corn
Dinner: Burritos (take out for the family because I'm headed to the beach with some friends!)

So, there's my weekly menu.  Some things to note - I make all of my own bread, pizza crusts, rolls, biscuits, etc.  I also canned most of the fruit that we eat or it's fresh.  Fruit cocktail is the lone exception.  All of these meals are easy prep meals - especially the lunch and breakfasts because I am on call the entire time I'm cooking,  When possible, I plan our dinner menu to prep something for the daycare's lunch the next day.  I also try to prep some things in the evening for the next day. 

I hope this gives all of you some ideas for making a menu for your house.  I am happy to share these recipes as time permits.  I usually search for recipes and tweak them to my own house's preferences. 

Help!

Okay, so I know there are some very talented foodies out there who will instantly be able to offer some ideas.  I'm having "puppy-fried" brain I guess because I am just blank. 

Hubby works at Starbucks and in the past two weeks they have been sending cases of close to expiration dates drink bases and I feel like there should be more to do with them than just make drinks?  Here's what I've got to work with: strawberry sauce (thin and very sweet) that would go into a frappucino, dulce de leche sauce (which sounds like it should be thick but is thin), and white chocolate mocha (which is a lot of sweetened condensed milk, really)

Ideas?  Thoughts? 

Thanksgiving in September

Not a full thanksgiving dinner, but all the tastes and smells of it!  I made turkey rolls with stuffing inside, a nice cranberry relish for the top of them, and then some french cut green beans on the side.  It was a pretty dinner, so nice and colorful.  I think I have decided that one of my favorite go-to ingredients is dried cranberries.  How funny is that???  I mean, they can be sweet or savory, reconstituted or not, and even just eaten by the handful as I'm cooking.  It's just a great ingredient and keeps forever too!  I made my cranberry sauce/relish tonight by boiling dried cranberries in some red wine, water and a splash of sweeter spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of allspice and clove.  Very autumn smelling in the house as I cooked. 

And to make a great dinner even better, I made some rice pudding out of leftover Chinese food rice this afternoon.  I LOVE rice pudding and it was a great treat.  Very simple - about 2 cups rice, a bit less than 2 cups milk, 1 egg, some cinnamon.  Bring to a boil, then let cool.  Doesn't get much easier than that! 

Welcoming Troop to our crazy life!

What a busy weekend...I feel like I start every thought, every post, most conversations with how busy we are so I guess that's just our life.  And, just to throw a bit more crazy into it, we added a new member to our family this weekend.  His name is Troop, short for Trooper Earl (don't ask.  really, it's more of a long, drawn out sort of discussion than a story.) and he seems to be integrating himself easily and quickly into our lives which is a big relief to me.  He's a Doberman, so he'll be a big boy...add that to two black labs already in residence in our home and the dogs just may outweigh the humans someday.  :)  He is intended to be a running partner for me someday when he grows into those huge paws and lanky legs, but in the meantime, he's a pretty mellow cuddler.  He made it through the first night at home last night quite easily and I even got some sleep.  With Troy's work schedule being atypical and mine being at home, most of Troop's care and training will fall to me as our other dogs have so I always feel like I get a bit of special bond with each one before they go on to be "family dogs."  I hope that Troop will be the same.  Or maybe a part of me hopes that he won't go on to be the "family dog" at all and loves his momma just a bit more.  Since our lab, Sierra, died 4 years ago, I have felt a bit cutoff from the dogs in our life.  Sure, I trained them and made sure they knew the rules and made sure they went out and are fed but that's where it's ended for me.  My heart has always been with my girl, Sierra.  And I still miss her something awful.  She was the most stubborn, brattiest girl but the day she died a part of me went with her.  We already had Cally at that point and she was about 8 months old and already pretty attached to Troy.  When we got Junie, I thought she might fill the void but she really is Jeremy's girl.  So maybe, just maybe, Troop will be mine.  But if not, that's okay too.  I will still love him. 

So, please be patient if I don't get as many posts on here as I have been.  I have a pretty full plate these days with dog training, trying to keep to my marathon training schedule, run my child care business and run my home.  And still find time to be a momma, a wife and all that stuff.  Did I mention that our daughter, Lyndsay, also moved home last month?  So not only am I juggling learning to be momma to a hormonal teenaged boy, but also maintain the balance of parenting an adult child as she navigates what she's headed for in life.  It's a busy time here.  Cooking and baking are my sanity, so you can believe I'm doing it but I don't always get to share it like I want. 

Last night to celebrate Troop's arrival, I made a chocolate fudge cake...yummy!!  Not that he could have any, but us humans sure enjoyed it.  It was a simple adaptation of Hershey's Chocolate Cake Recipe. I just doubled up the boiling water for a fudgier texture.  We don't really love icing here, so a simple ganache for the top and a ribbon peanut butter mixed with confectioners sugar completed the middle of the cake.  Simple, a bit rustic and all chocolate love.  I'm getting hungry for a slice just talking about it. 

I love sharing my life with everyone and I hope you all enjoy hearing about it just a little. Whether it makes you more thankful for your own peaceful existence, or reassures that there are others out there who are just as insane, I'm glad to be a part of it. 

Starting the Weekend Right! With Cinnamon Buns, of course!

Today was bread making morning and as I was rolling out the dough, I got the sudden urge to make Cinnamon Buns.  So, after rolling out enough dough for one loaf, I set to work on making the other lump of bread into ooey, gooey deliciousness.

After spreading butter, cinnamon, sugar and sprinkling some pecans on the rectangle of dough, I rolled it up into a loaf shape and cut out about 1" sections.  These were then placed in a pan that was waiting that I had buttered, added brown sugar and some more pecans in.  Once all sections were cut and placed, I let the batch rise for about 20 minutes and popped into a preheated oven at 375 for about 20 minutes.  Be sure to put them on the middle rack because the top will brown quickly.  You can tent foil over it for about 10 minutes in the beginning if you like but make sure to removed it to get some browning at the end. 

Once it comes out of the oven, pop it over onto a plate or serving platter right away so the sugar doesn't set and make the rolls stick.  Then, you could let them cool, or frost them, or do anything that involves another step, but for me this is the best next step...

I'm so ready for fall and all of it's baking splendor.  Summer baking is just not the same!

Jamaican Jumble

So, my first ever invite to a recipe roundup came from From Arepas to Zwetschgen and I was excited to try it out.  I decided on a Jamaican Jumble after coming up with a casserole that embodied the flavors of the islands but in a way that could be used year round, not just as light summer recipe.  My family really, really liked it. I wish my photo had captured the true essence of the dish better but even still, it is a must try!

Jamaican Jumble Recipe

1 smoked turkey drumstick boiled down until meat is falling off bone, or if not available, a ham hock would work, reserve broth to make rice.
2 baked sweet potatoes, cubed
1 cup black beans, either canned or rehydrated from dry
1 cup red beans, either canned or rehydrated from dry.
2 cups of cooked rice (either made using the turkey broth or stock for a richer flavor)
1/2 cup of green peas, either fresh or thawed from frozen
1/4 cup of chopped green peppers
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
Small bunch (3-4) green onions thinly slices
1/2 cup Jamaican Jerk Sauce (I used World Harbors brand)
Splash of Orange Juice
Enough turkey broth to make everything "wet" but not too much so that it gets soggy.

First, remove all the meat from the turkey leg, and chop or pull apart and set aside,  Mix all ingredients together and then fold turkey meat into the mixture.  Spray a 9' X 13' pan or casserole dish and pour mixture into pan.  Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes covered in foil or until all moisture is absorbed.