Pumpkin Pancakes with Bananas

My friend Ellen made these when we visited her a couple weeks ago - they were so good!

Ingredients


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat, inspired by Ellen)
2 T sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 T pumpkin puree
2 T melted butter
1 egg
1 chopped banana (my addition)


Preparation


In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients together.  In a small bowl mix milk, pumpkin, butter and egg together. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients.  Melt some butter in a skillet and pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.  Drop banana pieces onto the poured pancakes before flipping.


These are really good and a refreshing twist to regular pancakes.  I added bananas because they make everything better!

*Recipe from http://www.marthastewart.com/271839/pumpkin-pancakes

- Sarah

Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups

This is a fun, easy change up to the traditional "breakfast for dinner" nights.

Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 slices white or whole-wheat sandwich bread
6 slices bacon
6 large eggs
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter 6 standard muffin cups. With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly and, with a 4 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup, overlapping slightly and making sure bread comes up to edge of cup. Use extra bread to patch any gaps. Brush bread with remaining butter.

2.In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium, until almost crisp, 4 minutes, flipping once. (It will continue to cook in the oven.) Lay 1 bacon slice in each bread cup and crack an egg over each. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a small knife around cups to loosen toasts. Serve immediately.

3.Standard muffin pans come in 6- or 12-cup size; if baking 6 items in a 12-cup pan, leave empty space in between. Nonstick pans are nice but not essential. Beware of very thin pans, which often lead to burning. Place pans on a baking sheet to make them easier to get in and out of the oven.

~Lynn
.
Everyday Food, September 2010

Summery Fruity Yogurt Smoothies

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt (I like vanilla)

1 cup ice

1/2-3/4 cup fruit of your choice

1 banana

Preparation

Blend all ingredients together. Makes enough for two smoothies. No matter what flavor I want, I always add banana - it just makes every smoothie better. Enjoy!

- Sarah

Snowy Saturday

Well...it snowed!

This is a picture of our deck and the woods in the back of our home. I just love the look of un-touched snow...don't you? So, what do you do when you're snowed in? You turn on some music and cook!


For some odd reason, I was feeling French this morning, so I explored my French feelings and decided on crepes for breakfast!


Here's how I did it...

I whisked together 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 2 eggs.


Side note: I've started composting, so I tossed those pretty lil' egg shells right into my temporary composter that my mom gave me for Christmas. I let it fill up next to my sink and then when it's full, I dump it into my back yard composter. You can buy one like it here.


Ok - back to the recipe. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of water. Then added 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons of melted butter.


I heated my frying pan and poured about a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan making sure to tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the batter coated the surface as evenly as possible.


Cooked the crepes for about 2 minutes until the bottom was lightly browned, flipped 'em over for just a sec and then folded 'em up on my plate. They were looking a little plain Jane so I made up my own recipe with some blueberries that I lying around to sweeten them up!


I heated 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water on the stove top and then added my blueberries. After cooking them a bit, they were perfect and ready to dress the top of the crepes.


I dusted a little powdered sugar on top to get my sugar fix in honor of the snow day. Of course, the meal wouldn't be complete without a glass of cold milk...


DElicious!!!

And I think that Julia Childs would have been proud of me...Bon Appetit!!


*Crepe Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Love,
Priscilla