Beef and Chorizo Chili

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Now that football season is well underway and the weather, in some parts of the country anyway, is cooling down, chili season is in full swing!

The recipe I’m sharing with you today is one I created for a Chili Cook Off in the summer. I actually took the time to think about what I wanted to do. I even did a dry run before the event at my husband’s office! We invited a friend over to help be another set of taste buds, too.

My beef and chorizo chili was a huge hit! There weren’t even leftovers. It was determined that I didn’t need to make any changes. (And we definitely didn’t need the back up plan of “order a pizza.”)

Unfortunately round one of my chili was better than the round that went into the competition. Though, my husband takes full blame for not setting the slow cooker on high to warm the chili through before people would be digging into it. I didn’t bring home a victory like my last chili cook-off experience, but even still, there weren’t any leftovers.

I will definitely make this chili again, and happily serve it to guests. Some mini cornbread muffins are a perfect accompaniment to the subtle smokey chili.

Let me know what you think of my original creation!

An Original Recipe

Beef and Chorizo Chili

Ingredients:

  • 3 links chorizo sausage, casings removed
  • 1 lb top round roast, cubed
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
  • 1/2 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 Santa Fe pepper, deseeded and diced
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cans (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 C beef stock
  • 2 cans (4 oz) diced green chiles
  • 1 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • scallions, chopped for serving
  • shredded cheese, for serving

Steps:

  1.  Brown chorizo in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking up as it cooks. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.
  2. Season the beef with S+P. Sear on all sides in the chorizo fat. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on the plate with the chorizo.
  3. If needed, add a couple of teaspoons of oil to the Dutch oven. Saute the onion, peppers, and garlic until tender. Season with salt.
  4. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, oregano, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.
  5. Return the chorizo and beef to the chili and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer uncovered 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Garnish with scallions and shredded cheese. Serve with cornbread.

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CIC: Black Beans & Mayonnaise

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

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Today’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge is to combine black beans and mayonnaise. To be honest, I voted for both of these ingredients, but that didn’t mean I had an idea.

And then I forgot about it. Taking two vacations back-to-back will do that to you.

When I always have black beans in my pantry and mayonnaise in my fridge it would have been a little inexcusable to skip this event.

Surprisingly, I was able to come up with an idea and make my dish on Sunday! I had game day food on my mind, and even though it was just the boys and me, I still made a perfect dip for watching football from the couch. I took inspiration from a warm spinach dip and added some black beans and southwest spices.

Firecracker was napping (gasp!) while I got the dip in the oven and he woke up just in time to take it out. Turned out the be the perfect distraction mechanism for his post-nap fussiness. He said it looked good and said he wanted to eat it. Of course, I had to take a picture first! Literally, one. I told him it was still hot and he informed me that it was cool now. So, out of the ramekin and into a different bowl to spend a few minutes in the fridge. I think he ate 2 bites; the smart kid really just wanted the chips within his reach. I loved the dip, and will definitely make it again for company. I’m looking forward to my afternoon salty snack this week, now!

This recipe will serve 2-3 people.

Black Bean and Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 3/4 C shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 2 C packed baby spinach
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/8 tsp cumin

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredient until incorporated.
  3. Divide dip between two 16 oz ramekins. Bake 30-35 minutes, until dip is bubbly and the top is slightly golden.
  4. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Black Bean and Spinach Dip for Crazy Ingredient Challenge from Sew You Think You Can Cook | http://sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.

SRC: Lime Crusted Salmon with Sweet Potatoes and Peas

~ lk529 ~ 15 Comments

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It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was assigned Where Is My Spoon? written by Adina. Adina has an incredibly magnificent entrance into the culinary world, at least in my opinion! When she moved to Germany with her husband she didn’t cook because she “couldn’t even boil an egg.” In all honesty though, boiling an egg isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do if you’re easily distracted… She learned to cook by reading through a cookbook in a new language! I mean, how impressive is that?!

When I received my assignment in my email I forced myself to decide on a savory dish. I felt like I was drowning in a wonderful world of sugar and needed to grab a life vest. I was beginning to regret my decision when I found Carrot Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting and White Chocolate Apricot Cheesecake. If I hadn’t done Nectarine Caprese Salad last month for SRC I would have definitely gone with her Strawberry, Nectarine, and Quinoa Salad.

Ultimately, I decided to pick a dish that was fresh and light, Lime Crusted Salmon. Adina served it with sweet potatoes and peas. I decided to go with it! I hadn’t had peas in a long time and it reminded me of how much I enjoy the sweet veggie. Turns out I learned that my husband and 10 month old like them, too! Growing up, my favorite way to eat them were atop mashed potatoes. Turns out they complement sweet potatoes, too. A big thank you for introducing me to a new weeknight favorite!

Lime Crusted Salmon

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 lb salmon filet
  • 1 1/2 tbsp butter, softened
  • 2 tbsp panko
  • 1 lime, zested and sliced into wedges

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking dish.
  2. Combine butter, panko, lime zest, and S+P. Spread over fish.
  3. Place salmon in the baking dish and surround with lime wedges. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the fish is flaked easily with a fork.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 tbsp butter

Steps:

  1. Place potatoes in a medium pot. Cover with water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain.
  2. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes with the butter. Season to taste with S+P.

Peas with Mint

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 10 oz bag frozen peas
  • 1/2 tbsp butter
  • chopped mint, to taste

Steps:

  1. Cook peas according to package directions, or as desired.
  2. Toss with butter, mint, and S+P to taste.

*These recipes are modified from Adina at http://www.whereismyspoon.co/salmon-with-lime-crust/*

Easy Weeknight Salmon Dinner for #SecretRecipeClub from Sew You Think You Can Cook | http://sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

To see the other bloggers who participated in The Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

#SundaySupper: Recipes with Coffee

~ lk529 ~ 17 Comments

Over Labor Day weekend we traveled to Northern California, Santa Cruz to be exact, to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

The wedding was one we will never forget. They got married standing underneath exquisite Redwoods with the sun peaking through the massive trees.

To reach the ceremony site, we hopped aboard a narrow gauge train and traveled uphill for about 25 minutes. Following the beautiful exchange of vows we climbed back on the train to return to the reception location. The entire experience was simply breathtaking.

To say my train obsessed toddler was in heaven is an understatement!

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We spent the long weekend in Santa Cruz with my parents and uncle at a vacation rental home on the water. We enjoyed exploring the area and discovering the differences between that beach city and the one we’re living in now.

Chocolate Chip Mocha Smoothie for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook (1)Because we staying in a “hotel house,” as we described it to my toddler, I had the luxury of being able to cook! I made Chicken Chorizo Meatballs (a variation of this recipe) for the rehearsal party at my aunt’s “hotel house,” a beautiful cheese platter for dinner one night, and coffee smoothies to accompany some local pastries for breakfast one morning!

I was counting on making my recipe for this week’s Sunday Supper over the wedding weekend so I packed my chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. Doesn’t everyone travel with chocolate chips in tow?!

Thankfully the vacation home had a blender! I hadn’t considered that I may not have one before hitting the grocery store to pick up yogurt and whipped cream.

This smoothie was met with mixed reviews. My dad was not a fan, but sweet coffee drinks are not his thing. My uncle and I enjoyed our glasses, though. That being said, I have some suggestions for changes I’d make next time:

  • The tang from Greek yogurt was a little too much to pair with the coffee, so I’d switch to regular yogurt (or you know, ice cream but then we can’t call it breakfast can we?)
  • To balance out the sweetness level, I’d add a touch of vanilla extract

Chocolate Chip Mocha Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C ice
  • 3/4 C vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 C cooled coffee
  • 1/4 C chocolate chips
  • 1/4 C chocolate syrup

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Garnish, if desired, with whipped cream and extra chocolate syrup.

*This recipe is adapted from Jacqui at http://www.dishingdelish.com/chocolate-chip-mocha-breakfast-smoothie/*

Chocolate Chip Mocha Smoothie for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook (2)

Beverages

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Dessert

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out ourPinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

#BundtBakers: Healthy Sneak, Cheat, or Substitute

~ lk529 ~ 8 Comments

4ae7b-bundtbakerspostThis month’s bundt theme is quite fun! Andrea of  Adventures in All Things Food challenged us to “healthify” our cakes in a sneaky way. She inspired us to stealthily add in some veggies, find a healthy way to eliminate oils or sugars, or even experiment with an arguably more wholesome flour option.

#BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

I wasn’t sure I’d get a chance to participate this month. We’ve had a lot of travel recently, going to Northern California for a wedding followed almost immediately by a trip to Lake Geneva.

I’ve mentioned the lake house before, but in case you’re new to Sew You Think You Can Cook, I spent my childhood summers at my grandparents’ summer home at the lake. When my parents purchased the home before my grandma passed away, I looked forward to getting to continue the tradition with my children. We even had Firecracker’s first birthday there! I didn’t think we’d get a chance to go this year having to travel from California, but we made it happen. And I’m so glad we did. Firecracker is old enough to truly enjoy the lake and just as I did, jumped off the pier into his grandfather’s arms.

I hadn’t baked my bundt before these vacations and was going to have to simply sit this event out. Fortunately there was a bundt pan tucked away in a cupboard, here! A beautiful, old Nordic Ware original.

With plans to make my buffalo cauliflower for game day, we had the vegetable on the mind. Off to Pinterest I went to uncover a chocolate cake. We added some freshly picked (a story for a future post!) apples to the cake, too.

The resulting cake is a dense, almost fudgy, cake. Funnily enough, the presence of cauliflower was apparent only if eaten cold. It wasn’t abrassive enough to say, “Hey, there’s cauliflower in here.” but just enough to know there’s “something different” about this cake. 15 seconds in the microwave and no one would be any the wiser. Not even a 2 year old.

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You might wonder why we even ate the cake cold in the first place.

The answer is one that every food blogger can relate to. Needing to take a picture! The cake was completed and frosted after sunset. My dad told me I had to include this part of the story in my blog post. The fact that he couldn’t dig in to chocolate cake the day it was made! Yes, I received a lot of heat for having to wait until morning.

It’s okay though, the boys had me up way before anyone else so I snapped some photos in the early morning sunlight.

Choco-flower and Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

  • 2 C cauliflower florets
  • 1/2 C vanilla yogurt
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1/2 C vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 C flour
  • 1/2 C cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 C buttermilk
  • 1-2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced

Steps:

  1. Boil cauliflower until fork tender. Puree in a food processor until smooth.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a bundt pan.
  3. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. In a large bowl, beat together the yogurt, sugar, and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add in the vanilla and pureed cauliflower.
  5. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Add 1/4 C of buttermilk, stir until combined. Repeat with remaining dry ingredints and buttermilk. Fold in the chopped apple.
  6. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out cleanly. Allow cake to cool before turning out of the pan.

Cinnamon Caramel Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 C powdered sugar

Steps:

  1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. Pour over cooled cake.

*These recipes are adapted from Kate at http://veggiedesserts.co.uk/chocolate-cauliflower-cake-with-salted-cinnamon-caramel-icing-the-blogs-2nd-birthday/*

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You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Almond Bundtlettes by Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes

Avocado Mini Bundts by Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Black Forest Tomato Bundt Cake by Shilpi at Simplyveggies

Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm

Easy Orange Bundt Cake by Nichole at Cookaholic Wife

Fall Fruits Bundt Cake by Rebekah at Making Miracles

Flourless Chocolate Bundt Cake by Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Secret Spice Yoghurt Cake by Jane at Jane’s Adventure in Dinner

Tunnel of Fudge Cake by Bee at The Queen of Scones

Vanilla Bean Malt Bundt Cake by Felice at All That’s Left Are The Crumbs

Whole Wheat Banana Bundt Cake byAnshie>at Spiceroots

Tuesday Tattles #17

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

It’s come to my realization that I haven’t actually shared our favorite kids books! I know I’ve sprinkled them into some of Firecracker’s monthly favorites – a series that’s gone the wayside as he approached and passed 2.

As I started to list all of the books that we love I gawked at how long it was and yet how much I was leaving out. So, I’m going to do a few book series during Tuesday Tattles over the next couple of months.

I’m going to start with the best bedtime books. These are books that have helped lull my kids into naps or have become cemented into the bedtime routine.

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Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

This title might seem like a strange one to include on a bedtime book list, but between 19-22 months I had this book engraved into my memory. Our bedtime routine always concluded with my son falling asleep in my lap while I rocked him and read Green Eggs and Ham. Not only is it a book to encourage trying new foods, its very rhythmic and repetitive script transforms into the perfect “lullaby.”

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat isn’t quite as repetitive as Green Eggs and Ham but I did develop a rhythm in reading it that turned out to be just the ticket I needed for nap time. (Back when Firecracker took naps.) It’s a long book for an active boy to sit through and we’d often only make it halfway though, never venturing into the part of the story with Thing 1 and Thing 2, before he’d drift off to sleep in my lap in the rocking chair.

img_0497Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

Danny and the Dinosaur was one of my husband’s favorite books as a kid and my in-laws gave us the Danny and the Dinosaur 50th Anniversary Box Set before our cross-country move. I remember it being the first book I read in our new home. Just like The Cat in the Hat, Danny and the Dinosaur quickly became associated with pre-nap reading.

Steam Train, Dream Train Colors by Sherri Duskey Rinker

My mom found this book and Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3 for my boys for Easter. I used to keep them both in the car (the books, not the boys) and Firecracker would happily “read” through them, often finally falling asleep. I’m not sure when it happened, but the colors book found its way inside and is now mandatory bedtime reading. He even has the first page memorized. He doesn’t fall asleep reading this book, though. We often read it 2-3 times. Graduating from color recognition, he states all of the letters in the words at each turn of the page. I can recite this book for memory and can “read” it in the pitch black of night.

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img_2950Where Do Steam Trains Sleep at Night? by Brianna Caplan Sayres

Here’s another gem given to Firecracker by my mom. It’s a book that he was immediately drawn to. It’s a great book for little train lovers. The book describes different bed time routines for each style of train in two line poems about parent and child engines. My son loves finding the mouse “hidden” on each page.

The Goodnight Train by June Sobel

There had to be a unique train book that didn’t come from my mom, right?! We found this one in a cute children’s boutique nearby. I love the illustrations and whimsical feel. The Goodnight Train gets rotated with Where Do Steam Train Sleep at Night? at night. As a result, neither of them are memorized making it difficult to read when bedtime procrastination has left me not even a glow of sunlight.

img_3005Goodnight, Dragons by Judith Roth

Not every book can be about trains! I do have a second child after all. While we’ve had this book long before Treat came along, it didn’t get quite the attention or love until fairly recently. Goodnight, Dragons is, hands down, Treat’s favorite book. It’s the only one he’ll actually sit still (ish) for! What I love most about this book is its message: “Everybody needs a cuddle; maybe dragons more than most.”

If Animals Kissed Good Night by Ann Whitford Paul

The last book on my list is my personal favorite. It has cute little rhymes for multiple parent-child animal pairings as the day turns into night. But I think this book holds a special place in my heart because of the memories I have reading it to Firecracker when he was 12-18 months old: he was just learning how to kiss (a skill he is now way too aggressive with) and with every couplet read he’d turn and give me a kiss.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Roasted Tomato Tahini Dip

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Once upon a time I tried my hardest to get my boys to nap at the same time.

Once upon a time I let tomatoes burn to ash.

And, once upon a time I gave up on nap time.

It’s been a few months, actually, almost half a year – Wait, can that be?! Man does time fly! – since my toddler has taken a nap at home in his bed.

You see, my son hates sleep. He always has. It’s one of the most frustrating things about the kid! I would spend anywhere from 30-90-120 minutes of my day desperately trying to get him to fall asleep. He’s never taken a nap willingly and I’ve always had to practically trick him into it – reading books, rocking, singing, stroking his hair/arm/face. Often there’d be screaming and tears coming from both of us. All of that effort for what would end up being a 45 minute nap. A nap from which he’d wake up grumpier than before!

I spent a lot of days trying to decide if it were time to give it up. But kids need naps, at least that what all the parenting literature says.

The day I tried making this dip was the final straw.

I tossed some tomatoes in the oven and went downstairs to get the kids ready for nap. With the door closed and kids screaming, I never heard the timer going off. I’d obviously forgotten about the tomatoes entirely and after 2 hours, I gave up! Opened the door and was hit with the smell of the oven and the sound of a beeping timer. Definitely didn’t help improve my mood!

I gave it a couple of weeks and tried again. And I’m so glad I did. This dip is a great way to change up your game day watching spread. Serve it with pita chips, fresh pita, pretzels, or veggies.

Roasted Tomato Tahini Dip

Ingredients:

  • 2 C grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 C roasted almonds
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for roasting

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
  2. Place tomatoes on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with S+P. Roast 45-50 minutes, or until the tomatoes burst. Let cool.
  3. When tomatoes have cooled slightly, put them and their juices in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the olive oil. Pulse the tomatoes until combined, while the machine is running, pour in the olive oil until the mixture becomes smooth. Season to taste with S+P.

*This recipe is adapted from Tara at http://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/secretrecipeclub-roasted-tomato-almond-and-tahini-dip/*

Roasted Tomato Tahini Dip | Sew You Think You Can Cook | http://sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

#FoodieExtravaganza: Pancakes

~ lk529 ~ 19 Comments

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It may be National Waffle Week but this month’s #FoodieExtravaganza is celebrating Pancake Day, which falls on the 26th. Thanks to Caroline of Caroline’s Cooking for stepping up and hosting today!

The Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient or theme into recipes to share with you.

Conveniently, I was already sitting on a pancake recipe to share with you! These Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pancakes were a huge hit! I mean, what’s not to love? We’re talking the classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

Thanks to the protein-packed pancakes, you don’t need to eat a lot of them to feel full and satisfied. In fact, upon seeing the batter, my husband nervously asked if it would be enough. I assured him that if it weren’t, I could easily whip up another batch. It wasn’t necessary.

I greatly enjoyed these pancakes with a large dollop of whipped cream. (Which Firecracker called ice cream.)

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Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/8 C flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 C peanut butter
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 C chocolate chips

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla.
  3. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  4. On a hot buttered griddle drop 1/2 C of batter into pancakes. Flip pancakes when batter starts to set and bubble form in the center of the pancake. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

*This recipe is adapted from Aimee at http://lmld.org/2014/09/10/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-pancakes/*

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Be sure to check out these other pancakes:

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes by Cooking With Carlee

Buckwheat Pancakes by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Caramel Apple Pancakes by The Freshman Cook

Caramelized Banana Topped Pancakes by cookinandcraftin

Churro Pancakes by Cookaholic Wife

Corn Panki / Corn Pancakes by Sneha’s Recipe

Heath Bar and Banana Pancakes by Our Good Life

Masala dosa by Caroline’s Cooking

Panqueques con Dulce de Leche (Argentinian Dulce de Leche Crepes) by Tara’s Multicultural Table

Peaches and Cream Crepes by Fearlessly Creative Mammas

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes by Making Miracles

Silver Dollar Chocolate Chip Pancakes by Hardly A Goddess

Spring Onion Pancakes with Spicy Dipping Sauce by Food Lust People Love

If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you’re a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

#WaffleWeek2016: Buttermilk Cornmeal Waffles with Blackberry Syrup

~ lk529 ~ 8 Comments

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It’s finally time for Waffle Week of 2016!

I discovered that Waffle Week was a thing last year and am excited that Kaitie of Fuchsia Freezer decided to keep the event going this year.

Not that I really need an excuse to share a waffle recipe with you… ha! In just one year I’ve more than doubled the number of waffle recipes on my blog! I mean, seriously. I don’t think there’s anything better than a waffle. The possibilities with waffle making seem endless, from savory to sweet.

My offering this year can be enjoyed either way. The waffle base lends itself perfectly to being paired with fruit and honey or with meat and gravy. It would even welcome some mix-ins of bacon, scallions, herbs, or berries.

I made these waffles for dinner during a week my husband wasn’t home and it was the perfect amount of batter for the three of us. In all actuality, my 10 month old at 3/4 of a waffle while my 2 year old barely finished a 1/4. Just when I think I know what he’ll eat he decides, “No, I don’t like waffle or pancakes anymore.” (He’s on a sandwich boycott right now too…)

I served these waffles with a blackberry syrup. To make the syrup I simply dumped a bag of frozen blackberries in a small pot with about a tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 C or so of water. I brought it up to a gentle simmer and let it reduce until syrupy then pushed it through a strainer. (You can even save the solids to stir into muffins or more waffles!)

This recipe makes approximately 6 waffles.

Buttermilk Cornmeal Wafles

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C + 2 tbsp flour
  • 3/8 C cornmeal
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 C buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs, separated

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and egg yolks. Add to the dry ingredients, mixing until combined.
  3. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat with a handmixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter.
  4. Drop 1/3 – 1/2 C of waffle batter onto a greased waffle iron and cook until golden.

*This recipe is adapted from Nikki at http://www.chef-in-training.com/2013/10/cornmeal-buttermilk-waffles/*

Buttermilk Cornmeal Waffles with Blackberry Syrup for #WaffleWeek2016 from Sew You Think You Can Cook

And keep that waffle iron hot for these other great recipes:

Coffee and Bacon Wake Up Waffles from Baking In A Tornado

Pumpkin Spice Waffles from Fuchsia Freezer

Spiced Sweet Potato Waffles with Candied Pecans from A Nerd Cooks

Waffles Gone Wild from Our Good Life

Waffle Collage - Pinterest

#SundaySupper: Easy Football Food Ideas for Game Day

~ lk529 ~ 27 Comments

It’s here! It’s here! Football season is here!

College football games started this week and the professional games start next week.

I’ve got my Fantasy Draft on Wednesday – I really need to do some researching!

I’m a little nervous about how to handle this sports season being on the West Coast for the first time. I guess it’s a good thing the boys have me up early! It’s also going to be strange seeing the TV Guide filled with a bunch of schools I’ve never watched or potentially never even heard of! It’ll be harder to find those SEC schools I so badly want to watch, so I’m definitely grateful there’s an SEC Network on which I can watch my Tigers.

To help kick-off the season the tastemakers at #SundaySupper have put together a fantastic menu of easy game day recipes for your next tailgate or couch-gate. A big thank you to Coleen of The Redhead Baker for hosting this fun event!

I’ve jumped on the bandwagon a few years late, but I’m sharing Buffalo Cauliflower Bites today!

Cauliflower is one of those veggies that we simply avoided. And honestly, I’m not sure why. Even when it’s provided on those party veggie platters, I skip over it for its friend Broccoli. It’d been bugging me so I forced the issue and bought a head of cauliflower to have in the “veggie train” at my son’s birthday party.

I did try it. And really didn’t have much of an opinion on it. It’s fairly bland. And I still prefer broccoli. At least raw.

So what to do with the leftovers? I’ve been dying to try the cauliflower pizza crust but decided to go an easier route. Take the post popular way to prepare cauliflower for cauli-haters: buffalo it!

My husband was beyond skeptical. I told him I was making it and that was that. He said, “Okay. I’ll try it, but I probably won’t eat it.” Guess what? He not only ate it, he’s asking for it again! And so am I.

This recipe will feed 4 people.

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Ingredients:

  • 4 C cauliflower florets
  • 3/4 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
  • 3/4 C water
  • 3/4 C buffalo sauce
  • 1 tbsp butter, melted

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Whisk together flour, garlic powder, salt, and water. Add the cauliflower and toss to coat. Place the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet, allow the excess coating to drip off.
  3. Bake cauliflower for 20 minutes.
  4. In a measuring cup, combine the buffalo sauce and butter. Pour over the cauliflower. Bake another 5 minutes.
  5. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

*This recipe is adapted from Gina at http://www.skinnytaste.com/spicy-buffalo-cauliflower-bites/*

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Appetizers

Main Dishes

Side Dishes

Desserts

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.