syrup

CIC: Breakfast Sausage & Cinnamon

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

CIC-header

I’m {finally} back with another Crazy Ingredient Challenge!

This month’s mission: to combine breakfast sausage and cinnamon.

I wasn’t too terribly creative with my idea this time around – I stuck with breakfast.

Originally I thought of some form of sweet and savory bread pudding but then I happened upon pancake muffins. Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

They’re kind of like the breakfast version of pigs in a blanket.

I brought these fun muffins to a church potluck. I did have a few leftover to bring back home – without a label for the dish, I’m not sure people really knew what they were. Those that did eat them, sought me out to compliment me and suggest I bring them to every potluck.img_2203

Firecracker ate about 2 of them there but wouldn’t touch them at home. He said, “I liked them at the church party, but not here.” Kids can say the funniest things!

When I have breakfast sausage or bacon I always dip it into my syrup, so I highly encourage you to serve these pancake muffins warm with a drizzle of syrup.

This recipe makes 5-6 dozen mini pancake muffins.

Mini Pancake Muffins with Sausage

Ingredients:

  • 3 C flour
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 C buttermilk
  • 4 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • breakfast sausage, cooked and chopped

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease mini muffin tin.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla.
  4. Combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Place a piece of breakfast sausage into the batter.
  6. Bake 11-12 minutes. Serve with syrup.

*This recipe is modified from Ree at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/pancake-mini-muffins/*

Mini Pancake Muffins with Sausage for #CrazyIngredientChallenge from Sew You Think You Can Cook

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

#SundaySupper: Sleepover Foods

~ lk529 ~ 14 Comments

You guys, guess what?

You know this super awesome theme for today’s Sunday Supper? Sleepover Foods? Yeah, it was mine!

If you have some super epic ideas, you can easily submit them here.

A big thank you to Marion of Life Tastes Good for hosting the event. I’m so excited to see what everyone has to offer for our virtual sleepover!

Originally, I’d have loved to share a fun popcorn recipe perfect for watching movies late at night. But the reality of doing so had me switching gears to a different salty snack.

Why couldn’t I share popcorn? Well, because I have two little boys, who, while awake ensure I will burn the popcorn every time. They’re also not of popcorn-eating-age, so when I make popcorn I have to wait until after bedtime. But by then, there is zero light by which to take a drool-worthy photograph. And let’s be real, there wouldn’t be any leftover to try shooting some stale-popcorn pictures.

I started thinking about party mixes and thought it’d be fun to make one out of all Goldfish. (No, I am not sponsored by Pepperidge Farm – I WISH!) I thought about my favorite popcorn flavor – salted honey – and knew I wouldn’t be able to transform that to my fishy mix because Treat isn’t yet one year old and can’t have honey. Agave wouldn’t lend enough flavor, so I decided on real maple syrup!

Firecracker was more than happy to be my little model. I put him into a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor and handed him of cup of my Maple Fish Party Mix.

An Original Recipe

Maple Fish Party Mix

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp real maple syrup
  • 2 C cinnamon graham cracker goldfish
  • 2 C pretzel goldfish
  • 2 C whole grain cheddar goldfish
  • 2 C original goldfish

Steps:

  1. Melt butter and syrup. You can do this in a small pot on the stove or in a microwave safe bowl.
  2. In a large microwave safe bowl, toss together all of the goldfish. Pour the melted butter and syrup over the top and toss to coat. Microwave 1:30min, toss, and microwave another 1:30min.
  3. Spread the goldfish mix onto a baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container. The goldfish will keep up to 2 weeks.

Maple Fish Party Mix for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Breakfast

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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.

Apple Chicken Chorizo Meatloaf

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Confused?

Don’t worry, we are too.

This meatloaf started out with all intentions of being hamburgers. The original recipe called for ground pork, but my grocery store didn’t have any so I went with chicken instead. And then I messed with the ratios because I didn’t need 2 lb + worth of burger meat. The result? A mixture so sticky that there was no way it’d become burgers. So, we threw in some bread crumbs. And then I decided to just stick it in a loaf pan and hope for the best because even still, there was no way this meat mixture would survive a grilling.

While I was trying to imagine what this would taste like, I couldn’t get breakfast off my mind – probably because of the apple. If the burgers had worked out I wanted to figure out some sort of maple-mustard or maple-mayo concoction. Now that it’s a meatloaf I could’ve tried some sort of maple-barbecue-ketchup mixture to put over top but I simply didn’t have the energy to try making something up.

We ended up eating this meatloaf with syrup instead of kethcup. Quite tasty! The meatloaf reminded me of a gourmet sausage from a fancy butcher or deli. This meatloaf is one that could actually work as a breakfast option, just add a fried egg!

Apple Chicken Chorizo Meatloaf

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 link Mexican chorizo, casing removed
  • 1 Fuji apple, shredded
  • 1/4 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 C panko bread crumbs

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients with your hands until incorporated. Place in prepared loaf pan.
  3. Bake 35-40 minutes, or an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached.

Apple Chicken Chorizo Meatloaf | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Maple Blueberry Pancakes

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Do you know what today is?

It’s National Pancake Day!

I didn’t know that until yesterday. When an email from Yummly showed up in my inbox. (Honestly, I have tried to unsubscribe from their emails for way too long now. But I guess today I was thankful to have received it.) I immediately rushed to the computer to start typing up this post. I already had pictures of pancakes on my camera patiently waiting for the perfect day to be transformed into a blog post.

That day is today.

Maple Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 2 C whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 C yogurt (I used vanilla)
  • 1 1/4 C milk
  • 1/4 C real maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 1/2 C frozen blueberries

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  2. In another bowl whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk, syrup, and vanilla. Whisk in the melted butter.
  3. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in the blueberries. (You can also add blueberries individually to your pancakes when you drop the batter onto the griddle.)
  4. On a hot buttered griddle drop 1/4 C of batter into pancakes. Flip pancakes when batter starts to set and bubbles form in the center of the pancake. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

*This recipe is adapted from Sally at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/01/16/whole-wheat-blueberry-pancakes/*

Maple Blueberry Pancakes | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Yes, that’s my quilt Blueberry Pickin’ used in the photograph of these blueberry pancakes. 😉

#FoodieExtravaganza: Waffles

~ lk529 ~ 7 Comments

foodieextravaganza 300

This month’s #FoodieExtravaganza is celebrating Waffles! September is National Waffle month and along with a bunch of other bloggers we are having a Foodie Extravaganza all about Waffles! The Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient into recipes to share with you and this month, our host Summer of Summer Scraps offered up a poll and the theme of waffles won! While I wasn’t part of the majority vote (I voted for breakfast) I’m ecstatic that waffles won out. Waffles are my favorite breakfast item!

I thought about doing savory waffles for a little bit of a twist – but then I found this recipe saved on my foodgawker favorites. Sweet potato seemed like a winner with it now being September and Fall fast approaching. I also used up the blueberries in my fridge to make a homemade blueberry syrup. The syrup complimented the cinnamon sweet potato waffles very well – a little bit of summer with a little bit of fall.

Sweet Potato Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium, or 1 large, sweet potatoes
  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 C whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 C buttermilk
  • 4 tbsp melted butter

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Poke sweet potatoes with a fork. Bake 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Allow potatoes to cool to touch. Remove flesh from skins and puree until smooth.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and butter.
  4. Combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix in sweet potatoes.
  5. Into a hot greased waffle iron, drop 1/3 C of batter and cook until golden.

*This recipe is adapted from Rachael at http://rachaelwhite.me/sweet-potato-cinnamon-waffles/*

Blueberry Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 5 C blueberries
  • 4 C water, divided use
  • 2 C sugar
  • rind of 1 lemon
  • juice of 2 lemons

Steps:

  1. In a saucepan bring sugar, 3 C water, and lemon rind to a gentle boil. Stir until sugar is disolved and cook until the syrup reaches a 225 degrees F.
  2. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, mash blueberries with remaining 1 C of water. Cook over low for 15 minutes. Press through a fine strainer and set aside.
  3. Combine syrup, blueberry juice, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to use. It can be stored for up to 6 months.

*This recipe is adapted from Grace at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/perfect-blueberry-syrup*

 Sweet Potato Waffles

Be sure to check out these other waffle recipes:

Cinnamon Swirl Waffles from Summer Scraps

Caramel Apple Waffles from We Like to Learn as we Go

Cheddar and Jalapeno Waffles from Rhubarb and Honey

Strawberry Shortcake Waffles from Mrs. Penguin

4 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Waffles from Keep It Simple Sweetie

Lasagna Waffles from Love in the Kitchen

Pumpkin Pie Waffles from Eazy Peazy Mealz

Oat Sourdough Waffles from Passion Kneaded

Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfait from The Freshman Cook

Sweet Potato Waffles with Pecan Honey Butter from Wicked Spatula

Savory Bacon and Veggie Waffles from Fearlessly Creative Mammas

Bacon and Cheese Waffles from Housewife Eclectic

Maple Bacon Waffles from Ashlee Marie

Loaded Baked Potato Waffles from Food Lust People Love

14 Delicious Waffle Recipes

We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food! And each month we all incorporate one main ingredient into a recipe. This month the ingredient is waffles. We hope you all enjoy the delicious ways we made our waffles and be sure to come to see what next month’s new ingredient is. If you would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

Update May 2016: These waffles are one of my go-to recipes when I need to get Firecracker to eat and I’ve made them countless times. After moving to California I decided it was high time to try and rephotograph them. I don’t make the blueberry syrup, but we’ve had fabulous berries from the farmers market.

Sweet Potato Waffles for #FoodieExtravaganza from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Buttermilk Pancakes with Pear Syrup

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

This time of year the internet is overrun with pumpkin treats and apple ciders. The pear, although also in season, doesn’t seem to get as much publicity. I don’t know why not! Have a pear, you’ll taste fall.

This plateful of pancakes dressed in pear syrup was a perfect autumn breakfast and no pumpkins were harmed in the process.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 3 C flour
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 3/4 C buttermilk
  • 3/4 C milk
  • 1/3 C butter, melted

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs. Add in both milks and the melted butter.
  3. Combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  4. On a hot buttered griddle drop 1/3 C of batter into pancakes. Flip pancakes when batter starts to set and bubbles form in the center of the pancake.

Pear Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 C pear nectar
  • 1 1/2 C sugar
  • 1/4 C light corn syrup
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch ground cloves

Steps:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.
  2. Boil for 60 seconds. It will foam!
  3. Remove from heat. Skim off the foam.

*The pancake recipe is adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/buttermilk-pancakes-ii/ and the syrup from http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/407/Recipe.cfm*

Buttermilk Pancakes & Pear Syrup

French Toast

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

Now, before you open this blog post with a preconceived notion of French Toast, I must warn you, Alton Brown would probably smack me silly for calling this breakfast dish French Toast. But, this is the French Toast that I grew up on, and so did Stuart! French Toast

You do not need fresh stale bread (oxymoron much?), you do not need to make it the night before, and you do not need to turn on the oven! What you do need are eggs, milk, vanilla, and sandwich bread. I like to sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top before eating too.

Before getting married, we had to go through Pre-Cana. One of the workbooks they had us talk through included a chart for chores. We’d agreed that Stuart would always make breakfast and I would tackle dinner. But then I became a “semi-professional chef” (Stuart’s words) and I knew I had to learn the breakfast world too. I haven’t tackled eggs yet, but I am a pro at waffles (our friends little boys have indicated they are the best they’ve ever had) and pancakes. I typically leave the French Toast to Stuart, as his father is the French Toast maker in their family too, but last weekend I stood at the griddle while he went on a run.

*Note: These amounts are all eyeballed. I prefer to use more milk in the egg mixture than my husband does. 

French Toast

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 C milk
  • pinch of salt
  • 8 slices sandwich bread
  • butter for greasing

Steps

  1. In a bowl wide enough to fit a slice of bread whisk together eggs, vanilla, milk, and salt.
  2. Melt butter over a hot griddle, or in a skillet over the stove.
  3. Dip bread in egg mixture, flipping to coat both sides. Place on griddle and cook until browned.

French Toast We always argue about syrup – my family and I like to keep our syrup in the fridge while Stuart and his like to heat it up. What’s your preference?