Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Back when I wrote the post Pancake Saturday I mentioned that I use a boxed pancake mix, mostly out of convenience. My neighbor Stephanie commented about a buttermilk pancake recipe she makes with her family and that the extra work is totally worth it. That got me thinking I should try a homemade recipe. I had extra buttermilk in the fridge from the German Chocolate Cake recipe, so I decided to look online, aka Pinterest, for a recipe since I didn't have Stephanie's. (In hindsight, I should have just stopped over and borrowed her cookbook!)

I found a Martha Stewart recipe titled, "Best Buttermilk Pancakes." I know a lot of recipes claim to be the best, but I read the reviews and most said this recipe really was the best. Last Monday was President's day, and I didn't work so I made the pancakes. I have to admit, they were the best! I did make a small adaption to the original recipe, I chopped up some Hershey's milk chocolate and added it to the pancakes, because I love chocolate, especially in pancakes, while drinking my morning coffee.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Best Buttermilk Pancakes by Martha Stewart

Yields 12- 4 inch pancakes (2 Points Plus™ each)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/2 c buttermilk

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1oz chopped milk chocolate

Mmm the best (secret) ingredient!

1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & sugar in a medium bowl.

2. Add egg, buttermilk and butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

3. Spray griddle with cooking spray. Using a 1/4 cup, pour the batter onto the griddle. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.

The best wedding gift I never thought I'd use! Turns out I do, all the time!

4. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden brown on bottom, about one minute.

Mmm, and when you are all done, you'll have the most delicious pancakes!

Just top with maple syrup and they are ready to eat!

They turned out awesome! Stephanie was right, homemade pancakes are worth the extra steps! They are easy and way delicious!

Making Chili!

Well, the inevitable has happened. We finally got a huge snowstorm. Something like 6-8 inches. I can't say I'm shocked. I do live in Iowa and it's winter. It is part of the climate. However, every time we get a snow storm people seem surprised! I like snow. I think it's pretty. My husband, not so much. I think that is because he is the person who shovels everything. I kind of understand his distaste for snow because of that reason. That is why I made a huge pot of chili while he shoveled.

My father in law, Dan, makes excellent chili. Until Pat and I started dating, I had never made it before.  My first time actually was for a Chili Cook Off back when I worked at NICC. I winged Dan's recipe and was surprised how good it turned out..in fact, I won the cook off! {This is where Queen sings, "we are the champions"} Just Kidding! 


Every time I make chili I wing it. I never come with a list to the store. There are some main ingredients I always remember, and others that I think might work well. The chili we make now is kind of a mix of Dan's and kind of our own. It is one of the few recipes I am proud to say we "created" and isn't from a recipe book.

Our Chili Recipe

1 lb ground beef

1 1 lb stew meat (the *secret ingredient*)

32 oz can of tomato sauce

32 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can chili beans, in sauce

1 can Mexican corn

1 can diced tomatoes

green pepper, chopped

red onion, chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed

3-4 tbs of chili powder seasoning

salt & pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

1. Brown the ground beef & steak w/ the peppers, onions and garlic. Season with salt & pepper. Drain grease.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Simmer on medium until the juices start to bubble up a bit and simmer on low for at least 2 hours.

4. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and green onions. Enjoy!

{TASTEday} - Chicken Chilaquiles

Yay, it's Friday! I love Fridays, as I am sure most of you do as well. I promised when I wrote the post time to get {HEALTHY}!! that I would still try lots of new recipes and post recipes on Fridays. Just because I am following WW doesn't mean I am going to eat salads all day everyday.  yuck. I do like a good salad now and then, but I like real food, specifically, Mexican food! Yesterday I was browsing Martha Stewart and found this easy and delicious look recipe for Chicken Chilaquiles. I like recipes that are: 1. easy, 2. don't take FOREVER and a day (especially during the work week!) and 3. minimal ingredients. This recipe was all three. I did make a few adjustments though (based on the reviews I read & ww)

Here is my version of Martha's  Chicken Chilaquiles.

Ingredients

1 tbsp Peanut Oil (I was out of olive oil, but normally that's what I would have used!)

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in puree

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped (about 1 heaping tbsp)

1 tbsp of adobe sauce (from can of chipotle chiles)

salt

1 can of black beans, drained

1 1/4 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs*

1/2 c lightly packed cilantro leaves, chopped

tortilla chips

light sour cream

** i LOVE chicken thighs. They have so much more flavor. I buy the Just BARE Chicken which is already 1.25 lbs and boneless/skinless **

Directions

1. Place chicken thighs in a saucepan and fill with water just over the height of the chicken. Sprinkle in salt & pepper. Cover until boiling. Remove lid and let boil for 12-15 minutes. Remove Chicken from pot. Once cool, shred the chicken. Place aside.

2. Combine oil and garlic in a large (3-to-4-quart) saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and sizzling, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes with their puree (breaking tomatoes up), chipotles and adobo, black beans, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer rapidly until lightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.

4.  Add chicken and cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in chopped cilantro.

5. Place a handful (or so) of chips at the bottom of a bowl. Top with the chicken/tomato mixture. Garnish with cilantro and sour cream.

Makes about 6 servings.

It was fantastic! One of my new favorite dishes. It's easy and the chipotle peppers and adobe give it great flavor that I'm not used to cooking with! I did change a couple things from Martha's recipe. She has you use a small rotisserie chicken. That would have actually make the recipe only 4 steps and easier, but I wanted to boil the chicken (healthier) and save a little money. (Rotisserie Chicken - $5.99, Chicken Thighs, $3.99) Also, the original recipe says to add feta cheese as an additional garnish. Because I am trying to be healthier, I cut that out, but I promise, it's SO good without it! Lastly, when I was reading the reviews on the original recipe, people said they added black beans for extra protein. I thought the beans were great!

{TASTEday} - Grilled Steak Tacos w/ Poblano & Mango Salsa

Friday's have OFFICIALLY been assigned as {TASTEday} , aka recipe day! Since this blog is a mixture of life, love & food, I wanted to make new recipes a new weekly tradition!

{TASTEday} recipe | Grilled Steak Tacos w/ Poblano & Mango Salsa

I found this recipe in an unlikely source. I was reading Parenting Magazine and there was an advertisement for Beef. It was titled "A Recipe from My Family to Yours".  It looked good & was something new so we tried it last night! Here is the recipe for you to try as well!

Grilled Steak Tacos with Poblano-Mango Salsa

1 lb top sirloin steak, cut 3/4 -inch thick

2 medium poblano peppers

1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-in slices

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp. salt

8 small corn tortillas (6-7 inch diameter)

* Fresh cilantro sprigs, lime wedges (optional garnish)

Directions

1. Place peppers and onion slices (over medium heat) on the grill. Grill, covered for 15-20 minutes, or until onion is tender and pepper skin is blackened, turning occasionally. Place peppers on a place and set aside to cool.

2.  Meanwhile, combine garlic and cumin; press evenly onto beef steak. Place steaks on grill (over medium heat). Grill, covered, 13-16 minutes for medium  or 8-13 minutes for medium rare, turning occasionally. Remove, keep warm. (Let set atleast 15 minutes to let juices settle before slicing.)

3. Once cool, remove the skin, stems and seeds from peppers. Dice onions and peppers into small pieces. Combine chopped veggies, diced mango, chopped cilantro, lime juice, and salt into a bowl. set aside.

4. Place tortillas on grill. Grill, uncovered, 30 seconds on each side, or until heated through and lightly browned.

5. Carve steaks into thin slices. Top tortillas with equal amounts of beef and salsa. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges, if desired.

They turned out pretty good! I had hoped the peppers would have been a spicier through. I also I also never realized how hard it was to peel the skin off the pepper. Oh well! Next time I think I'll make a creamy avocado sauce to top the tacos with, or maybe add some avocado and jalapenos to the salsa.

Of course, after typing the entire recipe from the magazine ad I found, I thought, "oh, I should google it"...sure enough, I found the recipe online. Figures! Here is the link to the recipe as well...

Grilled Steak Tacos with Poblano-Mango Salsa 

Enjoy!

leftovers...& chicken salad!

Last nights dinner was leftovers, like I had said, I had a ton of Layered Enchilada Casserole leftover from Monday night so naturally I ate it for lunch AND dinner on Tuesday. Needless to say, It'll be a couple weeks before I make it again. It was SO yummy, but still! I did make some chicken salad for lunch today and tomorrow though and it's good! It was easy too and so much better than any canned chicken salad!

I don't have a like to a recipe, since I through it together myself from other recipes :)

Chicken Salad (this is enough for 2-3 servings..)

2 chicken breasts

1/2 c. red grapes

2 tbsp lite mayo

1 tbsp pecans

2 tbsp diced white onions

greek seasoning ( mine is from Pampered Chef & I love it!)

salt, pepper & olive oil

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Drizzle olive oil in a dish and place chicken breast in. Season with salt & pepper.

2. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cooked throughly.

3. Once chicken is cooked, let cool.

3. Chop chicken.

4. Quarter the grapes and add to the chicken.

5. Add pecans and onions to chicken and grapes,

6. Stir in mayo and season with greek seasoning to taste.

YUM!

I made a salad out of spinach and topped it with the chicken salad and a couple pieces of pita bread. yum!

Totally easy & fabulous!