Happy Children Pancake Tower

This morning I made pancakes with my lovely daughter, and I thought it would be fun to make a tower of big pancakes layered with all things good and wonderful: whipped cream, maple syrup, bananas, strawberries, and bacon!  The kids thought they had died and gone to Heaven!!!

The pancake recipe I used was from an old church cookbook I've had for years (I probably took it from my mom's house when I moved out.)  Church cookbooks are the best!

BANANA BUTTERMILK PANCAKES
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. buttermilk (I used whole milk with some lemon juice added to thicken it)
2 bananas, mashed
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.  Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.  Cook in a hot frying pan.  (This recipe made 4 big pancakes, and after we layered them with all the stuff in middle, my family of four could only eat half of it, so next time I would half the recipe and make 4 smaller pancakes for the tower.)

On top of the first pancake, layer whipped cream, bananas, and maple syrup.

Then on top of the second pancake, layer whipped cream, strawberries, and maple syrup.

On top of the third pancake, top with bacon and maple syrup.

On top of the fourth pancake, layer with whipped cream, stawberries, bananas, bacon, and maple syrup.  Slice into the pancake tower like a big piece of cake and enjoy! 

Homemade Hollandaise

My family (except for William) loves Eggs Benedict. My pet peeve is ordering it at a restaurant because it's so darned expensive! Why does it cost $5.95 for 2 eggs with toast and bacon, but it costs $11.95 for 2 eggs with an English muffin and some ham? I actually prefer my Eggs Benedict on toast with bacon anyway, so I always order the cheap meal and ask for a side of Hollandaise sauce.... which leads me to my next pet peeve - why do restaurants serve such awful Hollandaise sauce?? It's not hard to make on your own, it tastes a thousand times better, and it takes the same (if not less) time to make as the little packets you whisk into water.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

3 egg yolks

1/2 c. butter, cut into small pieces

1 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh, if you have it)

1/4 - /2 c. hot water (optional)

Set up a double boiler over medium heat. Whisk eggs and stir in one piece of butter at a time, mixing well until it melts before adding the next piece of butter. Continue whisking until all the butter has been added. (Don't let the eggs cook.) Add lemon juice. If the sauce separates (which it usually does for me) add some hot water and continue whisking.

(This was our vegetarian version of Eggs Benedict, because I had no bacon - gasp! So in other words, it was just a poached egg on toast with some Hollandaise sauce on top.)

I'd like to know how they came up with the idea to whisk egg yolks over a double boiler, stir in butter, and add some lemon juice. It seems like such an awful idea, and yet it's so deliciously wonderful!

Breakfast for Supper

Everyone loves breakfast for supper. In fact, supper is the only time I like breakfast food, because I actually have time to prepare the good stuff, like Eggs Benedict or pancakes, as opposed to the stuff I hate, like toast, cereal, scrambled eggs, etc. On yesterday's episode of Best Recipes Ever, Kary Osmond was making two recipes that are perfect for Breakfast in Bed. They looked crazy good, so I made them for supper tonight.

The first recipe was a variation of the classic Eggs Benedict. (Might I remind you of another awesome version that my husband whipped up on Mother's Day - Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon on Croissants - yum!) Anyway, back to the recipe. Instead of a traditional English muffin (which I never ever use cuz I hate them so much) and Hollandaise sauce (which I love!), this recipe uses homemade savoury waffles and a slightly-spicy cheese sauce.

CHEDDAR & BACON CORNMEAL WAFFLES BENEDICT (I'm too lazy to type out the recipe, so just click on the link)

These were awesome - I used 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 cheddar in the cheese sauce, and it was very good. (I was a little leary of putting cheese sauce on my eggs, and I do still prefer Hollandaise, but this was better than I expected.) The waffles were great, except that it makes a much larger batch than necessary for our family, so I'd probably half it next time. I put the extras in a ziploc bag in the freezer so we can toast them up whenever we like.

The next recipe was for a tasty little drink called STRAWBERRY LEMON CRUSH. (Again, you can click on the link for the recipe.)

We drank this for dessert after our Eggs Benedict. I found this a tad on the sweet side, but of course it would be easy to tweak it with more fruit or less sugar. And a shot of rum never hurt anybody either.

Mother's Day Brunch

My dear husband came home with bags of groceries yesterday and said, "There's your Mother's Day present." Wow, lucky me! But what he meant was that he had purhcased everything he needed for a deluxe Mother's Day brunch, and he made everything himself today (although I poached the eggs for him) - bacon-wrapped asparagus, his famous brunch casserole, delicious fruit smoothies (not sure what he put in there, but he used an entire container of yogurt! We're having smoothies for breakfast tomorrow apparently, and possibly the next day too!), smoked gouda cheese, and the most wonderful Eggs Benedict I've ever tasted!

EGGS BENEDICT WITH SMOKED SALMON

3 croissants, sliced

6 slices of smoked salmon

6 eggs

1 pkg. Hollandaise sauce (prepared according to directions)

pepper

Lay salmon slices on the croissant halves. Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil, and add a little white vinegar. Crack in all the eggs and gently boil for 3-4 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place on top of the salmon croissants. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and season with pepper.

Delicious! Best Mother's Day brunch ever!!! Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there - hope you have a great day!

Fabulous French Toast

I had this recipe ripped out of a magazine and tucked away in my cookbook. I don't make french toast very often, but yesterday was a quiet day around the house, and it was pouring rain outside, and it seemed like a good day to try it out for lunch. I made some changes to it, but it fairly straight-forward.

FABULOUS FRENCH TOAST (based on this recipe)

12 pieces of bread, cut in half

1 banana, sliced

1 c. frozen blueberries

1/2 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. maple syrup

3 eggs

5 c. milk (divided)

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding

Lay half the bread in the bottom of a greased 9x13" baking dish. Top with bananas and blueberries (I did some of each, but you could combine them if you want, or try other fruits.) Lay the remaining pieces of bread overtop. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and maple syrup, adding eggs one at at time and beating well. Gradually add in 2 c. milk and mix well, then pour over the bread. Cover with saran wrap for at least 30 minutes (or overnight in the fridge.) Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. While it's baking, heat 3 c. milk in a saucepan until just boiling. Whisk in vanilla pudding and let it stand for 5 minutes. Serve overtop of the french toast.

I loved the idea of making a big batch of french toast at one time, and hiding fruit inside it. I'm not sure the cream cheese in the egg mixture really added much, so it's probably not a necessity. The custard topping was yummy, but it made a much larger batch than necessary, and I am not a very good whisker, so it wasn't the prettiest looking custard you ever saw. But the french toast was tasty, and much less messy than dipping a piece of bread in the egg mixture and then transfering it to a frying pan, and doing that repeatedly until everyone has been fed. I'd definitely make this again, and have leftover custard for dessert.

Multigrain Crêpes with Chocolate Almond Custard

I had a few extra kids here yesterday since there was no school in the afternoon, so I wanted to find something healthy for lunch that the kids could serve themselves. I decided to make some crêpes the night before, along with some custard. Then I whipped up some whipping cream and sliced up a bunch of fresh fruit, and let the kids go to town! They weren't too interested in the custard, but they loved the whipping cream and all the fruit (blackberries, blueberries, kiwis, bananas, and strawberries) and the didn't even mention the fact that the crêpes were multigrain.

CRÊPES

1 1/2 c. flour (I used multigrain)

2 c. milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. sugar

pinch of salt

Pour the milk into the flour and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir again. Let the batter rest for a couple hours if possible. If the batter is not fluid, add more milk - it should be quite liquidy. Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan and pour just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan, swirling the pan so that the batter forms a nice thin circle. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Serve with custard, whipped cream, maple syrup, fresh fruit, etc.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND CUSTARD

1/3 c. sugar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1-2 tsp. cocoa

3 eggs

1 tsp. almond extract

1 c. milk

Sift together first three ingredients. Whisk in eggs and almond extract. Bring milk to a gentle boil, and pour about half of it slowly over the egg mixture, whisking constantly. (This will temper the eggs and keep them from cooking in the hot milk.) Then pour the egg/milk mixture back into the pot with the remaining milk, and bring it to a gentle boil again, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tbsp. butter. Allow to cool.

Christmas Morning Tradition

Usually I make cinnamon buns on Christmas Eve, let them rise in the fridge overnight, and pop them in the oven on Christmas morning while we open our presents. It's a lovely tradition that my sister started and I copied. But this year, I'm perfecting it, thanks to the wonderful suggestions of some friends on Facebook!

I'll post a picture of it on Christmas Day, but I wanted to share the idea with you ahead of time so you can partake in the joy and wonder of it on Christmas morning.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST
cinnamon buns, sliced in half
eggs, beaten
eggnog (and perhaps a little rum??)
maple syrup, whipped cream, whatever you like on french toast

Whisk together the eggs and eggnog (and rum, if you're using it). Soak the slices of cinnamon bun in the egg mixture, then fry in a frying pan with some butter. Drizzle with some maple syrup and whipped cream.

I bet you could make this ahead of time as a casserole instead... chop up the cinnamon buns and put them in a greased baking dish. Pour egg mixture overtop, cover with saran wrap, and refrigerate. The next morning, bake it in the oven at 350 F for about an hour. You could also add some vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc to the egg mixture, and you could toss in some raisins and apple slices with the buns. I saw Rachael Ray make something similar and it looked so yummy, so I'm sort of mashing all the recipe ideas together for this one!

If I wasn't excited for Christmas before, I certainly am now!!!!!

Here's the picture: I used about 6 blueberry cinnamon buns, cut into quarters, and an apple cut into slices. Then I put 3-4 eggs, 2 c. eggnog, a pinch of salt, and a little vanilla overtop and refrigerated overnight. Bake at 350F for 1 hour. It was delicious!

Brunch Recipes

We had a quick brunch at our house today, so here are a couple easy recipes for you:

EGGS BENEDICT (adapted from my friend Stéphanie's recipe)
12 slices of black forest ham
12 eggs
1 pkg. Hollandaise sauce (made according to the directions)

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Lay a piece of ham over each hole and push it in to make a little cup. Crack an egg into each one, and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Top with hollandaise sauce.

(I got thick slices of ham, and theywouldn't fold into the muffin tin at all, so I just put a small piece in the bottom and cracked the egg on top. It's nicer with the thin slices of ham, because it makes more of a cup.)

I love making eggs this way because you can serve a dozen eggs all at one time, rather than giving 3 people some eggs, then constantly making more until everyone is fed.

BRUNCH CASSEROLE
1 pkg. frozen hashbrowns
2 cans mushroom soup
pepper
3 Onion Dip Mix or whatever seasoning you like

cheddar cheese, grated

Cornflakes

Fill an 11x13" baking dish with hashbrowns. Dump in the soup and season with pepper and whatever other seasoning you like. Add cheese and mix it all together, pressing it into the pan. Top with Cornflakes and bake at 350 F for about 30-40 minutes.

Sorry, no picture of the casserole. It's always a crowd-pleaser, so make sure to try it next time you're making brunch.

Three Cheese Quiche

To be honest, I don't like quiche. I likely won't eat this. But I think the rest of the family might like it, and I'm pretty sure the kids won't like the Fusion Wraps I'm making for supper tonight, so everyone should end up with a full belly.

Thank you to my friend Jackie for her quiche recipe, which I used as a guideline.

THREE CHEESE QUICHE
6 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk
1/2 c. spinach, chopped
1 small tomato, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1 tbsp. greek oregano
8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
2-3 tbsp. feta cheese
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 square of puff pastry

Thaw puff pastry for a couple hours, then roll it out and place it in a deep-dish pie pan. Mix together all the other ingredients, and toss in a few extra seasonings if you like (salt, pepper, any of your favourite Epicure dip mixes). Bake at 400 F for about 45 minutes.
Update: I just tried a piece of this. It's delicious. Turns out I do like quiche! I think it's because there's bacon in it. My daughter loved it too... she had two pieces. My son said "bleck" because there were green things. So he ate one of the wraps.... sans tomato, and hummus. But he didn't finish the chicken or the cucumber, so basically he ate some plain tortilla for supper.)

I'm pretty sure the kids won't eat this

Today on the lunch menu: Bean Salad with Mint and Chicken Strips. I know the kids won't eat this, but I certainly will. I didn't follow Cat Cora's recipe exactly, because I have an amazing bean salad recipe that my friend's mom gave me years ago, and it's the only one I like. I didn't have all the ingredients for it, so here's my modified version:

1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 c. frozen corn, cooked and rinsed with cold water
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/8 c. olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh mint, finely chopped
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard

I usually add red pepper, celery, garlic, hot sauce, a can of kidney beans, and a bit more red wine vinegar. It's such a pretty, colourful salad. My mom adds green beans to it, which I think are disgusting and it totally ruins the whole salad. Sorry Mom.

So here's the finished product, with some grilled chicken strips (marinated in lemon juice and served with some leftover tzaziki):
This was very tasty! I love anything with lemon and mint in it, and the tzaziki was a nice touch. I gave the kids chicken nuggets and corn for lunch, and put a little dish of bean salad next to their plates. They said it was yucky before they even tasted it, and after I made them pick out one bean to try, their hypothesis was confirmed. Oh well, more lemony-minty goodness for me.

Today I also tried the Frozen Yogurt Banana Pops and the Bacon & Egg Tortilla Wraps. I really liked the banana pops, but my daughter thought they were so-so (and my son won't touch yogurt with a 10 foot pole.) I sent the tortilla wrap for my daughter's lunch, so hopefully she likes it. I didn't make it the way the recipe suggests... I just cooked 2 egg whites in my handy-dandy microwave egg cooker, and put crumbled bacon and grated cheese in the tortilla. She loves all those ingredients, so I think it's safe to say she'll like it.

Tonight we're trying out out Greek Cinnamon Stewed Chicken. I've had bad luck with cinnamon-flavoured stews in the past, but I'm being adventurous this week, so I'll give it a whirl and tell you all about it later.