Paula Deen. Just thinking her name means 2 things...
1. Stock up on butter
2. stay away from the scale
I have a love/ hate relationship with her. I love that her food tastes good and her recipes are pretty easy to understand. I hate that her food is horrible for you and the recipes, while easy to understand, are not always easy to execute.
I was in the mood for BFD (Breakfast For Dinner) this week so I scheduled in a recipe that I had ripped from a magazine in January of 2010. It's from the "Jack's Corner" page of the magazine...it's usually a recipe that is very kid friendly.
The Recipe: Banana Split Pancakes
Ingredients
Pancakes:
2 C all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C whole milk
2 lg. eggs, separated
1/4 C butter, melted
1 C banana, mashed
1/2 C miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
whipped cream
maraschino cherries
Hot Pineapple Syrup:
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks
1 T cornstarch
2 T butter
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C pancake syrup
1 t vanilla extract
Preparation
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, combine milk, egg yolks, and melted butter.
3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.
4. Stir in mashed banana.
5. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
6. Add chocolate chips, stirring gently to combine.
7. Spoon about 1/4 C batter for each pancake onto hot griddle or in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook pancakes for 1 minute. turn pancakes, and cook for 1 minute.
8. Repeat procedure with remaining batter. Serve immediately with Hot Pineapple Syrup. Garnish with whipped cream and cherries, if desired.
Hot Pineapple Syrup:
1. In a small bowl, combine 3 T of pineapple juice and cornstarch, stirring to combine; set aside.
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add drained pineapple, remaining juice and brown sugar.
3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, and simmer for 1 minute, or until thickened.
5. Remove from heat; stir in pancake syrup and vanilla. Serve immediately.
The Verdict
These are yummy. They are a pain in the but to make...this recipe creates a lot of dishes and it seems like everything needs to be done at once. I am comfortable in my kitchen but I don't have 4 hands so it was a bit of a challenge.
The highlight of the recipe is DEFINITELY the Pineapple Syrup...seriously, it's so good that you just want to drink it. I find it refreshing to have a syrup that is so flavorful that you don't need to put a speck of butter on the pancakes and this syrup definitely does that!
I used just under a cup of banana...any more and it would have over-powered the pancakes.
Word of caution...be VERY careful in the actual cooking of the pancakes. Keep the griddle closer to 300 otherwise they will singe on the outside and the inside won't get cooked. Also...the batter will be VERY thick...you only need about 1/4 C to make a 4"-6" pancake. And as you put it on the griddle try to spread it around as thin as you can...Don't worry, it will fluff up. If you put in on thick, the insides will not cook.
Lastly...these are fun.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Turkey Taco Salad
It's Mexican Monday at the Bussan house! My favorite "Mexican" dish is just a simple taco salad...it's super-quick and tastes good! It's about as basic as you get.
The Recipe: Turkey Taco Salad
Ingredients
1 lb. Ground Turkey
Penzey's Taco Seasoning
Romaine Lettuce
Shredded Cheese - Four Cheese Mexican Blend
Taco Sauce
Salsa
Tostitos Scoops
Preparation
1. Cook turkey in skillet with Taco Seasoning. I tend to shake the seasoning over the raw meat and cook it right in.
2. Chop and clean lettuce. Place in the bottom of a deep casserole dish.
3. Pour warm meat over lettuce. Layer Shredded Cheese over meat.
4. Spoon out of dish, serve over bed of Tostito Scoops.
5. Top with Salsa and/ or Taco sauce as desired.
Yum.
Yum.
Two things that make this recipe fabulous...
1. Penzey's Taco Seasoning.
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeystacoseas.html
2. The Salad Genius.
No...I am not kidding. This thing lives up to the hype. You place what you want chopped over the grid and smash down the lid...BOOM! The lettuce drops right into the bowl. It's...well...Genius! (Sharp as heck...I've got the scars to prove it!) I chopped 4 hearts of romaine tonight in about 4 minutes flat. This thing rocks. http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Chopper-6-piece-Preparation-System/dp/B003STLBZ8
The Recipe: Turkey Taco Salad
1 lb. Ground Turkey
Penzey's Taco Seasoning
Romaine Lettuce
Shredded Cheese - Four Cheese Mexican Blend
Taco Sauce
Salsa
Tostitos Scoops
Preparation
1. Cook turkey in skillet with Taco Seasoning. I tend to shake the seasoning over the raw meat and cook it right in.
2. Chop and clean lettuce. Place in the bottom of a deep casserole dish.
3. Pour warm meat over lettuce. Layer Shredded Cheese over meat.
4. Spoon out of dish, serve over bed of Tostito Scoops.
5. Top with Salsa and/ or Taco sauce as desired.
Yum.
Yum.
Two things that make this recipe fabulous...
1. Penzey's Taco Seasoning.
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeystacoseas.html
2. The Salad Genius.
No...I am not kidding. This thing lives up to the hype. You place what you want chopped over the grid and smash down the lid...BOOM! The lettuce drops right into the bowl. It's...well...Genius! (Sharp as heck...I've got the scars to prove it!) I chopped 4 hearts of romaine tonight in about 4 minutes flat. This thing rocks. http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Chopper-6-piece-Preparation-System/dp/B003STLBZ8
Banana Bread
Banana Bread. I'm honestly not a fan of it but the husband loves it. I am so NOT a fan of it that I can't even tell you how it tastes...because I don't even want to eat it. However...Dave has given it his seal of approval so I will share. This recipe is incredibly easy...impossible to screw up!
The Recipe: Banana Bread
Ingredients
1 C Sugar
1/4 C Shortening
1 Egg
3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
2 C Flour
1/2 t Salt
1 t Baking soda
1 t Baking Powder
Dash of Nutmeg
Dash of Cinnamon
Vanilla Sugar
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Combine ingredients in order listed, mixing thoroughly after each new ingredient added.
3. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Sprinkle Vanilla Sugar generously over top.
4. Bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove from pan to let cool.
The Verdict
Smells good...the husband says it tastes good and tends to eat the entire loaf all by himself so it can't be too bad!
This recipe makes a very dense bread...it is more of a dessert-y type bread.
A couple of notes...
1. I use really ripe bananas because they give a better flavor. Basically...they are best when you are just about to toss them.
2. For a twist...I have made this as a Chocolate-Banana bread. Substitute one container of Chocolate Pudding ( about 1/2 to 3/4 Cup...I usually just use a pre-made Snak-pack or swiss miss type) for one of the bananas. Leave out the nutmeg and cinnamon. It's yummy and has just a hint of chocolate to it! You can add some chocolate chips if you want a bit more bite.
3. I use Penzey's Vanilla Sugar on the top. It gives it a nice sweet crust as it bakes.
The Recipe: Banana Bread
Ingredients
1 C Sugar
1/4 C Shortening
1 Egg
3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
2 C Flour
1/2 t Salt
1 t Baking soda
1 t Baking Powder
Dash of Nutmeg
Dash of Cinnamon
Vanilla Sugar
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Combine ingredients in order listed, mixing thoroughly after each new ingredient added.
3. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Sprinkle Vanilla Sugar generously over top.
4. Bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove from pan to let cool.
The Verdict
Smells good...the husband says it tastes good and tends to eat the entire loaf all by himself so it can't be too bad!
This recipe makes a very dense bread...it is more of a dessert-y type bread.
A couple of notes...
1. I use really ripe bananas because they give a better flavor. Basically...they are best when you are just about to toss them.
2. For a twist...I have made this as a Chocolate-Banana bread. Substitute one container of Chocolate Pudding ( about 1/2 to 3/4 Cup...I usually just use a pre-made Snak-pack or swiss miss type) for one of the bananas. Leave out the nutmeg and cinnamon. It's yummy and has just a hint of chocolate to it! You can add some chocolate chips if you want a bit more bite.
3. I use Penzey's Vanilla Sugar on the top. It gives it a nice sweet crust as it bakes.
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