Buttermilk Pancakes

I am going to make a bold statement.

It isn't a pancake unless it has Buttermilk in it.

Well, that isn't necessarily true...I have had good pancakes without buttermilk... but they are not as fluffy and as tasty as pancakes that do have this wonderful ingredient in it.

These are my FAVOURITE pancakes. I added blueberries and it was perfect. The next time I made them, I substituted 1 cup of flour for 1 cup of whole wheat flour and though they were still good, but they were not great as the original recipe.

For all my wonderful friends who make boxed pancakes (GASP!) STOP RIGHT NOW AND MAKE THESE!!! You will never go back to boxed after these.

Buttermilk Pancakes (these make a lot of pancakes, I freeze the rest)

3 Cups of Flour
3 tbps of White Sugar
3 tsp of Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
3/4 tsp of Salt
3 cups of Buttermilk
1/2 cup of Milk
3 Eggs
1/3 cup of Butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce (Gluten Free)

This recipe was THE BOMB!!! 

We made this for my son's advent calendar activity that he earned that day. He was in heaven.

I made boxed fudge brownies, added vanilla bean ice cream and then topped it off with this fudge sauce. I thought my body was going to start vibrating from the sugar rush. I even made homemade whipped cream, but we were so eager to eat it, that I completely forgot to put it on top! 

This would be great idea for a birthday party if you wanted to do something different then a cake. One year, we had a Sunday bar for my son's birthday and I wish I had this recipe then. It is better then any store bought Hot Fudge Sauce.

NOTE: this recipe can last in the fridge for 2 weeks and you can just reheat it in the microwave in 30 sec intervals.

Homemade hot fudge gluten free

Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 4 squares (4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
• 1½ cups sugar
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Place the butter and chocolate squares in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring with a whisk, until they melt. Turn off heat.
2. Whisk in the sugar and salt.
3. Whisk in the evaporated milk and heat over medium heat. Cook at a gentle simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spatula, about 12-15 minutes. AKA a freaking long time. It is important that it is a low heat, but it still needs to simmer or you will be whisking FOREVER without it thickening up.
4. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
5. Serve within an hour, or cover and place in refrigerator. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake and Whipped Cream

Well, better late then never!

I have been absent for a few months for one very important reason...I MOVED! 

I won't get into the boring details like the endless days of people coming to view my home, finding a renter and having for 4 days to move, moving in with my parents and then moving out of my parents...but none of that matters because I am finally in my dream home and in my dream neighborhood.

Since I had to spend all my time keeping my house clean for viewings (and they always wanted to view it at supper time) and then having to spend all my time packing....my meal plans went out the door. However, we are finally settled so I am hoping to get back on the wagon.

I am going to post 3 new great recipes and then in the next few days I am going to post my top 10 recipes from the past year.

This recipe for Pumpkin cheesecake is more of a thanksgiving/fall dessert, but I think it can be eaten any time of the year. This was my mothers request for her birthday dessert and we are all very happy with how it turned out. I also made homemade Whipped Cream to put on top.


Pumpkin Cheesecake (not a great picture but I didn't have much time while I was serving guests)

Ingredients

Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Meal Plan Oct 15 - 18

Meatless Monday - Homemade Crepes

Tuesday - Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

Wednesday - Maple Baked Chicken, thanks to the recommendation of my friend at Mixing up Meals

Thursday - Pad Thai

Friday - Make your own pizza night

Creamy Dijon Chicken

Creamy Dijon Chicken

I have been in a Dijon mustard mood lately. I have made several recipes with this ingredient and I have been using Honey Dijon Dressing on my salads. Soooo yummy.

I loved this recipe and it was super fast and easy to make. I will definitely be making this again. I made it with a side of potatoes, but I think it would be good on some kind of Lemon/Garlic Parmesan Pasta.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (Left whole, cubed or flattened)2 garlic cloves, crushed
250ml cream
2tsp Dijon mustard
1tsp wholegrain mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper to tastefresh Parsley to serve
olive oil for frying

• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken **I seasoned the chicken with some dry parsley, basil, salt, pepper and lemon pepper** until cooked through and browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Sautee the garlic until fragrant and softened.
• Add the cream and mustards and allow to simmer and reduce for 3 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and place the chicken back into the sauce.
• Season to taste and serve with the starch of your choice and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Meal Plan Oct 7 - 11

Monday - Chili

Meatless Tuesday - Huevos Rancheros

Wednesday - Creamy Dijon Chicken, roasted potatoes and raw veggies

Thursday - Mac and Cheese with leftover chili in it

Friday - Went out to Ryan Duffy's for my Father in Law's 60th birthday

Saturday - Pumpkin Cheesecake for my parents Thanksgiving dinner

Vegetable and Barley Soup

This is my second recipe I am blogging about this week. I could blog about the recipe to the frozen meat pie....but once it had thawed, I realized it was APPLE pie. Good thing I had back up! We ended up eating Friday nights planned meal instead....plus yummy dessert!

So, this soup was another BIG keeper. It is almost identical to my tortellini soup, all I had to do was make a few adjustments. I added celery and barley and I replaced the chicken broth with vegetable broth. I made this the night before and I just added the spinach before serving. This would be a fantastic freezer meal.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 cups of chopped onion
4 Garlic cloves, minced
12 cups/3 L of Vegetable Stock (I used Organic)
14 oz can of Diced Tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cup of chopped carrot
1 1/2 cup chopped Zucchini with peel
1 cup of chopped peppers (I used red, yellow and orange)
1 cup of chopped celery
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp of Dried Rosemary
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 - 1 cup of Barley (I used 1/2 cup origianlly and it wasn't enought to my liking)
3 cups of fresh Spinach leaves

Instructions:

1. Heat cooking oil in Dutch Oven or large pot on medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 5- 10 minutes, stirring often, until onion is softened.

2. Add Barley, veggies, broth and spices. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook until Barley is fully cooked. I cooked mine for almost an hour. 
3. Add Spinach, stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Discard Bay leaves.