Okay, that's enough sarcasm. I need to get in a dose of it every once in awhile.
The real reason for this post is to share two of our family's favorite breakfast recipes. The first is buttermilk pancakes. Not the healthiest, but oh so yummy!
It's from The Joy of Cooking a cookbook that my Auntie P gave to me when Darrell and I were married.
Buttermilk Pancakes
Prepare and preheat your griddle. If you are using an electric griddle, make sure it heats evenly. I had one that would be extra hot around the element and barely warm in other areas, so I switched to a non-stick skillet; I am very pleased with the results.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees if you intend to prepare the entire batch and then serve. They can be kept warm for up to 20 mins. Simply place them on a heatproof serving platter and cover loosely with foil. You can also butter them before placing in the oven.
Whisk together in a large bowl:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 TBL sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Whisk together in another bowl:
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 TBL butter (recipe calls for unsalted but I generally just use whatever I have)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional for this recipe but when left out, something is missing in my opinion)
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until combined. DO NOT overly mix the batter, this does something to the gluten (I could look it up but I am being lazy and Audra is on my lap) and creates a more dense, stiff pancake. We like them light and fluffy.
At this stage you can also add in 1/2 to 1/4 cup of diced or chopped fruit, chocolate chips, bacon, cheese...the options are endless. I stick to the traditional pancakes, nothing added.
Lightly butter, oil, or spray the cooking surface.
Spoon 1/3 cup of batter onto griddle, nudging into rounds. The best way to pour pancakes is to ladle them. But if you don't have a ladle, just ensure that the batter is poured steadily for more uniform cakes.
When bubbles begin to pop on the surface of the pancake, turn and cook until the other side is lightly browned.
Serve with your favorite topping!
**Note** The doneness of the pancake is really a matter of preference so cook them to your liking. My grandfather prefers "light" pancakes that are barely browned.
Darrell, the kids, and I love this pancake recipe. I have tried others but this one is consistently a hit!
Now, this next recipe is from White Lily Flour. It's a Southern baking flour that is known for producing extraordinarily light and airy biscuits, cakes, etc. The flour called for in this recipe is "Self-Rising" and I imagine that any brand of self-rising flour will work. I pulled this directly off of the White Lily website. Here is the link if you prefer to go there yourself:
http://www.whitelily.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=3439
Bacon and Egg Breakfast Muffins
Prep Time: 15 minCook Time: 25 minMakes: 12 servings
Ingredients:
| • | Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray |
| • | 2 cups White Lily® Self-Rising Flour |
| • | 2 tablespoons sugar |
| • | 1 teaspoon dry mustard |
| • | 3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese |
| • | 1 large egg |
| • | 3/4 cup milk |
| • | 1/4 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil |
| • | 2 large hard boiled eggs, diced |
| • | 4 slices cooked bacon, drained and crumbled |
Instructions:
| 1. | HEAT oven to 400°F. Lightly coat 12 muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray. |
| 2. | COMBINE flour, sugar and dry mustard in medium bowl. Stir in cheese. Make a well in the center. Whisk together egg, milk and oil in small bowl. Add all at once to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. |
| 3. | FILL prepared muffin cups 1/3 full using about half the batter. Combine diced hard boiled egg and cooked crumbled bacon. Divide evenly into muffin cups on top of batter. Top with remaining batter. Muffin cups should be about 2/3 full. |
| 4. | BAKE 20 to 25 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned. Serve hot. |
Serve the muffins with a yogurt parfait or a few pieces of fruit. It's also great on the go.
I hope your family enjoys these recipes as much as I do. I somewhat feel like I am "cheating" because they aren't original recipes, but hey, we love them anyway.
In case you are wondering, we are nicely settled into our new house. The weather changes a lot but is overall, cold. We have had several days of rain but today the sun is shining. Being homeowner's is very exciting so far. There is so much we can do with our house! I really like it here a lot, more than I care to admit to be honest. The pace of life and business is very different; people are on their own timetables and don't seemed concerned with the fact that you are a paying customer. In addition to that, I will have to grow accustomed to the speed limit. It takes twice as long to get 15 miles as it does in California because of the speed limit on the ONLY highway that gets you anywhere here. Nevertheless, we are enjoying our new home.
Baby "boy" Hall is due in a little over 20 weeks! It is going by very quickly. I have an ultrasound and my first doctor's appointment here on the 15th so pray all goes well with that.
Bye for now from North Carolina!
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