IHOP Pancake Recipe

This last Tuesday was Pancake Day. Thanks to Josh for letting me know. I was able to celebrate with a yummy breakfast for dinner. This is my favorite recipe for making pancakes. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.

2. Mix all of the ingredients til combined.

3. Melt a little bit of butter in the pan. (I just spray with Pam)
   

4. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles.

5. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes.

6. They should be golden brown.

7. Cook the pancakes on the other side until they are also golden brown.

8. Enjoy.
   

9. Options - I will usually use splenda instead of sugar. Also I like these with whole wheat flour, a little cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice), and vanilla. This way makes a really yummy spice version.

10. Also if you don't have buttermilk, don't worry. I usually pour 2T lemon juice into my measuring cup. Then fill it up to the 1 1/4 cup mark with milk. Let sit for 5 minutes. And you have homemade buttermilk. You can also use vinegar instead of lemon juice. But I just can't bring myself to try that.

Don't wait till next Pancake Day to try these.

McArthur Sugar Cookies

This is a sugar cookie recipe that Angelic got from Janie McArthur (Gina's mom) years back. I just made some for Valentine's Day. So I thought that I would share the recipe.

1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. baking powder
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and mix well.

Mix all dry ingredients in separate bowl. Then gradually add to the wet ingredients. When all mixed put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Roll out on a floured surface. Cut and cook @ 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Angelic uses cream cheese frosting. I prefer a buttercream with almond extract. YUM!!

Lion House Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
• 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine
• 1 egg
• 5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour, or bread flour

Method:

In large bowl or electric mixer, combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour).

Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. (This helps prevent dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise in warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Scrape dough out onto floured board. Turn dough over so it is floured on both sides; gently flatten to about 1 inch thick. With rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle about 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick. Brush with melted butter. With pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut dough in half to make two strips about 4 inches wide. Make cuts through strips of dough every 2 inches, making about 18 pieces of dough.

Starting with short end, roll up one piece of dough, with butter on the inside. Place roll on parchment-lined pan with other short end down on the paper. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Be sure all rolls face the same direction on baking pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light to medium golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Serve with Honey Butter. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls.

Helpful Tips for Making Rolls

Always add flour gradually and keep dough as soft as you can handle. A soft dough will produce a lighter roll.

It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour called for in the recipe—add only enough flour to make dough manageable.

To shorten dough's rising time, use one of these methods:

1) When dough is thoroughly mixed, oil bowl and cover dough with plastic wrap. Fill sink or larger bowl with about 2 inches of hot water or enough water to come about half or three-fourths the way up outside the dough bowl. Place bowl of dough in bowl of water and allow to rise until double in size.

2) Just before mixing dough, turn oven on lowest possible temperature. Place a pan of hot water on bottom oven rack. When dough is thoroughly mixed, place in oiled bowl. Cover dough with plastic wrap; place in oven. Turn oven off, shut oven door, and allow dough to rise until double in size, about 50 to 60 minutes. Shape or cut into desired rolls. Place rolls on greased or parchment-lined pans and allow to rise until double in size. Bake according to recipe.

Brush top of rolls with butter when first taken from oven.

How to consistently make attractive, good-tasting rolls? Practice! Practice! Practice!

Addictive Caramel Corn Puffs

Addictive Caramel Corn Puffs

2 sticks butter
2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Karo (light)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 package Cheetos butter flavored corn puffs

In a large saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar and Karo to a boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in vanilla, salt and baking soda. (This will cause the mixture to bubble up.) Pour the corn puffs into a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the corn puffs and stir until well coated. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Turn and stir every 15 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack. To store, place in a sealed air tight container.

side note: if you prefer a more chewy caramel corn to the crunchy just skip the cooking @ 250 degrees step. I usually only cook mine for 30 minutes. (2 - 15 minutes sessions)

Enjoy, but please use with caution. This is extremely addictive.

No Knead Bread: so easy a 4-yr old can make it!

So, let’s start. 3 cups of bread flour in a big bowl.
(last time I made it I used 1cup wheat & 2cups white)

1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast.

1 teaspoon of table salt

Add 1-1/2 cups of lukewarm water.

STIR
(you can use your hands, a spoon, or whatever)

cover the dough and let sit on counter for 12 to 18 hours

After sleeping, the no knead bread dough should look like this:


Dump out on floured surface.

Wet your hands. This will prevent the very sticky dough from sticking to your hands. If you find dough sticking to your hands, wet again. Why not flour your hands? You could, but you want to keep the flour: water ratio pretty even. Since we are adding flour to the surface, I balance it out by wetting my hands. It is the high water content that makes this bread so deliciously light and the crust very crisp. With wet hands, grab the dough and fold over all ends towards the middle. Turn dough blob over so that you get a nice, smooth, tight surface. Try to tuck the dough ends under to get that taut surface.

Gently move dough onto a floured towel. Cover. Let nap for 2 hours. It should puff up nicely and double in size.

A half hour before the nap ends, slip covered pot into your oven. Use a 5-qt or larger cast iron, ceramic, Pyrex, stainless steel or enamel pot. Crank up the heat to 450F. Let it pre-heat for 30 minutes or longer.

When the oven is heated up throw the dough into your pot. Slap on the lid and cook for 30 minutes covered. Then uncover and bake further for 15-20 minutes. To check – you can either tap the bread (should sound low, hollow, like a drum) or take its temperature (should be 210F in middle).

Remove and let cool. Enjoy with your choice of butter or margarine.
This goes really well with soups. Or would make a yummy sandwich.

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

I was looking at different blogs (http://lichtyfamilyblog.blogspot.com/?expref=next-blog)and I found this recipe.

14 ounces white chocolate
Dried cranberries
Sliced almonds
Crushed pretzels
Mini M&M's-red and green
Holiday sprinkles
Crushed candy canes

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. (I used my Silpat)
2. Place the white chocolate in a metal bowl. Put the metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir the chocolate frequently with a rubber spatula. When the chocolate is smooth and fully melted, remove the bowl from the heat. Wipe off the bowl if there is any condensation.
3. Let the white chocolate cool for a minute or two. Stir to make sure it doesn't harden. Pour the chocolate onto the baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Spread it with a spatula until it is about 3/8 inch thick.
4. Sprinkle the toppings over the white chocolate. I did this in sections-a section for the cranberry almond, a section for the pretzel, M&M, sprinkles, and a section for the candy canes.
5. Let the chocolate cool and harden. I put the pan in the refrigerator. It was ready in about 30-45 minutes.
7. Once the chocolate is set and hard, break bark into pieces.

Turkey Chili Recipe from The Biggest Loser

1 (20-ounce) package Jennie-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 bell pepper, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (optional)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
2 (16-ounce) cans low-sodium whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 ounce tomato sauce


In a large stockpot, combine turkey, onion, bell pepper, carrots, garlic, jalapeño peppers, and spices.

Cook mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until turkey is no longer pink. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in beans and cilantro. Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Calories 220
Fat calories 20
Total Fat g 2.5
Sat Fat g 0.5
Chol mg 40
Sodium mg 190
Total Carb g 23
Fiber g 8
Sugars g 6
Protein g 29