Pancake Problem

The great pancake problem...how to keep the first ones warm while the last ones cook?

J and I both had the morning free at home so I made snowman pancakes (of course), and it made me think of my poor mom eating last by herself because we were all finished or worse eating that cold first pancake no one wants. Not fair!

Anyone have any tips/tricks?

While we ponder one of life's greatest problems, here's my favorite basic pancake recipe!

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs white sugar
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbs melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together
2. Add milk, egg, then butter* and mix until smooth (some lumps ok)
3.  Cook then eat! 

*I add the butter slowly so that it doesn't cook the egg.  No one wants scrambled egg clumps inside their pancake.

Happy Stretchy Pants Day (aka day after Thanksgiving)!

Good morning! Are you all wearing leggings today?  I am! I'll probably be wearing them the rest of the week too.  Who needs skinny jeans, it's officially the holiday season! Eat, drink & be merry!*

How was your Thanksgiving?  It was my first Thanksgiving with J's family, so it was a little nerve-wracking even though it went great.  It's just hard integrating into someone elses family traditions, and letting go of your own.  Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday, I don't dislike it, but it was a little easier to let go of my family traditions for Thanksgiving and embrace his family food fest.  

I thought everyone had the same food for Thanksgiving, and maybe it's a Greek thing, but I was a surprised (and glutinously a little sad) that there where no mashed potatoes and gravy, instead they had roasted potatoes, still delish.  Or maybe I just missed my own family, so the lack of creamy potatoes was a reminder of how far away everyone is.  Big events always make me want to call my family a million times a day.  I think I talked to my dad 3 or 4 times on Thanksgiving.

Anyway, back to food...the stuffing was rice rather than bread, which again, was so incredible, but I was shocked at how much heavier my family Thanksgiving is.  They had a ton of food too, an enormous turkey, lamb, a gazillion veggie sides, but for the most part they were veggie based and light.  Maybe the heavy meal is an American thing.  The good news was that after I ate, I was stuffed but I didn't feel like I had a brick in my stomach, lol.  Maybe it's why Greeks live so long.  

Since it was my first Thanksgiving with them, I had to make a good impression so I was definitely agonizing over what to contribute the entire week leading up to Thanksgiving.  I knew I was going to make my famous rolls, but I originally planned to make individual apple bourbon pot pies. That idea was scratched when the guest list kept changing.  I was so worried I wouldn't make enough, or I'd make a lot and no one would eat it.  So I went with a pear with candied lemon peel pie.  Both turned out incredible, but again, bread isn't the focus of the meal like it is at my house, and only a few people ate rolls with dinner...more left overs for me.  

The pie was a Martha Stewart recipe, and it was surprisingly easy...except the lemon peel candying, which isn't terribly difficult, it was just time consuming.  I think in the future I'll make a big batch of the lemon peel and then save it in an airtight container ahead of time.  Then the pie will be a breeze.  Also, Martha had the pie served with this fancy butter crust, but I don't have a food processor, and didn't want to chance it not turning out, so I just used a pre-made Pillsbury one, and it tasted amazing.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

But it's kind of beautiful and the perfect day for my last day of my job, and for kicking off an unemployed holiday season. I'm hoping I can keep my brain from worrying too much and just think of all of the extra time I'll have with family and friends.

Since it was cold and snowy I made soup. 

I really love Smitten Kitchen's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe, so I more or less just followed that. She's right, the browning of the chicken in the pan really gives the soup another layer of flavor, and once you've tried it, you won't go back to the old just boil it method. The only change I started making was to cook noodles separately. Unfortunately, you do lose a little by not having those noodles soak up the broth directly, but we never finish the whole batch at once, and then our noodles get soggy sitting in it. So now I boil them separately until they're almost done before draining them, then adding the broth and veggies and finishing the cooking the rest of the way.

Ingredients:
Serves 4
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-pound chicken, in parts or 3 pounds chicken pieces of your choice
8 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large carrot, diced (1/3-inch)
1 medium parsnip, diced (1/3-inch) (optional)
1 large celery stalk, diced (1/3-inch)
3 ounces dried egg noodles, I prefer wide ones
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley
 

Prepare broth: In a large (5-quart) heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes, until beginning to take on color at edges. Add the chicken pieces (if too crowded, can do this in two batches), making little wells in the onions so that the parts can touch the bottom of the pan directly. Cook chicken parts until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add water, bay leaf, table salt and some freshly ground black pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and skim any the surface of the pot. Simmer pot gently, partially covered, for 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken parts to a plate to cool a bit before handling. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl (ideally, with a spout) and pour soup through it.

To finish and serve: Add diced vegetables and simmer them until they’re firm-tender, about 5 minutes. Add dried noodles and cook them according to package directions, usually 6 to 9 minutes. While these simmer, remove the skin and chop the flesh from a couple pieces of chicken, only what you’re going to use. You won’t need all of it in the soup. Save the surplus for another meal later in the week...tacos, salad, etc...

Once noodles have cooked, add chicken pieces just until they have rewarmed through (30 seconds) and ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with dill or parsley, dig in and let it fix everything that went wrong with your day.

MMMM...

Easiest Cobbler Ever!

Over the weekend I had some peaches, some blueberries, and some time so I decided to make a delicious cobbler.  It was so easy to make and didn't last long at all. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ripe (but still firm) peaches
• 2 cups blueberries
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 2 tbs sugar