It's nearly Thanksgiving - time for us to look back and reflect on everything that we are so thankful for. It's therapeutic for me to sit down and reflect on my blessings. It helps me to re-prioritize when my life gets chaotic and overwhelming. Now that my list is written and my priorities are back in order, it's time to let all of those special people in my life know just how much they are loved AND since my love language is food - I think a special breakfast is in order. Cinnamon roll pancakes sound like a good way to say "I Love You" don't you think? Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Pancake Mix (You can substitute a box pancake mix if you like.) 1 cup flour 1 cup buttermilk 1 Tablespoon sugar 1/8 cup sour cream ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 ½ Tablespoons butter, melted ¼ teaspoon baking soda Cinnamon Swirl 1/2 cup butter, melted 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze 4 Tablespoons butter 2 ounces cream cheese 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add to dry ingredients and stir gently. Let batter rest 10 minutes. (For some reason this picture did not turn out but I'm sure you've seen pancake batter before.) Melt a small amount of butter in the skillet. Use an ice cream scoop to drop circles of batter onto the hot skillet. Squeeze a drizzle of cinnamon in the middle of each pancake. If you're using a bag, snip off the corner and squeeze the cinnamon mixture out of the bag onto the pancake. Let cook until bubbles form on top. Flip and finish cooking. Serve pancakes with a drizzle of cream cheese glaze. (or syrup) Nothing says "you are loved" better than warm, gooey, cinnamon oozing from a fluffy buttermilk pancake smothered in sweet cream cheese frosting. These pancakes are sure to warm your family from the inside out. Hope you enjoy.
Ciao!
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If you haven't used the Walmart pick up service yet - You need to jump on board. This is probably the best thing to happen to grocery shopping since self check out lanes were invented. You REALLY need to check into this FREE service. If you would have told me six months ago that I would be promoting Walmart - I would have never believed you. And yet, here I am - telling all of you to go to Walmart.com and start shopping. I could get really used to doing my grocery shopping on the computer while I'm sitting in a rocking chair on my front porch. The process of using the Pickup service is simple. Number One: Shop It's way easier than you think to browse through the items on my grocery list and select the brands and sizes that I want to order on WalMart.com. I can even choose whether or not I want an item to be substituted with a different brand if the one that I selected is unavailable. Number Two: Pay After I complete my shopping I can pay for my items online with a credit card. Number Three: Select a PIckup Time Choose a one hour time slot to pick up your grocery order. If you need to pick up your order in an hour - you can pay a 4.95 fee and get your order in ONE HOUR!! Number Four: Pick Up Your Order Fifteen minutes prior to my designated pickup time, the super awesome WalMart associate calls me to let me know that my order is ready. When I pull into one of the designated Pickup Up parking spots in the parking lot, I call the number on the sign and within 5 minutes, that same awesome WalMart associate appears with my order. She hands me my bag of produce first and asks me to look over it to make sure everything is perfect. Next she hands me my fresh meats and insists that I inspect them for quality. Meanwhile, she is loading the rest of my order into my trunk. She also shows me any substitutions that were made and then prints out a receipt for my order. Now if they only had a service where I could bring someone home with me to put all of my groceries away. Now for the bad news - this service is not available at every Walmart. I drive 22 miles to the nearest Walmart with Pickup service. (Totally worth it by the way.) Now onto our menu for the week. Monday: Turkey Lasagna Columbus Day!!! We are planning some Fall Family Fun activities so it's the perfect night for a crock pot dinner. Tuesday: Pork Butt Ive got a new recipe for this pork butt which will later be transformed into Cubano Sandwiches. I love a cook once - eat twice recipe. Wednesday: Barbecue Chicken on the Grill Maybe it's a little optimistic but 'm hoping for some nice cool Fall grilling weather. We'll see. Thursday: Steak Salad You'll be surprised at who will eat a salad if you top it with steak and ranch dressing. Friday: Chicken Avocado Burgers Fall is perfect for burgers. Saturday: Cedar Planked Shrimp Sunday: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Sunday dinner is always breakfast for dinner night. So there you have it - our menu for the week. With any luck - I'll be able to stick to it. I hope that you all have a fantastic Fall week. Ciao! Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering just looking at this picture. This salmon was sooooo good. Not to mention that toasted orzo salad with fresh herbs. I have to say that my dinners hardly every LOOK as scrumptious as they taste but this one really did live up to it's beautiful presentation. I am loving having a stash of fresh caught Alaskan salmon in my freezer. It makes dinner so simple when I can just pull out a salmon filet, add a simple sauce and then put it on the grill. Honey Dijon Glazed Salmon 2 Tablespoons honey 1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 salmon filets 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Broil 6 minutes. Turn salmon over. Brush with remaining glaze and broil until cooked through. Serve. This month was all about uber-simple and super fast dinner recipes. There was not a lot of extra time to get dinner on the table. Who am I kidding? Most days, I have about a 20 minute window to make dinner, get everyone fed and the dishes cleaned up. OK, so that might be a little bit of an exaggeration but I didn't have time for long, complicated dinner recipes - simple and easy all the way. I am so happy that quick doesn't have to mean plain or bland. This salmon recipe is proof that simple and quick can be delicious. I hope you enjoy.
Ciao! During wrestling season I rely out my crock pot a whole lot more than I do other times of the year. My crock pot is a lifesaver on those days when the only time that I have to prepare a meal is at 6:00 in the morning. One of our crock pot family favorites is turkey lasagna. Prepared with spinach and ground turkey instead of ground beef, it's a slightly healthier lasagna than most traditional recipes. Using no-boil lasagna noodles makes it super simpler to put together. Spicy Turkey Lasagna 1 pound ground turkey 2 cups mozzarella cheese 1 teaspoon oregano 1 package frozen spinach ½ teaspoon salt 18 lasagna noodles ¼ teaspoon red pepper 26 ounces pasta sauce 15 ounces ricotta cheese ½ cup water
Repeat. Finish with a layer of noodles, followed by a layer of sauce, remaining cheese and pour water over lasagna. Cook on low for 4 ½ hours. Slice and serve. It seems like lately, we are either getting ready for, heading to or heading home from a wrestling meet or tournament somewhere. Last weekend we were at the State Tournament in Macon, Georgia. The team came in 4th. I couldn't be more proud of this group of boys. So thankful for my crock pot on busy wrestling weekends.
Ciao! I don't crave Mexican food very often but when I do ... I want really GOOD Mexican food. A taco from a fast food restaurant or a plate full of soggy nachos isn't going to cut it. I crave the good stuff - roasted chicken, homemade red sauce, fresh peppers and vegetables, colby Jack cheese - that's MY version of really great Mexican food. The last time that I craved Mexican food was about a month ago so I decided to try a new recipe for Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas. It met all of my criteria for really great Mexican and I had most of the ingredients that I needed already in my pantry - bonus. These turned out to be a great way to satisfy my Mexican craving and as an added bonus - I ended up with some leftover filling to put in the freezer so I'm prepared for my next craving. Who doesn't love having an extra meal or two in the freezer for busy nights? Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas 1 Tablespoon canola oil 1 onion, chopped 1/2 poblano pepper, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1 cup chicken stock 15 ounce can tomato sauce 3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded 1 can black beans, drained 1 cup cheddar cheese 1 cup mozzarella cheese tortillas (corn or flour) sour cream, avocado, salsa Heat oil in skillet. Add onion, poblanos and garlic. Saute 4 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin and oregano. Add stock and tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Combine chicken, beans, and half of the sauce. Add half of the cheese. Toss to combine.
Bake 30 minutes at 350. Serve with salsa or sour cream or avocado or cilantro. (or any combination of the above.) I scooped the extra filling into a ziploc bag and popped it in the freezer. Now all I have to do is defrost it and put the filling in tortillas and bake it. Bring on the Mexican cravings. We all really enjoyed these enchiladas. I served them with a multigrain tortilla chips, some fresh avocado slices and a simple green salad. I am super excited about the fact that I had twice as much filling as I needed too. I am pretty sure that this wont last long in my freezer - I will be making these enchiladas again very soon. Ciao!
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