Recently in Recipes Category

Our almost 3yo has been asking for pancakes for the past few days. Since I was home this morning for once, I happily obliged (pancakes are a dad's job in our house). There was one little snag: just after I started frying them up I discovered we were out of maple syrup.

Never one to be daunted by such situations, I came up with an improvisation and it was a total success. Here's my recipe for peanut butter banana pancake topping:

5 old bananas (they need to be almost mushy)
3/4 cup peanut butter (estimated -- I just threw some in there)
3/4 cup water (also estimated)

Throw everything in a blender or power mixer (I used our Bosch with the whisk tool) and mix until it forms a puree. I thought it might need sugar but it didn't. It made an excellent substitute for syrup and it added protein to our breakfast. I used Skippy Natural smooth peanut butter, by the way. I don't think it would work as well with a crunchy peanut butter.

Okay, so I'm probably the only person in the world who has never tried making his own beer batter before. I tried it last night for the first time. Words can't express how yummy homemade beer-battered deep-fried fish tastes to me.

I used O'Doul's[0], in case you were wondering, and it worked well. I got the recipe out of the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. It's very simple.
1 C. all-purpose flour (I used unbleached white)
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 C. beer

Mix the dry ingredients, add the beer and beat until smooth. Dip whatever into it and plop it in the fryer. I have a little Fry Daddy Jr. that we got as a wedding present (I think). Fry until golden brown, then remove and pat the grease off with a paper towel (or just let it drain onto a paper towel or whatever). Eat until your tummy hurts.

I have had plenty of beer-battered (you name it) in restaurants and at fairs, etc. I have never tasted anything as good as what I made with my first try at home last night. And it was so very simple! Enjoy. . .

[0] It was the only thing approximating beer in the vicinity. I have not bought beer this year yet, and I think I drank the last real beer sometime in December. The O'Doul's is left over from an attempt by my wife to keep up her milk supply when it waned last summer. There is now only 1 bottle left. I think I need to buy some beer. Any recommendations?

One of our family weekend breakfast favorites is pancakes. Elijah and Molly take turns helping me measure out the ingredients. This week I decided to mix it up. So here's my recipe for chocolate pancakes (modified from the BHG cookbook recipe):

Dry:
1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 T. Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix (or whatever brand you keep around)
Wet:
1 c. milk
1 beaten egg
2 T. cooking oil (ADM cooking oil is the best!)
1 T. Hershey's chocolate syrup (or whatever brand you keep around)

Mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Mix wet ingredients in another medium mixing bowl. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are moist. The batter should be lumpy. Fry on a greased griddle.

For even more chocolatey goodness, add a 1/2 c. of chocolate chips to the batter after it is mixed up. Mmmm, mmm! These don't need any syrup, by the way -- especially if you add the chips.

Here's one I came up with last week. It's a good way to get rid of leftover taco fixings.

Taco Salad Sandwiches
1/2 lb ground beef, sauteed with taco seasoning
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. salsa con queso
1 tomato, diced
1/2 c. black olives, chopped or sliced
(shredded lettuce, chopped onions, whatever else you like on tacos)
4 Hamburger buns (or you could use tortillas or sliced bread or whatever else you prefer)
Chips and salsa

Mix the ground beef, sour cream, and salsa con queso in a medium bowl. Place mixture on hamburger buns. Add tomato and black olives. If you use onions, shredded lettuce, etc., add them into the mixture -- use your imagination on this one. You can make it about any way you want it. If you want to use shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese instead of salsa con queso, just substitute salsa for the salsa con queso and put a 1/2 c. of shredded cheese into the mixture as well. Serve with chips and salsa and a bottle of Corona or Jose Cuervo, whichever's your pleasure.

I'd like to think I'm a pretty good cook. When I was living in Germany and feeding myself, I came up with some creative recipes (if I do say so myself), and I also gained confidence in my ability to improvise. Where better to share some of my creations than here? Anyway, here's the first one. It's a quick side for supper or a main dish for breakfast or brunch.

Parmesan Garlic Potatoes

4 small Idaho or Russet potatoes, diced
3 T. butter or margarine
2 t. garlic, minced (I use the type that comes in a jar with oil)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Melt butter in a large skillet with heat on high. Add potatoes and garlic. Brown potatoes, then turn down heat to low and cover the skillet. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat but leave the skillet on the burner. Add the parmesan cheese and stir until the potatoes are evenly coated.