Aunt Katie's Oatmeal Pancakes

I love breakfast foods but most mornings it is cold cereal or oatmeal for us. The other morning, however, I decided to get fancy and made these oatmeal pancakes for the boys. They loved them and I loved that they loved them! I served them with Nauvoo syrup - yum! (See recipe for Nauvoo syrup posted with recipe for Oven French Toast Sticks.) This pancake recipe comes from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com.

Aunt Katie's Oatmeal Pancakes

2 cups quick oats (I used regular old fashioned oats and ground them up a bit in my blender.)
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon (optional)

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and let sit for 20-30 minutes, covered. Cook slowly on a griddle at 325 degrees or lower. Spray griddle before each batch.

Abuela's Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

Every time we went to visit my Abuela growing up, she'd have a fresh batch of her famous macaroni and cheese waiting for us in the oven. I got this recipe from her when I was in college but she had a hard time putting it down on paper - she never measured anything! I've played around with this recipe several times and substituted other cheeses for the cheddar or added meats to it. I also don't bake mine but it seems like my Abuela always did....or maybe she was just keeping it warm in the oven?? Anyway, this is so much better than boxed mac & cheese!

Abuela's Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

16 oz. elbow marcaroni - cooked according to package directions

1/2 cup butter (I usually use less.)

6 Tbsp flour (approximate)

2 cups milk

1/4 cup more milk

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I always use at least two heaping cups full - and I've tried colby jack and sharp cheddar - both good!)

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Parmesan cheese

Make white sauce by melting butter in small saucepan over low heat. When melted, add flour. When begins to bubble, add 2 cups milk. Stir on stove top until it has thickened. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until melted. Add the extra 1/4 cup milk.

Salt, pepper and garlic salt the cooked macaroni. Pour cheese sauce on top of it.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Chicken Caesar Wraps

My friend Molly brought these to a picnic one time and I had one of those, "Why haven't I ever thought of that??" moments. I have made them several times since.

Chicken Caesar Wraps

Flour tortillas

4-6 chicken breast tenders - fried in olive oil and seasoned (I use McCormick's Montreal Chicken Seasoning.)

Romaine lettuce - cut up (I added some spinach tonight too.)

Shredded parmesan cheese

Croutons

Caesar salad dressing - your favorite brand/recipe

Toss salad with cheese, croutons and dressing. Cut chicken into strips. Fill tortilla with lettuce mixture and chicken strips. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Lasagna

I forgot to take a picture when I made this the other night. I got this recipe from my old neighbor Lesa and I have made it several times. It is perfect for those nights when you want an easy meal like lasagna but you won't be home to throw it in the oven and wait while it cooks. Lesa adds several vegetables to hers like zucchini, squash, carrots, olives and mushrooms but I haven't ever tried that...my husband and kids probably wouldn't eat it if I did. :)

Crock Pot Lasagna

lasagna noodles (I use the oven-ready ones.)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
cottage cheese (I use two 16 oz. containers but you could use one of the larger size containers.)
1/2 lb hamburger
1/2 an onion
mozarella cheese (I use quite a bit because I love cheese!)

Brown the meat and onion, add other veggies (if desired). In a lightly greased slow cooker put a small amount of sauce on the bottom and then layer as follows: noodles, meat mixture, cottage cheese, sauce, mozarella cheese.

Make the layers as thick as you like. (I usually do three layers.)

Cook on low for 4-5 hours. It may be quite saucy the first day so you can eat it out of a bowl if desired. The next day it will be thicker.

Black Bean Enchiladas

We enjoyed dinner outside tonight! When it comes to enchiladas I'm always looking for something new to spice them up. I get tired of the same old enchiladas over and over again. So here's a variation of your tried and true recipe. I broiled mine on low for another five minutes after the initial baking time and I liked the crispyness it added. I got this recipe from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com - where else?!

Black Bean Enchiladas

Flour tortillas

Shredded Colby Jack cheese

Sauce:
1 cup sour cream
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used at least a cup - I like cheese!)
juice from canned tomatoes and chilies

Mix in separate bowl:
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes and chilies, drained (I used one can diced tomatoes and one can chopped green chilies.)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

Spread a spoonful of sauce onto a flour tortilla. Top with chicken mixture and another spoonful or two of sauce. (I added cheese on top of my chicken mixture before the other spoonful(s) of sauce.) Roll up and line in 9x13 inch baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with cooking oil spray. Top enchiladas with rest of sauce and desired amount of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. (Broil for another 5 minutes or so if you want them a little crispy on top.)

Corn Bread

This is my favorite corn bread recipe to date! It is naturally sweet so it needs no extra butter or honey - it's perfect just the way it is. I got this recipe from my friend and neighbor Ruby.

Corn Bread

Cream for 2 minutes:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar

Add the following:

2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk

Add the following and mix quickly:

1 1/2 cup white flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes in greased 9x9

5 Minute No-Knead Bread

So this was my first attempt at an "artisan" loaf. I was pretty intimidated by it but it turned out to be quite easy! And it tasted delicious! Ben even ate slice after slice....again, that's saying something! I substituted whole wheat flour for part of the white flour and I made four small loaves instead of two big ones, so they didn't need to cook nearly as long. I cooked two loaves at a time on my pizza stone for about twenty minutes. I had read that this bread isn't nearly as good the second day so we ate one loaf the night I made it and I froze the other three loaves. They taste great thawed from the freezer. Like many of the bread recipes I use, this one came from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com.


5 Minute No-Knead Bread


1 1/2 Tb yeast
1 1/2 Tb Kosher salt
3 cups lukewarm water
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can use 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour & 4 cups white if you wish)


Stir together all ingredients until you have a nice, thick dough. Make sure you stir it enough that there are no dry pockets of flour left anywhere in the dough. Cover well and let rise for 2 hours on the counter.

Sprinkle just a little flour over the dough and divide into 4 parts (or you can make 2 large loaves). Sprinkle with a little more flour to keep you hands from sticking and form into a ball. Place seam side down on parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal. Allow loaves to sit for 40 minutes (longer for the larger loaves).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone inside of oven to preheat as well. Also, place a shallow pan full of warm water on the bottom shelf of oven to make steam during baking. This creates a crusty exterior to the bread. Sprinkle loaves with flour again. Using a serrated knife, make several slices (criss-cross or straight) across the top of the bread to allow for expansion. Lift parchment paper with loaves on top and place directly on hot stone. Place baking stone on middle shelf of oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes. (Watch them - mine didn't take nearly this long.) Eat bread hot out of the oven with butter! This bread also tastes great cold with cold butter.

**Dough can sit in frig for up to 2 weeks. If you are using dough from the frig it has already done the first 2-hour rise. Shape your loaves and let sit on counter like previous instructions, however, allow longer time because dough will be cold. You can even allow shaped loaves to rise in the frig for up to 14 hours. The dough will spread slightly but don't panic, it should still have a good spring to it once baked. For "refrigerator rise" bake at 475 for approx 30 minutes.

Update 2/6/13:  Pour the water in the bowl first.  Then sprinkle the yeast and then salt on top of the water.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  Next add the flour and mix in.  It seems to work better if you do it in this order rather than dumping everything in at once.  Also, I used regular salt last time and only 1 Tbsp of it and the bread was great.  I also poured the water in the pan right after I put the bread in, instead of earlier.  This created steam for better crustiness on the outside of the bread.