"Smells Like Comfort Food"

That's what Don said when he walked in the door.

Meatloaf



This is not the sexiest food photo ever, but man, does it taste good!

You can make the meat part however you like. Some like combinations of meat. I prefer lean ground beef. Seasoning can vary...you can use onion soup mix, or your own combination of spices and veggies.

This meatloaf had some Montreal steak spice, soya sauce, worcestershire sauce and chopped onion. I also usually put milk moistened bread crumbs in the mix because Don likes a tender, crumbly meat loaf. If you like yours a little more solid, add an egg. It's important to note that you shouldn't overwork your meat because it might make it tough. I usually mix all my stuff in the bottom of the bowl first, then squish the meat in until everything is just mixed.

I have started making, essentially, a giant burger on a sheet pan so that there's more surface area to caramelize, rather than a loaf pan...though the loaf pan makes for a nicer looking slice on the plate.

The "money" of my meatloaf is the topping. It's a combination of ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard. I mix it up, adjusting until I am happy with the flavours, and smear it on before cooking.

How do you do your meatloaf?

Potato and Cheddar Soup



This is another one of those "throw what you have in a pot" type recipes, but I'll do my best to approximate what I use.

Chop an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and sweat in a soup pot. Meanwhile, peel and chop 5 potatoes. Toss them into the pot to warm a bit, then add 2 cups stock. Add some thyme if you have it, and let simmer (covered) for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft. This will be dependent upon how small and evenly you cut the potatoes in the first place.

Add 2 cups milk, and bring up to simmer (do not boil!). Continue to simmer about 10 minutes, remove from heat, and hit with an immersion blender (also called a stick blender...if you don't have one, whir it up in the blender or food processor and then put it back in the pot). Pureeing the potatoes is what is going to thicken this soup, but some people like some chunky texture. You control the degree of smoothness!

Add about a cup of shredded sharp cheddar (or whatever blend of cheese you have). Honestly, it's rarely only a cup that goes into the soup. I start with about that, and taste, adding more as I go until it tastes the way I like it. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

This time, we had some proscuitto in the fridge, so I chopped it and fried it until crisp. This plus some raw chopped green onion served as our topping, but you could add anything you like on a loaded baked potato...even more cheese (I love cheese!)

Dead Easy Roast & Rosemary Foccacia

I think I got the recipe for this roast online somewhere, years ago. I've made roast a bunch of different ways, but I always seem to come back to this one. It's no fuss, and it is very well received.

If it isn't broke...

Dead Easy Roast



Seriously, that's it.

1 package gravy mix (I have used Bisto, brown gravy mix, mushroom gravy mix...whatever I have on hand)
1 package ranch dressing/dip mix (I've also done it with the herb dressing/dip mix and italian dressing powder mix)
1/2 cup water
A hunka roast (this is what we had in the freezer)
Veggies (in this case, an onion, and some potatoes and carrots, but whatever you like)

Get out your crock pot. Pop in the roast (if it's tied, leave the string on). Mix water and seasoning packets, pour over roast. Cover and cook for 8 hours or so. The amount of water might look low but as the roast cooks, it will add liquid (as will the veggies, after you add them).

Stir and flip occasionally (though you don't have to really do this...if you're making this roast while you're at work). Add chopped veggies (bite sized pieces) about 2 hours before crock pot time is complete.

I added a bit of rosemary from our garden to this one, but other than that, there shouldn't be a need to add salt or pepper.



Rosemary Foccacia



This recipe is pretty forgiving, as long as you give it a *little* time to rise. I should have let this batch rise a little longer, but SOMEONE was in a hurry to eat his roast. Turned out pretty good, though.

It's based off this recipe, Black Olive Foccacia, though I obviously adjusted it. I would like to try it with black olives though.

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (or more) of chopped, fresh rosemary
Course salt and chopped, fresh rosemary for top

I was so excited to have a reason to use my awesome stand mixer. Just sayin'. I had to dig out my dough hook (never used that on the mixer before) but you could totally do this by hand if you need/want to.

Pour warm water into bowl of mixer, add yeast, sugar and 1 cup of the flour and stir until combined. Let rest 10 minutes (you'll see a change as the yeast begins to activate)

Add remaining 2 cups flour, salt, olive oil, and rosemary and mix (using the dough hook) for a couple of minutes until the dough forms a ball. Continue to mix (or take it and knead it by hand) for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in large, oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and place somewhere warm to rise.

The original recipe called for a 1 hour rise, but I think last night's batch got a 30 minute siesta. Punch dough down, knead a few times (by hand this time) and pull to fit on an oiled baking sheet (I think I used a 13x9 because that's what I had handy).

Poke top with fingers to make indents, drizzle a bit of olive oil and sprinkle course salt and chopped rosemary atop. Let rest another 30 minutes (we didn't have time for that last night, but it would have made for a loftier end product).

Bake in a preheated 375 oven until golden and crusty on top, and cooked (but still soft) in the centre.

The original recipe called for a 450 degree oven and 40 minutes, but in my oven, that makes the outside cook too quickly (so I knocked down the temp) and it took closer to 25 minutes to cook. Just keep an eye on it.

Cut and serve...this is great for sopping up the gravy from the roast (and a great compliment to the chef).

Chicken Benedict and Honey Mustard Chicken

My Mom gave me this recipe, and she swears it came from my Aunt, who swears that she's never seen it before. I can't take credit for it, but I don't know who I can give credit to.



It's a fairly healthy recipe, depending on how you make the sauce. I don't do "low fat" mayo and sour cream, and Don finds the creamy sauce too heavy, so I make a honey mustard for him.

There are three components to this dish, the rice, the chicken and the sauce. You should probably make them in that order. By the time the sauce is done, the chicken and rice should be about ready to go.

The Rice

1/4 cup brown rice
1/4 cup red rice (or 1/2 cup brown rice in total)
1 1/4 cup water
4 spinach nuggets (the pkg tells me it's 85g worth, or one serving)

I have a small Salton rice cooker and the perfect ratio for rice is 1/2 cup uncooked rice, 1 1/4 cups water. I usually do half and half brown rice and red rice, but do what you like. I couldn't tell you how long the rice cooks for, my little rice cooker dealie tells me when it's done.

I add the spinach (I found genius frozen chopped spinach nuggets at WalMart) when the water is nearly cooked in. The spinach I use is already cooked. I have also done this with a handful of fresh baby spinach as well. If that's what you have, add this a tad sooner to allow it time to wilt...and make sure you chop it. No one likes a wad of slimy spinach in their rice.

Once your rice is started, it's time for...

The Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
Bread crumbs (I love Panko)
Salt and pepper (or any other seasoning you like)

Preheat over to 350.

Dip chicken breasts in egg and then coat with bread crumbs (I usually season mine with a Garlic and Wine seasoning from the most heavenly restaurant, The Melting Pot - but salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper, whatever you like...the chicken shouldn't be super strongly seasoned though)

I place breaded chicken on a rack placed on a foil lined cookie sheet. I like to limit the amount of cleanup I (make Don) do.

Place in preheated oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes until a thermometer tells you it's done (or juices run clear, or whatever method you use).

Time to make the sauces!

Mock Hollandaise (or, "The Best Part of This Meal")

6 or so mushrooms of your choice (I usually use crimini but we had button mushrooms on hand), sliced thinly - or a can of sliced mushrooms (but these are not allowed in our house)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
Paprika

Throw sliced mushrooms into a saucepan with a bit of water and boil to soften. Drain mushrooms once done and put aside. If you're using canned mushrooms, drain and rinse and set aside.

In saucepan over medium low heat, add mayo, sour cream, mustard and lemon juice. You won't die if you need to use the bottled lemon juice, but it really does taste best with fresh if you have it.

Taste this awesome sauce (and resist the urge to eat it by the spoonful) and add a little salt and a sprinkle of paprika. Add the mushrooms and heat through.

Honey Mustard Sauce for Don



4 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard (or whatever mustard you have on hand)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons white wine (we had some hanging out in the fridge, im sure you could omit this if you needed to, or add water, orange juice, or stock?)

Add everything to a saucepot, bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened.


At this point, your rice and spinach, and chicken should be good to go.

Plate up a bed of rice, pop the breaded chicken on top, and cover with the sauce.

Mexican Pizza & Cold Avocado and Leek Soup

The pizza is something I've made for a while, but the soup was adapted from Fast, Healthy Food from Readers Digest. I'll admit that I've never had cold soup. Really. I'm not kidding. The thought of a cold avocado soup made me a little twitchy, but I do love avocado, and adore the creaminess of it...and I had a few leeks in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I gave it a go.

It was a win!

I would recommend starting the leek part of the soup a few hours earlier, to allow it to cool.

Cold Avocado and Leek Soup



1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, whites thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced (I grate mine right into the pot)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 ripe avocado
1 small container plain yogurt (like, the single sized serving)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper

In a saucepan, heat oil and soften sliced and cleaned leeks (remember, slicing the leeks and floating them in a bowl of cold water allows the dirt and grit to fall to the bottom and the clean leeks remain at the top) for a few minutes. Pour in veggie stock, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes or until leeks are very soft.

Put aside to cool.

Once cooled, pop leeks and broth in a blender and puree.

You don't want to open the avocado too soon because it will turn brown and the flavour will lessen. I'd serve this soup within an hour of mixing it up.

Cut avocado and remove pit, and scoop flesh into blender. Add yogurt, lime juice, and cilantro and whirr it up until smooth. Pop back into fridge to cool completely.

Serve with a little fresh cilantro on top.

The cookbook mentions that you can also serve this soup hot, but would replace the yogurt with sour cream.

Mexican Pizza



1 pizza crust (I use a PC Thin pizza crust, but you can make your own...just bake it off first)
1 cup refried beans (canned or homemade, or you can use black bean dip - see below)
Shredded cheddar
Any toppings you wish to add (or not)
Chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat your oven to 400 or so, pop in pizza stone (or you can use the underside of a cookie sheet, or other pizza pan...whatever you have). Remove stone or pan from oven, oil as necessary, and place pizza crust.

Smother beans on top - sometimes I'll use canned refried beans and add half a packet of low sodium taco seasoning. This time I used the canned beans and added some chipotle salsa I had in the fridge for seasoning. Sometimes I use a bean dip (recipe below) instead of the refried beans.

Top with shredded cheddar and anything else you'd like to add (that you want to heat up) and pop into the oven until pizza is hot and cheese is melted.

Pull out of the oven, and top with chopped cilantro and anything else you might want to put on there...I like raw green onions and I had some kicking around, so I put them on at this point.

Black Bean Dip (alternative to refried beans)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, grated in
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tablespoon (or so) fresh cilantro, to taste

Heat oil in saucepan and soften onions and garlic. Place in food processor and add rest of ingredients (aside from salt and pepper). Process until smooth, taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed. Sometimes I like to add a couple dashes of hot sauce.

Hamburger Hash

As I mentioned in yesterday's Tuna Noodle Casserole post, Hamburger Hash was one of the staples in our home. This dish was also the first thing I ever made for Don and he loved it. It was also the first time I realized that he is of the school that ketchup is a side dish, and I was all offended that he was smothering my food with Leamington's Finest, but that's another story. I'm over it. Really.

Here's the thing...I would imagine something like this would be a pretty universal dish, it's just meat and potatoes,  but I've made it before in other parts of North America and was informed that "We don't eat that here". Is it possible this is just a regional thing? My friend in college used to eat this (she's local). Her family called it "Hamburger Gravy".

Truth be told, it's just lazy-ass shepherds pie, right?

It's easy to make, doesn't take a lot of stuff, and it's relatively cheap. That's All Win in my book.



Hamburger Hash

1 lb ground beef (I prefer extra lean)
Handful frozen corn (or peas, carrots, green beans, whatever)
Beef or mushroom gravy (Bisto or other powdered mix, canned, whatever you can scrounge up)
Potatoes, peeled and chopped
Butter and milk for your mash
Salt and pepper

Put your potatoes on to boil. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the smaller you cut your potatoes, the quicker they are going to cook...and if you cut them evenly, they will cook evenly. Amazing, right?

In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef, drain if necessary, and add the frozen (or fresh) veg. Add gravy and warm everything. Taste and season as needed.

Mash or whip your potatoes with butter, milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, whatever you do. I used butter and a little heavy cream that I had leftover in the fridge. I finished them off with some chives from our garden and some salt and pepper.

Plop your potatoes on the plate and make a well in the centre. Slop some meat and gravy in the well.

Eat, and enjoy :)

Curried Chicken Salad

I've been making this for a while. It's a comforting recipe to me, and I find it's great all year round, for lunch or for dinner. If you're not one for curry, this is a great dish to try. It has a lightly curried flavour...aromatic, warm, I love this...and it's one of Don and Quinn's favourites as well.

It's not the pretties thing to look at, but I urge you to give it a try and let me know how you like it.

Curried Chicken Salad
(makes enough for my brood of 2 plus a wee one, adjust as necessary)

2 chicken skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons curry powder (adjust to your taste)
2 tablespoons grated ginger root
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/2 (or so) diced Granny Smith apple (I leave the peel on)
(other additions that sometimes find their way in include green onion and celery)

Poach chicken breasts by placing them in a saucepan, covering them with cold water, and bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover until the chicken is cooked through (maybe 20 or 30 mins). Cut into bite sized chunks (or pull) and leave to cool.

Mix together yogurt, mayo, lime juice, curry powder, ginger root (I freeze my ginger root, one of the best tips I ever got), parsley, walnuts and apple. Combine with cooled chicken breast pieces and refrigerate.

Serve cold with pita chips, or pita halves (makes great pita pocket sandwiches), in a wrap, or between two pieces of bread.

Mushroom and Leek Pizza

Tonight we had mushroom and leek pizza. It's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.



1 store bought pizza crust (we used a President's Choice thin crust, but you could certainly use a homemade crust, or even a pita bread)
Olive oil
1 Tblsp butter
6oz mushrooms (whatever kind you like, we used crimini)
1 leek, green tops removed
2 sprigs of thyme
Tomato pesto (I used PC Tomato Pesto)
Fresh mozzerella
1 plum tomato
Salt and pepper

You can attack this pizza a number of different ways: do it on the grill...do it in the oven (on a pizza stone, the back of a cookie sheet, a pizza pan, or right on the rack). I prefer the oven method for this pizza, and our pizza stone rules my world...so I will explain what I did using that cooking method, but whichever style you choose, the order is the same: heat up the crust (or prebake if you're making it from a dough), put the stuff on, cook it, eat it, lick the plate.

Crank the oven to 350, put in the stone. Heat a skillet on the stove, adding a tblsp of both olive oil and butter when the pan is hot. Add sliced mushrooms (we like them sliced thinly) and sliced leeks to soften and brown.

Let me divert your attention to something you may or may not know...leeks can be dirty veggies, and just rinsing them under the tap isn't going to get all the sand out. Get a bowl of cold water and, as you chop the leeks, place them in the bowl to float. You might need to give them a swish to break up the rings because that's where the dirt and grit will be hiding. The leek slices will float on the top, and the grit will sink to the bottom. Scoop the ones off the top and throw them into the pan. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and the thyme leaves.

Ok, back to this pizza. While the mushrooms and leeks are browning, I pulled the hot pizza stone out of the oven, oiled the bottom of the prepared pizza crust, put it on the stone, and put it in the oven to warm.

Once the crust is warmed, pull it out of the oven and smear on some tomato pesto. Distribute the mushroom/leek mess over the pesto, add slices of roma tomato, cover with rounds of fresh mozzarella. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil (optional), salt and pepper, and slide back in the oven to melt the cheese.

I really like this pizza because it's not too heavy, and I'm not a huge fan of saucy pizzas, so the pesto element of this is just perfect. Pizza is a great dinner because it's so versatile.

I also make one that has refried beans as the "sauce" and is topped with shredded cheddar and cilantro. I'll have to make that again soon. Stay tuned!

Sweet Potato Curry

I love this recipe! It's an adaptation of Michael Smith's Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry.



The Rice Part

1/4 cup brown rice
1/4 cup red rice (or 1/2 cup brown rice in total)
1 1/4 cup water

I have a little rice cooker, so these are my measurements. Do what you need to do in order to get some rice done.

Reminder, this amount of rice is for 2 people + a little person. Adjust as necessary.

The Curry Part

Vegetable oil
1 onion, diced (I used a red onion this time because that's what I had)
4 cloves garlic
1" piece ginger
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tsp curry paste (I had Indian Red Curry...adjust to your taste)
1 can butter beans
1 can coconut milk
1 cup orange juice (didn't have any this time, so I used water and juice of a lemon to equal 1 cup)
3/4 cup peanut butter
Salt
Handful of frozen peas
Handful of arugula
Handful of cilantro

Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large pot and toss in onions and garlic. I like to grate my garlic. Do what you need to do to make you happy. Cook a few minutes until onions start to brown.

Grate in ginger. Stir in curry paste, rinsed butter beans (or chick peas if that's what you have), coconut milk, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, orange juice, and salt to taste.

Bring to boil and drop to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Stir in peas, arugula (or some baby spinach if you have it), and cilantro.

Serve hot, over rice.

We eat this every couple of weeks. The curry makes enough for 4 people...or enough for two for dinner and lunches the next day.

Grilled Veggie Burgers

I believe our neighbours think that we're crazy...we all know that when you BBQ, it has include MEATY GOODNESS!! And let me tell you, when they are out grilling, the smells that come from over the fence are divine - but I'm certain that the male counterpart feels so sorry for Don that he's being tortured with "burger substitutes" that one day he's going to sneak a burger over here, stealth style. Yeah, Kevin, I'm talking about you.

Truth is, Don doesn't mind the portobello burger...and I think they are pretty dang tasty too, and I used to HATE grilled veggies. Always thought they were slimy and/or bitter. I have found if they are done correctly, this is not the case.

Tonight we had grilled veggie burgers with grilled radicchio and some leftover potato salad (which is probably one of Don's most favourite things that I make). There is a deli  on Kinderkamack Road in Oradell, NJ that makes THE BEST potato salad I have ever had. This is the closest I've been able to come.

In an attempt to make a couple of friends happy by posting ACTUAL recipies, rather than "throw some of this and some of that in a bowl" ("OMG Jace, how are we supposed to make your delicious food if you don't tell us how to do it??") here you go...keep in mind that this is for 2 adults (and smidgens for the little one). Adjust as necessary.

Potato Salad

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I've also sliced in 1/8" rounds on the mandolin)
Onions, diced finely (I've used yellow onions, white onions and green onions...whatever is on hand), optional
1\4 cup mayonnaise
2 tblsp apple cider vinegar
1 tblsp sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp yellow mustard
Salt & pepper to taste

Put potatoes on to boil in salted water.

Mix vinegar and sugar to get the sugar dissolved, add mustard, salt and pepper to taste. It should be a good balance of sweet and tangy with a really creamy texture. Adjust as necessary. Stir in onions.

Drain potatoes when they are fork tender and dump the hot potatoes into the dressing. Mix gently (try not to break the potatoes into mush)

Refrigerate and serve cold.

Use whatever potatoes you have on hand, or whatever potatoes you prefer. You can add a chopped boiled egg (which I've done, but am too lazy to do, normally). Throw in diced sweet pepper, celery, add paprika, whatever tickles your fancy.

Grilled Radicchio...not my recipe. I'm not a big fan of radicchio because it's bitter, but Anthony Sedlak's recipe is tasty and a great addition to this meal.

Grilled Veggie Burgers

2 large portobello mushrooms, stem removed
1 sweet pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into quarters
1/4 cup mayonnaise
5 or 6 basil leaves
Squirt of lemon juice (optional)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar or President's Choice Glaze with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Salt & pepper
Hamburger bun, foccaccia, whatever you have
Arugula, baby spinach, lettuce...whatever you have (as long as it's not that crappy iceburg lettuce)
Balsamic vinegar or President's Choice Glaze with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

Heat grill on high (or you can do it on the stovetop). Drizzle mushrooms and peppers with balsamic vinegar (if not using the PC Glaze), olive oil, salt and pepper on both sides.

Mix mayo, chopped basil, a pinch of salt and a squirt of lemon juice (optional) and pop in the fridge.

Grill for about 3-5 minutes (depends on the size of your vegetables, the heat of your grill, and the alignment of the planets...ok, I was joking about that last one) each side, until the mushrooms and peppers are heated through and softened. If using the glaze, apply during the last 2 minutes or so. You can also grill your bread if you like.

Assemble burger (you know, bun bottom, greens, veggies, basil mayo and bun top) and go to town.

You can use whatever veggies you want in here...you like eggplant? Go for it. Grilled pineapple? Ok then. Red onion? Perfect! You can add a bit of garlic to your mayo, rub some garlic on your grilled bread...avoid the garlic if you don't like it...up to you!

So there you go...that's what was On My Plate tonight.

Pancakes and Bacon Candy for Breakfast

It's Canada Day...and Don and I both have the day off (yay!). As Don and Quinn watched Imagination Movers, I took to making breakfast.

We had half a package of low sodium bacon kicking around, and I pulled out the ingredients to make pancakes. Everything came out of my pantry...and believe me, I don't have a funky pantry. It's pretty basic. I'll bet you have most of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge too!

Getting the bacon started was easy. Preheated the oven to 300ish, lined a baking sheet with foil (for easy cleanup), and put a baking rack on the baking sheet (so the bacon doesn't sit in its grease- lets it get crispy, which is exactly how we love it). I spread the bacon out on the baking rack, gave each slice a generous grind of pepper from our ridiculously large pepper mill (one day I'll show you guys, it really is ridiculous) and a sprinkling of demerara sugar.

Did you guys know that brown sugar is basically refined white sugar with molasses added? I learned that recently, and it's totally the opposite of what I've always thought. I now use demerara sugar, which is partially refined sugar cane extract.

Back to the bacon. The bacon went into the oven for a while, until it cooked and eventually crisped up (did I mention that we love crispy bacon?) The pepper adds a bit of bite, and the cripsy saltiness blends so incredibly with the sweet, caramalized sugar...man, is there anything better than bacon?

I pulled out my "Cooking Bible" (Michael Smith's The Best of Chef at Home). I have tried most of the recipes in this book (which is more than I can say about my other cookbooks gathering dust on the shelf) and have absolutely loved 98% of them.

My pancake recipe is based on his Whole Grain Pancakes recipe on page 3. I half it and have made a few adjustments to suit our family's tastes.

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal (less about 2 Tblsp)
2 Tblsp Red River Cereal
1 Tblsp baking powder
about 2 Tblsp cinnamon (we love cinnamon)
pinch salt
1 cup milk
1/8 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
1 Tbslp honey
2 eggs
splash of vanilla

I did the whole "mix the dry, mix the wet, mix them together, don't over stir" thing, and then I let it sit for a little bit. I don't start the pancakes until the bacon is nearly done. I know, pure genius, what can I say?

As I'm cooking the pancakes (and if I need to explain to you how to do this, I think you need more than what my blog can offer you), I keep the finished ones under an inverted bowl. Got that tip by watching Michael Smith's show. Sometimes I put them in a warm oven, but it was all full up with bacony goodness, so I used the bowl trick.



Michael's recipes are great because they are a basic outline of what you might want to use together and he encourages you to play with the balance until you find something that suits your taste.

The blend of unbleached all purpose flour and whole wheat flour allows for some nutritious "meaty flavour" without it being too heavy. I added the Red River Cereal to the oats' measurement because I love the texture of the grains (and added nutritional value). I have made these pancakes with 1/2 cup oatmeal (as called for in the original recipe) and loved it. I made them with 1/2 cup Red River Cereal in place of the oats and they were like bricks. Tasty, but way too heavy! You can use 1 or 2 eggs (more for added richness), water in place of milk, butter in place of oil...whatever you have. These would also be great with a bit of cubed apple or another fruit in them, but Don's not a fan of fruit in his food, so it's left out of ours.

The Verdict:

I love that these are nutritous and really tasty. It's strange how much they taste like they have apples in them. Must be the oatmeal and cinnamon combo. Not too much extra work (from a boxed mix) and it's way better for you!

Says they are tasty, meaty and tender. The bacon? Fricken delicious.

Loves him some "pan-kins and bacon". He ate 1 1/2 pancakes (no syrup...I don't want to clean that off him!) and a piece of bacon (sans pepper and sugar...I always keep one piece that I don't season)

This is a regular rotation recipe.