pancake mix, shake and pour

Obviously, I've let my food blog go lately.  Life got a little bit insane for a while.  While it hasn't really calmed down per se (I just had a baby a week and a half ago) at least I have a couple of seconds to add a post or 2 to the food blog.  I sure do miss being able to find the yummy food I have made quickly and easily on the blog.  Sadly I won't have pictures for the next few since I'm really out of that habit right now, but hopefully I'll get back to that soon too.

This recipe I found on One Good thing by Jillee.  I pinned it and actually made it pretty soon after pinning.  I did change the oil used from shortening to coconut oil.  It makes the most delicious pancakes - small hint of coconut flavor.  Yummy!  I don't add the sugar she calls for -I don't see a need.  I've also made them at least part wheat both times I've made them.  I don't think even my wheat haters noticed because the flavor from the coconut oil is so good.

I loved that these were also made in a mason jar to be a shake and pour mix.  I actually made them for my younger boys to enjoy while I was in the hospital having the baby.  They do have fun helping shake the batter up.

Here is my version of the mix.

Ingredients

• 9 cups of flour (I've used a mix of wheat and white each time.  The first time - lots less wheat, the second time I used 4 cups wheat and 5 cups unbleached flour)
• 1/3 cup baking powder (I use and aluminum free)
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups coconut oil (this is just about one 14 oz container making these a bit on the pricey side unless you find a good deal on coconut oil but they are delicious this way.  Be sure to use extra virgin, unrefined coconut oil to get the subtle coconut flavor.)
• 1 3/4 cups non-fat dry milk

Directions

1. I toss all the ingredients in my bosch, put the paddles on and let it do the work of mixing in the oil.  Or, you can hand mix it until it is well mixed - it will look a bit crumbly with the oil mixed in.
2. To make shake and pour jars, add 2 cups mix to a 1 quart mason jar.
3. Label with these directions (add 1 egg and 1 cup water.  Shake until combined.) 

Notes:

• Just an FYI, I always find I need a bit more than 1 cup water.  I start with 1 cup and end up adding a bit more because the batter looks too thick.  Maybe it is because I've used wheat and it absorbs more, that has just been my experience.  
• Also, I find that some of the batter usually likes to stick to the jar and I end up stirring it up in the jar.
• Because I end up stirring, and also to make them easier to clean, I prefer to use wide mouth quart jars.  

Blueberry pancakes

Here is a new healthy pancake recipe I made this morning.  I like the addition of wheat germ and the tiny bit of sweetness added by the honey.  I also enjoyed the texture the wheat germ added - reminded me of a cornmeal pancake - in texture only.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 cup blueberries (I actually only had a cup and threw in about 1/4 cup dried blueberries.  I'm officially out of blueberries.  :)

Directions

1. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.  (flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and salt.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. (eggs, milk, oil, and honey.)
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined.  Fold in blueberries.
4. Bake on a hot griddle until cooked.  

chocolate chip scones

Here's the recipe for the scones we tried this morning.  I really liked the combination of orange and chocolate.  YUM!  This recipe also started in The ROdale Whole foods cookbook, but I changed it around according to what I had in my kitchen and to add a bit more whole grain.  This is my version.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3 Tablespoons sucanat (I think I actually used 2 T sucanat and 1 T coconut palm sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons cold butter
• zest of 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons half and half

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in orange zest and chocolate chips.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg with 1/4 cup of the half and half.  Add to the flour mixture and mix just to combine.  
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (or just onto the silpat I was going to cook on if you are me.)  Pat it into a circle about 1 inch thick.  Cut into 8 wedges and separate so there is 1/2 inch between.  Brush with remaining 2 teaspoons half and half.  
5. Bake on a baking sheet for 15 minutes or until golden.

raw strawberry oatmeal

This is the other raw breakfast recipe I tried.  It is from a book I bought called Raw Energy.  The original called for cayenne pepper which I couldn't bring myself to attempt.
This had a great texture - very chewy for an oatmeal, but it was just soaked oat groats so I expected that.  I also found it to be just about the right sweetness for me.  Maybe even a little sweeter than I usually eat my oatmeal.  Honestly, the weirdest thing about this oatmeal was the fact that it was cold.  I can't say that I would crave or want hot oatmeal in the summer and I plan to try some other overnight oats recipes from Oh She glows, but it really was strange to me to eat cold oats.  (And I used frozen strawberries, so my oats were very cold.  Then the left overs were refrigerated, so again, very cold.  I guess I'll have to get used to that if I want to eat more raw oats.)
Here is how I made it.   Again, pardon the iphone picture.  Not the greatest, but enough for me to get the idea.

Soaking required - start the night before.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup oat groats
• 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 teaspoons raw honey
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt (if desired - I can't remember if I threw this in or not.)

Directions

1. Soak the oats and almonds for 10-12 hours in enough water to cover by 1 inch.  Drain and rinse.
2. If using fresh berries, toss everything into the blender or food processor and blend until the oats and almonds are cracked and everything is moist and oatmeal - like.  Do not overprocess or it will turn into a paste.  (I used frozen berries so I tossed those in my blender first and blended them up into a nice puree.  Then I added everything else and blended it.)

Orange chia seed breakfast pudding

I couldn't resist trying this recipe out even though I knew the texture would probably get to me after a while.  It did, but I'm proud to day I ate all but the last 2 bites of it.  Of course there were 2 servings and the other is still sitting in the fridge.  Hopefully someone else will be able to enjoy it before I have to toss it.  If you have not texture issues, this is quite a tasty and healthy breakfast and raw to boot.  Can't beat that.  You do have to start it the night before because you have to make the almond milk, but that is plenty simple.  Just plan ahead.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 3 pitted dates
• 3 oranges
• 1/3 cup chia seeds

Directions

1. Place almonds and water in high powered blender and blend until well blended.  Strain with a nut bag or very fine strainer.  
2. Place almond milk back in blender with dates and blend until smooth.  Zest 1 orange and add the zest to the blender.  Peel and section the zested orange and set aside for later.  Juice the remaining 2 oranges and add the juice to the blender.  pulse to combine.  
3. Add chia seeds and stir.  Let set for 20 minutes.  Stir in orange sections.  Makes 2 servings

2 More popcorn snacks/cereal combinations

Last month I made a chocolate peanut butter popcorn cereal/snack.  I posted then that I wanted to try some variations.  I just made up my second one today and figured I ought to go ahead and post both of them.

Cinnamon Popcorn - This one was Super tasty. (5 star)  I think everyone loved this flavor.   Even Tavio who didn't like the chocolate peanut butter version.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pop corn kernels
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Pop the popcorn kernels in an air popcorn popper. (It is 2 batches in mine)  Remove unpopped kernels.
2. Heat the honey, coconut oil and cinnamon in a small saucepan just until melted and smooth.
3. Pour the liquid over the kernels and stir until well coated.  (I actually dump mine in a very large stock pot I have.  It is really the only thing in the kitchen that fits the entire batch.)
4. Prepare 2 cookie sheets by covering with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.  When the popcorn is coated, divide it among the 2 cookie sheets.  
5. Bake at 300 for 5 minutes.   After 5 minutes turn the oven off and leave the popcorn in there for a couple of hours.  Remove from oven and store in an airtight container.

Maple pecan popcorn (4 star) - this one is tasty, but I liked cinnamon better.  The pecans also don't stay put, and for some reason I must have stirred this one more vigorously or something because I have a lot of crushed popcorn.  Go figure.  The flavor is good though.  I did find it was harder to mix.  I ended up mixing with my hands just to feel if it had coated well because you couldn't really tell just by looking at it.  I'm also not sure I'd add the nuts again.  I like them in there, but they sink to the bottom.  It did however give me the idea to try and make a granola type popcorn bar that could be a breakfast bar --- writing it down here or I'll forget.  :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used a bit over 1/2 a cup -it was just what I had left.  The amount was OK.  I could have put more, but again, they kind of fall to the bottom anyway.)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• sea salt ---I did not add salt, but when eating this, I felt like it would have been tasty with some added salt.  Kind of like a kettle corn -so I'm adding this for next time.  I'd just toss it in with the maple syrup so it gets coated well.

Directions

1. Pop the popcorn kernels in an air popcorn popper.  Remove unpopped kernels.  
2. Heat the butter and pecans in a small saucepan until pecans are a bit toasted.  (Really it took about that long for my butter to melt because I tossed the whole chunk in there straight from the fridge.  Worked out perfectly.)  Add the maple syrup(and salt if using)  and stir to combine.  
3. Continue with 3-5 from above.  Mix, bake, let cool in oven, store.  

Green waffles

So my older boys and husband are gone to scout camp.  It makes it hard for me to be motivated to make a big dinner for myself and the little boys.  Yesterday was supposed to be egg rolls, but when I asked what the kids wanted for dinner, they said waffles.  How could I object?  I didn't have buttermilk to make my regular waffles so I started looking in my new greensmoothiegirl.com readers' favorite health recipes book for a waffle recipe and found this one for pancakes.  I added a bit extra spinach because I didn't feel like making a green smoothie, and just a handful and a half in because that is what I had left in the box.  These made some very green  waffles.  They would be awesome for St. Patrick's day. I can't wait to get a picture of them but alas my camera is at scout camp.  :(
 They did turn out soft and would probably be better suited to pancakes as the original recipe stated.  They were a bit hard to get out of the waffle iron because of their softness.  They were tasty though.
In the future, I don't think they need the honey, especially if you plan to put syrup on them.  If eating them plain, by all means, add the honey.  It is a nice sweetness, but we had ours with maple syrup and peanut butter, and I felt they were a bit too sweet for that.
Here is how I made them. (Which was totally not following the directions - I lazily just made the entire batter in the blender.)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3-4 grinds of pink himalayan pink salt (or sea salt)
• 3 Tablespoons honey (I will probably omit this next time -or lessen it to 1-2 teaspoons)
• 1 1/2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/2 banana
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

Directions

1. Place milk, spinach and banana in blender and pulse a few times to blend.  Add the egg, coconut oil and spinach and pulse a couple more times to blend.
2. Add flour, baking powder, and salt.  At this point I just pushed batters on my blendtec.  If you don't have a batters button, just pulse or blend until combined.  
3. Bake in a waffle iron until desired done-ness.  (Or make as pancakes - probably preferred with this dough, but my little boys LOVE waffles.)

mini whole wheat blueberry muffins

I have finally succumbed to looking at pinterest.  I resisted for a while, trying to convince myself that I could keep everything in evernote and not have one more online time taker.  But in an effort to stop having tons of windows open on my computer at any given time, and in an effort to find more recipes, I finally gave in.  It was a great way to spend a super early morning after the migraine woke me up at 2 and the pain followed by the caffeine from the Excedrin kept me up.  I had tons of luck finding fun breakfast ideas and healthy snacks.  Sadly, what I'm most looking for - healthy, vegetarian dinners are still eluding me.  I'm sure I'll find some though.  There's a ton of stuff out there.
This recipe comes from a new blog I found called Oh She Glows.  I will be adding that to my blogroll soon.  She posts lots of vegan recipes.  I didn't make these vegan, and I changed up her streusel a bit, but I love her site.  So many things I want to try from her blog.
These were the perfect recipe to try this Sunday  because we went blueberry picking on Saturday morning, so we had some nice fresh blueberries to use.  I really liked these.  They were sweet enought without being too sweet, and I loved that the sweeteners used were natural sweeteners.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk (use non-dairy to be vegan)
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed (I find that 2 Tablespoons whole =1/4 cup ground)
• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Topping ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.  I made mini muffins and made 33.  (So 1 tin of 24 + 9 more)  
2. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (milk, vinegar, oil, syrup, extracts.)  In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flax, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt).  Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just until combined. (I poured the dry into the wet and then reused the bowl from the dry ingredients for the topping.)
3. Gently fold in the blueberries.  Pour into prepared muffin tins.  I used my cookie scoop.  It was the perfect size to fill my mini muffin tin to the top.  
4. In a small bowl (I used my dry ingredients bowl) mix topping ingredients until combined.  Sprinkle over the muffins.
5. Bake for 13-16 minutes or until golden and top of muffin springs back when pressed.   Let cool a bit before serving.  

Chocolate peanut butter popcorn/cereal

So, I really should be done blogging for the day, but the next 2 are so much fun that I just have to keep blogging.  (That and my boys are actually playing very nicely together, and dinner had to marinate for an hour so it is done and in the fridge.  Score!)

A little while ago I got a group of e-books.  One of my favorite in the set is called real food, real easy.  It has some great recipes for real food.  Both of the next 2 recipes are adaptations of recipes from that book.  I'm also planning to redo my sidebar soon and add the blogs of all of the contributors of the e-book because they are more in line with the new healthier way I'm cooking.  Yet another thing on my to do list. :)  

I'm not sure how, but the original recipe didn't have you cook this at all.  Seemed like it would be too moist and sticky.  Since I was already making granola, I just cooked it similarly.  Made the popcorn/cereal perfectly dry.  

I forsee many versions of this popcorn - honey cinnamon, plain peanut butter, maple....  Let the experimenting begin.

All of the kids except Tavio loved this plain as a snack.  Tavio said it tasted burnt.  I actually tossed a few in my milk after my muesli this morning and I think it was even better as cereal than as a snack.  Definitely a keeper.

Ingredients

• about 3 quarts popped popcorn (1 cup kernels)
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (original was only 1/4 -I may try the lesser amount.  I just messed up this time, but it worked great and I type how I made things)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Melt together the peanut butter, honey, cocoa powder and coconut oil.  (This really took no time - less than a minute on the stove - of course it is summer in Houston.  :)
2. Pour over popcorn and stir together until well coated.
3. Pour popcorn on parchment lined baking sheets.
4. Bake at 300 for about 5 minutes.  (To be honest, I threw mine in when the oven was still pre-heating and left it about 7 minutes.)
5. Turn the oven off but do not remove the popcorn.  Let rest in the oven for a couple of hours.  (I went to a class at the gym and took this out when I got home.  My granola definitely wasn't ready, but this was perfect.)
6. Remove and store in an airtight container.

Apple Barley Tart

This original recipe intrigued me for 2 reasons.  1 because it used quince and I have never even heard of that fruit let alone tried it.  Sadly I couldn't find it in the 3 stores I checked in over the week.  However, I was also intrigued by the use of barley.  I'm always interested in using different grains.  This was quite tasty.  Benjamin absolutely loved it and had seconds and thirds.  That is a treat because he usually hates all dinners.  Aaron wouldn't really eat it - ate his 3 bites worth and filled up on salad.  Tavio complained it was too sweet but ate his whole piece.  The rest of us liked it, so go figure - mixed reviews.  It was pretty sweet for a dinner meal, but it also had the Swiss cheese in there to counter act the sweet of the apple.  Thank goodness my apple jelly was expired or it would have been even sweeter.  As it was, I don't think I would have wanted any more sweetness, and I was glad I didn't have the apple jelly that was in the original recipe.  Here is how we made it.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used Jarlsberg)
• 2 cups barley cooked and cooled (I used whole grain barley -both whole grain and pearled say simmer 1 cup in 3 cups water for 45-50 minutes. Worked well for me and I had left over.)
• 1 red apple cored and diced
• 1 green apple cored and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1 - 9 inch deep dish pie crust (I used this recipe with wheat flour and coconut palm sugar)   

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  
2. Lightly beat eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in cheese, barley, apples and dates.  Pour into the pie crust.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or so until the bottom browns (I believe I had to add a few minutes 2-5)

zucchini pineapple bread

Here is the zucchini bread I mentioned in the last post.  I thought it odd that the 2 of these recipes seemed so different.  as far as this one actually had no oil and nothing that I consider an oil substitute (like the applesauce in the previous recipe - which also contained oil)  Obviously due to the differences in composition, the resulting bread was quite different.  This was a heavier bread -more the type I'd expect for a banana or zucchini bread.  This bread was also good.  I was worried because I thought for sure it was burned - I started smelling it at 48 min, checked and took it out immediately.  However, I absolutely loved the first piece with all of the crust.  It was nice and crispy and delicious - no burned flavor.  I am glad however that I went in the kitchen before the suggest 60 minutes was up or this would have been burnt to a crisp.
Minimal changes here - just changed out the sugar and spices to be more to my liking.  Yum.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 1/2 cups (190 grams - I weighed mine - seemed easier and I used 201 grams)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds for ease, but would have prefered walnuts or pecans.)
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray
2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon in a bowl.  Set aside
3. Place egg, coconut sugar, vanilla, pineapple and zucchini into the blender.  Blend for 10-15 seconds or until well blended.
4. Add dry ingredients.  Pulse until well mixed (or stir in by hand.)
5. Stir in nuts and raisins by hand.  Pour into loaf pan.
6. Bake for 45 -50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

whole wheat banana nut bread

Yesterday I had some bananas that needed to be used (actually have some more today.  :)  And I had some zucchini that I needed to use so for some reason even though I was teaching a piano lesson and making home-made pizza (ie making bread dough) I decided to go ahead and make both of those as well.  I think the thing that possessed me to do such a thing was the fact that both recipes were in the vitamix book.  I guess I figured anything made in the blender has to be speedy right?  Although the recipe said it only took 5 minutes prep an 10-15 seconds blender time, it took me more like 30 minutes to get both recipes prepared.  They were quick, and the blender helped, and maybe if you weren't distracted by children attempting to do dishes or wanting you to play it would take closer to the 5 minutes projected time in the book.  But I was making this "hurriedly"  making this before my piano student arrived.  Ha Ha!

OK, to the bread - this was a nice banana bread (except for the fact that it stuck like crazy to the bread pan, but that was totally my fault.  I forgot to add the applesauce and stirred it in while it was in the pan thus making my non-stick spray quite ineffective.)  I liked this as a different banana bread.  It wasn't overly heavy on the bananas (I actually usually like more banana, and think I'd like to omit the applesauce next time and use another banana, but that is an experiment for another day.)  This bread had a more "bready" texture than regular banana bread.  Usually banana bread is a bit more dense.  This was a bit lighter with a texture a bit more like a yeast bread even though this had no yeast.  It also had a hint of lemon flavor (can't taste it today, but fresh I could taste it.)
I have altered this recipe changing out the oils and sugar.  The vitamix book used a heart healthy butter spread.  I'm into using more real foods and in this case chose coconut oil.

See how sad - the middle totally fell out when I turned the bread over.  

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon peel
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (reserve some for the top of the bread)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray
2. combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl  Set aside
3. Place egg, coconut sugar, coconut oil, milk, lemon peel, bananas and applesauce in the blender.  Blend for 10-15 seconds or until smooth.
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients (by pulsing in the blender, or just mixing by hand.  Stir in nuts.
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes (I'd check at about 55.  For a change this banana bread actually took a bit less than the recipe said it would.)

Muesli

This "recipe" is from another one of my Healthy cooking groups.  More than a recipe, it is just kind of an idea of things to toss in to make a home-made muesli.  It is super simple.  There are no measurements, no right or wrong, and I actually toss in ends of other cereals we have at home making it a great way to get rid of that last 1/4 cup of rice crispies someone left in the box.  I've made this a couple of times now, and last time didn't actually "make" a new batch, I just tossed in some more oats, cereal and raisins.  See, super easy right.
Serve this with milk, or on top of yogurt.

Here is what it looked like today.  I had some organic chocolate crisp cereal
I tried in there this time.  The white balls are the puffed millet.  Looks like I got
a bit carried away with it.  :)

Ingredients

• rolled oats - lots - think about 1/2-3/4 of the amount you want to make.  I use a big bowl and fill it about 1/2 way with oats. 

Optional ingredients - just pick and choose what you like

• chopped nuts - any type
• seeds - ground flax, flax, chia, sesame...
• wheat germ
• any desired cereal - I try to stick to healthy ones.  Read labels carefully...  Really you can put anything here - just not a lot.  I like the cereal for a change of flavor and/or texture - grape nuts add a great crunch, rice crispies do too.  I also like puffed grain cereal - found a puffed millet I added for fun last time.
• any dried fruit - raisins, blueberries.... (I love to add raisins - they add sweetness.)
• unsweetened coconut
• Granola - home made is great.  Use enough to make the muesli sweet.  

Directions

Fill a large mixing bowl about 1/2 way full with rolled oats.  Add any optional ingredients and stir to combine.  Store in an airtight container.

blender buttermilk waffles

Update: This is now my goto waffle recipe. I now use all wheat, sometimes 2/3 c bean flour, 2/3 c water, other times 1/3 cup each and 1/3 cup olive oil. Both turn out well. Love this recipe.

 After I taught my bean class, I ordered a downloadable bean book from everydayfoodstorage.net.  I've been trying to try some recipes from there, that this was one of those recipes - modified of course.  All of her baking recipes use bean puree.  I use bean flour.  It is way easier than pureeing beans in my opinion.  I also made these wheat-white and added a bit of vanilla.    I used a smaller portion of wheat than I normally would have because I ran out in the front of the pantry and didn't feel like crawling to the back to pull out another barrel.  However, I really liked this combination a lot.  I'm trying not to use white flour, and will probably end up trying this same recipe using 100% wheat, but I will probably also make these occasionally with white. She also made them in the blender - simple I suppose, but mine was probably dirty from green smoothies -or I didn't want to make it dirty so I could make green smoothies, so I made them the traditional way.   They were very light and fluffy - that is a problem I have with my current waffle mix.  I did double this from the original as well.  I have a large waffle iron and if I'm going to make waffles, I want left overs for another day in the week.  (they fit perfectly in my toaster.  I either refrigerate the extras, or freeze them separated by wax paper for another day.)
For the combination of being healthier than a lot of my other waffle recipes, and being so nice and fluffy I could give them a 5 star rating, but I still think I like tender sour cream waffles better, so they will stay a 4.5.  However, they are an awesome, plain waffle.  I'm planning to try and make a mix based on this recipe if I ever get buttermilk powder again.

Ingredients

• 4 cups buttermilk
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cups bean flour
• 2/3 cups water
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 1/4 cups wheat flour (I use white wheat and again, this is just the amount I had ground.  I'd either go all wheat next time or half and half -1 3/4 cups of each)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (bean flour, white flour, wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) until well blended.  Whisk in remaining ingredients (buttermilk, water, eggs, and vanilla) until combined.
2. Pour in pre-heated waffle iron and bake according to your waffle iron's instructions.  For me, it is until it beeps.  :)  LOVE my waffle iron.

zucchini bread muffins

Here is the recipe I used for muffins using waffle mix at my bean class.  It is similar to carrot cake muffins.

Ingredients

•3 cups waffle mix

•2 cups shredded zucchini

•1 cup sour cream

•¼ cup agave (or sweetener of choice)

•2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

•1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

•Dash of ginger

•Dash of nutmeg

Directions

1.Stir together all ingredients until moistened throughout. 

2.Spoon into muffin pans either lined with papers or sprayed with cooking spray.

3.Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  (You may want to check at 18.  I thought these were a tad bit overdone, but just the tiniest bit.  Original recipe said 30 minutes which would definitely be too long.)

bacon quiche

So, one of my freezer meals was supposed to be a quiche.  I never made it.  I had it on my menu for this evening and planned to just make it normally, but the thing called for 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup milk and only 3 eggs (for 2 quiches)  I just couldn't imagine making a quiche with mayo and it tasting good.  I went to our best bites to check out their ideas and found a zucchini quiche.  Although I like zucchini and have one in the fridge, DH doesn't like it and I felt like sparing him.  Plus I'd rather toss the zucchini in some muffins or waffles.  Point being, their quiche used no milk.  I liked that idea because my problem with quiche is that it always comes out too moist for my liking.  I figured no milks, no extra moisture right?  So, I kind of ended up just making up my own recipe.  Turned out to be the best quiche.  Everyone loved it (except Aaron which surprised me because he likes eggs.)  So I'm actually blogging this right away so I don't forget it.

Ingredients

• 2 store bought frozen pie crusts, thawed  (remember I had some of the ingredients from the original recipe which was a freezer meal.  Feel free to make your own crust. I personally love my push in pie crust - totally no fail. -You could probably leave out the sugar for this recipe)
• 4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or buy precooked and cut with scissors)
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons garlic
• dash garlic and herb seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash of oregano
• 6 oz shredded swiss cheese
• 8 eggs

Directions

1. Saute onions in butter until fragrant.  Add the garlic and saute a minute or 2 more.  I added my salt and pepper here too, but you could just add that to the eggs.  Remove from heat and set aside to begin cooling.
2. In a large bowl (I always use a measuring bowl with a spout so it is easy to pour.)  Beat eggs, with seasonings.  Add Cheese and whisk again.  Add bacon and onions and whisk again.  Divide evenly between the 2 pie crusts.
3. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  (both my recipes said 40-50, and I checked at 30 thinking I was just going to cover the crust.  I left it in for 5 minutes more, because I'm so used to quiche being to moist for my liking but I could have taken it out after 30 minutes.  However, it was not rubbery or anything after 35.)
4. Let cool slightly and serve.  (I let mine cool while I made green smoothies.

Chocolate cherry puff pancake

So, last night I saw this recipe at two peas and their pod and decided to do my own spin on it for breakfast this morning by making it more like our peach puff pancake which everyone really likes.  Aaron didn't care for it, but Benjamin couldn't get enough of it.  It wasn't overly sweet, and no one put syrup or even powdered sugar - nothing on it.  (Maybe Aaron would have liked it more that way.)  I thought it was a nice change to peach puff.  I liked the cherry/chocolate flavor, but then again, I really like cherries, and I really like chocolate.  :)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 large eggs
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 Tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 cups cherries (I used frozen pie cherries - just regular cherries, not cherry pie filling)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Toss the cherries with 1 Tablespoon of sugar.  Place butter and sugared cherries in the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan and put in the oven until butter has melted. (it is fine if the oven is still pre-heating)
2. While the butter melts, Combine remaining ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth, scraping sides if necessary.  
3. Once butter has melted, pour chocolate mixture over the butter and cherries.  Bake for 25 minutes or until set in the center and puffed on the sides.

Whole grain chia waffles

These I make different every time I make them.  I have way too much fun with them.  I will write the recipe we were given by Amoreena, but will add my notes.
As far as waffles go, these are just fine - they are waffles.  I figure they don't have to be spectacular if you are going to put some maple syrup on them.  They were also good with strawberry chia jam.  Now when I added some mashed banana (2) and some mini chocolate chips, then made a "syrup" that was 1 part maple syrup, 1 part peanut butter, melted in the microwave.  Now those were scrumptious and got remade a few times in a row.  Yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour - really any combination will do.  My original says 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup spelt, but I've made them with lots of combinations of spelt, oat, wheat, barley, brown rice, and even probably bean.  Have fun.  I just usually keep at least 1/3 wheat.
• 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chia gel
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 -2 cups almond milk (I usually use vanilla if I'm using almond.  Any milk would do)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients.  Then add the rest.  When adding milk, add until you get a nice pouring consistency.  The batter will still be thick.  Cook in waffle iron.

pumpkin doughnuts

This recipe isn't from double delicious, but it is from Jessica Seinfeld's first book deceptively delicious.  I wasn't nearly as impressed with this recipe as the previous recipes.  The donuts had a weird texture to me - almost too soft??  Hard to explain.  They win a post because Mr. Picky 3 year old also gobbled these up.  I did have to make some modifications though.  The original dough was just way too thin.  I also thought the first batch was just way too heavy on the pumpkin/sweet potato flavor so I added more cinnamon to the rest of the batch.
This is how I made them - with extra flour and cinnamon, and instructions written for a doughnut maker.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (certainly you could just use another 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, but I had sweet potatoes to use up so I had made sweet potato puree)
• 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1 large egg white 
• 1 Tablespoon tub butter, melted - I would probably omit this next time and just add the whole egg.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup unbleached flour  (you could use wheat, but I didn't have any ground and didn't want to wake anyone up just yet with the noise of the grinder)
• 1/4 cup barley flour (again, just me being experimental, feel free to use regular flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (possibly more next time)
• powdered sugar for dusting if desired

Instructions

1. Plug in doughnut maker to pre-heat.  In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, pumpkin, sweet potato, buttermilk, egg white, tub butter, and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.  Mix until incorporated.
2. Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough into doughnut maker.  Close lid and let cook for 5-6 minutes.  Remove.  Let cool and dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Pumpkin waffles

I wanted to make something pumpkin themed for breakfast this morning, and I have a few things marked that are pumpkin but they were going to take a while.  When I asked Brandon what he wanted he said pumpkin waffles.  The recipe I had seen for those had 1 2/3 cups sugar.  I wasn't about to do that, so I searched for a new one and found this one.  I mean when the site is called pumpkinwaffles and says the guy has tried 80 + recipes what can you do.  However, I still altered this to my liking.  I subbed out some wheat flour, used 1/2 the sugar, used coconut oil, and not as much .....
These were loved by all.  Tavio and I ate a full waffle, no syrup, while cooking the rest.  Aaron ate 2 squares.  These were not tiny squares I have a calphalon waffle iron, It takes me 2 cups of batter to make 1 batch of 4 waffle squares - so that is 1 cup of batter for a little guy who doesn't always eat a great breakfast.  I was super happy because I made these super healthy.  I used an additive that adds fiber, some greek yogurt to add texture and protein, and still used 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white flour.  Not to mention they had pumpkin in them.  Not only were they decently nutritious for a waffle, but they were also just a good waffle.  Tavio gripes that the waffles I usually make are too heavy.  (And they are.)  These were nice and creamy in the center.  (sounds like a weird word to describe a waffle, but that was what I could think of.)  Nice and light.   Just the right amount of pumpkin and spice.  Only think I would have liked a bit more would be a bit crispier on the outside, but I actually baked one a tiny bit longer and that helped.
I did not take a picture and I'm pretty sure that there are no left overs, but they are a waffle.  :)

So this is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup hi maize resistant starch (most people don't have this so just add 1/4 cup flour -this just adds fiber.  Not sure why I bought it but I use it when I use white flour a lot.)
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups 1% milk
• 1 can (15-16 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 6 Tablespoons coconut oil, heated just enough to be liquid (It was actually a cold morning so I had to warm it.)

Directions

1. Heat waffle iron.
2. Combine brown sugar and corn starch in a bowl.  Whisk together to break evenly mix.  Add remaining dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk pumpkin and coconut oil until smooth.  Separate eggs putting yolks into the pumpkin mixture and whites into another bowl (to be whipped.)
4. Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.  (I did this in my kitchen aide while whisking the other wet ingredients)
5. Whisk yogurt and milk into the pumpkin mixture.  Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until combined.  Gently fold in the egg whites until well combined.  
6. Bake according to your waffle iron instructions.  -My Calphalon waffle iron beeps at me when it gets to my selected doneness.