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Sometimes you just want breakfast at dinner. Then again, sometimes you also forget to defrost the meat until it’s time to cook.
I’ll let you decide which situation I was in!
If you’re a crepe and thin pancake type of person, then these are not for you. If you like thick fluffy pancakes that actually taste like cake, then walk (read? cook?) this way.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups cake flour (PW had an extra 2 tablespoons of cake flour added but I removed them with no problems)
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tub vanilla yoghurt (6oz)
2 whole large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla (reduced from 3 in the original recipe to compensate for the vanilla yoghurt)
4 tablespoons butter
Note: The original recipe had 2 cups of milk and no yoghurt. I made that substitution because I thought it might be interesting!
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, add your flour. Sifting it is not necessary, but I like to do it because I find it results in a smoother texture when mixing.
Add the salt.
Add the sugar.
Followed by the baking powder.
Give it a quick stir to combine.
In a separate medium size bowl, add the eggs.
Add the vanilla.
Add the yoghurt.
Followed by the milk.
Give things a stir until combined.
Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined. Don’t worry if there are some small lumps, it doesn’t matter.
The batter is quite thick, but that is ok. Trust me. If you don’t want to trust me and want the batter thinner then go ahead and add some milk. I take no responsibility for the end results though!
Melt the butter and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine.
The actual cooking of the pancakes is where Pioneer Woman and I part company. Her directions say to cook on a greased skillet, but pancakes are one of the few culinary times when I prefer a non-stick pan. A dry non-stick pan. That’s right, no butter, no cooking spray, dry. I find that it allows you to cook longer at a lower temperature, giving the pancakes time to rise properly without getting burned from and kind of grease.
So put your teflon coated pan over a medium-low temperature and ladle in a 1/4 cup of the batter at a time.
Allow them to cook slowly. They will puff up a fair bit and start to bubble.
Sorry you can’t see the bubbles well here – I don’t have a macro lens for my camera.
Flip them over to cook the other side, periodically pressing on the top to feel for firmness.
When both sides are golden brown, get them out of the pan and serve with your favourite pancake toppings!
What you do after that is your own business. Putting some on a fork and pretending it’s a Lego laser shooter is completely optional.
♥
I’m on a quest to show my husband that you can have a satisfying meal that doesn’t contain meat, but all he does is grumble if there is no animal flesh to be seen. He wants me to add chicken to this dish, and you could, but I’m still refusing. Not every meal has to contain meat, baby!
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, finely diced
1 cup vodka
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 32oz can crushed tomatoes (mine had basil in it)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn (optional)
I’m not secretly an alcoholic – the large bottle of vodka is leftover from a party we had months ago!
DIRECTIONS
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat then add the butter and oil.
Add the garlic and shallots to the pan and gently sauté for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness.
Add the vodka to the pan.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate and the mixture should reduce in volume by half.
Add the vegetable or chicken stock.
Followed by the tomatoes.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
Cover, reduce the heat, and allow it to simmer while you prepare your pasta according to the directions on the package.
When your pasta is ready, add the cream to the sauce and stir until combined.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When the sauce returns to a boil, remove it from the heat and drain the pasta if you haven’t already. Put the drained pasta back in its pot and pour the sauce over the top.
Give it all a big stir to evenly coat the pasta. If you’re going to use the fresh basil, now would be the time to throw it in so it gets distributed throughout.
Serve immediately with some fresh parmesan on top if you so desire.
YUM!
♥
I swear, recipe titles always sound more impressive when they’re in French! Translated, “Potage Parmentier” means plain old leek and potato soup, but sometimes it is the simple things in life that are the yummiest. Sometimes a bowl of soup just hits the right spot!
INGREDIENTS
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 lb leeks, thinly sliced
1 lb potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/3 cup cream
DIRECTIONS
Pour the water into a big pot and bring to a boil.
I need to get myself a new stock pot. This one has been around for over 10 years and is quite beaten up!
While the water is heating up, use the time to peel and quarter your potatoes.
As well as to thinly slice your leeks. For those who have never used fresh leeks before, just cut the root tip off and then start slicing all the way up to where the green bits start to branch out.
Add the salt.
The potatoes.
And finally the leeks.
Then put the lid back on the pot with it vented slightly and boil for 45 minutes. You want everything nice and soft!
Once you have finished the boiling process you have two choices. If you like your soup slightly lumpy then go ahead and use a potato masher to smooth it out somewhat. It will still have texture because you won’t get it perfectly smooth with a masher.
If you’re like me and like your soup smooth as a baby’s bottom, then ladle some into a blender. We’re going to blend this in batches, so have a spare saucepan or a big bowl handy to empty the blender into to make space for the next batch. Just don’t get impatient and fill it more than half way or you’re going to have a soup explosion and a big mess to clean up!
Then pulse it a few times until it is as smooth as desired.
Once everything is mashed or blended, return the soup to the saucepan and reheat it. Then turn off the heat, add the cream, and stir till fully combined.
Serve and eat! It goes great with some crusty French bread. 
I wish I had remembered to buy crusty French bread!
♥
As delicious as this is, I’m embarrassed to post these pictures of it. Everything was going great in the cooking process until things got kind of crazy in my house right when the oven buzzer was due to go off…and it got slightly burned. So I beg your forgiveness and ask you to use your imagination to envision a lightly browned cheesy top and creamy moist layers of potato beneath it. Really!
INGREDIENTS
5-6 medium-large size potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3-4 medium size cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup whole milk
salt
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Use the butter to grease a medium size baking dish.
Evenly dot the garlic around the bottom of the dish.
Start layering the potatoes.
Periodically sprinkle a little salt and keep on layering.
And layer some more until you reach the top of the dish.
Mix your two cheeses together then evenly distribute it over the top.
Carefully pour the milk into the corners of the dish.
No that’s not milk in the picture – all I had was 1% so I had to use cream. Bad Sarah!
Then pop it in the oven to bake for 50-60 minutes.
Just don’t be like me and get distracted and end up with a dry, burnt disaster!
One more thing. We sometimes put some diced bacon or ham into the layers as we are stacking the potatoes and that adds a great new flavour to this dish. Try it sometime! 
♥
I have never actually cooked pot roast before. I’ve made roast beef once or twice and I’ve done casserole roasted pork, but never pot roast. In fact, I’m not sure I even recall having it in my childhood either. This recipe looked so delicious though that I just had to give it a try!
INGREDIENTS
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole (4-5 lbs) Chuck Roast (mine was 3lbs)
2 whole Onions, peeled and halved
6-8 whole Carrots, sliced in 2″ segments
Salt To Taste
Pepper To Taste
1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste
The rosemary is missing because I hadn’t cut it out of the garden before taking this picture.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Dry your roast with some paper towels (important or it won’t brown as well) then generously salt and pepper it.
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.
Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.
When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups).
Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as the 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Put the lid on, then roast in the oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For other size roasts, plan on about an hour per pound.
When cooked, you should be able to use 2 forks to tear the meat apart, though feel free to use a knife to carve it if you prefer. Mashed potatoes go well as side for this dish accompanied by some of the yummy carrots and onion from the pot. Use some of the juices over top as a gravy.
Now, I have to be honest here. This recipe didn’t quite live up to my expectations and I felt it lacked depth in its flavour. That could be because my cut of beef was not very well marbled, which is very likely. Another culprit could be that I used the beef broth rather than red wine. I also felt like it could have done with more substantial gravy than just the juices from the pot.
Overall this recipe really has potential and I will definitely try it again sometime with some tweaking!
♥
This recipe makes me feel homesick for Australia. My dad used to make these and they’re just the quintessential home cooked meal to me. The Americans reading this are probably thinking “What’s the big deal? They look like burgers.” I guess they do look like that, but they’re thicker and you don’t serve them on hamburger buns…though the leftovers are great sliced up on a sandwich the next day!
INGREDIENTS
2lbs ground beef
½ large onion, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Italian mixed herbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 ground black pepper
Olive oil for frying
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef.
Add the onions.
Add the cheese.
The bread crumbs.
The eggs.
The Worchestershire sauce
And finally the salt, pepper, and mixed spices.
Now comes the fun part, or the gross part, depending on where you’re coming from!
Stick your hands in there and mix everything up thoroughly. Just don’t forget to take off any rings you’re wearing first or they will get mighty mucky!
Divide them into 8-12 evenly sized balls, depending on how big you want to make them.
Over a medium-high heat, add a dollop of oil.
When the oil is hot, plop the rissoles in the pan and squash them down a little to make the cooking time a little speedier.
Cook them for 10-12 minutes each side and serve immediately with the sides of your choice
As you can see, one of the sides we had was potatoes au gratin, or plain old “potato bake” as it is known in my house. I’ll be posting that recipe on Thursday!
Yum!
♥
I know to some people it may seem kind of hokey, but I love wearing my apron when I cook. If anything I see it as a way to save the millions of trees worth of paper towels that I would otherwise go through from constantly wiping my hands while I cook. Plus the added bonus of protecting your clothes from unwieldy splatters!
So this month, that is what we’re giving away – your very own Williams Sonoma apron! I have had one for years and love it to death. It is made of sturdy cotton twill, is machine washable, has a D-ring loop on the neck strap for easy adjustment, and has waist straps long enough for those of us who are *ahem* a little more well endowed. The colour choice is yours (mine is blue but I would love the red one pictured above!) and I will have it shipped directly to you.
How do you win, you ask? Simple! Comment on this thread, answering the following question:
What has been your biggest cooking disaster?
The giveaway will be open until 10pm on Monday March 15th and the winner will be announced the following morning.
Happy March everyone!
♥
Yes I know this is probably one of the most unhealthy dishes on the planet, but in the words of Paula Deen, “I’m your cook, not your doctor.”
That’s all I have to say about that.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound Fettuccine Noodles
1 stick Butter
1 cup Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
4-6 slices of bacon (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium-high heat to the level of done-ness you normally like. I love my cast iron skillet for things like bacon!
Sit the bacon slices on some paper towels to absorb some of the fat then cut it into small pieces.
There was more bacon than this but certain little fingers kept stealing it!
Put the pasta on to boil, following the directions on the box. I like to add a splash of olive oil to the water before putting in the pasta because I find it helps keep the pasta from sticking to itself too much.
Over a medium heat, melt the butter.
Pour in the cream and bring to a gentle boil until combined.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Now this is where I changed things a little. Ree has you put half the parmesan cheese (1 cup) into a bowl before pouring the sauce from the pan into the bowl on top of the cheese. I decided to mix half a cup of cheese into the sauce in the pan first.
Then I put 1 cup of the cheese into a large bowl before pouring in the sauce.
Add the bacon to the sauce and stir to mix.
Drain the pasta and immediately pour it into the bowl.
Toss a couple of times, then sprinkle in the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan.
Yes, I did forget to toss it before adding the cheese!
Toss to combine, thinning with some of the pasta water if necessary. I didn’t need to thin mine because I used 12oz of pasta instead of a full pound, so there was more sauce to go around.
Serve immediately as a main course or accompaniment to meat or salad.
We do like meat in our house and I think if I were to serve it on its own like this again I might add some chicken to it instead of the bacon. The original PW recipe didn’t have the bacon, I just added it on a whim to see if it would work and it would work well if you were serving it as a side dish. Another thing I would change in the future is to add a little garlic to it.
Criticism aside, it was mighty tasty!
I was watching my 2 year old inhale this dinner last night and was so pleased he liked it that I asked him “Who makes the best dinners?”
His response? “Mommy does…….and Daddy loses!”
Poor Daddy.
♥
No you’re not hallucinating, yes it is Wednesday and no, this is not a Pioneer Woman recipe. Before you get out your pitchfork, allow me to explain! I had a recipe all ready to cook last night but in the afternoon my two children transformed themselves into demon spawn. Seriously, it was like the exorcist around here minus the head spinning (though they did come close!).
So after that whole debacle, the last thing I felt like doing was cooking so my awesome husband ordered Chinese take out and I’ve postponed P-Dub day this week to Thursday. I promise. You might not even miss it considering this recipe has cream in it.
Now you’re probably wondering what exactly is Suprêmes De Volaille À Blanc? The translation is Breast of Chicken With Cream and in this case it’s a delicious port cream sauce that you’re going to just love. This is originally a Julia Child recipe that I’ve adapted somewhat to streamline the process.
INGREDIENTS
4 skinless chicken breasts
Chicken Seasoning
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup port
1 cup cream
Salt
Pepper
Fresh parsley (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Apply cooking spray liberally over a baking sheet and place the chicken breasts on top, then sprinkle the chicken seasoning over top of them. Pop them in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes.
Pour the chicken stock and port into a pan and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil down until the liquid is syrupy.
Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until the cream has thickened slightly.
Taste the sauce and season it as needed with the salt and pepper.
If you haven’t yet, remove the chicken breasts from the oven and serve with the sauce poured over top.
I know they don’t look appetizing, but they’re really moist and once you put the sauce over top you’ll forget how they look underneath!
If you’re anything like us and love sauces, you might end up doubling the sauce recipe. If you do that, just plan accordingly because it will take longer for the syrup to form so you might want to delay putting the chicken in the oven a little. You could also not do that and just let the breasts sit on the plates for a few minutes. They might not be as hot when serving time comes, but letting the meat settle helps maintain the moisture when you cut into them.
Enjoy!
♥
First of all, I would like to apologize for my absence around here lately. For those of you who are unaware my husband is currently deployed. I also have a 2 year old and 4 year old that usually refuse to eat what I cook anyways so I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen lately. As if those two things weren’t enough to keep me about an inch away from losing my mind, last week I decided to buy a house. I close in April. I will be back on the east coast visiting family until 2 days before I close, I still have to clean and paint over the walls in my military quarters, pack, etc. So anyways, sorry, but my life has been ridiculously hectic lately. Normally it’s so boring while my husband is home but the minute he leaves things go berserk.
Speaking of my husband he hates coconut. Maybe hate doesn’t appropriately describe the way he feels about coconut. He loathes it. I am forbidden from cooking anything with coconut in it while he is home so I took this opportunity while I could because I LOOOOOOVE coconut.
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
(14 ounce) can cream of coconut
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package sweetened coconut, toasted
- Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions. Remove cake from oven. While still hot, using a utility fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- Mix cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the still hot cake. Let cake cool completely then frost with the whipped topping and top with the toasted coconut. Keep cake refrigerated.
Handy, dandy tip: You can toast coconut in the microwave. Place it in a shallow baking dish and microwave on high 3 minutes, stopping to stir every minute.
xoxo, Steph
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