Recipe: Pumpkin Pancakes

 Today we had this for breakfast:

It was so yummy!

Over the weekend some friends were here and they made pumpkin cinnamon rolls (recipe here) and so there was some leftover pumpkin. I thought pumpkin pancakes with caramel syrup sounded just too good so I adjusted my regular pancake recipe and came up with this:

Heidi's Pumpkin Pancakes

In a medium mixing bowl combine:
2/3 C All Purpose Flour
1/3 C Wheat Flour
2 T Sugar
1 t (heaping) Baking Powder
1/2 t Salt
a Dash of Cinnamon
a Dash of Ginger
a Dash of Nutmeg
Mix and then add:
1 egg
1/3 C Pumpkin Puree
1/3 C Buttermilk
1/2 C Water
Mix just until a thick batter is formed (add more water if needed), don't over-mix.
Cook as you would a regular pancake (for us that means on a griddle at 350 degrees). These take a little longer to cook through but they are worth the wait.

Makes enough for 4 average people (probably 2 hungry people).

Caramel Syrup

In large pan combine:
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
2 T Karo syrup

Mix and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

Baked Apple French Toast

Ingredients

Day 1
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread*, cut diagonally in 1 inch slices
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon


*Homemade bread works great. Use your small loaf pans for a perfect size.

• Day 2
• 2 apples cored, peeled, and coarsely chopped (optional)
• 3/4 cup butter (melted)
• 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
• 
  

Directions

1. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange the slices of bread in the bottom. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
2. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place your chopped apple pieces on top of the bread (which will have soaked up all that yummy egg and milk) In a small bowl, combine butter, and brown sugar. Pour over bread and egg mixture.
3. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

This is a yummy breakfast or brunch. Try it for a Christmas brunch. We will be having this Thanksgiving morning. YUM!

Food Friday - Cooking for World Peace*

The following was submitted by Dr. Nick** who blogs with his wife here.

So I do like to cook, and I really enjoy making my chili recipe, but if the following counts as a recipe, then I submit it, because it makes me happy, and I only get it a couple of times a year.

Take 1 large bowl.
Add Peanut Butter Captain Crunch
Add milk and spoon,
The world is righted.


*thank you Charlotte for the title for this series.

**Dr. Nick is a fabulous man. I had the privilege of "teaching" him the gospel while I was a missionary. The fact is, he didn't really need a teacher. He went from self-proclaimed atheist to lover of The Book of Mormon and His Savior in two weeks. It was an awesome experience to watch. He is an esteemed doctor of psychology and all around fun guy who is going to come visit me some day so that he can go to the Talladaga Speedway (Nascar).

Food Friday - Egg Gravy

Ok, some of you are totally repulsed just by the name of this post. Others may be intrigued. Those of you who have tasted it are saying "Right on! I need this recipe!"

This is a Beck family favorite (especially my dad) but tends to be somewhat polarizing among newcomers to the family. Phil thinks it is pretty good and it has become the standard first breakfast after each chemo treatment. (Eden really likes it too - but not the egg whites, just the yolks for her!)

And without further delay, here is the recipe:

Hard boil three eggs (five minutes in rolling/boiling water)
In a medium sauce pan, melt 2 T butter then add 1/3 C flour and mix until you have a paste. Add 2-3 C milk (depending on how thick you like your gravy). Simmer/cook until thick (usually about 3-5 minutes). You've just made a white sauce! (wonderful for so many things)

Cut the eggs into bite-sized pieces and put them in the gravy. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over toast or biscuits.

Food Friday - Banana Spice Muffins

I found this recipe this week online at cookinglight.com. They are yummy!

2 1/2 C Flour
1/3 C Sugar
1/3 C Brown Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt
1 t Allpsice (ground) (I didn't have allspice so I just used cinnamon)
1 t Ginger (ground)
1 C Mashed Ripe Banana (about 2 small)
2/3 C Milk
1/3 C Buttermilk
1/3 C Ricotta Cheese (I know, who would have thought!)
2 T Vegetable Oil
1 T Vanilla
1 Egg
1 Egg White (I'm lazy and just did two eggs)

Preheat oven to 400

Combine first 8 ingredients (flour through ginger) in a large bowl, and make a well in the center. Combine banana and the next 7 ingredients (banana through eggs) in a bowl, and add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400 for 18 minutes or until done. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional Info (if you use low-fat ingredients):
Calories 125
Fat 2.4g
Protein 3.2g
Cholesterol 13mg
Calcium 59mg
Sodium 194mg
Fiber .8g
Iron 1mg
Carbs 22.6g

(These freeze really well too!)

enjoy!

Food Friday - Saturday Edition

Ok, so I've been in Utah to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday (I'll post on that soon) and so I think I have two recipes to make up for. So here is the Saturday Edition of Food Friday.

Fried Bread

4 C Flour
4 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
2 C Milk

Mix dry ingredients. Add milk and stir 10 minutes (I use my trusty Kitchen Aid). Put some oil in a shallow pan and place on medium-high heat. Knead dough until it is rubbery. Divide into small flat pieces. Pinch a small piece off and place it in the oil. When it quickly bounces to the top and begins to fry, you know it is ready. Fry in oil - turning it over once.

Serving suggestions: eat with butter and jam; sprinkle cinnamon sugar on it; squeeze honey all over it; use it as the base for Navajo Tacos. YUM!!!!

Crepes

3 Eggs
1 1/3 C Milk
3 T Butter (softened but not melted)
1 C Flour
1/2 t Salt

Mix all ingredients with either a hand mixer or (and this is my little secret trick) a blender (because then you can pour the batter right out onto your pan). Heat a small round frying pan with sides on medium-high. When the pan is hot pour a small amount of batter (maybe 1 1/2 T) into the pan and swirl the batter all around (the thinner the better). When the batter doesn't look wet anymore, carefully flip it and brown the other side (maybe 30 seconds).

Serving Ideas: eat them for breakfast with sugar, cinnamon, jam, fresh fruit and whipped cream, or make a yummy center and have stuffed crepes for dinner (suggestions for stuffing available if there is interest).

Food Friday: Buttermilk Pancakes/Waffles

These are so good! They've been in the Beck family for years (as long as I can remember). They are pretty easy and if you cut the recipe in 1/3 it is perfect for a couple.

Buttermilk Pankcakes/Waffles
3 C flour (1C)
1/4 C sugar (1T)
1 rounded T baking powder (1 rounded t)
1 t salt (1/3t)
3 T oil (1T)
3 eggs (1)
1 C buttermilk (1/3C)
2 C water (2/3C)

Mix dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and stir just enough to make flour wet (lumpy is ok). You don't want to over-stir because then you'll have tough pancakes.

Bonus Recipe
Caramel Syrup (perfect on top of your waffles)

In large pan combine:
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
2 T Karo syrup

Mix and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

Yummmm!