Baked: Sour Cream Pancakes and Blueberry Banana Bread

I like to bake. Mainly because people like baked goods, and I like to make people happy; I also like to make pretty things. In high school I would bring chocolate chip cookies or pumpkin loaf to school for friends and classmates. I didn't do too much baking as an undergrad, due to dorm life and doing other things, but since moving to TX, and with the help of grad school, I have great reason to bake again. Baking for the husband, baking for classmates and friends, meetings and gatherings. Last semester I baked something at least every other Sunday to bring in. I kind of want to open a puffed pancake shop, there I said it. Or just a shop that serves baked breakfast goods- pancakes of all styles and flavors, loafs, muffins, oatmeal and the sort. Don't worry, I'm not dropping out of grad school with three months to go. Just a little day dreaming. Anyway, here's a couple of things I've baked as of late. 

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Sour Cream Pancakes

I know- sour cream pancakes sounds weird. My husband definitely made a face when I told him what I was making for breakfast last Saturday morning, but I reassured him by telling him the recipe was from the Pioneer Woman, and with the mention of that magical name, enough skepticism melted away for him to try them. And we both really liked them. They are light and delicious and oh-so-good. Easier than regular pancakes too, somehow (though not quite as easy as puffed pancakes, if you're wondering where they fall on the pancake-ease-of-baking scale). Here is the recipe. I didn't change anything, though I think they would be delicious with berries, or lemon squeezed on top with a dusting of powdered sugar. One batch made an odd 7 pancakes, though, and they are thin, so if you're very hungry and serving more than one, I'd suggest doubling or doing one and a half batches. That would make for a more impressive pancake stack, too. 

^^basking in the morning light^^

Blueberry Banana Bread

Loafs are probably one of the easiest things to make, yes? I like that there are loafs for every season. Pumpkin for fall. Gingerbread for winter. Zucchini for summer. Banana for spring. Something like that. Perhaps for 2014 I will loaf my way through the year- ooh new idea! Well I've made many banana breads, sometimes with chocolate chips, but never with blueberries. This is probably the prettiest loaf I've ever made. And maybe the most delicious (anything beats that gingerbread loaf). I used a recipe from here, but with the following changes:

-I didn't want to buy a big thing of buttermilk, because when would I ever use buttermilk again, so I just used 1/4 c. regular milk with a couple squirts of lime juice (since I didn't have lemon juice). Not sure if the lime did anything, but I'm sticking to it.
- You don't really need to measure out your blueberries. That's just silly.
- I don't have an electric mixer and mixed with a spoon/spatula, and melted the butter a bit to make that easier.
- Since I did the one large loaf instead of minis, I baked it for about 60 minutes. I started with 30 and checked it, then did another 10 and checked it, then another 15ish maybe...it was probably around 60, maybe a little more. Just stick a knife in and make sure it comes out clean, and you're good.

- S

Spaghetti Squash Crust Vegetable Quiche

For lunch this week I made a quiche with a spaghetti squash crust. This is actually the first quiche I've ever made though I've been wanting to make one for some time now. I had a half spaghetti squash leftover from the week before, and I thought this would be a perfect new use for it. The recipe I used is from here, but I made some changes. I didn't measure the squash, just used half of one smaller squash. I also wanted more veggies in it, so I used onion, garlic, spinach, asparagus and mushrooms for the sauteed veggie mix, along with chives in the egg mix, plus some mozzarella cheese I had in the fridge. Basically all you need to know for this recipe is: 5 eggs, one cup of milk, press the squash into a greased pan, saute whatever veggies you want, add the seasoned egg mix to the pan, add the veggies, bake at 400 for 40 minutes. Very easy! 

And the finished product...

I'm not sure how well it will hold up through the week (I imagine reheating will make it a bit mushy so it might be better served immediately), but at least I'm trying, right?

- S

Stovetop Popcorn Recipe

 Popcorn is definitely one of my favorite and most consumed snacks, so I thought I'd share how I make and season mine! Typically I would just season with olive oil and salt, but my favorite now is with rosemary (subtle; it mostly flavors the olive oil a little bit) and a bit of hot sauce as well.

1. In a pot with a lid, put 1-2 TBS olive oil, rosemary, and 3 kernels on high heat (I put it at the second highest dial). The 3 kernels will tell you when it's hot enough to pop your corn.
2. Once the three kernels pop, add however much popcorn you want! I don't measure, so that's the best I can tell you.
3. Pop pop!
4. Pour popped popcorn into a bowl, season with more olive oil and salt. Finish with hot sauce and mix! Adjust seasonings accordingly.
5. Munch away.
Note: I think this goes without saying, but make sure you put the lid on the pot, unless your intent is to create a New Years confetti shower effect in your kitchen.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Spaghetti Squash Latkes

I've bought and prepared spaghetti squash a time or two in the past, but this is the first time I've bought one lately. I wanted to try out some new ways to prepare it. I think it's great if you're on your own (for me especially, because I don't think Kyle would enjoy it much, particularly if it's meant to take the place of pasta or potato), because you roast it up and have a whole lot of spaghetti squash ready to go for your week. I think I got about six meals out of it. The first evening after I cooked it I mixed it with sauteed onion and bell pepper, and added pesto and parmesan cheese. It was really good! The next day for lunch I made some latkes, with onion and green onion, salt (some garlic some regular), pepper, one egg and flour (2-3 tablespoons probably). I didn't follow a recipe for either, just kind of made it up and checked consistency, and it worked really well! You just cook them in olive oil until they look done (nice and brown and a bit crispy). Very easy and very good! I didn't try it, but I think they'd be great with a little sour cream on top.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Easy Pancake Imposter

I had some bananas around this morning, so I decided to try a variation of a couple recipes I've seen around Pinterest (this one and this one). One banana, one tablespoon of peanut butter, one egg, plus cinnamon and vanilla. Cook it like you would pancakes, and voila! They were pretty good; no syrup or any extra toppings necessary (I put a sprinkle of cinnamon). They're not exactly fluffy like pancakes, but it's a nice new way to eat a banana and a quick breakfast idea.

Curried Turkey with Rice

This evening I made an adapted version of this curried turkey and rice recipe I found. I thought it needed something more than just ground turkey, spice and diced tomatoes, so I added some veggies I had in the fridge. I began by sauteing chopped onion in olive oil, then adding the turkey. Once the turkey was cooked I added the bell pepper and mushrooms, and cooked them for a while before adding the curry powder. I probably used about double the amount of curry they suggested (about 2 tsp), and I put in the full can of diced tomatoes (because what was I going to do with the other half?). I added some salt and pepper here and there, put in some chopped cilantro at the end of cooking, and that's it! It was quite delicious, and simple (and smelled amazing)!

UPDATE: This also makes excellent leftovers!

- From the desk of Mrs. M