Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

These are so good... and so good for you!
(No, I am not a food stylist... and didn't want to waste much time snapping a pic while Bill's pancake was nice and hot)

(This particular pancake was made right after one I had sliced bananas into the batter, thus the round(ish) spots on the pancake)

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 Tbs. sugar (still yummy with only 2 Tbs.)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 Tbs. coconut oil, melted (can use canola)

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Cooking spray

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine buttermilk, coconut oil, egg, and egg white; stir with a whisk. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring just until moist.

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet (OR A CAST IRON SKILLET) over medium heat; coat with cooking spray. Spoon batter onto griddle; turn when edges look cooked and tops are covered with bubbles. Serve with butter and syrup (AND HOMEMADE RASPBERRY JAM).

The cast iron skillet. This is a sad little misshapen pancake... probably the end of the batter in the bowl. But still so yummy!

Note: I LOVE to cut up a banana on the top of the uncooked side of a pancake just before flipping to the other side. Seriously so so good.

Apple Dumplings a la Trisha Yearwood

I don't have a fabulous finished picture of these, but let me tell ya, they are the BOMB. Seriously so so good! My friend Susan brought these to our conference luncheon last month, and I've made them several times since. I think they will become my new breakfast menu item for special occasions. They are also totally awesome as a yummy dessert topped with ice cream. Either way, there is no losing on this one!
Thanks, Trisha ;-)


Apple Dumplings a la Trisha Yearwood
(adapted from this recipe)

2 Granny Smith apples (I would get 3 for good measure - I like my slices pretty thick)
1 lemon (you can use bottled lemon juice) + water
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 cube = 1 stick = 8 Tbs. = 1/2 cup = 1/4 lb... just to be clear!)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can Grands Flaky Layers Buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits total)
4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice, peel, and core the apples into 8 slices each. Squeeze (or pour) the lemon juice into a bowl of water and add the apple slices to keep them from browning.

Separate each biscuit into 2 layers. (Don't miss this step!)

Wrap a biscuit layer around a slice of apple, stretching the biscuit slightly to overlap, and seal the edges.

Place the wrapped slices in a 9" x 12" casserole dish.

In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup water, 3/4 cup sugar, butter, and vanilla. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Pour the hot sugar mixture over the apple slices.

Mix the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the apples.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Note: I think you could reduce the amount of cinnamon/sugar you sprinkle over the top. It makes a delicious crust, but the first time I made these, I didn't use all of the cinnamon/sugar mixture and they were still perfectly cinnamon-y and crusty, and I didn't have sections of un-dissolved/caramelized sugar as shown in the above pic. They come out looking a little "burnt," but it is only due to the amount of cinnamon in the topping... they don't taste burnt at all.

I'm telling you... delish!

Mini German Pancakes

The first time I had a German pancake was when I was in 8th grade. I had gone to my friend's house after school, and she whipped one up for us. I was super impressed that she knew how to make something edible that required baking in an oven (I seriously don't think I baked anything until after I was married). She slathered the finished puff with butter, then sprinkled on brown sugar and lemon juice. It was the yummiest thing EVER.

I have made many German pancakes over the years, but a few years back I came across the idea to make individual ones in a muffin tin. That is the only way I've made them since.

I've made them twice in the past 10 days - once on the first day of school, and again on the first day of Seminary (yes, Seminary that starts at 6:10am!). They are a favorite around here, for sure.

Mini German Pancakes

1 cube (= 1 stick = 1/2cup) butter (can use less and they turn out fine)
6 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt (because I use salted butter - you could add 1 tsp. salt if you use unsalted butter)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice butter into 12 equal pieces and put in the bottoms of 12 muffin cups. Put into oven and melt butter. IMPORTANT: I use 2 LARGE 6-count muffin tins - I have not tried them in regular sized (12 count) muffin tins.

Blend remaining ingredients in a blender (or you can whisk by hand). Once the butter is melted in the bottom of the muffin cups, pour batter into tins, dividing equally. I use a scoop, but you can eyeball it. It's better to have batter left over, then add it to the batter already in the cups, than to run out and have a muffin cup with melted butter and no batter. That butter will burn and possibly catch fire. Just sayin'.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pancakes are puffed and brown on the edges.

Sometimes they look like this...

...and sometimes they look like this.

Serve immediately. Note: the beautiful little puffs that come out of the oven quickly deflate... but they are so, so delicious anyway.

I am still a HUGE fan of topping these with brown sugar and lemon juice (if you've never tried it, you need to!), but you can also top them with regular maple syrup, or berries and whipped cream... or whatever your heart desires.

Serves 6... or 4... or 3, depending on how many each person wants to eat.

YUMMMMMMM.....

Blueberry Protein Shake

I love this protein smoothie/shake (recipe courtesy of a good friend of mine). I made it for my daughter, Britt, while she was here visiting a while back and she said, "It must have to grow on you... it still has that protein aftertaste." Another daughter, Lolo, said, "I don't like feeling like I have to chew it." Just warning you if you have a strong aversion to a "protein aftertaste" or chewy smoothies!!

I, on the other hand, immediately liked it. It tastes like a blueberry graham cracker milk shake - but so much healthier for you!

Give it a try. Then give it another. It just might grow on you, or you just might think it's delish right off the bat.

Blueberry Protein Shake
Makes 2 servings.

2 scoops protein powder
1/2 cup fiber cereal (the kind with NO SUGAR)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup water
1 cup ice cubes

Combine all ingredients and blend together to desired shake consistency. Yes, I use my trusty $20 Oster blender and it works just dandy. A Blendtec, Vitamix, Magic Bullet, Ninja or any other fancy blender would work, too {wink}.

Approx. 185 calories, 3 grams of fat, 24 grams of protein, and a lot o' fiber (8.8 grams). 
Good for you, I tell ya.