Blueberry and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (and a winner)

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the cookbook giveaway.  I think we all know what a talented woman Martha Stewart is, and this cookbook will make you drool.  Okay, let's just rip the bandaid off and get it out of the way.  The winner is......

Wendy Walker Cushing 

Congratulations, Wendy! Please email me your address and I will get it sent off to you!




Now for another Brinner recipe.  It's funny, I RARELY make a fancy breakfast.  I am so not a morning person.  I'm the horrible mom who has cereal in the pantry or granola bars or bananas.  The only time my family gets a real, nice breakfast is holidays.  I think that's why Brinner is such a big deal at our house.  Recently, I took on a personal challenge to try making ricotta pancakes.  They sound weird.  I imagined lumps of cheese in my pancakes, kind of like lasagna.  Ew.  But, we have a policy in our house - don't knock it until you've tried it.

So, with back up plans, I put it in my mind that we were going to try them.  The day I was going to make them, I had a couple of lemons that were on the brink of death as well as half a container of blueberries. I kind of love blueberries.  Put them in pancakes or a pie and I am happy.  I'll even just munch on them for a snack.  So it just made sense - pancakes + blueberries = duh, yeah!  And by combining them all, I created a monster of my family.  Now all they want for brinner are these pancakes.  Yes, they are that good.  Even mother-in-law approved!  Double win for me!

Blueberry and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 lemons
1 cup milk
8 oz. ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat an electric griddle to 375 degrees, or a large skillet over medium high heat.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together.  Set aside

3. Zest the lemons and reserve about 1 1/2 Tbs. of zest.  Add zest to flour mixture.

3. Juice one of the lemons into a medium bowl.  Add milk, ricotta, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter.  Whisk vigorously to combine.  Immediately add to flour mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, gently stir dry and wet ingredients to combine.  DO NOT OVERMIX!  Gently fold in blueberries.

4. Grease griddle with cooking spray or butter.  Pour 1/4 cup pancake mix onto griddle.  Cook until bubbles form on top and the underside is browned.  Flip and cook until browned on other side.  Serve with syrup.

Makes 20-24 pancakes

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Banana Blueberry Bread

Another quick bread recipe?  Yes please!  I truly love quick breads in the morning for breakfast.  This is a twist on traditional banana bread.  It has the same base, but throw in some plump, fresh (or frozen) blueberries and it gives the bread an added oomph.  You just have to make sure you fold in the blueberries or you'll squish them.  The other tip is as always with banana bread - don't over bake it.  You don't want a crispy crust.  It should be soft.

Banana Blueberry Bread

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 ripe bananas
1 3/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" bread pan.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Beat on low until smooth.  Add bananas and beat again until smooth.

3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, mix together until dry ingredients are incorporated, but small lumps should remain.  Do not over mix.  Fold in blueberries.

4. Pour batter into bread pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool in bread pan.  Run a knife along edges to loosen bread and remove.

Makes 1, 9" loaf

Serves 8

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Banana Walnut Bread

The last round of quick bread that I made (Apple Cinnamon Bread) left me wanting another type of quick, sweet bread with a streussel type topping.  I had some very ripe bananas sitting on the counter, staring me in the face, and I knew that they needed to go.  But I already have a Banana Bread recipe.  Solution?  Add some walnuts and chocolate chips!

The chocolate chips break up the banana flavor (and vice versa) and the walnuts give it a crunch as well as a heartiness that the bread doesn't have alone.  And I learned something in the process: If I bake the bread just 5 minutes less than I usually do, I will end up with the sticky top that I LOVE from store bought sweet breads.  I am getting so excited to have a few sweet bread recipes under my belt before the holidays start.

Banana Walnut Bread

(With Chocolate Chips)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 ripe bananas (the blacker the better!)

1 3/4 cups bread flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped walnuts, divided

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" bread pan.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Beat on low until smooth.  Add bananas and beat again until smooth.

3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, mix together until dry ingredients are incorporated, but small lumps should remain.  Do not over mix.  Fold in 1/2 cup walnuts and chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into bread pan and sprinkle remaining walnuts over the top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool in bread pan.  Run a knife along edges to loosen bread and remove.

Makes 1, 9" loaf

Serves 8

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Apple Cinnamon Bread

I have gotten into the habit, on the weekends, to make some type of quick bread for us to eat for breakfast. It's been than us running down the street to go to McDonald's.  And it's easier than getting up and making pancakes.  I am NOT that mom.  I'd rather have pancakes for Brinner.  And we have cereal during the week and frankly we just like a little change.

So the mission this week was to come up with a bread that could use some apples that I had sitting in the fridge for a little while.  The bread turned out as a nice coffee cake type bread with a streusel topping.  Chunks of apples mix it up, but not too much.  It was amazing.  The family ate it up within 2 days.  The one thing that I did different was that I gave the bread 2 layers of streusel - one on top and one in the middle - and added some chopped pecans in the middle layer.

Apple Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 gala apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" bread pan.

2. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Separate into two parts and add nuts to one part.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together granulated sugar and butter.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.

4. Add 1 cup flour and baking powder and gently mix with a wooden spoon.  Add buttermilk and apples and gently fold until combined.  Add remaining 1/2 cup of flour.  DO NOT OVERMIX!

4. Pour half the batter into bread pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and nut mixture over top.  Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 1, 9" loaf
Serves 8

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Pumpkin Bread

October + Pumpkin = Love.  True story.  I get giddy the last week of September because I know what October 1st brings - Pumpkin everything!  As I push my cart through the isles of stores and see cans of pumpkin, pumpkin flavored creamer, pumpkin M&Ms, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin.......wait, where am I?  Yes, I occasionally go into a pumpkin induced coma.

And then I pass the Starbucks kiosk.  Oh.My.Lanta.  Their pumpkin loaf is my weakness.  And now I can make it at home for a third of the price.  Let the happy dance commence.  This bread turned out nice and soft, moist, and full of amazing Fall flavor.  And if the pumpkin seeds intimidate you, K1 says, "They taste just like sunflower seeds!"  They just give the bread a nice crunch.  You can buy them in the bulk foods section.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.  Add pumpkin, eggs, milk, and sugars.  Stir until combined but a few lumps remain.  Pour into pan.  Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over the top of the batter.

3. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.  When cooled completely, run a knife around edges to loosen bread and remove from pan.

Makes one, 9" loaf

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Navajo Tacos (Tuffies)

I grew up with a dad who loves the Native American culture and encouraged us as kids to study it as well.
 He would stop when we were on road trips and visit different little Native American shops in North Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado, etc.  They have pottery, instruments, little boxes all over their house. And something that we frequently ate as a family was Navajo Fried Bread, or scones as they are more popularly known.  We would have chili, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream on them.  Then with whatever was left, we'd add butter and honey and have dessert.

Jump to Utah and Idaho and my husband grew up eating these as well.  But they were called Tuffies in the Yates family.  Why Tuffies?  I've asked The Hubs, and he doesn't remember.  But their family had them with refried beans and ground beef.  So now we have a family dilemma - do we call them Navajo Tacos or Tuffies?  TUFFIES OF COURSE!  It's a much more fun name.  But in my childhood heart, I will always know them as Navajo Tacos.  This recipe makes a wonderful, fluffy yet crunchy fried bread ready for layer upon layer of delicious toppings.

Navajo Tacos (Tuffies)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 cup cold milk
Canola oil for frying

Toppings:

Chili (or refried beans and ground beef)
Shredded Cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Diced Tomatoes
Sour Cream
Salsa

Directions:

1. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl using a fork.  Whisk together to incorporate some air.  Add canola oil and stir again with fork until oil is well mixed in - only tiny lumps should remain.  Add milk and mix with fork until dry ingredients are moistened - there will still be lumps!

2. Gradually add remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough becomes smooth.  Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed.  Dough should still be slightly sticky when finished.  Place back into bowl and cover with a towel.  Let rest for 30 minutes.

3. Pour canola oil into a large skillet or frying pan, enough to be 1 inch deep.  Preheat over medium heat for 5 minutes.

4. Divide dough, by hand, into 6 pieces for medium to large rounds or into 12 pieces for small rounds (ideal for dessert).  Using fingers, gently stretch each piece into a round about 6 inches in diameter for large pieces, or 4 inches for small.

5. Gently lay each round into hot oil and allow to fry for a few minutes, checking often, until browned.  Turn over and repeat on other side.  Remove from oil using tongs and place on a plate lined with paper towels to catch excess oil.

6. Serve with toppings suggested or your own preference while hot.

**Save room for dessert!  Smother hot fry bread with butter and honey for a Dessert Tuffy!  (The Hubs also likes to sprinkle them with powdered sugar for a Biegnet effect.)

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Blueberry Pancakes

When I was growing up, my dad was usually the first to leave the house.  For the first 14 years of my life, he was in school - undergraduate at the University of Utah, and the graduate at Utah State University.  And in the middle of all that, he was teaching, working, and he joined the Air Force.  On Sundays he was gone early for church meetings.  He was a busy, busy man.  But there was one day that he was home in the mornings.  Saturday.

Saturday mornings in my memory are filled with the smell of pancakes.  My dad would get up and fix us all a big breakfast.  And one of his favorites was fresh blueberry pancakes.  There is a secret to his pancakes.  It is something very important that makes the pancakes light and fluffy - you need to beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  It takes a little while, adds a little more to the prep, but it makes all the difference in the end.

Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sugar
2 large eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat griddle to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.

3. In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Add the egg yolks, milk, lemon juice, and butter.  Mix with a wooden spoon until combined, but there should still be small lumps.  Gently fold in the egg whites and blueberries.

4. Grease the griddle.  Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto griddle.  Cook pancakes until bubbles begin to form on the top and the bottoms are golden brown.  Turn over and cook until other side is golden brown.

Makes 12-18 pancakes

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Waffles

One of the best memories I have of my childhood comes from Saturday mornings.  No school, usually no commitments to go to (unless it was mowing the lawn), so we could sleep in a little.  But the smell coming from the kitchen always woke me up.  My dad would get up on Saturday mornings and make homemade pancakes or waffles.  I loved that tradition.  And then during the summer when we'd go camping, he'd wake up with the sun and do the same thing - I LOVED that aroma and the sounds of the river we'd camp by and the sticks on the ground cracking under my dad's feet.





My poor family doesn't benefit from me getting up on Saturday morning and making a big breakfast.
Instead, I opt for Brinner - Breakfast + Dinner.  And a favorite at our house is waffles.  The secret is to get your eggs nice and fluffy.  If you have a hand mixer, throw your whisk attachment on there and fluff those bad boys up - the more air you incorporate into your eggs, the lighter and fluffier your waffles will be.  Another secret of mine is that I always let the batter "rest" after mixing it.  That again helps ensure a light and fluffy waffle.

And I understand that there are waffle mixes out there.  But making your own waffles is just as easy, cheaper, and you don't have to mess with the preservatives that come with packaged foods. These are fantastic with some butter and a little syrup (we've been opting for Kroger brand's Cinnamon Maple syrup - HOLY YUM!).  And we usually go through an entire batch.  If you have any leftovers, it's easy to store them - just let them cool off, then place them in a gallon size ziploc bag and freeze them.  Then you can just take them out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave for a quick breakfast.

Waffles

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk eggs on high speed until fluffy/frothy.  Add remaining ingredients and, using a mixing spoon, fold into eggs to combine.  Continue mixing until dry ingredients are incorporated, but a few lumps should remain.  Set aside and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.

2. Preheat waffle iron.  Grease iron with butter or cooking spray.  Pour 1/2 - 3/4 cup batter onto waffle iron (depending on size of your iron and how big you want your waffles).  Close lid and allow to cook until steam begins to come out of iron or waffle is browned.

3. Serve with syrup, fruit, or toppings of your choice.

Makes 8-10 waffles

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Flour Tortillas

Have you ever had an authentic tortilla?  If you've eaten at Cafe Rio or a nice Mexican restaurant you have.  For me, I have always loved authentic tortillas, but was always intimidated by trying to make them. I could never get them right - they were always too moist or too dry or too thick.  So I gave up trying to make them and just went to the local Mexican restaurant to buy them, which can get expensive.



Then we went to Mexico.  And I was converted.  When we came back I tried to eat a store bought one and about gagged.  Like I ate the rest of my meal without the tortilla.  So I went on a mission to figure.it.out.  I was NOT going to eat another store bought tortilla.  For me, they are too thick and mealy.  I even went out and bought a fancy tortilla press, hoping it would help to get the tortillas thin enough. The one good thing that did happen was I received a nice cast iron skillet for Christmas to cook tortillas on.

I tried lard.  But I could never get the tortilla to retain moisture.  So, I finally gave up on lard and opted for canola oil.  It worked!  But the biggest key here is making sure your tortilla dough is workable is to have your water HOT HOT HOT!  As in on the verge of boiling hot.  That way your oil is worked into the dough well.  Make sure your tortillas are rolled out thin as well.  If you have a granite countertop like mine, you should be able to see the pattern of the granite through the tortilla as you roll it out.

Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbs. oil
1/2 cup HOT water

Directions:

1. Preheat cast iron skillet over medium heat (DO NOT GREASE!).

2. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and oil in a large bowl.  Add hot water and stir to combine.  You may add more hot water, 1 tbs. at a time, until dough remove from sides of bowl.  Dough should be slightly sticky.  Form dough into a ball.

3. Using a sharp knife, cut ball into eighths (cut into sixteenths for smaller, fajita style tortillas).  Roll each portion into a smaller ball and place back into bowl.  Cover with a towel to keep dough from drying out.

4. Roll each small ball out until flat and transparent.  Transfer to skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form, then flip and cook until slightly browned.  DO NOT BURN or tortilla will be dry and hard.  Remove cooked tortilla to tortilla warmer until serving.

Makes 8-16 tortillas

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Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbs. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup flour

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat egg with wire whisk until frothy.  Whisk in remaining ingredients, except flour.

2. Add flour, mixing with a spoon, just until incorporated.  Do not overmix - batter should be slightly lumpy.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

3. Heat griddle to 375 degrees (or a skillet over medium high heat).  Grease if necessary.  Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto hot griddle.  Cook until bubbles begin to form and pop on surface, then turn.  Cook until golden brown.

Serves 4

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Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ripe bananas, pureed
1 cup flour
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:


1. Combine egg, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and bananas in large bowl. Beat until smooth.


2. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until batter has no lumps in it.


3. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium high heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto the griddle. When bottoms are golden brown and bubbles start to form on the tops, turn them over and cook until golden brown.

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