Diner Pancakes

Last week, my husband and I went out to breakfast.  He enjoyed the pancakes and we talked about what makes for good diner pancakes.  I resolved this weekend to try a new recipe and get closer...

I found a recipe online that modified the recipe I've been using for a few years and then I modified how I mixed them up and made them.  Here's the recipe with my directions.

Diner Buttermilk Pancakes

3 Tbsp melted butter (salted or unsalted--your preference)
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs

Place all wet ingredients in the bottom of your blender.

Then, add:
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt (which is equivalent to 1/4 tsp. table salt)

Blend, pausing to scrape down the sides until all is a smooth mix.

Let batter sit for 8-10 minutes so that it will start to thicken a little.  At the same time, let a cast iron skillet start heating over medium heat on your stove.  When you're ready, use cooking spray each time you cook a new set of pancakes to give them the diner "look".  If you don't care,  they will cook on a cast iron skillet without needing cooking spray every time.  Once you've poured the batter on the skillet, wait until you see bubbles throughout the pancake on top and then flip.  If there aren't any bubbles in the middle (and are only around the edges), wait--otherwise, you'll end up with a mess.  Once you've flipped them, give the pancake another minute or two and then check :)

Voila!  Yummy pancakes.

My family was very happy with this recipe and I was, too!

An Old Favorite

Tonight my youngest brother in law came over for dinner.  I had defrosted a pound of hamburger and I needed to come up with a meal all would eat.  So, I did what my friend Karen did.  She had just told me this afternoon how she had googled ground beef recipes and came up with meatloaf.  I tried a similar search and came up with cheeseburger macaroni.  I found a recipe online that sounded good and then modified it (as I usually do).  This is what I ended up making...

Cheeseburger Mac

1 lb ground beef 

• 3/4 cup onions, minced
• 1-2 tsp. minced garlic (or 1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder added with the spices)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 3 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cup cold water
• 12 oz. or 3 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked  (you could also use small shells or rotini)
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/3 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced or 1 tsp. dried
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded
• 6 oz. American cheese

Additional 1/3-1/2 cup milk

2-4 Tbsp sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. 1.  Brown ground beef and onions.
2. 2.  Turn off the heat and place a paper towel in the pan and swish it around to absorb any grease in the pan.  Repeat with another paper towel if there's still more grease.
3. 3.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cheddar and American cheese. 
4. Add remaining ingredients except for the cheese.
5. 4.  Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat.
6. 5.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until pasta is tender).  Check the noodles and stir after 5 minutes, then after another 3 minutes, and then after another 3 minutes until noodles are done.  Just be careful not to overcook the noodles.  If there isn't enough liquid, add 1/4 cup milk at a time so that the bottom doesn't burn.
7. 6. Stir in cheeses until melted.  Then, add enough milk (a little at a time) to make the sauce creamy.   Taste it.  If you would like a little tang, start by adding 2 Tbsp of sour cream.  If you want more tang, add a little more...  
8. 
   
9. Serve right away or the sauce will thicken.  Add a little milk before stirring if it thickens too much.

This was enough to serve my family of 5 plus 1 eighteen year old boy and have a little bit for leftovers.  

All three of my kids ate dinner (and 2 had seconds), so this recipe is going in the recipe box.  My husband and brother in law also gave it a thumbs up--especially since it's pretty quick and easy!

Carnitas Tacos (sort of)

Tuesday is taco night at our house.  This week we had a gaggle of people over, so I continued with our tradition of Tuesday Taco night with a little extra food.  

Normally, I make either a meat filling or refried beans as our base.  This week, I made refried beans, meat filling and pork filling.  

As I was getting ready to make the pork, my husband requested that I go to the store and get a pork roast.  I told him I was going to use pork chops.  He began to object, but then I asked him to give me a chance to do it my own way and to see how it turned out.  I can't remember the exact way it played out, but that's the gist of it.  He didn't know that I'd been using pork chops instead of pork roasts for a while.  

It turned out well.  There was only a tiny bit of the pork left after the meal that my mom scraped together into a tupperware because she didn't want to waste any of it!  

My refried bean recipe is here:  http://makingthingsstretch.blogspot.com/2010/02/refried-beans-and-bean-flautas.html

For the meat, I brown 1 lb. of ground beef with 1/2 yellow onion, minced or chopped, and 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced.  I keep a jar of minced garlic on hand to make things quick (BJs or Costco is the cheapest place to get this).  When it is all cooked through, I add 1- 8 oz. can of tomato sauce.  Then sprinkle cumin, chili powder, and oregano over it.  Stir to mix.  

For my taco shells, I put a little oil (2-3 Tbsp)  in a nonstick frying pan.  My mom used to do this when I was a kid.  Heat up the oil in the pan.  Place the corn tortilla in the pan.  Little bubbles should surround the tortilla right away (but you don't want it too hot).  Let it fry for a few seconds.  Then, turn over with tongs.  Use a wooden spoon  in your other hand and the tongs to gently fold the tortilla in half.  You want to be careful not to break the tortilla as you fold it.  Let one side crisp up and then flip over to crisp the other side.  Place on a paper towel lined plate when done.  

For the pork filling (which got the best reviews of the bunch), I used boneless pork chops.  I have found that you can get these on sale for less than a pork roast goes for and they work great in a crock pot.  I trim off the fat off the outside of the chops because then I don't have to worry about getting it out of the crock pot when I'm ready to shred the pork.  

First, brown the pork chops in a little oil in a fry pan until they are lightly golden on each side.  Then, place the pork chops in a medium crock pot.  I used 2 lbs. of pork chops and this crock pot.  Add all ingredients from this recipe to the crock pot:  Actually, for 2-3 lbs. of pork chops, I added half of the sauce ingredients to the crock pot which was just right.  When I'm making BBQ beef or BBQ pork, I use a full recipe of sauce and 3-4 lbs. of meat (and serve it with grated cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and buns).  Depending on how thick the pork chops are, this recipe can be fixed in 3-4 hours.  On Tuesday, they cooked in 3 1/2 hours on high in the crockpot I used.

On the side, we had sliced olives, minced red onions, chopped cilantro, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa fresca/onion salsa, cholula and Tapatio, grated cheddar cheese, and sour cream.  

I need to be honest and admit that my kids don't love tacos.  But, my husband and I do, so this is just one of those meals that I make every week.  They like some combinations of fillings quite well, though.  Unfortunately, they each like a different one, so I can be assured that each week 1 of my 3 might object.    But, they eat their tacos and I am hopeful that they will acquire a taste for them. :)  The refried beans are nice because the vegetables are already in them (without the kids knowing).  

Maple Butter Recipe

A friend of ours is from Vermont and she made some maple butter, which she kindly shared with us!  I asked if I could share her recipe because it was so good.  It totally trumped my homemade strawberry jam which was on the table.  

Sami told me she was sorry, but that if the maple butter wasn't there, then she'd eat the jam.  What a cutie!  

So, here's the original recipe my friend started with and her recipe.  She had to play around with it to get it to work right, so the testing and experimenting has already been done!

Original recipe:

1 cup pure maple syrup and 3/4 cup melted butter. 

Heat the maple syrup until a small amount forms a soft ball in cold water. 

Then add the butter and beat w/ a rotary beater until thick and creamy. Serve it warm on hot bread. 

Our friend's version:

1 cup pure maple syrup heated as above.

Beat it into room tempeture butter (not melted), then put in the fridge until it cools. If you don't put it in the fridge, it tends to separate a bit.

According to the internet, it can take up to 10 minutes. 

She noted that Martha Stewart recommends putting the butter into the pot once the syrup is at the soft ball stage and having it melt there, then immediately transferring it to a bowl where you beat it for 8 minutes until it's the right color/consistency.  But, Martha Stewart's recipes and I have never seen eye to eye (for some reason they never work for me).  So, I think I'll stick with my friend's version!

Happy Maple Buttering!

Oh, as for the best price--Costco or BJs.  Both used to have a great price a few years ago before Maple Syrup took a huge price hike.  But, their price is still better than other places.