Easy Everyday Pancake Mix

Who says pancakes have to be saved for special occasions like Saturday morning? My Easy Everyday Pancake Mix makes Monday Morning Pancakes possible!
I was tired of buying the over priced organic pancake mixes and making them from scratch every time was time consuming. Not to mention that I didn't want a huge batch of pancakes for just the toddler and I, so I came up with this mix based off our favorite pancake recipe. I just mix the dry ingredients together and store them in a quart jar. I have a piece of paper I keep under the ring on the lid with the ingredients for the mix on one side and the directions for making pancakes for two on the other so I am never searching for the recipes when I need them! You could make this with whatever flour you like, white, wheat or a mix (you could even make them with gluten free flour and add xanthin gum). I've even started making muffins with this mix, so look for those recipes in the future!

For Mix:
3 C. Organic Unbleached Flour
4 Tbs Evaperated Cane Sugar
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt

For Pancakes...

If I want to just make enough for one or two people I add;

1/2 C Easy Pancake Mix
1 Egg
1/3 C Milk (cow, almond, cashew, whatever you desire)
2 tsp Oil or melted Butter
1/4 tsp Vanilla

For four People I double every thing but the egg so;

1 C Easy Pancake Mix
1 Egg
2/3 C Milk
4 Tsp Oil or melted Butter
1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Stir together pancake mix and wet ingredients until lumps have disappeared.  In a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat drop desired amount of batter, I do tablespoons for silver dollar pancakes. When pancakes start to bubble, flip them. 

(See how the left and right pancake have bubbles but the middle does not.) Another minute or so and they will be brown on the other side. Grab your syrup and dig in!

Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs

Today I needed some inspiration for the ground turkey I had in the fridge. I didn't want to just replace beef with turkey and make something boring like turkey tacos or chili, so when the hubby came home I asked him what sounding good tonight and he said Italian. I pulled all sorts of ingredients out of the fridge and decided a Mediterranean inspired meat ball was going to be on the menu tonight.

First of all do not use extra lean turkey unless you want a ball of sawdust in your mouth. Turkey is lean, some of the fat will cook off and in general we are always trying to add moisture to turkey meatballs, meat loaf and burgers. Speaking of extra moisture that's where the veggies come in. As the veggies cook they release moisture into the meat, that's a good thing. You know what's not good? Big chunks of raw veggies that make your meat ball, loaf, burger fall apart. That's why people think they need a binder ie; bread and eggs in meat balls.  PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Do not add bread crumbs to these meatballs! They will be dry and taste like bread crumbs. Trust me, these babies hold together just fine as long as you chop everything VERY FINELY. That's why I repeat those instructions on every item. Follow these instructions and you will end up with moist, flavorful, not your everyday turkey meatballs.

Ingredients:

1 Lb Ground Turkey (not extra lean)

1/2 small Yellow Onion, finely diced 

3 cloves Garlic, finely diced

2 Tbs Red Bell Pepper, finely diced

1 Tbs fresh Oregano, finely diced 

2 Tbs Feta Cheese, finely crumbled 

2 Tbs Kalamata Olives, finely diced

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Roll meat mixture into balls. I. Made mine into 14 walnut sized balls. I grilled mine over medium heat on an oiled grill pan for about 12 minutes, flipping half way through. Yours may take more or less time depending on the size and cooking method. Keep a close eye to be sure they do not overcook and dry out.

We served our Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs on top of pasta with grilled zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms and kale with red sauce.

BBQ Pockets with Cornmeal Pizza Dough

Yesterday we made Cornmeal Pizza Crust so tonight we are doing a leftover-makeover with our BBQ Pork from Saturday night and pairing it with our Cormeal Pizza Crust dough to make BBQ pockets. Hot Pockets are one of those things that we haven't had in years due to the quality of ingredients. I've made a few fails when trying to replicate the hand held pocket because I've over filled the dough or used a bread dough that didn't quite hold up. These were a hit! Even the toddler got in on the fun and helped out.

BBQ Pockets:

1/2 of Cornmeal Pizza Dough Recipe

About 2 Cups of leftover BBQ

If dough was made in advance, let dough come to room temperature (about an hour). Roll dough out into a large rectangle about a 1/4 inch thick.

Cut rectangle into four equal portions, trimming if necessary to get clean-ish rectangles. 

Place about a half a cup of BBQ at one end of each rectangle leaving a half inch border.

Place a little water in a small bowl and dip fingers into water and run your finger around the edge of the dough where the filling is.

You don't want to wet the entire edge or it won't stick together well. Fold dough over filling and pinch edges to create a seal.

Place pockets on a cookie sheet lined with a SILPAT or parchment paper.

Cut a couple of small slits in each one.

Cover with a towel and let rise about 25 minutes while you let oven preheat to 400 degrees. Bake 15-20 minutes until browned.

Cornmeal Pizza Crust and Taco Pizza

We probably make Pizza once a week. It's a easy dinner that will be a hit with the whole family, but we don't limit ourselves to just the traditional pie. We have a sourdough bbq pizza in our rotation, leftover corned beef and cabbage, roasted butternut squash and pecans with blue cheese, whatever we have leftover we've made into pizza. Recently someone mentioned taco pizza and while it sounded good I wanted to try a different sort of crust. This crust has a cornbread flavor with a slight crunch that makes it perfect for taco pizza, it would probably be good with BBQ or leftover chili as well.

Ingredients:

1/4 C Unsalted Butter

1 1/2 C Whole Milk

4 1/2 Tsp Active Dry Yeast

1 1/2 C Medium Grind Cornmeal

2 1/2 C Unbleached Flour, plus more for kneading *

2 Tbs Evaperated Cane Sugar

2 1/2 tsp Wheat Gluten

1 tsp Sea Salt

*(You could use Bread Flour instead and drop the extra gluten)

In a small saucepan melt butter, when melted add milk til warm but not hot. While butter is melting combine yeast, cornmeal, flour, sugar, gluten and salt in a large bowl. (I use gluten in this recipe because I am replacing a significant amount of flour with cornmeal. Cornmeal does not contain gluten and without the added gluten the crust would not rise correctly or hold together.) Once butter and milk are warm, mix into flour and stir until it forms a loose ball. Sprinkle a little flour onto counter, turn dough ball out onto counter. Knead dough adding flour as needed until dough is slightly tacky and elastic.

Place dough into lightly oil bowl, cover with a clean towel and place in a warm spot until dough has doubled in volume, about an hour to an hour and a half. 

(Before rise)

(After Rise)

Divide dough in half, roll out half of the dough and place on a pizza pan. 

Place other half of dough in plastic bag and store in refrigerator for up to 10 days (it may turn dark by 10 days but if it smells fine it's all good). Preheat oven to 400 degrees, top with desired toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

For Taco Pizza:

1 C Refried Black Beans

1/2 C Salsa

1 lb Ground Beef

1/2 Yellow Onion-diced

1 pouch Frontera Taco Sauce (or your favorite taco seasoning)

8 oz Shredded Cheddar or Pepper Jack Cheese

Olives, Tomato, Lettuce, Green Onions, Guacamole and Sour Cream for garnish

Cook together beef and onions. When browned add taco sauce and take off heat. Meanwhile stir together beans and salsa in a medium bowl. Spread beans over pizza crust, spread beef over beans and top with cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees and top with desired toppings when done!