Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

....so good I had to post the recipe after a many month hiatus. Try these. They are wonderful! They are more dense than a traditional pancake but in a good sense. The lemon flavor is just the right hint and a wonderful pairing with the blueberry sauce.

Blueberry sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water

1. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. Gently fold this mixture into the dry ingredients until flour disappears. Don't over mix. The batter will be thick.

3. Heat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Cook the pancakes until browned on the underside and beginning to set, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the pancakes on the other side, about two minutes longer. Continue making pancakes until batter is gone. Serve warm with blueberry sauce.

Summer Salad

I really enjoy a good salad in the summer, they just taste better than any other time of the year. Tonight I threw together a salad with seasonal berries, the fruits of my labor after picking blueberries yesterday.

To make this salad I cut up a head of romaine lettuce, a handful of blueberries, a handful of strawberries quartered, a handful of dried cranberries and sprinkled sunflower seeds on top for crunch. (Any nut would be good, a slivered almond...yummo)!

For dressing I used Annie's Poppyseed dressing (Lite). If you have never had poppyseed dressing it is slightly sweet and goes perfect with salad that have fruit in them. I can make my own poppyseed dressing but it always goes bad before I finish it, this way was easier. Having a busy little boy on my hands makes cooking already hard so easy is good!

Hope you try this salad & enjoy!

The best homemade Chinese take-out recipe!

As I have said before, I love Asian food. It is one of the types of good though that always seems to taste better at a restaurant though but I always like to try dishes with Asian flavors. I found this recipe but was nervous to try it because I feel like I am not the best at cooking beef. I do not like the flavor of over cooked beef so that is always a concern. I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman & knew I had to give it a try. I am happy to report it is a great recipe & turned out really well. Probably the best result & flavor I have ever had at making a stir fry recipe at home. I am going to make this recipe at home again soon, I am just waiting for my snow peas to grow in my garden. Try this recipe today, http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/beef-with-snow-peas/.

Ah ha moment!

So my little man is done with his homemade baby food & is devouring any big people food that is put in front of him. I had just made a big batch of organic baby food a month ago & was sad it was going to have to go to waste but then a light bulb went off. Ah ha! I am going to use the sweet potato & butternut squash purees to make two recipes I have been wanting to make. First, I'm going to make sweet potato & butternut squash enchiladas. Second, I want to make Ravioli using wonton wrappers. So I will let you know how it goes after I make them!

Sesame Noodles-Hot or Cold

I found this recipe a long time ago on Pioneer Woman and thought it looked extremely simple & good. I finally tried it tonight because I though the leftovers would be great cold for a picnic. If you had shredded carrots or some cooked chicken those would be great add-ins to this simple dish. I adjusted it from the original recipe, as I do with a lot of recipes and was satisfied with the way it turned out. If you think you can't cook, you can cook this recipe, I promise!Ingredients

-12 ounces thin spaghetti noodle, cooked & drained

-1/4 cup soy sauce

-2 tbsp sugar

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-2 tbsp rice vinegar

-1 tbsp tabasco

-4 tablespoons olive oil

-1/4 tsp minced ginger

-4 whole green onions thinly sliced

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl (except the noodles & green onions).

2. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with green onions & some sesame seeds if you have them on hand!

3. Enjoy!

BBQ in the crockpot-a working mom's dream...

Now that I have been back to work full-time I have been trying to make at least one meal a week in the crockpot. Last week I made another "whatever" I have in the pantry crockpot dinner. It was my first time doing boneless chicken breasts in the crockpot and it turned out amazing! So tender, tender enough in fact that my 11 month old could eat it. I also loved the fact I could just throw the chicken breasts in frozen because I HATE thawing chicken. I never can get it right before it starts to actually cook part way.

So a couple days ago was another day I needed to come up with a dinner right out of my pantry and I wanted to utilize my reliable crockpot. I decided I wanted to make bbq chicken. I found a recipe and I can report back that it turned out wonderful.

The first night I served it over rice and the next night we made bbq sandwiches. I also got a package of coleslaw to serve on the sandwich with the chicken, I love that combo! I can also report my little boy loved this recipe too! So a picky little one who is discovering his taste buds loves this recipe, I'm sure you will too!

Ingredients

1 cup kethup

4 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

1-2 tbsp of brown sugar

2 tbsp Worchestire sauce

2 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp dijjon mustard

salt & pepper

4 large boneless chicken breasts ( I put mine in frozen)

Directions

1. Place chicken breasts in crockpot.



2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.



3. Pour bbq mixture over chicken.
   


4. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs!

Better than take-out sweet & sour chicken

I love any type of asian food; chinese, vietnamese, korean, japanese. You name it, I love it. I found this recipe in my issue of Rachael Ray magazine and knew I had to try it. I had most of the ingredients already in my pantry but if you do not, it is a cheap meal to make anyways. This dish was so delicious and probably way better for you than any sweet & sour chicken you would get at a restaurant.

Ingredients

• salt & pepper


• 1 cup rice ( I like brown rice)


• 1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks, drained, 1/2 cup juice reserved


• 2 tbsp white vinegar


• 2 tbsp soy sauce


• 4 tsp cornstarch


• 1 tbsp ketchup


• 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger


• 1 1/4 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces


• 1 tbsp red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cup water and 1/2 tsp salt to a boil; stir in the rice. Cover, lower heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. (or use a rice cooker, that is what I do!)


2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, 2 tsp cornstarch, the ketchup and ginger. In a bowl, toss the chicken with the remaining 2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.


3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes, transfer to a plate. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the pineapple chunks and reserved chicken.


4. Whisk the pineapple juice mixture into the chicken mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Serve over rice.


5. Enjoy!