Apple Oat Bran Cranberry Pancakes

Here are some delicious pancakes I made in order to use up some apples that were turning bad. They got involved with some other bad apples at school and were headed down a bad path, straight toward the Appletinis. But I reformed those apples and made them into something wholesome: these healthy and tasty pancakes.

Ye Olde Internets yielded this recipe, so naturally I have no idea from whence it came. Hmm... does applesgonegood.com exist? Nope! But maybe it should.

3/4 cup oat bran

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon oil

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup apple, chopped finely

I combined all these ingredients per instructions, but found the batter was a bit thin. So I just added in some oatmeal until it reached a more pancake-like consistency.

I served them on my adorable new springy placemats, courtesy of the Easter Bunny. 

Actually, it was my mom, who, from 3000 miles away, devised an apartment-wide Easter Egg Hunt for Cookie Monster and me. At the end was a See's egg (a definite throwback to when I was a kid), some Peeps (which are just now the crunchy consistency I prefer. Not kidding.) and these placemats with matching hand towels. Thanks, Easter Mommy!

You can just see how healthy these pancakes look. They're hearty and chewy, and the apples give them a little unexpected crunchy surprise here and there. The cranberries add some sweetness. Overall, they're really good.

Homemade Granola

Cookie Monster and I really like granola, both eaten in the morning as cereal, and mixed with yogurt in our lunches. We both really happen to like Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax. We ran out, and instead of buying another box, I attempted to make some. Plus, the last few times I had eaten it, erm, shall we say, it gave my tummy some... issues.

So!

I combined the following ingredients for our granola:

Oatmeal

TJ's dried cranberries

Pumpkin seeds (which I found at a neighborhood more "ethnic" market for $.99!)

Dried, chopped dates

Chia seeds! Which are all over the blogosphere, and, every time I've looked for them at health food stores, they cost approximately seventy bajillion dollars. These I found at said ethnic market for the grand total of... you guessed it... $.99! (Ok, you didn't really have to guess. It's right there in the photo. But work with me here, people.) Woo hoo for bargain shopping!

Cinnamon! (Not sesame seeds. The lid on that one broke, so we switched containers.)

Mexican vanilla (actually purchased in Mexico!)

TJ's pecans

I combined all the above dry ingredients in a bowl, then added the wet:

Unsweetened applesauce (in lieu of oil)

Honey, which we were low on...

...so I also added some agave.

And finally, some white grape juice.

I combined everything in a large bowl, then spread out on a cookie sheet to bake.

The recipe I was "following" said to bake it at 275 for 15-20 minutes. Ha! Yeah, right. I baked it for more like an hour. Which ended up being just a titch too long because it got pretty crunchy. I think I would bake for about 25-30 minutes at about 350 next time.

I think if I hadn't overcooked it, it would've been great. As it was, it was good. But it was the execution, not the ingredients' fault. So I would happily try this again, considering we have most of these ingredients in the pantry at all times.

French Toast Breakfast

We had a loaf of bread in the fridge that was on its last leg. Enter: French toast. I simply combined an egg, milk, a bit of ground flax seed for some Omega-3s, cinnamon sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and cardamom and beat it all together into a batter. Soak the bread until it all absorbs the batter, then pan-fry until golden brown.

This was for Cookie Monster.So I also made some bacon (AKA meat candy), and, to get a little fruit into him, half a banana and blueberries. And naturally, the French toast was doused in real maple syrup. That's how he rolls.

French Toast: Are you ready for your close-up?

I think that was a yes.

Because He's the Best

Cookie Monster did a really nice thing the other day and I wanted to show my gratitude. Enter: Bananas Foster French Toast. And yes, it really is as good as it sounds.

Here's what I put in it:

*Milk

*1 egg

*1/2 a really ripe banana, mushed (and yes, that is the technical cooking term for how it's to be prepared)

*Cinnamon

*A sprinkle of ground flax

*Pumpkin pie spice

*Cinnamon/sugar blend

*Cardmom

I just whisked all the ingredients together in a bowl. Then I dipped in whole wheat slices of bread. The amounts I used turned out to be enough for 2 1/2 slices of French Toast. Perfect.

I melted about 1/2 a tablespoon butter in a pan, dipped the bread in the mixture and let it absorb. Then I cooked the toast until it was golden brown on each side.

While it was cooking away, I made the Bananas Foster topping:

*~1 tablespoon butter

*1 banana, sliced (I used a knife, not this completely useless piece of crap. We saw this in the store and it made us laugh out loud. Seriously?! A fucking banana slicer? How lazy are you?)

*Some more cinnamon

*A few handfuls brown sugar

I just sauteed the bananas in the butter until they began to soften, then added the spices and brown sugar. Cooked on low, it transformed into this gooey, sticky, wonderfully banana-y topping for the toast. I didn't have any rum, lest I would've made real Bananas Foster, complete with flambe.

After the toast was golden brown on each side, I poured the ooey, gooey topping over it and served it with half a grapefruit. And even though it seems decadent, the nutritional stats aren't particularly bad: whole grain bread, nonfat milk, fruit... I think the worst thing was the butter, but I didn't use very much.

Cookie Monster gave it two thumbs up!

Greek Salad

I made a tasty Greek salad for lunch the other day. Here's what I put in it:
A mix of butter lettuce + baby spinach

Phallic-shaped vegetable, aka cucumber

Pepperoncini

Kalamata olives

 

Lowfat feta cheese

1/4 cup chickpeas

And a dressing I made from Greek yogurt, dill, scallions, garlic, season salt and hot sauce.

(Some unpictured leftover roasted eggplant also went into the salad.)

 I served my salad with one side of a whole wheat English muffin, toasted, then topped with lowfat cream cheese, thinly sliced radishes and S&P.

All together now: A tasty lunch is served!

Hummus/Balsamic Wrap

This wrap is a recreation of a crazy good wrap my good friend D made when we shared meals on a camping trip this summer. In hers, she put red cabbage, mozzarella cheese, hummus, carrots and balsamic vinaigrette. (I think she put some other vegetables in too, but I can't remember which ones.)

Hmm... D does not seem a befitting name for my friend. D is a nickname I associate with a different friend of mine, who is, in fact, a boy, and this D is, in fact, a girl. Perhaps I should come up with another nickname for her? Let's see... Oh! I got it! One of her favorite treats is this ridiculous (as in outrageously decadent) chocolate gateau from a gourmet dessert place in Portland called Papa Haydn. Hence, she shall be known now as Mama Haydn. Because we've already established that she is not a boy.

Ok, back to the wrap. Mama Haydn is a gourmet and she makes lots of delicious things, so I knew our camping dinner would not be just burgers and dogs. This combination of vegetables, even the red cabbage (which I always thought I didn't like much), worked so well together. But the best combination was the hummus paired with the balsamic vinaigrette. It was creamy and tangy and just awesome. I have been trying to recreate that wrap ever since we had it. I got pretty close today.

I used this hummus, which is really fucking tasty. It's safe to say it's one of my favorite hummuses (is that how you pluralize hummus? Oh well. It is now.).

I spread about a tablespoon of hummus onto a whole wheat tortilla, then topped with a slice of deli turkey. Then came the vegetables: red cabbage, carrots, radishes and cucumbers. I then drizzled balsamic vinegar over it all and wrapped it up. I'm not sure if making an actual vinaigrette with the balsamic would've enhanced the flavor; I think what I really like is the tang. I also added the requisite S&P.

I could not taste the turkey at all and would probably leave it out next time, since the hummus has protein in it, too.

I served my wrap with a side of roasted butternut squash (which is my absolute favorite squash! Yes, I have a favorite squash. I am a food nerd. I am ok with it.) and a few spoonfuls of full-fat cottage cheese, which I bought because they didn't have anything lower in fat. Whoo! It is rich when you're used to nonfat dairy! And, because I am weird and really, really like dipping sauces, I added a side of taco sauce with the squash. It got on the cottage cheese, too, and I was fine with that. There was also a bit of extra vegetables that wouldn't fit into the wrap, so I just ate them on the side like a mini salad.

All together now. Lunch is served!

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

I have been eating oatmeal a lot lately. Getting up to go to the gym before work, I discovered an extra half hour of time in the morning allows me to make something for breakfast instead of shoving a bowl of cereal in my face on my way out the door. My usual combination for oatmeal is:

*1/8 cup oatmeal

*1/8 cup oat bran

*~1-2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds

*1/2 mashed banana

I cook all that with 1/4 cup water on the stovetop until it gets nice and thick--this doesn't usually take too long. It's probably about 5 minutes.

Then comes the fun part: adding shit in. My go-to is Peanut Butter & Jelly oatmeal, which entails the above ingredients and spoonful each of jam and peanut butter (about 1 T each). I have two peanut butters right now from PB & Co. One in particular is absolutely transcendent: the White Chocolate Wonderful. Oh my god. It will change your life.

Ok, not really. I hate grandiose statements like that. But it will taste delicious. I also have the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, which is ok, except the raisins in it are really small and hard--not so good. The cinnamon is sortof grainy in the peanut butter, which is actually ok with me.

Anyhoo, I've been inspired to make a lot of different kinds of oatmeal by the following bloggers: Kath, Tina, Heather and Caitlin. This particular idea came from Kath (find it here).

I started with my usual base, then added in:

*3/4 of a grated carrot

*splash of vanilla extract

* 1-2 T brown sugar

*1 T raisins

And here's what I got:

I even made the "frosting" by mixing a little nonfat Greek yogurt with 1 T maple syrup.

So I pretty much was not a fan of this oatmeal. I did not really get any "carrot cake"; it pretty much tasted like oatmeal with carrots in it. I didn't use the mango or pineapple like Kath suggests, so maybe it was missing an extra element of sweet, but I don't think I'd try this again.

I was definitely original, though!

"Chile Rellenos," Spanish "Rice" and "Refried" Beans

Said in the voice of Chandler: Could this blog title have any more quote marks? But, they're all used correctly. I don't belong on the "Blog" of "Unnecessary Quote Marks".

This is what I make sometimes when I'm tired of regular ol' tacos or burritos for dinner but still want "Mexican" food. They are a take on chile rellenos, which is a lovely dish wherein mild-ish peppers are roasted, filled with filling (usually cheese) and breaded and fried. Since "breaded and fried" rarely takes place at Chez Stadium, I did everything except for this step.

First off, I roasted the chiles under the broiler, roatating as each side got blistered.

See?
After they were done in the oven, I put them in a bowl and put the baking pan on top of the bowl so they would steam right out of their skins.

Then I made some Spanish "rice." The rice was actually quinoa. Normally I would just make brown rice, but we were out. So quinoa it was! I sauteed some vegetables, added the cooked quinoa and then squirted tomato paste and spices like cumin, chile powder, paprika and S&P into it to make a very flavorful dish that tasted pretty damn close to Mexican rice. Go me!

Quinoa close-up!
For the "refried" beans, I simply warmed up some pinto beans, then mashed them with a potato masher until they turned creamy, then added some chicken stock to thin them out a bit.

Ok, I know my photography skillz are severly lacking, but I bet even the Pioneer Woman couldn't make refried beans look nice in a photo.

Hmm... here is a picture of a Full Sail beer. I don't remember why I photographed this! I bet it was because I cooked some chicken in it in my Crockpot. But don't hold me to that. Just enjoy this lovely picture of a beer!

And here is the cooked chicken I used to stuff the rellenos. It is mixed with the aforementioned spices, chipotles, corn and some wilted spinach. I heaped all of this into the roasted chiles after peeling off the skin (the steaming part is really necessary to do this easily). Then I garnished with avocado and sour cream for me (Cookie Monster doesn't like sour cream. Do you think he's a communist?).

Oh yeah. I made these. Always rocks with salt. Or in this case, shaken with rocks so it gets cold.

Lovely plate o' food. "Refried" beans, "chile rellenos" and Mexican "rice," with some warm tortillas on the side.
Ole!

Crepes! (Sweet and Savory)

Deciding to honor World Nutella Day, I wanted to make crepes, since Nutella-filled crepes are so good they may as well be filled with crack. They are also one of Cookie Monster's favorites (although, Nutella straight from the jar with a spoon is also acceptable). To seal the deal, I've been wanting to make crepes at home for some time, so I decided to embark upon the crepe adventure. Coincidentally, this place also makes some killer crepes.

Not wanting to make a separate dinner and then a fancy-pants dessert, I opted for asparagus, turkey and asiago crepes for dinner, then Nutella and lemon curd crepes for dessert.

I started by making the (whole wheat, since all I have is whole wheat flour) crepe batter in a blender the night before, then letting it sit overnight (they tell you to do this so the bubbles that can cause tears in the crepes can calm down). The recipe came from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

I then sauteed the asparagus simply, with just S&P and some garlic. Ready to be put into yummy crepes.

I was really worried about my crepes sticking to the pan and ending up with crepe crumbs, as opposed to a "delectable pastry-type thing" (what the French call them), so I doused the nonstick pan in cooking spray after every crepe came out. Even after pouring the batter in, I was worried I'd have to scrape out the cooked batter with a spatula, yell "Shit!" and stomp around the kitchen angrily whilst coming up with Plan B for World Nutella Day at 7:30 p.m. on a weeknight. But, happily, none of that occurred, as I carefully loosened the edges of the crepe and flipped it over without any of the aforementioned drama.

Mmm! Thank you, little crepe, for not sticking! This recipe made several, and they require a good amount of babysitting while they're cooking, so it took a long time for them all to cook. I cooked all the batter at once, and ended up with about 14 or so crepes. I just kept the already cooked ones warm in a low oven while I made the rest.


To go along with the asparagus crepes, I made a simple salad of spinach, leftover roasted sweet potatoes, apples, almonds and bleu cheese. Mmmm!

Asparagus, turkey and asiago crepe, anyone?

And then, on to the good stuff!

I also had this. And this stuff, lemme tell ya, also has crack in it. I could sit down with a spoon and eat the whole damned jar. But I don't particularly enjoy vomiting lemon-flavored... well, anything... so I won't.

Here we have deux crepes a la ChezVCK. Lemon curd and strawberries, topped with some homemade vanilla ice cream I made ages ago, and the beloved Nutella, melted slightly from the warm crepe and topped with a scoop of SO Delicious chocolate soy cream. Tres magnifique!

Hello, lover.


NOM NOM NOM.