Culinary Creations

Soaked Chocolate Chip Whole-Wheat Pancakes

The boys know that when I am going to bake whole-wheat bread the next day, it means they are most likely going to get some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  It's just easier to do it this way because I only have to pull out my flour mill once in order to have enough fresh ground flour for both the loaves of bread and a batch of pancakes.

What better way is there to have a quick breakfast you don't have to worry about mixing the next morning because it is already done?  So the night before, in a large bowl, mix your 2 C. wheat flour with 2 C. buttermilk (or 2 T. vinegar and the rest milk to make the 2 C.), and 2 T. honey.  Once thoroughly combined, put a lid on or cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for 12-24 hours.

The next morning (or whenever you are ready to make the pancakes within the 24-hour period) mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Prepare your griddle by rubbing with a little olive oil or pan spray then heat to approx. 300 degrees.

I like to use a 1/4 measuring cup to get more uniformed pancakes.  Totally OCD of me, I know! :-)

After pouring the batter on the griddle, sprinkle with the chocolate chips and let cook until golden brown before flipping to cook the other sides.

After removing from the griddle, place on a large platter and cover with a light towel to keep them hot while you cook the remaining batter.

Serve with either coconut oil or butter melted over them and maple syrup.

Since these pancakes aren't as thick as a regular buttermilk pancake, they are easier to consume.  For instance, my 6-year-old son can inhale 6 of them no trouble at all!  Good thing this recipe stretches and makes approximately 28 pancakes (more or less depending on how thick or thin you make your batter).  FYI - it will also work to clean out your little ones' digestive systems!  Be prepared for some major diaper blowouts after they eat this breakfast!!  Just goes to prove how effective the soaking method is in breaking down the gluten inside the wheat so the body can digest it better when consumed.  LOTS of great fiber!!!  Sorry if that's TMI. :-/

A big thanks goes to my Aunt Chris for pointing me in the direction of "soaking" wheat along with this tasty recipe!

Soaked Chocolate Chip Whole-Wheat Pancakes

INGREDIENTS: 2 C. flour 2 C. buttermilk 2 T. honey 2 eggs ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda Mini chocolate chips DIRECTIONS: Mix flour, buttermilk and honey. Cover and let set in a warm place for 12-24 hours. When ready, add the remaining ingredients and thin to desired consistency with water (or milk). Cook on hot, oiled griddle.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on pancakes before flipping.

Turkey & Cheese Stromboli

While trying to figure out something different to prepare for the boys' lunch since we are quickly exhausting the peanut butter and jelly sandwich venue, I came up with a quick twist on the plain turkey, cheese sandwich.

Using a batch of homemade pizza dough and the filling from the Easy Stromboli recipe, I used eight slices of Oscar Meyer turkey and a liberal helping of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese to create a truly yummy lunch for the family.  It only took minutes to put together and was served warm with a tangy mustard/mayo sauce for dipping.  I even used this idea again for a picnic!  As soon as the Stromboli is finished baking, pull out of the oven and slice, place in a sealed container and head out to the park for some family fun. :-)  Very easy for little hands to pick up and eat without a mess.

Click on the link above for both my homemade pizza dough and Stromboli recipes.

For the mustard/mayo dip mix together:

  • 3 T. mayo
  • 3 T. sour cream (or plain yogurt)
  • 3 T. mustard
  • Dash of parsley

This Stromboli would also taste amazing with a Velveeta cheese dip for dipping.  Yumm-O!!  Have fun with the idea and use your imagination to create countless varieties of Stromboli with different kinds of fillings.

Blueberry Banana Bread

I guess the two little ones are over their banana kick since I actually had three of them leftover inside the fruit bowl turning more brown by the day.  On top of the fact that I just can't make myself waste perfectly usable food and we needed something for breakfast the next morning, I now had the motivation necessary to start searching for a new banana recipe.

We've done chocolate banana bread, banana muffins and regular banana bread in the past.  This time I wanted to find something with a different flare all its own.  Lucky me I found a recipe on www.food.com for "Kelly's Blueberry Banana Bread."  This recipe had all great reviews with delicious ingredients.  The best part was in the mixing.  I believe it took me a whole five minutes to complete the batter in a single bowl.  You only stir for about 30 seconds!  Yeah!  Totally my kind of recipe. :-)

Literally all the ingredients, minus the frozen berries, are thrown into a large bowl and mixed for 30 seconds.

Now usually when adding blueberries or any type of heavy fruit it will sink to the bottom of the bread.  Most recipes I've read through have said to thaw the fruit first; however, this recipe made a point in ensuring that the berries used were FROZEN.  Low and behold the frozen berries did NOT sink or leave these empty blue holes inside the bread after baking.  Plus it was so easy just pulling them out of the freezer and folding right into the mixed batter.  Less mess!

Only used spray and flour on the bottoms of each pan.  My bread didn't turn out as thick as I'm sure the original creator intended simply because I only had 9x5 bread pans to use instead of the 8x4x1/2 pans called for in the recipe.

Just love seeing all the yummy bits of goodness in the batter.  You can see the dash of cinnamon, coconut, blueberries and chunks of banana.  Yummy!!!

This had to be one of the most flavorful breads I've ever tasted/made before!  Plus the blueberries didn't sink! :-) Haha!  They were evenly dispersed throughout each bite adding a tangy sweetness to the flavor of the banana and coconut.  Again... YUMMY!!!

Kelly’s Blueberry Banana Bread – by food.com

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 ½ C. flour                                          3 T. vegetable oil
  • ½  C. sugar                                          1/3 C. milk
  • ½ C. brown sugar                                 1 egg
  • 1 T. + ½ tsp. baking powder                  2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 tsp. salt                                            3 medium mashed bananas
  • 1/8 tsp. cinnamon                                1 C. chopped pecans
  • ¼ C. coconut                                       2 C. frozen blueberries
DIRECTIONS:  In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except blueberries for about 30 seconds.  Fold in frozen berries.  Pour into 2 greased 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 ½ loaf pans that have been greased on the bottoms only.  Bake in 350 oven for 55-60 minutes, ‘til toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool slightly, loosen sides with knife from sides of pan, turn out onto rack to cool.  When cool, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, keep refrigerated.

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