Orange Roll Pancakes

These may look like normal pancakes, but they are far from it. So delicious. They taste like orange rolls. I adapted this recipe from the Orange-Vanilla Greek Yogurt Pancake recipe over at Aggie's Kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c. plain yogurt
• 1 c. milk
• zest and juice from 2 oranges (I didn't measure exactly but it looked like about 1/4 c. zest and just over 1 c. of juice)
• 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1.  Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients. Then combine the wet with the dry and mix until just combined. Let sit for few minutes.
2. Heat your pan or griddle and use a 1/4 c. to ladle out the pancakes.

Craisin Coconut Oatmeal

Yummiest oatmeal combination I've tried yet. I was inspired by a delicious cookie recipe I had tried out last month, which I will post soon. This is definitely healthier than the cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. oats
• 1/2 c. water
• 1-2 Tb. craisins 
• 1-2 Tb. shredded coconut
• Honey, for drizzling 

Directions:

1. Put oats, water, craisins, and coconut in a microwavable bowl. Mix together.
2. Cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
3. Drizzle with honey. Enjoy!

Banana Muffins

I adapted this recipe from the muffin recipe out of my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. wheat germ
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. cloves
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/2 c. milk or rice milk
• 3/4 c. mashed ripe banana (if you have a little more than 3/4c. that's ok too)
• 2 Tb. vegetable oil
• 2 Tb. applesauce

Directions:

1. Grease your muffin tin or put paper liners in. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients (flour to cloves).
3. In a smaller bowl combine all the wet ingredients (egg to applesauce)
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened--batter should be lumpy.
5. Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling about 2/3 the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Carrot Coconut Muffins

This recipe is adapted from a fabulous recipe I found in my Taste of Home magazine, originally called Morning Muffins. I was really excited to come across this recipe because at the hospital where I delivered my baby they had some awesome bran muffins that had carrots and coconut in them. I could not get enough of them and was seriously craving some after I came home. This recipe is a close second to those hospital bran muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. butter,softened OR mashed white beans
• 1/2 c. partially packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 c. shredded carrots (about 2 large carrots)
• 1/2 c. flaked coconut
• 1/2 c. raisins 
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. wheat germ
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Beat together the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. 
2. Add eggs and sour cream; beat well.
3. Add the carrots, coconut, and raisins. 
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, and cinnamon together. Add to the wet mixture just until moistened.
5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4ths full. 
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Makes 1 dozen.

Baked Oatmeal

(Picture sent in by Katie M.)

This recipe was recommended by Katie M. She found it over at Sugar Free Mom.


It is copyrighted, so in order to see this yummy recipe please head over to the website. It is a gluten and sugar free recipe.

Notes about this recipe:

I followed the recipe exactly except that I used soy milk instead of regular milk and they still turned out great. I wrapped most of them in aluminum foil, stuck them in a bag, and froze them for super easy fast breakfasts on-the-go. Although they look like muffins they taste just like a delicious, gourmet, bowl of oatmeal.

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

I know I should have posted this back on Halloween, but didn't get a chance to. This is what we have decided to make every year on Halloween. And we'll probably make them all through the winter as well. SO DELICIOUS! Sadly I don't have a picture to tempt you.

I found the recipe at Country Living. It was reposted with permission, which means I can't post it here. But seriously, go check it out. You won't be sorry, should you choose to make them.

Notes about the recipe:

1. We did half wheat/half white flour.
2. We didn't use fresh ground nutmeg, just the stuff in a little container.

Blueberry Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• About 14 oz of liquid---1/2 orange juice, 1/2 water
• 1 banana
• 5-6 frozen strawberries
• 1 c. frozen blueberries
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• 1/2 c. oatmeal

Directions:

Add liquid first, then all the other ingredients. Blend.

Pineapple Carrot Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid--1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 small chunks
• Leaves from 3 stalks of kale
• 1 handful of spinach
• 4 large spoonfuls of pineapple chunks (could use fresh pineapple as well)
• About 8 frozen strawberries
• 2-4 Tb milled flax seed

Directions:

Put liquid in first, then add other ingredients. Blend.

Spinach Strawberry Salad Smoothie

If you like spinach strawberry salad then I'm pretty sure you'll like this.

I have found that if I make this (or any smoothie) in the morning and put the extra in a cup, then it's an easy, cool snack to grab when you get the munchies during the day; AND you feel good about it because you are eating your fruits and veggies. You could also freeze extra smoothie into popsicles.

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid---1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water
• 2 heaping spoonfuls (big spoon, not a little spoon) of plain yogurt
• leaves from 1 large stalk of kale
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• About 10 frozen strawberries
• 2-4 Tb milled flax seed
• 2-4 Tb walnut chunks
  

Directions:

Put liquid in first, then add all the rest of the ingredients. Blend.

Pancakes, Potatoes, and Smoothies

Around here we enjoy eating breakfast foods for dinner.


Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes (adapted from BHG)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (1 cup milk with 1 Tb. lemon juice, let sit for about 5 min.)
• 2 tablespoons applesauce

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.
2. In another medium mixing bowl combine the egg, milk, and applesauce. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. For standard-size pancakes, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. For dollar-size pancakes, pour about 1 tablespoon batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or till pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm. Makes 8 to 10 standard-size (4-inch) or 36 dollar-size (2-inch) pancakes (8 servings).

You can serve them up with jam, fruit, syrup, or yogurt on top.

I made some Oven Fried Potatoes to go with our pancakes. The amazing thing about these potatoes is that if you put these in the oven before starting anything else they will be finished by the time the rest of your meal is done, and you don't have to worry about stirring them in a frying pan. I love them!

(before and after cooking)

Oven Fried Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 3-4 potatoes, sliced as thick or thin as you would like--I usually do about 1/4 of an inch or smaller.
• 1 Tb. olive oil, plus about 1/4 tsp for the pan.
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. seasoned salt or regular salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread 1/4 tsp of olive oil on a baking sheet.
   
2. Slice the potatoes and lay them in one layer on the baking sheet.
3. Combine olive oil, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush spread the oil mixtures all over the potatoes.
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until desired tenderness (or crispiness) is reached.

And to top off our meal we drank fruit smoothies.

Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 9-10 oz. of orange juice
• 1 banana
• about 1 cup of frozen strawberries
• 1 small strawberry yogurt

Directions:
Put all the ingredient in the blender, starting with the juice. Blend until smooth. Makes enough for 3 small adult servings.

Notes about the recipes:
1. The crispier you make the potatoes the harder it is to get them off the pan.
2. You can get creative with the potatoes and try other spices or herbs. If you do please add a comment and let me know how they turned out!
3. If the pancake batter is too thick for you just add a little bit of milk to thin it out.
4. Sometimes we like to add oats and/or flax seed to our smoothies.