Golden Malted Pancakes

I use Bisquik a lot. It's my go-to base for pancakes and waffles, as well as shortcakes and chicken tender breading. Unless I am making a specialty pancake or waffle recipe, I just think Bisquik makes good, fluffy treats. We eat waffles and pancakes on weekend mornings when we're home and have no plans. For a shower gift, I got Golden Malted Waffle & Pancake Flour from Williams-Sonoma and just over the weekend, I tried it out. You simply add milk, an egg and melted butter to the flour mix and you're ready for the hot griddle.

These cakes turned out very well, but different than Bisquik pancakes. They were thinner, which meant you could eat more :) And since the batter was quite thin, it made a lot of crispy, slightly sweet pancakes.


Thanks, Emily, for this great gift!

Tailgating

Two weekends ago, Adam, my parents and I visited my sister at Temple University. We went to the big Temple vs. PSU game and did some tailgating before the game. My mom brought ingredients for cheese and scallion omelets, grilled sausage, hash browns and fruit. While I didn't get a photo of our delicious brunch - it was a noon game - I got some good shots of my family. And even though Temple put a great fight and lost at the end, we had a fun time.

Balsamic Chicken

This is a delicious and easy recipe from my friend Jamie. It is in the cookbook I got for a shower gift, Hope In The Kitchen: Wedding Edition.

I ate my chicken just as pictured - over a slice of tomato, a slice of mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil and topped with basil leaves. Adam ate his over a salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Both ways are delicious! The balsamic vinegar infuses so much flavor into the chicken.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a large ziploc bag and pour marinade on top. Let marinade for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Now you can either grill the chicken until done or saute it in a pan. I added some oil to a large pan and pan seared the breasts until done (you can cut the meat into smaller pieces for quicker cook time).

Coconut Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Last evening for dinner we had Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. It was quite tasty and we were both sad that I didn't make enough chicken! We loved the sweet and savory taste of the coconut and chicken so I will definitely make this again as a main course instead of a salad topper.

As my obession with skinnytaste.com continues, I found this recipe there and adapted it a bit.

This is for 2 salads:

6 chicken tenderloins

6 Tablespoons shredded coconut

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

3 Tablespoons corn flakes, crushed

1 egg

pinch salt

olive oil spray

5 cups lettuce, chopped

1/2 cucumber, sliced

1 carrot, ribboned with a vegetable peeler

Vinaigrette:

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil spray.

In a shallow bowl, add the egg and beat it. In another bowl, add coconut, panko, corn flakes and salt. Lightly season chicken with salt. Dip each tender into the egg and then the breading mixture. Place on the prepared baking. Spray with more olive oil spray.

Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for 10 more minutes or until cooked through.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Microwave for 20 seconds to warm dressing.

Arrange lettuce, cucumbers and carrots on dinner plates. Top with chicken and then with the warm vinaigrette.

Note: You may have to make more dressing if you chose to have more lettuce and vegetables on your salad.

Pumpkin Waffles

These waffles are a great fall treat. I just love anything pumpkin! This was the first pumpkin recipe of the season for me and the smell of the pumpkin and spices were so good! I have a whole slue of pumpkin recipes lined up for the fall.

This recipe is not complex but it does require a few bowls and a mixer.

I made these in a regular round waffle iron but they would be great in a Belgian waffler!

Ours were topped with fresh whipped cream sweetened with sugar.

Recipe from the Pumpkin Waffle Blog (where else??).

1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Plug in and heat waffle iron.

Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dr ingredients, and whisk to blend.

Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form - about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine and will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

Slide the egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white is obvious.

Once the waffle iron is heated, you're ready to pour in the batter. Because the color of the batter is darker than a regular batter, it is hard to tell when the waffle is done. Make sure it is cooked long enough to a good crispiness.

Taco Chicken Salad

Last night for dinner we had a very tasty salad! It was a wonderful meal that filled us up and made us feel healthy (except for the cheddar biscuits I made from Skinny Recipes). This salad recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you Our Best Bites for a great salad recipe!

Salad:

4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (I used a bag of the romaine salad mix with carrots)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, cubed
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 3/4 oz.) can corn, drained and rinsed
Taco grilled chicken (recipe below)

Dressing:

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I didn't mix in with the dressing because Adam doesn't like it so I just sprinkled it on top of my salad)
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons (or more if you like extra heat) adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt (or more for taste)

In a big bowl, toss all salad ingredients together except the chicken.

In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together. Test taste to see if you need more adobo sauce or salt.

Plate salad on individual plates, top with chicken and then dressing.

Taco Chicken Recipe

1 pound chicken tenders (you can use boneless skinless breasts or thighs if you want)
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Place chicken in a plastic marinading container or a large Zip Loc bag. Add the lime juice, vinegar and garlic. Move chicken around to coat. This will not completely cover the chicken so just move the chicken around every once in awhile as it marinades. Marinade for 4-8 hours.

Heat the grill. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. In a small dish, combine chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Rub mixture all over chicken.

Grill about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Remove from heat and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.