Last weekend, I had ten people to make breakfast for – 6 of them were under the age of 6 – and pancakes seemed like a no-fail solution.  This recipe is from the October 2011 issue of Cuisine at Home magazine and was a hit with all 10 of us.  I made a double batch of the pancakes with only a few leftover.  This would be a perfect recipe for one of the crisp fall mornings in the weeks ahead. (Thanks to Jenny for taking the photo!)

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 oz. Philadelphia Cooking Creme
• 3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.  Whisk together wet ingredients and fold into the dry mixture.  Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium low heat.  Cook until batter bubbles form on surface and flip.  I prefer to make silver dollar pancakes using a melon baller to scoop out the batter. 

Serve with the following two toppings swirled on top –

Creamy Icing

• 6 oz Philadelphia cooking creme
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. warm water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm. 

Spiced Maple Syrup

• 3/4 cup pure maple sytrup
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp apple pie spice

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and head over medium heat until warm.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family.  Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!

I’ve had bruleed oatmeal at restaurants before, but I’d never tried to copycat it at home.  When I began googling recipes for Creme Brulee oatmeal many of the recipes just bruleed the top – they didn’t have the custardy, rich qualities I was hoping for.  This recipe was born early on Saturday morning when I was up way to early to start the day.

This makes enough for two portions, so you’ll want to double or triple the recipe if needed.  I saved the other portion and ate it cold on Sunday morning.  It’s great warm or cold, so this could be a recipe to make the night before.

Creme Brulee Steel Cut Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1 1/2 cup water
• dash of salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp. sugar (plus extra for brulee)
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or extract)

In a saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil.  Add the steel cut oats and reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes or until creamy.  In a separate saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, sugar, and cornstarch.  Stir constantly until the mixture boils.  Turn off the heat and add the vanilla bean paste, stirring well.  Combine both mixtures and dish into two ramekins.  Sprinkle the top of each ramekin with sugar and use a brulee torch to make the sugar crisp on top.  Serve hot or refrigerate.

I ate this before the kids were up and going for the day.  They had blueberry pancakes later that morning.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family.  Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!

Last year for my birthday, I received a bread machine and it has been a great asset in my kitchen.  I love having fresh, homemade bread to serve with our meals and being able to control the ingredients that are used to make it.  The smell of bread baking definitely makes a house smell like a home.

Last week, I made this Italian Herb Bread to serve with Lasagna on Wednesday evening.  We ate leftovers on Thursday and on Friday morning, while the trio was eating breakfast, I turned the leftover bread into croutons.  The trio gobble up croutons and there is no waste!

Italian Herb Bread

• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 Tbsp. dried Italian Seasoning
• 2 1/4 tsp. yeast or 1 1/2 tsp quick rise yeast

Pour all ingredients in machine in the order listed above.  Set to the basic setting for a large loaf.  We prefer light crust.

Italian Herb Croutons

• Leftover Italian Herb Bread, cut into chunks (I used 1/3 of the loaf)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter.  Place cubed bread into a large Ziploc bag and add butter, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.  Zip the bag closed and shake well to distribute.  Spread the bread chunks into an even layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Flip croutons on baking sheet and bake for an addition 10-15 minutes – until desired crispness.  Delicious plain or on salad.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family.  Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!

Sorry for the awful photography.  All I can say is it was so good I just wanted to eat it and not worry about white balance.  For the Cashew Chicken recipe, you’ll need to click over to my friend Lauren’s blog – As Good As Gluten.

What I want to share today is how I prepared the rice.  I pride myself on being able to cook just about anything, but somehow my rice never came out quite right.  Now, I’ve found an easy way to prepare rice where it turns out edible every time.  My trio loves rice – but I hate picking up all of the little pieces that manage to find their way onto my floor!

Rice

• 2 cups rice (I’ve used long grain and brown)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.  In a glass baking dish (I use an 8×8) combine all ingredients and stir.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir.  Return to oven for 5-15 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.  Fluff with a fork and serve.  This recipe can be doubled easily.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family.  Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!

Over the weekend, we were supposed to visit my mom in Olney, but since she was sick, we ended up with a free, three-day weekend at home.  This rarely happens!  Mom had purchased strawberries planning for our visit and once I started thinking about the strawberry pie I used to eat growing up, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I had mom send me her recipe, which I modified a bit by using less sugar and no red food coloring.  I had this for breakfast this morning and I think I may have to make this our traditional Memorial Day/Patriotic Holiday breakfast – just because I like it!  The kids, however, weren’t fans, but hopefully they will be some day.  I think it is a texture issue for them – not to mention I seem to have the pickiest girls ever right now!  Mike won’t eat strawberries either, so I guess I’ll have to eat this whole pie myself.  Darn the luck.

Strawberry Pie

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup mashed strawberries
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 cups whole strawberries, sliced
• Graham cracker or baked pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add water and cook until clear and thick.  Add mashed strawberries and remove from heat.  Spread sliced berries in prepared pie shell.  Top with sugar mixture and refrigerate for several hours.  Top with whipped cream if desired.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family.  Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!