Coco Monkey Pancakes with Tommy
First, I would like to say that this is recipe comes from Our Best Bites. It’s the yummy Chunky Monkey pancakes aka chocolate banana pancakes. We also experimented and added a new ingredient. This is such a filling pancake that I could not even eat a full one!
So, yesterday my son and I were discussing food and his picky eating habits. He is 15 and should love food but doesn’t. He loves breakfast but not much dinner food. I thought if I prompted him to cook that maybe he would get a interest into experimenting with foods. I am hoping this will open him up to more flavors and trying new foods.
This morning I was looking at Our Best Bites website at the Apple Cider Caramels. I showed him the caramels and he said they looked good and we started to browse. He said “What are those pancakes?!”. He asked to make them. I, of course was like absolutely! My son made his first batch of pancakes on his own. He loved them and even decided to add cocoa into the batter after making a few from the recipe. Now he has a fantastic idea for another set of pancakes that him and I together will be posting soon!
Here’s the recipe for the Chunky Monkey Pancakes at Our Best Bites site. Below is pictures and our adaption from Our Best Bites recipe.
Ingredients
Instructions
Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined. Place bananas in a bowl and roughly mash with a fork. Fold into batter. Add the chocolate chips that have been tossed with flour and stir. Add in your cocoa and stir.
For syrup, heat peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add maple syrup and gently whisk to combine. Heat in the microwave for another 30 seconds, whisk, and then set aside.
Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Coat pan with little butter or cooking spray and then pour on pancake batter. Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip. Pull from griddle and top with butter, syrup and some cocoa powder.
This recipe makes about 15 pancakes depending on size.
http://mooshujenne.com/coco-monkey-pancakes-with-tommy/Pumpkin Pasties
Through out the series of Harry Potter and on Halloween I have made Pumpkin Pasties. Most of your common recipes call for a basic pie dough crust on the outside. I have to say I am not a fan of this. I wanted to put a twist on this recipe. So here’s to all the Harry Potter fans!
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pull the pastry dough out of the fridge or freezer and let rise to room temperature. In a large bowl add in can of pumpkin, evaporated milk, 2 large eggs, 3/4 cups sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Blend with hand mixer on low till batter is well blended.
Now the trick to this recipe is to have the batter pretty thick. You will need to add equal parts of sugar and flour till you thicken the liquid. Then you will add it to a deep casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour at 350F. The mixture will be a thick paste when you pull it from the oven. Let it cool.
In the meantime, take your puff pastry dough and slice into squares. Use one square for the bottom and another for the top. Put about a tablespoon or two of the pumpkin filling onto the bottom square. Take the top square and cover, using a fork press all around the edges. Continue till all your squares are filled. Put about two tablespoons of butter in a microwavable bowl and heat for about a minute till melted.
Put pasties into the oven. Bake at 350F for about ten minutes. Butter them with melted butter on top side only about twice. Once top dough is lightly brown on edges and flaky pull from the oven.
To make your glaze take a small bowl and put powdered sugar, vanilla and a few tbsp water. Whisk till you have a thick glaze. If the glaze is too thin then add more sugar. Roll pasties in glaze and set aside till glaze is dried.
This recipe makes about 24 pasties depending on the size you cut the squares of the dough.
http://mooshujenne.com/pumpkin-pasties/Chocolate Covered Spoons
With holidays around the corner many of us are looking for ways to save money but give something that our friends would love. Many of my friends like coffee and hot chocolate and what is more perfect then extra chocolate in your coffee or hot chocolate. You can get pretty creative with these and you can use lollipop plastic covers to cover the tops and tie with any color ribbon you would like. Sprinkles are a good additive to for color.
Last year I did these as gifts with packets of hot chocolate in a basket. If you decide to do a basket one of the cutest things ever is to do homemade bread with a cup, spoon and hot chocolate or coffee packets. Flavored coffee is another good item to go with it.
And don’t think just Christmas! These are good for all holidays. Just look at the pictures below.
and these with confetti
and these are cute for Valentine’s Day.
Ingredients
Instructions
Use a double boiler or a glass bowl that fits over a pan. I use a glass bowl and fit it over a pan with about 1/2 of the pan filled with water. Heat pan on medium high heat until the water is boiling. Add glass bowl to top.
Add milk chocolate to glass bowl and 1/4 of a cup to 1/2 cup of milk. Eyeball the milk by mixing in a little at a time. You do not want to much milk just enough to keep the chocolate from hardening or burning. Once chocolate is melted remove it from the stove with oven mitts. Careful it will be hot!
Lay out parchment paper or plastic wrap. Dip spoons in the milk chocolate and lay onto the paper or plastic. If you want to use sprinkles then is is best to drizzle the sprinkles over the spoon while still warm. In the meantime, repeat the process above for the white chocolate. Once the chocolate is ready using another spoon drizzle the white chocolate over the milk chocolate spoon to add design.
When the spoons have dried just cover with clear lollipop bags and tie off with ribbon of your choice. Gift them with hot chocolate or gourmet coffee.
http://mooshujenne.com/chocolate-covered-spoons/
Homemade Meatball Sub
My son really wanted me to make this sandwich. But I knew the first thing I would have to accomplish is how to make a restaurant style meatball. I wanted something soft and juicy just like I get at Carinos. After a few hours of looking at recipes I found that combining what I saw on a Triple D episode and what I grew up making with my grandmother was going to be the way to go. Also this was a chance to use my lovely new food processor.
First science to a good tender meatball is bread crumbs. Whether you make it on your own with fresh bread which is the best and if you do this it is good to add some fresh Italian seasoning to it. Or whether you use bread crumbs out of a can or panko they all do the same thing. They hold moisture into your meatball. Your egg acts as your binding agent which is also important. Remember those two things and you will always have a great meatball. Here’s my recipe to a good soft and tender meatball.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor put in parsley and chop. Add in garlic and onion and chop also. In a large bowl put ground beef and add your seasoning mixture and salt and pepper to the meat. Add in 3 large eggs and 1/2 cup milk and using your hand mix well. Then add in bread crumbs and mix well with your hands again. Take a large long baking dish and oil the bottom lightly with olive oil to help the meatballs not to stick. Roll your meatballs to about the size of your palm and set into dish. Cover dish with foil. Bake them at 375 degrees for one hour.
For your sandwich simply slice your meatballs in half and add to your bread of choice. Add cheese and favorite sauce over the meatballs. This recipe makes enough to serve six and still have meatballs left over to make spaghetti and meatballs the next night.
http://mooshujenne.com/homemade-meatball-sub/White Bean Bacon Soup
This is soup is very festive with color. You can use it Fall/Winter for a starter soup. It’s also great to have with rolls, french bread or cornbread.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a large soup pot, put in the olive oil, garlic, bacon and onion. Saute till bacon is browned and onions are caramelized. Add in carrots and celery. Saute vegetables a for about three minutes. Add the drained beans and chicken stock.
Simmer the soup over moderately low heat until the beans are tender. Cooking time will depend on your cook wear. As a default, cook on medium to high for a few hours generally about 3 hours. Season the soup with salt and pepper while the soup is slow cooking.
http://mooshujenne.com/white-bean-bacon-soup/
Curry Spiced Apple Chicken
My birthday was October 4th and I got a food processor from my mom. It was exactly what I asked for. You know those weeknights that your favorites TV series is coming on but you have to rush to make dinner. Your chopping so fast that you still end up cutting food and trying to watch the beginning from the kitchen. Yeah that is exactly why I asked for a food processor. Well and also the dough blades (wink wink) for the holiday season soon to come. So on with the story, I decided to make a recipe using the new food processor and something colorful for the autumn season. With seasons changing curry is great for sinus pressure. Enough yellow curry and your nose is clear and headaches from the pressure are gone! Hope everyone enjoys this dish as much as my family did last night.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a large saute pan (deep) put your olive oil, chopped garlic and chopped onions. Cook for about 2 minutes on high and then add in your chicken. Once the outside of the chicken is white add in your potatoes, apples and carrots. Evenly distribute your curry and salt over the top. Add in chicken broth to half way mark in pan. Do not fill all the way since the potatoes, onions and chicken create there own juices adding more liquid. Steam with lid for about 10 minutes stirring frequently till chicken and vegetables are tender and mixture is thickened. Taste test and if it needs more curry or salt you can still add this in. Serve over steamed white rice.
http://mooshujenne.com/curry-spiced-apple-chicken/Svickova
Svickova is a traditional dish in the Czech republic. It can be found on the menu of virtually every Czech pub. It is something we make on a Sunday in the Fall or Winter. Hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients
Instructions
In frying pan saute onions then add carrots and celery. Sear roast on all sides. In a baking dish put in your roast, carrots, celery, onion, allspice, peppercorns, bay leaves, salt, and chicken broth to cover vegetables. Cook for three hours at 350 degrees.
Remove roast from oven when it is tender and place on cutting board. Pour juices into a large bowl. Blend all of your juice and vegetables together in a blender and add to large pot on the stove on low heat. Once all your vegetables and juice is blended then you can add in two tablespoons of flour and your half and half very slowly stirring constantly.
In the mean time cut your roast into small pieces and put into a dish and leave in oven on low heat to keep warm. Your gravy sauce in your large pot should be thickening. Once it is thickened you will add the lemon juice and stir. Serve gravy over meat and dumplings.
Cut bread into ½ inch cubes. Add to large bowl. Add Wondra, baking powder and egg and stir to combine. Add half of the milk and stir. Add the remaining milk, a little at a time, and mix by kneading with the hands after each addition. When mixture adheres together, forming a dough, stop adding the milk. The dry ingredients should be fully incorporated into the mixture, but the dough should also not be too wet. Sprinkle clean surface with flour and form dough into a 6 by 2½-inch roll by pushing and turning lengthwise with the palms of the hand. Continue until roll is smooth, pinching together any rough areas.
Fill a large pot ¾ full of water and bring to boil. (Don't heat the water in advance: the dumpling needs to rest while the water comes to a boil). Add the dumpling to pot. If it does not float to the top, lift it with a wooden spoon. Boil the dumpling for 10 minutes, then flip it over and boil for another 10 minutes. Cut the dumpling into slices.
http://mooshujenne.com/svickova/Avocado Soup
One of my all time favorite soups! It was an experiment from another recipe that had chicken. Since I am not a huge fan of chicken I replaced it with bacon and it was so smokey it turned out perfect! We use fresh tortillas for dipping.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a blender, combine the half of the garlic, jalapeno, avocados, lime juice, container of chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste. Puree until smooth. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, chopped bacon and the rest of the garlic. Cook till bacon is browned and onions are caramelized. Add the avocado mixture to your pot. Bring to a simmer. Add some fresh Italian parsley and cilantro to pot and remove from heat. Dip fresh tortillas with salsa in your soup for a wonderful side dish or appetizer.
You can also use an immersion blender if you would like.
http://mooshujenne.com/avocado-soup/
Fried Mushrooms
Fried food is evil! But it is the perfect NASCAR Sunday food or of course an appetizer.
Ingredients
Instructions
Heat oil in pan just enough oil to cover one side of mushroom not the whole mushroom. About 2 cups of oil or less. Wash mushrooms under cold water then cut in halves. Set out two bowls. In first bowl put flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir flour to mix in spices. Add in eggs and beat well with fork. Add in milk if needed to make mixture a thick batter. In second bowl put panko bread crumbs. You will roll the still wet mushroom in flour mixture and once coated well, roll them in the panko and set aside. Once all mushrooms are completely covered and oil is heated to about 375 F. Set mushrooms in oil and cook one side till lightly browned and then turn to other side and cook till lightly browned. Set mushrooms on paper towel to drain off extra grease. Eat with tarter sauce!
http://mooshujenne.com/fried-mushrooms/Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients
Instructions
Heat about 2 cups oil in sauce pan. Cut a slit into jalapenos length wise. Without breaking or tearing jalapeno clean out seeds and ribs. Use gloves so the juices do not stink your hands. Once all jalapenos have been cleaned out stuff them with cheese. You will now need three bowls. In first bowl put your flour. paprika, salt and pepper. Stir to mix in spices. In second bowl add eggs and beat with fork till well blended. In third bowl put your panko bread crumbs. Wet your jalapenos on the outside with a paper towel and roll in flour. Next roll in egg and then roll in panko and set aside. Once all jalapenos are breaded and oil is hot then set your jalapenos in oil no more then three at a time. When they become lightly brown on one side rotate to other side. When both sides are lightly browned pull and drain your poppers on a paper towel. You can also add bacon to the inside of these if you would like for a smokey flavor.
http://mooshujenne.com/jalapeno-poppers/
