Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

The Hubs made these for us for breakfast the other day and they were soooooo good.  So I wanted to share the recipe!

INGREDIENTS: (makes about six 6-inch pancakes)
1 cup Pancake Mix (we use Alton Brown's recipe)
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
coconut oil for frying (add as needed for each batch)
3 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Praline Liqueur
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup fresh pineapple pieces (you can use rings if you want it to look fancy, we didn't have any on-hand)
6 maraschino cherries

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the pancake mix, milk, and egg, and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter, liqueur, and brown sugar and heat over medium until dissolved, then add the pineapple.  Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until caramelized, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium and add about 1/4 cup of coconut oil.  Once hot, scoop pancake mix into the pan, using about 1/3 cup of batter per cake.  Top each cake with a pineapple ring or about 5-6 pieces and a cherry.  Continue to cook the brown sugar sauce so it thickens (this will be your syrup).  Once the bottom is browned, flip the cakes and cook until golden.

Serve with the brown sugar syrup and devour!

Blueberry (No So) Waffles & Blueberry Lemon Syrup

So the other day I tried to do the “Blueberry Muffin Mix Waffle” thing I’ve seen on Pinterest:

I was also making a homemade blueberry lemon syrup to go with them.

WELLL…the waffles didn’t exactly turn out so well…

However, the syrup was FANTASTIC.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz fresh or frozen blueberries
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1/2-1 tsp cornstarch (as needed)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the cornstarch over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.  Lightly smash the blueberries with a potato masher or large spoon.  If needed, add the cornstarch to thicken to your preferred consistency.

Serve warm over (preferably successful) waffles…or the next day over some truly tasty pecan pancakes.

NUTRIFACTS: (about four 1/4 cup servings)

Calories 74.2

  Total Fat 0.3 g

  Saturated Fat 0.1 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g

  Cholesterol 0.0 mg

  Sodium 0.5 mg

  Potassium 36.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 18.9 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.2 g

  Sugars 16.1 g

  Protein 0.2 g

Bacon & Gouda Waffles

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I started using a FitBit in January to start helping me to be more accountable for my health.  And so far, it’s my little miracle machine, and I’ve lost 15 lbs so far this year!. I wear it everywhere and check it throughout the day, making sure I’m hitting my goals for steps, miles, calories burned, etc.  I’ve also been *pretty* good about logging my calories, and the Food Journal shows you the ratio of Fat to Carbs to Protein in your summary:

So this breakdown lead me to wonder:  What’s the ideal ratio for each of these categories?  My research all seemed to point towards the 40/30/30 ratio: 40% Carbs, 30% fat, & 30% protein.  But I’m a carb-fiend, so I’ve been finding it difficult to hit that mark each day. I almost ALWAYS end up high on the carb side. 
Then I thought—if I can find recipes or meal ideas that focus on this 40/30/30 ratio, then it should be a lot easier to hit that target.  I spent a few minutes searching for “40/30/30” on Pinterest (NOTE: this is NOT a helpful search—the search function pulls these numbers individually, so you get results like “40 recipes that cook in under 30 minutes!” and “Bake the 40 shrimp at 350F for 30 minutes”), then went over to Google.  Where I learned that the “40/30/30” ratio is also referred to as The Zone Diet (just goes to show how out of the dieting loop I am).  And fortunately, the Zone Diet people are nice enough to have a full database of recipes on their website—for free!
I pinned a few recipes that sounded tasty, including one for “Bed & Breakfast Waffles” that included Chicken Sausage in the ingredient list.  I thought, “ooh, savory waffles!  That sounds fun!”  I talked up these savory waffles to the Hubs & he was on board.  But then…I actually read the directions, and it just said to make the sausage & serve it on the side.  BORING.
So…I took the base for the waffle batter, and then decided to add some bacon into the waffles (since we didn’t actually HAVE any sausage to try to integrate into it)…and then…I saw the block of smoked gouda. 

INGREDIENTS: (makes two servings)
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp agave syrup
2 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/2 cup shredded gouda
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all of the wet ingredients and blend until smooth(ish).  Then add in the dry ingredients, and finally the bacon & gouda & mix well.
Heat your waffle iron & spray both plates with olive oil.  Then spoon about 1/2 cup of batter into the waffle iron and cook until crisp & golden (on my Cuisinart iron, I use the “4” or “5” setting).
Serve topped with fresh fruit & drizzle with real maple syrup.  These things were SERIOUSLY good, guys.  The salt & savory-ness from the bacon & cheese balanced perfectly with the syrup & slightly sweet cake.  And the use of eggs & cottage cheese in the batter helps boost the protein level in this normally carb-rich dish.

NUTRIFACTS:
Calories: 335
Fat: 18g
Fiber: 2.6g
Carbs: 21g
Sodium: 400mg
Protein: 20.2g

Louisiana Pancakes: Blackberries & Pecans, oh my!

During my last trip down to Louisiana, I had breakfast with my best friend & her husband at T’Coons, one of the best breakfast spots in all of Lafayette.  I downed a (couple) cups of Mello Joy to wash down some sweet potato pancakes w/pecans.



So once I got home and got this horde of blackberries…I of COURSE had to have more pancakes to go with my homemade syrup.  Fluffy cake, juicy blackberries, and crunchy roasted Louisiana pecans?  This is a no brainer.




Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup blackberries (ours were rather large, so I quartered them)
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1 tbsp butter
• Blackberry syrup

Directions:
First, we need to toast our pecans.  This isn’t 100% required, but I think it really makes the pecans pop w/flavor.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat, and add 1 tbsp butter/margarine, the cinnamon stick, and the pecans.  Toss so the butter coats the nuts and the cinnamon stick gets to mingle with everybody.


Toss for about 5-7 minutes; just until you start to be able to really smell the pecans.  Then you can turn them onto a cutting board, discard the cinnamon stick, and then chop the pecans.



Now, mix your pancake batter.  That’s the first 8 ingredients (flour through cinnamon).  Mix til lump-free.  If it seems a little thin, add a lil’ bit more flour.




Use the same skillet you roasted the pecans, and add your favorite non-stick spray (we like butter flavored) and heat to medium.  

Now, go back to your batter.  Add the blackberries & the pecans.



NOTE: If you have small blackberries, you can opt to not mix the berries & pecans into your batter.  I tried that originally…however, my blackberries were HYYOOOJJ so when I went to flip the ‘cakes, the opposite side wouldn’t make full contact with the pan, and I ended up with broken pancakes:




Plus, by mixing it in, you get more berry in each bite.

I used an ice cream scoop to keep my pancake sizes pretty uniform:



Now—the magic of pancakes…waiting for when it’s OK to flip.  Just watch for the bubbles, and keep checking the edges.  when there are bubbles in the center of your cake, that indicates it’s cooked through in the middle, and OK to flip.  But just keep a good eye as you check the edges and your heat—these can burn easy, and your stove temps may vary.


When you’ve got a couple cakes to stack up, drizzle with your blackberry syrup and garnish with a few fresh berries.
 


Proceed to chow down. Makes about 8-10 pancakes (1/2 cup batter per cake).  Serve each stack w/about 2 tbsp of syrup.


Nutrifacts:
Calories 155.2
  Total Fat 8.4 g
  Saturated Fat 1.1 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat 2.7 g
  Monounsaturated Fat 3.2 g
  Cholesterol 39.1 mg
  Sodium 333.9 mg
  Potassium 99.3 mg
  Total Carbohydrate 16.8 g
  Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
  Sugars 2.3 g
  Protein 3.3 g

Blackberry Syrup: Good with…EVERYTHING!

 

We hosted a BBQ at our house last weekend, so of course, I wanted to use our blackberry stockpile in some way for that.  What goes great with a home bar-be-que?  Lemonade!  So I decided to make a quick blackberry syrup to mix in with regular lemonade. 

Of course, I’d also be able to use the syrup for all sorts of other things too!  Mixing in with greek yogurt & fresh berries, swirling in with oatmeal, a syrup for pancakes…even for making a SUPBERB margarita…but we’ll discuss that later this week.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup Splenda (or 1 cup sugar)

 

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan over –medium-high heat & stir to dissolve sugars. 

Heat to a boil, then decrease temperature to medium-low and simmer for 5-10 minutes, gently crushing the berries against the side of the pan as you stir.  Then remove from heat & let steep for 15 minutes.

Place a wire mesh strainer over a container and press to get all the syrup out of the solids.  Once separated, discard the solids (these are great for compost, if you’re a composter!) and let the syrup cool in the fridge.

For blackberry lemonade, add 2 tbsp of syrup to a glass of lemonade.  The syrup is pretty sweet, so I recommend making your lemonade a little more tart than you would normally.  If you’re using lemonade mix, just squeeze in a bit of extra lemon juice.  Mix in your favorite glass & enjoy!

And here’s the awesome thing…if you use Splenda rather than sugar, this has only 3 calories per tablespoon!  If you make it with sugar, it’s about 20 calories per tablespoon.

Tune in later this week for more fun with this syrup!