Yummy Breakfast!

Jeremy and I have made it a tradition in our family that Saturday mornings are the time to make a big, family cooked breakfast. Everyone helps and it's a lot of fun. Last Saturday we had a German pan cake (literally, a pan cake!) with homemade syrup (delicious!), fruit, and ham. Here's the recipe!

GERMAN PANCAKE

• 6 eggs
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

BUTTERMILK SYRUP
(tastes great on waffles and French toast too!)

• 1-1/2 cups sugar
  
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
  
• 1/2 cup butter
  
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• Confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, flour and salt; cover and process until smooth. Pour the butter into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; add the batter. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the first five syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Dust pancake with confectioners' sugar; serve immediately with the syrup. Yield: 8 servings (about 2 cups syrup).

APPLES AND RAISINS

• 4 large, tart apples
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Cut and peel apples into bite-size chunks. Melt butter in large saucepan. Add apples and cook until tender. Add raisins and brown sugar. Mix water and cornstarch. Add to saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice.

Serve with German pancake, homemade buttermilk syrup, and sliced ham.

The Cookie to Beat All Cookies

Like chocolate chips? Peanut butter? M&M's? Oatmeal? What not combine them all in a recipe that is sure to be a favorite with everyone! Oh yeah, and these are really good with milk...


My friend from church gave me this recipe, and it is truly amazing. Everyone loves these cookies. One interesting fact...it contains no flour. I guess the oatmeal take the place of flour.

I'm making a huge batch of these to take to a homeschool gathering at my parent's house tonight. I'm not technically a homeschool student anymore, but who says being a homeschooler is about age and grade level? I think it's more about the attitude toward learning. Anyway, tonight sounds like too much fun to miss... Justin is in charge of games for the kids, and fun stuff like tug of war, sack racing, and apple bobbing is in store for tonight!

Cheers!
Jessica


Christine's Everything Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 c. + 2 T. brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 c. creamy peanut butter
3/4 t. light corn syrup
1/4 t. vanilla
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 to 1 c. m&m's
6 0z chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and next 3 ingredients. Beat well. Stir in oats, soda, and salt. Stir in m&m's, and chocolate chips. Dough will be stiff. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 8 to 12 minutes. Makes 5 dozen.

Menu Plan Monday

Hi y'all, it's been awhile since we've had any posts....so, in an attempt to keep this blog going, I'm going to start posting my menus for the week. I usually write them out and stick them on my fridge, but it's just as easy to type them here. Also, I would LOVE it if some of you other contributors on this blog started posting your menus. I could always use menu ideas!

If you like to see what other people are cooking this week, check out all the links here. Lots of great ideas.

Keep in mind, that Justin has school several nights a week, and has to eat in the car, hence the sandwiches for dinner!

Here it goes!
Jessica

Monday
Leftover fried chicken sandwiches
Peanut butter sandwiches and bell pepper slices with ranch

Tuesday
Omelets with ham, bell peppers, and cheddar cheese
Steak, scalloped potatoes, green beans

Wednesday
Pre-made stuffed bell peppers from freezer with cantaloupe slices
Ham sandwiches with apple slices

Thursday
Knorr pasta sides with cantaloupe slices and grapes
Beans with leftover homemade tortillas

Friday
Ham sandwiches with grapes
Potluck at Mom's house--take pigs in a blanket and cookies

Saturday
Pancakes and bacon
Pizza

Sunday
Leftover pizza
??

Enchilada tip

Those that know the Smith family, know that we LOVE enchiladas! Making them though can be time consuming and messy.

So here it goes...you know how it takes so long to fry the corn tortillas individually, but if you skip that step and just heat them in the microwave, you end up with really mushy enchiladas? My fabulous tip that I read is to take your corn tortillas and spray them individually with cooking spray/oil, put them on a cookie sheet and heat in a medium oven for a few minutes (like 3-4 minutes). The resulting tortillias will be softened and easy to work with and best of all, won't go all soggy. Saves time frying and maybe is a little healthier.

I tried it, and was pretty happy with my finished enchiladas....

Off to cook enchilada sauce!

Jessica

Super Easy Hamburger Recipe

Really, it's pretty much like homemade hamburger helper, but hey, hamburger helper can be pretty tasty, right?

I like how this version has salsa and cheese in it...yummy!

Beef and Cheese Macaroni

1 lb lean ground beef
2 cups chunky salsa
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
8 oz process cheese spread (like Velveeta)

Brown meat in a large skillet; drain.

Add salsa and 1 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil and then add macaroni. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook 8 minutes or until pasta is just tender.

While pasta is cooking, cut cheese into small cubes. Add to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until melted.

makes 6 servings.

(from Six Ingredients or Less, Families on the Go Cookbook)