Weekend Rules | Banana Bread Oatmeal Pancakes

February 25, 2012 By 35 Comments

1.Kick off the weekend with a kitchen dance party. Preferably while you’ve got batch of brownies baking to perfection in the oven and a couple of bottles of wine open. You know, for when the thirst from dancing strikes. While brownies make a fine dinner on their own, I recommend nourishing the other kitchen dancers with good cheese, crackers, olives, antipasto, and figs. Easy snacks to pop while dropping your slick moves. You’re sexy and you know it.

2.Make donuts. Don’t be afraid to fry things! It’s easy and painless (as long as you’re careful!), and kind of fun! And hello, you get to eat donuts at the end of it all! Why am I even explaining this rule?

3.Be active! Get outside, run, walk, bike, play. Breathe in some fresh air. Make a snowman or a sandcastle, depending on where you live. Do yoga. It’s good for you! Plus, it’ll help burn off the calories from all of those donuts and brownies.

4.Laugh with your friends. Laughter reduces stress hormones and lowers blood pressure, among other things. Hello ab workout! We are eating donuts, after all. See, it’s all about balance!

5.Relax. You’ve had a long week! Take some time to rest and get re-energized for the week ahead. Sleep in, if you can and if that’s your thing. Take a few extra minutes to enjoy your coffee in the morning. Take a nap! You’ll need the energy for the next kitchen dance party.

6.Call up an old friend to say hello. Call. No text. No email. Just a straight up voice-to-voice conversation. There is too much impersonal conversation in this world! Save the texts for the boys who ask for your number and take so long to call you that you barely remember what they look like. They don’t deserve a phone call back. You can text them. To say buh-bye.

7.Make these pancakes. Even if it’s the only rule you follow this weekend, please make these pancakes. These delicious, flavorful pancakes will rock your world. Especially when topped with a scoop of peanut butter and maple syrup. Don’t take my word for it, make these! Happy weekending friends!

Banana Bread Oatmeal Pancakes (adapted from canadianliving.com)

This recipe serves 6 (2 pancakes each). I successfully halved the recipe, but I recommend making the full recipe and eating the leftovers for breakfasts throughout the week…these hearty and mouth-watering pancakes will give you a taste of the weekend during the week!

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs, beaten

2 ripe bananas, mashed

3 TBSP. butter, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

Vegetable oil, for cooking

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, bananas, butter and vanilla; combine the two mixtures and stir until smooth. Let stand for 10 minutes. Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle to medium heat; brush lightly with some of the oil. Pour in about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake; cook for about 3 minutes or until the underside is golden and bubbles break on top but do not fill in. Turn and cook until the underside is golden brown, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the skillet with more oil as necessary. Enjoy immediately. Leftovers will last for a couple of days in the fridge, wrapped well. They reheat beautifully, either in the microwave or the toaster.
Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast Tagged With: , , , , ,

From My Heart To Yours | Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

February 13, 2012 By 24 Comments

Obnoxious jewelry ads. Restaurants offering special menus for one night only. Chocolatiers and flower shops preparing for their most lucrative day of the year. An overload of pink and red.

Kids, this can only mean one thing.

(Insert scary music here.) Valentine’s Day.

As suggested by the scary music, Valentine’s Day is not my favorite holiday. Single or attached, this big, commercial, overdone holiday has always failed to wow me. More importantly, I’m a big believer in showing the special people in my life that I love them on a fairly regular basis.

Are you pickin’ up what I’m throwin’ down?

But rather than babble on about this, I want you to do me a favor. Mmmk?

Step One: Mix up some warm water with a little sugar, then sprinkle with yeast. Let these cats get to know each other a little. Maybe they’ll like each other.

After 10 minutes, things will be getting a little foamy. That means there was a love connection. Bow-chica-bow-wow. Things are getting sexy.

Step two: Add in some flour, and mix things up. Get your hands in there, and start kneading. Add a little more flour and work it in there. This is a great opportunity to work out some of your frustrations! Like being single on Valentine’s Day! And when people innocently ask you what you’re doing to celebrate the day of love, you want to yell about drinking copious amounts of wine and eating Chinese takeout over your kitchen sink. (Don’t worry, I’m definitely not going to be doing that tomorrow.) But if I had any frustration about anything, kneading would totally help. Win! After a few minutes, you’ll have a beautiful ball of dough.

Step 3: The dough needs her beauty rest. Cover her up nice and let her rest for about an hour. Go give yourself a manicure, have a glass of wine, relax. You deserve it after all of that kneading!

When you come back, things will look a little something like this.

Pretty, yes? You just made dough! So easy right?!

Step 4: Divide the dough into two equal parts, and let rise again. It’s almost time to make pizza!

Step 5: Cover these sweet things and let them rise again, this time for about 45 minutes.

Get your pizza toppings ready. It’s time to get crazy!

Stretch out the dough, and if you’re feeling the love, why not shape things into a heart? In my opinion, that is how you show someone that you love them. By taking the time to create something with your own hands and your own time. Serve it all up with a bottle (or two) of wine, a few candles, and your wonderful company, and you’ve got yourself a mighty fine Valentine’s Day, or any day of the year.

However you spend February 14, I hope your day is filled with love and happiness. I’ll be drinking wine and eating a ridiculous amount of chocolate. <3

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (adapted from allrecipes.com)

This pizza dough is perfect – crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. And it’s made with whole wheat flour, so you can totally feel good about eating an extra slice. Feel free to experiment by adding different flavors into the dough along with the flour (like dried basil or oregano, or even a little parmesan cheese). 

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tsp. sugar

1 TBSP. active dry yeast

1 TBSP. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Add in the olive oil, salt, and garlic powder, and stir to mix. Add the whole wheat flour plus one cup of the all-purpose flour, and stir until the dough begins to come together. Tip the dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Cover with a towel and let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

Stretch the dough out into the desired shape. Place each crust on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with a little bit of oil and sprinkled with corn meal (my newest pizza secret!). Top with your desired sauce and toppings – the possibilities are endless here. Bake at 425°F for 16-20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.

Looking for something sweet to make your Valentine? Allow me to suggest red velvet sandwiches, the perfect chocolate chip cookie, fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, chocolate skor cookie dough toasted marshmallow cupcakes, or bourbon pecan pie brownies. Why choose? Make ‘em all! :)

A few of the photos in this post were taken with the Instagram app on my iPhone. If you are an Instragram-er, and want to follow the daily happenings of my foodie life, you can find me @onceuponarecipe. 

Filed Under: Bread, Main Dishes Tagged With: , , , ,

Welcoming Fall | Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Scones

September 3, 2011 By 135 Comments
Fall is upon us here in my part of the world. The days are becoming shorter, the leaves have started to turn, and there is an unmistakable chill in the air. While I hate to bid adieu to Summer, I can’t help but look forward to the changing of the seasons. Fall is my favorite time of year, without question. Fall is a beautiful season, with its stunning reds, oranges and yellows. If only it lasted longer than ten minutes, and wasn’t followed by…*shudder*…Winter.
Several nights ago, I had a wonderful visit with some lovely ladies, one of which mentioned that Fall has always signaled the beginning of a new year for her. And for many people, especially those in school, Fall is the start of a new year. New classes, new teachers, new school supplies, and new clothes (always my favorite part growing up). I have been out of school for a few years now, so it’s been a while since September brought with it any feelings of newness or change. This year feels a bit different though. Maybe it’s because my life is very different than it was last Fall, or maybe it’s because I hope that my life will be very different next Fall. It might also have something to do with the fact that I had my tea leaves, tarot cards, and palm read a few months ago. Now, before you go laughing at me, I went for kicks. I’m not sure I actually even believe in psychic abilities. But it certainly made for an interesting experience. I didn’t take much of what the psychic said to me to heart, except that a recurring theme in my tarot cards was the number 9. His interpretation of my cards was that the ninth month (September) would bring some major (and good) changes into my life.
I’m not holding my breath. I’m not the kind of person who lives their life waiting for things to happen. I prefer to make things happen. But it’s comforting to know that I might have some additional positive energy on my side this month.
Fall also brings along delicious flavors. When I think of Fall, I smell cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie. I see colorful squash and cute little gourds. I taste warm soups and stews. I feel a cup of hot apple cider between my hands. I get a strong urge to walk through a corn maze and jump into a pile of just-raked leaves. I love what this season does to my senses.
This photo was taken last Fall in Central Park in New York. It was the end of October, and the colors were finally starting to change. The trees in the park were so beautiful, and we spent such a wonderful afternoon there. Such great memories that I will hold dear forever. I won’t be making it back to NY this Fall, but I hope to get there one more time before my BFF and her husband return home next Spring. I did make a promise after all.
This weekend marks the last few days of my summer vacation – the two weeks I took off from work. My “stay-cation” as I called it. I’ve spent most of my days out in the sunshine, reading good books, taking Miss Bella on long walks or to the dog park, enjoying visits with friends, and soaking up the warmth of Summer. But the last few days were cool, grey, and drizzly. So, yesterday morning I decided to bake, and I wanted something that would smell and taste like Fall. Enter these tempting little scones. I could barely wait for them to cool enough to eat after they came out of the oven – they smelled so enticing with their notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. I scarfed down the first scone, and properly enjoyed the second. I barely restrained myself from having a third.

Summer is taunting us again, with warm temperatures expected this long weekend. Mother Nature is a bit bipolar, at least here in Alberta. But I’m not complaining – I can be patient for Fall, especially if it means a few more hot sunny days. Regardless…whether you love Fall or hate it, I can guarantee that you will enjoy these scones. And they’re made with whole wheat flour, so they’re practically a health food.

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Scones (adapted from Cooking Light magazine, Nov. 2006)

1 cup plus 2 TBSP. all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
Dash of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 medium Granny Smith apple, grated (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
Topping:
2 TBSP. buttermilk
1 TBSP. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, combine the flours, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk together until well mixed. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the apple, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and vanilla, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly with floured hands. Shape the dough into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on a lined or greased cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the wedges with 2 TBSP. buttermilk. Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkle evenly overtop of each wedge. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.
Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Fruit Tagged With: , , , ,