May24

Brown Rice Pancakes

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Brown Rice Pancakes

These are fabulous and they are a Pinterest find!  I have been printing and actually trying the many recipes I have pinned lately.  This is a real keeper… after I tweaked it a bit :)   What is so great about these pancake is you use the leftover grains from your dinner the night before.  I am notorious for making way too much brown rice and quinoa but, now I have something yummy to do with it!  I have made these with both brown rice and quinoa.  Any grain would probably work.  Here’s to making extra brown rice on purpose!!

Brown Rice Pancakes

2 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa

1  1/2 cup flour (I do half whole wheat and half white flour)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 whole eggs

2 egg whites

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons pure maple syrup

 

Preheat skillet over medium heat.

Mix together the brown rice, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Wisk together the eggs, egg whites, vanilla, milk, butter and maple syrup in a separate bowl.

Add the milk mixture to the rice mixture and stir until well blended.

Grease the griddle with butter or non-stick spray.  Pour pancake batter on hot griddle in even circles.

Cook 2-3 minutes until small bubbles appear and flip!

Cook 2 minutes on the second side.

Generously butter the hot pancakes and repeat with remaining batter.  This recipe makes about ten 4 inch pancakes.

Serve with pure maple syrup and lots of butter and watch them disappear!!

Everybody loves them :)

Enjoy.

 

 

 

May23

Rhubarb Poundcake

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Rhubarb Poundcake

Where is the poundcake many of you may have been asking.  It is in my blog name after-all!!  Well here is the best poundcake ever.  Rhubarb is one of my favorites.  If you have never tried it, this is a great recipe to give it your first go.  Rhubarb is tangy and so it is often paired with sweet things like, strawberries and poundcake.  When you are looking for it in the store it most closely resembles celery, but it is reddish-pink.  Rhubarb is in season now, so don’t wait to enjoy this yummy cake!

Rhubarb Poundcake

2 cups rhubarb, about three stalks cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1/4 cup sugar

Cake Batter

1  3/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

12 tablespoons butter (1  1/2 sticks), softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Wash and dry rhubarb.

Cut the rhubarb into 1/4 inch pieces.

Add the rhubarb and 1/4 cup sugar to a medium sauce pan. Cover and cook over medium low heat until rhubarb is tender, about 5 minutes.

The rhubarb should look like this.  Drain any excess liquid and let cool until ready to use in the poundcake.

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously butter and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.  Combine all dry ingredients.

Cream together softened butter and sugar in a mixer.  Beat on medium-high, about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again until creamy, about 1 minute.

 Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until all combined.

Add the cooled rhubarb to the cake batter.

Using a rubber spatula fold in the rhubarb.

Pour into prepared pan and smooth with the rubber spatula.  Make a cut along the top of the batter, lengthwise to minimize splitting.  Place in preheated oven.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, until golden brown and toothpick tester comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool 30 minutes.  This poundcake is great all by itself.  So grab a big slice (or you will just be back for more), a cup of tea and a cozy seat. Enjoy

May22

My Earth Day Promise… a month late

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My Earth Day Promise… a month late

Every Earth Day I like to make a commitment to myself and my children that I will make  a specific change that in so doing is a small way of making a difference.  Last year I committed to stop buying bottled water and to use reusable bottles from home instead; it was nothing big, but it makes a difference.

So, this year I had not decided anything yet… until now!

In 2012 I am promising myself and my children that I will reduce my Government Footprint by as many lousy congressmen & women, senators and useless presidents as possible.  This is an important issue to me; please join me in this fight!!  Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

May17

Cake Batter Pancakes w/ Rainbow Sprinkles

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Cake Batter Pancakes w/ Rainbow Sprinkles

My oldest son Halen turned 7, in February… yes this is how behind I am in my blogging!!  I love birthdays and making them special for my kids and husband.  The catch, I expect my day to be extra special too!  My husband knows this so I always have a wonderful birthday!

Growing up we never ate sugar cereal (Trix, Lucky Charms etc), but once a year, on our birthday we could pick out one box of sugar cereal that was just for us.  I always picked Frosted Mini Wheats; it is still me favorite!  This was one of my favorite traditions growing up and one I use with my own kids now.  I also let them pick out a special dinner.  It can be anything!  This year Halen requested, caramel apples with chocolate and marshmallows, chocolate ice cream cake and Cheetos (yuck!!).  So that is what we had!  Also, since breakfast is my favorite meal I made him Cake Batter Pancakes with Rainbow Sprinkles.  This was a recipe I had been wanting to try and Halen’s birthday was a perfect opportunity :)

So this post will have two recipes slipped in: Cake Batter Pancakes with Rainbow Sprinkles and Ultimate Caramel Apples.  Enjoy, and here’s wishing you lots of Happy Birthday Celebrations!!

Cake Batter Pancakes (originally seen in Rachael Ray’s Magazine)

1 pkg. Cake Mix (any flavor, I used yellow cake mix)

3 eggs

1  1/4 cups water or milk (I like to use milk)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Sprinkles (I added about 1/4 cup)

powdered sugar glaze (mix powdered sugar with a little bit of water to achieve desired consistency for drizzling over pancakes)

Preheat griddle over medium flame while preparing cake batter.

Mix cake mix according to directions on the back.  Add Sprinkles.

Spray the griddle with a non-stick spray. Cook the pancakes on the hot griddle about 2-3 minutes per side.  When the pancakes begin to bubble slightly on top, flip!

Stack em up and drizzle away!

(I added butter on top too because I think butter is the best part of making pancakes!!!)

Look how happy he is! These are sure to make anyone feel special on their birthday!!

I just remembered that the main reason I made these was because we were having his birthday cake the following day.  So cake pancakes was a way to ensure cake on his actual birthday :)

Ultimate Caramel Apples

4-6 large green apples

1 large bag  caramels

1 bag milk chocolate chips

mini marshmallows

sticks (I prefer the white cardboard ones below)

Wash the apples.  Place one stick in each apple at the stem.  Melt the caramel according to the directions on the package.  Dip the apples in the softened caramel and place on a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray.  Chill in the fridge.  Pour the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave in 15 second increments so not to scorch the chocolate.  You can pour the chocolate into a piping bag and drizzle over the apples or use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate.  Push the marshmallow into the chocolate before it firms up.  It will firm up quickly depending on how cold the apples are.  Again place in the  fridge to firm up.  Wait at least 30 minutes and enjoy!  I like to cut the apples up.  It is easier to eat :)

Caramel apples are so easy and impressive and yummy!!

And for his final course… a Lego Chocolate Ice Cream Cake.  It was one sugar-filled awesome day!

May15

Political Season in Full Bloom

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Political Season in Full Bloom

November 2012 it is still months away but the politics are heating up.  You cannot turn the TV on or read the news without getting a full report of the happenings and inner workings of each presidential campaign.  I do not mind, in fact I feed on this stuff, but I talk often to people who were burned out on presidential politics 10 months ago!   It has been a long political season; really the presidential race started the day after the mid-term elections in 2010.  So, we have roughly six month to go and my question is who is really still undecided??  It is not as if the presidential hopefuls have much in common; I can’t imagine many independents are really 100% up in there air about who will get their vote. If so, what are the issues at stake for them? What will be the deciding factor either for or against a candidate?  What is their litmus test for our next president?

My point asking this is that over the next 6 months both candidates will do and say things so sway votes in their direction, like the HIGHLY  political announcement Obama made last week in support of gay marriage.   He and his campaign have made a strategic move here in which they hope Obama’s support of gay marriage will pull more votes than is turns away.  Gay marriage along with abortion are litmus test issues for people and a deciding factor for many voters, myself included.  It will be interesting to see how this gamble plays out for Obama in the end.

Obama Evolves on Gay Marriage

May14

Berry Cake

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Berry Cake

My mom makes this every summer as soon as she can get fresh, local blackberries.  I grew up loving this cake and it has become one of my go-to summer cake recipes.  This cake really should have a fancier name to do it some justice.  Maybe Blackberry and Cinnamon Dream or Summer Berry Snickedoodle Cake.  Growing up and still, it is simply known as Berry Cake. This cake is simple, spectacular and screams summertime!!  Enjoy!

Berry Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

2  1/4 cups sugar

1  1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter (unsalted or salted is fine)

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk (whole milk is best for baking, or whatever you have in the fridge)

3 teaspoons baking powder

2-3 small packs of blackberries, washed and dried

Topping

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugar for 2 minutes on medium high. Add eggs one at a time and combine until smooth. In a separate bowl wisk together, salt, flour, and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with the milk. Mix until batter is smooth, 1 minute.

On a greased 10 x 15 cookie sheet pour out batter.

Smooth out with a rubber spatula.


Have your kitchen help inspect and taste the blackberries.

Place the berries across the batter as close as you want .  This is how mine usually looks.

Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and sprinkle across the top of the batter and berries.

He is still tasting berries for me :)

Place the cookie sheet in the prepared oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Bake it until the top begins to turn golden and a toothpick is clean when the cake is tested.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool at least 30 minutes.  The top should be just golden and look like a snickerdoodle!  I think this cake is best the next day when it is even more moist.

Yum!

May12

S’mores Pizza Bars

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S’mores Pizza Bars

Everyday for school, Halen has a simple writing assignment.  This is really an opportunity for me to check his punctuation, handwriting and spelling.  In order to keep him writing I try to give him subjects he is interested in: Legos, mummies, story writing etc.  This ensures  the words and and ideas just flow from his pencil.  Yesterday was one of those days!

His assignment was to pretend he was Willy Wonka and he was coming up with new candy to make.  His eyes immediately lit up and he asked “Then can we make the candy?”  I said, “let’s see what you come up with and then we will try.” Lucky for me, he decided Willy Wonka should make chocolate pizza.  I could work with that!  So we headed into the kitchen and together Halen “Wonka” and I came up with this pizza :) Enjoy!

S’mores Pizza Bars

Chocolate chip cookies dough- either 1 batch homemade or 2 packs store bought cookie dough

3 cups mini marshmallows

2 cups milk chocolate chips

2 cups graham crackers, broken into 1 inch squares

Preheat oven 350 degress.

Liberally grease a 15 x 10 rimmed cookie sheet with butter or shortening.

Make your cookie dough or unwrap your store bought dough.

Place the dough on the prepared cookie sheet and begin to evenly spread around.  Keep spreading until it is completely covering the cookie sheet.  Place in oven and bake until the cookie crust begins to golden 12-18 minutes, depending on your dough and thickness.  Keep checking the color after about 12 minutes.  Mine took 18 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediatly top the cookie crust with the marshmallows, chocolate chips and graham crackers.  Place back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Then turn on your broiler and lightly toast the marshmallows.  This will take 1-2 minutes so watch closely so they do not burn.  I had to move the cookie sheet to make sure the marshmallows were all evenly toasted.

Allow to cool 30 minutes and then cut up into squares.

Put your game face on and….

Enjoy!

Mar20

Obama’s dream is not my dream.

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Obama’s dream is not my dream.

I knew of Obama’s book Dreams from my Father, but always thought it was Dreams of my Father.  I assumed it was only a re-telling of his family history; it is that, and so much more.  It is Obama explaining who he really is and where his motivations are coming from.  I don’t like it!

America is a promised land, and was once a bold example of liberty.  America was founded on principles of freedom, integrity and hard work.  These principles can work again.  It starts with each one of us educating ourselves about our true history and teaching it to our children and insisting that our republic be restored one election at a time!  It is time to buck up and decide where you stand, otherwise where you stand may be decided for you.

Mar8

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake w/ Peanut Butter Buttercream

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Banana Chocolate Chip Cake w/ Peanut Butter Buttercream

Wow! February flew by!  I intended to post all month long, but obviously that didn’t happen ;)

So I will start fresh now!  Spring has sprung here in Alabama and I find myself outdoors, more and more, enjoying the beautiful sunshine with my kids.  I tend to bake a lot in the winter, especially back home in Nevada where winter can last 6 months.  I now realize that my baking habit/ obsession is a direct result of those cold winters in when I am stuck indoors and left searching for anything to occupy my kids and keep me sane.  So, with all this nice 70 degree weather, I haven’t been baking as much.  My waist likes it, but my blog does not, so I will sacrifice and bake!!

This cake is one of my favorites.  I always have bananas in the house.  My family and I love them; we love them so much that we usually go through a couple dozen bananas each week.  They hardly every start to brown we eat them so fast!  But every now and then luck is on my side and I find three overly-ripe bananas left on my counter at the end of the week; when this miracle happens I make this cake!  I am not a big banana bread fan so this is a great alternative and so much yummier!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake w/ Peanut Butter Buttercream

Cake

1  1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed (about 3 bananas)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional (I use a herbal, caffeine-free coffee alternative called Pero)

1 teaspoon salt

1  1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Buttercream

2 cups powdered sugar

1  1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 teaspoons whipping cream (more if the consistency is too thick, add 1 teaspoon at a time)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 parchment lined 9 inch cake pans or place 18 cupcake liners into a cupcake pan if making cupcakes.

Peel the bananas, put them in a bowl and mash them up.

Mash until they look like this!

Combine in the bowl of your mixer, butter and both sugars. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth.  Add one egg and mix again until smooth.

Add the mashed banana and vanilla to the mixer and mix on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda and espresso powder (Pero).  Then give the dry ingredients a quick stir to combine.  Add the flour mixture to the batter in three batches, alternating with the milk. Once all the ingredients are in the bowl mix again on medium speed for one minute.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the chocolate chips.  Stir them in with a spatula.

Pour the batter evenly between the two pans or the 18 cupcake liners.  Place in the oven on the medium rack and bake for 20-30 minutes for the cake.  20-25 minutes for the cupcakes.

Note: I always set my timer on the minimum amount of time and then check it and add time from there, if needed.  Usually in 2-5 minute increments.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.  While the cakes cool make the buttercream.  I forgot to take pictures of this, but buttercream is easy!  Just combine the butter and peanut butter and mix on medium high speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, 2-3 minutes.  Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla and whipping cream and mix on low until smooth, about 1 minute.  The consistency should be smooth enough to spread on the cake.  Place one cake on your serving plate and spoon about a cup of the buttercream on top of the bottom layer of cake.  Smooth across the cake leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the whole cake that is buttercream free (this prevents the buttercream from squeezing out when the top layer is placed on the filling).  Place the top layer of cake on the filling and frost the cake with remaining buttercream.  If making cupcakes pipe buttercream onto the cupcakes.

I serve this cake at room temperature.  Cake is always best at room temperature… unless it is ice cream cake!! This cake is so moist and the chocolate chips compliment the banana and peanut butter so well!  I am sure this will become a new family favorite at your house!

Nummy! As Jack would say :)