Multi-Grain Pancake Mix

I've lost count of how many pancake recipes I have on this blog, but whatever. I guess I like pancakes. Funny thing is, I never actually liked pancakes as a kid, so maybe it is my eternal goal to find every delicious pancake recipe out there to prove that pancakes are actually delicious. And they are! (When they're made from scratch anyway...)

So on to the recipe. The mix comes from King Arthur Flour, but I found this jazzed up version on Annie's Eats. The mix is awesome - totally healthy with hardly any sugar and lots of whole grains, but it tastes a little boring without the improvements. All she did was add lemon zest and vanilla and it completely elevates the flavors! I also love to add blueberries because, come on, who doesn't love blueberry pancakes (Besides my three year-old, ahem). The blueberries are not necessary, but if you like blueberries, you'll love them in here. Enjoy!

Multi-Grain Pancake Mix
This original recipe is from King Arthur Flour, and doesn't include the lemon zest or vanilla. It's a good recipe without those, but it's amazing with them! I found this version at Annie's Eats and it makes it so much better. I love them with the addition of blueberries too - fresh or frozen.

Makes about 10 cups mix. Each batch (using 1 cup mix) makes about 8 pancakes - multiply as needed.

For the mix:
3 1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
5 c. white whole wheat flour (or combo of red & white if you prefer)
3 T. sugar
3 T. baking powder
1 T. salt
1 T. baking soda
3/4 c. vegetable oil

To make the pancakes:
1 c. pancake  mix
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
blueberries, fresh or frozen, optional

To make the pancakes, add the oats to the bowl of a food processor until finely ground (but not a powder). Transfer the oats to the bowl of an electric mixer and add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix on low speed to combine (or you can do this by hand if needed). Drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running and continue to mix until evenly combined and the mixture clumps slightly when squeezed together.

Transfer the mix to an airtight container. It will keep for a week at room temperature or for a long long time in the freezer.

To make the pancakes, mix together 1 c. pancake mix (this can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.) with the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Whisk the batter until mostly smooth. Let the batter stand 5-10 minutes before using, allowing the grains to soak up the liquid (up to 20 minutes is great too, but I find I usually don't have time for that in the morning).

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and lightly grease with spray, oil, or butter. Ladle 1/4 cup batter for each pancake and then dot with blueberries (however many you like). Allow to cook until bubbles begin to form on the top surface. Use a large spatula to flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until light golden and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter and serve.

Source: Adapted slightly from Annie's Eats, which was adapted from King Arthur Flour

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

I think it's a little ironic that I have so many pancake recipes on this blog, considering that was one of my least favorite breakfast foods to eat as a kid.  BUT, I have since learned how wonderfully delicious a good stack of pancakes can be.  We've actually been eating oatmeal a lot during the week lately, so it's been fun to try something a little more exciting on the weekends when we have more time. This is the second pumpkin pancake recipe on here, but it's quite a bit different from the other.  These are heartier and more dense, and my whole family (myself included) really liked them.  We topped them with some chopped pecans and maple syrup.  Give these a try for a delicious taste of Fall!

Basic Whole Wheat Pancakes

We eat a lot of pancakes around here, often these oatmeal or these banana.  But I found these gems about a year ago and have been making them a lot lately.  They can be whipped up in just a few minutes and make a simple, delicious pancake that can be topped with anything from bananas and peanut butter to berries and maple syrup.  The are super light and fluffy and they use all whole wheat flour, so you can feel good about starting your day off with some whole grains...with a little syrup on top.  Enjoy!

Granola Bars

I know, I'm kind of on a granola kick lately, but who doesn't love granola?  I have tried SO many granola bar recipes and failed SO many times.  Some ended up as granola since they didn't stay together at all, some tasted more like candy bars, some tasted like cardboard, and some tasted like bricks.  But these!  These finally are a triumph.  They are chock full of deliciousness - oats, almonds, coconut, dried fruit in whatever variety you like, and just enough honey to make them stick together wonderfully!  I used a combo of dried dates, peaches (home-dried!), and cranberries, and loved the flavors.  But you could definitely do apricots, cherries, blueberries, or whatever else floats your boat.  I would probably always use dates as part of the combo since they make such a good glue and sweetener, but the rest you could play around with.  Let me know what you use!  Enjoy!

Loaded Granola

Our family has made a lot of changes as far as food goes over the years, and cutting out processed foods has been an ongoing goal and process.  I make a lot of things from scratch, which means I'm always on the lookout for fantastic made-from-scratch recipes.  This granola is one of them!  I love the convenience of eating cereal in the morning - especially for my husband who leaves for work early, but I hate the gobs of sugar in processed cereals, and the lack of stay-power.  It seems whenever we used to eat cereal, the kids would be starving an hour or two later.  No more!  Now that we've replaced store-bought cereal with home-made granola, we are able to have that convenience and the energy to get through the morning.  Of course, you have to prepare this in advance, but it honestly takes me less than 10 minutes to throw a batch together, and then the oven does the rest of the work.

Baked Oatmeal with Fruit

I have a problem with oatmeal.  I love oats in baked goods, but I have never liked oatmeal for breakfast.  I have tried oh-so-hard to like it, because I want to, I really do.  But there's something about that gummy texture I can never get past after a few spoonfuls.  I think I finally found a way to enjoy it though - this baked oatmeal.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Have you been picking blueberries this summer?  We're fortunate enough to live in a place where berries grow in abundance, and we've been blueberry-picking several times this summer.  This has been one of our favorite ways to enjoy them.  Blueberries are so tasty fresh, but I have to admit, I love them even more when they're cooked and they burst with juices and flavor.  These muffins are super easy to whip up and they are quite healthy too!  You can use fresh or frozen berries; and yogurt, buttermilk, or non-dairy milk.  We've tried them all ways and they're delicious anyway you do it!  Enjoy!

Homemade Lara Bars {aka Date-Nut Bars}

(coconut cream, pictured)

Have you ever had "Lara Bars" before?  They are, quite simply, a bar made up of dates and nuts.  Some have other additions, but the base is always dates and nuts.  I tried them for the first time a few years ago and thought they were quite good.  Since then I've always wanted to make my own since the ingredients are so simple.  If you haven't used dates before, don't be afraid.  They are a fruit that grows on a date palm tree (my sister in Florida has one in her yard!).  You can buy them with or without the pit - just remove it if you buy them with, it's very easy.  I've found them at Costco and several other grocery stores.  They are naturally very sweet and sticky, so they are great for binding things together and providing sweetness.

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes {dairy-free}

Hello neglected blog!  I had a baby almost 3 months ago and we're moving in 3 days, so things have been busy.  But I'm still always cooking and trying new recipes.  I am completely off of dairy these days due to a very sensitive nursing baby, so I've been trying a lot of new dairy free recipes.  This is one of my favorites.  The first time I made these pancakes I was in shock at how many my kids ate.  They were all gone before I could blink twice and I wished I'd made a double batch.  These are so easy to whip together in the morning and could totally be made with regular milk if you're not a fan or don't have a need for non-dairy milk.  These have quickly become a staple in our home for breakfast and we love them!  Especially topped with peanut butter and maple syrup.  Mmmm....

Whole Wheat Waffles

I know, I said I'm back and then it's been forever.  It's been craziness in our house, but I really want to get some more recipes up here!  These are my new favorite breakfast item I've tried in the last several months.  They are 100% whole wheat, but they are surprisingly light and tasty and really easy to whip up in the morning.  We love our standard buttermilk waffles, but I feel a little better about us eating this for breakfast instead.  Of course, we also love our waffles smothered in peanut butter and maple syrup, an old family tradition from my side of the family. :)  Delicious!

Cinnamon Rolls

These are the cinnamon rolls you have always dreamed about.  I went to make this recipe thinking I had posted it several years ago, and was saddened to see it wasn't here!  What a tragedy!  I had posted it on my family blog, but it never made it's way over here.  Well I am repenting.  These babies are sooooo tasty.  We enjoyed them on Sunday and every day since...until they ran out too soon.  Yikes!  They certainly are addicting.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Oh boy.  These were the fluffiest, most pie-like pancakes I have ever eaten.  Yum-o!  I saw these on Pinterest one night and wanted to try them, so the very next morning I did!  They were quite easy, very "autumn", and so delicious.  Topped with butter and maple syrup and they were pretty much divine.

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Oh mama.  This is no low-cal breakfast, let me tell you that.  But it is delicious!  This comes from the Pioneer Woman (so obviously it's not low-cal!) and that woman sure knows how to make food.  I made this a year or so ago for the first time, forgot about it, then recently remembered and tried it again.  Basically you take old french bread, pour an egg/cream mixture over the top, let it sit in the fridge overnight, top it with a yummy brown sugar topping, and pop it in the oven.  It's too easy!

Pumpkin Bread

There seem to be two types of pumpkin bread - the very cake-like kind that often contains chocolate chips, and the denser spice-bread-like one with nuts. Both are delicious and I have a hard time deciding which I like better. I guess it depends on my mood. This is pumpkin bread of the denser variety and I think it is delicious! It doesn't have a ton of ingredients - which is great, it makes 2 loaves - so you can take one to a friend, and it seriously takes about 6 minutes to whip together. This would be great to include on holiday goodie plates or to serve at a holiday party or just to make for your long drive to California you have coming up - that would be my reason :). It will be delicious no matter what!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I hosted a baby shower this past weekend and served 2 of these quiches (one with spinach, bacon & swiss, the other with ham, broccoli, cheddar & green onion) and this tasty coffee cake. My sister actually made this coffee cake for my baby shower a couple years ago and it was delicious! Make sure to watch it carefully because although the recipe says to bake it 50-60 minutes, mine only baked for 45 and I thought it was a little dry. I should have taken it out sooner! Oh well. It was still delicious. And it looks really pretty, so it's great for something like a shower.

Banana Bread

I love banana bread, but I've never really had a go-to recipe. I found this one recently on the Joy of Baking website (which I love) and I decided to try it. I'm so glad I did! It's really tasty. I went ahead and toasted the nuts like it suggested (although it's totally optional since it takes a little extra time) and it gave it a really yummy extra flavor. I don't like my banana bread too cakey, and this one was just right. I hope you enjoy it!

Allspice Crumb Muffins

Last night we had a delicious breakfast for dinner. I love doing that, do you? We do it fairly often. I love having leftover dinner/breakfast for breakfast the next morning. Yum! So I made this no-crust quiche with bacon, spinach and swiss cheese (oh my - that was a good combination. And then you get to eat yummy turkey, bacon and swiss sandwiches with your leftovers the next day if you happen to have turkey and delicious sourdough bread like I did...

Granola

I'm finally back from my no-good-excuse hiatus and I'm ready to get bloggin' again! I have been cooking, I just haven't been documenting it, so here we go!

No-crust Quiche

Mmm. Another great way to use the leftover Easter ham.

I love breakfast foods. All of them. And I love to eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. (We had this for dinner). I got this recipe from my mom, who got it from a lady at church. My mom made a few of these for my baby shower last year and they were a hit! The great thing about this is that you can make it into whatever you want. I put ham, broccoli, cheddar cheese, and green onions in mine, but you could really put whatever you want. Sausage, bacon, swiss cheese, mushrooms, spinach, etc., etc. I'm looking forward to making this again and trying something new! If you make it, let me know what you put in it and if it was good!

Easter leftovers - Breakfast Burritos

So if you're like me and you hosted Easter dinner at your house and have gobs of ham leftover, you're trying to think of all the things you could make with it. (Besides the obvious yet delicious ham sandwiches). Well, I also had some leftover potatoes and eggs, so I decided to make a bunch of breakfast burritos and eat one and freeze the rest. I always feel guilty when I don't make my husband breakfast in the morning, so this was a great way to ease my guilt and have something delicious for him to pop in the microwave and eat on the way to work.