Sweet Potato Pancakes

My little one wanted pancakes again this morning and I had some leftover mashed sweet potatoes from last night's dinner, so I obliged her with Sweet Potato Pancakes, and they turned out quite yummy if I must say so myself. She also loves her pancakes heart-shaped, thus the picture.


Sweet Potato Pancakes

Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

2 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
4 t. Baking Powder
2 T. Brown Sugar
1 heaping t. Cinnamon
1/2t. freshly grated Nutmeg
3 T. Flaxseed Meal
1 cup Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Canola Oil
2 Eggs
1 C. Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Recipe follows)

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well with a wire whisk. In a large glass measuring bowl/cup (such as a Pyrex), measure the milk, cream, oil, and eggs; combine well. Add sweet potatoes to milk mixture and whisk until smooth and incorporated. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

Drop by half-ladelfuls (approx. 1/3 cup) onto heated non-stick skillet or a 300 degree griddle. Cook until bubbles form, flip, and continue cooking until done. Serve with real butter (better for you than margarine) and pure maple syrup. Enjoy!


MASHED SWEET POTATOES
To peel or not to peel, that is the question.........and my answer is NOT. First off, peeling potatoes is a lot of work and that just doesn't appeal to a lazy person like me. Second, most of the nutrients in potatoes are in the peel. Third, I LIKE the peel. So, why would I put myself through a labor intensive chore in order to rob myself of something I like that's good for me? I wouldn't. You, however, must decide for yourself whether perfectly smooth and creamy potatoes with less nutritional value is worth the work. It's still a free country. Take advantage of it. :-) So, now that the politics are out of the way, here for you, is my recipe for non-peeled mashed sweet potatoes.

3 med. sized sweet potatoes
Water
Salt
Pepper
Heavy Cream
Maple Syrup

Wash and cut sweet potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Set to boil. Once boiling, lower heat, cover and simmer until fork tender. Drain potatoes and pour into a bowl. Add butter, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and maple syrup to taste. Mash slightly with beaters before turning on the hand-mixer, then beat on medium speed until smooth.

I really feel the need to apologize here. I am notorious for not measuring when I cook. The only place I measure is in baking (it's a much more exact science). I cook by instinct and senses, and that just comes from experience. I've been cooking since I was 9 and I am now 51 - you do the math, because I'm terrible at it. Start with small amounts; look, smell, taste. Does it need a little more? Add a LITTLE more, then; look, smell, taste......until it's just the way you want it. It is so much easier to add more than to take out if you add too much. After a while, you just come to know how much is too much and how little is too little. The biggest thing is, don't be afraid. There are fixes for some things we mess up, and there is the trash can and takeout for things we can't fix. Cooking is about expression (yes, it's a bit of an art) and having fun. So, HAVE FUN!

Buon appetito! :-)

Company Cornbread

This is the cornbread recipe I use when company's coming. I also use it when I just want some really good cornbread. :-) My youngest son doesn't like cornbread, but he likes this recipe because, he says, "It's like cake." Sometimes I get really fancy and add blueberries. Here's the basic recipe:

Company Cornbread
Copyright 2011 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

INGREDIENTS:
2 C. Corn Meal
1 C. White Whole Wheat Flour
1 C. Whole Grain Corn Flour
3/4 C. Sugar (Sometimes I substitute the same amount of Agave in with the liquid ingredients)
2 T. Baking Powder
1 t. Kosher Salt
1 1/3 C. Canola Oil
2 Eggs
2 C. Buttermilk
1/4 C. Vanilla Yogurt
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
Brown Sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well (I use a wire whisk).
2. Combine egg, oil, milk and yogurt in another bowl and mix well.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well (after this step is where I would add the blueberries, tossed in a tablespoon of the dry ingredients).
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place butter in a large cast iron skillet or 9x13" casserole dish. Allow batter to rest while butter melts in preheating oven.
5. Pour batter into skillet or casserole dish, sprinkle with brown sugar, and bake for 25 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean).








This recipe comes out sweet and fluffy, reminding me a little of Marie Callender's cornbread. My family loves it and I hope you will too. Enjoy!

Grilled Avocado and Cheese Sandwich

This is what we had for lunch today and it was so yummy I just had to share. Right now is a good time for avocados and no one loves a good avocado as much as I do....well, maybe someone does. My point is I REALLY like them. I also love grilled cheese, especially on a cold, drizzly day like today. So, a combination of the two was inevitable and it was as simple as......well, as a grilled cheese sandwich. :-)

2 Slices of your favorite bread
As many avocado slices as you want and can keep from sliding off the bread.
Tomato slices (again as many as you want).
4 thin slices of Colby Jack Cheese (or whatever kind of good-melting cheese you like).
Margarine or butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium heat (or 300 if you're using an electric griddle). Butter the bread and lay one slice butter side down on a griddle or in a skillet. Layer 2 slices of cheese, avocado, and tomato on that first slice of bread. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, and top with remaining two slices of cheese. Top all of that with your second slice of buttered bread, butter side up. When the first side is golden brown, take two spatulas (because the avocado and tomato like to slide around) and turn the sandwich. When the second side is golden brown and your cheese is all nice and melty, move it to a plate and enjoy!



I like thick slices of avocado, but thinner might be easier to handle if you prefer that. I also like wheat bread, but a good sourdough or ciabatta would probably be awesome. Just make sure you have enough seasoning inside the sandwich that the flavors don't get lost in the bread. There are so many cool combinations you could come up with for grilled cheese sandwiches. I may just have to do a dedicated blog on several different combos. I would need a few people to help me eat all the experiments though. ;-)

Baked Oatmeal

Ok. I tried this recipe this morning, or rather last night (I put it together last night for breakfast this morning). I may be a little premature in sharing it with you because I still want to tweak it a bit, but it was pretty good this way. I'd just like to take it to spectacular. Anyway, this is what I've got so far:

3 C. Steel Cut Oats (I think I may want to reduce this a bit to say 2 1/2 C.)
1 C. of my own Homemade Peach Jam (you could also use maple syrup or Agave nicely here, I think)
1 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Vanilla
6T. melted Butter
1 3/4 C. Vanilla Yogurt
1 C. Milk
2 Eggs, beaten
2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt

Mix everything together and pour into a casserole dish, cover and store in the frig. over night. In the morning; remove casserole from frig. while you preheat the oven to 350. Once oven is preheated, enter the casserole. Bake 30 mins. or until it looks browned around the edges.








It came out more bread-like than oatmeal-like, which may not be a bad thing if you like bread, which I do. I spread a little butter on top and enjoyed it quite a bit. The inside was a little more oatmealy (not sure that's a word). I'm thinking that reducing the amount of oats will make it more like cereal. Feel free to play with it and let me know what you come up with.

Choco-Cinnamon Crescents

Okay. I know it's a new year and we're all working on eating healthier. My plan is to transition into the new lifestyle and finish using the holiday pantry items. Besides, my kids are still on Christmas break, so we're still partying a little. :-) This morning I found one last roll of refrigerator crescent rolls in the frig and decided to have a little fun. Choco-Cinnamon Crescents were the result. Here's what I did.








1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
2-3 T. Unsalted butter, melted
Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
Cinnamon Sugar

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Unroll the crescent rolls and brush inside with melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar to your liking over the butter. Place 7 or 8 chocolate chips on the wide end of the crescent and roll up. Pinch the ends and place on the cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the crescents with more melted butter and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Bake for 12 mins. and enjoy!


Needless to say, the kids loved them. For a little bit of redemption, I served them with turkey bacon. Not much help, I know, but the savory flavor of the bacon really complemented the sweetness of the crescents. Just a little something fun and really easy to make. Have a GREAT week! :-)

Turkey Handpies

These little babies have been a holiday tradition in our home since my teenage boys were toddlers. The inspiration came from something my brother-in-law used to make with jalapeño peppers. He'd stuff them with a mixture of ground beef and creme cheese. The recipe evolved over the years to become what I'm sharing with you today.



Turkey Handpies
Copyright 2009 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

INGREDIENTS:
1T. olive oil
1T. unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, chopped small
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Garlic Powder
1 8-oz. brick of creme cheese
4 rolls of ready-made pie crust (I use Pillsbury)
1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
A small bowl of water
1 egg and 1 T. water, whisked together for an egg wash

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425. Line two cookie sheets with foil. In large skillet place butter, olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and diced onion. Turn heat to medium and sauté onions until translucent. Add ground turkey, more salt and pepper, garlic powder, and cumin to taste. Cook until turkey is browned. Add broccoli florets and sauté for 5 more minutes until broccoli is heated through. Add creme cheese and mix to combine.

This next part can be done a couple of different ways. You can cut the pie crust circles into triangles to make the purses you see in the picture, or you can cut circles with a medium sized biscuit cutter. The latter is really easier. The purses are just traditional with us and what I'm used to doing.
1. Cut the crust in desired shape
2. Place a few fingers full of shredded cheese in the bottom of the wide end of the triangle (or in the middle of a circle)
3. Place about half a tablespoon of the filling on top of the cheese (You can play with the amount here. The key is to not have too much and rip the crust).
4. With your finger, dampen the edges of your shape with water from the small bowl.
5. For the triangles: fold the narrow end over the mixture to the wide end and seal; fold the sides over to the top and press to seal. Crimp the edge with a fork. For the circles: place another circle on top of the filling and crimp the edges with a fork.
6. Brush each pie with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse salt if desired, and bake (20 mins. for purses and 15 mins. for rounds).



I actually made both shapes this year; purses and rounds. It turned out that the rounds were more popular this time, which I was fine with since, like I said, they were actually easier to assemble. I got eight pies out of each round of crust doing the purses, and nine pies doing the circles. That number will vary depending on the size you cut. The whole assembly can be played with. Over the years I've used different cheeses; salt on top and no salt; pie crust and refrigerated crescent rolls. It all depends on your personal tastes. My oldest boy loves bread, so he likes any version that highlights the bread. The rest of us prefer the filling, so we like the rounds and the crescent roll dough as both of those are lighter on the bread. Play with it and find what you and your family like. After all, half the fun of trying other people's recipes is tweaking them to your own liking. Have fun and enjoy!

White Hot Chocolate

Happy New Year, All! I am resolving to create more recipes and do more blogging in 2012 (in between the arm and hand surgeries anyway). My first post this year is something I created for my husband. My sweet man does not care for sweets, particularly chocolate.....EXCEPT, white chocolate. He LOVES white chocolate. I make homemade cocoa every year around the holidays, and today (New Year's Day) I decided to make a hot cocoa that my husband would enjoy. It turns out, he loved it! So, without further ado, the recipe for my homemade White Hot Chocolate.

NOTE: I use nothing but the 4oz. Ghirardelli bars of chocolate for my cocoa. Always have, always will.

4 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2T. sugar
1t. cinnamon
1t. vanilla
4oz. white chocolate, chopped
4oz. milk chocolate, chopped

Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Begin whisking when chocolate starts to melt. Heat and whisk until everything is incorporated and cocoa is good and warm.

You can serve this any number of ways. Today, I placed a small white chocolate snowflake in the bottom of a cup, filled it with the cocoa, and topped it with whipped cream. A sprinkle of cinnamon might be nice too. However you like it. Enjoy!

I made these simply by melting white chocolate, then putting it in a squeeze bottle and filling a mold.