Pancake and Sausage Muffins

I saw these one week on Heavenly Homemakers and I'm also looking for easy breakfast options! Mostly to help on the hectic mornings that I have to run out the door!

I did add a half cup of oatmeal in for the flour as I was out of whole wheat flour, so I wanted to bump up the nutrition a bit.

I also decided to put maple syrup IN the muffins instead of on top. If you choose not to do this, then you will 1 1/2 cups milk.

Pancake and Sausage Muffins-adapted from Heavenly Homemakers
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup quick cook oatmeal
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/2 lb breakfast sausage, cooked, crumbled, drained well

Combine flour, salt, powder, and oatmeal. Add in syrup, applesauce, and eggs and stir well. Fold in sausage. Place in greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

**These were quite tasty, they had just a touch of maple flavor that worked perfect! Q devoured 2 of them!

Mexican Ravioli

A few weeks ago I was looking for something different to make with ravioli besides your typical white or red sauce topping. My friend, Meggan, shared this recipe. She hadn't tried it yet, but it sounded good to both me and my friend Amy, so we made it for our cooking day.

Except I forgot that it really doesn't go well with my lactose intolerant child...so he had something else!

Mexican Ravioli-shared from Myrecipes
1 25 oz pkg frozen cheese ravioli
1 16 oz jar salsa
6 oz can tomato paste
2 cups black beans
1/2 tsp cumin
1-2 cups shredded cheese

Mix together beans, salsa, puree, and cumin. Now I laid the ravioli in the bottom of the dish and topped it with this mix and spread the cheese on top, BUT the original instructions say to layer it like a lasagna. So it's your choice.

Place in 350 degree oven for 45 mins covered. Remove cover and cook for another 5 mins until hot and bubbly.

**Q loved the beans, A liked the ravioli. K liked it all...and for me well...it was just ok. I've decided I'm just not a fan of ravioli casseroles, but its more of a texture thing than it not tasting good. I shared one with a friend who's boyfriend is vegetarian and they both said it was really good. So did Amy and her family, but she would add in some corn next time for some color. I would too, if I made it again. But considering Q' can't eat it, I probably wont! It was pretty quick and easy to make and great for a make ahead meal!

Freezer Cooking day-Part 2

Back in June we had our very first cooking day and it was quite successful. Unfortunately, due to our summer schedules Amy and I haven't been able to do another one until now. So I am headed off to her house today to have another one.

So on today's menu we will be making...
-White Bean Chicken Chili
-Taco Soup
-Pumpkin Pancakes
-Apple Chicken Burgers w/rolls(rolls are finished)
-Salisbury Steak
-Pumpkin Granola
-Egg McMuffins
-BBQ Pulled Pork w/homemade rolls(these are actually already done)
-Sweet and Sour Kielbasa and rice
-Mexican Ravioli

On Amy's list...
-Apple Sauce(canned, done night before)
-Apple Pie filling(canned, done night before)
-Chicken Enchiladas
-Honey Pork Chops
-Cranberry Mango Chicken
-Muffins...I can't remember which kind
-Wild Rice Soup
-Four Cheese Minestrone
-3 Cheese Baked Spaghetti(I think)

All of my prep work is done except for grating the onion and apple for the burgers. Everything is measured and set to go. We found last time that we needed to do some more prep work first, now it doesn't seem so daunting of a task. It took us about 8 hrs last time so we will see how long it takes us doing it this way. Never the less I'm sure we will have fun and our freezers will be fully stocked.

We might also be canning our soup, if we can get our hands on a pressure canner.

Homemade McGriddles

While I have never actually had one of these at McDonald's I saw the idea on a recent blog I was reading. I was looking for something new to make so we have a quick breakfast to eat while running out the door. It's usually me who has this problem, K doesn't usually do breakfast, but these are good to have on hand for his lunches too! These do take a little time to assemble but they are by no means hard, just takes a few steps!

Homemade McGriddles-shared from Hoosier Homemade
your favorite plain pancake recipe
sausage patties or bacon(cooked)
1 egg/mcgriddle
1 slice of cheese/mcgriddle
pure maple syrup

Mix up pancake batter and spread batter out int silver dollars. Drizzle with maple syrup. Cook until bubbles form on top and flip. Cool.

Take one egg, and scramble in bowl. Pour onto hot griddle, and try to keep it from spreading out.(I found by using the hot griddle it got it to cook faster so it stopped the spreading). Continue until all eggs are done.

To assemble: take 2 pancakes of the same size. Lay down the egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage. Place 2nd pancake on top. Wrap in paper towel and then in foil.(If you are freezing)

**I used brown and serve breakfast sausage patties and just kept them frozen as mine were just going into the freezer. Next time I think I will put the maple syrup right into the pancake batter instead of the sugar. This was a thick batter, but I did not thin it. They look delicious! Clearly I need to work on my pancake size!

Pumpkin Pancakes

I had some leftover pumpkin that I wanted to make into some pancakes or muffins. Well the heat is back so I didn't' want to heat the house up, so pancakes won!

Pumpkin Pancakes-adapted from Allrecipes.com
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp vinegar

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add in remaining ingredients until just combined. *This is a very thick batter. Spread batter onto hot griddle. Spread out with spoon if needed. Flip when bubbles form and edges look cooked.

**These were delicious, fluffy pancakes! YUM!! And I may or may not have had extra filling leftover from the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies and topped these with that instead of syrup! For a special treat or to WOW guests I would go that route for sure!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

I stumbled on these last week and thought they'd be perfect to freeze for my brother in laws. I whipped up a double batch today. They were very quick and easy to make....the most time consuming was probably shredding the cheese. Even though I doubled the recipe I do not think I doubled pepperoni...I  may have doubled the cheese. I just used a whole 8 oz block! These are also kid friendly and a great appetizer! They don't even need sauce to dunk them in!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs-shared from Crazy Jamie's Blog
3/4 cup ap flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1 cup diced pepperoni

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and oregano. Stir in milk and egg. Fold in cheese and pepperoni until mixed in well. Set aside for 10 mins. Meanwhile lightly grease a mini muffin pan. Scoop batter into pan and bake at 375 for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

**These were delicious! They were light and airy and the cheese made them crunchy on top! They do taste just like a pizza...in a muffin!

Banana Bread-The Deceptively Delicious Way!

Now that I have all these purees in my freezer, I need to use them up! Nevermind that I have 2 bunches of very ripe bananas to use, so I decided to try this recipe!

Banana Bread-shared from Deceptively Delicous
1/2 cup ap flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon(optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup applesauce(or oil)
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups banana puree
1/2 cup cauliflower puree
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients and put aside. Combine purees, egg white, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Add in flour and mix until combined. Place in loaf pan(may need to grease it). Cook for 55-60 mins in 350 degree oven.

**This was ok...it seemed very dense and not very thick. Q devoured it...honestly I wrapped it up, froze it, and sent it to my brother in laws!

4 B's Pork Chops and Au Gratin Potatoes

This is another recipe I adapted from the Fix, Freeze, Feast cookbook.

4 B's Pork Chops
3/4 cup pale ale
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp dijion mustard
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper


Place all ingredients in zip top bag and squish around to mix. Add in pork. Squeeze out air and seal. Freeze until ready to use!


**These were pretty good...but really all I could taste was the beer! 

Au Gratin Potatoes-shared from Hallee the Homemaker


I've just been waiting for a chance to try this recipe out! I love the ones that come in a box...but I really wanted to find a homemade recipe! K gets all the credit for slicing the potatoes! He did a great job!(I told him I'd give him credit!) He decided they were worth the effort...and he loves my santoku knife!


6 medium potatoes, sliced as thin as you can
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 green onions with tops,sliced
2 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheese


Place butter in skillet and let melt. Add in onions and cook for 5 mins or until onion is soft. Whisk in flour, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir until smooth and bubbly. Add in milk and whisk constantly until thickened and is almost to a boil. Add in nutmeg, stir. Fold in cheese and let melt, while stirring. Mix in with potatoes. Cover tightly with foil and cook in preheated oven for 45 mins. Remove foil and cook another 15 mins until potatoes are tender.(Mine ended up cooking for about 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours, this could have been from the thickness of the potatoes, you can only get them so thin with a knife! The sauce did thicken.)

**These were mighty tasty...almost too peppery for my liking but definitely good! YUM! I was even successful in making my first cheese sauce and it didn't SEPARATE! My aunt taught me well....

Cherry Skillet Chicken

Another delicious recipe from Fix, Freeze, Feast!

Cherry Skillet Chicken
1 lb chicken breast
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
HOT water
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt

Place cherries in a bowl and cover with hot water, let sit for 5 mins. In the mean time combine the rest of the ingredients in a zip top bag. Add in chicken and cherries. Release air from bag and freeze. When ready to cook thaw and cook until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice, if you prefer.

**This was actually pretty tasty! I of course ran out of time and didn't make rice to serve it over. I made a Balsamic Mozzerella and Tomato Salad, it did work well!

Sweet Asian Chicken

This recipe came out of the book, Fix, Freeze, Feast. I was first introduced to this book when Amy came over for our cooking day. Usually you prepare the recipe in bulk, but there were some recipes in there that I wanted to try, but didn't have the meat(or ingredients in bulk) so I cut them down to one entree.

Sweet Asian Chicken-shared from Fix, Freeze, Feast
1 lb chicken breast
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp garlic
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Place all ingredients, except chicken in zip top bag. Squish around until combined, add in chicken, squeeze out the air and freeze.

When ready to cook, thaw, and grill until done!

**This was delicious! The chicken was very moist and flavorful! It is definitely a keeper! I remembered after that it had crushed red pepper and it may be spicy, but rest assured it wasn't that spicy! Even my mom who doesn't like spicy liked it!

3 Cheese Baked Spaghetti

I am not usually a fan of baked spaghetti/pasta. But I did seem to order it out from a restaurant when we lived in our first apartment and it was quite tasty then! Little did I really know how easy it was to make! This one peeked my interest...more so for that fact that it was simple AND it involved 3 cheeses! I did double the original recipe to fit into a 9x13 pan.

3 Cheese Baked Spaghetti- shared from Tammy's Recipes
1 lb spaghetti
1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese(omitted)
1 cup cheddar cheese
*optional: ground meat, sausage, or chopped cooked veggies

Bring water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to the package. Drain. Mix in cottage cheese, mozzerella, and parmesan. Place into greased 9x13 inch pan. Top with sauce and cheddar cheese. Place in 350 degree oven for 45 mins to 1 hour until heated through.
*If using meat/veggies, layer on top of spaghetti mixture before the sauce. This does freeze well, but under cook the spaghetti just a bit as it will finish cooking in the oven.

**We did really like this and we used some crumbled italian sausage in it and some shredded zucchini. The boys also enjoyed it! Sorry no picture we ate it all before I remembered to take one!

Tequila Lime Chicken

I want to thank Amy for taking the time to type up this recipe and for sharing her picture! Yes we ate it ALL before I remembered to take a picture. It was tasty, moist, and even the boys loved it! I used the leftovers and put it inside a quesadilla. K's first reaction was, is there liquor in this? yes yes there is, but its not overpowering in the least. I was actually surprised he noticed...but maybe he over heard me talking about it!

So head on over and check it out at A Foodie Fairytale

Mango Cranberry Chicken

This has got to be my favorite recipe from cooking day yet! It smelled really good while Amy was making it and it did not disappoint. Perhaps it was even worth over $4/jar for the chutney. Keith and I gobbled this up and then fought over the leftovers...ok, yes I was nice enough to share! It reminded us more of a curry and I am a bit obsessed with curry lately, it is definitely one I'd make again. I served ours with brown jasmine rice and sprinkled with coconut. It was quick and easy to make even without freezing!

So to check out the recipe head on over to A Foodie Fairytale!