Author: Danelle and Stephanie

Danelle: I am an HR professional with a keen interest in psychology and in adoption activiwsm. I work with a nonprofit that supports adoption, On Your Feet Foundation. Stephanie: I am a writer and editor with a background in education (I have taught English as a Second Language, college writing, and college literature courses).

Oatmeal Pancakes

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I got this off a vegetarian website whose url I’ve since lost. But there was a vegan variant on there if you’re interested. They turned out great–the best oatmeal pancakes I think I’ve ever had.

  • 1 ½ cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups milk or soy milk
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp. each brown sugar and baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ¼ cup butter, melted

To make low-fat pancakes:

  • Substitute 4 egg whites for whole eggs
  • Substitute half or all the butter with unsweetened applesauce
  • Serve with low-sugar maple-flavoured syrup, low-sugar jam, or applesauce

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, blend together oats and milk and let stand 5 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together white flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

3. To the oat mixture, add the eggs, butter, and the large bowl of dry ingredients.

4. To make pancakes, use approximately ¼ cup batter per pancake. Cook over medium-high heat on a grill or lightly-oiled frying pan.

Navaho Fry Bread

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So I actually got this to work! In the past, the dough has fallen apart or for whatever reason ended up in small fried-scone-type condition. This recipe allows for big ol’ rounds, the kind you can load up as Navaho tacos. I’m guessing the powdered milk is key, as is keeping the oil at a constant temperature (the hardest part for me). This recipe is Beth Hensperger’s from “Breads of the Southwest.”

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 c. nonfat dry milk

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder (yes, it’s a lot)

1 teas. salt

4 tbs. vegetable shortening or lard

1 1/2 c. very hot water

Flour or cornmeal for dusting

2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

1) Mix first 4 ingredients. Cut in shortening until crumbly.

2) Add water & mix well, until dough comes together in a ball.Knead no more than 10 times in bowl. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Cover loosely w/ plastic wrap, let rest at least 30 min.

3) Dust worksurface w/ flour or cornmeal. Pull off 2 to 3 inch balls of dough until done (there should be 16-20)  then cover with a damp towel. Roll out each piece one at a time into thin circles (leave the others covered). Keep the circles covered with plastic wrap. Let rest 20 min.

4) Heat 2 in. of oil in a Dutch oven, heavy wok, or fryer to 380 degrees. Fry a few at a time, about 2 minutes per side. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove, drain on paper towels, keep warm at 200 degrees in oven if necessary.

5) Enjoy! For a sweet variant, add 1/4 c. honey with the hot water back in step 2.

Oatmeal Chocolate-chip Cookies

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When I was growing up, “Mrs. Fields Cookies” had just gotten its start, and recipes purporting to be hers abounded. My mom got this

A little thin, but great flavor!

one from her mom and would make them using a quarter cup of batter per cookie, which does make cookies roughly the size of Mrs. Fields’. I remember one of my friends thinking that the resultant huge cookies were the best things ever. I took over production of said cookies when I was maybe eleven, and before long I had this recipe memorized. The recipe, as I wrote it down probably in high school (to judge from my handwriting) reads as follows:

4 eggs

1 lb butter

2 c. sugar

2 c. brown sugar

_______________

1 t. salt

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

2 t. vanilla

4 c. flour

5 c. oats

1 pkg chocolate chips

400 degrees for 5-6 min.

I know the line indicates “cream above ingredients” but don’t recall any other technique specifics. Basically, everything goes in the KitchenAid, then it gets scooped out in cookie-sized dollops & baked. (I did have to bake them for 8-9 minutes but that’s typical of my oven.) I am sure that “flour” means white flour & believe that “oats” means old-fashioned (not quick) ones. I made a full batch yesterday–for the first time in at least a decade (I usually halve it), and substituted in one cup of wheat flour. I also added the flour a cup at a time and mixed in between, which cut down on the spillage issue. A full recipe strains the capacity of my old-school KitchenAid. It also makes over 5 dozen big cookies. I figured I’d freeze a bunch, but 24 hours & 6 guests later, I only have about a dozen left.

This recipe works so well at high altitudes & with an electric oven, which is my way of saying that yesterday’s cookies were, in my opinion, a bit flat & that this has been an issue for many of my recipes here in Chicago. They also crumbled easily, though that could be the result of not letting them cool completely. Should I be adding more flour?

Pork Chops with Curried Creamed Apples

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I recently threw away my 15-year-old paperback copy of Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (the one in the plaid cover) as it had fallen into decay & ruin. I thought that I had rescued all the recipes that I used from it. Alas, I discovered tonight that not only did I not save our favorite pork chop recipe, but also it is not in the newer edition of that cookbook (which I own in the 3-ring-binder format). What follows is my attempt to reconstruct that dish. I am happy to report success, or near enough. In the original recipe, we used the electric frying pan & bone-in chops. If anyone can figure out what the settings for that would be, please add them below. Please–in that version, the chops cook in the sauce & it’s equally delicious while being less work.

4 boneless pork chops

1-2 tbs butter

1 large apple, cored & chopped (does not need to be peeled)

roughly the same amount of chopped onion (or a bit less)

3 oz cream cheese (a little less than half of what is now the standard pkg)

1-2 teas. curry powder

2 chicken boullion cubes

1 cup apple juice or water

1. Set broiler to high. Lightly grease top rack of broiler pan & arrange pork chops on it. Broil 3-4 inches away from heat for 10 minutes, then turn them over & broil 10 minutes more. If the internal temperature has not reached 160 degrees, or if you want them more browned, keep cooking 5 minutes more.

2. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt butter & cook apple & onion until onion is clear. Add everything else, cook & stir til cream cheese has melted & mixture gets bubbly. It will thicken upon cooling. Serve over pork chops & enjoy!

Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Walnuts, and Sausage

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This is a new favorite with us. It’s easy and healthy and mostly uses things already on hand (esp. the sun-dried tomatoes in the quart jar from Costco). It works really well with the protein enriched pasta that Allison mentioned (I am also a big fan of that stuff)–in fact, I adapted it from the back of a Barilla box. It works well with regular rotini, though, and I think it would work nicely with penne too. Our local grocer makes Italian sausage that’s very affordable & yummy, so I’d recommend looking in the fresh meats. I also recommend getting the hot sausage–I usually don’t like it, but this is a very mild dish.

1 box rotini pasta
1 – 2 lbs hot Italian sausage or gourmet chicken sausage (1 lb if you’re going light on the meat, 2 lbs if you want sausage in, say, every other bite)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup walnut pieces (or coarsely chopped walnuts)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil & herbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil (or about 16 fresh basil leaves, shredded)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta acc. to box directions. Add broccoli for the last 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage on a grill or acc. to package directions. Cut into half-inch-wide slices.
3. Toast walnuts in a frying pan for 2 minutes, stirring constantly
4. Cut sun-dried tomatoes into short strips, if necessary.
5. When pasta & broccoli are done, drain & return to pan. Add olive oil & stir, then add everything else, stir, and serve. Enjoy!

Strawberry Muffins

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I modified this slightly from a recipe on a Stonyfield Farm yogurt container. When I made them the first time, I forgot the sugar, and that worked fine. The second time, I used vanilla flavored yogurt, which has plenty of sugar, and so left it out (and left out the vanilla too). But I include it here since muffins are supposed to be sweet, right?

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar (optional)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt, lowfat or regular

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)

Mix eggs, yogurt, butter, and vanilla. In another bowl, mix flour, sugar and baking soda. Toss strawberries in the flour mixture, then add egg mixture and stir. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.