Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

First off, you should know that if you're not already a fan of the lemon poppy seed flavor, this recipe is not for you.  Since I am a fan, I was excited to try these.  Here's the recipe:

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes with Fresh Blueberries 

Ingredients: 2 C flour 
1 t baking powder 
1 t baking soda 
1/3 C sugar 
pinch of salt 
1/3 C poppy seeds 
zest of 4 lemons 
2 C buttermilk 
2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
2 T butter, melted 
butter, to serve (and for griddle) 
fresh blueberries  

Directions:   
1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. 
2. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, butter, lemon zest and poppy seeds. 
3. Add the wet to the dry until it's the right consistency (you might not use all wet) Stir all ingredients together until they're just combined. 
4. Heat up griddle to medium-hot and brush with melted butter. Pour about 1/3 C of batter in skillet. Wait until pancake bottom is golden and flip with a spatula. Cook other side until golden. Repeat with the rest of the batter. 
5. Serve with warm syrup, butter, and fresh blueberries. - See more at:


YUM!  I absolutely loved these.  In my opinion, they are some of the best pancakes I've ever had.  However, my husband didn't really like them, which isn't surprising since he's not a fan of anything that is lemon poppy seed flavored.  So, if these sound good to you, I highly recommend them.  I really did think that they were SO delicious.  But if you're kind of "meh" about lemon poppy seed, skip this recipe.  :-)

Southwest Shredded Chicken and Quinoa

Another crock pot recipe!  Woohoo!  This recipe is super easy and can also be made in the oven, if for some reason you prefer to do it that way. Here it is:

Southwest Shredded Chicken and Quinoa

Ingredients

3 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 jar salsa (about 2 cups)

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp cumin

4 cloves garlic, minced

sprinkle of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

1/4 cup water

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

1 - 2 cups Tex-Mex cheese, shredded (You can use aged cheddar)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large casserole with cooking spray.  (OR - you can spray a large crockpot insert with cooking spray and not worry about preheating the oven)

Add everything except the quinoa and cheese to your casserole dish (or crockpot) and give it a good stir. Make sure the chicken breasts are covered with the salsa mixture.

While this recipe is nothing special, it is pretty good if you want to try something new and don't really feel like putting a lot of time and effort into it.  If you don't like quinoa, it would also be good over rice.  (Though I liked it over quinoa).  It's definitely a pretty good crock pot recipe to have on hand.

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

I absolutely love kalua pork.  It's also one of my husband's all-time favorite dishes.  If you don't mind something super flavorful and kinda salty, definitely try this recipe:



Ingredients

1 (6 pound) pork butt roast

1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt

1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring

Directions

Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt then liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker.
Cover, and cook on Low for 16 to 20 hours, turning once during cooking time.
Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten.

Just FYI, I use way more than 1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt.  I probably use like 5x that amount.  I cut slits in the pork and pour the kosher salt in there.  Then I pour about another 5 tablespoons (or even a little more) of the liquid smoke all over the meat.  Don't be afraid of using way more kosher salt and liquid smoke than the recipe calls for.  (especially the liquid smoke!)  I'm actually surprised the recipe calls for so little. 

I also don't cook it for 16 to 20 hours.  I put it in by 9 a.m. and it's ready by dinner.  (But you may need to put it on "High" for a few hours). 

This meat is super delicious!  It's very flavorful and makes a ton.  On this particular night I served it over rice, but I actually like it over shredded cabbage the best.  Cabbage helps offset the saltiness.  

Christmas Breakfast (Cinnamon French Toast Bake from Pillsbury)

I got this recipe from this blog.  She calls it "Christmas Breakfast" because it is perfect for Christmas morning or special occasions.  (Or in my opinion-anytime- whether it's special occasion or not).  :-)  I love breakfasts like this.  (One of my favorite recipes similar to this one is a breakfast danish.  I need to post that one too).  Anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1/4 cup melted butter
2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
5 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup maple syrup

Garnish

Icing from cinnamon rolls
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup, if desired

 Okay, So first melt the butter and pour it on an ungreased 13×9 inch glass dish. 

Then separate the cans of dough into 16 rolls. Put the icing off to the side because you will use that later. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and add to buttered baking dish.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Then add the cream, cinnamon and vanilla and beat all until well blended. Pour over cut pieces of cinnamon roll pieces.

Next sprinkle with pecans (I only put pecans over half of it because I don't really like them on there but my husband does). Then drizzle 3/4 cup syrup over the top. 

Bake at 375 for 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown.

 While it is cooling remove the covers from icing and microwave on medium  or 50% power for 10 to 15 seconds. (Should be thin enough to drizzle.) Then drizzle icing over the top and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

I also like to serve it with syrup!

I seriously loved this recipe!  SO delicious!  And so easy!  I have made the ready-to-bake cinnamon rolls simply because it's so much easier and quicker than making your own, and they are kind of blah, so this is a way to make a super delicious cinnamon-roll-type breakfast without all the hard work.  I HIGHLY recommend it.  BUT!!!- and this is a big but - I have another big recommendation for this recipe.  You're supposed to drizzle 3/4 cup of syrup over the top before you bake it, but I noticed that this made the bottom kind of soggy.  It wasn't gross, but I'm not ever a fan of soggy food.  I would recommend just drizzling a tiny bit of syrup (maybe 1/4 of a cup) over the top before you bake it, and then everyone can just add as much syrup as they want right before they eat it.  

I also left off the pecans, but if you're a pecan fan, I'm sure they'd be good on it as well.