Pop Up Pancakes

I love the food network. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I watched it religiously, all day long. ( no judging, when you are puking all day, you don't really have anything better to do then lay on the couch) Once while watching Good Eats, Alton Brown gave his all time favorite memorized recipe. It also happened to be my favorite recipe. I was beyond thrilled. Alton Brown and I have something in common. : ) 

Pop Up Pancakes are the best breakfast ever. Now they aren't really like pancakes, I actually don't know how to describe them. They are pillows of buttery goodness that rise right out of the pan while baking. Try them this weekend, you will not be disappointed.  

Pop Up Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk 

1 cup flour

dash of salt 

1 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place stick of butter in a 13x9 in pan, and cut into pieces. Put the pan into the oven. While the butter is melting in the oven, place the rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend well. Once the butter has melted, pour batter into the pan and put back into the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes. ( I don't know for sure, I can just smell when it is done ) Cut and serve warm with any pancake toppings of your choice.  

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Up until a couple of months ago, I had never had balsamic vinegar. Maybe unknowingly if someone put it is a recipe, but never on purpose. Then i tried a balsamic glazed chicken salad at BJs restaurant. I was hooked, i had to have another balsamic glazed something. That is when I found this recipe. The glaze is sweet yet tangy and you feel like you are eating something fancy and decadent. Yet this pork couldn't be easier to make, it gets thrown in the slow cooker in the morning and you are practically done with dinner. I imagine the glaze would be amazing on any type of meat, and I plan to try it out on some. 

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin 

Pork:

2 pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of large fat pockets
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced or crushed
1/2 cup water

Glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub the spices all over the roast. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and pour in the 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Near the end of the cooking time for the roast, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.
Remove the pork from the slow cooker, shred and place on a platter or plate. Drizzle the glaze over the pork and serve.

Simple Strawberry Syrup

    

      A couple of months ago, I started to research eating whole foods, real foods and cutting out processed foods. It became something that spoke to me and since then I have been trying to rid our family of eating processed foods. We are not perfect and occasionally I give into convenience. We're taking baby steps and just trying to slowly change our diet to eating better foods. 

     

       High fructose corn syrup was one of the things that I immediately took out of our diet. Well when you do that, you get rid of pretty much every breakfast syrup out there. For awhile I bought pure maple syrup at Costco, but it is pretty pricey. So I decided to research and find some other syrups. I have found a homemade maple syrup which I will share next week, but today we have this marvelous strawberry syrup. 

     

        It is so simple to make and tastes better then any other strawberry syrup that you could find in a store. Maybe because it has actual strawberries in it. Pour it over pancakes, ice cream, pound cake or cheesecake. Yum! Add a little whip cream and you have the perfect breakfast or dessert. 

Simple Strawberry Syrup

    

     2 cups strawberries, washed and diced

     ½ cup sugar 

     1 cup + 2 Tablespoons water, divided

     1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

1. Combine 2 Tablespoons water and cornstarch in a small dish and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water, sugar and diced strawberries to a boil. Stir occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add water+cornstarch mixture and blend well. The sauce will thicken, the strawberries will have semi dissolved and the mixture will begin smelling like warm jelly. Turn off heat and allow some cooling before serving.
3.  Carefully pour strawberry sauce inside a blender (or stick an immersion blender in the pot if you have one) and mix well until it’s a thick sauce. If you would like a thinner syrup you can slowly add about ¼ cup more water while blending. 
4. Store in refrigerator up to 30days. Take out a few minutes before serving at room temperature or warm.

Lion House Chocolate Zucchini Bread

    Every couple of weeks I participate in a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. You can a basket full of 50% fruits and 50% vegetables. These baskets are amazing and I love getting them. I usually have to come up with some recipes for the week to use up the veggies that I get. 

   Last Saturday i got a ton of zucchini and this bread was the first thing that went through my mind. My obsession with this bread started when I was working for Deseret Book. The Lion House makes a decadent muffin top version of this recipe  When I got transferred to the store that has a Lion House Bakery inside of it, I honestly bought a muffin top everyday. I pretended it was healthy, what with all the zucchini in it. : ) 
    
      Now I make it whenever I have zucchini in my house.  Its moist, delicious and you just cant go wrong with it. You get to "eat your veggies" while eating a  chocolate bread. ( its pretty much a cake , but we'll keep calling it a bread for health's sake. : ) 

Lion House Chocolate Zucchini Bread 

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 

2 cups zucchini, grated

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar 

1 cup vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips  

Prepare two 8x4 - inch loaf pans by greasing and flouring or by lining with parchment paper. Melt unsweetened chocolate and set aside. Wash and grate zucchini; set aside. Measure flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and cinnamon into a bowl, stir, and set aside. Place eggs in mixing bowl and beat. Add the sugars, oil, melted chocolate, and vanilla, beat until creamy. Add the zucchini and stir together. Mix in dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and mix in. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.

* To make muffins, place liners in a muffin tin and fill with batter. I cant remember how long I cooked them for muffins but I remember starting with 15 minutes and then watching them from there. It all depends on how hot your oven cooks. 

Green Smoothies

Today is the first day of my 2nd green smoothie challenge. For the month of July I have to drink at least one green smoothie everyday. When I did this in May, I thought that it would be difficult but once you find a few good recipes, you fall in love with  them. Green smoothies are full of amazing benefits, too many to list here. The have helped me feel more energized and just better in over all health.  

   This recipe is my favorite green smoothie, and I admit that it is the one that i drink 75% of the time. Its full of tropical flavors, while packing a nutritional punch. When you find something you love that's healthy, why ruin a good thing? Try it today, I promise you'll fall in love. 

You can join the challenge too! They provide shopping lists and daily green smoothie recipes. Just click here to join in on the fun!

Pina Colada Green Smoothie 

1 cup spinach
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cups pineapple
3/4 cups mango

Layer the milk, spinach and then frozen fruit into a blender. Blend and Enjoy!

* If you don't have frozen fruit, you can add ice to make the smoothie cold. You may also have to add water to get to desired consistency.