Jan. 7, 2013: Oatmeal Pancakes with Triple Berry Sauce AND Chicken Corn Chowder, Jalapeño Cheese Cornbread, Garden Salad and Hot Fudge Waffle Cone Sundaes

 

 



Oatmeal Pancakes with Triple Berry Sauce

 




Chicken Corn Chowder, Jalapeño Cheese Cornbread, Garden Salad and Hot Fudge Waffle Cone Sundaes

 

THE PLAN:
With 5 kids that keep us busy, meal times are an important time of the day for our family to keep connected and have both silly & important conversations that help us learn more about each other and what is going on in all our lives. So enhancing that experience with a wide variety of textures, flavors and healthy elements is important to me.

I prep dinner at the same time as I make breakfast - which saves me time at dinner and makes it more likely that I will cook dinner. The dinner hour is just so busy here - and it's when my energy sort of dips. So having everything ready to just be thrown together is huge for me.

TODAY'S CHOICES:

Pancakes are a great way to start out the first morning of the week. Oatmeal adds a healthy and hearty element to pancakes -with a touch of cinnamon for depth and flavor. And instead of syrup - lightly sweetened berries will add a serving or two of fruit to start out the day.

As for dinner, Monday's are typically soup days here which is perfect because it has been unusually cold lately. (Late Saturday night the car's thermometer read -12°F!) My family prefers hearty soups that are pretty much a meal in themselves, rather than brothy appetizer-type soups, so today I am making a nice rich, thick, slightly spicy very flavorful chowder. 

For sides - jalapeño cheese cornbread will compliment the spice in the soup and add a texture contrast to creamy chowder. A side garden salad will add more vegetables to the meal. Monday nights are usually ice cream dessert - so tonight I will make home-made hot fudge sauce and whipped cream and serve our new favorite "waffle cone" flavored ice cream in a waffle bowl. Yum!

OATMEAL PANCAKES

Here's the recipe:

1 1/3 c. oats

1 pint buttermilk (or regular milk with vinegar – 1 Tbsp per 1 cup milk let sit until soured)

½ tsp salt

1 ½ c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter

Combine oats and buttermilk (or soured milk) until the oats are softened. Then add dry ingredients – stir well.  Add egg and mix in well then stir in melted butter. Fry on hot griddle.

 

MAKING BREAKFAST:

First, I poured 2 cups of milk into a bowl and added 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar in to let it sour into a buttermilk substitute because I don't keep real buttermilk around. Then I filled a small bowl with warm water and put the egg in it to bring it to room temperature. Then I plugged in the griddle and turned it on 375°. I also turned the oven on low - 175° for keeping pancakes warm while I finish cooking the others.

 

Then I got out a medium-sized saucepan and filled it with frozen triple berry mix that I keep in the freezer (about 4 - 5 cups of fruit). I sprinkled just under a cup of white sugar on top, put the lid on and then turned the heat on to just under medium.

 

Next I poured the oats into the milk that is souring so they can have a chance to soften. Then I started work on dinner, getting out ingredients -as stated below.

 

After the oats had a chance to soften (and I got my soup started), I got out a big mixing bowl and measured the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon into it and mixed it all well. Then I whisked the egg into the oat/milk mixture and added the melted butter to it.  Finally I poured the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and gently mixed it all together.

 

I checked on the berries, took off the lid and stirred them up and turned the heat down a little.

 

Then I gave a nice coating of cooking spray to the hot griddle. Oatmeal pancakes do not have the same thickness as regular pancakes and can be trickier to flip. So a well-greased surface is a must.

Then I poured about 1/3 c. of batter for each pancake. (While they cooked, I did some more dinner prep). When the edges of the pancakes were dry, and the bubbles in the center started to pop, I slipped the edge of a very thin, very wide spatula all the way underneath and flipped each over. They were a nice golden brown - just right. I let them cook a few more minutes on that side. Then transferred them to an oven-safe serving platter and put it in the warm oven.

 

When all the batter was used, and the berries were warm and sweetened, I served the pancakes with the berries & their sauce on top.

 

 



CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER (crockpot recipe

Here's the recipe I started with but planned on changing it because I want it to be creamy chowder:

1 Tbsp cumin seeds, ground
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
8 c. chicken stock
¾ c. whole (hulled) or pot barley, rinsed
2 lbs. turkey (boneless, skinless cut into ½ inch cubes)
2 c. frozen corn kernels
1 tsp ancho or New Mexico chili powder, dissolved in 2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño or chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced
Finely chopped cilantro, optional

Add everything up to the corn into the crockpot and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. Then stir in chili solution, green pepper and jalapeño (or chipotle) – stir well. Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if using.

 

THIS PART I DID IN THE MORNING AT THE SAME TIME AS I WAS MAKING BREAKFAST:
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So, first I took 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves from the freezer.(I buy them in bulk at Costco- and they are individually frozen.)
I put them on a ceramic plate and put them in the microwave to defrost.
 

While they were defrosting, I turned the crockpot on LOW and poured 5 cups of water in, and unwrapped 5 chicken bouillon cubes and added them to the water. That is less broth than the recipe calls for - because I am going to add evaporated milk later to make it creamy and then thicken it with flour.

I added the cumin, garlic, oregano and peppercorns without really measuring, I just poured in what I thought was a good amount - probably more of each than the recipe called for. Then poured in a couple Tablespoons of olive oil.

I chopped the onions - I used white onions. I sliced the 6 stalks of celery - I like them in the u-shape instead of diced into small pieced. Then I tossed both into the crockpot and then I added the barley and the frozen corn.

I diced the green bell pepper and jalapeño and put them in sandwich baggies in the fridge to add later. Then, after the chicken was defrosted, I cut the breasts into cubes, put them in the crockpot, and put on the lid.

THIS PART I DID AT DINNER TIME
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 About a 1/2 hour before I served dinner, I threw in the diced green bell pepper and jalapeños. Then I dissolved the chili powder into the lemon juice and whisked it into the soup. I put the lid back on, turned it on HIGH and let it cook.

 

Then I poured 2 cans (15 oz. each) of evaporated milk into the pot and put the lid back on. (I use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream because it's less fattening but still has a similar thick creamy consistency.)

I got out a medium sized mixing bowl and poured 1 cup of cold water and 1 cup of the broth from the soup. Then I whisked 1 cup of flour into that liquid. When the flour was all dissolved and well-mixed, I whisked the mixture into the soup in the crockpot. I let it cook on high for a few minutes while stirring until it the soup was well-thickened. Then I ladled it into soup bowls for each person and topped each bowl with chopped cilantro.

 

JALEPENO AND CHEESE CORNBREAD

Here's the recipe:

3 c. flour

1 c. yellow cornmeal

1/4 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 c. milk

3 eggs (put in a small bowl of very warm water to bring to room temp. before using)

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted

8 oz. grated cheese (eg. pepper jack, Monterey or aged sharp Cheddar)

4 green onions, chopped

2-4 seeded and minced fresh jalapeño peppers

 

Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9x13 inch pan or 12 muffin tins.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix them thoroughly and then make a little "well" in the center.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the well the dry ingredients. Gently incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. But be careful not to over-mix. Fold in 2 cups of the grated cheese, the green onions and jalapeños. Let the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or so. 

Pour batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and extra chopped green onions. Bake in 9x13 inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Or bake muffins for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

FOR SIDE DISHES: THIS PART I DID IN THE MORNING AT THE SAME TIME AS I WAS MAKING BREAKFAST:

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I got a good sized mixing bowl and put the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in it and mixed them together well.

I set the eggs in a small bowl to let them come to room temperature.

I seeded and diced 3 jalapeño peppers - but I kept some of the seeds with them for a little spice. And I chopped the green onions. I stored both in sandwich bags in the fridge.

FOR SIDE DISHES: THIS PART I DID AT DINNER TIME

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I preheated the oven to 350° and greased a 9x13 inch pan. I grated a chunk of pepper jack cheese. Then I got out a medium sized bowl and whisked the room-temperature eggs in it. I whisked in the milk and melted butter.

I made a well in the flour mixture and poured the liquid mixture into the well. I mixed the 2 mixtures very gently - only until it was moist and there were no lumps, then I folded in about 2 cups of the grated cheese, the diced jalapeños, and the chopped green onion and then let it sit while I worked on the soup.

After the batter had set for about 20 minutes, I poured it into the greased pan, smoothed the top with a rubber spatula and put it in the hot oven for 30 minutes.

 

SALAD   

 

I just tore us some lettuce greens and tossed in some cherry tomatoes, julienne carrots, sliced red onions, sliced cucumbers and croutons and topped it with Ranch dressing in small salad bowls for everyone.

 

WAFFLE CONE SUNDAES

 

HOT FUDGE SAUCE
Here's the recipe:

1 c. butter                   
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder            
3 c. sugar
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk          
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and let it melt. Whisk in the cocoa, sugar and evaporated milk. Slowly bring it to a boil and gently boil for about 7 minutes.                      
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Spray the inside of a blender with cooking spray. And then carefully pour the hot mixture into the blender and blend for 2 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

WHIPPED CREAM
Here's the recipe:

2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. sugar                                   
2 tsp. real vanilla

In a large bowl, whip the cream with the wire whisk attachment of your mixer (or by hand with a wire whisk) until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in the sugar and vanilla until peaks form and the texture is creamy and thick. Do not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like

 

After we were done eating and clearing the table, I started to make the hot fudge sauce exactly as the recipe calls for. While it was boiling for the 7 minutes, I whipped up the whipped cream.

 

Then I scooped 2 scoops of waffle cone flavored ice cream into 6 waffle cone bowls (one for each of us). I topped them with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then drizzled hot fudge sauce over all of them. They were delicious!