Thursday, February 28, 2008

Basil Carrots

I'm not saying that my other posts weren't healthy, but I think that it is time for a vegetable. So I shall post one of my absolute favorites. Basil Carrots. They are so yummy! I made them for supper last night and my brother and I fought over the last few! My Grandma makes them for us a lot, (we got the recipe from her), and they are one of my favorite things to have at her house. Heres the recipe and for the first time a picture!!
Basil carrots with melting butter
Basil Carrots

2 Tablespoons butter
6 medium carrots, thinly sliced on the bias
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon (or more to suit taste) dried basil

Cook the carrots (and drain) some first. In medium skillet, melt the butter, add the carrots. Sprinkle with salt and basil. Cover and heat through, or simmer till carrots are tender. Serves 6.

A mistake I made last night was I waited to cook the carrots till right before supper. So I was getting mad at the carrots for not cooking fast enough. So if you make them, cook the carrots before hand. Then reheat them with the salt, basil and butter.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Pancakes!!

One of my absolute favorite breakfast foods is pancakes. A nice steaming hot stack of homemade pancakes with butter melting off the top. Yum! This is a recipe that was passed down from my great grandma. It was one of the very first things I learned to cook. Here's the recipe.

Pancakes
2 Tablespoons lard (butter, margarine, or oil)
1 egg (well beaten)
1 1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar

Do not beat, just fold together. When cooking your pancakes be sure your griddle is hot, Use as small amount of oil as you can to grease it. Turn them when the tops are covered with little holes.

Variations that are tasty are adding cut-up banana and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter just before frying. Substitute whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of white flour; or 1/2 cup rolled oats for 1/2 cup flour. On special occasions (like birthdays) we will sometimes sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the pancakes in the griddle. (Very, very delicious!!)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

One of my favorite muffin recipes.

Last night Mom and I were talking that by the end of winter it seems like we eat the same thing over and over and over again. So we decided to try something new. Mom made a soup we hadn't had in a while and told me to find a new muffin recipe. (Muffins go really well with soup.) So I presented her with a couple and we decided on this one. It's called Trail Mix Muffins. I changed things around a little and used dried dates instead of apricots and walnuts (which go super great with dates) instead of peanuts. I also left out the raisins, used regular oatmeal instead of the cereal, and raspberry chocolate chips instead of normal ones.

Trail Mix Muffins (original recipe)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granola cereal without raisins
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/2 raisins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cereal, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chips, peanuts, raisins and apricots.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.

These go great with soup, make a filling breakfast, and would be perfect on the go. All the nuts and dried fruits are wonderful energy boosters and the chocolate, well thats what makes them taste so good.