A Go-to Meal

What do you make when you have little time before dinner or little food in the fridge?

(the pic was a quick one, just like the meal!)

My go-to meal is a German Pancake.

It's a one-bowl, one-pan dish.  It can be served with simply syrup or something a little more time-consuming like yogurt and fruit.  Plus, for all the hungry ones around your feet, it's fun to watch while it cooks, because it grows up along the edges of the pan.

German Pancake

4-6 Tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar

Heat oven to 425.  Melt butter in 9x13 pan in oven.  Mix eggs, milk, flour and salt just to blend.  Pour batter into hot butter.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into squares and serve with yogurt, fruit or syrup.

What is your go-to meal?  I'd love to know!

Cooking Bacon in the Oven

I have a husband who loves bacon.  LOVES IT.

So I try to incorporate it into our meals somewhat often.  But really, who likes to stand at the stove and cook bacon?  It takes a good while!  Until now...

I've started to cook it in the oven - and it's a wonderful thing.

Doesn't it look good?

Here's what you do:

1) Preheat oven to 400.
2) Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3) Lay out the bacon so that it's almost touching - the farther apart it is, the easier it is to burn it.
4) Cook for 15-20 minutes.  Starting at 15 minutes, watch it closely as it goes from being golden and crunchy to black and burnt pretty quickly.
5) When it's done, take it off the pan immediately and put it on a paper towel-lined plate.

Notes:
1) This above photo is obviously not mine because there's no aluminum foil.  The foil makes it so easy to clean up!  Really.  Let the pan sit for about an hour, and you'll be able to fold it up with all the grease in the foil.  NO MESS!
2) Some directions on the internet say to make it by putting the bacon on a cooling rack that is in the pan.  I didn't try it because it would mean something else to clean up - and I found there was no need.  It still gets crunchy without the rack.

Fantastic Finger Foods

Helena loves to eat.  She's over and done with purees and wants flavor all the time!  Helena also likes to feed herself most everything now.  (Pushing our hands away or picking food off of the spoon in order to put it in her mouth independently happens regularly.)  So Helena wants flavor, she wants finger food, and the doctor wants fatty foods in order to bulk her up a bit.  And her mom wouldn't mind foods that don't make too huge of a mess :)

She usually eats what we eat but I do make special simple things for just her too.  So after scouring the internet for flavorful, simple, fatty, non-messy finger food for Helena.  Here are the three best foods I've found:
1) Hardboiled egg yolk mashed up with avocado and spread on bread, pita, tortilla, naan, etc.   Yum.

2) Meatballs.  It's so easy to mix up a batch of meatballs, freeze them, and then cook one for Helena or a bunch for all three of us!

3) Banana Custard - A banana, two eggs, and blueberries, steamed for 30 minutes.  Easy, flavorful, full of protein, only makes 3 dirty dishes, and Helena loves this.  John & I think it tastes pretty good too!

 

Do you have any other ideas for me?  

French Toast Waffles

Looking for a new twist on breakfast for dinner? How about French Toast Waffles? I found the idea in the JOY of Cooking and it was delicious and easy. Mix up your french toast mix as usual, dip your bread, and then put it in the waffle maker rather than on the griddle!

This is definitely going into my new recipe file for simple family meals!

Blueberry & Pecan French Toast

A sweet yet hearty entree that can be eaten at any time of the day.

Normal Food

I have one man in my life who likes everything I make - my husband.

There's another man in my life who doesn't understand why I make any of my recipes - my brother.


This is his kind of meal - four brats cooked over the campfire. Or a huge steak.

I believe it was Rob who recently left a comment asking if I make anything normal. So, in honor of him - especially since he is celebrating a birthday today - The Skinny Pukeko served up something "normal" for breakfast this morning.


Two eggs, cooked to your liking, and hot crisp bacon. Served with your choice of white, wheat, or cinnamon raisin toast.

Fruity Skillet Pancake

A light, oven-baked pancake, made with cottage cheese and loaded with blueberries. Served with a seasonal berry topping and an optional dollop of whipped cream.