Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Hello and welcome! 

This recipe is a simple classic cooked by look, feel, smell, and consistency. It's a different sort of cooking than I usually post, but it is relatively easy to do and very effective. It was inspired by my love for my little brother and made as breakfast for him when I returned home from school. This recipe is an easy way to make pancakes that much more special for the holidays, or simply an expression of care at any other time of year. 

Thanks Dad for teaching me to cook pancakes and meats with true knowledge of food, rather than merely by following a recipe. 

Thanks Kirby for being in the mood for bacon chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast so that I could cook this for you ;)

The Recipe: 

**Amounts depend on how much you want to make. The most important thing is to have an equal ratio of dry to wet ingredients, which you will know by the consistency.**

• Favorite pancake mix (yes, I know, not from scratch, but my brother prefers buttermilk pancakes and cannot stand watching me put lemon in pancake batter). 
• Milk
• Egg (usually just 1, but if you're making a large batch you may need 2-3)
• Canola Oil
• 2 cups of equal sizes (we usually use the free plastic cups from restaurants/7 eleven)
• Bacon (I used 1 strip for the whole recipe. You really only need a few small pieces per pancake)
• Mini chocolate chips (I used less than a tsp per pancake)
• Syrup (as desired)

The Process: 

1. Set the broiler to high. 
2. Broil bacon. It should sit on the outside of the pan, further from the flame so you can control how cooked it is. (My brother prefers his meat relatively rare, so this was very important! If you like your meat more well done and crispy, put it slightly closer to the flame.)
3. Watch it closely after about 5 minutes. It should be time to flip it over. 
4. Once the bacon is brown on the edges and at least slightly browning in the middle, remove broiler pan and allow to cool. You may want to wrap the bacon in a paper towel as it cools, to absorb excess fat and avoid having to turn the fan on. 
5. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan on the stove (about 2 tbsp in my case). 
6. In one of the two cups, fill about halfway with pancake mix (about 2/3 cup in my case).
7. In the other cup, crack the egg. 
8. In the cup with the egg, add a splash of oil (about 1.5 tbsp in my case).
9. In the cup with the egg and oil, add milk until the wet ingredients look about equal to the dry ingredients (about 1/2 cup in my case). 
10. Using a fork, whisk the wet ingredients. 
11. Add dry cup to wet cup. 
12. Whisk vigorously with a fork over the sink, making sure to reach all the way to the bottom (the consistency should be fluid, but thick enough to pour slowly. Think pudding. It is better to be thicker than thinner in this case. It's very easy to help a thick batter spread out, and you will end up with very decadent pancakes, but a very thin batter will be difficult to handle and will potentially splatter when poured.
13. If your batter is too thick: add milk. 
14. If your batter is too thin: add pancake mix.
15. When the oil in the pan spreads to cover the whole of the pan, pour a small amount of batter onto the pan. 
16. Cook the batter on low-medium heat so that it is easy to control. 
17. When the pancake starts to bubble on the edges and potentially in the middle as well (see photo) it is ready to be flipped.                                      
18. Before flipping, top with bacon bits and chocolate chips. Allow a few extra seconds on lower heat for the bacon and chocolate to set. 
19. Flip the pancake and allow to cook to desired completion. (My brother prefers small amounts of batter in the middle of his pancake, so we usually accomplish this by making thick pancakes and cooking one side completely and the other side short.)
20. Serve hot and repeat with remaining batter. 
21. Enjoy! 

The Calories:

**Approximations based on my batter amounts**

Bacon: 50 calories

Chocolate: 99 calories

Pancake Mix: 64 calories

Milk: 61 calories

Egg: 78 calories

Canola Oil: 350 calories

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TOTAL: 702 calories

Not bad! Not great, sure, but not bad at all. This batter made 6 pancakes, making each pancake 117 calories. 

What went right: 

          The bacon was cooked perfectly, the pancakes came out wonderfully, and most importantly, my brother was happy :) 

What went wrong: 

           The batter consistency was a bit thicker than I prefer, but it made the pancakes perfect for my brother and easier for me to cook because there was a lot of wiggle room on timing. 

What I would do next time: 

           It would be fun to make bacon chocolate chips to use next time so I don't need to make bacon while trying to make pancake mix, but overall I think the recipe is great the way it is. Don't mess with what works!

           That said, this recipe would also make a great breakfast cupcake if poured into cupcake molds and baked, which would eliminate the extra frying oil.

Would I make this in college: 

           Potentially. It would involve keeping a large amount of bacon in the fridge for just one person. If I were cooking breakfast with friends or had the intention of making bacon-based meals for a couple days, I would be more likely to make this as well. It is certainly simple enough to do so. 

Overall, a delicious breakfast and enjoyable experiment! 

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Muffins

Welcome healthy bakers!

This recipe is a take off of a pinterest Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bread. I decided to make them into muffins due to lack of a bread pan, and the fact that I felt they would be easier to take for breakfast this way. 

The Recipe: Greek Yogurt Chocolate Muffins

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain original Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup reduced fat milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

The Process: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and greek yogurt. Whisk in the oil, the sugar and the milk, until mixture is smooth
• Transfer the liquid mixture into the dry mixture
• Mix with a spatula, just until incorporated, allowing batter to remain lumpy
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula
• Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
• Cool in the pan for 30 minutes

The Calories:

Because this recipe is from an alternate site, I am lucky to have a full set of nutrition facts available. These numbers are per serving of bread:

Calories: 239.7
Total Fat: 11.2 g
Saturated Fa:t 3.3 g
Cholesterol: 37.9 mg
Sodium: 165.2 mg (less due to removed salt)
Total Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
Sugars: 20.8 g
Protein: 4.2 g

The major differences between the bread and the muffins were the removal of salt, and change in cooking time and shape. The shape difference also created a serving difference; the full loaf of bread made 12 servings, where my batch made 16 muffins. This means that in a single muffin...

(Bread calories per serving)*(number of servings)=(total calories in batter)

(total calories in batter)/(number of muffins)=(total calories per muffin)

So...

239.7*12=2876.4

2876.4/16=179.8 calories per muffin

This is an extremely significant difference in caloric value. All nutrition facts can be manipulated using the same formulas.

 What went right: 

           The muffins were great while they were hot, and tasted amazing with some raspberry jam. 

What went wrong: 

          The muffins did not keep very well, and I believe they needed to be cooked for a shorter period of time to ensure that they would retain their moistness. Additionally, if I were to wrap the pan in tin foil partway through baking the way the recipe asks, it might also assist this moistness. 

What I would do next time: 

         I would definitely bake for a shorter period of time, and potentially bake raspberry jam into the muffins as well. They would also taste great with white chocolate or butterscotch chips, and a variety of nuts. 

Would I make this in college: 

        Unfortunately, I don't believe I will have the opportunity to make this in college, at least not for a while. I definitely won't be bringing the muffin pan first semester. Oh well!

Overall, this was a very good first attempt at what I think will be a great recipe when perfected :)

Single Serving Hash Browns

Hello and welcome! 

Today's meal was made with a little extra love...

My little brother is home sick and finally getting his appetite back. He said he was ready for a hearty meal, but he doesn't eat eggs or sausage (without pasta), and I don't feel like pancakes or waffles really qualifies as "hearty" or healthy for a sick person. When I first offered hash browns, he thought it was too much trouble, since usually they're made on a large griddle for our entire family. My crouton experience taught me that this was not the case!

The Recipe:  Single Serving Hash Browns

• 1 potato, skinned, sliced and diced
• 1/4 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper

The Process:

• Heat a frying pan on high
• Change to medium heat and melt the butter into the frying pan
• Put potato chunks in the pan
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Cover the pan
• Cook for 3-5 minutes before moving chunks around to "flip" them
• Repeat until all have browned
• Switch to low heat for 1-2 minutes
• Serve to my lovely sick brother

The Calories: 

Potato: 150 calories

Butter:  25 calories

Salt and pepper: 1 calorie

_______________________

TOTAL: 176 calories

What went right:

          They came out wonderfully. My brother enjoyed them :) 

What went wrong: 

          We only had one potato, so I don't get any :( 

What I would do next time:

          Get a second potato ;) I might also try sweet potato, red potato, or new potato hash browns. Also, I know I will have a smaller pan in college than I have at home, so I might instead form a potato pancake. 

Will I do this in college?:

          Yes for sure. This is a super easy way to make a hearty, healthy, filling breakfast. I would enjoy it with  more fruit of course. 

           

The final breakfast consisted of orange juice, grapes, hash browns, and a Grands Biscuit. The package officially comes with 12 biscuits, which most people would feel the need to make all at once. I made only one for him, wrapped the others in wax paper to re-create the tube, and put them in an airtight sandwich bag in the fridge. This little trick is also great for college...one pack of biscuits can last many different meals, and each could be  flavored differently! (Hint hint wink wink nudge nudge, look out for a future post called Experiments with Biscuit Dough)

Full and happy, my little brother has returned to bed. I hope when he wakes up he feels better<3

Loaded Oatmeal

Hello hello!

Thanks for being such an avid reader :)

While on my oatmeal kick, I decided to see what was so wrong about normal, instant oatmeal...

The Recipe:  Loaded Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup Rolled Oats
• 1 cup warm water
• 5 strawberries, cut in 1/4 slices
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 apple, sliced and diced
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 cup wheat germ

The Process: 

• Preheat the oven for 325 degrees
• Mix the water and oats
• Microwave until oats are saturated
• In an oven-safe bowl, mix the apple chunks, honey, and wheat germ into the oatmeal
• Lay the bananas and strawberries on top of the oatmeal
• Sprinkle the top with brown sugar, so that it will create a caramelized layer over the oatmeal
• Bake the oatmeal for about 10 minutes, or until the brown sugar has all caramelized
• Remove and transfer to a normal eating bowl 
• Enjoy?

The Calories:

Rolled Oats: 150 calories

Strawberries: 15 calories

Banana:         105 calories

Apple:            77 calories

Brown Sugar: 17 calories

Honey:           21 calories

Wheat Germ: 104 calories

__________________________

TOTAL:        489 calories

Not terrible, considering this is high fiber and has three different fruits.

What went right: 

            The heated fruits were awesome!

What went wrong:

            I am not a fan of oatmeal.......the mushiness was definitely combated well through the fruit additions and they really don't taste like anything, so that's fine...

Would I do this in college:

           Can't say that I would! However, I could try a sort of baked fruit salad...hmmm...foreshadowing??

Overall, I did everything right and learned a valuable lesson about why oats are great in cookies and bread, but oatmeal...not so tasty! Oh well, I still ate it all :) 

Tomato Basil Mini Quiche-cakes

Breakfast. Introduced to most of us as "The Most Important Meal of the Day". Yet as we get older, most people end up skipping breakfast, giving the excuse: 'I don't have time'.

Not having time to eat is a common problem I've heard from most of my friends already on campus. Ironic, yes, because we also gain weight...but I think this stems from the larger metabolic lifestyle changes we don't need to get into right now (perhaps in a separate post!).

Regardless of age or schedule, we all have days when we wake up late or have to wake up early and lose out on that precious first meal. For those days, I thought about a way to solve the problem without resorting to expensive granola bars...

The Recipe: Tomato Basil Mini Quiche-Cakes

• 2 large eggs (feel free to get whatever kind of egg you prefer, although I used white eggs)
• 1/2 tomato, sliced and diced
• 1 leaf basil, torn
• A couple shreds of low-fat mozzarella, or other cheese, if desired. (I did some with and some without)

The Process:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Place desired size cupcake paper in cupcake pan (any baking pan would work, but since I also made a small batch of cupcakes, it felt right to use the rest of the pan simultaneously)
• Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk well with a fork
• Slice and dice tomato and mix it into the eggs
• Tear basil and mix it into the eggs and tomato
• Fill each cupcake paper about 2/3 of the way full so your Quiche-cakes don't overflow (I had a bit much in two of mine...oops!) **Try to get a good portion of all three ingredients in each Quiche-cake. Otherwise it just isn't the same!**
• Sprinkle desired cheese shreds on top.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, checking for bubbles and a gelatinous/solid-looking texture (just in case your oven isn't the same as mine)
• Allow to cool without covering for 10-15 minutes (longer if you make a larger size)
• Carefully remove and refrigerate in tupperware
• At this point, you may eat them warm, with a small fork or spoon, or you may keep them in the fridge. Personally, I like them as a cold finger food. If you are not going to eat immediately, you must refridgerate.
• Don't skip breakfast for a few days :)
  

The Calories:
        This may vary slightly based on the kind of eggs you use, if you use cheese, etc. In my version:

Eggs: 147 calories
Tomato: 11 calories
Basil: 1/5 calorie
Mozzarella (1/4 tsp): 28 calories
_____________________________
Total: 186 calories

I made seven Quiche-cakes, so each held about 27 calories of mostly high-protein egg. Definitely high on the healthy scale!

What went right:
            The quiches that did not overflow were delicious and nutritious. The smaller portions make it easier to eat a few over 30-60 minutes and not feel the guilt or weight of a larger quiche or an omlette, while still providing necessary protein. They save well in the fridge and are still yummy three to four days later. I can't see them not being eaten before then.

What went wrong:
          Other than the overflow, I would like to try some different cupcake wrappings. The ones I used stuck to the Quiche-cakes and were harder to remove the first day. By the second and third they came off well but took a layer of food with them...which I, embracing my subconscious childhood cupcake reflex, ate off the paper. I'm going to try some different types with other ingredients and I will re-post when I find the right one :)

What I would do next time:
         Other than the paper and the overflow, I would like to try it in a larger size, just because, and with varied ingredients. I think it would be great with peppers, mushrooms, squash, zucchini, artichoke, and maybe even trying a kind of sweet-and-savory Quiche-cake with banana and chocolate chips.

Will I do this in college:
         Yeah I definitely think having premade mini breakfasts would be better than having to run to the dining hall in the morning, and cheaper/healthier than buying premade toaster treats or granola bars. Additionally, it saves fridge-space to make and keep them compared to buying and keeping the ingredients until I feel the urge to cook them. That initial laziness will be immediately forgotten when there's food at the ready...

...so maybe that's why breakfast is "The Most Important Meal of the Day"! Food is our fuel, and a good boost of protein and fruit/vegetable (I don't discriminate against your personal beliefs regarding the tohMAYtoe/tohMAHtoe) in the morning is a great way to wake up and feel invigorated for the day ahead. Why stay in bed when there's something yummy in the fridge across the room? Now that you're up and eating, wow...it's really nice out! let's leave a little early for class and enjoy the day :)