Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes

I love pancakes. Unfortunately, Matt does not. This is a constant struggle in our relationship.

However…I guess if that’s the biggest issue we have, we’re not doing too bad.

This is my absolute favorite pancake recipe right now. I’ve made these pancakes at least 3 times in this past week alone…I’m kind of in love with them.

They are just fluffy enough, just sweet enough and partially whole wheat (so kind of healthy…?). You should go make some.

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes
(Adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner’s recipe for Whole Wheat Sour Cream Pancakes)
I didn’t have any sour cream so I used plain, full-fat yogurt in these instead…and they were just as divine.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk (I used vanilla soymilk)
1 egg
3 tablespoons plain yogurt

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the egg into the milk. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Add the yogurt and give the batter one final stir.

Spoon a quarter cup of batter onto a griddle or skillet set over medium heat that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray (or butter…I used butter…I like butter). Flip after 3-4 minutes, just as you notice bubbles forming around the edges of each pancake, and cook a few minutes more.

Serve with a pat of butter and lots of maple syrup.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Wow, it’s been awhile…sorry, blog. I have been baking a lot as well as taking pictures and all that jazz – I just haven’t been able to get anything online. Plus my computer got a nasty virus so I was without it for a little bit.

But moving on, I have a nice cupcake recipe for you today! Courtesy of Ms. Martha Stewart, who had the brilliant idea of turning my favorite cookies into cupcakes. Genius, I tell you.

I made these for a party I went to a couple weeks ago, so they’re a little overdue…but delicious none the less. They may actually be my new favorite cupcake recipe. They’re pretty perfect, even without icing.

*Note: And next time, I might use cream cheese icing…cinnamon buttercream is nice, but it’s almost overkill on these.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
(Taken from my Martha Stewart Cupcakes cookbook)

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1¼ cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.


Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.


I iced these with a cinnamon buttercream, which is basically just regular vanilla buttercream with a tsp or 2 of cinnamon added into the mix. However, like I said, cream cheese icing might balance the flavors better.

My boyfriend isn't picky.

Conversation with my boyfriend yesterday evening:

Matt-“Hey Weez!”

Me-“Yes?”

Matt-“I love ya.”

Me-“I love you too.”

Matt-“I’d even love you if you fed me human meat.”

Me-“…”

Matt-“I might even love you more!”

Apparently, there are now no limitations when it comes to my cooking.

*Note: Don’t even ask where the nickname “Weez” came from…it’s a long – and not very politically correct – story.
**Note: We’re not future cannibals. We just really like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

He's a special one.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

So, I got a slow cooker for Christmas…and one of my resolutions was to use it a lot and post the recipes. On the plus side, I have been using it a ton however I’ve just been too lazy or unorganized to ever blog about it. Mainly, I’ve just made a lot of chili and a bunch of roasts…

However, I do have a recipe for you today! Finally! I had been craving spaghetti and meatballs for most of last week and so when the weekend finally rolled around, I decided to make a nice hearty meal for Matt and I. I decided to make the meat sauce in my slow cooker and it turned out really well. Plus my house just smelled incredible all day.

I also threw in some meatballs that I already had in my freezer, made this garlic bread to accompany the meal and these chocolate chip cookies for dessert…it was a serious comfort food party.

P.S. I NEED to do a post on those chocolate chip cookies. They are quite possibly the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. EVER.

Slow Cooker Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) diced or whole tomatoes*, undrained
1 bottle (24 oz) strained tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
dried thyme
dried oregano leaves
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper flakes
olive oil

*I only used whole tomatoes because I originally thought it was a can of diced…it didn’t make too much of a difference though, I just had to break them up a bit but diced would’ve probably been better.

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook onions in a drizzle of olive oil on medium heat. When onions are just starting to get soft, add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add beef and cook until it is no longer pink; drain.


Spoon beef mixture into your slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients. (*Note: I rarely measure spices so unfortunately I didn’t really have an idea of how much I put in…plus, I just ended up adding more to taste later anyways.)

Cover; cook on high heat for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8-9 hours.



Spoon over your favorite pasta and enjoy!

The Green Monster

Ok…so I know you probably came here for sweet things. Butter, sugar, sprinkles and cookies and cakes galore. The last thing you probably want to see is a nutrient-packed, green smoothie.

Well, too bad.

I had heard about the Green Monster Movement through Simply Scrumptious awhile back. And as much as I thought it was a pretty-looking smoothie, the fact that there was a whole whackload of spinach in it turned me off a little. However, this morning I decided to be brave and give it a try. As part of my own personal movement to start eating healthier again.

The result? AMAZING. Seriously. You honestly cannot even taste the spinach – the banana disguises it completely.

This is a fantastic way to start off your day. It’s packed with all good things, and it tastes surprisingly delicious.

So, go give the Green Monster a try…you might be surprised ;)

The Green Monster
(Recipe from Green Monster Movement)

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 cup milk (cow’s milk, soy, almond…anything is good)
1 banana
ice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into your blender. Blend well.

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

I just came to the realization that I make a lot of soups…some “Sprinkled Life” I lead. I should change the name of this blog to “The Soupy Life”.

…erm, maybe not.

Regardless, I made yet another soup today. I’m on a bit of a wholesome kick. Don’t judge me.

(However, I am making cupcakes for a party this weekend…so there will be some sprinkle action again soon enough, I promise.)

Anyways, I recently picked up an immersion blender on sale, so I’ve been dying to make some sort of puréed soup in order to use it. And what is better than the combination of roasted red pepper and tomato?

Nothing. They make a crazy delicious soup. You should go make some. Right now.

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
(Adapted from Leslie Sarna’s recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup)

Ingredients:

6 roma tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, quartered w/ seeds removed
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Toss the tomatoes, red pepper and garlic in some olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Lay on the cookie sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes or until they just start to brown.


Heat a large pot on medium low. Pour in a few rounds of olive oil and the diced onions. Cook them until they are translucent.

Once the onion is translucent and your vegetables are roasted, pour the tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, all the juice from the pan and the vegetable broth into the pot. Stir, breaking up the tomatoes and pepper, and cook for about 5-10 minutes.


Now you can either transfer the soup into a blender (do this in batches) and blend till smooth, or go to town on it with your fancy immersion blender. Leslie recommends to then run the liquid through a strainer, however I like my soup with a little bit more texture – so I skipped the strainer.


Season to taste with a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt & pepper.

Vegetable Stock

So, I’m going on a bit of a detox this week…I had been treating my body pretty badly so I thought cutting back on my sugar and caffeine intake and upping my fruits and vegetables might be a little bit better for me.

As such, I decided to make some vegetable stock – to use for some hearty soups and stews, as it’s becoming clear that winter still isn’t going anywhere.

Vegetable stock is even easier to make than chicken stock, and it’s super delicious. Way better than the stuff you buy in those cartons – I promise!

Vegetable Stock
As usual, this recipe is just a bit of a guideline…you can always throw in more or less of any of the ingredients, depending on what you have. It’s a great way to use up vegetables and herbs.

Ingredients:

3 carrots, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
3 onions, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
3 ribs of celery + leaves, coarsely chopped
1 roma tomato, halved
1 head of garlic, unpeeled and separated into cloves
5-10 sprigs of fresh parsley
1-2 tsp thyme
about 10 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
12 cups cold water
*I also threw in some fresh dill…just cus I had it

salt (optional)

Directions:

In a large stockpot, combine carrots, onions, celery, tomato, garlic, parsley, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves and dill. Pour in water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1½ - 2 hours.


Drain stock through a colander. You can also do this through a fine sieve, but I like that some of the thyme and spices end up in the stock. Add enough salt to suit your tastes, if you’re using it.


The stock will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or it freezes really well for up to 4 months.

I used some of the stock to cook some brown rice, and it flavored it beautifully. I then added some fresh vegetables and made a pilaf of sorts. So yummy!