Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Cream Cheese Pancakes -- Low Carb breakfast idea!

Good morning, friends!

I'm currently trying to stay away from grains, sugar, and high-carb meals, so I found a recipe for Cream Cheese Pancakes on Pinterest and thought I would give it a go.  It's something the girls would probably like, and I'm guessing it's probably freezable, too.  The thing with going low-carb is that everything, especially breakfast foods, need to be cooked and fussed over.  And in the morning, you really just want to throw something together quick and go.

Let me tell you, these were divine.  Like, way better than real pancakes, in my humble opinion.  They didn't have that overly sweet, gaggingly filling fluff.  They were a little bit crispy, and so satisfying when you haven't had anything bready in a while.

These are the major players.  I also added a little almond flour blend, which is gluten-free. 


 
 
 Mix wet ingredients (2 eggs, 4 oz cream cheese, 2Tbsp cinnamon and 2 Tbsp honey) in a blender or with a mixer.  You could do this by hand, I'm sure, but I don't want to burn so many calories this early. 

After you have a nice, bubby mixture, you can add about a 1/4 cup of almond flour blend.  Now, the original recipe only called for eggs and 2 oz. cream cheese, but the mixture was so watery, I couldn't see how it was going to work.  I added the flour and 2 extra ounces of cream cheese, and they were perfection. 

Melt a little butter in a pan.


 

You could probably break this up into smaller pancakes, but I just made two 8" frying-pan sized pancakes.  



Now, you should probably not start cleaning out your fridge, like I did, while these are on the stove.  Then, you will get a much darker pancake than you might prefer.

Oops.



This shade of pancake is a little more palatable.


 
 
I don't think it took more than 4 minutes per pancake.  They flipped over like a dream.  No breaking, no running.  Really, they are so easy and so mmmmmm.






 
You may never eat another doughy pancake again.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Butternut Squash Pie

This family loves their pumpkin pie.  And what is pumpkin?  It's a squash.   Soooooo, when you have a big ole' butternut squash in your fridge that you don't know what to do with and you're hankering for dessert, what else is a girl to do?



There are probably ten different ways you can go about this.  I took my squash, pierced it a couple times, and popped it in the oven on a tray for about an hour.  Then I sliced it longways, scooped out the seeds, and cut out all the orange fleshy goodness.  I then put it in my food processor until it was pureed nicely.  Then I let it cool a little.

Once this is accomplished, you're ready to begin.  You're just an hour away from pie.  Here's how  you make it happen.

Spiced Butternut Squash Pie
Makes 1 Pie (9”)

Ingredients
Crust:
14 ounces vanilla wafer cookies, finely ground into crumbs (I used graham crackers)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
2 1/2 cups butternut squash puree
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Unsweetened Whipped Cream: (I used cool whip)
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl mix together the vanilla wafer crumbs and melted butter until fully incorporated. Press the mixture into a 9” pie dish or tart shell, pressing both evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Place onto a baking sheet and then into the refrigerator until ready to use.

 
This is my older cutie, helping mommy.

 

3. Place butternut squash puree in a bowl and add the remaining filling ingredients. Stir together until fully incorporated and no lumps remain.



 Pour the filling into the prepared crust and carefully set into the lowest rack of the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the filling has set, but is barely loose in the middle.   (I dusted the top with a little nutmeg.)

 
(I had a lot extra, for some reason.  Or maybe this isn't a true 9" plate.
So I made two little ramekins of pie, without the crust,
because I can.  Should I have thrown the extra away??)
 
 

4. Allow pie to cool completely, about 2 to 3 hours. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.


5. For the unsweetened whipped cream: Place cream and vanilla into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a large bowl, if using a hand mixer. Beat cream and vanilla on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
6. To serve: Generously top pie with whipped cream and top with a light sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg, or both.  Serve.



This is so similar to pumpkin pie, you would be amazed.  Mom always said to eat your veggies!  Okay, mom.  If you insist!
 

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