Healthy Cinnamon Banana Pancakes

So I think I told you in my last post that Hubby and I are on a bit of a "get healthy" kick. We've shed a few pounds between us so far and it feels great! I'm loving these sunny days because I really enjoy getting on my bike in the morning and riding along the river, listening to my audiobook (right now I'm working my way through Dickens classics!) and drinking in the scenery. 

One thing about getting in shape, however, is the need to give up some things. I'm not a big fan of dieting- I prefer simply eating variety and in moderation. But when you're trying to lose weight, staying away from a lot of sugars and unhealthy fats is pretty key. So I'm trying to practice saying no...

No to sugar in my tea. No to more than one cookie. No to hot cocoa. No to seconds. No to soda. Saying no can get old, so I was excited to find that I didn't have to say no to our typical Monday "big breakfast"! 

Monday is Hubby's day off, so we usually like to make something a little different than our weekday routine, such as pancakes or waffles. In the effort to use up a few fast-ripening bananas, I came across this fabulous recipe on Pinterest!

It uses all whole wheat flour, hardly any sugar and no oils at all and the best part is the pancakes totally melt in your mouth. I couldn't believe how delicious they were, considering I'm not normally a big fan of banana flavored treats. Hubby had his with a little syrup, but I sampled them with a light smear of peanut butter. I can hardly eat a banana without a spoonful of peanut butter, so why not? It was a perfect pairing. This breakfast sure tasted indulgent, but it was nice to know it wasn't!

Healthy Cinnamon Banana Pancakes

(printable version)

adapted from Big Oven

makes 8-10 pancakes

2 TB sugar

1/2 tsp molasses

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup water

2 TB unsweetened applesauce

2 large, very ripe bananas, finely chopped

1 cup whole wheat flour

 1 tsp baking powder

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, molasses, salt, cinnamon, egg, water, applesauce & bananas, whisking until pretty smooth (bananas will be chunky).

Add flour and baking powder and mix in gently until just combined (stirring too much will make pancakes tough).

Heat a large pan or griddle to med-high heat and grease with non-stick cooking spray or a small amount of butter or oil.

Using a 1/4 cup measurement, pour batter onto hot pan. Cook 2-3 min. or until pancakes are no longer glossy on top and bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook another 1-2 min. Keep warm while repeating with remaining batter.

Serve with butter, syrup, peanut butter, additional fresh bananas or other toppings of your choice!

Welcome to My Pizzeria! (Whole Wheat Pizza Crust)

I love pizza! I don't know very many people who don't love pizza, come to think of it... :) My family used to have pizza and movie nights every Sunday when I was growing up (and I think they still do!) and for many years my sisters and I made our own homemade pizza crust. I have tried many recipes for crust, all of which were good. But a few months ago, I think I stumbled on my favorite crust yet. I was on a diet (still should be, haha!) and looking for a low calorie, thin crust I could use with some healthy toppings. I can't remember where I found it, actually, so I'm not sure who to give the credit to! But the last two times I've made it, I have gone the healthier route and used whole wheat flour, which I think improved it even more- not only is it good for you, but the whole wheat gives it a great flavor! If you haven't tried a homemade crust, and you like your crust a bit on the thin side, you've got to give this recipe a try. It's easy and tastes fabulous with any toppings! We have tried ham & pineapple (for all you Hawaiian fans!), pepperoni with or without olives, and I've even used leftover sloppy Joe or taco meat for a topping- yum! It depends on what I have between the cupboard and the freezer! But I think our favorite is the ever-being-modified chicken pizza. But I need to start at the beginning!

First things first- as all good recipes start: preheat the oven! This is the only recipe I have ever made where you heat the oven to 500. Yeah. That's hot. :) While the oven is warming up to this insane temperature, I mix the yeast and sugar with warm water and let it sit while I mix the flours and salt together and cook the chicken. After about 8 minutes, I pour the yeast mixture over the flour and stir with my favorite wooden spoon. Then I form the dough into a ball and knead it for about 2 minutes, then press it into a semi-round shape. Then comes the fun part! You can do it however it seems to work for you, but I like to hold the dough in my hand and keep turning it around and around while I gently pull the edges out. I usually do this until it starts to tear a little, then I put it on the greased pizza sheet and begin pressing it out toward the edges of the pan (if you make it pretty thin, it will fit one 15" pizza sheet, but you can go smaller if you like it a bit thicker- experiment!). If any holes appear, just pinch them shut with your fingers!

Next, spread your sauce of choice on top. I like Ragu Homemade style (since we are going homemade here...). Chicken pizza is also delicious with white garlic sauce, but I haven't tried that at home yet. Spread as generously as you like (I go pretty thin- I don't like really saucy pizza), but don't forget to leave the edges sauce-free for the crust! Cheese goes on top of this, of course, and again you can choose your preference! I usually go with all mozzarella for the chicken pizza, and a blend of mozzarella and cheddar for pepperoni, Hawaiian and other varieties. I have also used a blend of mozzarella and feta for the chicken pizza, which is also very yummy. However, feta isn't something I usually have on hand!

The last step in the pizza-building process is the toppings! I think my chicken pizza turns out just a bit different every time, depending on what I have around to add to it!

Tonight's version included: one diced chicken breast, pan-fried in olive oil and sprinkled with Pizza seasoning (a mixture of oregano, basil, marjoram & garlic) and garlic powder, two fresh diced Roma tomatoes, a can of sliced olives, and generous amounts of fresh spinach. A note on the spinach: add this last and don't be afraid to cover pretty much the whole pizza with it. It shrinks lots during cooking, so if you don't put on very much, you'll regret it. If you cover the whole thing, it shrinks up to be just the right amount. This is what our pizza consisted of tonight, but don't be afraid to experiment with your own favorite flavors!

Once all the toppings are situated, pop that pizza in the oven! The blazing 500 degrees cook it in only about 10-12 minutes (or maybe less, depending on your oven!).

One of the best things about making pizza at home is getting your creative juices flowing and creating your own masterpiece! Experiment with flavors. Cheeses, meats, veggies. The possibilities are endless! This is the stuff traditions are made of.

Homemade Whole Wheat Thin Pizza Crust
(printable version)

(if you don't want whole wheat, just use all white flour)

makes 1 pizza

1 .25 oz. package of active dry yeast

1/4 tsp sugar

3/4 cup warm water

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup white flour

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Italian herbs

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Allow to rest for 8 min. Mix flours, salt and herbs in another bowl. Pour yeast mixture over flour and mix with sturdy spoon. On lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 2 min. Allow dough to rest covered with a cloth about 5 min. Press into a 12" circle. You may also lift off of counter and rotate in hands, pulling dough gently into a circular shape. Place on lightly greased pizza sheet, stretch and press dough to edges. Spread with sauce and add desired toppings. Bake 8-12 min. or until edges are golden brown. Enjoy!

Heaven-Sent Ham Soup and Breathtaking Biscuits

It is fall here in the Inland Northwest, and that means it is time for football, falling leaves, chilly nights, harvest moons, late roses...and soup. Doesn't a fall day just make you want to get out your favorite, comfortable soup recipes? Well, it has that effect on me- in fact, I've just decided to have one soup night a week (at

least through the winter!). Soup Saturdays! :) Most soups can be made in the crock-pot, which makes them tantalizingly easy, and most freeze well, which adds to the appeal! Well, I speak of old, familiar recipes, but the one I tried last week was a new one concocted from familiar flavors. It is a traditional ham and navy bean soup, but depending on the flavor your meat holds, you could get a completely different taste each time! So I will recount for you my ham's history...

I normally don't cook a roast or a ham unless we are having company, because it is such a large meal for just two people. So, when we found out our friends from Oregon would be spending some time with us, I knew it was the perfect excuse to use the ham in my freezer! The day company arrives, I usually try to have a crock-pot dinner, since it allows me to be more free to visit with my guests instead of slaving away in the kitchen, making them feel like they need to help me. So, having decided on the ham (and it was a rather small ham), I began the internet search for a really great crock-pot whole ham recipe. This was a challenge, because, a

s usual, there were a lot of them. I came across many recipes for hams cooked in cola, which interested and frightened me at the same time. It sounded adventurous (My mom later informed me it is a southern trait to cook everything imaginable in cola), but what if it didn't turn out well? And all I had was

Wild Cherry Pepsi and Diet Coke on hand...and several recipes warned against diet. I finally found comments stating that cherry cola gave a good flavor and decided on a recipe that had a brown sugar, mustard and cola glaze. So I bravely followed the recipe, which made a thick paste to smooth over the ham, then put the ham in the crock pot and poured the rest of the cola in the bottom. There it sat, simmering happily all day, and it smelled wonderfully promising! I snitched a piece once the ham was cooked through and it was marvelous! I will standby the

fact that I think this is the best ham I have ever had. I will make it again. And again. For family. For parishioners. Even foreign dignitaries, if they should drop by. ;)

Anyway, that is the background on my ham. The original recipe said to reserve the extra liquid and use it in a soup, so I did. The soup recipe I used was simply a ham and white bean soup, which called for cannellini or Great Northern beans, but I just used navy, which are also, ironically enough, white. :) I soaked them overnight, then, in the morning I rinsed them and threw them into the crock-pot with the ham bone and the chopped up leftover ham, some beautiful onions (fresh from my father-in-law's farm!), carrots, celery, garlic, the leftover liquid plus water, pepper, salt and then I stopped. Hmmm. The recipe called for "Herbs de Provence." Not sure what blend that was, I went to my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, flipping to the section which described different herbs and spices. Sure enough, they mentioned the mysterious "Herbs de Provence" and claimed it was equal parts basil, fennel, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme. Leaving out the ones that I did not posses (lavender and sage), I made my own by scooping 1/4 tsp of each into a container, sealing it, and shaking thoroughly to mix. I doubled the recipe (but only added one extra cup of liquid) so I could have some extra and it made enough for one dinner, one lunch, and enough to freeze for another dinner!

When all this was in the crock-pot, I put it on low and left it to simmer for the rest of the day. Later I scoured the internet again for a biscuit recipe using whole wheat flour (part of my effort to cook healthier!). The one I found (whole wheat buttermilk biscuits) turned out absolutely delicious, hands down the best biscuit I have ever tasted, if I do say so myself.

The soup was so yummy and fallish, with wonderful sweet and subtle herb flavors and the biscuits, as I stated before but must say again, were out of this world! I think I had three (tsk tsk). :)

White Bean and Ham Soup
(printable version)

from Today's Creative Crock-Pot

Cookbook

serves 4

1/2 lb cannellini or Great Northern Beans (or navy!) soaked overnight

1 ham shank or meaty ham bone

1 med. carrot, diced

1 med. yellow onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 qt. water (or liquid plus water)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. Herbs de Provence

Place everything in slow cooker, stir gently. Cover, cook on low 8-10 hrs or high 4-6 hrs.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk biscuits can be found here, except I added 2 tbsp of honey to the mix! :)