Buttermilk Pancakes

These buttermilk pancakes are fluffy, tender, buttery, sweet, and delicious. We didn't have buttermilk pancakes, or normal pancakes, often. They often came second to our beloved swedish pancakes. But on the occasions mom made them, they were very good. These pancakes are absolutely delicious and downright addictive. If you need a basic pancake recipe, this is here for ya!

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Blend eggs, milk, and vanilla. 
2. Whisk in dry ingredients until just moistened. Don't overmix or the pancakes will be tough. It's okay if there's a few lumps.
3. Let sit for ten minutes, then cook in a medium hot griddle. 

Taco Soup

This is a dinner staple at our house. Mom actually gets sick of it because we have it so often. The reason it's always on repeat is because it's super easy and can be done in 5 minutes. It's super healthy, and SO delicious.

This is a classic comfort food for me. In middle school I remember coming home and reading the Goose Girl series by Shannon Hale in the winter and eating taco soup (and sometimes wheat rolls and melted honey butter). It was warm and comforting during the chilly winter.

This is easily doubled.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 can diced tomatoes (10ish oz)
• 1 can corn
• 1 can tomato sauce (small, like 3 ish oz)
• 1 cup cooked black/pinto beans
• 1/2 lb ground beef (like a cup or more)
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning, other seasonings like garlic/onion
• 1/2 tsp salt
• water if you want it like soup, no water if you like it like chili

Directions:

1. Put everything in a large pot, don't drain the cans of their juice. 
2. Stir it until combined, simmer as long as you like. You can eat as soon as it's warm, but the longer it cooks the better it gets. 
3. Serve with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, etc.

Chicken with Rice Dinner

This dinner is delicious, classic comfort food. Brown rice, roasted chicken, mushrooms, creamy sauce. This was a classic dinner growing up, but wasn't a regular. I remember how it would sit in the oven with foil on top and how it was always served with broccoli.

Absolutely delicious, relatively healthy, and a family favorite.

Chicken with Rice Dinner

Ingredients:

• 10 chicken breasts dipped in flour and browned
• 1 1/4 cup raw rice (brown rice is best)
• 1 pkg lipton dry onion soup mix
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup.
• 2 cups water
• minced mushrooms (brown ones like cremini), optional

Directions:

1. Butter baking dish and put rice in bottom. 
2. Combine onion soup mix, soups, water, and mushrooms if desired. Pour over rice in baking dish. 
3. Place browned breasts on top.
4. Cover with foil. Bake @ 325 for 2 1/2 hours. 
5. Serve with broccoli. 

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

Beef and cheese enchiladas are a popular meal at our house. Everyone (including picky kids) loves them, they're healthy, and are incredibly fast. They can be done within fifteen minutes. They're super easy, just throw everything in a pot, wrap in tortillas, and sprinkle on cheese. They hold up well in the fridge, so leftovers can be for lunch the next day.

The recipe is easily customisable, the ingredients are just tortillas, beef, tomato sauce, beans, cheese, taco seasoning, spinach. Add more or less beef, more or less tortillas, cheese, beans, spinach, based on what you want and how many people you want to feed.

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cooked ground beef (like a cup or two, less meat = cheaper)
• 8 soft tortillas (more tortillas = more servings)
• 3 cups grated cheese (less cheese = healthier)
• 1 small can tomato sauce (like 1 oz?)
• 1 Tbsp taco seasoning, plus any other spices like garlic, onion, etc.
• 1 cup black beans (beans are cheap)
• 2 cups raw spinach (about 3 leaves per tortilla)

Directions:

1. Over high heat (high heat = faster) combine tomato sauce, taco seasoning, 1 cup of cheese (or less), beef, and beans, until combined and warm. 
2. Scoop mixture into cooked tortillas, place in some spinach, roll up, place in 9x13 pan. Repeat until the filling is gone. Sprinkle on cheese over the top. 
3. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until the tops are crunchy and toasty brown. (you can pull them out sooner if you're in a hurry)

Swedish Pancakes

Our family loves Swedish pancakes. They're our go-to meal for birthday breakfasts and special occasions. Daniel makes them almost every Sunday. They're kind of like crepes, but a teeny bit thicker and a little bit sweeter, perfect for breakfast, or even for dinner. It's heavenly with buttermilk caramel syrup, but I like it best with whipped cream and strawberries.

This recipe is pretty simple. We always whip it up in our blender so it's even quicker. This is the best Swedish pancake recipe I've ever had. It makes thin buttery delicious foolproof pancakes.

Swedish Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 stick melted butter

Directions:

1. Beat eggs, add sugar and salt, then milk.
2. Sift in flour and mix. 
3. Add in melted butter. Should be the consistency of heavy cream. 
4. Heat and lightly grease a skillet. Pour pancakes in thin layer. Brown both sides lightly

Cornbread

This is my favorite cornbread recipe. I adapted it from Sally's Baking Addiction. It's buttery and has a wonderful honey flavor. It's nice and moist. It's the perfect side dish and is also great with chili and salad as a meal. I love having it slathered with honey and butter.

I add less brown sugar than other cornbreads and replace it with honey because it's healthier and adds better flavor. When making it, take your 1/4 c measuring cup and fill it half to three-quarters of the way full with brown sugar. Fill the rest of it with honey. To ensure that the cornbread is still sweet, you add extra honey, 2 heaping tablespoons or more depending on how sweet you like it. 

I use a 8x11 glass pan for cooking this cornbread in. An 8x8 square pan is too small, and a 9x13 pan is too big, so any pan in between those two works fine.

This is the perfect cornbread for picnics, dinner, breakfast, or a snack!

My Favorite Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar* (see notes)
• 2 heaping Tbsp honey
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Grease a 8x11 baking pan*(see notes). Set aside.
2. Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the cooled melted butter, brown sugar, and honey together until completely smooth and thick. There should be no brown sugar lumps. Then, whisk in the egg until combined. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk.
4.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Avoid overmixing.
5. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is cooked through. Use a toothpick to test. Serve with honey, butter, chili, whatever you want!

Notes:

*You actually add a little less than 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and fill up part of the 1/4 measuring cup up with honey, as described in post above. To add more flavor and sweetness, add 2 heaping tablespoons of honey to replace some of the brown sugar. 

*For the baking pan, a 8x8 square pan is too small, and a 9x13 pan is too big, so any pan in between those two, like a 8x11, works just fine.

German Pancakes

This is a recipe for classic german pancakes. They're delicious, with their flakey buttery sides. You can have them with syrup, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar. One of my favorites is to have them with whipped cream and strawberries.

  GERMAN PANCAKES

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, melted 6 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup flour

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 425. Divide the melted butter in half and pour into two 9x13 pans.
2.	Put eggs in blender and blend for 1 minute. (If you have a Blendtec, do it for about 30 seconds).
3  4.	Leaving motor running, add milk and slowly add flour. Pour into the pans and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.