MommaCooks

posted by Nina on Feb 2

This recipe is from The Biggest Loser. I have never personally watched the show, but it seems like they make some pretty good pancakes.

Ingredients:
6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.

Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed.

We had these with eggs, sausage and fruit salad.

What did the family think? I thought these turned out great. I put a little extra cinnamon in them, so they were great with butter and syrup on them. Everyone else at the table gobbled them down, too.

Did I change anything? Just a teensy bit more cinnamon was added.

Where did this recipe come from? The Biggest Loser

photo from Goop

posted by Nina on Jan 30

I know your are thinking to yourself…goodness gracious, does she eat nothing but granola and smoothies? I know there’s been a lot of the two on MommaCooks lately, but aren’t granola and smoothies yummy? Wait, what if we could combine the two? Breakfast nirvana!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup granola
4 tbsp wheat germ
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup FROZEN blueberries

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on the ice crush option until the berries are mostly blended, then put on puree for about 2 minutes or until smooth.

What did the family think? I am the only one who has had this one so far, but I think they’ll like it. The kids have started having smoothies for their bedtime snack, so I might have to introduce this one tonight.

Did I change anything? No, but I think the next time I make this one I might add half a banana or maybe a whole banana so that it’s thicker.

Where did this recipe come from? SparkRecipes

photo from The Everyday Veggie

posted by Nina on Jan 26

I don’t know why, but it took me forever to learn how to make a pancake without either burning it or having it be soggy in the middle. I think it was a matter of realizing that I didn’t have to turn the heat up to max…pancakes cook slow and steady and take a little bit of patience and watching. I must have figured it out because these pancakes were scrumptious and I didn’t burn any of them.

Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine ricotta**, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat, and brush the surface with butter. Use a ladle or measuring scoop (we used a 1/3 cup measure) to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes for about 3 or 4 minutes, then flip, cooking until both sides are golden brown.

**Sometimes foods like yogurt and ricotta form a little puddle on top when they are in their packaging. When spooning out the ricotta to make these pancakes, pour off that liquid first.

We had these with scrambled eggs and a fruit salad.

What did the family think? Everyone who was here for dinner last night LOVED them. (Hubs was out of town.)

Did I change anything? I was out of vanilla (STILL! I thought I had purchased some) so I used a teensy weensy bit of almond extract instead and it turn out great.

Where did this recipe come from? The Kitchn

Photo from Goop

posted by Nina on Jan 25

I have been trying a variety of homemade granolas over the past several months. I even got my hubby to start eating them (which was a mistake because now he’s eating all of my granola). Anyways, this one is super easy to make and turned out great.

Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped walnuts or slivered almonds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water OR apple juice
1 (6-ounce) package dried fruit, such as raisins

Instructions:
Heat the oven to 300º.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, wheat germ, nuts, sesame seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the oil, honey, and water. Toss the mixture until the ingredients are well combined, then spread it evenly on a cookie sheet.

Bake the granola for 40 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes to keep the mixture from sticking.

Let it cool completely, then stir in the dried fruit.

What did the family think? I am the only person in our house who has tried this version so far, but I will attest to its yumminess.

Where did this recipe come from? Family Fun

posted by Nina on Jan 18

STOP! Don’t give up on this smoothie just because it has spinach in it. I PROMISE you that you will not only not see the spinach once you get it all blended up, but you won’t taste it either and with a combo of all of these powerhouse foods in one smoothie you KNOW it’s going to be good for you. What else is awesome is that you can keep some frozen spinach and frozen blueberries on hand so that you can make this anytime. This is so good for you and it tastes good too. Try it, just once for me, pretty please.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk (soy, skim…whatever you’ve got)
1/2 cup fresh spinach (small handful, sub 1/8-1/4 cup frozen)
1 banana
1 teaspoon flax seed meal

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on the ice crush option until the berries are mostly blended, then put on puree for about 2 minutes or until smooth.

What did the family think? I am the only one who has had this, but it was SO good! I know the boys will like it too if I don’t tell them about the spinach because who really wants to drink spinach.

Where did this recipe come from? Food.com

photo from Brandy Gerard

posted by Nina on Jan 13

This recipe was actually supposed to be a carrot cake, but cake implies there will be icing involved and in an effort to reduce the amount of sugar my children eat I decided to make it into carrot bread instead.

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 jars (jr. baby food) carrots
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Mix sugar and oil together. To this sugar and oil mixture add applesauce, carrots, eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Bake in an ungreased standard-sized loaf pan for about 45 minutes (or until done) in a 350 degree oven.

What did the family think? Everyone who has had some so far loves it.

Did I change anything? I reduced the amount of sugar and oil. I also had run out of cinnamon so I used apple pie spice instead. It worked just fine. All of the changes I made are reflected in the recipe above except for the apple pie spice part.

Where did this recipe come from? Cooks.com

photo from Food People Want

posted by Nina on Jan 12

I love making my own homemade granola. It’s great to eat like cereal and it’s a great addition to yogurt as well.

Ingredients:
3 cups oatmeal (uncooked)
1 cup chopped or slivered almonds
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pure maple syrup

Instructions:
Mix ingredients together in a large bowl. Transfer onto a large baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake at 325°F for 35 minutes (stirring once halfway through cooking time). Allow to cool completely on tray.

Store in airtight jars or containers.

What did the family think? I am the only granola eater in the family. I liked it. It was a lot crunchier than other granolas I have made.

Where did this recipe come from? Cooking on the Side

photo from thekitchn.com

posted by Nina on Jan 1

These were a great addition to our New Year’s morning brunch. They are crispy and buttery with just a hint of vanilla…so good!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (shake before pouring into measuring cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat waffle iron.

Melt the stick of butter in a heat-proof measuring cup. Set aside to cool. You might even want to stick it in the freezer of refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.

In a large batter bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt, stirring well to combine ingredients. Create a depression in the center of the dry ingredients for the buttermilk mixture.

Beat the eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl until frothy and well-combined. Add the vanilla extract, buttermilk and cooled butter. Beat until well-combined.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredient’s depression and stir rapidly with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Using the wooden spoon, push 1/4 to 1/5 of the batter onto your waffle iron and bake until steam stops rising from the waffle iron or your personal degree of doneness is achieved.

What did the family think? Thumbs up!

Where did this recipe come from? Food. com

photo from Becoming Lola

posted by Nina on Dec 18

Now that I’ve discovered that granola is actually very easy to make, I have been trying all kinds of different varieties and variations. I made this one yesterday and it turned out great.

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
2 medium apples , chopped
1 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 8×10 pan with aluminum foil and lightly oil.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Evenly spread oat mixture on pan.

Bake 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

If you like crunchier granola, cook an extra 5 minutes.

Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Did I change anything? I added the wheat germ and the flax seed. Those can be left out if you don’t have them.

What did the family think? No one eat the granola in this house except me.

Where did this recipe come from? Adapted from a recipe from Food.com

posted by Nina on Dec 14

We had breakfast for dinner last night and these were a HUGE hit!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup plain pureed pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:
Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl, combine milk, egg yolk, pumpkin, vanilla, oil and brown sugar together.

Pour in remaining dry ingredients to the wet and slowly incorporate.

Spray waffle iron with non stick cooking spray. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto waffle iron. Close the top slowly. Cook about 2 minutes or until waffles are crispy.

Did I change anything? Well, since I didn’t read the whole recipe through before I started cooking, I put in the egg yolk and tossed the egg white before realizing I was supposed to beat the egg white to stiff peaks and then fold it in. So, I skipped that whole step and the waffles turned out just fine which is why I didn’t include it in the recipe above.

What did the family think? Yum!

Where did this recipe come from? The Spiffy Cookie