Chocolate French Silk Pancakes

In previous posts I have declared my love for breakfast so there really is no need to once again elaborate on how happy breakfast foods make me or to go into details about how I could eat breakfast any time of the day, any day of the week. Instead I will just delve right into these awesome Chocolate French Silk Pancakes from How Sweet It Is. Jessica is really onto something with these creamy, chocolatey pancakes. She's so creative - how many of you have ever eaten chocolate pancakes? Yes, we've all had chocolate chip pancakes before...boring! Although I do love how they're a great excuse for eating a big plate of dessert in the morning. I also have a huge thing for French Silk pie although I haven't eaten it in years. Note to self: eat French Silk pie soon. Anyway, when I saw these pancakes, it was just a matter of time until these babies were in my belly!


I really liked these pancakes. They were especially delicious because I bathed them in Pure New Hampshire Maple Syrup, a gift from my lovely in-laws.

My Chocolate French Silk pancakes were super thick but that is because I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour, like the recipe called for, so used regular whole wheat flour instead. I'm definitely going on a hunt for pastry flour the next time I'm at the grocery store because Jessica explained they will make my pancakes lighter and fluffier - more like a pastry (duh, Ashley!). :)


I added sliced bananas to mine, making these yummy pancakes even better! Other, more naughty ideas are to top them with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, slivered almonds, peanuts. These pancakes are fairly healthy, so that makes the naughty toppings justifiable, right?

Chocolate French Silk Pancakes
From Jessica at How Sweet It Is
Makes 12 pancakes
Printable Version


Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups lite coconut milk, + more if needed to smooth out batter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Stir together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir until dry ingredients are combined and batter is smooth. Preheat skillet or griddle to medium heat.

Drop 1/4 cup batter on skillet and cook until bubbles form. Flip and cook until lightly browned.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

My wonderful wonderful mother-in-law shared this recipe for Curried Butternut Squash Soup. It's velvety and rich with just a hint of heat from the curry. With squash, apples, celery, and onion, it is chalked full of things that are good for you. We enjoyed this soup with beer bread and found that the soup was even more delicious sopped up in a big soft piece of bread. Beer bread + thick, rich soup = heaven! So comforting and warming --perfect for those of you who are snowed in right now during the "snowpocalypse". Meanwhile, here in Virginia it was sunny and 70 degrees tonight, not exactly soup weather! And yes, I am bragging! :)

Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 10 (next time I will halve the recipe)
Printable Version


Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 apples, peeled and chopped
2 quarts of vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
3 tablespoons softened butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used fat free half&half and it made no difference on the taste)


Directions
In a soup pot or Dutch oven drizzle olive oil and add celery and onion. Cook the vegetables until softened but do no allow to brown.

 Add squash, stock, apples, and seasonings. 

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low boil. Cook until the squash is very soft. If you have a hand blender, puree the vegetables until thick and smooth. If not, strain the liquid and reserve. Then puree the chunks with some of the soup liquid until thick and smooth. Return to pot and bring to a boil. Mix the butter and the flour together in a small bowl with a whisk. Turn down the heat and add mixture into the soup. Bring the soup back to a boil. Add cream and taste for additional salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt. 

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Cheese Souffle

I am going to just apologize upfront for the quality of these photos. I made this souffle late at night with no natural lighting so the photos really do not do this gorgeous souffle justice. I promise you it was so pretty, puffy, and golden. I was so excited that it actually set up and turned out that I really didn't try to take many photos anyway! Hubby and I just dove into it. It was so light and fluffy and cheesy. Definitely not the healthiest item on my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30, but it was over the top delicious and it was way a for us to eat eggs for dinner without my husband complaining! 

Julia Child's Cheese Souffle
Adapted on Food.com
Makes 4-6 servings
Printable Version


Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup milk 
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
4 large egg yolks
5 large egg whites
1 cup gruyere cheese, grated (about 4 ounces)


Directions
Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter a six cup (1 1/2 quart souffle dish. Add Parmesan cheese and tilt dish, coating the bottom and sides.  

Warm milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until mixture begins to foam and looses raw taste, about 3 minutes. Do not allow mixture to brown. Remove from saucepan and let stand for 1 minute. Pour in warm milk, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in paprika, salt, and nutmeg.

Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking to blend after each addition. Scrape souffle base into a large bowl. Cool to lukewarm. This can be done 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Using an electric mixture, beat the egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. 

Fold 1/4 of egg whites into souffle base to lighten. Fold in the remaining egg whites in two separate batches while gradually sprinkling in Gruyere cheese. Transfer batter to prepared dish. 

Place dish in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until souffle is puffed and golden brown on top and center moves only slightly when dish is shaken, about 25 minutes. Do not open oven door during first 20 minutes. Serve immediately!

CSN Winner and Easy Cheesy Bread

Thanks to everyone who entered my latest CSN giveaway! I used Random Number.org to pick a winner and here are the results:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:17Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The seventeenth comment was Debbie!

Debbie said...

That fondue looks incredible!
Thanks for the chance to win the giveaway.
fourkidsrgreat(at)gmail.com

Debbie, thanks for your comment! Check your email for your $35 CSN Stores gift card! :)

Now for the easiest cheese bread in the world. I made these the same night I made Baked Spaghetti Pizza. This garlic cheesy bread was a great way to dig up the pasta and toppings left over on the plate. I don't know what I don't make garlic cheese bread more often. It's fantastic.

Easy Cheesy Bread

An Ashley's Cooking Adventures Original

Printable Version

Ingredients

1/2 French Baguette 

3 tablespoons softened butter (I used yogurt butter, my favorite)

1 clove of garlic, minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 ounces Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Directions

Cut baguette into 1 1/2 to 2 inch slices. In a small bowl combine olive oil and garlic. You can also used garlic infused olive oil, which I used, but I realize most people don't have on hand. Brush olive oil on one side of the bread and place oil side down on baking or broiling pan. Use a knife to spread butter on the other side of bread. Top with grated cheese. Broil in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately. 

Baked Spaghetti Pizza

Hubby and I are sticking to cooking vegetarian for the month of January but let me tell you, I was running out of ideas! I asked my Aunt Chris, who is a fabulous home chef, if she had any good recipes for vegetarian dishes and she suggested Spaghetti Pizza. My Mom is actually the one who had the recipe and I faintly remember eating it as a kid, but not very often since my Dad is a diabetic and needs to limit his carbs. This dish is so much fun! The "crust" is baked spaghetti and then you top your spaghetti with tomato sauce and whatever toppings you like. Since we're going veggie, I added in a variety of fresh mushrooms, black olives, diced tomatoes, and sliced white onions. But any of your favorite pizza toppings works great -- green peppers, pepperoni, sausage, etc. This is a dish that kids would love and also be able to help you make! I served this with quick and easy cheesy garlic bread, which I will post next. 

Baked Spaghetti Pizza
From My Momma
Printable Version

Ingredients
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1 pound thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
Toppings of your choice for the "pizza"part (mushrooms, olives, diced tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pepperoni, sausage, etc.) Note: if you use  meat make sure it's cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 jar of pizza sauce or Ragu sauce


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together eggs and milk. Toss with the cooked spaghetti. Spread the mixture in a greased 9X13 baking dish. Top with sauce, toppings, and then cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown on edges. Let stand for5 minutes and cut into squares. Serve with a spatula.