Buttermilk Oatcakes with Raspberry Compote

It's Memorial Day and while most of us will be enjoying a picnic, let's not forget what this day is really meant to celebrate! Thank you to all the veterans who have served and protected our wonderful country. This morning, we headed over to Main Street to watch our town's Memorial Day parade. There was a huge turnout of residents and it was great to see everyone coming out to honor our Veterans!

I love making breakfast on the weekends since we usually eat a quick breakfast at school and work during the week. I saw a picture of this recipe in April 2012 Eating Well magazine (thanks Juliette for the subscription!) I love the magazine and I've already marked a few new recipes to try out in the two issues I've received.

These oatcakes were perfect - not to sweet and more on the savory side. The raspberry compote was tangy and added just the right amount of sweetness to the oatcakes. Madeline didn't care for the compote, but she gobbled up the oatcakes. I loved the chewy texture of the oatcakes and made for a nice change from traditional pancakes.

2 cups well-shaked buttermilk
1 egg
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients until well combined. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and let stand for 15 minutes. The mixture will bubble while it sits.

While the oatcake mixture is sitting, prepare the raspberry compote.

2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamom

In a small saucepan, add the raspberries, honey and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally. The berries will begin to break down. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat a griddle or large skillet to medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Spoon 1/4 cup of batter for each oatcake, cook until bubbles dot the surface (about 2-3 minutes) and then flip and continue to cooking until browned. Continue this process with the remaining batter until all is used.

Serve the oatcakes with a dollop of compote. Enjoy! 

Slightly adapted: Eating Well Magazine, April 2012

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...whew that's a mouthful! But a yummy mouthful, if I do say so myself! Once again, I had some overripe bananas and wanted to try something different with them. I searched through all my cookbooks and found this recipe. It's perfect since I had all the ingredients in my pantry (love when that happens!) and could whip up a batch immediately. The dough is super soft which makes for a super, soft cookie!

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups chocolate chips (I used Hershey's special dark chips)
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together until well combined. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the the butter and both sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture until just combined.

Mix in the chocolate chips and oats. By hand, mix in the banana pieces until they are evenly distributed and some of the pieces are mashed but still visable.

Drop cookie dough on prepared cookie sheets. Make the spoonfuls as large as you want your cookies. Space the cookies at least 2 inches apart. Bake one cookie sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and tops look dry, about 18 minutes.

Cool the cookies on a baking sheet for 10 minute and then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.

Source: The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook

The Secret Recipe Club: Smoked Gouda Stuffed Mushrooms

Welcome to the May edition of the Secret Recipe Club! This month I was assigned the blog - What's Brewing in the Kitchen. Amy & Zach seem like so much fun between all their cooking and baking adventures and Zach's advertures in brewing beer! I'm jealous of all the beer Zach has brewed and it all looks so delicious since he's brewing alot of my favorite styles of beer. Only a couple more weeks until I can enjoy an ice cold beer and Cooper is here!

After drooling over all the beer, I finally decided on a recipe to make - Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Mushrooms. I changed up the recipe a little bit and used smoked gouda instead. My husband was very happy to sample these for me since he usually has to pass on stuffed mushrooms at events since most are stuffed with crabmeat and he's allergic. These were delicious! My daughter even loved them. I loved the smoke flavor that the cheese added, next time I'm going to shred the cheese instead of dicing it, so it melts a little more.

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

16 oz (2 pks) button mushrooms

1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs

2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

4 oz smoked gouda, shredded

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small nonstick skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for 2 minutes until tender. Transfer to a small bowl.

Clean and remove stems from mushrooms, reserve the stems. Chop the stems into small pieces. Add to the bowl with the sauteed onions and garlic. Add in the breadcrumbs, parsley, seasonings and cheese. Mix with a fork until well combined. Stir in the oil and water to moisten the breadcrumbs.

Spoon the filling into each mushroom cap. Place filling side up on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until filling begins to brown and cheese melts. Serve warm.

Want to be part of the SRC? Click below to sign up!

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes

I think I've mentioned this before but we're big fans of having breakfast for dinner. I guess this comes from both my husband and I working and we usually just eat cereal or oatmeal at work...and I just can't bring myself to cook eggs in the microwave.

These pancakes are amazing. They're on the more savory side but with just a little bit of maple syrup, you get the sweetness usually associated with pancakes. Madeline gobbled them up - she ate SIX for dinner along with some bacon and a bowl of fruit. Needless to say, I'll be making them more often. I can't wait until we have some fresh blueberries and add them to the batter.

3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup cornmeal
1 whole lemon zested
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the buttermilk and oil and mix until well combined. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients including the lemon zest.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix only until just combined.

On a hot skillet, melt butter and cook pancakes about 30 seconds on each side. Be careful as they will brown quickly!

Source: EatLiveRun

Sharing the Love...

My friend Jillian nominated me for a Liebster award!  Jillian is a fashion blogger and I'm totally jealous of her style (especially at 8 months pregnant and my limited wardrobe right now.) Make sure you stop over and check out Jillian's blog to see her style - she's also hosting a giveaway for some super cute bracelets!

Here is a little bit of info on the Liebster award:

The Libster award is a "Share The Love Arrangement" given to inspirational bloggers with less than 200 followers.

Once you are awarded the Liebster award there is a To Do list to follow so don't break the chain!

1. Thank the person who presented you with the award on your blog. (This is a good way to track who has had the Liebster award and who hasn't, it also helps us track back to where the Liebster award came from!)

2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award on your blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 2-5 other bloggers with less than 200 followers.

5. Let them know you've chosen them by leaving a comment on their blog.

And here are the bloggers I'm passing the award on to:

The Math Fam Blog

Moments with the Montano's

Cooking Creation

Creamy Quinoa Primavera

Geesh where has the time gone? These last couple of weeks have been so busy and I can't seem to catch up. I think between trying to get ready for baby boy, Madeline being a terror at bedtime and trying to work ahead 3 months to get things ready....I barely know whether I'm coming or going! I have about 6 weeks until my due date, but who knows when this little guy will want to make his entrance into the world. I've been dreaming about going into labor on June 6th, so we'll just have to wait and see.

I had made this recipe back on Easter for lunch at my mom's. See I told you I can't seem to catch up! :) It was a nice change from our traditional fare and definitely something that can be changed up using different veggies depending on what is fresh. It would be great to change it up to a Greek style in the summer when cucumbers and tomatoes are in abundance!

1 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I used a tricolor blend)
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
4 ozs cream cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 cups thinly sliced or bite sized pieces assorted uncooked vegetables (I used carrots, spring peas, asparagus)
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Rinse quinoa throughly according to package instructions. In a medium sized pot, bring the stock and quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat and cover until quinoa is cooked according to package instructions, usually between 20 and 25 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute until golden. Stir in vegetables and cook 3 to 5 minutes depending on how tender you like your vegetables.

Dump the quinoa in a large bowl. Stir in the cream cheese and basil into the cooked quinoa. Add the vegetables and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

Source: Let's Dish

Just a little bragging..

One of my recipe's are featured over at Recipe Lion today for their monthly healthy bite!

This month's topic was no-bake recipes. I just had to submit my Cranberry-Feta Cream cheese roll ups!

Check out all the other great recipes featured here!