Greek Yogurt Pancakes

So while I was writing that last post, I was making snowy-morning pancakes from a recipe I found on Macheesmo. They were so good that I feel I must post them here. I basically followed the recipe exactly. I halved the recipe, but I think the full once would probably feed 2 to 3 people, depending on how hungry your breakfasters are. The Greek yogurt gives the pancakes a wonderful fluffy texture. Oh man, they were so good.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes
(Adapted from Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes from Pioneer Woman Cooks, and reprinted from Macheesmo)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (I think you could use one of those small Fage containers, which is only 6 oz., not quite a cup)
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk (if necessary, for thinning the batter slightly)
• butter for cooking

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt) together in a large bowl.
2. Mix wet ingredients (yogurt, eggs, vanilla, milk) in with the dry ingredients.
3. Whisk ingredients together. The batter will be thick and smooth, but it should still be pour-able.
4. In your skillet or frying pan, melt enough butter to thinly cover the bottom of the pan. When the butter jumps and crackles if you splash water on it, pour your first pancakes into the pan.
5. The pancakes will take a little longer to cook than most. When they are full of bubbles on the top and stiff when you try to pick them with a spatula, they're ready to be flipped.
6. When they're brown on both sides, stick 'em on a plate and amaze your friends!

I would write more, but I have to go finish my pancakes. Mmmm. Happy cooking!

p.s. I promise at some point I will take some pictures of the finished products of these recipes before they are devoured.

Quick and Easy: Garlic Butter-Roasted Veggies

This is one of those recipes borne of not having most of the ingredients for what I was trying to make. What I was going for was these garlic butter roasted mushrooms from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs. But I didn't have parsley and I'm allergic to capers. Thus the Simplified Garlic Butter-Roasted Veggies. I made both mushrooms and green beans this way, and both were delicious.

Garlic Butter-Roasted Veggies

• Vegetable of choice, enough to almost fill a 9-inch square baking pan
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (You can do more, depending on how much you like garlic)
• 2-3 tbsp butter, cubed (more or less, depending on your amount of veggies)
• half a lemon

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. If necessary, cut veggies into bite-sized pieces. Make sure they're about equal in size so they cook evenly. Place in a baking pan.
   
3. Place cubed butter evenly throughout veggies.
4. Sprinkle garlic over veggies.
5. Cook for 30 minutes, or until soft and browned, stirring occasionally. (Your veggies might need more or less time, depending on what kind they are. Carrots would need longer than mushrooms, for example.)
6. Squeeze juice from your half-lemon over the vegetables.
7. Enjoy!

They really are so good, and so easy. Happy cooking!

Crab Cakes!

I'd never made crab cakes before tonight. I looked up recipes online, and merged a bunch to make what ended up being light, flavorful, and really really delicious crab cakes. A bunch of recipes called for mayonnaise, but I hate mayo, so I substituted sour cream, and I think it turned out great. You can add more or less mustard depending on your taste, but I used a heaping tablespoon of a really strong Dijon mustard, and could taste it after they were cooked, but not too strongly. I grated some rock-hard stale baguette for the breadcrumbs, but a bunch of recipes suggested panko, or Japanese breadcrumbs (available at Asian food stores) for texture. I think regular breadcrumbs worked just fine. I even found that the flavor of the crabmeat meant that I didn't need to add salt!

So here's the crab cake recipe, as well as an avocado-lime sauce that was just splendid.

Crab Cakes

• 1/2 cup green onions, minced
• 2 large eggs (I just used the yolks, but I think the crab cakes would hold together better with 2 whole eggs.)
• juice from half a lime
• handful of fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 pound crabmeat (I used blue crab)
• 2 cups breadcrumbs (I got tired of grating and used less, but I think a full 2 cups would have been better)
• 1-2 tbsp sour cream (or mayonnaise)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• black pepper, as needed

1. Mix all ingredients together. If crab is chunky, puree mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Melt just enough butter to cover the bottom of a saucepan. When butter is hot, spoon crab mixture into pan. Compress with spatula.
3. Cook crab cakes until they are brown on one side, then flip.
   
4. Enjoy!

Avocado-Lime Sauce

Blend the following ingredients until smooth:

• 1 ripe avocado
• juice of half a lime
• 1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes (the spicy ones; adjust amount depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1/4 cup skim milk (more if necessary to achieve the texture you want)
• 2 tbsp sour cream (optional)

That might be the first recipe I've invented(ish)! It's not too bad, if I do say so myself. And it goes great with risotto.

Happy cooking!