Restaurant Hotcakes

After years of feeding my family pancakes from a bought mix, I tried this homemade pancake recipe and have never looked back.  I also didn't realize how bad the other ones were until we tried these!  Another great recipe from my friend Claudette.  ;)

• 5 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups milk
• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup oil
• 1/3 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs and milk together.  Add dry ingredients.  Add oil and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Keeps several days in the fridge.  Half recipes can be done using 3 eggs.  (And yes, it's a BIG recipe!).

Loaded Biscuits

I love biscuits! And I love all the extra things added to make these biscuits extra tasty. A recipe from my hubby's Mom.
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 3 tbsp finely chopped green onion
- 2 tbsp finally chopped green pepper (I used orange as that's what I had on hand)
- 1/3 cup oil
- 3/4 cup cold milk

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese, onion and pepper in a large bowl. Add oil and milk. Using a fork, toss the ingredients together until the mixture forms a ball or mass, which will stick together, adding more milk if necessary. Excess liquid makes a sticky dough that is hard to handle and too little makes a dough that will crumble and crack. Turn out onto a lightly floured board; knead lightly two or three times. Roll untili 3/4 inch thick. Cut into biscuit rounds with a biscuit cutter or drinking glass. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees C for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.

* I think I rolled these a little too thin. Still tasted good, but wouldn't roll it quite so thin next time. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Whole Wheat Ham and Cheese Calzones

Ingredients

CRUST

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon molasses

FILLING

• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 2 tablespoons bulgur (buy as much as you need from a bulk food store)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce1 tsp oregano
• 1 cup diced deli ham (honey maple is my favourite!)
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. For the Crust: Measure the first 6 ingredients into a large bowl. Stir. Make small indentation in the middle.
2. Combine next 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add to middle of dry mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 8-10 times.
3. For the Filling: Combine boiling water and bulgur in small heatproof bowl. Let stand for about 20 minutes until bulgur is softened.
4. Add remaining 3 ingredients. Stir. Divide into 8-12 equal portions.
5. Shape portions into balls. Roll out 1 portion to form an 3-4 inch diameter circle. Place about 3 tbsp of filling on half of circle, leaving 1 inch edge. Fold dough in half over filling.
   
   6. Press edges to seal.
   7. Carefully transfer to greased baking sheet. Poke with a fork in top two times to allow steam to escape.
   8. Repeat with remaining dough portions and filling. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden.
   9. Makes 8-12 calzones.
   10. To freeze: allow to cool completely and then transfer to a large labeled ziploc bag. To serve: microwave or bake until fully reheated.
   
   
   

Copy Cat "Tall Grass Prairie" Cinnamon Buns

Buns:

5 cups warm water

1/2 cup brown sugar

9 tsp yeast

3/4 cup oil

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

8 cups white flour

In a large bowl, add water, yeast, and brown sugar and let sit for 10 minutes. Add oil, salt, and eggs and mix well. Add flour, a small amount at a time and mix into a smooth dough. Set aside and let rise for 1 hour. Divide into 2 pieces and roll each piece into a large dough rectangle.

Filling

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp flour

margarine (for spreading)

Mix brown sugar and spices together and then blend in flour. Spread a thin layer of margarine onto your large dough rectangles and sprinkle half the filling mix on top of each rectangle. Roll up and cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces.

Glaze:

Mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and 3/4 cup margarine. (Double this amount for ooey gooey buns) Spread glaze evenly on to your baking pan and then put cinnamon buns on top of the glaze to bake. Leave space in between for buns to rise slightly for a half hour or so. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately flip buns onto a pan of equal or larger size so that the glazed side is up. Serve warm for an extra treat.

**This recipe makes a HUGE batch!! You may want to cut the recipe in half or make the whole recipe and bless someone with the extras.**

Chocolate Ice Cream Divine

Devin requested this dessert a while back. I confirmed the recipe with his Mom and made it for the first time last week. (Although I must admit I've enjoyed this dessert at my in-laws before - so good!). The thing I like about it was that you can make it ahead and keep it in the freezer, so it makes a great dessert for company, because you can work ahead.
- Two cups crushed chocolate wafers (I used oreo crumbs)
- 1/2 cup margargine, melted
- 2 L vanilla ice cream, softened
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1 1/2 cups evaported milk
- 1 1/2 cups peanuts (I used chopped peanuts)

Combine crushed wafers and 1/2 cup melted margarine. Press evenly into a 9 x 13 pan; chill. Spread ice cream evenly over base; sprinkle with peanuts, pressing in gently. Freeze. Combine chipits, sugar, 1/2 cup margarine and evaporated milk in saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool. Spread over ice cream. Store in freezer. Divine!!
* Although the recipe doesn't call for chocolate sauce over top, it makes a big difference in flavor. Try it!

Homemade Ice Cream Toppings

Today I tried two recipes for homemade ice cream toppings. Yum!! I'm thinking these would make some nice gifts for teachers, neighbours and maybe even the bus driver!

Caramel Sauce

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla

Combine butter, brown sugar, water and salt in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to boil for 3-5 minutes depending on thickness desired. (The longer is boils, the thicker the sauce). Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk and vanilla.

Sauce will be quite thin. Thickens to a nice, but pourable, consistency when cooled. If using right away, you may want to only put in half the evaporated milk to create a thicker sauce.

Hot Fudge Sauce

• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 ounces of chocolate (whatever type you prefer - I used milk chocolate)

Put all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat until sauce is smooth and creamy. Let cool slightly and spoon into jar.

Candy Bar Cheesecake

• 2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 ounces each), frozen and chopped

TOPPING:

• 1 Butterfinger candy bar, frozen and chopped
• 2 tablespoons butterscotch ice cream topping

In a small bowl, combine the wafer crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1-1/2 inches up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar til smooth. Beat in the cream and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in chopped candy bars. Pour into the crust. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate over night.

Remove sides of pan. Sprinkle chopped candy bar over cheesecake; drizzle with butterscotch topping. Refrigerate leftovers.