Posts tagged comfort food
APPLE + CINNAMON + OVEN PANCAKE
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It’s funny how food is connected to memories. I remember sitting on my grandpa Comer’s lap, leaning against is big grandpa belly and eating a pralines and cream ice cream cone as a little girl.

I remember summer’s spent at my grandparent’s cabin and starting every morning with my grandma’s banana bread.

I remember family movie nights and my mom’s warm tapioca pudding.

Nostalgia is kind of how today’s recipe came about.

For a number of my growing up years my dad traveled quite a bit and the routine changed a little when he was gone.

Without the whole family home to eat dinner every night, my mom would often rent us girls a good chick flick and make a big oven pancake for dinner.

Somehow good food and cheesy chick flicks create lasting memories… deep I know.

Now, I know that most of our comfort foods we know and love are foods we limit our intake of because we know they aren’t good everyday menu items.

But what if we began creating and building memories around meals and foods that nourish our bodies and fuel our active children? What if those comfort foods could actually be good for us?

I’m not talking about eating raw carrots and celery and telling yourself they taste like candy. They don’t and never will.

Healthy, whole foods can be just as (I argue way more) delicious as the comfort foods we try to avoid!

Today’s recipe is a new take on one of my favorite meals and fun memory growing up.

ENJOY!

APPLE + CINNAMON + OVEN PANCAKE

serves 4-5

(vanilla not pictured)

INGREDIENTS:

1 C almond milk or organic whole milk

4 eggs

1 T maple syrup

¾ C oat flour or whole-wheat flour*

¾ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 T earth balance butter or coconut oil (or organic butter)

3 apples

1/8 C brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

*If you use oat flour, it won’t puff up as much as a traditional oven pancake. But I promise it still tastes great!

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 500F.

Melt the butter or coconut oil in a cast iron skillet or or 8x8 baking pan.

While the butter it melting in the oven, peal and slice the apples.

Add the sliced apples, cinnamon and sugar to the pan and stir until they are well coated.

Bake for 10 – 15 min or until the apples soften and begin to brown.

While the apples are baking, stir together the flour and salt. Set aside.

Wisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla and maple syrup.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well or blend.

Once the apples are done, pour the batter over the apples and then reduce the oven temperature to 425F.

Bake for about 10 min. You just want to check and make sure it has cooked through in the middle but remove it before the edges get too crispy. 10-12 minutes should do the trick.

TO SERVE:

Let it cool for a few minutes and then lightly dust with powdered sugar for some extra pizzazz.

You can eat it as is or drizzle with a little maple syrup.

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APPLE + CINNAMON + OVEN PANCAKE

serves 4-5

INGREDIENTS:

1 C almond milk or organic whole milk

4 eggs

1 T maple syrup

¾ C oat flour or whole-wheat flour*

¾ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 T earth balance butter or coconut oil (or organic butter)

3 apples

1/8 C brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

*If you use oat flour, it won’t puff up as much as a traditional oven pancake. But I promise it still tastes great!

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 500F.

Melt the butter or coconut oil in a cast iron skillet or 8x8 baking pan.

While the butter it melting in the oven, peal and slice the apples.

Add the sliced apples, cinnamon and sugar to the pan and stir until they are well coated.

Bake for 10 – 15 min or until the apples soften and begin to brown.

While the apples are baking, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Wisk together the eggs, vanilla and maple syrup.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well or blend.

Once the apples are done, pour the batter over the apples and then reduce the oven temperature to 425F.

Bake for about 10 min. You just want to check and make sure it has cooked through in the middle but remove it before the edges get too crispy. 10-12 minutes should do the trick.

TO SERVE:

Let it cool for a few minutes and then lightly dust with powdered sugar for some extra pizzazz.

You can eat it as is or drizzle with a little maple syrup.

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PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA
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Crisp orange leaves that crunch beneath your feet. Bins overflowing with pumpkins and squash outside every grocery store.

Apple cider, apple pie, homemade applesauce.

That’s right, FALL IS HERE! 

(you know you are a true Oregonian when the first rainy day of the season feels like Christmas morning... sometimes I forget that I'm actually a Californian)

I’m am so excited to be back cooking with you and ready to share some new fall recipes that have been making it to our table these past few weeks.

A few things to note before we get cooking… and eating…

  1. If you are curious what this page is all about, click at the top of the page where it says “learn more about The Kitchen”.
  2. In these weekly posts you can count on finding plant based meals that are pretty easy to make and use all real and fresh ingredients. I am passionate about sharing recipes that satisfy your taste buds AND benefit the body God has given you.
  3. You should be warned butternut squash is now in season and I’m slightly obsessed. I will try not to bombard you with too much of it but I make no promises.
  4. All of the warm comfort foods and baked goodness we love to enjoy on cold rainy days can be made with real ingredients and actually be good for you! I will do my best to recreate some of those “comfort” foods and be sure to pack them with fresh and healthy ingredients.
  5. I would love to hear from you! Please leave comments and feel free to ask questions. It fuels me to keep creating when I am in conversation with you!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA

INGREDIENTS:

4 C  oats (slow cooking)

1 C chopped pecans

1 T pumpkin pie spice

¼ t salt

 

½ C canned pumpkin

¼ C real maple syrup

¼ C honey

¼ C coconut oil

 

1 C raisins or dried cranberries

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a large bowl combine oats, pecans, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl and stir well.

In a smaller bowl combine pumpkin, maple syrup, honey and coconut oil and whisk all together. It’s ok if there are small clumps of coconut oil after you have mixed it all up.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir well. Make sure that you evenly coat the oat mixture.

Divide into two baking sheets and spread it out so that you have a thin layer on each sheet.

Bake for about 45 minutes total, stirring half way through. You want the granola to get brown and crispy.

Allow it to cool completely, then mix in the raisins.

TO SERVE:

We love it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It is also delicious with fresh fruit on top.

ENJOY!

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 C  oats (slow cooking)
  • 1 C chopped pecans
  • 1 T pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ t salt
  • ½ C canned pumpkin
  • ¼ C real maple syrup
  • ¼ C honey
  • ¼ C coconut oil
  • 1 C raisins or dried cranberries

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a large bowl combine oats, pecans, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl and stir well.

In a smaller bowl combine pumpkin, maple syrup, honey and coconut oil and whisk all together. It’s ok if there are small clumps of coconut oil after you have mixed it all up.

Bake for about 45 minutes total, stirring half way through. You want the granola to get brown and crispy.

Allow it to cool completely, then mix in the raisins.

TO SERVE:

We love it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It is also delicious with fresh fruit on top.

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