Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Pancakes

Pancakes are a delightful weekend breakfast treat! There are many recipes for very nice pancakes available, so why bother writing another? Because most of them require butter, milk, or other dairy products. Also, many of the commercial mixes contain both dairy and soy products, making them unsuitable for people with certain food allergies or intolerances. A few years ago, I came across a recipe for pancakes that were free of these allergens and I've been playing with it, tweaking the recipe to improve the flavor and texture. I think I've got it down now, so I'm ready to share it with you!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, such as rice milk, coconut milk, or almond milk (the latter being my favorite)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons applesauce (unsweetened - no sugar added)
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil (not "vegetable" or soybean oil, if you are trying to keep it soy-free)

Directions

After collecting all your ingredients, but before you mix or measure anything, preheat your griddle to 350 degrees (or medium-high if you don't have a thermostat). Also, turn your oven on to it's lowest setting and put a baking sheet lined with a tea towel in it.

Whisk together the flour, powder, soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl to remove any clumps and evenly distribute the ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the milk, sugar, egg, and applesauce until the egg and applesauce are thoroughly mixed into the milk. Finally, pour the liquid mixture onto the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no more dry clumps, although you should not mix until totally smooth or the pancakes will be too tough - it will only take 10-15 seconds of whisking to bring it all together.

Brush a light coating of oil onto the hot griddle. Using a disher (ice cream scoop) or ladle, gently pour batter onto the griddle. Flip when the bubbles begin to set around the edges and the cooked side is golden brown. Cook another 2-3 minutes until the other side is set. Place each batch on the baking sheet and cover with another towel until ready to serve (they will keep 20-30 min). This recipe makes about 15 pancakes, but you can double it to serve a crowd.

Baked Green Eggs and Ham

One of my favorite breakfast dishes is Baked Eggs Benedict from the Pampered Chef. It sure is tasty with a delicious and simplified lemon butter sauce instead of the traditional Hollandaise.

Our typical St. Patrick's Day breakfast is green scramble eggs and ham with a side of toast. It's super quick and easy (I do it in the microwave). It was something my boys were guaranteed to eat when they were little.

Now as their enjoyment of food expands and their taste buds/palate becomes more refined, I sound snooty, I wanted to do something different to reflect that change. The wonderful thing is all I had to do is add a bit of food coloring to a dish they already loved.

Ingredients

• 4 whole English muffins
• 8 oz Canadian bacon, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 oz cream cheese, soft
• 1 ¾ c. half & half
• 10 eggs
• ½-¾ tsp cayenne pepper
• 10 drops green food coloring
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
• Lemon – Butter Sauce
• 2 lemons
• 1 stick butter, sliced by 8

Preheat oven to 400. Cut muffin halves into ¾ inch pieces. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy (like croutons). Place muffin pieces in a casserole (9x13 or 10x10). Sprinkle diced bacon over muffin pieces.

In a 4 qt. mixing bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth. While continuously whisking, gradually add half & half, whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs, cayenne pepper, and green food coloring. Carefully pour egg mixture into casserole. Bake 28-32 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. The residual heat will firm up the nearly set middle. Sprinkle parsley on top

For lemon-butter sauce:

Grate 2 teaspoons of zest off a lemon. Juice lemon for ¼ cup juice. In a saucepan, combine lemon zest and juice; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until juice reduces by half.
Reduce heat to low. Whisk in butter slices, one at a time, whisking after each addition, until butter is melted and sauce is smooth.

Cut baked eggs and ham into wedges and serve. Drizzle each serving with butter sauce
Use remaining lemon to make lemon slices to decorate.

Breakfast for your Muffin

I love themes. I thought it would be fun to do some holiday recipes. We'll start off with Valentine's Day. Treat your Sweetie to one of these delicious muffins. Sorry, it's late.

White Chocolate Chunk Muffins - For your honey with a sweet tooth.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) plus 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 12 jumbo (3 1/2) inch muffin pan cups.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla until blended.

Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in white chocolate. Spoon into prepared muffins cups, filling 1/2 full.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely.

Jake's tip: Cut it open and smear it with cream cheese. Yum!

Makes 12 large muffins

Ham & Cheese Corn Muffins - For those who prefer a more savory muffin

1 package (about 8 ounces)corn muffin mix

3/4 cup chopped deli ham

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup reduced fat milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon mustard regular or Dijon

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin pan

In a medium bowl, combine muffin mix, ham and cheese. In a 1-cup glass measure, beat milk, egg, and mustard. Stir milk mixture into dry ingredients; mix until just moistened.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 or until light golden brown. Remove muffin pan to cooling rack. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Jake's tip: Cook up an egg, cut the muffin in half and enjoy your muffin sandwich.

Optional: In a double batch, we've also added canned diced green chiles

Makes 9 muffins