Monday Meals: PawPaw's Pancakes

Pancakes are probably not what you expect to find on a blog that usually promotes clean eating, but they're a staple at our house, and I have a few tips to make them healthier.

First, here's the recipe...but keep reading for some additional tips.

What you'll need
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour (I love King Arthur organic flour)
1 Tablespoon sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 egg (the fresher, the better!)
1 1/4 Cups whole milk

*As always, use local, natural, organic, fair trade products whenever possible.

What you'll do
1. Preheat griddle/skillet to 350 degrees (medium-high heat on stove).
2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt).
3. Stir in butter, egg, and milk.  Use more or less milk depending on how thick you like your pancakes.  If you like them super thick, turn the temperature down a tad on your griddle/stove to give them more time to cook throughout.
4. Pour batter onto griddle/skillet.
5. Flip pancakes when bubbles begin popping and edges are solidified.

Tips and Tricks
1. So why ditch the Bisquick?  Because... 1) it's full of trans-fat, 2) these pancakes are SO much tastier, and 3) they only take an extra two minutes to make.

2. Add blueberries to the batter make them even tastier and healthier.  Blueberries are a super fruit, recommended for their high antioxidant content (so long free radicals!)

Fresh organic blueberries add flavor to these old-fashioned pancakes.

3. Top pancakes (and waffles) with pure maple syrup.  We LOVE Maple Gold brand.  If you can buy local syrup, please do.  When it comes to syrup, we opt for non-organic, but if you have an abundance of cash, go for it.  Here's a great article on organic versus non-organic syrup: Organic Maple Syrup

Our topping of choice is Maple Gold Pure Maple Syrup.

4. Decorate pancakes with fruit.  This is the best way I have found to get my boys to eat fruit with their breakfast.  Whatever they use to decorate, they have to eat.  (Sometimes I am still amazed that this trick works!)

Silly face pancakes with strawberries and blueberries.

5. Freeze the leftovers!  I always make extra pancakes and stick them in freezer-safe zipper bags. The boys will eat pancakes two or three more times for breakfast during the week.  On super-busy mornings, they can even grab and microwave them all by themselves!  This is a major time-saver during the week and healthier than store-bought frozen pancakes.

6. Use a stainless steel or aluminum electric griddle.  You can make a lot of pancakes in a short amount of time.  Avoid Teflon because it's just not safe.

Enjoy!

Monday Meals: Parmesean Oregano Tilapia

This is one heavenly meal...not only does it taste delicious, but it is also a cinch to whip up.  I really hope you'll give it a try.

Here's what you'll need...
5 Tilapia fillets (fresh or frozen*)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesean cheese
1/2 cup Panko (or other breadcrumbs)
2 teaspoons dried Oregano
1/2 Tablespoon of butter (or non-stick spray)

*Thaw frozen Tilapia by placing it in the refrigerator during the day or by running it under room-temperature water.

Here's what you'll do...
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Rub butter onto (or spray) bottom of 9x13 glass baking dish.
3. In another shallow dish, mix together cheese, Panko, and Oregano.

4. Lightly coat the non-flat side of each fillet by pressing it into mixture.
5. Place each fillet into the dish, slightly overlapping edges if necessary.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.  (Broil for 2 additional minutes if you want a lightly browned crust.)

7. Tilapia is ready when it flakes apart.  Note: the crust will not be very brown at all.

One of our favorite side dishes for any fish entree is a sweet potato.  If you're going to be away all day, you can wrap them in foil and cook them in the crockpot on warm.  If you have some time, go ahead and bake them on 425 for about 2 hours.  (The organic sweet potatoes at Publix have been tiny lately, so they cook in an hour...I actually like the tiny ones better!)  We eat sweet potatoes plain...they're so tasty, they really don't need butter or cinnamon-sugar.

Choose a green veggie for your second side.  Right now, the garden is overflowing with green beans, so that's what we had.  We often have broccoli or asparagus with fish as well.

If you give this Monday Meal a try, let me know how you like it.  Enjoy!

How to Can Green Beans

If you have never canned before, this is a great first-time canning project.  It's quick, easy, and delicious.  I have to say a special "thank you" to my friend Janice for the hands-on lesson.  Canning is always more fun when you are doing it with a friend.  Canning rookies should read this post before continuing on.

Here's what you'll need:
Green beans
Pickling/canning salt
Pressure canner
Jars (pint or quart)
Lids and bands

If you are picking beans from the garden, pick them when the pods are just getting bumpy.  They should be firm and not hollow-feeling between the beans.

Instructions
Wash the beans and remove the ends.  Green beans may be canned whole or in pieces.  If you want pieces, snap or cut beans into 1 1/2" long pieces (about 2-3 pieces per pod).  Discard any tough, hollow, or bug-bitten pieces.

Snap beans by bending downward so that the "seam" faces up.

Prepare jars, lids, and bands according to your preferred method.  Jars must be hot.

Using a canning funnel, fill jars with beans, leaving a 1" headspace.  Add canning salt on top of beans (1/2 tsp per pint; 1 tsp per quart).

Pour hot water into jars, covering beans.  The water should just be hot water from the tap.  Remove the air bubbles that may have formed.

Wipe the rims of the jars clean and place the lids onto the jars.  Twist on the bands to "fingertip tightness."  Do not over-tighten or the lids may not seal.

Follow the instructions for your pressure canner.  I use 1 quart of water (about 1" deep) for seven quart jars.  For green beans, can at 10 pounds of pressure, 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.  Make sure all of the pressure has been released from the canner before removing jars (the inert vent will be down).

Set jars on a dry towel with some space between the jars, and cover them with another towel to keep the temperature from dropping too quickly.

After the jars have cooled, make sure they all sealed.  If a lid doesn't seal, put that jar in the refrigerator and eat within a couple of days.  Otherwise, you can enjoy your beans right away, or store them for winter.  Let me know if you give it a try by commenting below.  Good luck!