Apple & Potato Pancakes

I got the idea today to make apple-potato pancakes for dinner. So, first the research: standard recipe from Taste of Home and vegan recipe from VegWeb. Mr. Breakfast has a baked version.
The standard version:

Ingredients

• 2 large potatoes, peeled
• 2 medium apples, peeled
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Oil for deep-fat frying
• Sour cream, optional

Directions

• Finely shred potatoes and apples; pat dry. Place in a bowl; add the eggs, onion, flour and salt and mix well.
• In a skillet, heat 1/4 to 1/2 in. oil over medium-high heat. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into hot oil. Flatten to form 3-in. pancakes. Fry until golden brown; turn and cook the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with sour cream if desired. Yield: 10-12 pancakes.

 The vegan one:
Apple Cinnamon Potato Pancakes

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

    5 tablespoon flour
    1 cup shredded potatoes
    chopped apple
    cinnamon to taste
    sugar to taste
    salt to taste
    water - enough to make pancake batter
    oil to fry in

Directions:

Mix potatoes, apple, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and flour in a bowl. Add enough water to make pancake batter. Taste test to make sure its sweet enough.

Heat oil in a frying pan and spoon in the batter. Cook until bottom is golden brown with a few darker spots, then flip until the other side is the same.

I experimented with what to serve this with, but powdered sugar didn't exactly please my taste buds. They were okay alone, but they need something... vegan margarine topped it for me.

I took the recipe for potato pancakes from the vegetable section and tweaked it... I am a new vegan and was desperate for breakfast. Thats why I don't have specifics on the cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Sorry about that.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes

And from Mr. Breakfast:

Apple-Potato Pancakes

(4 servings)    

• 1 and 1/4 cups unpeeled apples - finely chopped
• 1 cup peeled potatoes - grated
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparations: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Drop rounded Tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart into the skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

Place pancakes on prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Serve with additional apple sauce or apple slices.


Healthy and tasty. You'll love these groovy suckers.


Mr Breakfast would like to thank Mr Breakfast for this recipe.

Angel's Apple-Pear-Potato cakes
Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes, grated
• 2 jersey mac apples, grated
• 1 sugar pear, grated
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon local honey 
• 1 teaspoon four color pepper
• about 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• canola oil and Le Creuset skillet for frying

I patted the potato dry, but left the fruit wet. Mixed it all up and fried.

Quick and hearty

Breakfast today was fruit juice and biscuits with peanut butter and blackberry jam.

For lunch, our daughter has chicken and dumpling soup in her thermos (canned variety), grapes, the big carrot from our garden, and goldfish crackers. With a juice box.

Biscuits and corn

Made skillet biscuits and vegetarian sausage sandwiches for dinner, a request from the family.  I haven't made biscuits in a while... and the child especially asked for them. I like them made in the Le Creuset skillet.

For a side, I made a mix of white and yellow corn. Then, I sliced some green pepper from the garden very tiny. I melted in a small skillet two tablespoons of butter, added a pinch of four color peppercorn and a pinch of garlic salt. Heated that on low and added the pepper. Used that as sauce for the corn.

Pasta two times

Last night, we had some pasta, with plain tomato sauce, herbs from the garden (oregano, lots of basil), fresh tomato, crumbled Morningstar vegetarian breakfast patties and romano from Calandra's Italian cheeses.

Today for lunch, I was feeling like a needed a hearty meal, so I fried some honey ham, tore it, and dropped the leftover noodles in the frying pan with the ham. As it heated, I added shredded gruyere. Perfect for this rainy day.

Egg sandwiches

Yesterday morning I went for blood work. I came home and had breakfast with a neighbor: half-caff coffee, cheerios with skim milk, cranberry juice and grapes.

Because I had started the day with a fast, I was starved by noon, so I made my husband and I egg sandwiches with ham, gouda, and egg on a bagel. With Girl Scout Cookies from the freezer for dessert.

Packed Nachos

My daughter wanted nachos for lunch. Since I'm always up for a challenge, I heated some of the black beans I made in the crockpot and melted some monterey jack cheese over them. (The cheese is the only part of this lunch that isn't vegan.) I put the beans/cheese in her thermal bowl.

Separately, I gave her tortilla chips, black olives and mango salsa.

I also gave her a dish to prepare them on.

Drink is a juice box as with all those containers there is no room for a thermos.

Later:
Nachos were such a big success they were requested again today.
Apparently, she made her own little nachos in the dish I gave her and then decided to pile the olives and salsa directly onto her remaining beans and ate it without the chips. Then she had the chips by herself.

Naughtiness

I didn't eat nearly enough the other day. I ate, but in the busyness of the day I merely did not eat enough. So, at 8ish, I made a can of Spaghetto-Os (which ironically, my daughter hates) and I ate them as my mom would serve them: directly out of the pot.

Washed it down with a glass of rooster wine. I originally purchased the wine for my stew. It was cheap and I loved the look of the rooster.

Breakfast for school lunch

Today my daughter has a strawberry pancake in her thermal bowl with real maple syrup and a morningstar vegetarian breakfast patty. Beverage is some unsweetened Silk soymilk. A side of grapes. Simple lunch that should thrill the little one.

Monday I'm packing nachos. Seriously.

Asian inspired salad

Tonight my husband started and I finished these Asian-inspired salads. Bagged salad with carrot, cabbage and lettuces. Cashews. Sunflower seeds. Dried pineapple. Wegmans Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette. Green pepper from the garden. These would have been vegan, but my husband added cheddar and extra sharp provolone.

Yellow local watermelon

My in-laws bought a yellow watermelon from a local farmer yesterday. My daughter says it tastes just like regular watermelon, although I felt like the fruit itself had less flavor but the juice was richer.

Lunch today, for the little one, will be beef stew in the thermal bowl (she seemed to have a hard time getting the chunks out of the bottom of the thermos so the bowl may be better), more mandarin oranges, and a tastykake from her grandmother. A peanut butter kandycake. So that will be a huge, out-of-the-ordinary treat.

A week?

Where did the last week go?

Well, over the weekend I made a HUGE crock pot of beef stew with loads of leftover fresh veggies on the verge of turning.

Lunch on Monday for school lunch was half a tuna sandwich, boxed mac and cheese with broccoli, an orange-tangerine juice box and an apple that Dad packed.

School Lunch at Tuesday was a thermos of beef stew, a fruit punch juice box, mandarin orange slices, and some candy.

Today was half a cheesesteak leftover from dinner last night (which was take out cheese steaks, salad and leftover baked potatoes), an apple, a tangerine-orange juice box, and her last bag of fruit snacks.

We're having leftover beef stew ourselves for lunch and my husband's mom is bringing dinner in one dish and banana bread for dinner.

Broccoli slaw

I bought broccoli slaw at wegmans to use as filling for egg rolls and forgot the egg roll wrappers. I decided to prepare a cold broccoli slaw salad using this dressing from Cooks.com:

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. Miracle Whip
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. vinegar

But we all know I won't stick to the recipe so let's see what I throw in my pot.

- left the sugar at 1/2 cup because my family doesn't like vinegar, so the sugar will balance that.
- not quite 1/2 cup Miracle whip (the Aldi kind)
- oil: split 50/50 between olive and canola, with a tablespoon of walnut
- vinegar: 50/50 apple cider vinegar and champagne vinegars

Now, the recipe says to heat until combined and add nuts, golden raisins, carrots etc. as desired.

I have 12 ounces of broccoli slaw, which is strips of broccoli [stem], carrots and red cabbage. I'm going to use some really good peanuts I have and chopped some of my dried pineapple. I don't know if I'll add anything else. Probably sunflower seeds.

Chill 1 hour before serving.

Okay, so I ended up adding three grated organic carrots and I probably could have added more. I added about 1.5 cups unsalted kettle cooked peanuts, about 1 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted), about 1/4 cup raisins, 2 dried pineapple rings chopped into tiny squares.

This could easily be vegan if you use a soy mayonnaise instead of Miracle whip style product.

I ate THREE servings. Got my veggies for the day.

Special Request school lunch

My daughter told me in the car last night that her "mouth was watering for boxed macaroni and cheese." So, I packed some Wegmans spirals and cheese dinner in her thermal bowl. With what else? An organic carrot, some of the Terra chips she didn't try yesterday, half a tuna sandwich on whole grain white, a 100% juice juice box, and some chex mix for dessert (or in case she doesn't like the chips).

Cheesy Stuffed Peppers

I made a cheesy version of stuffed peppers which is in my Pfaltzgraf (sp) casserole dish in the oven now.

I started with seven peppers picked from the garden after a hail storm Monday. I cleaned them, cut the tops off, took the seeds out and boiled them for five minutes.

Then, I steamed (as in my steamer) some Israeli couscous with some garlic salt. Israeli couscous is huge compared to its "standard" cousin.

Next I made a sauce:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon four color organic pepper

Heat. Add:
- 1 can plain tomato sauce
- 5 torn basil leaves from the garden
- About 1/2 cup torn homemade bread, stale

Add:
- The couscous (I made one cup dry = hell of a lot prepared)
- About 1 cup shredded cheddar
- About 1/4 cup grated romano
- About 1/8 cup grated parmesan
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tomatoes from garden, diced

Stir. Stuff peppers and arrange in casserole dish. Plop extra filling around the peppers. Pour a second can of tomato sauce all around. Cover with lid. (My casserole dish is ceramic)

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

An almost standard lunch.

Today almost got away from me, with lateness kicking us in the face. Husband and daughter made it to school on time, but barely.

Daughter enjoyed her lunch yesterday and I was worried it was a "fail."

Wednesday's special:
- Fruit cup of cantaloupe, watermelon and red grapes
- pepperoni, monterey jack and extra sharp provolone on whole grain white
- 100% juice box
- sliced peppers (from my garden) and organic ranch for dip
- Terra chips (the bag with the potatoes of various colors and sweet potatoes)

School lunch fail?

Sigh.
This week has been nuts in our household already.

I'm not real proud of today's lunch. By special request, apple butter and cottage cheese in the thermal cup. A big bowl of watermelon. A slice of homemade cinnamon raisin bread. And a special kid size water bottle with refreezable ice cube with apple juice.

Too much fruit, not enough protein perhaps.

But she'll love it.

Tomorrow we'll pack salad and carrots and something "junky" for dessert. We'll see her opinion after school.

Pasta and sushi

My daughter loved her sushi lunch... so much that she wants sushi again tomorrow but I told sushi needs to be fresh and we need to eat it today since it's fish. So we had an appetizer of sushi with dinner.

Dinner was a simple pasta with red sauce and basil and tomato from the garden.

And dessert will be leftover pear-molasses cake and coffee.

Wegmans!

Because of my anemia this summer, I have not done a major shopping order since... I don't even know when. I've done the medium kinds of orders that were meant to be small orders but ended up bigger than anticipated... but...

My family volunteers with the Mary Meuser Memorial Library. This weekend was the library's annual book fair, so we spent a total of something like $30 on food and we bought some cookies, soda, hot dogs and tomato pie for lunch, plus a molasses pineapple upside down cake for my husband's birthday. AND a GIGANTIC bowl of fruit salad that the Friends of the Library made at my suggestion and no one but me bought, so I bought it all.

Then we got home last night and since it was my husband's birthday, my husband bought Papa John's pizza for the family. Two extra large pizzas and a calzone, some of which we plan on freezing.

Now, before I get into this grocery order, after all the cake and junk we ate this weekend we had big salads with garden tomatoes, monterey jack cheese, HUGE amounts of broccoli and pepperoni for dinner.

And for my daughter's school lunch, my school lunch and my husband's work lunch we have eel sushi from wegmans and fruit salad. Plus, for my daughter, a thermos with soy milk and a bag of Boo Berry so she can make a bowl of cereal to go with her fruit and sushi.

To the groceries:

- Wegmans White Made with Whole Grains sliced bread, $1.69 - Wegmans coupon so it was free
- soy milk, $2.69
- individual 6 ounce container of Wegmans organic super yogurt, 75 cents - Wegmans coupon so it was free
- large curd cottage cheese, $1.99
- 2 boxes of wegmans feta and spinach peorogies, 2 boxes at $1.69 each
- bag of frozen peas, 99 cents
- bag of frozen french cut green beans, 99 cents
- bag of florentine ravioli, $2.99
- two boxes of frozen spinach, 89 cents each
- whole wheat flour, five pounds, $2.39
- unbleached white flour, five pounds, $1.69
- box of raisins, $1.99
- four cans of chunky soup, 4/$5 minus manufacturers coupon
- blueberry cobbler whole bean coffee by Fasig's, $4.99
- various cambell's soups, purchased because I had a coupon and my daughter is on a soup kick. I bought them for when I don't have homemade ready or in the freezer and she says she wants soup. I think I bought nine cans and have three coupons. One coupon was for kid soup, why were all the kid's soups chicken? Kids don't like tomato or beef or vegetable? Weird.
- 2 jars of organic mango salsa, $2.99 each minus $1 wegman's coupon
- several cans of cat food, many salmon flavored, which came up on the receipt as "Weg Salmon" and I'm thinking, "I didn't buy any salmon..." and "Why was the salmon $1.28?"
- NUTELLA! 16 ounce jar, $3.98 minus $1 manufacturer's coupon. I smell crêpes and nutella and bananas in my future. Except I forgot eggs...
- 2 cans of garbanzo beans, 65 cents each, for hummus!
- 3 cans of spaghettos and meatballs at $1.09 each, minus a manufacturers coupon, except, funny thing is, the kid hates them. They are for her dad and I.
- large can of crushed pineapple, 99 cents
- OKAY - IMPULSE BUY - one box each of Frankenberry, Booberry and Count Chocula, because once a year I can't resist, $1.89 each
- clover honey, $2.69
- chex mix, four bags at $1.99 each minus two manufacturers coupons
- Juicy Juice 100% juice orange tangerine juice boxes, because sometimes her thermos doesn't fit in her lunch box, $2.49
- 3 cans of dark red kidney beans no sodium added, 59 cents each
- one large can pineapple chunks, 99 cents
- Pepperidge Farm goldfish, $1.50
- Ziti, 3 boxes at 69 cents each
- one can peach slices in light raspberry syrup, 99 cents
- nugget-shaped pasta, 89 cents
- light red kidney beans, 59 cents
- Pear halves in pear juice, large cans, 3 @ $1.59 each
- six boxes Wegmans spirals and cheese dinner, at 3/$1
- Quaker yellow corn meal, $1.39
- Libby sliced mango, $1.29/can
- 2 cans wegmans tomato sauce, 55 cents each
- rigatoni and rotini, 89 cents each
- V8 cream of broccoli soup, $2.49 minus manufacturers coupon
- fruit cocktail, small can in juice, 99 cents
- 2/ 32-ounce containers of Wegmans vegetable broth, plus one of the thai culinary broth, at $2.99 each
- 2 cans of large pitted black olives, $1.29
- Libby's mandarin oranges, one can, 79 cents
- sliced peaches packed in juice, 99 cents
- 2 small cans of wegmans chicken broth, low sodium, 69 cents each
- 2 small cans of wegmans beef broth, 64 cents each
- Dawn dish detergent, $1.79 minus coupon
- Terra vegetable chips, $3.99
- 2 bags of Goya dry black beans, $1.29 each, to which my six-year-old said, "YUM!"
- 20 ounces of ketchup, 99 cents
- 2 liter of wegman's mountain, 79 cents (for him)
- 6-pack of 20-ounce bottles of Wegmans Zero, $1.50 (for her)
- 2 boxes of Quaker Goya Farina, $2.29 each
- 12 pack of liter bottles of plain seltzer, $5.99
- stew beef, $5.03 minus $1 wegmans coupon
- Extra sharp provolone, $5.03 minus $1 wegmans coupon
- 8 eel rolls from the sushi bar, $5.49 minus $1 wegmans coupon
- 2 bags of wegmans bagged salad blends, 2/$5
- broccoli crowns, $2.12
- red seedless grapes, $4.12
- broccoli slaw, $2
- apples, $2.37
- organic carrots, 1 pound, 99 cents
- 10 bounds of potatoes, $6.89
- Israeli couscous, $1.61

A trip to Forks Mediterranean Deli

So, at lunch time I went to CVS to get Zyrtec for my daughter and some household items. I had a coupon for free Zyrtec but they didn't have any, so I had to buy the big bottle of generic at $14.

But I also stopped at Forks Mediterranean Deli, where I got a 16 ounce bottle of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil for $5.99. Last bottle was 25 ounces and I believe it was $7.99. But they didn't have that size. I also got Zaatar bread, two packages with two flatbreads each, for $3.25. They even had Zaatar spices, but I'm not ready to venture into making my own Zaatar bread.

I also bought unsalted cashews, dried strawberries and dried pineapple rings. My total was $$22.69.

School Lunch recycled leftovers

Today I sliced the pork from last night into narrow blocks and used the gravy like a condiment and made a sandwich from it for dear daughter's lunch. In the insulated bowl, I put hot sweet potato crunch. Snack of dried fruit: raisins, dried strawberries, sunflower seeds and the chocolate cover dried plums. And a juice box since there's no room for the thermos.

Editor's note: Daughter didn't like her sandwich. She called the meat "hard," which I interpret as dry, and suggested next time I add cheese.

Snacks and plans

So, I pick up my daughter from school and she tells me she didn't eat her lunch because someone threw up in the dining hall and she wasn't hungry.

I open her lunch box. Salad: gone. Animal crackers: gone. Banana: gone. Juice box: consumed. All that remained was the emergency "she's still hungry" mixed nuts.

For snack after school she had raisins, sunflower seeds and we finally opened the chocolate covered dried plums (aka prunes). She loved it.

Dinner for tonight is pork with apples and a side of sweet potato crunch (some of the topping is sunflower seeds, not just pecans). I'm considering a dessert of chômeur pudding.

More chicken salad lunch

Yesterday's chicken was a hit with everyone. I gave my daughter the option of having chicken salad or something else for lunch today and she picked chicken. I told her she could have chicken salad wrap like yesterday, chicken salad with crackers or chicken salad with greens.

She chose greens. I put some greens in the bottom of the dish with a touch of ranch dressing, and topped it with chicken salad. Other items include a banana and animal crackers and some mixed nuts. With a juice box, because there was no room left for the thermos.

I am floored by this choice. I expected crackers to be the winner. A wrap is hard for a kid to handle and keep the food inside. A salad is so grown up and boring. Crackers combine the idea of making tiny sandwiches with the concept of dipping, which is very kid-friendly. But she chose salad. How about that?

Chicken salad experiment

I made chicken salad for our lunches tomorrow. I was originally thinking wraps with greens and chicken salad, but I could also do homemade cinnamon raisin bread from the freezer. Either with tomatoes. We got tons of tomatoes.

I started with about 2 cups of chicken, white and dark meat.
I added:
- 1.5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- about 1 teaspoon It's a Dilly
- about 1/4 cup shredded carrots
- about 1/4 cup petite diced green pepper from the garden
- less than 1/4 cup diced cucumber
- less than 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
- less than 1/4 cup raspberries and blueberries (frozen)
- about six dried strawberries chopped

Tomorrow will tell what it tastes like.

'Standard' school lunch

Yesterday, my husband went to the store to get the contents of a surprise lunch-- school lunch for me and picnic for him and the daughter.

For $13, he got buy one get one free bagged salads, cream of wheat, smoked turkey breast from the deli counter and honestly I don't know if he purchased anything else. Oh! Gala apples and bananas.

But I do know he made smoked gouda and turkey wraps with greens and garden fresh tomatoes that make my mouth water even now.

For dinner, he made strawberry pancakes to use up the last of the strawberries we bought at the warehouse club last week. With a side of morningstar breakfast patties and real maple syrup.

For the little one's lunch today, I decided to go basic. Or my take on basic. Thermos with vanilla soy milk. Sides include a small bag of cool ranch doritoes, a Gala apple, a bag of 'fruit snacks' (a birthday gift), and one Hershey kiss. The sandwich is a small one, about the equivalent of half a standard sandwich. It's my homemade English muffin bread with mayo, turkey, vermont cheddar, spinach (carefully picked out of the bagged salad of mixed greens) and a thin slice of garden fresh tomato.

Another Mac and Cheese

Okay, so I had a craving for mac and cheese. Guess that means Thursday's event was a success.

I used up all my noodles on this.

I started with a saucepan:
- two tablespoons butter
- about 2 cups garden fresh tomatoes, diced
- 3/4 teaspoon four color organic pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
cook until bubbly.
I added:
- one crumbled Morningstar breakfast patty
cooked a while.
Added:
- 1 cup heavy cream
Simmered. after five minutes simmering I added
- I cup milk.
Meanwhile, I layered broccoli in the bottom of the casserole dish, and topped with the noodles.
Brought the milk base to a boil as the oven preheated to 325.
Removed milk from heat and added:
- About 2 ounces mozzarella
- About 3 ounces extra sharp provolone
- About 2 ounces vermont cheddar
- About 2 ounces smoked gouda
Once melted and combined I mixed the pasta and broccoli with the sauce and stuck about 1 ounce worth of mozzarella chunks between noodles. It's in the oven now for a half hour.

Exotic Mac and Cheese

Why do I always have dinner parties on the hottest days of the year?

I have guests coming tonight for the mac and cheese party, but due to some confusion and some scheduling upheaval, I appear to be the only one cooking. I made about 4 quarts of mac and cheese. 2 varieties. One rather plain and French/ croque monsieur inspired. The other artery-clogging and Italian-inspired.

Neither are cheap.

The French-inspired Mac and Cheese

mixed in saucepan, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes:
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon four color organic fresh ground pepper
Once bubbly, add
- 2 tablespoons flour, still and heat until bubbly
Warm separately
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
Add to the butter base and heat to boiling.
Remove from heat and add
- 1/3 pound shredded gruyere
- 1/4 pound smoked gouda, grated or chopped
Stir and add to noodles. Bake in oven as you would with normal mac and cheese.

The Italian-inspired mac and cheese

- Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- one teaspoon garlic powder
- about 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
- about 8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
cook until fragrant and sizzling and add
- two tablespoons flour
cook a few moments and add
- about 1 cup diced proscuitto (spelling?)
- about six pepperonis, diced
when the meat seems glossy and done, add
- 2 cups milk
slowly bring to a boil
remove from heat and add
- about 6 ounces extra sharp provolone, chopped
- about 2 ounces mozzerrella
Combine with noodles
Top with chunks of mozzerella
Add pepperonis.
Bake.

How to make basic mac and cheese, according to Betty Crocker:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2009/06/spinach-herb-apple-meatloaf-and-simple.html

Soup Lunch

Yesterday's lunch was a hit. I know because my daughter told me and a friend who volunteered in the lunchroom confirmed it. The other kids thought she was a little strange for bringing a drumstick, but she was thrilled.

Today's lunch requires some fine maneuvering to get it into the lunch box. One thermos filled with chicken rice soup (ah, my freezer reserves are getting depleted). Several Ritz crackers. One fruit punch 100% juice juice box. And the best part-- at least to my daughter-- is the watermelon for dessert. Even sent a reusable ice cube to keep it cold.