German Pancakes

This has been a classic in the Bradshaw home for many years. For Christmas mornings, we'd often each get a pie pan full of German Pancakes along with our favourite toppings. That didn't preclude the frequent consumption of said scrumptiousness throughout the year. As an added bonus, it's quick and easy.

Looking through our family photos, I found a few that prove my statement (and this wasn't all of them)...

With that, here you go.

German Pancakes
9 eggs
1.5 C flour
1.5 C milk
1 t salt
2 T butter

Notes: This recipe is for a 9x13" pan but will work as long as you keep the ratio of eggs to flour to milk. 6 eggs will work but be a bit thinner, and 3 eggs would require a 9x9" pan or pie pan.

1. Place butter in a 9x13" pan and put in oven until it melts while preheating to 400°F.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients together thoroughly (preferably with a hand mixer).
3. Pour the batter into the pan.
   
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pancake has puffed up and is golden brown on the corners.
   

Suggested Toppings: Lemon and powdered sugar
Berries (frozen or fresh)
Bananas
Jam
Whipped Cream

Banana Bread

We frequently purchase bananas when we do our grocery shopping, and sometimes those bananas get a little too ripe before we can eat them. When this happens (and rest assured, this is before the completely brown state that occasional roommates might choose to leave sitting on the table for weeks), I peel those bananas and place them in a Ziploc in our freezer.

As time goes on, and a second Ziploc is needed, it becomes necessary to actually do something with those bananas. This happened just last weekend at our house. We chose to use those bananas for banana bread. The recipe below was found here. We may have used slightly more banana than is listed below; it turned out very sweet and yummy.

Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed (if you freeze them like we do, thaw first)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour

1. Combine ingredients. We used an electric hand mixer, after trying to mash partially-frozen bananas with a wooden spoon (not very effective!!).
2. Pour into greased baking dish. We fit most of this into a glass loaf-pan, and then resorted to pouring the remnant batter into 7 greased cupcake wells in a 12-cupcake pan. If you are using the metal loaf pans, you could probably divide it into 2 mini-loafs.
3. Bake at 350°F for about an hour (shorten cooking time for your banana-muffins).

banana & butter ... oops, no photos of the rest of the ingredients! sorry.

The finished product! mmmm

oxox

American Chinese Food : Part II

Earlier this summer when we were under the weather, Thomas made a yummy egg-drop-style soup for dinner one night. Recently, he decided to re-create it with some tips from a recipe he found online. We took photos so we could share it with you!

Egg Drop Soup

about 3 cups of chicken broth (we used water with bouillon cubes)
2 eggs
ginger
rosemary
cornstarch
frozen vegetables (or fresh, of your choice)

1. Bring broth to a boil.
2. Scramble eggs. Add them to boiling broth, while stirring. The eggs will begin to coagulate, and the stirring will ensure they break apart. Turn down the temperature so your soup is simmering.
3. Add spices to your liking. Ginger will add a Chinese-food taste. Thomas has also added rosemary. We like rosemary a lot. I like the flavor it adds to this. You can also add a small bit of soy sauce, and perhaps some garlic powder.
4. Stir in a few teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken soup.
5. Add vegetables. We just added some frozen mixed vegetables - the kind with corn, carrots, green beans, and peas. Cook till these are no longer frozen/fresh vegetables are tender.
6. Serve and enjoy!

We ate ours with some chicken & veggie stir-fry on rice.

oxox

Dinner Contest Results!!

Congratulations to our dinner contest winners,

  

  Lisa and Casey!

(see their blog here)

Soon, we'll show you what the four of us enjoy for dinner!

Stay tuned for similar dinner-contest opportunities.

Dinner...It's What's for Dinner

Anyone hungry out there? Well, at some future date to be arranged by a future winner, we're opening up a random drawing for all who comment to this post in which YOU could win a free entree for you, your significant other, and certainly your offspring should you have them. Rules are as follows:

1. Only one entry (via comment) per person.
2. The random drawing will be done no later than August 15.
3. The winner must either a) host us or b) submit to be our guests in Provo.
4. The winner must provide a side or dessert.

May the commenting begin! :^D

P.S. We're also open to negotiating and/or inviting anyone else that wants. :^)

Carrot Cake

 

This was introduced to Thomas by a missionary roommate and adapted to U.S. specifications. It's been much enjoyed by many a person, but the most devout connoisseur would be my brother-in-law, Saki (blog).

Carrot Cake

Cake
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 C oil
4 eggs
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
3 C shredded carrots (about 3 large carrots)

1. Mix sugar, oil, and eggs together.
2. Add dry ingredients and then carrots.
3. Pour into a 9x13 pan.
4. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 350°F.

Frosting
1/2 C soft butter
8 oz. cream cheese
2 C powdered sugar
vanilla

1. Beat soft (but not melted) butter and cream cheese together.
2. Mix in vanilla and powdered sugar.
3. Spread on cooled cake.
4. Chill the tempting delicacy in the fridge.

David G., Lisa's friend's husband (the couple with which we had dinner a couple weeks ago) enjoying our carrot cake

Pumpkin Pudding!

Being another pumpkin recipe (see our pumpkin pancakes), this one is definitely worth trying.

Pumpkin Pudding
1 1/2 C pumpkin
2 C evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C corn starch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

1. Mix all the ingredients together excluding the corn starch.
2. Heat on medium to a boil.
3. Add corn starch and get rid of any clumps.
4. Continue to stir until the pudding thickens.
5. Pour into bowls and chill [the pudding] in the refrigerator.
6. Eat (do I really need this step?)