Carrot Cake Pancakes

Lazy bones.

That's what I feel like.

I'm in a rut.  It's too cold and wet to go outside.  It's too depressing to be inside.

How can a girl lighten her mood?

With pancakes, of course!

Because I love a sweet, flavorful pancake, I decided to do some carrot cake-style pancakes.  It's like breakfast and dessert at the same time, which is perfect for me because I've been too lazy to make breakfast today.  So, it really is going to be breakfast right around dessert time!

They are slightly healthy with the addition of carrots and nuts, but let's be realistic, it's really not health food.  That's probably why it's best served later in the day, when you've gotten all of your errands done for the day and you can settle into something warm and delicious and satisfying.

I've already eaten two, and I've got two more waiting on the table for me.  I've convinced myself to get at least one or two chores done around my house before I indulge.  Again.  As silly as it may sound, I need food motivation to get me through the day today.  I'm dreaming about diving headfirst into these sweet, nutty pancakes.  It will be the perfect end to my lazy rainy Wednesday!














Carrot Cake Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped raisins
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Honey Walnut Cream Cheese:

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

2 tbsp. honey

Maple Syrup

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Heat and grease a griddle to medium heat.  Ladle out a 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle at a time. 

When bubbles form around the edges of the pancake (1-2 minutes), flip to the other side and continue cooking until both sides are browned.

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, walnuts and honey.

Top pancakes with honey walnut cream cheese and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Corn & Jalapeno Enchiladas Verde

So sleepy.

I know moms out there are probably rolling their eyes at my childless carefree life, but I can promise you, I'm assuming that this constant state of exhaustion I've felt over the last few weeks is comparable to the worthwhile hell that motherhood seems to be.

I'm pretty much over all this working business.  I need less hours at the office.  I need less overnight shifts screwing up my sleep schedule.  Getting up at 06:20 this morning for a dentist appointment just about killed me.  I realized that it had been over a year since I'd seen that time without working the whole night up to it.  I practically fell asleep in the chair.  The drilling sound was faintly reminiscent of the sound of the fan I use to fall asleep at night/in the morning.

Speaking of the dentist, am I the only person in the world who absolutely LOVES going to the dentist?  I avoid any other kind of appointment, but getting my teeth done ranks up there with getting my hair done at the salon for me.

My dentist is super friendly and always concerned about comfort.  He insists on giving me breaks to relax even when I try to explain to him that I'm relaxed to the point of unconsciousness already.  I've never felt a single needle stick when he goes in with the numbing injection.  I'm already kind of excited for my next teeth cleaning!

Now that I'm free from the numbing agent, I'm ready to chow down.  After having Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas for dinner yesterday, and again for lunch today, I decided to try enchiladas with another of my favorite dips for dinner tonight.  So, I made this version with a base made of Jalapeno Popper Dip.

Yup.

One of the most delicious dips on the planet gets wrapped up and baked inside flaky, chewy tortillas...

So good.

A little spice and a whole lot of familiar, but distinctly unique flavor.  This version of your favorite enchiladas will be a welcome edition to your dinner rotation!













Corn & Jalapeno Chicken Enchiladas Verde

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
1 cup corn, chopped
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 batch Jalapeno Popper Dip, uncooked (without bread crumb and butter topping)
1 cup Green Chile Sauce
8 large tortillas
Chopped cilantro for garnish


In a saute pan over medium heat, cook onions and corn in olive oil until onions and celery are tender.

Preheat oven 350F.

Mix the cooked veggies with the jalapeno popper dip.  Stir in 1/2 cup green chile sauce.

Spoon 1/8 of the mixture into the center of a tortilla and roll it up.  Place the tortilla in a greased 9x13 pan.

Repeat with the rest of the mixture and tortillas.

Pour the rest of the green chile sauce over the top of the tortillas.

Bake 20 minutes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

So sleepy.

I know moms out there are probably rolling their eyes at my childless carefree life, but I can promise you, I'm assuming that this constant state of exhaustion I've felt over the last few weeks is comparable to the worthwhile hell that motherhood seems to be.

I'm pretty much over all this working business.  I need less hours at the office.  I need less overnight shifts screwing up my sleep schedule.  Getting up at 06:20 this morning for a dentist appointment just about killed me.  I realized that it had been over a year since I'd seen that time without working the whole night up to it.  I practically fell asleep in the chair.  The drilling sound was faintly reminiscent of the sound of the fan I use to fall asleep at night/in the morning.

Speaking of the dentist, am I the only person in the world who absolutely LOVES going to the dentist?  I avoid any other kind of appointment, but getting my teeth done ranks up there with getting my hair done at the salon for me.

My dentist is super friendly and always concerned about comfort.  He insists on giving me breaks to relax even when I try to explain to him that I'm relaxed to the point of unconsciousness already.  I've never felt a single needle stick when he goes in with the numbing injection.  I'm already kind of excited for my next teeth cleaning!

When the left side of my mouth is no longer numb, I fully intend on heating up the leftover buffalo enchiladas from last night.  Ironically, these enchiladas are filled up with leftovers already.  That's because I make my enchiladas with a base made of Buffalo Chicken Dip.  

Yup.

One of the most delicious dips on the planet gets wrapped up and baked inside flaky, chewy tortillas...

So good.

A little spice and a whole lot of familiar, but distinctly unique flavor.  This version of your favorite enchiladas will be a welcome edition to your dinner rotation!













Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 batch Buffalo Chicken Dip, uncooked
1 cup Red Chile Sauce
8 large tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled bleu cheese

In a saute pan over medium heat, cook onions and celery in olive oil until onions and celery are tender.

Preheat oven 350F.

Mix the cooked veggies with the buffalo chicken dip.  Stir in 1/2 cup red chile sauce.

Spoon 1/8 of the mixture into the center of a tortilla and roll it up.  Place the tortilla in a greased 9x13 pan.

Repeat with the rest of the mixture and tortillas.

Pour the rest of the red chile sauce over the top of the tortillas.

Bake 20 minutes.

Garnish with crumbly bleu cheese.

Bibimbap

Fettucine.

Quinoa.

Tzatziki.

Words that are almost as much fun to say as they are to eat.

As silly as it may sound, the auditory allure of recipe names is a great way to lure me into trying it.  The more interesting the name, the more interested I am in eating it.

I'm not the only one.

You are probably pretty similar to me in this way.  Like, you might have been scrolling through my recipe index and came across the term, "Bibimbap" and thought to yourself, "Self, I gotta click that and see what that is all about."  That's probably followed by "Self, that sure is different looking, but it sounds pretty good.  Let's try that," and finally, "Self, I'm so glad we decided to make bibimbap tonight because it is just as super delicious as we thought it would be."

Your self is a genius.

I'm kind of a newbie when it comes to Korean cuisine, but I'm loving this rice bowl.  I'm also loving this super spicy sauce.  In fact, I'm already looking on to different vegetables that I could throw into a rice bowl with this sauce!












Bibimbap

4 cups rice, cooked and drained

2 cups Beef Bulgogi
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms, sauteed
1 cup spinach, sauteed
1 cucumber, julienne sliced
1 large zucchini, julienne sliced
2 carrots, julienne sliced
1/2 cup soy bean sprouts
4 eggs, cooked sunny side up
1/2 cup Gochujang Sauce

Chopped green onions for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish

Arrange four bowls for serving.

Ladle 1 cup of rice in each bowl.  Over rice, arrange beef, mushrooms, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, carrots and bean sprouts in the bowl as desired.

Spoon a quarter of the Gochujang in the center of the bowl and place 1 egg over the sauce.

Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Gochujang Sauce

Cloudy days are my new best friends.

In September, I expect that the weather will change into something I can physically and emotionally handle.  Something like cool temperatures, little to no humidity, partly sunny days, maybe even a little rain.  I'm a big fan of rainy days.

The first ten days of September have NOT been like that.  It's hot.  It's muggy.  It's too sunny.  I know you may think I'll miss it when winter comes, but trust me, I don't miss the sun.

I like being pale.  I like not having an excessive amount of freckles or sun spots.  I like the way my birthmarks don't change their appearance into something suspicious.

I like not sweating.  I like going outside without feeling like I just dunked my head underwater.  I like not feeling all gross like I already worked out before I even started exercising.

None of these things can happen in this weather.

The silver lining in all this is that I have gotten tons of work done inside my house.  There are no more piles of laundry -slash- potential tripping hazards all over my bathroom floor.  My dishes are clean.  There's no mildew in my shower.  Even my bed is made.

My bed is never made.  I'm not even sure I like it made.  I'm so used to crawling into misshapen hills of balled-up sheets and comforters.  It's my happy place.

I love that I have a full kitchen of food, too.  Not only have I been able to cook more, but I've been crafting up meals that last, either in jars or in the freezer.  Everybody knows I love cooking sauce... any kind of sauce, but usually of the Italian-inspired over pasta variety.

This time, though, I went a little out of my comfort zone.  I tried making this gochujang sauce.  I recently tried bibimbap, a Korean rice bowl, and loved the spicy red sauce I found inside my bowl.  It was that sauce that inspired me to try my hand at a homemade version.

I was surprised to find that I could make a pretty authentic sauce at home without having to scan the shelves of ten supermarkets trying to find Korean ingredients.  Apart from the red chili paste, everything I needed was located in my kitchen already.

I can't wait to try this on my own homemade bibimbap... but maybe I'll wait and save the spicy dish for when the weather ACTUALLY gets cooler...

Maybe not.
















Gochujang Sauce
(loosely adapted from Food.com)

1/4 cup red chili paste (Korean gochujang)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste


Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Maque Choux

I'm on a serious kick right now.

I don't know why I've been craving so much Cajun-style food lately.

Usually, I want a little extra spice in my life when the weather gets cooler, but that's not exactly the case right now.  It's super hot and humid for being September in upstate New York.

Maybe I'm willing Mother Nature to cool her jets by cooking warmer food.  

There's not a lot I'm really going to miss about summer.  Sure, we are big kayakers that love a good day on the lake or river.  And, barbecuing is big on our list of favorite ways to cook.  But truthfully, I'm much more of a spring or fall kind of girl.  Summertime makes me miss cool weather, partly cloudy days, football, pumpkin spice and Thanksgiving.

Plus, as much as I don't watch television, summertime has the least to offer when it comes to relaxing on the couch for a couple lazy hours.  

So, with fall on the horizon, I'm getting really excited.  I'm cooking more, because the threat of turning on the stove in hot, humid weather is fading away, and I'm loving Cajun and creole-style food right now.

Maque Choux is a recipe I only recently heard about, but it coincides with one of the other few things I will miss about summer, and that is picking up fresh ears of corn at roadside stands and finding neat ways to cook them up.

Fresh corn is one of my absolute favorite summer sides, and this recipe gives it a little oomph using the classic veggie trinity of southern cooking and some flavorful creole seasoning.

This is great as a side and also added on top of meat as a corn salsa-style topping.  Truthfully, I would just eat this straight out of the pan with a spoon if you let me!

Maque Choux

2 tbsp olive oil
4 ears of corn
1 cup white onion, finely diced

1/3 cup celery, finely diced
1/3 cup green bell pepper, finely diced

2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp Creole seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut corn kernels off of cobs and place in a large saute pan with olive oil on medium heat.

Add onions, celery and green pepper.  Cook vegetable for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add garlic, cream and seasoning.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, letting the cream simmer and thicken.

Remove from heat.  Serve hot.

Frog Legs Po' Boys

I made you some frog.

I made this for you. 

I see your face wrinkled in confusion and maybe even mild disgust.

I see you.

I'm going to need you to cool your gag reflex for two seconds and give this a try before you say N-O. 

In my experience, frog legs is like the chicken of seafood.  As in, it really tastes like chicken.  

I'm not kidding.

Your face is still incredulous.

If you like shrimp, or even if you don't, at some point in your life, you've probably had a Po' Boy.  It's a delicious toasted sandwich with bits of fried seafood, some spicy Remoulade Sauce, and a heaping of good-for-you veggies.  

Usually it's shrimp, but in this case, I've substituted in some little itty-bitty frog legs.  The flavor is very similar to traditional Po' Boys, but a little milder with the frog legs, that don't have an overpowering fishy/seafood taste.

Because they are small pieces of meat. you'll want to watch your fry times very closely because they will cook up in literally no time at all.  Serve these on a toasted hoagie with some garden fresh veggies and this delectable Remoulade for a neat twist on a Southern classic!

Frog Legs Po' Boys

1 pound frog legs
1/2 cup flour

2 tbsp Creole seasoning
2 eggs

Vegetable oil for frying
2 hoagie rolls
1 cup lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, sliced
1/4 cup Remoulade Sauce

Bring the vegetable oil up to temperature on the stove until it reaches 350F.

In a shallow dish, mix together the flour and the Creole seasoning together.  In a separate shallow dish, whisk the eggs.

Strip the meat from the bones of the frog legs.  Coat the meat in the egg mixture, and then roll them in the seasoned flour to evenly coat them.  Carefully drop them into the frying oil and watch closely.  Remove from oil when golden brown and drain on a paper towel.

Toast hoagie rolls in a stovetop pan or under a broiler.

Assemble sandwich with frog legs, remoulade, lettuce and tomato slices.

Remoulade Sauce

Cajun creole?

 

Just cajun?

 

Just creole?

 

Southern-style?

 

Lousiana-style?

 

It took a while for me to figure out the difference between making creole food and Cajun food.  To be fair, as a native New Yorker, anything creole or Cajun automatically gets lumped into the same category in my book.  This is not a slight to the numerous chefs and cooks who have worked diligently to delineate between the two supposedly different styles of cooking.  However, my north country palate is just not attuned to those subtle differences, and therefore, I throw my creole seasoning into anything that sounds like it could have creole or Cajun origins.

 

Now that I've explained myself to the point of confusing myself, I can move on to the next topic of discussion.  Mainly, remoulade.  I've made this recipe once before and I put it on crabcakes.  It was delicious. 

 

I'm telling you this because I'm going to put this on some other seafood/water creatures soon and I want you to see where my inspiration came from. 

 

Seafood/fish + Creole seasoning = I'm gonna put a remoulade sauce on it.

 

So without further ado, this is my remoulade sauce, and this is what you'll be seeing in the near future as I share some of my Louisiana-style, Adirondack-inspired meals.  This should be very interesting!

 

 

Remoulade Sauce

1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tsp Creole seasoning

1 tsp prepared horseradish

Hot sauce to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Combine everything in a bowl.  Blend if desired for a smoother texture.

 

Pumpkin Biscuits with Spiced Butter

I'm officially into fall.

In the Adirondacks, where I live, summer is abruptly halted right around Labor Day.  That's the weekend where blistering hot and humid days are replaced with chilly, windy days with minimal sunshine.  

I love that kind of weather because most of my favorite outdoor activities take place in fall conditions. 

Football.  Hiking.  Bonfires.  Apple picking.  Pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin everything.

When fall comes around, I go into full white-girl-can't-even mode.  I wake up, slide myself into some yoga pants, tug on my sheepskin boots if the weather calls for it, and scrape together one recipe after another that incorporates apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cranberries and so on.

So, here's me...  making pumpkin biscuits to go with my dinner because... fall, that's why.

And since I'm so into the combination of pumpkin and cinnamon, I've added a little of pumpkin spice into the butter to get my fix.  

It's a sweet addition to add to your otherwise savory dinner plate and it helps fall-loving girls like me usher in our most favorite of seasons!










Pumpkin Biscuits with Spiced Butter

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Spiced Butter:
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Confectioner's sugar



Preheat oven 375F.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients using the pulse feature.  The ingredients should be well combined with the exception of the butter, that should be in small pieces.

Use an ice cream scoop to form a ball of dough.  Place dough on a greased baking sheet.  Use your hand to gently pat the ball into a thick, flat disk.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

For the butter, whip the ingredients together to form a fluffy whipped butter.  Chill until ready for use.

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Maple Butter

I'm officially into fall.

In the Adirondacks, where I live, summer is abruptly halted right around Labor Day.  That's the weekend where blistering hot and humid days are replaced with chilly, windy days with minimal sunshine.  

I love that kind of weather because most of my favorite outdoor activities take place in fall conditions.
Football.  Hiking.  Bonfires.  Apple picking.  Pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin everything.

When fall comes around, I go into full white-girl-can't-even mode.  I wake up, slide myself into some yoga pants, tug on my sheepskin boots if the weather calls for it, and scrape together one recipe after another that incorporates apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cranberries and so on.

So, here's me...  making sweet potato biscuits to go with my dinner because... fall, that's why.

And since I'm so into the combination of sweet potatoes and maple syrup, I've added a little of that natural sugar into the butter to get my fix.  

It's a sweet addition to add to your otherwise savory dinner plate and it helps fall-loving girls like me usher in our most favorite of seasons!










Sweet Potato Biscuits with Maple Butter

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large sweet potato
1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Maple Butter:
1 stick butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp Confectioner's sugar



Peel and cook sweet potato in a pot of boiling water until fork tender.  Drain water and mash sweet potato until smooth.  Let cool completely.

Preheat oven 375F.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients using the pulse feature.  The ingredients should be well combined with the exception of the butter, that should be in small pieces.

Use an ice cream scoop to form a ball of dough.  Place dough on a greased baking sheet.  Use your hand to gently pat the ball into a thick, flat disk.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

For the butter, whip the ingredients together to form a fluffy whipped butter.  Chill until ready for use.