OUR FAMILIES FAVORITE PANCAKE RECIPE'S Buttermilk & Blueberry Banana Pancakes

We have two favorites in our family;  Our Grandmothers homemade recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation which is made with Buttermilk, and Yellow Cornmeal, two ingredients I never really cared for in pancakes; that is until I had Grandma Q's pancakes. They are fantastic, thin and go down very easy. These are the kind where you'll lose count as your eating them and not care because they taste so good.

GRANDMA Q'S OLD FASHIONED PANCAKES

Mix Together:
1 cup Flour
2 Tbsp. Oil
1 Tbsp. Sugar
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
A handful of Yellow Cornmeal (about 1/4 cup)
2 cups Buttermilk
A dash of Salt
2 Eggs

Wisk to a smooth consistency. Pour onto a hot griddle in silver dollar sized pancakes. They cook quite fast, almost like a crape but a little thicker. I usually double this recipe because they disappear so quickly. Serve with butter and your favorite syrup. My Grandma preferred Karo Syrup, it's is a lighter syrup, not as heavy as maple syrup. Either way, they will melt in your mouth.

 

Family favorite number two is your traditional American quick recipe…Yes, OK, I'll admit it…it’s Bisquick with a twist. I’ve tried others, but we keep going back to our old faithful. Most people who taste my pancakes think they are some complex fancy recipe. When I tell them it's Bisquick, they can't believe it.  It’s quick, easy, and doctored up can taste just like homemade...even better.  Topped with my rich Sautéed Banana topping, it’s more like a dessert than it is for breakfast. Every bite is filled with a creamy caramelized banana.

I prefer the caramelized bananas instead of syrup but some of my family members disagrees, they prefer butter and syrup or my husband’s favorite is caramelized blueberries.  Everyone has their own taste and if you’re like me, depending on whose home; I normally end up making two choices.

BLUEBERRY BANANA PANCAKES

 

Melt in your Mouth Pancakes 

       

Depending on the size of your pancakes, I can usually get about 14 medium sized cakes. 4 per pan.

1.       Mix together:

2 Cups of Bisquick Mix

1 Cup of milk (we use whole milk)

2 Eggs

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)

1 Tbsp. Vanilla (I prefer Madagascar or Mexican real Vanilla)

Stir ingredients until blended.

2.       Pour slightly less than ¼ cupfuls onto a hot greased griddle.

(I use Pam Natural lightly sprayed once in the beginning)

3.       I then quickly place fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blueberries on top of batter. You can mix two cups of blueberries into the batter, but I prefer to place them on top of the batter, it makes the blueberries plump up with flavor, and makes your pancake more mouthwatering and allows your pancake to cook all the way through.

4.       Cook until edges are dry, and pancake is filled with air bubbles on top of pancake. Flip and cook until golden brown.

For thinner pancakes, you can add a little milk to thin the batter, but with the blueberries, it works better with the thicker batter.

While the Pancakes are cooking I start sauteing the banana's (or blueberries).  I thought I took a picture of this step, but can't find it anywhere... I'll post one soon, I promise.

Sautéed Banana Filling
4 tablespoons butter (I prefer Land O Lakes regular)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6-8 large bananas -- peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick

Make the sautéed banana filling:

In a large heavy skillet, over low heat, combine the butter and brown sugar, stirring to combine. When heated through, add the bananas and sauté gently, stirring occasionally until evenly golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

You can use Fresh Blueberries instead of the bananas (My husbands favorite). For today, I've served it with butter and syrup, and with warm irresistible mouthwatering caramelized bananas. Enjoy!

If you prefer just banana's, you can add the banana topping right to your batter just as I did with the blueberries above. It makes a very dense cake like pancake filled with luscious silky bananas, top with syrup and enjoy. I was inspired to make this pancake by a restaurant in Hawaii. One night while in Honolulu on a lay over while waiting for our doggies to arrive from Alaska, we went out for dinner at a restaurant a couple blocks down from our hotel. It was the only restaurant open. The menu was limited, serving old fashioned home-style cooking. My son ordered the Banana Pancakes. 

When the server asked him if he wanted the short stack, explaining that it was a large order of pancakes...forewarning him. He chuckled, remembering the sourdough pancakes from Alaska and how big they were. He was certain that he could polish off a large order... 

"No...I'll take the full order." He told the server... 

She laughed, "OK... but I warned you..." she giggled as she walked to the kitchen. Several minutes later, she brought out my and my husbands dinners, telling us shed be right back, "the plate is too heavy to carry with  the other plates..." she commented.  Now we were giggling... thinking... We just came from the home of the sourdough pancake...where it filled the entire plate.  A full stack was two, they were always dense and very filling. We had no idea that the Hawaiian version was more like a cake than a pancake... it gave a new meaning to the word pancake...lol.

     "I told you so!" our server said with a beaming huge smile. "If you eat it all, your dinner is on us." She said.

My son tried his hardest to eat as much as he could, but it was so much. My husband and I both nibbled after eating our meals, it was a wonderful dessert. We took the rest back to the hotel and ate it for breakfast...all three of us.

Here is my smaller version.

ENJOY!

Chel Marie's Creative Side: Art, Heart & Healing Free Course on Willowing.com

Chel Marie's Creative Side: Art, Heart & Healing Free Course on Willowing.com

Art, Heart & Healing Free Course on Willowing.com

Art, Heart & Healing Free Course on Willowing.com

I am so excited to have found this website and to be able to share it with all of you.

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The One Line Course Starts October 18th.

Old Fashioned Popcorn Balls

One of my favorite treats to make all year or at Christmas is Popcorn balls. My kids love them, my neighbors loved them and I love them. It’s one of the treats I send to my boys around the holidays, easy to package, and they don’t get broken in the shipping. 

They're fun and easy to make with the kids and taste great with a rich sweet & salty creamy Carmel texture. This recipe was taught to me by one of my oldest and dearest friends Patty. It was a treat that she learned from her family and made when we were growing up. It was one of my favorites that have stuck with me all these years. 

I can still remember standing in her kitchen at the kitchen table making these with her younger sisters. We didn’t air pop back then; we popped the corn the old fashioned way on the stove. Sometimes we’d cheat by getting the Jiffy Pop, but there’s nothing better than homemade buttered popcorn perfectly salted. 

I thank and tribute this recipe to my oldest friend. It holds many fond memories imprinted on my heart.

Thank you ~  Thank you ~ Thank you ~

Enjoy

Old Fashioned Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:

2 & ½ stick of butter (Yes, I know it’s a lot but it’s so good.)I prefer Land O Lakes reg.

1 bag of miniature marshmallows. You can use the large ones, I just prefer the miniatures, they melt quicker.

Popped corn about 20 cups… or how many it takes to fill a roaster or large bowl.

I use Orville Redenbacher's Original Gourmet Popping Corn

Salt

Before I start I get my roaster pan ready by spraying it with a non-stick spray so melted marshmallows won’t stick to your pan. I also spray a wooden spoon for mixing; it helps keep the marshmallows from building up, and makes clean up a lot easier.

Fill a Large roaster pan with fresh popped Popcorn. I air pop my popcorn using Orville's , and then pour melted Land O Lakes regular butter ½ stick over the popped popcorn, season with salt to taste. Set aside. Just like if you’re going to sit down and enjoy it with a good movie.

In a large fry pan I melt one sick of butter (½ Cup) once melted, add a bag of miniature marshmallows and melt, stirring constantly.

Once melted, pour over pan of popped popcorn. Gently mix together coating as much of the popcorn as possible. Once completely coated, let it sit for a minute or two while you get everything else ready.Put a large sheet of waxed paper on a table or counter where you’ll let your popcorn balls rest and cool.

Put ½ stick of butter on a small plate. Butter your hands up good right before you dig in. Make sure your popcorn mixture has cooled down enough to handle. Melted marshmallow tends to stay warm for a while, the key is to start the minute you can tolerate the heat of the melted marshmallow's, careful not to burn your hands. It's a perfect time to take a taste test...lol.… you don’t want it to cool completely, or you won’t be able to make them into the balls. If you prefer, you can dump the entire pan out onto waxed paper, and just kind of flatten it out a bit… let it cool and break into bite size pieces… this works well to.

Now start taking a scoop of coated popcorn and form a ball. Removing any unpopped kernels as you go. You’ll thank me later. It will be very gooey and stick to everything. Butter is your friend here...lol...I like to make large meatball sized balls. Their easier to eat, but whatever size you choose is the correct size. You’ll have to keep your hands well lubed with butter, I normally re butter before I make each ball...Make sure you press the popcorn firmly into a nicely formed ball or they will fall apart while cooling. Place ball on waxed paper, let cool completely. You can store balls in both the refrigerator or the freezer in a large zip lock bag or air tight container. I like to keep them frozen and take one at a time out. It only takes minutes before its thawed enough to eat.

Repeat the process until you’ve used up all the popped corn. Buttering your hands each time between balls. Like Paula Dean always say’s, “You can never have enough butter”.

 I hope you've enjoyed this recipe as much as I have. I'm sure it will become a  family favorites for years to come. I'll see you next time with Blueberry Banana Pancakes, made with my homemade Banana topping.

Famous Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

This recipe is one of my all time favorites, it's the cake I chose above all others for each of my birthdays and any other celebration I could talk my mom into baking it for. I even went as far as convincing my younger brother and sister that it was their favorite cake too... 

 

It's the first cake I made for each of my boys birthdays.  I made cupcakes every year for their Valentines, Halloween, and Birthday Party's at school. I remember walking into their school with a huge platter filled with decorated cupcakes and being molested by a mob of hungry teenagers barley making it out of there a live. 

 

I always had to make extra's for the office and support staff, friends of my kids, and half of the school, thank God it was a small school. Teachers loved my cupcakes because they were easy to distribute, and clean up after wards. 

 

Decorating them has always been fun and I never had to ask my kids twice to help, they were always eager for every holiday, it meant moms cupcakes and popularity at school. 

 

On occasions I would bring something else like cookies or brownies, but I always got asked the same thing... ""  These are great, but where's the cupcakes....?""    I never had to worry about embarrassing my kids, on their Birthdays, they welcomed my baking. Be sure to double your recipe, if your house is like mine they will go fast.

 

My kids always preferred the butter cream frosting with candies on top but you can use just about any frosting you like.  The key to this recipe is to not over bake. 

 

My mom has been making this cake since I can remember. She learned the recipe from her older sister, my Auntie Phyllis.  As a kid I was a pretty picky eater, when my mom taught me how to make this cake, she sat me down and said... I need to tell you something before we start... her secret.... Sour Cream... I hated sour cream and would never eat anything that had it in it... or so i thought, it was a hidden treasure, Like onions, celery, mustard, real mayonnaise and mushrooms are often hidden treasures in the best of foods.

When I think of this cake, my heart is filled with happy memories. I hope if fills your hearts with love, brings smiles to your kids faces as it did to mine and creates happy memories of your own.

With Love,

Chel Marie

 

 

Famous Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Cake

2 1/2 Cups of Sifted Flour (All Purpose)
2 Cups Sugar (C&H)
2 Packs of pre-melted Nestles Choco Bake
2 tea. Baking Soda
1 tea. Salt
2 Cups of Sour Cream (16 oz.)
4 Eggs
1 tea. Vanilla (Mexican or Nielsen-Massey Tahitian Vanilla)

Sift together dry ingredients. Add sour cream, mix. Add eggs, mix. Vanilla, Mix... very important to follow order. Beat for 3 minutes on high speed. Pour batter into a 13" x 9" double layered air baking pan. Drop pan on counter 3 times to get air bubbles out. (note, I did not say drop on floor.)

Bake 350' Convection for 35 minutes. Test with tooth pick in center to make sure it comes out clean.
let rest, usually will fall slightly. Do not open over during baking until last few minutes or it will cause heavy cake to fall.
For cup cakes, cut the baking time down to 20 minutes.
Butter Frosting

I always double this recipe (sometimes I triple it and use extras for gram cracker cookies)
5 Tab. soft butter (Land-O-Lakes Regular)
3 Cups of C&H Powered Sugar
3 Tab. Cream (Half and Half)
1 1/2 tea. Vanilla (Mexican or Nielsen-Massey Tahitian Vanilla)
Cream together. You may have to add a couple drops of cream to get to the consistency that you like.
I also use this recipe when making Ginger Bread Houses, but use exact cream so not to creamy.

 Decorated by Chel Marie

This is a 13"x9" cut in half, stacked and decorated with a triple batch of 

butter cream frosting divided in thirds and colored with Wilton Past coloring.

This cake is so moist thick and dense, you'll think your eating a pound cake. 

You almost need a scoop of vanilla ice cream to give it a little contrast...

Remember to not over bake!

Grandma's Apple Pie Bars

This is one of my favorite treats my Grandma use to make. I've never been able to make it quite like she did until last week when I finally figured out her secret... Fresh from the tree apples of different varieties.... it was just like I remembered ♥ She use to pick the apples from our tree and our neighbors apple trees right before making the pie. I forgot that important detail. I remembered as I took my first bite. The flavor from the different apples blended to a perfect blend of sweet and tart. I also remembered how she kept the apples from turning brown before the pealing process was complete... I'll share my secrets in the pictures below. This is one of those childhood memories you hang on to and pass along to your family. I guarantee if you make this recipe, you will be the hit of any occasion. It's great anytime of the year, but best when the apples come straight from the tree... Thank you Grandma, I love and miss you♥

Apple Pie Bars

Bake 1 hour or until done @ 350 degrees

Ingredients:

14-20 Apples, different varieties if possible

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

2 Heaping Tablespoon sugar

2 tsp. Salt

2 C. Shorting (I use the Crisco Sticks, no mess & easy to measure)

2 egg yolks separated into a measure cup and add enough milk to make 1 1/3^rd C.

(Keep whites for topping on crust)

2 C. Crushed Toasted Honey and Oats (Corn Flakes or any other flake cereal will work as well)

2 C. Sugar

2 teaspoons of Cinnamon

2 C. Powdered Sugars

Pie Crust

5 C. Flour

2 Heaping Tablespoon sugar

2 tsp. Salt

2 C. Shorting

Mix like you would any pie crust (I find using my hands work best, just like my Grandma did).

Put 2 egg yolks into a measure cup and add enough milk to make 1 1/3^rd C.

Liquid, break up yolk with a fork, and beat in cup before adding to crust mixture.

Mix crust until dough is formed. Divide crust into two balls. Wrap each ball in saran wrap and shape into a disk or hockey puck shape. Refrigerate while you get your apples done.

Peal 14 large apples, or 20 smaller apples, depending on the size. I use fresh off the tree if I can, but the ones you get from the store taste almost as good.

I like to peal the skins off, core the apple by cutting the apple into 4’s, then I sliver the apple into same size wedges about and 1/8^th think so apples bake evenly.

Side note: An apple-peeler-corer-slicer gadget works great for larger apples, not so great for small or odd shaped apples. I remember when I found my grandma’s gadget; I just had to use it, curious as to how it could do everything all at once. Grandma preferred the hands-on method. So we’d race to see whose method worked best. She always won, and her apples were perfectly sliced. I didn’t care; I just enjoyed using the toy like device. Plus I use to play with the long strings of skin after, or we’d put them in a pot of water and boil them making the house smell all warm adding a cinnamon stick for the Christmas like smell.

As I peal the apples I place the sliced apples into a large bowl that I always use knowing just about how many I need to make a perfect pie. The great thing about this recipe is that if you’re an apple or two short it won’t matter. Because it’s a bar, it will still come out perfect no matter how many apples you add. For a thicker pie, I add more apples making it more like a huge pie for larger crowds instead of a bar.

After pealing a couple apples, I add a cup of sugar to the bowl and keep the apples coated, along with a tablespoon of Lemon Juice. This will keep your apples from turning brown. Every time I add another apple, I just give the mix a quick stir to make sure every sliced is coated. After I get all the apples pealed, I put the bowl aside and start on rolling out the dough for your crust.

After pealing a couple apples, I add a cup of sugar to the bowl and keep the apples coated, along with a tablespoon of Lemon Juice. This will keep your apples from turning brown. Every time I add another apple, I just give the mix a quick stir to make sure every sliced is coated. After I get all the apples pealed, I put the bowl aside and start on rolling out the dough for your crust.

Now for rolling out the crust, there are a couple different ways you can go about this. Because the pie crust needs to cover an entire jelly roll baking pan, you will need to make your pie crust a lot bigger to cover the corners. My Grandma was a pro at rolling out dough, she could always make the crust perfectly fit the pan, and be a consistent thickness throughout. I don’t make as many pies, and haven’t perfected that skill yet. So I use a technique I learned watching Martha Stewart. Take a large piece of Saran wrap larger than the size of the pan. Sprinkle some flour on the plastic wrap; take your dough from the fridge pat some flour on both sides place your dough down in the center. Take a second strip of wrap equal size and lay over the dough. Take your rolling pin and gently start pushing your dough down to make a thick pancake. Once you have pushed down enough, you can start rolling it out, you will need to start pushing a little firmer on your rolling pin to get the dough rolled out further to the size of your pan, be patient, it will get there. 

You can easily measure by placing your pan on top to make sure your rolled dough is big enough. It works like a charm, making a perfect pie crust every time. I’ve never had an issue making my crust this way, no tears, breaks or rips....well OK, maybe a few imperfections... but normally it comes out perfectly each time. it will get easier with each crust you make. Then Perfection! It’s one of the best tips I’ve learned from Martha’s Kitchen show.

Once your crust is rolled out and you’re ready to put it in your pan, it’s much easier if you slide the crust, plastic and all onto a large cutting board or the back of a second pan or flat cookie sheet.  Take the top plastic wrap off, place your pan face down over your crust perfectly centered. Then quickly flip your two pans over together, peal the wrap off the bottom crust, and Walla… you have perfectly placed your crust without tears… But don’t worry if you do get a crack, tear, or thinned spot, you can always fix it with the extra crust you’re going to be cutting off your trim. I know this sounds harder than it really is. Once you’ve done it once, you’ll see how easy it really is. Now, if you’re making pie crusts like a pro….If you are a pro,  you can skip the above step and use the traditional pie making technique your comfortable with and fill your pan.

Once your corners are secured in your pan you can begin to shape it by gently pushing the dough down filling in each corner, and then fill in the edges of the pan….. I use another small roller to make things even. But your hands or fingers will work just as well. Those old play dough making skills come in handy.

Leave the edges for now, you’ll make them pretty once your top crust is placed. If you have abundance in one area, you can trim to make your edge even around the entire pie. Sprinkle the two cups of crushed corn flakes evenly over the crust. This will help to stabilize your dough, and create an even flakier crust. Do not eliminate this step, if you don’t have flakes, use some other plain cereal. Even raisin brand will work; just take the raisins out…. Or not.

Now take your apples and evenly spread in the pie crust. Your apples should have developed a lot of juice, I strain the apples with a slotted spoon so not to add to much of the juice in your pie crust… you don’t want your crust to get to soggy from all the extra juice. Once the apples are in place, I take the remaining cup of sugar and mix it with the cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the sliced apples.

Now roll out your top crust the same way you rolled out the bottom. Once rolled, I take the top plastic off the crust layer I gently slide the crust onto a cookie sheet with the bottom wrap still on for easy handling.

Line both pans up and flip the crust off the cookie sheet trying to center as best as you can. Once in place, you can roll the bottom crust edges with the top crust or pinch them together, and then use a fork to gently press down creating a nice seal and perfect crust edge. If there is too much dough you can trim some off. If the top crust tore or ripped you can re-roll the extras scraps and tap it over the torn area gently pushing it into dough to make a patch and blending the two layers. Grandma used a little water around the edge to secure the patch and bind the dough pieces together.

Once done, take the two egg whites that you have put a side from earlier and whip them up with a mixer until they are stiff. Spread evenly over the top of the crust with a pastry brush. Use a fork to poke venting holes in top pie dough; I make about 8 stabs, 4 on each side.
Be sure to line the bottom of your oven with tin foil so any extra juices that may boil over are caught and you don't have a huge sticky mess to clean.

Bake 1 hour or until done, making sure the crust is a golden brown, and your apples are tender, I use a cake tester to make sure my apples aren't hard.

Remove pie from the oven and pour glaze over hot pie.

Glaze 

Add enough water to 2 cups of powder sugar so make the glaze thin enough to drizzle over the hot bars. I use a large spoon and create a design of crisscrossing back and forth to cover the crust evenly as shown below.

Let cool, you can sever warm or let cool completely, I like it both ways, but prefer it cold best. Bars can be stored in or out of the fridge, but don’t expect them to last long. Don’t be surprised if they disappear overnight. I could never keep them in the house; my boys would devour the entire pan which is why I always doubled the recipe and made two pans at the same time when I had a house full. That way you can take one pan to share.  Bring copies of the recipe though, everyone will be asking you for it.

Enjoy♥