A Pancake Morning

It was definitely a “pancake morning” this morning. It had been a couple of weeks since I last made pancakes, so it was time to whip some up again.

I love trying new recipes!! Even though I have about three pancakes recipes that are dynamite, I was itching to try a new one.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup soy milk

3 oz. low-fat Greek yogurt

1 egg

1.5 teaspoons canola oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in medium-sized bowl (do not over-mix).

Spoon batter onto non-stick griddle. (I recently learned that if you put your pancake mix on a cold griddle and then turn the griddle on, you will have beautifully browned pancakes.) Cook for 4-5 minutes, flip, and cook on other side for approximately 2 minutes. Serve with pure maple syrup, sliced bananas, or your choice of topping!

Yield: 10 medium-sized pancakes

Marathon Training

Grandma’s Marathon is quickly approaching, and I am starting to taper (i.e. I am backing off on my running.) This morning I ran a total of 7 miles in 54 minutes.

– 1 mile warm-up

– 5 miles tempo run (app. 7:30 minutes/mile)

– 1 mile cool-down

When I got up this morning I was pretty sore from lifting at the gym last night, but after some stretching, massaging, and filling my belly with pancakes, I was ready to go. My run went really well, and I felt strong!!

Dinner Recipes

Finally, I leave you with two dinner recipes I’ve made recently that are worthy of sharing!! 🙂

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

This recipe from Real Simple. (You can find the recipe here on their website.)

Serves 4

Hands-On Time: 30m

Total Time: 1hr 10m

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 28-ounce can tomato puree
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving (2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, divided, plus more for serving
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey, preferably dark meat
• 16 saltine crackers, finely crushed (about 3⁄4 cup)
• 12 ounces spaghetti (3⁄4 box)

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and half the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato puree and paste, sugar, half the Parmesan, 1 tablespoon of the oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1½ cups water. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the turkey, crackers, the remaining Parmesan, garlic, and oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs (about 1½ inches each).
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the meatballs, turning occasionally, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add to the sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Serve with the meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and oregano before serving.

This spaghetti dish was very flavorful and hearty. I typically do not like meatballs, but these did not taste fatty like many others I’ve had. The fresh parmesan cheese and basil brought the flavors out and made this meal top-notch. Both Craig and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish!!

Thai Tofu Pizza

My husband loves pizza. He could eat it every day for the rest of his life!! We usually make homemade pizza about once a week, which is great because we are able to put whatever we want on the pizza and you can make it a lot more healthy too!!

Now I know there are a lot of people who are turned off by tofu, but this recipe for pizza actually won a contest for Nasoya Tofu. Plus you can’t even taste the tofu–even Craig liked it, and that’s saying something!!

Ingredients:

1 12″ pre-made pizza crust (or homemade)

1 recipe peanut sauce (see below)

1/2 block extra firm Nasoya tofu, pressed and crumbled

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup chopped broccoli

2 sliced green onions

2 Tablespoons chopped mango

2 Tablespoons chopped peanuts

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

Peanut Sauce:

3 Tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon water

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (could use siracha)

1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to package directions.

2. Combine peanut sauce ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and process until smooth.

3. Mix 2 Tablespoons peanut sauce with the crumbled tofu, then sauté on medium heat until lightly colored, ~5 minutes.

4. Spread remaining sauce onto pizza crust, then top with tofu, cheese, broccoli and green onions. Bake according to package directions, or until cheese is golden brown.

5. Top with mango, peanuts & cilantro.

What is great about this pizza is the fusion of flavors and textures–sweet, savory, chewy, and crunchy. We almost polished off the whole thing in one sitting!!

The only thing I need to work on is my homemade pizza dough. I tried a new whole wheat crust, but I think I should have stuck to my old standby.

Later!!