Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fried Zucchini


This little number was created in the hustle bustle of our very own at-home Iron Chef competition with some friends. I didn't really measure anything, so this recipe is approximately what I think I put into the batter... Hope you like it!

What you need:
2-3 zucchini or yellow summer squash
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
vegetable oil for frying

Slice zucchini and/or yellow summer squash into thin rounds. In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs and set aside. In another bowl (I usually use an 8x8 cakepan for this step) mix flour, white pepper, and tsp salt.

Heat some vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a small sauce pan. When oil is hot, take a few zucchini at a time and soak them in the egg, then toss them into the flour mixture until they're covered. shake off any excess and put about 4-5 slices in the oil at a time. (If you add too many too quickly, the oil temp will drop to fast and not fry the zucchini correctly.)

You want the batter to be a nice golden brown. If it is too dark, turn down the heat and wait for the oil to cool before adding more zucchini. Once they're done, take them out and set them on a few sheets of paper towels to absorb some of the oil.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Leave your comments on these if you enjoyed them or if you think I need to add/use less pepper or salt to the recipe. I really have no idea how much I put in the mix haha! I also want to try something similar to this to try and make fried green tomatoes. mmmmm....

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Homemade Pancakes


We like to have breakfast for dinner at least once a week at our house. And although we try to mix things up by having different styles of eggs, and sometimes french toast, our main B4D meal is pancakes.

But honestly... I'm not such a huge fan of the "just add water" variety even though that's what we always use. We like to add vanilla or other things to the mix to make them taste better, but there's just something off, ya know?

A few months ago I was visiting my sister and they have a family tradition that they eat pancakes (or waffles) for dinner EVERY Sunday. And they know how to mix things up! They had a few different recipes to try and I gotta tell ya, they were fabulous!

I'm sure I'll share some of the other recipes with you someday, but today I'd like to share the recipe that I will now use instead of buying the nasty pre-made stuff: a very simple, homemade, good old fashioned pancake mix.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

Mix them all together until the batter is no longer lumpy. Have a pan warming up on the stove to medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Add 1/4 c of batter and wait til most the bubbles pop and flip over. Let cook a minute or two more and you're done!

Toss on your favorite fruits, cream or syrup and enjoy!! MMMmmmmm....