Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Those of you that are fortunate enough to traffic Jersey diners on a regular basis probably look forward to Halloween as much as I do for one particular reason.  Just before Halloween, and through Thanksgiving, most of the diners offer up their precious pumpkin pancakes as a substitute for their regular batter.  I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of pancakes, but this time of year I find myself gravitating not only to the diner, but also to the breakfast menu morning, noon, and night!  My favorite diner offers up a nice 3 pancake platter with a meat side (choice of scrapple, sausage links, Italian sausage, or bacon) for approximately 7 bucks.  While I love getting them at the diner (it's all about the ambiance), at 7 dollars, this habit can become a little pricey!  After a failed attempt earlier this week (do not, I repeat DO NOT add pumpkin puree to pancake batter), I finally managed to get close to what the diner's pumpkin pancakes taste like.  After some trial, and serious error, I figured out that the magic lies in pumpkin pie spices, and not actual pumpkin!  On a quick side note, before I move on to the recipe, if you have not experienced the Amish delicacy that is scrapple, I will touch on it in another blog post soon!  The closest thing I can equate it to is a spicy meat hashbrown...nonetheless...it is delish!


Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Yields 3 servings (2 large pancakes per person)

To Prepare the Pancakes
1. Mix 3 cups of complete pancake powder with 2 cups of water.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, and 1/2 a teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Blend this all very well!
3. Heat a small amount of butter or non-stick cooking spray in a frying pan over LOW heat.  Low heat is the key to perfectly golden brown pancakes!  There are few things worse that looking forward to pancakes and getting a plate of burnt offerings instead!
4. Pour and slightly spread 1/2 a cup of batter into the pan, and let it rest until the batter is firm and rising around the edges and bubbling on the top.  Gently flip it!  As far as the measurement of batter goes, I like to make gigantic pancakes, but you can go with what ever size you prefer or normally make!

I make my pancakes in a 6 inch pan so I have control over their size and shape!

5. Cook on the other side until the pancake has risen more and it has a golden brown color on the bottom.  Check it gently with a spatula to see if the bottom is brown.  As a rule of thumb, if you cannot get the pancake edge to lift easily with the spatula, it is more than likely still cooking, and also, if you press down on the top with the spatula and it doesn't bounce back, your pancake is not done cooking yet! 
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you are out of batter!

Pass the syrup!

7. Serve with maple syrup, and I made some sausage to go along side it, too! 

Breakfast Nachos

I've finally found my way back to the blog-o-sphere and twitterverse after having had my laptops power cord eaten alive by the vacuum cleaner!  I've managed to steal my dad's power cord just long enough to power up and post a few things.  While I love the convenience of the laptop, I definitely went through less parts and replacements with a desktop, but anywho, I digress...back to the recipes!

I made these for the post-homecoming party at our house about a week and a half ago.  The idea hit me out of nowhere while I was thinking about what to serve the kiddos.  I was determined to put out breakfast food only, but didn't just want to throw out a plate of meat to supplement a menu that was clearly lacking protein, and I wanted to be sure it was something that they would definitely eat!  I ran the idea past my sister, and when she was intrigued, I decided it was go time!  They were a HUGE hit, and were different and fun to eat (Plus I didn't have to wash utensils)! 

Breakfast Nachos
Yields 6 - 8 servings

To Prepare the Nachos
1. Spray an oven safe casserole dish or pan with a little non-stick cooking spray.  I learned the hard way that this is a critical step...let's just say that the end result was me cursing in the kitchen with scalding hot water trying to scrape the bottom of the pan for about 30 minutes to clean it the next day!  I'll let your imagination run from there...
2. Pour a bag of tortilla chips into the pan.
3. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
4. Fry a 1 pound tube of breakfast sausage.  Break it up as you cook it, so it starts to resemble ground beef!
5. While the sausage is cooking, dice 1 small onion, and 1 bell pepper. 
6. When the meat is done cooking, spread it evenly over the top of the tortilla chips.
7. Evenly sprinkle the top of the meat with the bell peppers and onions. 

8. Break 6 - 8 eggs one at a time over the top of the nachos, but try to not break the yolks.  Be sure to spread them out so there is an even distribution of egg over the nachos!  The eggs with settle across the top of the meat and veggies and spread fairly evenly on their own. 
9. Bake the nachos until the egg whites have cooked and the yolks are still a little runny. 

10. Right before taking them out of the oven, sprinkle with some grated cheddar or taco blend cheese, and finish baking it until the cheese has melted. 

11. Serve with salsa and enjoy!

French Toast Casserole

French toast casserole has saved me in a brunch pinch sooooooo many times!  It is filling, easy to make, and can be prepared the night before!  I figured I couldn't go wrong with it for a room of starving high school students after the homecoming dance.  They all really seemed to enjoy it, and we even had a little left the next morning for breakfast!  What I also love about french toast casserole is that you can adapt it.  I have made this with cream cheese cubes and blueberries through it, topped it with fruit sauce, and even have used cinnamon and sweet cheese bread instead of french loaves...remember to have fun with your recipes and make them unique and your own!

French Toast Cassserole 
Yields 10 servings

To Prepare the Casserole
1. Rip 2 large french bread loaves into pieces that are just a little bigger than 1 square inch, and put them in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, scramble 6 eggs. 
3. Add 2 cups of milk, 1/2 a cup of maple syrup, 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/2 a teaspoon of ginger to the eggs.  Blend it all together very well!
4. Pour the wet mixture over the bread, making sure that all of the bread is coated. 
5. Cover it and put it in the fridge either overnight or a few hours before you want to serve it. 

To Finish the Casserole 
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour the bread mixture into the casserole dish, and spread it out evenly.

3. Melt 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick).
4. Add 1 cup of brown sugar to the butter and mix it well.

5. Drizzle the brown sugar and butter mixture across the top of the casserole.
6. Bake the casserole for approximately 30 minutes, or until it is firm to the touch and the corners have started to brown just a bit!