Corn and Bacon Griddle Cakes

I like pancakes. I grew up in a family that made pancakes infrequently; they were generally reserved for camping trips or occasional Saturday mornings. I have yet to master the light and fluffy pancakes that I dream about, but I continue to work on it. These caught my eye on pinterest, and as I read the recipe, I was intrigued by the idea of something sweet and salty for breakfast. I haven't made a huge number of changes, but I will probably modify this somewhat, since I will be coming back to it repeatedly. Original recipe here (and her pictures are better than mine). 

Ingredients

3-4 slices of bacon

1/4 cup minced sweet onion

2 green onions, chopped finely

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg (beaten)

1 Tlbs olive oil

1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

*1/2-1 additional cup of milk, if needed

Instructions:

Saute the bacon for a few minutes until it starts to brown, then add the onion and continue to cook until the bacon is crispy and the onion is clear. Meanwhile, in a separate mixing bowl, mix the flour, green onions, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add the milk, egg, and olive oil and mix just until moistened, then stir in the corn, cheese, and the bacon mixture. It will be really thick, so add milk to it if you would like it thinner. I ended up adding about 3/4 of a cup. Cook on a griddle or hot non-stick skilled until done, and serve with warm maple syrup. Makes approximately 6 6" pancakes.

Holy crap on a cracker....this is totally amazeballs. It is salty and sweet at the same time, and really filling. So, so good. The only changes I made were to cut the bacon in half (hers called for 8 strips of bacon!), change the flour to whole wheat, and use green onions instead of the chives she called for (for some reason, I can NOT find fresh chives up here). My corn was frozen when I added it, and it still worked perfectly. Mmmmm.....

Rating 5/5

Why? Still working on my pancake skills, but I really like that these aren't so sweet. 

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

This week has been a nightmare, and it's only Tuesday. I was handed some new, unexpected, unwelcome responsibilities at work, and that has sent me home with a headache on top of a 12 hour work day for the last two days. I'm more than a little cranky, and then last night I got home to a 50 degree house and today I got home to an 80 degree house. I'm just DONE. This soup definitely improved my mood. Based on this one, but I made several changes. Pardon the crappy picture, it's from my phone and unedited.

Ingredients
2 Tlbs butter
1/4 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 Tlbs whole wheat flour
1 cup half and half*
1 cup chicken broth
1-ish cup shredded carrots
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
tiny bit of salt
1 broccoli crown, chopped
about 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
about 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack

Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the garlic and onion. Saute it for a couple of minutes, then add the flour, stirring constantly. Add the half and half and chicken broth and bring to just barely a simmer. Turn it down to low and add the carrots, nutmeg, cardamom, salt and pepper. Let it gently simmer, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are softened somewhat. Use your immersion blender and blend the soup until the carrots are broken down, then add the broccoli and let it continue to simmer for a few minutes until the broccoli is nearly the right texture (for me, that was only 3-4 minutes). Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and the soup is smooth. Serve immediately.

* the original recipe called for 1 cup of half and half and one cup of milk, I had half and half, and I don't normally, so I used it. It would honestly probably be just as good with regular milk, but you might also use Greek yogurt and milk as a substitute. It was amazing with half and half.

The original recipe called for hot sauce, and that would probably be really good, although I might add red pepper flakes instead of hot sauce. Also, she added the broccoli at the same time as the carrots, but I think that would make the broccoli really soggy and over cooked. Adding the broccoli at the end was perfect, in my opinion. Also, she didn't blend it, but I wanted something smoother. She also used velveeta (ew), and Colby Jack, which I didn't have.

Rating? 5/5
Why? It was probably related to my mood, but I needed something cheesy and comforting and this really hit the savory spot.