At our house, we always try to make a “good” breakfast on Sunday mornings.  It seems that during the week; we are so busy and just have time for cereal or toast.  I always try to think of something “new” to make for the menu, rather than just plain old eggs and toast.

This morning I looked in the fruit basket and seen that I had a few ripe bananas so I thought let’s jazz up those plain pancakes with a banana or two.  Once I added those, I thought a little cinnamon, vanilla and chopped, toasted pecans would be good too!

I always wondered how the restaurants got the light and fluffy pancakes?!  My mom’s recipe for pancakes were “okay” but were always really flat and never had that nice outside “crunch” to them.

I did some research a few years back and after reading several articles ( I really need to get a life) In order to make the “perfect” pancake, you must use buttermilk, baking powder and baking soda.  By combining these 3 ingredients together you will have a fluffy picturesque pancake!  In a nutshell, the buttermilk, soda and powder balances out the acidity in the batter – so when dropped on the griddle, the bubbles will rise and the pancakes will be fluffy!

A couple other tips that I may share…

Use a griddle rather than a skillet:  You can make 8 cakes at a time and they will all get done around the same time and won’t all meld together in the skillet.  You can usually pick up a griddle for around $20.00.

Measure out 1/4 cup of batter per pancake:  This will help the cakes cook more evenly.

Don’t flip the pancake until all of the bubbles “pop”:  If you wait until all of the bubble pop, then flip, your result will not be a doughy center.

After mixing your batter (don’t over mix)  let it set for about 5 minutes before starting the pancakes:  This will let the soda, powder and buttermilk do its’ thing.

Here is my recipe for Banana Buttermilk Pecan Pancakes:

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (use the real thing – I never have luck with my pancakes fluffing up when I add vinegar to milk.  You can also freeze buttermilk in an ice cube tray and take out what you need out of the freezer the night before)

2 eggs

6T. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas – diced

2/3 cup chopped, toasted pecans - by toasting your pecans, this will bring out the “nuttiness” flavor

Combine the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, melted butter, vanilla.  Stir into the dry ingredients.  Fold in the chopped bananas and pecans.

Heat the griddle to 375 degrees & brush with vegetable oil.  When hot, measure out the 1/4 cup pancakes and place on griddle.  Don’t flip until all of the bubble are popped.

To keep the pancakes warm, just place in a 250 degree oven on a sheet pan until ready to serve.

Makes 16 pancakes.

You really can’t have pancakes without sausage.  Here is a great recipe to make with plain old ground pork & it doesn’t have the MSG that the prepackaged seasoned sausage has.  It is a little on the spicy side; but just give it a dip in some syrup to mellow it out

SPICY SEASONED SAUSAGE

1# lean ground pork

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. ground sage

1 teaspoon thyme

1 T. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all together and form into 2 inch patties.  Place in non stick skillet and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes or until juices run clear!  Place on paper towels to get rid of any grease that you may have.

This sausage recipe is also great for making patties and grilling or using in lasagne or on top of pizza!

Happy Cooking!

The answer is YES.  Actually the zucchini is a member of the cucumber and melon family.  It was developed in Italy centuries ago.  The word “zucchini” comes from the Italian word “zucchino” meaning small squash; however the ones I grew in the garden got a little over sized.  This is a question that intrigued me when I moved to Arizona.  My family grew up calling it “zucchini” ~ which the only time we ate it was in a hot dish that my mother made and only my father and her ate it.  My brothers and I didn’t like it at all. The markets and grocery stores in Tucson call it Italian Squash.

As I grew up, I came to the realization that I couldn’t live off of junk food the rest of my life and found that if prepared properly, I like zucchini!  I came up with this recipe last summer and we eat it quite frequently.  It is really versatile, you can throw whatever you have in the refrigerator in the mixture!  It’s great for “cleaning out” the crisper!

SAUSAGE & CHEESE STUFFED ZUCCHINI OR GREEN ITALIAN SQUASH:

3 – Zucchini (cut in half lengthwise)

1# seasoned chicken sausage or seasoned pork sausage (I just buy the Hot Chicken Italian Sausage @ Sprouts and take it out of the casing)

1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped red bell or green bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh is the best)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Trim stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and put in bowl. Mix seeds with sausage, garlic, bread crumbs, and additional vegetables and Parmesan cheese. Stuff squash with sausage mixture and place in 9×13 inch baking pan. Pour sauce over squash and cover pan with foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until sausage is cooked. Remove foil and cover with mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.