Apple Puffy Oven Pancakes

This is one of our favorite breakfasts. It definitely gets 5 STARS!


2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium apple
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt


Heat oven to 400 F.
Melt butter in pie plate, 9 x 11 1/4 inches, in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over melted butter.
Peal and thinly slice apple. Arrange over sugar and cinnamon.
Beat eggs slightly in a medium bowl. Beat in flour, milk and salt until just mixed. Do not over beat or the pancake will not puff). Pour mixture over apples.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Immediately turn upside down onto serving plate. Serve with syrup for a little extra sweetness.



I have had to double this recipe when cooking for more then just my husband and I. It is a little tricky to still make it puff up but it can be done and even if it doesn't, it is still delicious. Here are some changes to make when doubling.
Use 1/3 cup butter in a 13 x 9 pan and keep the salt at 1/4 tsp. You can double everything else.

Double Chicken Corn Chowder with a Kick and Baking Powder Biscuits

Due to the lazy kick off of my website the plan tonight is to post two recipes to make up for it. There is nothing better then corn chowder on a rainy Oregon day. I do have my classic corn chowder recipe that I always make (yes, I will post that one some day as well) but this week we tried something new that rivaled my classic. This corn chowder got 4 STARS from us. The kick comes from the Old Bay Seasoning which you can adjust depending on how much spice you like. If you don't have, or can't find, Old Bay Seasoning I'm sure you can use any seasoning salt to taste with an added bit of paprika.


6 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 large unpeeled red potatoes
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken - I usually boil a chicken breast or two and shred, you can also use a rotisserie chicken from the store
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 cans cream style corn
2/3 cup milk
3 tbsp flour
1-3 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning


Cook the bacon in a large frying pan or in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy. Put the bacon on a paper towel (but not too close to the burner you will be cooking with or you will have a similar experience as me and end up beating out flames with your spoon).
Leave the bacon drippings in the pan and add the chopped onion. Cook until softened. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes and add to onions. Mix together flour and Old Bay Seasoning. Sprinkle over potatoes and onions and cook, stirring constantly until the spices are fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add chicken broth, raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower to medium heat, cover and cook until potatoes begin to soften and the mixture thickens slightly (about 7 minutes).
Stir in chicken, corn and milk. Return to a low boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Turn the heat low and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender and the chowder has a thick, creamy consistency (about 15 minutes). Ladle into soup bowls and crumple a generous serving of bacon over each serving.


Corn chowder is not corn chowder without baking powder biscuits...

2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk

Heat over to 450 F.
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender, fork, or two criss-crossing knives, until mixture looks like fine bread crumbs. Stir in milk.
Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm and with butter.

Sundried Tomoato Chicken Rolls

My husband called these chicken rolls "better then chicken cordon blue", which means they must be good. It's true, I did splurge on sun-dried tomatoes this week but it was so worth it. These were so easy to make that it was even worth waiting the 40 minutes of baking time, which for us is quite a long time when we both come home hungry from school and work. It was a perfect size for two of us and will be easy to double or triple depending on the size of your family. We gave this meal 4 STARS.

2 Boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Sun-dried tomatoes in oil (patted dry)
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Salt
Sprinkle of Pepper
4 Bacon slices

Butterfly chicken breast by cutting horizontally lengthwise almost, but not quit, to the other side. This is done most easily if you are using frozen chicken breasts and you cut them when they are still a little frozen but can also be done using fresh chicken breasts. Open flat. Butterflied chicken breast should be approximately 1/4 inch or 5 mm in thickness. If you have one of those thick pieces of chicken place between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with mallet or rolling pin to desired thickness.

Combine next 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Spread mixture evenly on cut side of flattened chicken breast, Roll up tightly starting from the long edge. Tie with string (or in my case dental floss). Place on baking sheet or in a baking dish (Note: Use somethign with a lip because the juices leaked off my baking stone and sure made a mess of my oven).

Lay bacon slices lengthwise over chicken roll. Bake in 350 F (175 C) oven for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with tinfoil. Let stand 10 minutes. Discard string. Serve and enjoy!

MAKE IT A MEAL: I served these chicken rolls with a sweet potato with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and broccoli which I drizzeled with olive oil and salt and baked in the oven with the chicken for 20 minutes. If you are not a sweet potato fan you could also just make baked potatoes in the oven at the same time.