Green Smoothie

I tried green smoothies a few times in the past, and I never liked them. Then I tried a magical addition and suddenly they were fabulous. The addition was a straw. I don't know why it made such a difference, but I now love green smoothies for breakfast.

My job requires waking up at O dark thirty, so I prefer to assemble the smoothie beforehand. I put everything but the banana in the personal blender and put it in the fridge. Then in the morning I pop in a frozen banana, blend, and go.

Fluffy Pancakes

I made this recipe for the first time today, and I was pleasantly surprised with how good they were. This is definitely my new "go to" recipe for pancakes. They have a perfect texture and flavor. I promise that these are better than the recipe you are currently using!

Fluffy Pancakes

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp white vinegar

1 cup flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 Tbsp butter

In a small bowl, stir together milk and vinegar. Allow to sit for five minutes. It will look curdled--that is normal.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

Place butter in a small bowl and melt in the microwave. Once melted, crack the egg into the butter and stir with a fork or whisk until well-combined. Pour butter/egg mixture into milk/vinegar mixture and mix again.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients all at once. Gently stir only until all ingredients are uniformly moist. Don't over mix or the pancakes will be tough.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking spray, and drop 1/4 cup spoonfuls of batter onto skillet. Cook until bubbles form and pop, then flip and cook the other side.

Yield: about 8 pancakes

Crepes

Crepes are a good breakfast choice when you have guests because they are easy to customize. Some of my favorite toppings are whipped cream, nutella, fresh berries, peanut butter, pie filling, maple syrup, butter, and bananas. If you want to go for a savory approach, try filling them with carmelized onions, spinach, and cheese. Anything goes!

Crepes

3 eggs

Pinch of salt

2 Tbsp canola oil

3 Tbsp sugar

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add salt, oil, sugar, milk, and flour. Whisk together. Add in flour. Whisk until well-combined. It's okay if the batter isn't completely smooth.

Spray a medium skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Make each crepe with slightly less than 1/4 cup of batter. Pour batter into pan and then twirl the pan to evenly distribute the batter. Cook until the edges start to slightly pull away from the pan. Use a rubber spatula to flip the crepe over and continue cooking until lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Banana Pecan Pancakes

I'm not normally a pancake fan, but these could definitely change that! They're a cross between banana bread and pancakes. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Banana Pecan Pancakes

2 bananas
1 egg
1 pint buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Mash bananas with a fork. Mix together bananas, buttermilk, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl.

Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir well.

Add flour. Stir until it is all incorporated.

Fold in pecans.

Pour 1/3 cup at a time into a hot pan and cook like pancakes. Makes 8 pancakes.

Cinnamon Rolls (Biscuit Style)

There are two basic forms of cinnamon rolls--light biscuit style, and chewy roll style. This recipe falls into the first category. It is really easy to make and does not require rising time, so you can have homemade cinnamon rolls rather quickly. Yum! My rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut 1/4 cup butter into dry ingredients and mix until crumbly. Add milk and stir well.

Knead dough for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

On a floured surface, roll dough out into a rectangle.

Put remaining 1/2 cup butter in the microwave and cook until very soft but not melted (stick it in the freezer for a minute if it gets melted). Spread butter over top of dough rectangle. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts.

Starting with one of the long sides of your rectangle, roll dough into a jelly roll. Be sure to tuck the dough tightly as you roll--don't leave it loose!

Use a piece of dental floss or string to cut the dough into 12 pieces. Wrap the floss around the dough roll, cross the ends of the floss over each other, and then pull the ends down and to the sides to cut through the dough.

Place six rolls in a greased 9x13 pan and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining six rolls.

Stir together powdered sugar and milk with a fork. Spoon over the top of warm cinnamon rolls.

Lemon Muffins

Last week I received 25 fresh lemons so I've been on a bit of a lemon binge. Here's a recipe I found that makes slightly tangy and very moist muffins. I chose to make mini muffins, but they are great regular-sized muffins as well. I dislike how poppy seeds randomly show up inbetween your front teeth two hours later, so I chose to leave them out. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Lemon Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (NOT Fat Free)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup lemon juice, divided
2 Tbsp poppy seeds (optional)

Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, lemon peel, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then add yogurt, butter, and 1/3 cup lemon juice. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in poppy seeds, if desired.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes (mini muffins) or 16 minutes (regular muffins).

Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.

Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes and then use a toothpick to poke 10 holes in each one. Spoon lemon sugar glaze over muffins while still in pan.