cream cheese pancakes

i think we (michael and i) can officially call ourselves pancake fanatics. we used to have pancakes pretty much every saturday and sunday morning, unless we went out to brunch, and i love finding new ways to make them different. now that i've been having some weird food cravings/aversions, we haven't had pancakes as much, but since i'm officially at the end of my first trimester, i'm happy to work them back into my diet!

awhile back, i tried the quinoa pancakes recipe you can find here. i also like to mix in bananas, chocolate chips, cinnamon, etc. to make the usual pancakes a little more special.

about a month or so ago, i tried something very different: cream cheese pancakes. (original recipe here)

there are 4 very simple ingredients to make 8 pancakes:

-4 oz cream cheese

-4 eggs

-2 packets splenda (or sweetener of your choice)

-1 tsp cinnamon

put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. let the batter sit for a few minutes until the bubbles settle down, then fry on a griddle as usual.

not surprisingly for me, i took a "before" shot and was so excited to eat that i didn't take an "after". to be fair, i started the batter and michael cooked the pancakes while i was upstairs scrambling to get ready for church. sooo i missed a few photo ops. :)

anyway, here's what they look like, courtesy of ibreatheimhungry.com:

next time you're in the mood for a different kind of pancake, give these a try! so easy and fast (and gluten and carb free, might i add)!

leftover ricotta version 2-ricotta pancakes

part 2 of my leftover ricotta saga....

after the kale dip was made, i still had about 3/4 cup ricotta cheese to deal with. we love our pancakes around the segura household, so making a pancake batter for the next day's breakfast was a perfect solution!

this recipe is based on martha stewart's lemon-poppy seed ricotta pancakes, but i modified it in several ways to fit the ingredients i had on hand.

these pancakes are so light and fluffy, thanks to the egg whites, and just sweet enough without being overpowering. so so good and unusual!

here's what you need:

-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 1/2 tbsp sugar
-pinch of salt
-1 cup ricotta cheese (i only had 3/4 cup, so i added a little plain greek yogurt to make up the difference)
-3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
-3/4 cup milk (i used almond milk)

[the original recipe calls for lemon zest and poppy seeds, which i'm sure would be fabulous in these pancakes, but i didn't have either on hand at the time]

1. in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.

2. in a large bowl, mix ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla.

3. add the dry mixture to the cheese mixture and mix until just combined.

4. beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff. gently fold egg whites into batter. [we put the batter in the fridge, covered, overnight at this step. turned out fine!]

5. cook and enjoy!

must try recipe: quinoa pancakes

do yall ever have one ingredient in your pantry that just sits around...you look at it for weeks...you always consider using it...and it still sits there?

that ingredient for me was a little bag of quinoa:

i bought it forever ago, and while i've used quinoa before, i kept this around for awhile just thinking of something different to do with it.

thanks to pinterest, i found what i was looking for: this recipe from the patrician palette. patricia made quinoa pancakes with blueberry maple syrup. since we had a couple of lazy mornings this past weekend, i knew this would be perfect to try.

[side note: for anyone who's scared of quinoa, don't be! it's a grain-like product that's high in protein and gluten-free. it makes a great side instead of rice, pasta, etc. it's really easy to make and will take on any flavor you add to it.]

here's what you need:

pancakes:
-2 eggs
-2 1/2 cups buttermilk (see substitution below)
-4 tbsp shortening (see substitution below)
-2 1/2 cups flour
-2 tsp sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-1 cup cooked quinoa

syrup:
-maple syrup
-6 oz fruit (recipe called for fresh blueberries, but i used frozen strawberries, thawed)

substitutions:

-i didn't have any buttermilk on hand, so i subbed in skim milk + lemon juice. for each cup of milk, you need 1 tbsp lemon juice (vinegar works too!). mix and let stand for 10 minutes before using.

-i prefer not to use shortening, so i used 4 tbsp vegetable oil instead.

directions:

1. beat eggs well. add remaining ingredients and mix until blended.

2. pour onto a hot, lightly oiled griddle. cook until golden brown on each side.

3. add syrup and fruit to a small saucepan. heat on low until syrup is warm.

4. pour syrup over pancakes. i served these with bacon, because really...what is better than bacon and syrup? yum.

i highly, highly recommend making this recipe. it's so filling, and the pancakes are a really unique texture thanks to the addition of quinoa.

enjoy!