Lactation Pancakes

Lactation Pancakes

Because sometimes, believe it or not, I don't really want a cookie. (Like at 6 in the morning).

Adapted from my sister's blog, Somebody’s Dinner Oatmeal Pancakes

http://somebodysdinner.blogspot.com/2015/05/oatmeal-pancakes.html

1 cup milk

1 T. white vinegar

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I like to use half walnuts, half almonds)

3 T. sugar

1 T. brewer’s yeast*

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons Canola oil

Directions:

1.       Combine milk and vinegar in a small glass bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes

2.       Combine oats, flax, flour, nuts, sugar, brewer’s yeast, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

3.       Whisk egg and oil into soured milk

4.       Combine wet and dry ingredients, and allow to sit for about 5 minutes for the oats and flax to absorb some of the liquid.

5.       Drop by quarter-cups onto greased medium-heat griddle (they come off fine without grease, but they brown so nicely with it!)

6.       Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days

*Brewer’s Yeast is a nutritional supplement believed to promote lactation. You can get a container of the powder at most health food stores. It is different than nutritional yeast!! It is very bitter, so that’s why we mask it in sugary baked goods J

Lactogenic foods in this recipe: Oats, flax, walnuts, almonds, brewer’s yeast

Turkey Soup with Dumplings (Homemade Bone Broth)

Perfect for using up the last of the Thanksgiving or Christmas Turkey

Turkey Soup

For the Stock:

1 turkey carcass, meat removed from bones

1 large onion, quartered

2 carrots, chopped

Several celery tops/leaves

Several sprigs fresh parsley

1 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

5-10 peppercorns

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Cold water

Add all ingredients to a large soup pot. Cover with 1 inch of cold water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer. Simmer 4 hours with the lid tilted so broth can reduce. Then, remove bones/large chunks with tongs and strain through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Discard bones, veggies, and anything else the strainer catches (you’ll use fresh veggies for the soup).

For the Soup:

¼ cup butter

3 cups chopped carrots

3 cups chopped celery

3 cups chopped onion

4 cloves garlic

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

4 tsp. poultry seasoning

Several dashes of sage, thyme, marjoram, turmeric, savory, etc.

Egg noodles or dumplings

6-8 cups shredded turkey meat

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large soup pot. Add onion and celery and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook a minute more, until fragrant. Add the carrots and seasonings, then cover with stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer 10 or so minutes until carrots are about halfway done. Then, add noodles or dumplings, as desired. Simmer until carrots and noodles/dumplings are cooked through (10-20 minutes more). Add the turkey meat and heat through. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Soup Dumplings

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

A few dashes of any seasonings (onion powder, garlic powder, etc.)

2/3 to 1 cup milk

Whisk together dry ingredients. Fold in milk with rubber spatula. Add enough milk to make a sticky dough.

Drop by small spoonfuls onto top of rapidly boiling soup. Cook 10 minutes uncovered, then another 10 minutes simmering and covered. 



Note: I had plenty of broth leftover that I froze in muffin trays and then transferred to a large gallon sized ziplock bag in the freezer so I can use it as needed for other recipes. Super handy! 

Authentic Posole

Authentic Posole

Seriously tastes just like how my aunt makes it....and she's authentic.

Ingredients:

3 lb. pork shoulder, BONE IN. 

2 onions (keep separate) (only need 1 onion if doing 1-day directions, 2 onions if making the broth ahead of time)

4 garlic cloves

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

4 cups water

1/4 cup butter (only if doing 2-day recipe)

1 jalapeno

4 cups hominy (Mexican corn, in the Hispanic foods isle. Picture of can provided for reference)

Salt to taste

Cilantro

Lemon juice

Shredded iceberg lettuce

2 day crock pot directions (more flavorful):

1. Place pork shoulder, one onion (quartered), garlic, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and water in crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours until meat is extremely tender. 

2. Refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight) for the fat to settle on top. 

3. Skim off the fat with a large spoon (but do not discard). Shred meat (removing any fat) and store in fridge. Place bones and fat back into the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. 

4. Strain broth through a fine-mesh strainer/cheese cloth. Discard bones, onions, and any other solids. 

5. In a large soup pot, melt butter. Add second onion (chopped) and jalapeno (chopped). Cook until tender. Add hominy (drained) and cook a few more minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 hour.
6. Add shredded meat and heat through. Salt to taste.
7. Serve topped with fresh cilantro, lemon juice, shredded lettuce, etc.

Same-day stove top directions (simpler, but you get less bone broth flavor):
1. Place pork shoulder, chopped onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and water in large soup pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered 1 hour.
2. Add hominy and jalapeno to soup. Boil, then simmer covered another 90 minutes, until meat falls off bone easily and hominy is cooked.
3. Using tongs, shred meat into soup and remove bone. Salt to taste.
4. Serve garnished with cilantro, lettuce, lemon juice.

Here is what hominy looks like in the store. You can use white or yellow hominy. I prefer yellow hominy but my store didn't carry it so I used this instead.

Holiday Cranberry Salsa Dip

Holiday Cranberry Salsa Dip

Ingredients:

12 oz bag fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)

1 bunch green onions, finely sliced

2 small jalapenos, seeded and minced

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

2 T. fresh ginger, grated (really easy to do if the ginger is FROZEN btw)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 T. lemon juice

16 oz cream cheese, softened (just before serving)

Crackers

Directions:

1. Rinse cranberries. Pick out any mushy or bruised ones. Place in food processor or blender and pulse to chop (do not puree).

2. In a bowl, combine chopped cranberries, green onion, jalapeno, cilantro, ginger, sugar, and lemon juice. Should be lookin' pretty fanciful and festive like the photo below.

3. Cover and refrigerate for at LEAST 4 hours for the flavors to mature (salsa will be too tart/sharp to begin with).

4. Soften cream cheese. Just before serving, mash cream cheese into salsa with a potato masher. Serve with crackers. 

Spiced Hot Cocoa

Spiced Hot Cocoa
Can easily be a traditional hot cocoa recipe if you leave out the spices. No other changes needed for this.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
dash ginger
dash cloves
1/3 cup water
4 cups milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. You may want to sift the cocoa and spices so there are no clumps.
2. Bring the 1/3 cup of water to a simmer in a saucepan. As soon as bubbles appear, whisk in the dry ingredients. Boil while stirring for 2 minutes.
3. Add milk and heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat, then add vanilla. And none of that sissy imitation stuff, neither. (But if that's all you have on hand, double the amount).
5. Add some marshums. Duh.

Serves 4

Cilantro-Lime Taco Soup

Ingredients

          1 lb ground beef

          1 large onion

          1 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped very fine

          1 large sweet bell pepper

          1 packet taco seasoning

          1 packet ranch seasoning

          1 can RoTel Cilantro Lime Tomatoes (undrained)

          1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)

          1 can pinto beans, undrained and pureed in blender

          1 can corn (drained)

          1 can black beans (drained)

         

Garnishes: Fresh cilantro, lime wedges or juice, sliced avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc.

Directions

1.    In large soup pot, brown the ground beef. About halfway through cooking, add onion, chipotle pepper, and sweet bell pepper. Continue to cook until the meat is fully browned and onions are tender.  (Note: The chipotle gives the soup a nice “medium” amount of spice. Add less or more as desired).

2.    Drain the fat off the meat and return to the pot. Add seasonings and stir well.

3.    Add the remaining canned ingredients and stir well. If the soup seems a little dry, some water or beef broth can be added.

4.  Bring to a boil, then serve. Garnish each bowl individually with fresh cilantro, avocado, lime juice, sour cream, and cheese.

Note: If doubling the recipe, puree both 1 can of pinto beans and 1 can of black beans and leave the other two cans intact for more variety. The pureed beans give the soup a creamy base. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These come out perfect every time even in high altitude

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbl. warm water

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbl. buttermilk or sour milk

2-3 really super ripe bananas 

2 cups flour

1 cup assorted mix-ins (candied fruit, nuts, chocolate chips.... I prefer 100% chocolate...)

Directions

1. With a hand mixer, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat well. Add soda water, salt, and buttermilk and combine. 

2. Coarsely mash bananas and stir in. If you're planning on eating the muffins hot, leave chunks of banana because they become AMAZING melty pockets of sweetness... But, if you're one of those people who let muffins cool before eating them... .you'll probably want to make everything nice and smooth so they don't get... moisty.

3. With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and chocolate chips until just combined. 

Makes 18 muffins.

Bake at 325 F for 12-15 minutes until nicely browned on the outside and when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean (the banana pockets might stick a bit...)

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week.