Starving Artist

I’ve been looking forward to today all week! In about an hour, I’m driving out to Stow, MA with 2 of my girlfriends (pumpkin lattes in hand, obviously), to go apple picking! I’m a complete dork, but apple picking is one of my favorite Fall activities and I make sure to go every year. And to top off this fabulously Fall day, we’ll be putting our bounty of apples to work when we cook up an apple themed dinner tonight. I’ll be posting the photos and recipes, so check back later on tonight ;-)

As I gear up for what is sure to be a lovely day with my girlfriends (the rain has stopped, thank goodness!), I thought I would start my morning off with some healthy pecan pumpkin pancakes with TJ’s mix as the base.

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The pumpkin pancakes were out of this world, and so incredibly light and fluffy!

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Here’s the recipe:

Recipe is for 1 large pancake.

• 1/3 cup TJ’s Pumpkin Pancake Mix
• 2 tsp Fage Nonfat Yogurt
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp egg whites
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp chopped pecans
• Pumpkin Butter
• Maple Syrup

1. Combine all ingredients (except for the pumpkin butter and maple syrup) in a small bowl.
2. Lightly coat a fry pan with margarine/spray/butter/whatever you like, and pour the mixture in.
3. Flip over once the top of the pancake is covered with bubbles and the sides are cooked.
4. Top with a spread of pumpkin butter, drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkling of pecans.

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Enjoy!

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Wow, how is it 2:15 already?? Apparently sleeping until 10:30 will do that to you. I neverrr sleep that late anymore, but I went out last night for a friend’s going away party (he’s going to Ireland for 5 years for med school. craziness slash i’m super jealous) and saw some friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. I guess that had to be the reason! When I finally dragged my lazy butt out of bed, I had the biggest craving for pancakes. Blueberry to be exact. I have a basic blueberry pancake recipe that I usually use, but it wasn’t going to cut it this morning. I made some tweaks and additions, and was very happy with the results. These pancakes were crazy good.

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Use fresh blueberries if you have them, but I prefer to use frozen. They don’t burst when you add them to the batter, so your batter doesn’t turn purple. Just add them in frozen, and when you’re done making the pancakes, the blueberries will be defrosted. I’d recommend using Wymans frozen blueberries.

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Any excuse to cook with pecans…

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Strong coffee was much needed this morning.

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A drizzle of maple syrup, and extra topping of blueberries and pecans.

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Mmmmmm.

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You really need to try this recipe and report back. Here it is…

Ingredients: Makes about 10 pancakes. Recipe can easily be cut in half.

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 2 cups skim milk
• 2 tablespoons part skim ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1/4 cup of pecans

Directions

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
2. Stir in the milk, eggs, ricotta, and vanilla until the batter is a smooth consistency.
3. Carefully mix in the blueberries, so they do not burst.
4. Pour batter onto a preheated griddle. Sprinkle on some of the pecans onto each pancakes.
5. Cook until bubbles form and edges start to dry.
6. Flip and cook until lightly browned.
7. I like to serve with some extra blueberries and pecans, drizzled with light maple syrup.

Now to get in gear and finish getting some work done (not a big fan of working on Sundays!)…

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