Sourdough Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup sourdough starter (room temperature)

1 T granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon warm water

Directions

In a large bowl, add sourdough starter, sugar, egg, olive oil, and salt; mix well; set aside. 

In a small bowl, dilute 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of warm water; set aside until ready to bake your pancakes. Note: don't add the baking soda/water mixture to the pancake batter until right before you are ready to cook them. Once your pan or griddle is hot, you can mix it in quickly just before you cook them.

When ready to cook your sourdough pancakes, fold the baking soda/water mixture gently into the prepared pancake batter. Let the mixture bubble and foam a minute or two before using.

Heat up a lightly-greased griddle until medium/hot and pour the sourdough pancake batter onto the griddle.  For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup sourdough pancake batter onto hot griddle. 

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

What more could you ask for in a pancake than peanut butter, banana, and chocolate chips? I'm pretty anti-banana but they are delicious in here.

Ingredients

1 very ripe banana

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg 

1 pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1T peanut, almond, sunflower butter

1T olive oil (or vegetable oil or melted coconut oil, whatever you have)

1/2 cup milk (or more depending on how thin you like your pancakes)

3/4 cup flour (I like to do any combo of white/wheat/almond flour here)

3 T chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat a skillet or griddle to medium heat. Mash your banana with baking powder. Add egg, oil, salt, vanilla, almond butter, and milk and stir. Stir in flour until just combined (don't over-mix). Add chocolate chips and fold in gently. 

Scoop 1/4 cup measurements onto griddle (may need cooking spray or butter depending on what kind of pan you're using). Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side - until golden brown. Make sure the pan/griddle isn't too hot because they're pretty hearty pancakes and it takes awhile for the middle to cook through.

Dutch Baby

Ingredients

½ cup milk

2 eggs

½ cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon butter

Toppings: fruit, powdered sugar, syrup, anything you like (it's not sweet so you can also do something savory on top)

Directions

Place a cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 450 (this works best for 9 inch skillet but you can make more or less for another size). Heat the milk in the microwave for 20 seconds. In a medium bowl beat the eggs, then stir in the warm milk. Slowly whisk in the flour and salt until smooth.

Carefully remove the hot skillet and add the butter to coat the bottom/inside. Add the batter to the skillet and place it back in the oven. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until browned and puffy.

Soft Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Place the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, if mixing by hand), stir to combine, and let it sit until dissolved. Place the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add this to the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Add all the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead on low speed or by hand against the counter until smooth but slightly tacky (it should spring back when poked), 8 to 10 minutes. Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in size (should take about 1 hour).

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. To shape into rolls, tuck the edges underneath like you're making a little pouch and then roll the dough/pouch between your palms or against the counter (if the dough is sticking, you can put some flour down on the counter) until round.

Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Arrange the rolls inside the baking dish so that they are spaced a little apart. Let the rolls rise until they look fluffy and fill the pan, 30 to 40 minutes. At the end of the rising time, heat the oven to 375°F.

Brush the rolls with butter. Melt the butter and brush it over the risen dinner rolls. This helps the tops brown and keeps the crust soft. Bake the rolls on a middle rack until golden-brown, 15 to 18 minutes. 

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion (roughly diced but you’ll be blending it so doesn’t really matter how you cut it)

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (or Better than Bouillon)

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 ½ pounds broccoli (don’t be a hero – just buy some frozen broccoli and it’s already cut up for you plus so cheap)

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Stir in broth, 1 cup water, oats, and broccoli. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until broccoli is tender (around 10 minutes). Either blend the soup in a blender or use an immersion blender and blend it right there in the pot until it’s creamy. Add some shredded cheddar if you want more of a broccoli cheddar situation but it’s delicious on its own too even if it’s another secretly vegan soup.

Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

1 large yellow onion, diced 

2 4-ounce cans diced green chili peppers (you can usually only find these in mild so don’t worry about them making it spicy)

3 cloves garlic, minced 

2 teaspoons cumin 

2 teaspoons salt 

½ teaspoon coriander 

½ teaspoon dried oregano 

4 cups chicken stock (or I prefer Better than Bouillon - it's delicious and I don't have to cart gallons of stock up 3 flights of stairs every week)

1 13.5-ounce can cannellini or navy beans (drained and rinsed)

1 cup frozen corn 

Adding any of this as you serve it will be delicious: shredded monterey jack cheese, lime juice, sour cream, hot sauce, avocado

Directions

Combine the chicken, onions, green chili peppers, garlic, cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, coriander, oregano in Instant Pot or slow cooker. Stir to make sure the spices coat everything and pour the chicken stock over top (should cover the chicken and vegetables by an inch or so). 

Instant pot: Include the corn and beans in with the chicken and everything else and cook it all together on the meat/chili setting on high pressure for 20 minutes. It will warm up, cook 20 minutes and once it finishes, let it naturally depressurize 10 minutes afterwards before releasing the pressure.

Slow cooker: If you’re using the slow cooker, cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. (It's fine to cook for 8 hours on low, if you’re going to be gone all day - chicken just gets more and more tender and starts to fall apart but you're going to shred it anyway). About 30 minutes before the end of cooking, remove the lid of the slow cooker and add the beans and corn, and then cook for the remaining time. 

Once it’s done, take the chicken out and shred it into large, bite-sized pieces with two forks. Eat it as it is or add any of the delicious things I included above to make it even tastier.

Creamy Curry Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve

2 medium white onions, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to season

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets

4 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or I like better than bouillon...well, better) 

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 cup coconut milk

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onions with ¼ teaspoon salt until they’re soft and translucent (8-9 minutes). Reduce heat to low, add garlic, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add cauliflower, broth, coriander, turmeric, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until cauliflower is soft (maybe 15 minutes or so). Purée the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender right in the pot until it’s smooth. Stir in the coconut milk. This secretly vegan soup is light, so easy to make, and delicious! It tastes almost like a potato curry soup so you'd barely know you were eating such a healthy veggie soup.