Fluffy Strawberry and Champagne Pancakes

In the state of Utah, you cannot buy mini bottles of alcohol through the state liquor stores (which is basically the only place you can buy alcoholic beverages) unless you want to order an entire case.  I am sure that there is some kind of reasonable logic behind this, but the end result of this state of things is that if you are like us and only cook with alcohol instead of drinking it, you end up having to buy things in rather larger bottles than you might otherwise want to, given that many recipes only call for 3-4 tablespoons... and then you're stuck finding something to do with the leftovers.  We typically freeze our red and white wine and then thaw it out every time we want to use it.  I have had people tell me that's a horrible thing to do to a wine, but the flavor still seems to come through well enough for the purposes of cooking.  All of which is a long preamble to say- If you're looking for something to do with the leftovers of a large bottle of champagne, make these pancakes.  If you're not looking for something to do with leftover champagne, go and buy a bottle and make these pancakes anyhow.  They're seriously amazing.  We came across this recipe from Veggie and the Beast when we were looking for something to do with all the leftover champagne we had after using just 3 tablespoons worth in the super tasty caramelized onion and jalapeno waffles, and I am so glad we decided to try them.  The pancakes turn out super light and fluffy, almost like angel food cake made into pancakes, and the strawberry sauce goes really well with them.

For the Pancakes:
4 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup champagne (we used Brut)

For the Strawberry Sauce
2 lb strawberries (we used frozen, thawed and drained)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp champagne

Whipped cream to garnish

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil. In medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.  Gradually stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  The batter will be a little bit lumpy, but that's okay.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat a griddle to 375º and start working on the strawberry sauce.  In a medium saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, orange zest and juice, and cornstarch.  Smash the strawberries, and then bring to a boil.   Reduce to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and add the 6 Tbsp champagne.

As the sauce is simmering, cook the pancakes.  Gently fold the 1/2 cup champagne into the batter until it's just incorporated.  Pour out 1/4 cup at a time of the batter onto the hot greased griddle.  Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form, and the edges start to solidify. Flip the pancakes and cook another couple of minutes until golden.   Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream.

Pepper Lime Fettuccine with Avocado Sauce

We first made this recipe clear back in February of 2014, but it's something we've made several times since then, since it was just SO good, and I'm copying the recipe over from my Photo a Day blog for ease of finding it later when I want to make it again. :)  The avocado sauce, which I found over at 5 Dollar Dinners, is super easy to throw together and would go equally well with just regular store bought pasta, but I really liked the extra layer of flavor that using homemade pepper lime fettuccine gives the dish.

For the Pepper Lime Fettuccine:
3/4 lb all purpose flour
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 Tbsp lime juice
Grated zest of 3 limes
2 tsp black pepper

Place the flour in a large bowl and make make a well in the center to form a "volcano."  In a small bowl, combine the eggs, lime juice, lime zest, and pepper.  Pour the egg mixture into the center of the volcano and then beat together, slowly mixing more and more flour in from the edges until it forms a dough ball.  Slowly add more water, if needed, 1 Tbsp at a time, continuing to knead by hand until all the flour is incorporated into the dough ball, and it is soft, but doesn't really stick to your fingers.  Knead for 5 minutes or so by hand until the dough is cohesive and moderately smooth.  Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.  Then, either send through a pasta machine, or knead for another 10 minutes or so, until the dough is completely smooth and elastic, and roll out with a rolling pin and cut into noodles.  Cook in lightly salted boiling water for about 4 minutes or until al dente.   Meanwhile, make the sauce:

For the Avocado Sauce:
2 medium avocados
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried basil (or 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

While the pasta is boiling, mash up the avocados in a medium sized bowl.  Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients and serve over the top of the pasta.

Spicy Southwestern Chicken with Mango Guacamole

I love mango.  It's something that we don't buy very often, since it tends to be a somewhat more expensive fruit, and honestly, it makes a sticky mess to cut it up, but I love the flavor.  I also really love guacamole (so long as it's not too spicy), so when I came across this recipe from Deals to Meals that combined mango with guacamole and put it on top of chicken, I was intrigued.  It turned out to be super easy to throw together (I was in a hurry to get dinner on the table at the end and used minced dried onion and thawed frozen mango chunks in the guacamole) and the kids both really liked it.  The chicken is a bit spicier than I would normally do- I probably couldn't eat it plain (but again, even my kids have a higher spice tolerance than I do), but the mango guacamole helps to counteract the spiciness nicely, so that I was able enjoy the dish.  The end result was super tasty- a definite keeper for our family.

For the Marinade:

5 chicken breasts 2 limes, juiced 1 t. paprika 1 t. salt 2 t. taco seasoning 2 t. cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced Dash cayenne pepper 1 t. chili powder 1 T. brown sugar 2 T. olive oil - See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2012/08/mango-guacamole-lime-chicken.html#sthash.l2604RaI.dpuf  kk

1/4 cup lime juice
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
4 tsp taco seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup  olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lb)

Put the marinade ingredients and the chicken in a ziplock bag or shallow bowl and let marinate for a couple of hours.  Put the chicken and marinade in a 9x9 pan and cook at 375º for 45 minutes or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165º (since the marinade is very red, it can be a bit hard to tell if the breasts are done without a meat thermometer).  Meanwhile, cook up some rice and make the mango guacamole.

For the Mango Guacamole
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomato
3 large avocados
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion (or 1-1/2 Tbsp minced dried or 3/4 tsp powder)
2 cups diced mango (we used frozen mango that we thawed)
1-1/2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt

Serve the chicken over hot cooked rice and top with the mango guacamole.

1 t. salt 2 t. taco seasoning 2 t. cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced Dash cayenne pepper 1 t. chili powder 1 T. brown sugar 2 T. olive oil - See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2012/08/mango-guacamole-lime-chicken.html#sthash.kJN6xNMj.dpuf

1 t. salt 2 t. taco seasoning 2 t. cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced Dash cayenne pepper 1 t. chili powder 1 T. brown sugar 2 T. olive oil - See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2012/08/mango-guacamole-lime-chicken.html#sthash.l2604RaI.dpuf

5 chicken breasts 2 limes, juiced 1 t. paprika 1 t. salt 2 t. taco seasoning 2 t. cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced Dash cayenne pepper 1 t. chili powder 1 T. brown sugar 2 T. olive oil - See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2012/08/mango-guacamole-lime-chicken.html#sthash.l2604RaI.dpuf

5 chicken breasts 2 limes, juiced 1 t. paprika 1 t. salt 2 t. taco seasoning 2 t. cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced Dash cayenne pepper 1 t. chili powder 1 T. brown sugar 2 T. olive oil - See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2012/08/mango-guacamole-lime-chicken.html#sthash.l2604RaI.dpuf

 jkljkl5 chicken breasts 2 limes, juiced 1 t. paprika 1 t. salt 2 t. taco seasoning 2 t. cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced Dash cayenne pepper 1 t. chili powder 1 T. brown sugar 2 T. olive oil - See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2012/08/mango-guacamole-lime-chicken.html#sthash.l2604RaI.dpuf