Cheese Souffle

Whenever I have anything that has the word "souffle" in it, I judge it against his recipe. This tastes so cheesey and is so light and fluffy, it's hard not to like. Back when I had braces, every time I got them tightened, I asked my mom to make this as I couldn't chew anything else.


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 8 oz. Velveeta, cubed
• 4 eggs, separated

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300° F.

• In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Blend in flour and salt. Add milk all at once; cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until cheese melts.
• Beat egg yolks until very thick and lemon-colored. Slowly add to cheese mixture, stirring constantly; cool slightly.

• Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually pour yolk mixture into egg whites; fold together well.
• Pour into ungreased 1 1/2 quart souffle or casserole dish. Bake for 1 1/4 hour, or until knife inserted off center comes out clean.

My Take
As I slowly try to cut out processed foods, I look at this recipe and wonder how I can get that super cheesey flavor without using Velveeta and using just natural cheeses. If anyone has any suggestions as to what cheeses I should start with, that would be awesome. I'll update ya'll and let you know if I find anything that works great.

Banana-Raisin Pancakes

School has started for many families. Even though my little one isn't in school, a nutritious breakfast is still a must. And because I'm not a morning person, I want something quick and easy.

Pancakes are great, but sometimes I find them a bit...bland. I need variety! I need spices! This recipe delivers that. The bananas have  agreat flavor and really keeps the pancakes moist, while the raisins add textural variety (which, according to a lot of Food Network shows, is very important). The cinnamon really brings both flavors together.

Banana-Raisin Pancakes
(Printable Version)

Ingredients

• 2 medium bananas
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup lowfat milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup pancake/waffle mix
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

•  Break up bananas into a mixing bowl. With the back of a fork, mash until smooth. Add egg, milk, and oil; combine.
• In another mixing bowl, combine pancake mix, raisins, and cinnamon. Add pancake mix to banana mixture and stir until moistened.
• Heat skillet over medium high heat. Measure 1/4 cup batter and pour onto skillet. Cook as many pancakes as you can at one time. 

• Brown the underside of the pancake, and when bubbles appear on the surface and the edges start to appear "dry", carefully flip pancakes over and continue cooking for another minute. 

Little L snitching pancakes before I was done cooking

My Take

 


I love these pancakes, and due to the sweetness the bananas bring to the party, I rarely eat them with syrup. Instead, I use a touch of butter, and just chow down on them that way.

A quick tip: The riper the banana, the easier it is to mash, thus giving you a smoother batter. You can tell how ripe mine are in the picture, and they were super easy to mash with the back of my fork. Though, I don't mind finding pieces of bananas in my pancakes. :)

Easy Mushroom Pizza Pie

This past week I've started doing something I've heard about but never done. I've started to "celebrate" Meatless Mondays. Every Monday I'll be a vegetarian for one day. I'm hoping it will help me make better choices of what I eat, plus it makes me eat my fruits and veggies rather than starches and meat.

So yesterday I made a recipe which I have done before but haven't shared on here. It's called Easy Mushroom Pizza Pie. It's very easy to put together, although I may tweak a few things the next time I make it. Here we go!

Ingredients

• 1 (4 oz) can mushroom pieces and stems, drained
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup Original Bisquick mix
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (4 to 6 oz)

Directions

• Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 10-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Sprinkle mushrooms, and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese in pie plate.

•  In medium bowl, stir milk, eggs, and Biquick mix with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour over vegetable mixture in pie plate.

• Bake 20 minutes. Spread pizza sauce over top. Top with remaining ingredients. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until cheese is light brown. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

My Take

What I love most about how this turns out is the egginess of it. Reminds me of a souffle, but a lot quicker and easier. The original recipe called for onions both on the bottom and top, but since I don't like onions, I just took them out. If you would like to add them back in, then for the bottom, add 2/3 cup chopped and for the top put 1/3 cup cup. You can also add 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper for the top as well.

I think next time I make this, I'm going to use fresh mushrooms and sauté them before putting them into the pie plate. I think that will give it more flavor than just using the canned mushrooms.

So, have you ever done a Meatless Monday, or anything like that? How did it work out for you. Was there any recipes you turned to?