Sunday Morning Pancakes...

   With summer quickly approaching, I was inspired to make some Sunday morning pancakes with a bit of a twist. When I think of Summer, I am instantly reminded of a campfire and delicious chocolaty smores. So today's choice to make Smore's Pancakes came fairly naturally.
   These particular pancakes are by no means calorie conscience, or healthy in anyway. Since hubby was home this weekend, and since this was his weekend to celebrate Father's Day with us, we splurged a little bit. Boy are they delicious. I made the pancakes using the graham cracker component of a smore, and then made a homemade marshmallow fluff and a melted chocolate sauce to drizzle on top.

Smore's Pancakes:
(Loosely adapted from a recipe found on wearenotmartha.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups milk 

Directions:
(1) In a medium sized mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
(2) In a second bowl combine the milk, beaten egg, and melted butter.
(3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
(4) Stir to combine. If the pancake batter seems to be a little thick, don't be afraid to add a little more milk, or even some water.

(5) Spray a large non-stick pan or griddle with cooking spray. Heat over medium high heat.
(6) Use 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancake. Pour out onto the griddle. Once bubbles start to appear in the tops of the pancakes, flip and continue cooking.


*Don't forget to cook up any leftover batter, and freeze the pancakes for later in the week :)



Chocolate Sauce:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp. peanut butter

Directions:
(1) With a small pot, boil about 2 cups of water.
(2) In a metal bowl that is larger than the pot, place all above ingredients inside.
(3) Place the metal bowl on top of the pot with the boiling water. Stir continuously until the chocolate has melted and the ingredients are well combined.

*I use this exact melted chocolate "recipe" for chocolate fondue as well. It is delicious for dipping fruit, sponge cake, brownies etc...

Note: When melting chocolate, never add water.
The water will cause the melted chocolate to seize,
and begin to crumble.

Marshmallow Fluff:

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

(1) In the bowl of a standing mixture beat together the egg whites, corn syrup, and salt on high speed for 4-5 minutes until it thickens similar to a meringue. (The mixture will start out clear, or a color similar to that of the corn syrup you use. But after beating, it will turn bright white).

(2) Next, slowly mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream of tartar on low speed. Continue mixing until all the ingredients become well incorporated.

*Making this marshmallow fluff is very similar to making homemade marshmallow's. The only difference is the fluff is missing the gelatin involved to allow the marshmallow's to set. Keep that in mind if you are ever interested in making your own homemade marshmallows. They would be light years better than those you buy from the store.

Bonne Appetite

*If you liked this recipe, you may also like:
Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Apple Cinnamon Pancakes w/ Cinnamon Syrup
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pancakes

Summer Time Sandwiches...

    For a while now I have been wanting to do a Pulled Pork. My husband came home for a weekend visit, so I took this opportunity to cook some up with my slow cooker. The style of pulled pork that I believe most Canadians have come to know and love is typically made with a sweet BBQ sauce, in which the pork shoulder is braised in. Today I felt like trying something different. In Kansas they make their Pulled Pork with a dry rub. Coincidentally I had recently come across a pork dry rub that I had been dying to try out. This was the best way I could think of.
    At about 9 o'clock this morning, I loaded up the slow cooker with all the necessary fixin's. I then spent the whole day enjoying time with my family, and NOT concerning myself with supper. Once supper time rolled around, my house was smelling delicious and the pork was ready for "pulling". When we decided it was time to eat, all I needed to do was spend ten minutes making some coleslaw and plating the food.


Kansas City Pulled Pork Sandwich

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Kansas City Pork Rub
2 lbs. pork shoulder, cubed and fat removed
1 can stout beer (Or 2 chicken bouillon cubes and 3 cups of water)
Fresh bread rolls
Orange Chipotle BBQ Sauce or your favourite BBQ Sauce
Vinegar based Coleslaw, optional

Directions:
(1)  Place the pork shoulder cubes into a slow cooker or a large heavy bottom pot.
(2) Add the dry rub to the pot. Using your hands, massage the pork with the spices until most of the powder has been absorbed by the pork.

(3) Add the beer or water and the bouillon cubes. If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours, otherwise bring the liquid to a boil for ten minutes and then reduce the temperature to a low simmer for two hours.

(4) Once the pork has finished cooking, transfer the pork to a plate. Using two forks, pull the pork apart. Add desired amount of the braising liquid to the pork.

Finished Cooking...

(5) Start assembling the sandwiches. Spread a fair amount of the BBQ sauce on to the bread roll. Pile a generous amount of pulled pork on top of each bread roll. Add coleslaw if desired.

Homemade Dry Rub...

Homemade Pork Dry Rub (Kansas City Style):

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

(1) Combine all ingredients into a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir until combined.

(2) Store in an air tight container.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

    Hey folks. How goes it? I haven't posted a blog in a few weeks. Partly because I haven't cooked or done anything blog worthy, and also because I've been using most of my spare time to study for an extra- curricular French course I have been taking. Well my class is finishing up and I am finding myself with some extra time on my hands again.
    My last post was for some Baby Back Pork Ribs (which are delicious by the way), but I was meaning to post a recipe for my Homemade Orange Chipotle BBQ Sauce. With everything that I've had going on lately, I never got around to it  until now. So here it is....

Orange Chipotle BBQ Sauce

I found these convenient containers
at the Dollar Store. I use them for
storing salad dressings and sauces,
as well as flood icing when I decorate
cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic
1 cup ketchup (I use a can of organic tomato paste instead)
1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. orange marmalade (I use "Crofter's Organic Blood Orange". It's delicious)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
1 chipotle chili, from a can of chipotle chilies in adobo. As well as 1 Tbsp. of the sauce.
(Chipotles in Adobo can be hard to find. When I find them I usually pick up 8-10 cans for later use.)
1/4 tsp. cumin, ground

Directions:

(1) Place all the ingredients in a food processor/blender. Pulse until smooth.

*This will store safely in the fridge for about 2 weeks.