Skim Milk Pancakes

Everybody loves pancakes. But when a short stack of original buttery pancakes has upwards of 600 calories, I just can't rationalize having them. So this is my response to my endless pancake cravings.

SKIM MILK PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a small, separate bowl.
2. Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Whisk until just combined. DO NOT overmix.
3. Crank up your stove to medium heat and pop a frying pan on top to heat up for about 3 minutes. Spray with nonstick spray before each round of pancakes.
4. Scoop about a 1/4 of batter onto the pan and cook on the first side until small bubbles start to form, about 2 minutes. Then flip and cook for another minute to a minute and a half.
** Also, how come no matter what, the first batch of pancakes never looks as good as the rest??

1st batch:

2nd batch:

See?? It happens EVERY time. There's no escaping it. That's why I always put the first batch at the bottom so you can't see it:)

That's better. These pancakes are also great for add ins like fruits, nuts, chocolate chips, or even spots of jam like my boyfriend did with this batch. Just remember to add your mixes once you have poured the batter onto the skillet. Do not mix the extras into the batter bowl.

Healthy Response to Chicken Marsala: Chicken with White Wine Mushroom Sauce

I love the flavors of chicken marsala, but it is often filled with butter and cream to give the sauce its well known rich savory taste. This recipe is my response to the traditional chicken marsala. Enjoy!

CHICKEN WITH WHITE WINE MUSHROOM SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

- 8 chicken tenderloins
- 1/4 cup AP flour
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken tenders in the flour on each side. Make sure to shake off any excess flour.
2. Grab a large skillet and place it over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of your oil. Once butter is melted, add your chicken and cook on each side for about 5 minutes, until beautiful golden brown. Place chicken on a place when done.
3. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rest of your ingredients. The French call this mise en place because they're fancy.
Look at this kick ass mise en place.

4. Add the rest of you oil and butter to the pan. Add the onion and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until cooked and slightly caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
5. Add the wine and crank up the heat to high. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all of that beautiful flavor. Add the chicken stock and sugar. Let the sauce reduce by about half, 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the chicken back in and sprinkle the parsley over top.
7. Enjoy over pasta, mashed potatoes, or my basic risotto.

Occasional Indulgence: Homemade Pizza

Keeping a healthy diet keeps me looking and feeling great. But we all know that sometimes we get those cravings we just cannot ignore. There are a few things in food that I do not mess with and save it for my occasional cheat days. Pizza is one of those things. One of those glorious, oozy, gooey, cheesy things. I prefer to make my own pizza because of the amazing flavor and I know exactly what is going into it.

OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: HOMEMADE PIZZA

THE DOUGH

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 1/2 cups warm (NOT HOT) water (between 105-115 degrees)
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour*
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In the bowl of your mixer, pour in the warm water and sprinkle in the yeast over it. Let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom. If by the end of five minutes your yeast hasn't bloomed, your water may be too hot or too cold, or your yeast was too old and was dead already.
2. With your bowl attached to your mixer with the paddle attachment, add the remaining ingredients with your mixer on slow.
3. Once the ingredients are jus coming together, switch to your dough hook and let the dough kneed on medium speed for 10 minutes.
4. Oil a separate bowl and place the dough ball in that bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for an hour and a half to rise. (You can actually let it rise as long as you want after the initial time for added flavor)
5. Put a pizza stone in your oven if you have it (using this creates a really crispy crust) and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
6. Punch down the dough and let it mellow for 5 minutes.
7. Cut the dough in half, flour your board, and start rolling out your dough. This recipe makes two approximately 12 inch pizzas.
8. Add the sauce (recipe below), cheese and desired toppings. Place on a transferring dish covered with parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal on top (the cornmeal helps the pizza from sticking and gives an added crunch to the crust)
9. Bake in the oven for 12-18 minutes, until the cheese is beautiful and bubbly.

*Bread flour has a high gluten content (NO gluten does not mean it's bad) which means that the dough will be nice and chewy. You can use all purpose flour here, but it will not yield nearly the same result. Just a heads up.

THE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

- A 28oz can of peeled, whole tomatoes, excess liquid drained and seeds removed**

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1/2 teaspoon sugar

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon dried oregano

- 6 fresh torn basil leaves

- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients into your food processor and blend until smooth. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.

**To get the seeds out of the tomatoes I just lightly squeeze the tomato in my hand into the sink and they kinda pop open and spray the seeds out. The seeds are important to take out because they will make the sauce bitter and not lovely.