Mac & Cheese + Pancakes = ???

Mac&CheesePancakes-O

Mac&CheesePancakes - M

Mac&CheesePancakes

O – M – G.  I was very suspicious of this recipe at first.  I thought it was a totally weird idea, like Caroline’s PB and Pickles sandwich, but if you know me at all, you know that I LOVE macaroni and cheese and I LOVE pancakes…

 Side note: I went through a phase when I was seven years old where I would eat my Annie’s Mac and Cheese one shell at a time.  Ya know, so it would last longer.   Patty was really concerned about me during that phase.  That was the beginning of my addiction.  She actually got mad at me and said I would be grounded if I didn’t eat it normally.  (I could be embellishing the story but that’s how I remember it.)

Anyways, when I saw this recipe I thought I MUST try it.  My two favorite foods come together in one dish!  They were incredible.  It was definitely an amazing experience.  They wouldn’t be my normal go to brunch recipe, but it was something fun to try!

Here is the recipe…

Macaroni and Cheese Pancakes

By: Every Day with Rachel Ray

Mac&Cheesepancakesfoldin

Ingredients

2 Cups of Flour

1 Tablespoon of Sugar

2 teaspoons of Baking Powder

1 teaspoon of Coarse Salt

2 1/3 Cups of Buttermilk

2 Eggs

2 Tablespoons of Melted Butter, cooled

2 1/2 Cups of cooked, drained and cooled Macaroni

2 Cups of Cheddar Cheese

Syrup

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and melted butter.

3.  Pour wet ingredients into large bowl with dry ingredients.  Sir.

4.  Fold in macaroni and cheese!

5. Preheat griddle to medium-high heat, add a little butter then scoop a 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle.  Cook until underside is golden brown and bubbles form on top.  Flip and cook until other side is golden brown.

6. Stack up a bunch of pancakes!  Pour on the syrup!  AND ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

M&CP

Bircher Muesli

birchermuesli

I’m not exactly sure how Bircher Muesli was introduced to our family, but it is one of our favorite breakfasts. We used to have it in our fridge all the time, but for another reason I’m not so sure of, it had been a while since we had made it. Luckily, my adventure to Switzerland reminded us of the dish because it is in fact a Swiss dish! So, right before I left on my journey abroad, we made muesli and I was reminded just how delicious and refreshing it is.

When I got to Lausanne, I saw that we have it in our kitchen every morning for breakfast. Or so I thought – they don’t make it on Saturdays and Sundays! Today is Monday though, and that means as soon as I hit “publish” on this post, I’m making a beeline straight downstairs to get some muesli!

Here is the recipe if you would like to bring a taste of Switzerland into your own home:

2 cups of rolled oats (not the quick-cooking oats)

1 cup of apple juice

(It is always a 2:1 ratio)

Put the oats and apple juice into a container and put in the fridge to soak over night.

And in the morning you put it into a bowl and doctor it up with your favorite toppings! Yes, it’s that easy!

My favorite way of doctoring it up is adding berries, nuts, and a couple drops of honey! Other toppings you may like are cinnamon, peaches, and toasted coconut. It is also common to add it to your yogurt. Really there isn’t a wrong way to doctor it up!

If you try it out, let me know what you think!

Cooking with Caroline

Caroline is in town!  Only for a couple days though.  She is on her way to study abroad in Switzerland for a WHOLE YEAR! We decided to stay in last night and cook together, seeing as we will no longer be able to have Sunday Fundays together for a WHOLE YEAR.  Such a tease to have her here for her whole Freshman year, and then she picks up and leaves for her whole sophomore year.  Not Cool.  Who does she think she is?  All I got to say to Caroline is…”HOW RUDE!” a la Stephanie Tanner.

We decided to make our own pizza.  You can never go wrong with pizza.  This pizza was inspired by a pasta we love to make during the Summer!

Pizza4

So you start with a pre made pizza dough.   Spread on some creme freche.  Sprinkle crumbled goats cheese.  Sprinkle thinly sliced shallots and corn.  Top with cooked hot italian sausage.  Add more goats cheese.  We got so excited that we just wanted to eat it right away, but you have to bake at 450 degrees for approx 20-25 minutes.

Pizza

The pizza needed some color, so we finished it with some arugula!  Just dress the greens with a little olive oil and lime juice!

Pizza3

Slice it up and then it’s ready to eat!  Bon Appetit!

(We had prosciutto and melone to start!  My favorite.  We got a little hungry while we were cooking.)

Prosciutto:melone

I’m going to miss my little partner in crime.  I have decided to hide her suitcases so she won’t be able to leave or have clothes in Switzerland!  Shhhhh!  Don’t tell her.  Oh and if that doesn’t work then I am going to turn off her alarm clock in the middle of the night so she will miss her flight!  Good plan.