Old Fashioned Homemade Pancakes, just like grandmas!

Pancakes are the ultimate feel-good breakfast food and you probably have settled for making yours with a mix from a box. The box pancakes are fair, but it you want those light and fluffy tasty pancakes that your grandma used to make without having to drive out to the nearest IHOP. All you have to do is follow this simple recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup white sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup room temperature milk
1 egg at room temperature
1 tbsp oil

Directions
1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Add milk, egg and 1 tablespoon oil and mix well.
3. Preheat a griddle or a cast iron pan over medium high heat, and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
4. When griddle is hot pour batter onto griddle in a 4-5 inch circle. Cook until bubbles form on the top of the pancake and the edges are dry (this will take 4-5 minutes). Flip and cook until browned on both sides (another 4-5 minutes). Repeat with remaining batter and all batter is cooked.
5. Plate the pancakes and top with your desired toppings such as butter, fruit, powdered sugar, or maple syrup.
6. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/OspREDaYCqg
Old Fashioned Homemade Pancakes

Authentic Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa

Chips and salsa are one of America’s favorite snacks.  We like to eat them at restaurants, on Taco Tuesday’s, as snacks during the big game or other sporting events.  There is nothing better than fresh homemade salsa and once you try this recipe for authentic Mexican restaurant style salsa you will never buy salsa at the store again.

Ingredients
28 ounce can of whole tomatoes

3 small cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cumin

1 loosely packed cup of cilantro

½ white onion

1 jalapeno

Juice from one lime

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to food processor or blender.
  2. Pulse blend to achieve desired amount of smoothness or chunkiness.
  3. Enjoy!

Authentic Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa

Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is one of my family’s favorite breakfast items. It makes a quick breakfast by itself or even with a little fruit or granola mixed into it. However, store bought yogurt can contain lots of added sugars and preservatives. Why buy store bought yogurt with all those additives when you can make it at home with just three ingredients. It is super easy and requires little work to make, it just requires time in your Instant Pot.

Ingredients:
1.5 liters of ultra pasteurized milk (I prefer to use the fairlife brand)
1 fourteen ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs of yogurt starter*

*note – You can use yogurt cultures or just use some store bought plain Greek yogurt. I like to use 2 Tbs of Fage Greek yogurt for my starter. Once you have made your own batch of yogurt you can use your own yogurt as a starter for future batches by just setting some aside to use later. I freeze 2 Tbs from each of my batches and then defrost it when I am ready to make yogurt.

Directions:
1. Pour your ultra pasteurized milk into your instant pot.
2. Add the sweetened condensed milk. You can use all the can for a sweeter yogurt, or you less depending on your personal taste. You may even omit the sweetened condensed milk and without this, you will have a Greek yogurt.
3. Add you starter
4. Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk.
5. Put your lid on your instant pot and set to yogurt mode for 8 hours.
6. After 8 hours you can remove your yogurt and refrigerate it until you are ready to eat it. I refrigerate mine overnight before eating it the first time.
7. Enjoy!

Homemade Yogurt in your Instant Pot

You can purchase an Instant Pot to make yogurt at Amazon.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure policy.

How To Make A Painkiller Cocktail

The classic Painkiller that most of us know is the Pusser’s Painkiller.  Named for the Pusser’s brand of rum used in the drink.  According to Pusser’s own website the recipe for the Painkiller was inspired by Daphne Henderson, who owned the Soggy Dollar Bar at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.

The bar is famous for inventing the Painkiller and also because there is no dock, so the usual way in is to swim. Which naturally gets your dollars get wet, hence the name “Soggy Dollar Bar.”

The CEO of Pussers, Charles Tobias, was a patron of the Soggy Dollar Bar where the Painkiller was his favorite drink.  Eventually, he finally worked out the recipe on a “4-1-1-1” ratio—four parts pineapple, one part cream of coconut and one part orange juice adding Pusser’s Rum to suit.

Pusser’s started promoting the Painkiller and eventually it became known as Pusser’s Painkiller.  Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

2 ounces Pusser’s rum

4 ounces pineapple juice

1 ounce orange juice

1 ounce cream of coconut

Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

  1. Add liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
  2. Pour in a big glass filled with ice.  Grate fresh nutmeg on top.
  3. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.
  4. Enjoy killing the pain.
How to make a Painkiller cocktail

Bottlenose Dolphin Strand Feeding in South Carolina

The amazing Bottlenose Dolphins of South Carolina have adopted a unique way of hunting Fish called strand feeding. Working in groups of between two and six dolphins to create a wave to force the fish out of the water. The dolphins follow the fish onto the shore, stranding themselves briefly, to eat up their prey. While initially documented in South Carolina and Georgia, strand feeding has also been observed in Louisiana, Texas, Baja California, Ecuador, and Australia. This video shows the dolphins of Seabrook Island, South Carolina strand feeding at Captain Sam’s Inlet in a rare close up sighting.

Bottleneck Dolphin Strand Feeding

For more information on strand feeding check out these resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_dolphin

https://www.townofseabrookisland.org/dolphin-education-program.html

Strand Feeding on Seabrook Island

Better than Olive Garden Alfredo!

Alfredo is one of life’s great comfort foods. Surprisingly, it is super simple to make and you can create a fettuccine alfredo meal in just 20 minutes that tastes even better than the alfredo you get at the Olive Garden.

Ingredients:

½ stick of butter (8 tbsp)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup grated Romano cheese

1/8 tsp ground white pepper

Pinch salt

1 pound fettuccine noodles

Directions:

  1. Fill large pot with water and preheat it to boil the fettuccine noodles.  When the pot of water starts boiling add the pasta to the water and cook it according to directions.
  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat.  Add the minced garlic to the melted butter and cook for one minute.
  3. Whisk in the flout to the melted butter and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
  4. Add the heavy cream and continue to stir while the mixture comes up to a light boil.  Reduce the heat and stir as it thickens. 
  5. Stir in the Parmesan and Romano cheeses into the butter and heavy cream.
  6. Add the white pepper and salt.
  7. Drain the pasta and mix it into the alfredo sauce.
  8. Plate the pasta with alfredo sauce and garnish with parsley and/or add chicken if desired.
  9. Enjoy!
Better than Olive Garden Alfredo!

The Best Homemade Refrigerator Dill Pickles

When ever you have fresh cucumbers from your garden or the farmers market there is no better way to have them than to make homemade refrigerator pickles. This easy recipe is simple and doesn’t go through the canning process, instead we quickly make the pickles and they are ready to eat in 48 hours.

Ingredients:

3 pickling cucumbers, approximately 4 inches in length

3-5 sprigs of dill weed

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup water

2 cloves garlic

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoon granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

¼ teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

Directions:

  1. In a small pot mix the vinegar, water, garlic, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and mustard seeds and bring to a simmer until the salt and sugar dissolve, then remove from heat to cool.
  2. Slice the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters and pack a pint-sized jar with the cucumbers, dill sprigs and bay leaf.
  3. After the brine has cooled down fill the jar to the top, completely covering the cucumbers.
  4. Close lid and place in the refrigerator. 
  5. You can eat them after 48 hours.  Enjoy.
The Best Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Homemade Cast Iron Pan Pizza

Growing up as a kid my parents used to always take us to Pizza Hut to get my favorite pizza. The Pan Pizza. The Pan Pizza was the best deep dish pizza around. I loved that thick crust that was crispy on the bottom and had that edge of fried cheese. Today, you can easily recreate that same taste at home with my Cast Iron Pan Pizza recipe.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 packet of yeast

8 oz warm water

directions:

  1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Add water.
  3. Knead dough for 2-3 minutes, it will be wet and very loose, but that’s ok.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for overnight.

No cook pizza sauce

Ingredients:

14 oz can whole tomatoes

1 minced garlic clove

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp oregano

3-4 chopped basil leaves

Directions:

  1. Remove tomatoes from the can and place in a bowl while leaving the juice in the can. Throw out the juice or save it to make a bloody mary.
  2. Add the rest of ingredients to the bowl.
  3. By hand crush the tomatoes up until small pieces while missing the other ingredients with the tomatoes.
  4. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to make pizza.

Directions to make the Pan Pizza

  1. Remove dough from the refrigerator and set on counter for 1/2 hour.
  2. Pour 3 tbsp olive oil into cast iron pan.
  3. Place dough into the cast iron pan and press dough into pan while spreading it to the edges.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let sit for 1 1/2 hours.
  5. Remove cover and spread desired amount of sauce on the pizza. A good amount is 1/2 cup but you can use more or less according to preference.
  6. Add 3 cups of cheese to the top of the pizza, being sure to push the cheese to the edge of the pan and build a small 1/2 cheese wall up the side of the pan. This will melt and create the fried cheesy edge on the crust.
  7. Add any additional toppings of your choice.
  8. Place in a 400 degree preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven and let sit 3 minutes. After 3 minutes run a butter knife around the edge to loosen the crust from the pan. Lift up the edge of the crust to check the bottom of the pizza. If the crust is not cooked enough you can finish cooking it for about 5 minutes on a burner on your stove.
  10. Let pizza cool for 10 minutes, cut and EAT!

Homemade Cast Iron Pan Pizza

How to make Coquito – the Puerto Rican Eggnog

I love anything with coconut and anything with rum. That’s why I love Caribbean cocktails like the Pina Colada and it’s why I also love the Coquito. Coquito is a Puerto Rican drink that literally means “little coconuts”. This drink is sometimes called the Puerto Rican eggnog because it is a traditional to make it around the holiday season for Christmas or New Years Eve. However this cocktail does not contain any eggs. Join me in an easy recipe to make this fantastic coconut flavored drink.

Ingredients:

1 – 2 cups of rum
13.5 oz can of coconut milk
12 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
12 oz can of evaporated milk
15 oz can of coco lopez
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a blender.
  2. Pour mixed cocktail into a glass bottle with a cinnamon stick and chill out least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
  3. Serve and Enjoy!
Homemade Coquito – the Puerto Rican eggnog

How to make the Best Silky Smooth Egg Drop Soup

Egg Drop Soup is the simplest Chinese recipe and it is the perfect side dish when you make Chinese food at home. This easy recipe shows you how to make the best silky smooth soup and long strings of egg. This is the perfect soup to add to your next homemade Chinese dinner and your family and friends will think you purchased it from a Chinese restaurant.

Ingredients:

4 cups of chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of white pepper

2 tbsp. corn starch

2 tbsp. water

2 large eggs

1 tsp. sesame oil

chives for garnishment

Directions:

  1. Pour chicken broth into a small pot and heat on medium heat until starting to bubble.
  2. Mix corn starch and water in a small bowl and then pour into the chicken broth, stirring occasionally to prevent the corn starch from clumping.
  3. When the broth starts to boil turn off the heat and let cool until it stops boiling.
  4. Mix eggs in a bowl and pour into the warm chicken broth very slowly while stirring the eggs in. Make sure the broth has been removed from heat. If you pour the eggs in when the broth is boiling the eggs will break up into small balls instead of forming long silky strands.
  5. Add salt, pinch of pepper, and sesame oil and mix together.
  6. Serve and garnish with small cuttings of chopped chives.
  7. Enjoy!
The Best Silky Smooth Egg Drop Soup