Tried-and-true Tuesday: Blueberry pancakes

I love the internet. I really do. I don't know how we lived in the 80s and 90s without all this knowledge at our fingertips.

Want to know a list of all the episode titles of the sitcom Friends? Simply Google "friends episode titles" and you'll find a host of websites that list every episode. 

Making buttermilk biscuits and realize that you're out of buttermilk? Google "buttermilk substitutes," and you'll find loads of suggestions and instructions on how to make your own buttermilk using whole milk and lemon juice.

Wanna make the best blueberry pancakes ever? Google "best blueberry pancakes ever" and you'll find thousands of recipes for highly rated blueberry pancakes on recipe sites, as well as hundreds of personal and professional blog entries in which people have posted their own recipes. 

That's exactly what I did this weekend when I was making my weekly meal plan. Hubs is out of town, so B, who's now three, by the way, and I are on our own this week. I thought it would be fun to have breakfast for dinner one night because she can always help me cook pancakes and sausage, and it's something she actually enjoys doing (and having her help keeps her from asking me if she can watch Team Umizoomi every 40 seconds as I try to prepare our dinner). 

I've made blueberry pancakes before, but I couldn't remember what recipe I used, and I wanted a really good one. So I Googled "best blueberry pancakes ever," and the second entry that came up was this one: Todd's Famous Blueberry Pancakes. I glanced over it; it seemed simple enough, though a little annoying that it requires waiting around for an hour, but "what the hell?" I thought, "I'll just make them on Tuesday night when I work from home and will have that extra hour." So onto the meal plan it went.

Now Todd's recipe may be fine and may, in fact, be the "best blueberry pancakes ever." I wouldn't know, because, as always, I altered the recipe to my own taste. They turned out fantastic. Here is my altered recipe.

Best Blueberry Pancakes Ever

Prep: 10 minutes | Wait: 45 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes

Serves 3

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon white sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon butter, melted

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a small bowl, stir together egg and milk. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture. Stir in the butter, vanilla and spices. Fold in the blueberries. Set aside for 45 minutes.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake. Wait until the pancake begins to bubble before flipping. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

I think the waiting time allows the baking powder to do it's job and makes the pancakes extra fluffy, but I don't think an hour is necessary. I really just didn't have the hour I thought I would, which is why I only waited 45 minutes. The texture of the pancakes really turned out lovely though. They were delightfully fluffy without being too heavy. Adding the extra blueberries made them so... um... blueberry-y, and the added spices and vanilla gave them a sweetness without added sugar.

You think these blueberry pancakes are good? You should try The Best French Toast Ever... As soon as you finish looking at that list of Friends episodes and figuring out whether you've seen them all.

Tried and True Tilapia

This recipe from Southern Living for Lemon-dill Tilapia is amazing. We could probably eat it every week.

It’s simple to make, and the presentation is lovely with the bright green of the dill and parsley and then the orange carrots and yellow lemons! I like to grate the carrot into long, thin strips and add an extra fresh slice of lemon on top (after baking) for presentation.

I’ve actually made this using both fresh dill from the Farmers’ Market and dried dill from the grocery store, and I prefer the dried, to be honest. The fresh dill just doesn’t give as strong a flavor as the dried. I don’t measure it, I just sprinkle some on. I prefer the parsley to be fresh, however. I prefer the tilapia fillets to be fresh from the Farmers’ Market, as well.

If you're out of parchment paper, just use aluminum foil. It works just as well.

Last night I paired this recipe with simple steamed broccoli and cauliflower and Pepperidge Farm Frozen Mini French Baguettes for a nicely rounded meal. The great thing about the tilapia, however, is that it can pair nicely with just about any vegetable you can imagine. The fish is so light and has such simple flavours that anything really works with it.