Slow Cooker Chili

The weather is finally starting to get cold where we live, so I decided it was the perfect time to make (and share with you) my favorite chili recipe. It's just delicious and super simple. It cooks all day in the slow cooker, and it is very easy to throw together. Here's how you do it! 

Start off by making your chili seasoning mix. This can be made the night before to save time in the morning. Also note that this makes a very large batch, so you will have enough seasoning mix leftover to make chili a few more times, which will make this even quicker to make in the future! Truth be told, I cut the seasoning recipe in half this time because I was a little short on chili powder, and it still made more than enough seasoning for this pot of chili. I always make my own chili and taco seasonings. I keep a very well-stocked spice cabinet, so the ingredients are things I always have on hand. 

For the seasoning mix, mix together 4 Tablespoons of chili powder, 2 1/2 teaspoons of ground coriander, 2 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper. Set this aside for now. 

Next gather up the ingredients for your chili. 

Now you need to brown the meat. You can use 1 to 1.5 pounds of ground beef or turkey. I usually use 1 pound and it is meaty enough for us. There is enough to feed all 4 of us with a lot of leftovers. Also, beef and turkey are equally good in this recipe. I use them interchangeably, and I am someone who does not always enjoy the taste of ground turkey. So if you think you don't like turkey chili, give this one a try! I used ground beef this time because that's what I had, and if you have been following my blog for very long you know how much I like using items I already have on hand. I used ground chuck, so I started it in a dry skillet and drained most of the fat from the pan after the beef was browned. If you use ground turkey or a leaner ground beef, you will want to brown your meat in a drizzle of oil. 

After your meat is nice and brown, add in a chopped onion and cook until it is translucent. Season with some salt to taste. 

Next add in 1 Tablespoon of your chili seasoning mix  and let it cook with the meat and onion in the pan for a couple of minutes. I usually taste the meat for seasoning at this point just to make sure the meat tastes great. 

Put the meat and onion mixture into your crock pot. 

Now you will add your remaining ingredients to the crock pot: a can of diced tomatoes, a large can (or two regular cans) of crushed tomatoes, 2 cans of rinsed and drained beans, 2 more teaspoons of chili seasoning, some more salt, and a little sugar. If you have another type of canned tomatoes (whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, etc.) on hand, feel free to use them instead! You can also use whatever beans you like. I usually use two different kinds of beans and they are typically either kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans. This time I used one can of kidney beans and one can of black beans. If you are using canned beans, you will need to rinse them and drain them. Also if you have home-cooked beans you may use those as well! I often will make chili later in the week if I have made a large pot of beans a few days before. It is a good way to use up the beans and to eat them in a completely different way. I usually use an empty tomato can to measure out how many home-cooked beans to use. I do not rinse home-cooked beans, but i do drain the liquid off of them. 

If you like your chili spicy, add in 1 or 2 chipotle peppers in adobo with some sauce very finely chopped. This is totally optional, but I find that the chipotle in adobo adds a great spicy and smoky flavor to the chili that is just amazing! I freeze chipotle in adobo in freezer bags, then pull it out and cut off an inch or so and chop it up and add it to the chili. Since I was feeding this chili to my two young children, I only used a small amount of this as it is very spicy. The chili is still delicious without it, but if you like spice, I encourage you to give the chipotle in adobo a try! 

Next give everything a gentle stir and set your crock pot to low for 6 or more hours. I usually cook mine somewhere between 8 and 9 hours. I find that it gets thicker and even more flavorful as it continues to cook. I took some pictures every few hours to show you how the chili really transforms from some ingredients thrown into a crock pot into a really great pot of chili! 

This is a great meal to throw together in the morning and by dinner time you will have delicious homemade chili! You could even put this in your slow cooker and let it cook over night while you sleep. This smells so good while cooking, you will probably have chili dreams and wake up wanting chili for breakfast! 

We like our chili topped with cheese and served with corn or tortilla chips or cheese quesadillas on the side. I decided to make quesadillas this time because I knew the kids would enjoy those. I just filled them with cheese since there is a lot going on in the chili and I don't want to take away from that. I have previously shared my love of quesadillas and how to make them here, so check it out if you need a refresher. I was pretty hungry after smelling this chili all day and I completely forgot to get a picture of my bowl of chili with the cheese melted all nice and pretty on top. I stirred it all up and was about to take a bite when I realized I had forgotten to take a picture of the finished product. Oops! 

If you haven't tried quesadillas as a side with your chili, you should! It is delicious dunked into the chili! 

Slow Cooker Chili 

Recipe adapted from Food.com

Ingredients

Chili Seasoning Mix: 

4 tablespoons chili powder

2 1⁄2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1⁄2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Chili 

1 to 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef or turkey

1 onion, finely chopped
5 teaspoons chili seasoning, divided 
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste) 

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans (or a mix!) 
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo and some sauce (optional - leave out if you don't like it extra spicy!) 

Directions 

1.  Mix together seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain excess fat. 

3. Add onion to skillet and cook until translucent. Season with salt. 

4. Add in 3 tsp chili seasoning and cook for a minute or two. 
5. Add meat and onion mixture to crock pot. 

6. Add remaining ingredients to crock pot and season with a little more salt. 
7. Stir gently and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Mini Muffins

Once again I have taken a brief hiatus from blogging. Have I mentioned that my husband works full time and is also a full time student? I stay home with the babies, so things get hectic here from time to time...make that most of the time. I have the best of intentions! I make the food, sometimes even take the pictures, and I always have the words in my head, but actually taking the time to sit and type out the post is where I struggle...obviously! 

So when I last posted in September (oops!) I posted a new muffin recipe...so I figured I'd start back here in November with...drumroll...another muffin recipe! Yes, I am quite original! These are pumpkin mini muffins, and they are delicious! I was making this recipe for the third time in the past month (Yes, they are that good!) and I told myself I needed to get it together and post about these little gems! This has become one of my new favorite breakfasts, and I hope you will give it at try! 

I have been searching for a pumpkin muffin recipe using whole wheat flour that was not too high in sugar and had a good amount of pumpkin. I want something I can eat for breakfast and that I can also not feel bad about giving my kids, and these totally fit the bill! I used I recipe I found on another blog (as I always do!) and changed it up a little to fit my needs...I would actually consider it a work in progress as I have made it slightly differently all 3 times with great results! 

Okay so here we go. Standard issue muffins here...dry ingredients in one bowl. So in this case that's flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. I used white whole wheat flour for all of the flour in this recipe. I'm sure you could use all-purpose flour if that's what you had on hand. I am not sure about any other flours though as I do not have experience using them. I do not keep pumpkin spice on hand because I always have the spices that go into pumpkin spice, so I just substitute a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice and it works just fine! 

Now it's time for the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, canola or coconut oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. The original recipe called for 1 1/3 cup sugar, which is more than I wanted to use in a recipe I was sharing with my kids. I was looking for a muffin recipe I could make regularly and not feel bad about eating, so I cut the sugar down and used brown sugar for part of it because I love the little bit of molasses flavor. I made this the first time with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar but found they were still quite sweet. So the second time I tried 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar and they had just the right amount of sweetness for my taste and now there is less than a cup of sugar in the recipe which is what I like to see! I think you could still cut the sugar down to 1/4 cup of each if you so choose, but I do like a little sweetness, so I'm content to leave this where it is. Also, if you only have white sugar or brown sugar, feel free to just use whichever one you have! I'm all about using what you have on hand! I also reduced the oil from 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup. I have used both canola and coconut oil with great results. I did try further reducing the oil to 3 Tablespoons, but the muffins were noticeably a little dryer, so I would not recommend that without replacing that last Tablespoon (1/4 cups =4 Tbsp) with more moisture. ***Updated 12/27/2015 to say I made these with 3 Tablespoons of oil and 1 Tablespoon of plain yogurt, and they were perfectly moist and delicious!***

Now pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until they are just combined. I cannot say enough how important it is to not over mix quick breads and this includes muffins! As soon as you stop seeing huge streaks of flour, stop stirring. Your muffins will rise much better that way! 

Now for a little confession...I am terrible at filling muffin tins. Just terrible. It seems to me that I fill them evenly, but I often seem to get a different number of muffins from the recipe I am following. I usually get 30 mini muffins from this recipe. The original recipe states 24, so I suppose if you want yours puffed up very high, go ahead and fill 24 cups. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but mine were filled pretty full, and I still got 30, and sometimes I even get 35, so I'd say fill them at least 2/3 full and see how many you get! 

Seems as though I forgot the flash on that previous picture! Oops! Did I mention that along with my blogging skills I am also working on my photography skills? Hopefully you can see how delicious this looks even with my mediocre pictures! 

See? They still puff up quite nicely even though I made more than 24. And now I have 6 extra muffins to eat...it's a win-win! 

I let mine cool in the pan pretty much until I can touch them...which is about 1-2 minutes. They are still very hot at this point, but I like to at least get a few out of the pan quickly because I usually have hungry toddlers at my feet demanding muffins. 

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when I made these last. I made them again yesterday, and it's a good thing because looking at these pictures makes me really want a muffin right now! 

I love pumpkin muffins, and I have noticed that they usually get more moist as they sit. These muffins are even better the next day and still good for a few days after that. My family usually devours the batch in 3-4 days so I can't say how long they would last beyond that point. I will say that since pumpkin is very moist I probably would not keep them outside of the freezer for longer than that or they might go bad, and no one wants that! 

I am sure these would freeze well...If I ever had any left over I would try it out and let you know! To freeze just place your muffins on a sheet pan and stick in the freezer for an hour or two. After they are completely frozen, remove them to a labeled freezer bag. Defrost in the microwave or on the counter the night before eating. 

The tiny little girl loves these! She loves all muffins actually. If she sees a large plastic container in the kitchen she starts saying, "Mummy" which means "muffin." 

The little boy loves them as well. He, of course, prefers his green muffins, but he happily eats the "orange pumpkin muffins." 

What the boy has not learned yet is that if you leave a muffin sitting on a plate with your one-year-old sister around, she will steal your muffin. Muffin thief caught red-handed! 

Here's the recipe. If you like pumpkin, I urge you to try these! They are a perfect fall breakfast for your kids or for yourself with a cup of coffee! 

Just one more thing...if you use a 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree, after the 1 1/3 cup used in this recipe, you will be left with 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree. You can freeze that and save it for future muffins, or you can try this Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancake recipe from Ambitious Kitchen that is healthy and delicious! 

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Mini Muffins
Adapted from Deliciously Declassified

Ingredients
1  1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ginger, pinch of cloves and allspice)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (this is in addition to the pumpkin pie spice!) 
1  1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 Tbsp canola oil or coconut oil (melted and cooled)*
1 Tbsp yogurt (plain or vanilla, Greek or regular)*
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. 
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice (or substitution). Set aside. 
In a separate large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, oil, yogurt, eggs, sugars, and vanilla. 
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over mix! 
Pour batter into greased mini muffin tins. 
Bake at 350°F for 13-15 minutes until muffins are puffed and spring back when you touch the tops lightly. A toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin should come out clean. 
Cool in the pan for a few minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. You can get anywhere from 24 to 32 mini muffins depending on how full you fill each cup. Enjoy! 
*If you don't have yogurt on hand, feel free to use 1/4 cup of oil total and no yogurt. Or substitute applesauce for the yogurt. 

For more great recipe ideas, follow me on Pinterest! It's where I get most of my ideas! 

Spiced Yogurt Muffins

Let me start this post off by saying I hate wasting food...I absolutely hate it. I do not buy an item unless I know I will be able to use all of it in some way or another. When my baby girl was 6 months old and started eating solid food, I wanted to get some whole milk yogurt for her. The best options for plain unsweetened whole milk yogurt at my local grocery store all come in a 32 ounce container...that's a lot of plain yogurt, and no one else in the family eats plain yogurt by the spoonful. 

Since, as I said before, I do not like wasting food, I had to find other ways to use this vast amount of yogurt because there is no way my baby could eat 32 ounces of yogurt before the expiration date. Currently my favorite way to use extra yogurt is to add it to pancakes such as Whole Wheat Chia Seed Pancakes. Yum! But today I was in the mood for muffins and, of course, I have a large container of plain yogurt in my refrigerator that I need to use up. I found a lot of recipes that sounded just delicious (translation: future blog posts!), but the one I finally landed on came from Food and Wine, and, let me tell you, these spiced yogurt muffins certainly hit the spot! 

These muffins are so light and moist with delicious warm spices and not too sweet for breakfast. They are delicious with a cup of coffee! Even though they are not overly sweet, these muffins do contain a cup of brown sugar. I did let my three-year-old have one. Actually, he had two. He grabbed a second one when I wasn't looking! I can't say that I blame him...they were quite good! I usually do not give him anything with that much sugar for breakfast, but I believe it is okay in moderation, and he eats very well. Also, I could not eat them in front of him without offering him one. Especially since he saw me making them and got really excited when I said I was making muffins. The baby girl did not have one of these...I'm sure she would have loved it, but I really try to limit her sugar since she is only one-year-old and still getting used to eating solid food. 

But enough talking about these muffins...let's get to making them! Like any quick bread, these muffins start by combining the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another, then gently mixing them together until they are just combined. Always follow this rule with standard pancakes, muffins, waffles, etc. and they will turn out light and fluffy for you! 

The original recipe called for mixing the dry ingredients together in a food processor, but that sounded like unnecessary extra dishes to wash in my opinion, so I skipped that and simply whisked them together in a large bowl. I also chose to include the brown sugar with the wet ingredients since there was so much of it. I was afraid it would not incorporate well with the flour and spices without using a food processor (as suggested) and thought that it would melt into the wet ingredients (which it did). So in a large bowl, I whisked together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated (or regular ground) nutmeg. This is quite a few ingredients, so I actually mixed these together at night before I went to bed and covered the bowl with plastic wrap till morning. All of that measuring is a little time-consuming with two tiny humans running around under your feet! I imagine you could use 2 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice if you have it, but I have not tried this since I don't keep it on hand. I happened to have all of these spices in my cabinet...I love having a well-stocked spice cabinet! 

Next in a medium bowl, I whisked together the 2 eggs, 1 1/4 cup of plain yogurt, 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 4 Tablespoons (or 1/2 a stick) of melted butter, and 1 cup of brown sugar. The original recipe calls for plain low-fat yogurt, but I used whole milk because that's what I had. It just added extra fat to the recipe, but I wasn't really going for a super-healthy low-fat recipe here. I think vanilla yogurt would also work if that is what you have. I'm all about using what you have in a recipe if it make sense. 

Then I poured the yogurt mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and gently mixed until it was just combined. Don't worry about lumps...they will take care of themselves when the muffins bake. You just want to mix it enough that when you gently move the batter around you don't see big spots of flour. I also like to let muffin and pancake batters rest for a few minutes. That is why I put the oven temperature later in the recipe. I do the same with pancakes. I make the batter, set it aside, then preheat my oven. Then the batter has a chance to rest for a few minutes while it is preheating. 

That was before resting, and this is what it looks like after resting only 5-10 minutes. I'm not sure if you can tell a big difference in the pictures (I apologize, I am definitely more of a cook than a photographer!) but small bubbles will start to appear in your batter. If you give it another stir, do so very gently! 

I set my oven to 375° and put paper liners in my muffin tin then lightly sprayed them with cooking spray. I used coconut oil spray, and the muffins still stuck to the paper slightly if I didn't remove them slowly, so I don't think I would try these without the liners. Then I spooned the batter into the prepared muffin cups filling each cup about 2/3 full. I typically over-fill when making muffins and cupcakes and then I get less than what the recipe calls for, but this time it was perfect, and I actually ended up with exactly 18 muffins! I was so proud! (It's the little things, ya know.) Then I sprinkled the batter with some cinnamon-sugar. I'm sure you could skip this step, but I do love a little sugar on top of a muffin. The original recipe called for sprinkling them with a mixture of 1 Tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, but I much prefer the taste of cinnamon to nutmeg, and I keep a container of cinnamon-sugar in my cabinet at all times. You just never know when you're going to need a little cinnamon-sugar in your life! I don't typically keep pumpkin pie spice on hand, but if I had some, I definitely would have used a combination of sugar and pumpkin pie spice just to highlight all of those warm spices even more! 

Then I baked them for 18 minutes. They smelled heavenly while baking! The house was filled with a lovely spicy aroma that I adore! After the 18 minutes were up I took the muffins out of the oven and touched the tops gently and they were springy, and I also tested with a toothpick that came out clean, so I knew these were good to go! You don't want to press your finger into the muffin because they are tender, so of course they won't spring back if you do that. Just press them gently and if the tops spring back and there is no finger indention left in the muffin, you know they are ready. 

Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes then transfer them to a wire rack. These were delicious warm from the oven, but I suspect they might be even better the next day...I'll certainly find out in the morning! (**Update: I had one this morning with my coffee. I think they were best warm from the oven, but they were still very good at room temperature!) 

I imagine you could make these muffins a bit healthier. Perhaps I will try the next time I make them (I will update with any changes or substitutions at that time.). I would use half white and half white whole wheat flour. You could probably also cut down on the sugar and maybe increase the applesauce to compensate or even add in a bit of maple syrup or honey. I also imagine you could use coconut oil in place of some or all of the butter and throw in some flax or chia seeds. I have not tried any of this, so I cannot speak to how the muffins would turn out with these changes, but if you try any of them before I get a chance, post a comment please! 

These muffins are perfect for fall and the coming winter months. I hope you will try them, and if you do please let me know if you liked them as much as I did! Happy muffin-making! 

Spiced Yogurt Muffins
Original Recipe from Food and Wine

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt (whole or low-fat)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
Cinnamon-Sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Instructions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, butter, and brown sugar. 
3. Pour the yogurt mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and gently mix until just combined. Set aside. 
4. Heat the oven to 375°. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners. Lightly spray the liners with cooking spray.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups filling each cup 2/3 full. Sprinkle each muffin with some cinnamon-sugar (if desired). 
6. Bake for 18 minutes, until the muffins are springy; let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Looking for more recipes? Follow me on Pinterest! 

Visit Mom2Jude and Lily's profile on Pinterest.

Spinach Pancakes!

So as you may be able to tell from my previous spinach muffin post, I love finding ways to add veggies into breakfast! My 3-year-old loves eating foods that are different colors, so when I asked him if he wanted some green pancakes he was completely on board! Like the spinach muffin recipe, I found this one on Weelicious. I love the recipes on this site. I have tried several, and they have all turned out great! So let's get started with these spinach pancakes! 

These pancakes start like most others, start by whisking together 1 cup white whole wheat flour, 1 Tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then set this aside. 

Next put 1 cup of spinach leaves (pack them into the measuring cup!), 1 cup of buttermilk*, 1 large egg, 1 Tablespoon of canola oil (or you can use coconut oil that has been melted and cooled), and 1 teaspoon of vanilla into a blender and blend until it is completely pureed. **Updated 11/22/15 to say that I used 1 1/2 cups spinach the last time I made these with very good results. The pancakes were a little less fluffy, but they were still very tasty!** 

*For the buttermilk, I added 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to a measuring cup and poured in milk to come up to the 1 cup line. Then just let it sit for 5 minutes, and voila! Homemade buttermilk! 

  It should look like this pale green liquid pictured below. 

Next, take pour the wet ingredients from the blender into the flour mixture in the bowl. 

And mix them together until it is just moistened. It is important to never over mix pancake batter! Not over mixing helps to ensure your pancakes will be fluffy, and don't we all want fluffy pancakes? 

After you have your pancake batter ready, preheat an electric griddle or a large skillet. I set my griddle to 325 for pancakes. I would say medium heat if you are using a large skillet on a stove. If you make a lot of pancakes, I highly recommend purchasing an electric griddle. You can make several pancakes at once, which means you can get to eating them much sooner! 

Also, it is a good idea to let your pancake batter rest for about 5 to 10 minutes. I usually just wait until my pancake batter is completely finished to preheat the griddle, and by the time it is preheated the pancake batter has had plenty of time to rest. 

Grease your griddle or skillet with butter or oil. I take a stick of butter and wipe it across the top of my griddle...it's a little tip I learned from the Pioneer Woman, and she knows her stuff! Then just pour whatever sized pancakes you like. I make rather small ones because my son likes to pick them up and eat them like cookies. 

**Updated 11/23/15: I have recently started making pancakes for my children using a 1 Tbsp measuring spoon. It creates the perfect sized pancakes for little hands to hold on to! See below! 

While they were less fluffy than without the extra 1/2 cup of spinach, they still puffed up nicely! 

Cook the pancakes until small bubbles appear and the edges start to look dry, 

then flip them over. 

Cook until the second side is browned, then remove to a plate. I then spread them with a little butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

The little boy couldn't wait! He actually ate 5 of these, so I call that a successful recipe! 

The baby girl approved too...although I don't think I've ever given her anything she did not like. 

I like my pancakes covered in maple syrup...yum! Please excuse my Minnie Mouse plate...it was leftover from my daughter's first birthday party, so I'm eating everything on them. These pancakes were very good! We've made them twice now and will continue to make them! 

When you make tiny kid-sized pancakes, you don't feel so bad about stacking 3 of them right together! 

These were seriously yummy!! 

Here's the recipe if you want to give them a try! 

Spinach Pancakes
Adapted slightly from Weelicious

Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 cup packed fresh spinach
1 cup buttermilk*
1 large egg
1 tablespoon canola oil or coconut oil (melted and cooled) 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
2. In a blender, combine the spinach, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla and blend until smooth.
3. Pour the spinach mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 
4. Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or oil.
5. Pour batter onto griddle to make small to medium sized pancakes. Cook until small bubbles appear and the edges start to look dry and browned. 
6. Flip the pancakes and cook until browned on the opposite side. Serve. 

*For buttermilk, I used 1 Tbsp white vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup of total liquid. Let sit for 5 minutes and use in place of buttermilk. 

Want more kid-friendly food ideas? Check out my board on Pinterest! 

Follow Mom2Jude and Lily's board Toddler and Kid-friendly Food on Pinterest.