"Mmmm...Mmmm...Mmmm!" --Sweet Pea
Talk about a satisfying response! I love happy, emphatic toddlers!

When I was younger, I used to meet up with High School buddies at the Original Pancake House. One Saturday the waiter made a mistake on our neighbor table's order so instead of throwing out the food, they offered it to the teenagers- of course they would eat it... and we did! It was an apple pancake and oh my, it was delicious! Reliving my teenage good eats, I've been making this with Cheap since we've been married. It's cheaper than the restaurant version (except on the rare occasions where it's offered for free) and a great way to use up aging apples. We're big fans of large weekend breakfasts-- "Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm!"

Ingredients:
Apples:
2 Tablespoons butter (or oil)
2 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pancake:
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F and add butter to an oven-proof skillet and melt

Dump in the sliced apples, cinnamon, and sugar and mix together. Stir occasionally and let apples cook until soft

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, milk, water, flour, and salt together in a mixing bowl

When apples are soft, pour batter over apples and immediately put the skillet in the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the dutch pancake is tall and golden

Once the apple pancake is finished baking, take it out of the oven and flip it onto a plate so the apples are on top. Enjoy quickly, the pancake will fall a bit but it still tastes wonderful. We eat ours with maple syrup or powdered sugar. Enjoy!

I'm now going to go play with my toddler who's wearing her winter coat and taking her bear for a ride in a stroller around the dinner table.

I had a hankering. I had a hankering for bacon, avocado, egg, and cheese... what was one to do? Whip up the slightly tedious Cobb Salad! I say "slightly tedious" because if you don't have any leftover chicken, bacon, or egg, one must cook up three items to enjoy the cobby goodness. But it is worth it, and made easier with leftovers (I had chicken and also a husband who loves to slice). And with basic ingredients it's cheap to make. To embellish with a brief (2 minute Google search) history, the Cobb Salad (cir. 1937) was created by famous LA restaurateur Robert Cobb for a Hollywood friend as a late night snack. The friend continued to ask for the "Cobb" Salad and a new Hollywood tradition had begun. I'm glad it did and Thank you Mr.Cobb.

Ingredients:
1 head of Romaine, chopped
5 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled
1-2 avocado's, diced
2 hard boiled eggs, finely diced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced (I had leftover breaded chicken, so that's what I used)
1/2 cup blue cheese or shredded cheddar cheese (traditionally it's blue but the overpowering flavor can ruin the salad if someone doesn't like it)


Optional Honey Mustard Dressing:
1/4 cup mayo (can definitely use light)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon favorite mustard
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
dash of salt

Directions:
Once everything is cooked (if need be), diced and shredded, the rest is easy!

Put chopped romaine into a salad bowl

Place crumbled bacon, diced avocados, diced eggs, diced tomatoes, sliced chicken, and shredded cheese in rows on top of the romaine lettuce (like picture above). Gotta love the Cobb presentation!

Serve with dressing on the side, honey mustard and ranch go well!

Cheap and I split this whole thing between the two of us. Needless to say we were quite hungry, and then quite full. But we enjoyed ourselves! Sweet Pea opted for cheese and bread-- I don't think salad is quite her thing yet...

Macaroni and cheese with caramelized onions on top, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Besides Cheap's Aunt's "Party Potatoes" this is my other potluck fave. Pasta and cheese...mmmmm...what a combo! And I have finally landed on a mac and cheese recipe that has lots of flavor. For some reason, past recipes I've tried have been too bland for my taste. With this one, Cheap and Sweet Pea were anxiously awaiting leftovers. Glad my fam likes awesome cheesy carbs as much as I!

Ingredients:
8 oz elbow macaroni or mini shells (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups or 8oz shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream (I recommend light for a more subtle sour cream flavor)
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 large onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F

Pour a round of oil onto a hot skillet and add onion. Let caramelize (takes about 10 minutes)

While the onions are cooking, dump pasta into a pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta to desired texture

While onions and pasta are cooking, mix together sour cream, milk, cottage cheese, parm, shredded sharp cheddar, and salt

Once pasta is done, strain water and then add pasta to the cheese mixture. Stir together.

In a greased 9x13, pour in pasta mixture and then top with caramelized onions from the skillet

Cover the dish with a pan (or foil or whatever) and bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from dish and bake for 10 more minutes. Dig in!

My search is over! For years (or so it seems) I have been trying to find the perfect tomato soup recipe. I've tried too creamy ones, too tomatoey ones (yes, I know that's not a word but work with me), bland ones, hot ones, but to borrow the words of Goldilocks, this recipe was "just right". With the simple ingredients, it's surprising how yummy it is, and not to mention healthy- until you top it off with loads of good cheese and serve it up with fries-- heh heh...

Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, grated
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock (I'm sure you can use chicken stock if you don't have veggie)
1 teaspoon basil (2 tsp if you're a basil fanatic like me)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional:
2 Tbs cream
Shredded cheese for topping

Directions:
Pour a round of oil into a pot

Add onions, garlic, and carrot and sauté until onions are clear

Pour in the whole can of tomatoes and the vegetable stock. Add basil and salt and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 15-20min to let the flavors combine.

With a blender or hand blender, blend (or as the Brits say, "whizz") the soup to a marinara type consistency. Add cream if you wish and top with cheese! Yummers!