Zucchini Sweet Corn Pancakes

I am absolutely amazed at the big home run this recipe was in my house tonight. I am not even kidding when I say my youngest had four helpings along with four helpings of the cheesy scrambled eggs we made. This recipe is very similar to the zucchini pancakes I made the other day. I should have doubled the recipe because the adults had hardly any pancakes left for them! All the kids and even the hubby loved this recipe, definitely a recipe I will make again!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 TBSP Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 whole Eggs
1 cup Greek Yogurt (nonfat Is Fine, I used a honey vanilla flavor this time)
4 TBSP Melted Butter
1 cup thawed frozen grated zucchini drained
1 cup frozen sweet corn (from a local farmer and frozen just for this special winter meal occasion)

I first prepared my skillet for cooking by preheating to medium-high heat (350ºF). This is important or it takes even longer for the pancakes to cook!

We whisked the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and then worked on the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, I whisked the eggs, yogurt, and melted butter together. We then combined the dry and wet ingredients together and mixed until just combined.

Next step, fold in the grated drained thawed zucchini and sweet corn. I had no need to thin the batter this time because there was still so much moisture in my frozen veggies, but if you do a better job of draining than I did this time around you may want to add a little bit of milk at a time until the batter consistency reaches your desired thickness. The more you add, the thinner your pancakes will be.

Scoop batter onto the griddle or frying pan and gently spread the batter if necessary. When we saw bubbles rising around the edges, we flipped the pancakes. I found that some of the pancakes took as long as 10 minutes to cook (5 minutes per side).

There was no need to top these pancakes with anything. The pancakes are sweet enough on their own!

Zucchini Pancakes

The first thing my husband says at breakfast when he looks at my batter is "WHAT'S in the pancakes?!" and after I told him it was zucchini, he said "I think I will have a bowl of cereal." But after tasting these pancakes, I am pretty sure he changed his mind, especially after I heard him say, "I don't even need honey for these!". The original recipe idea came from a blog called Tasty Kitchen, but, of course, I made some modifications...Life just wouldn't be any fun if I couldn't add my own creative twist!

1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3 TBSP Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 whole Eggs
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (nonfat Is Fine, I used a black cherry flavor)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
4 TBSP Melted Butter
2 whole fresh Zucchini (about 2 cups), Grated or 2 cups thawed frozen grated zucchini drained
1/2 cup Milk


I first prepared my skillet for cooking by preheating to medium-high heat (350ºF).
After dear son whisked the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt), I worked on the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, I whisked the egg, yogurt, sour cream and melted butter together. We then combined the dry and wet ingredients together and mixed until just combined. Next step, fold in the grated drained thawed zucchini. To thin the batter, we added milk a little at a time until the batter consistency reached the desired thickness. The more you add, the thinner your pancakes will be. For me, 1/2 cup was enough to thin the batter but keep them nice and fluffy.
Scoop batter onto the griddle or frying pan and gently spread the batter if necessary. When we saw bubbles rising around the edges, we flipped the pancakes. I found that some of the pancakes took as long as 10 minutes to cook (5 minutes per side). Top with butter and honey or topping of your choosing! We like unsweetened applesauce, yogurt, and peanut butter on our pancakes, too! and even natural Jam sweetened only with fruit juice.

Zucchini Muffins

I discovered at my health screening that my cholesterol is the lowest and best since high school. Although I suffer from a genetic predisposition of high cholesterol (both parents have high cholesterol), even in high school and college I scored near the 300's for total cholesterol and weighed pounds lighter than I do now.  My cholesterol has never been as low as 224 and my ratio of good to bad cholesterol the lowest ever at 2.8, I can't help but attribute it to my new healthy lifestyle of eating. Granted, my weight is much more than college or high school, but am so excited to see such great numbers on my screening. To celebrate, I wanted to make a healthified version of my Mother's zucchini muffin recipe. Plus, I have many large zucchinis that need to be eaten before spoiling. So I shredded 5 large zucchinis (each at least one foot long), filled 3 large quart size freezer bags, and placed in the freezer for enjoyment this winter. I couldn't reach my mother for her famous zucchini muffin recipe and anyway, I wanted to find a recipe that used honey as a sweetener rather than sugar, so I searched online and found this whole wheat recipe using honey as a sweetener at AllRecipes.com. I did modify the original recipe slightly...so far the batter tastes great (come on, I know you all sneak a little of the batter when cooking). We will see how it tastes fresh from the oven!

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup nonfat milk
• 1 whole egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin tins lightly with oil or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon, mix thoroughly.
3. Mix the milk, slightly beaten egg whites, oil, honey and shredded zucchini together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just barely moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full with batter.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sausage, Eggplant, and Zucchini

This is a harcombe diet acceptable recipe for phase one. My mother brought me 3 large eggplants from her garden and wanted to find a way to incorporate them into a meal for my family. I found this recipe at http://www.eggplantrecipes.net/ and made modifications.

Ingredients :
1 lb Lean ground Beef or pork Sausage without added sugar (I used Epiphany Sausage made by the church from my hometown)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Large White Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 Eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 large zucchini
3/4 teaspoon Chili Flakes
1 (14.5 ounces) can fire roasted no salt added Diced Tomatoes (I use Muir Glen Organic)
2 TBSP Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Flat-Leaf Parsley Leaves, chopped

Preparation:
1. Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
2. Add ground beef/pork sausage and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, breaking into crumbles as it cooks. Sausage should be evenly browned.
3. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels or drain with colander.
4. Add chopped onion, crushed garlic, zucchini and eggplant to pan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Stir in chili flakes and diced tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.
6. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
7. I spooned eggplant mixture into my pampered chef stone casserole dish. Added sausages. Covered and cooked in the microwave for 10 minutes.
8. Stir in parsley. Season with pepper. Serve with steamed vegetables or by itself.

Roasted Vegetables

A Phase One Harcombe diet recipe but would be better on the grill than in the oven this hot night! But since I am short on time and don't want to start up the grill, I am going to risk heating up my house by putting the oven on 400 deg Fahrenheit and on broil to roast these vegetables.

Ingredients
Thinly sliced onions, eggplant, zucchini, or yellow squash (whatever is available to you)
olive oil
salt and pepper to flavor
garlic powder

Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil and using a brush spread olive oil on foil. Place vegetables on cookie sheet in single layer. Brush olive oil directly on sliced veggies. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Place on the top rack of oven directly under broiler. Flip veggies during broiling process. Cook until desired blackness.