Eggnog breakfast: Pancakes and waffles

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup egg nog
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted
Pam or other oil spray

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, except the Pam.
3. Add the dry mixture to the liquid and stir until just combined.
4. For waffles: Follow your waffle iron's manufacturer's instructions.
5. For pancakes: Heat your skillet and spray with Pam. Drop the batter, 1/4 cup at time on the skillet. Allow plenty of room for it to spread. Flip when bubbles break on the surface, and cook for another minute.
6. Serve with maple syrup or chocolate sauce.
   

These pancakes and waffles aren't for everyone, but we love eggnog at our house, and this is a delicious way to share that holiday flavour with the kids.

Christmas caramels

1 cup butter
2 1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (15 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. In a heavy medium saucepan, melt the butter.
2. Add the brown sugar and salt.
3. Stir in the corn syrup and mix well.
4. Stirring constantly, gradually add the milk.
5. Stirring over medium heat, cook for 12-15 minutes to 250 °F (firm ball).
6. Remove from heat
7. Stir in vanilla.
8. Pour into a greased 9"x9" pan.
9. Cool overnight and cut into pieces with a greased, very sharp, knife.
   

I save my candy-making for the holidays. This year, my husband will be in Korea for Christmas, hosting a dinner for the enlisted troops in his unit. I'm sending a big batch of candy to give all the sweet teeth (sweet-tooths?) there a taste of home.

*If you make a double batch, like I do, just dump in a full 2-pound bag of brown sugar.

Fifteen minute tilapia

12 oz tilapia
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
Pam

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam.
   
2. Mix mayonnaise, honey, mustard and lemon juice, and transfer to a dinner plate.
3. Mix breadcrumbs and salt in another plate.
4. One piece at a time, first coat the fish in sauce, then press into the breadcrumbs until it's completely coated.
5. Place the fish on the prepared sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

This is a great last minute dinner solution. You can bring some stock to a boil and throw in some couscous while the fish cooks, and pull out a bag of pre-washed salad for a complete meal in 15 minutes flat. My picky eater can't get enough of this fish.

Granola bites

Makes about 4 dozen bites

2 cups oats
3/4 cup wheat germ or oat bran
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup chopped nuts. Possibilities include:

• Peanuts
• Slivered almonds
• Pecans
• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Cashews

8 oz block jaggery (aka panela) or 2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp olive oil or butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt (unless you're using salted nuts and seeds)
1 cup mixed dried fruit and/or chocolate chips. Choose from:

• Raisins
• Currants
• Dried cranberries
• Dried apples
• Snipped prunes
• Snipped dates
• Snipped dried apricots
• Snipped figs
• Dried mango
• Crystallized ginger
  

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F if you want toasted grains.
2. Meanwhile, grease your mini-muffin tin with olive oil or butter. (I don't recommend liners. Too sticky.)
3. Mix the grains, seeds and nuts in an ovenproof dish and heat in the oven, stirring frequently to frequent burning.
4. Mix the jaggery, honey, oil, vanilla, and salt in a large pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
5. Mix all the ingredients together; you can do this right in the pot to minimize cleanup.
6. Place about 2 tbsps of the granola mixture in each muffin cup.
7. Use the back of a spoon, the bottom of a shot glass or a pestle wrapped in greased wax paper to press the granola to the bottom of each cup.
8. After 10 minutes of cooling, remove the bites from the tin with a twisting motion and store in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper. Alternately, cut up pieces of saran wrap, place a bite in the center of each piece, gather up the corners and twist together to wrap each bite individually.

This recipe can also be used for bars. Press into a 9" x 13" greased baking dish, cool, and cut into bars. They keep for a week, and don't require refrigeration. These are our standby snacks for trips to the pool, and contain no refined sugar unless it's in the fruit or you go with the brown sugar option.

Banana pancakes

1 cup flour
1 tbsp raw turbinado sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
butter

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a different bowl.
3. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Expect a lumpy batter.
   
4. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat.
5. Lower heat slightly and pour about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides.*

*Alternately, use an ice cream scoop to ladle the batter for mini-pancakes.

One of my daughters loves bananas, while the other gags at the sight of them. This is a great way to sneak this superfood into the whole family.

Baked meatballs

1 lb ground meat*
1 apple, cored and diced
1 small calabaza squash, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp dried sage
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

1. Spray a baking sheet with Pam.
   
2. Whisk stock cube into egg. (Otherwise, you may end up with salty clumps of stock.)
3. Mix all the ingredients together.
4. Shape into small balls, about a tbsp each, and place on tray
   
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the temperature at the center of the biggest meatball is 160 degrees.
   

*I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, run through the food processor.

Sloppy Joe sauce

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small onion
1 14.5 oz can peas or peas and carrots, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (or meat of your choice)
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 can low sodium V8 vegetable juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Over medium heat, cook the tomatoes, carrots and onions for about 10 minutes, until the carrots begin to yield to pressure.
2. Pour the tomato mixture and the remaining canned vegetables into a blender and purée.
3. Brown the ground meat in the olive oil. You can use the same pan.
4. Add the puréed veggies, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and sugar to the meat mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add vegetable juice during the simmer to achieve a nice "sloppy" consistency.

Serve over whole wheat hamburger buns or pasta.