Spice Cake Mix Pancakes

We wanted pancakes this morning, and I wanted to make them different. I remembered we had a bunch of boxed cake mixes, so I decided to incorporate that. They turned out great and not too sweet. I've never seen my son eat pancakes so fast.

Ingredients:
1 cup instant pancake mix (I used Krusteaz)
1 cup Spice cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 egg
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients.
2. Cook pancakes over medium heat.
3. Top pancakes with syrup, honey, or powdered sugar.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I've never been a huge fan of homemade chicken noodle soup (sorry Mom), but my wife really wanted to make some and see how it would turn out using our homemade pasta.  I ended up really liking it.  Some people may want to cut down on the chicken bullion to make it a bit less salty, but I think that's why I liked it (I was raised on Lipton soup packets, so the homemade stuff always seemed kind of bland.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
5 carrots
1 onion
1 can chicken stock
3 cups water
3 tsp. chicken bullion
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Fresh noodles, cut into 2-3" strips (we used about 2/3 of a batch of pasta)

Directions:

1. Slice carrots and dice the onion.
2. In a pan, melt the butter and saute the onion and carrots until the onion appears clear.
3. In a large pot, mix the chicken stock, water, and bullion and bring to a boil.
4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size cubes.
5. Add carrots, onion, and chicken to the boiling broth.
6. Boil for 10-15 minutes, ensuring the chicken is cooked.
7. Add noodles and cook for about 4 minutes or until noodles are tender.
   

Fresh Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra (aka. Spaghetti a la Homer)

Growing up, my family would go to The Old Spaghetti Factory about twice a year.  Every time we went, my Dad would always order the Spaghetti a la Homer, which is spaghetti topped with caramelized butter and mizithra cheese.  I always thought the dish seemed "boring" and would order some fancy dish with Italian sausage.  It wasn't until I was in my early twenties that I finally decided to try the Spaghetti a la Homer and I found that it's basically the grown-up version of macaroni and cheese, and it's awesome.
Since the recipe is rather simple, I decided to combine it with my own basic homemade spaghetti recipe.  Of course, if you're feeling a bit less daring or just want less work, you can skip that part and use the store bought stuff.

Basic Homemade Spaghetti

Equipment:
Pasta Machine (Optional, but highly recommended)

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. water

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and salt.
2. Mix in the eggs and olive oil.
3. If needed, add the water until you start getting clumps while mixing (you may need more or less than the 2 tbsp. depending on the size of the eggs and the humidity).
4. Pour the mixture onto a clean counter or table top.
5. Knead the mixture by hand (adding very small amounts of water or flour as needed) until you are left with a yellow-ish ball the consistency of hard modelling clay.
6. With pasta machine: Split dough into three portions and complete steps with one portion at a time.  Roll dough through four to six times at the largest setting, then progress down to the second smallest setting.  Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8" sections, and feed each through the spaghetti cutter.  Lay finished product out to dry on paper towels or on a pasta rack.
   Without pasta machine: Split dough into nine portions and complete steps with one portion at a time.  Using lots of patience and arm strength, roll dough as thin as possible.  With a sharp knife and precision accuracy, slice the dough into noodles.  Lay finished product out to dry on paper towels or on a pasta rack.  (I've never been daring enough to do this by hand)
7. Cook fresh pasta in boiling water for 2-4 minutes to desired firmness.  Dried pasta will take longer to cook.

Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra

Ingredients:
4-6 servings of spaghetti (or half of the above recipe), cooked
1 stick butter (*not* margarine)
Couple ounces mizithra cheese, finely shredded


Directions:

1. In a saucepan, cook butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until butter boils, turns brown, and smells sweet.
2. Pour caramelized butter over cooked noodles and stir.
3. Serve noodles, and top with cheese.

Tangy Chicken Sandwich

This started as a quick late night craving for something sweet and spicy.  Then it turned into a full meal.  I tweak it a bit every time I make it, but this is the basic recipe.  This version is pretty mild you can add another tbsp. of hot sauce to bump it up a notch.  Tip: chicken is easier to thinly slice if it's partially frozen.

Equipment:
Electric Food Slicer(Optional)

Ingredients:
4 hoagie rolls or 6 hot-dog buns
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/4 cup hot water
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. Sriracha sauce (or other chili/hot sauce)
Pepperoncini
Ranch dressing

Directions:

1. Mix the water, honey, and Sriracha.
2. Add the chicken and sauce mix to a pan and cook for a couple minutes on medium-high heat.
3. Add the onion and bell pepper.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Uncover and continue simmering for a couple minutes until most remaining liquid cooks off.
5. Remove from heat, top with cheese, and cover, allowing cheese to melt.
6. Fill rolls/buns and top with pepperoncini and Ranch.

Pressure Cooker Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding)

Growing up, I loved when my abuela made Arroz con Leche.  I remember her standing in front of the stove for nearly an hour, stirring constantly so the milk wouldn't burn.  When I got a pressure cooker, I knew there had to be a way to simplify this process.  It took me a few attempts until I achieved the flavor and consistency I wanted, but I think it's pretty close to my abuela's (but with a lot less stirring).

Equipment:

Pressure Cooker (6 qt. or larger)

Rack for Pressure Cooker

Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (1.5 qt.)
Foil

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice
3/4 cup water

2 cups whole milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
2" lime rind
1 stick cinnamon

Directions:

1. Add rice and water to metal bowl and cover tightly with foil.
2. Place bowl in pressure cooker the rack.
3. Put 1 cup water in the bottom of the pot.
4. Cook under pressure for 10 minutes, then cool immediately under cold water.
5. Stir milks, vanilla, salt, lime rind, and cinnamon into rice.
6. Cover bowl tightly again with foil and place in pressure cooker. 
7. Add water to pot if pressure cooker is too dry.
8. Cook under pressure for 35 minutes, then let cool on its own.
9. Remove rind and cinnamon and stir with a fork to mix and break up clumps, then serve.  Garnish with ground cinnamon if desired.