Pancakes

I am the luckiest girl in the world. My boyfriend cooks me breakfast every day. Sometimes its French toast or fried potatoes and other days it’s a slice of toast with peanut butter or a bagel with cream cheese. It doesn't matter what it is, it’s that it is served to me as I primp myself for work every day. What a guy. So, once and awhile I like to treat him to one of his favorites. Pancakes. Store bought mixes are okay, but I really don’t care for the ones they sell in Korea. Homemade pancakes are easy and delicious, so that’s what I prefer to do. This past weekend, I whipped up a batch. They end up fluffy, but still light. For mine, I always include chocolate chips, while my boyfriend prefers his au natural.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbsp melted butter
A small handful of chocolate chips, blueberries, or sliced strawberries

Directions
In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in milk, butter and egg. Mix together with a wooden spoon.
Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium high heat and use a soup ladle to pour batter into the pan. Add chocolate chips, fresh fruit, or leave them plain. When the batter begins to bubble flip the pancakes and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve with butter and classic Canadian maple syrup. Enjoy!

Makes 10 pancakes. 

Chicken Tacos for Two

This is a super easy lunch that tastes delicious. I made this twice last week, because both my boyfriend and I loved it so much. Beef is pretty expensive here in Korea, so I thought chicken would be a good twist on a regular taco. I enjoy the texture of shredded chicken, but you could make a variation of chicken tacos with chopped chicken if you prefer. See how I made this yummy lunch below.

All the toppings

The yogurt I used in place of sour cream. Couldn't tell the difference!

The seasoned, shredded chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
5 small flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup lettuce
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
8 cherry tomatoes
any other taco toppings you would like

Directions
Place chicken in a pot filled with water and boil for about 15 minutes. While chicken is boiling, prepare your taco toppings. I chopped up some lettuce and cherry tomatoes, and grated about a half of a cup of cheddar cheese. I didn't have sour cream, but I found a plain yogurt at my local mart, that had a low sugar content and tasted almost identical to sour cream. Win! After your chicken is cooked through (check the inside with a knife, if it is still pink, boil for another 5-10 minutes), use two forks to shred the chicken. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat and add shredded chicken. Sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken and add about 3 tbsp of water. Stir. Heat the chicken until it has a good crisp to it. Assemble your tacos and enjoy!

Makes 5 delicious tacos.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I had a ton of bananas that were turning black…story of my life. So, I decided to bake delicious chocolate chip banana bread. I have tried several recipes, but finally I have tweaked this simple one from The Food Network and it is perfection! 

There are several times that I enjoy eating banana bread, here are a few. Firstly, I love to eat banana bread warmed up with a bit of butter for a quick breakfast in the morning, on days when I’m running late. AKA every day… I also like to wrap up a slice and eat it as a snack, when hunger strikes after my kindy classes finish at 3pm. Finally, banana bread makes a delightful evening snack with a cup of herbal tea. 

This recipe makes two small loaves. You can keep a loaf in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for about a month.

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 very ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil (can use vegetable oil instead)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your pans with a bit of cooking spray or butter. I skipped this step, and had mixed results. One pan I used must have been a non-stick one and the loaf fell right out. However, the second loaf stuck to the bottom of my other pan.

In a medium bowl stir flour, baking soda and powder, salt. Next take a large bowl and stir eggs and sugar together with a wooden spoon. Mash bananas in a separate bowl with a fork and add them to the egg and sugar mixture. Add vanilla, coconut oil and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter into two 9x5 loaf pans. Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until the top has browned nicely. Use a toothpick to check if the middle is cooked through.

Enjoy!