Happy National Pancake Day, my fellow Americans! Someday we’ll fulfill our goal of International Pancake Day. It’s within our grasp, folks. We can do it!
My dad reminded me of this joyous occasion via email this morning, which got me thinking, naturally, about dinner! I decided to refine my caramelized banana pancake recipe. While my last attempt was delicious, I wanted to develop a bit more flavor. Tonight’s batch of pancakes were extra fluffy and cakey, while the banana caramel sauce was aromatic with just enough sweetness. To balance the sugar in the pancakes, I also cooked up awesome apple turkey sausage patties.
This meal is definitely going in my top 5 ever. SO GOOD!

Caramelized Banana Pancakes
Yields 6 pancakes

Ingredients:
For pancakes
1 1/4 C  pancake mix (I use Hungry Jack complete)
1 C water

For banana caramel sauce
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1-3 tbsp. water
1 banana, peeled and sliced

• Preheat griddle or skillet to 400° (medium-high). In a small bowl, add water to the pancake mix and stir together. Set aside. I use slightly more mix than the 1:1 ratio called for, as I like my pancakes to be thick, fluffy, and cake like. To achieve this, add enough dry mix to your bowl until batter is thick, like a runny dough.
• In a small saucepan on low heat, melt butter and stir in brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Cook 1-2 minutes until brown sugar is dissolved.
• Place sliced banana in single layer in saucepan. Make sure the sauce coats the fruit. Continue to reduce sauce for 3-4 minutes, basting bananas and stirring occasionally. If the sauce is too thick, add water until desired consistency is reached.
• While sauce reduces, ladle pancake batter onto griddle, flipping them when small bubbles appear on the surafce.
• Once pancakes are done, place on plate and top with banana caramel sauce. Dig in!

Apple Turkey Sausage Patties
Makes 4 patties

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C onion, diced
1/2 C apple, grated (I use Fuji apples)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
3/4 Tbsp dried thyme (use less if using fresh herbs)
1/2 Tbsp sage
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

• Drizzle olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and apple and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.
• Meanwhile, combine ground turkey with thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Add cooled onion, apple, and garlic mixture and mix together.
• Section meat mixture into 4 patties. Reheat saute pan over medium heat and add sausage patties.
• Cook 3-4 minutes each side, until golden brown and cooked through.

As promised, here’s a more upbeat post to start the week off right

After bailing on my friend this weekend and hoping she’d understand my reasoning (see below), she suggested we hang out Sunday and judge watch the fashions on the Oscar red carpet. S0 I woke up a bit early, hit the gym hard for an hour, then spent the rest of the morning/afternoon cleaning up my mess of an apartment (more calories burned!). By the time my friend made it over, I was exhausted. Which was good, because she, too, was a bit–ahem–tired. After lazing around for awhile, we ventured into the windy, gray afternoon and walked to my new favorite frozen yogurt shop.

I got about a 1/2 cup each (100 calories, no fat) of vanilla and glazed donut (what?!) and topped it off with a surprisingly delicious sprinkling of strawberries, bananas, and then a few sprinkles and mini-peanut butter cups (just a few, promise!). We’re both trying to be healthier, so we spent a fair amount of time analyzing the calorie content of our selections. In the end, my yogurt splurge was right around 400 calories and fit nicely into my daily calorie allowance.

Nom nom nom

For dinner, I had planned to make a pot of soup, but since I’m really trying to watch my sodium intake and eat super basic food for the next few weeks, I nixed that plan. Instead, I reheated a leftover chicken breast and a cup of brown rice. After cooking up a bit of my new favorite lemon sauce and adding it to the mix, dinner was served!
Lemon Sauce
Yields 1 C (4 servings)

Ingredients:
2/3 C low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/4 C sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
salt and pepper to taste

• Mix cornstarch and water together in small bowl and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add lemon juice, sugar, and zest.
• Return mixture to a boil, letting it cook until sugar dissolves.
• Slowly stir in cornstarch mixture and let sauce cook until thickened, stirring frequently and adjusting seasoning as necessary.

What are your favorite froyo toppings?