Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes

We make these oatmeal pancakes every once in a while, but this morning we added chocolate chips and they were extra good! I love the chewy texture the oatmeal gives the pancakes and the chocolate chips make them taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

**I always one-and-a-half or double this recipe since it only makes 8 pancakes**

1 C. milk
2/3 C. oatmeal
2/3 flour
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. cooking oil
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. flaxseed (optional, I always stick it in pancakes)
Chocolate chips (optional)
mini-chocolate chips (again, optional, but they add a nice little crunch on the top!)

In a small saucepan, heat milk until hot. Remove from heat and stir in oats. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together all the dry ingredients but the chocolate chips. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture for the liquid ingredients.

In a small bowl, stir together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add egg mixture and oat mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until combined. Add desired amount of chocolate chips, if using.

For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle. Spread a bit using a spatula and flip when bubbles appear and edges are slightly dry. Serve with maple syrup and mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top.

Cookie Dough Truffles

I made these for my Valentine last week. They were so easy and Baylie had a great time helping me roll the cookie dough into balls. If you love cookie dough, you HAVE to give these a try. They are so yummy and there are no raw eggs in the dough if you are concerned about that. After giving some to friends and, of course, to Ryan, I told Ryan to take the rest into work. Funny, they never made it that far. . .

from My Kitchen Cafe

Cookie Dough Truffles
adapted from Taste of Home

½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional, I did not add them)
1 ½ pounds semisweet chocolate candy coating, chopped (I also tried milk chocolate and both were great!)
White chocolate chips (I used Wilton candy melts) for drizzling (totally optional)

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts, if using. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and freeze for 1-2 hours or until firm. (The dough softens quickly at room temperature so it works best if they are frozen, not just chilled in the refrigerator.)

In a microwave safe bowl, melt candy coating, stirring often until smooth. Dip balls in coating; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, melt remaining candy coating or white chocolate and drizzle over candies. Store in refrigerator. (I preferred keeping them in the freezer, hence their sparkley appearance in the pic) Yield: 5 ½ dozen.

White Pizza Dip

I made this easy dip for a baby shower this weekend and it was a hit. I'm not a huge fan of dips, but I couldn't get enough of this one. (I didn't take a picture, so this is a cheater shot from the cookbook.)

*1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
1 16 oz. container sour cream (light worked fine)
1 C. ricotta cheese
1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese (I used an Italian cheese blend with good results)
1/4 C. chopped pepperoni
1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In shallow 1-quart casserole, combine soup mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, 3/4 C. mozzarella cheese and pepperoni
2) Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 C. mozzarella cheese.
3) Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bread. Makes 3 cups of dip.

*I couldn't find this soup mix at my grocery store. I substituted one .8 oz. packet of Italian dressing mix and added garlic powder until I liked the flavor- maybe 1/2 tsp. or so. It tasted great regardless!