Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup egg beaters (or 1 egg)
1 cup skim milk*
2 tablespoons canola oil

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.  Combine the egg, milk, and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened-may be lumpy.  Makes approximately 10 smallish pancakes.

Substitute buttermilk and use 1 cup buttermilk, reduce to 1 teaspoon baking powder and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

Navy Bean Chicken Chili

Navy Bean Chicken Chili
White Bean Chili
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
1 pound dried navy beans
5 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¾ cup diced onion
1 ½ cups chopped green chiles (fresh or canned)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
½ teaspoon white pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
½ bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
Rinse beans well, cover with cool water, and soak for 2 hours. Drain. Place beans in large pot with chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and chiles and saute for 5 minutes. Add chile mixture to pot with beans. Add chicken, cumin, oregano, pepper, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. Lower he.at to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Serve with cornbread, if desired.
Les’ version - I used 2 pounds of small white navy beans, I soaked them overnight, about 10 hours, Add water just to the top of the beans and simmer for about 8 hours in the crock pot, low setting; Add two cans of chicken broth; I sautéed one large white onion in about two tablespoons of butter, I used all of the oregano and maybe 1 teaspoon of cumin, and 11/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 1 / 2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, because I used water to cook the beans I added bullion power to compensate for the water. I cubed the chicken breasts, and did not use the garlic or the chilies. I added the cilantro at the end and cooked on high for another 2 hours.

Junior Mint Brownies

I have dessert as my assignment for my dinner group this week and I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to make. When I was at the store I bought a box of Junior Mints because they sounded really good and thought that there must be a recipe somewhere that included them...here is one of them I found! Sooooo good!

5 1/2 ounces *Junior Mints
1 1/2 cups butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
5 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk until well blended.

Sift in cocoa powder and stir to combine. Add flour, baking powder and salt and blend well.

Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Arrange Junior Mints in a single layer over batter. Carefully spread the remaining batter on top, covering the Junior Mints. Use a knife or spatula to smooth the top of the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.

* use mini York Peppermint Patties instead of Junior Mints. Part of the white mint will remain unmelted, so your brownies will have a nice white stripe in the centre when you slice them into squares.