The Best Cooking App

If you have an iPhone, what's your favorite cooking app? The one I've discovered that ties them all together is Pepperplate, which is available on iPhone, iPad, and on your PC or MAC. (I'm not sure about other smartphones, like Android.)

Pepperplate

Here is a snapshot of my Pepperplate on a PC. See the famous pancakes from an earlier post?

Recipes from many different websites can be imported just by copying and pasting the URL, and you can even manually add recipes. I recently went through some of the printouts and handwritten recipes I had from the past and imported them all into Pepperplate. Epicurious, Real Simple, Cooking Light via myrecipes.com, Simply Recipes, and others all allow direct import. They add more supported websites frequently. Even though I have the All Recipes and Epicurious apps on my phone, I usually go online and copy recipes into Pepperplate if I want them for future use.

Sometimes I actually look through Pepperplate in advance and add recipes to the planner for the week. The shopping list is also great, too, if you're planning ahead. Once you create a login you can use it on any device, and anything you've added on one device automatially syncs to the other next time you open the app.

So now I take my husband's iPad into the kitchen, stand it up with the nifty little cover he has for it, click on Pepperplate and cook away!

P.S. There is a lot of discussion out there right now about whether cookbooks are obsolete. Even with apps like Pepperplate and Google searches to help me use ingredients in my refrigerator, I still occasionally meander downstairs and look through my cookbooks for inspiration. Also, I'm right there anticipating Pioneer Woman's new cookbook with everyone else!

Saturday Breakfast

Just the words make me happy! This usually means sleeping in, sipping coffee, and eating any number of delectable foods. Among the delicious are these Banana, Raisin, and Oatmeal Pancakes.

I started making these after I got married and rarely get requests to make anything else on Saturday morning. Occasionally I sneak in a low-carb or no-carb breakfast, like an egg omelet loaded with veggies, but these are the most popular breakfast food in our house!

Last Saturday the refrigerator was lacking a few items, but I used sour cream instead of yogurt and buttermilk instead of milk, and the pancakes were just as good if not more so. I also decreased the brown sugar and they were fine. So yummy with a bit of maple syrup on top, or eat them like my husband does without any adornment.

To save leftovers for another day, carefully wrap them and hide them in a corner of the refrigerator where your family will not find them (well, that's what I have to do anyway since they tend to disappear later in the day)!

Inspiration from the Sale Rack

I recently discovered the rack hidden in the back of my local QFC near the meat case that houses all manner of delectable baked goods at very low prices. Yes, it took me a year, but in my defense they hide it well far from the fresh baked goods. A couple weeks ago I found some artisan whole wheat slider buns. I forgot about them and while cleaning out the refrigerator in preparation for vacation I popped them in the freezer and vowed to look for recipes.

We managed to get sick while on vacation but were feeling well enough to eat today, so I ventured out to the grocery store [along with the entire population of my town and then some]. Tonight's dinner, inspired by the sale slider buns: Epicurious Chipotle Pulled Turkey Drumstick Sliders with Brussel Sprouts Slaw. I sauteed the brussels sprouts instead of serving raw, which was great. I used about 2 tablespoons of chipotles in adobo (approximately two chili peppers and some sauce). Your family and friends who do not like spicy foods will find that too hot, but the ones who like it in the range of spicy-but-can-still-taste-the-food will find it just right.

These sliders were a hit, and I'm definitely eyeing that sale rack when I'm in QFC. I only wish we were feeling well enough to invite a bunch of people over to share, but that's for another day. Happy New Year all!