Weekend Things: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

This weekend I…

Got a special package delivered straight from New Orleans. <— Thanks, Uncle!

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My mom said I shouldn’t have shared with everyone at work.  I argued that then I wouldn’t be able to brag that I have family in New Orleans or see the look on people’s faces when you say “don’t accidentally eat the baby!”

Enjoyed Friday evening Happy Hour.

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We tried a new place in Louisville.  It was cute, affordable, and the pizza was delicious but it just wasn’t the Med.

Cooked a delicious Saturday night dinner.

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Beef stroganoff, mustardy brussel sprouts and red wine.  I’m on a mission to become a wino but I currently know nothing about wine and am paranoid that liquor store employees are suspicious when I wander around the wine section for so long before finally making a decision.

Had dinner and well, more King Cake at my parents’ on Sunday  night.

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My mom found the baby, continuing my streak of not finding the baby.  FYI this is a Mardi Gras tradition.  You hide this plastic baby inside the King Cake and the person who finds it in their piece is in charge of hosting the party the next year.

Other weekend highlights would include…

An outdoor run, seeing Gangster Squad (Ryan Gosling, you so cool), me pretending to work on the puzzle but actually just watching TV instead while Joey comes up with some systematic way to finish all the sky parts that are left, coffee with Hannah, bottling our beer and booking a trip to Vegas for my sister’s 21st birthday!!  I think I’m more excited than she is.

Oh!  and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce!

Last week we made “the lazy man’s quiche” aka a fritatta, with ricotta cheese.  It was delicious by the way, but we had leftover ricotta that I didn’t want to waste, so ricotta pancakes were born.  Lemon and blueberries are the obvious pairings for such pancakes and they turned out to be really delicious.

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

For the pancakes:

  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2-2/3 cup milk (enough to get batter to the right consistency — you want it slightly thick)

For the blueberry sauce:

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • juice of half a lemon
  1. In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda baking powder and sugar.
  2. In another bowl, combine ricotta, egg, egg white, milk and lemon juice.
  3. Add ricotta mixture to dry ingredients, mix until just combined and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Heat a griddle, and drop batter by the 1/4 cup once hot.  Once bubbles start to form, flip pancakes and cook on the other side.
  5. While pancakes are cooking, combine blueberries, water and lemon juice in a sauce pot.  Bring to a boil, then mash blueberries, reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
  6. Top pancakes with blueberry sauce and devour!

Now what to do with the 1 cup of ricotta that’s still left over.

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What did you do this weekend?

Do you know what a King Cake is?

What’s your favorite weekend breakfast to indulge in?

Weekend Things: Universal Truths

Universal Truth #1: There’s no better way to start a Friday than with homemade pancakes.

Except if those homemade pancakes are made for you. And if one of those pancakes is a mini pancake. So adorable.

I jokingly asked Joey if he’d be making us pancakes for breakfast on Friday and when I came back from my workout, he really had made pancakes. Which is mostly a big deal because he usually stays in bed until ten minutes before we have to leave for work.

Universal Truth #2: Catching a beautiful sunrise over frosty rooftops makes being up early a little better.

I should have just stayed in bed, but my brain was still asleep and I somehow ended up in the workout room.

Universal Truth #3: The best place to be on Friday at 5 o’clock is at Happy Hour.

Wait, I guess that’s not a place. It doesn’t matter where, as long as it’s good, right?

The unpictured fried mozzarella was my favorite tapa. Then again, how can fried cheese not be your favorite? Happy Hour turned into an early dinner when we ordered a jalapeno, cilantro, avocado, fontina pizza.

Universal Truth #4: The Santa Clause gets better every time you watch it.

Yeah, I’m already watching Christmas movies.

I hadn’t seen this movie in a few years, and after revisiting it, I have to say it’s hilarious. Tim Allen is so great. I also knew way too many lines by heart. What can I say, I really liked that movie when I was younger!

Universal Truth #5: Having Thanksgiving groceries bought means one less thing to do before the big day.

The big day being Thanksgiving, of course.

Now all I have to worry about it is stuff like “when am I going to have time to make any of the things I’ve said I’m bringing” and “wait, this dough has to rise for how long?” and “I don’t have enough dishes to put this stuff in!” Normal Thanksgiving concerns.

Universal Truth #6: Baking is more fun done in a frilly apron and boots.

Universal Truth #7: Baking with yeast is always intimidating.

Well, maybe this is just a personal truth.

I made cinnamon rolls this weekend, then froze them so I can just pull them out of the freezer and bake them the morning after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving day is a little busy, so I always save the leisurely breakfast and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade watching for the day after. It’s like a two-day holiday, which is totally okay with me.

How gorgeous does that look?!

Universal Truth #8: If you almost drop your phone in the toilet, your life will flash before your eyes.

And you will also realize that you care about/rely on your phone just a little too much. Please say I’m not the only one.

Universal Truth #9: Finding baby pictures of your dad is the best.

Oh my god.

Later, we all imitated that face he’s making. Turns out my dad is still pretty good at making it.

Universal Truth #10: If you try to sneak a large bag of popcorn into a movie theater, you will have to get creative.

My sister was this close to pretending to be pregnant with the bag stuffed inside her jacket, but we eventually managed to hide it in my purse instead. I won’t even put up the picture I took of my sister. Because I’m pretty sure she’d kill me. We saw Skyfall and it was the one and only James Bond movie I’ve seen. The plot was meh, but Javier Bardem played the crazy villain flawlessly and James Bond himself is pretty awesome.

Universal Truth #11: If you get a massage on Saturday and a facial on Sunday, you will be so relaxed that all you’ll be able to do the rest of the day is park it on the couch and watch Food Network Thanksgiving coverage.

Not that I would know.

That’s my post-massage glow. It’d been too long since I’d had a massage and it was so nice. I may have also fallen asleep during my facial. If I could just pay someone to play with my hair, I would but I guess making my skin look pretty is nice too.

Universal Truth #12: If you see a girl who usually uses the treadmill walking to work out when you want to use the treadmill and you speed walk there to beat her, you are a bad person.

You are also the person on the treadmill, so you win.

Universal Truth #13: If your boyfriend is in Dallas with his mother for the weekend, you will hear more about the Cowboys than you’d like to hear and also be really bored and lonely.

I’m glad to have Joey back home.

Universal Truth #14: Any week that involves a day off for a holiday and a day off for shopping (or lounging about while others are out shopping!) is bound to be a good one.

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Universal truth from your weekend?

Are you a James Bond fan?

Do you get Black Friday off from work? I’m looking forward to not working at 7 AM this year!