Kugel (Noodle Pudding)

I didn’t grow up eating kugel & I’ve really only had it a handful of times but I like it. Kugel or noodle pudding is baked like a casserole full of decadent dairy & egg noodles that’s more on the sweet rather than the savory side (sometimes it can be really really sweet!). My co-worker Lisa generously shared her family recipe with me so that I could try my hand at this rich dish. It is the perfect recipe because it wasn’t super sweet & I really liked the crispy cornflake topping (that I added a little extra vanilla  because I love vanilla). Lisa & her family typically eat this before or after a fast & then for breakfast & every meal in between following.

I took my giant casserole dish to work & we ate it for breakfast! When do you eat kugel? Do you put anything different in yours?

Keep reading to get the recipe for Lisa's Kugel. It makes a ton so invite your friends & family & eat up!

P.S. Thanks for the recipe Lisa!

Fluffy Sunday Morning Pancakes

As soon as the mercury dips I deem it as the best excuse to eat lots & lots of fluffy pancakes. We have to prepare for winter hibernation after all. I’ve posted about the ways that I achieve fluffy pancakes here & have written about delicious pumpkin pancakes here. However, it’s dawned on me that I’ve never given you my basic & perfect sunday morning fluffy pancake recipe even though I’ve been known to spam your instagram feeds with my stacks of pancakes on any given sunday morning.

Today is the day I’ve giving it to you here on the blog! I look forward to seeing your fluffy stacks so be sure to tag me (@mrshoh or #heatheromade) so I can peep your work.

Disclaimer: Yes, these pancakes will take longer to prepare than just adding water to a mix but they will taste that much better. They are made with simple & very real ingredients that you can find at any grocery store &/or probably already have on hand.

(No-Cook) Swiss Oatmeal

Warmer weather makes me want to eat cooler food - as in chilled like salads & smoothies. If you follow me on Instagram you probably have noticed that I was on a smoothie bowl kick for a while. Then I had the Swiss oatmeal at Gregory’s Coffee (by way of recommendation from my team at work) & I knew I would have to work this into my morning routine at home.

Swiss oatmeal is served chilled, which makes it more appealing (to me) to eat during the spring & summer than a hot bowl of oatmeal (or anything for the matter).  Oh & you don’t have to cook it- that’s right a no-cook oatmeal. You only need to know how to cut up some fruit & stir & then get your beauty rest while it does it's thing in the fridge overnight.

It’s super simple to make & it’s another recipe you can use for that yogurt in your fridge too! This recipe makes enough for about 4 breakfasts. I stored mine in an airtight jar & portioned some out each morning during the week.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Toasted Almonds

Growing up my mom would always make a ‘special Easter breakfast’ that usually consisted of strawberries & cream. It was super simple but rich & memorable & we loved it. Now that Easter is almost here I think these pancakes with bananas, chocolate chips & toasted almonds would make for a memorable tradition or you can make them on any weekend morning that you want to make special.

What do you make on Easter morning? Is it something traditional or something new each year?

Jalapeño Scrambled Egg Tacos

I love tacos. We make them at least a few times a month if not weekly at our house. I like them all. It’s so fun to add a little this & that & build as you go & then eat with your hands! What I love even more is serving everything on a cutting board which means less dishes to wash (tiny win!). This week I’ve been making piece meal trips to the grocery store so there hasn’t been a whole lot to work with when I conjured up this idea of egg tacos. We had eggs so that is what went in the tacos. I don’t love scrambled eggs but in these tacos I did.

Regardless, I would make these again for breakfast, lunch or dinner. These would actually be really fun for a brunch party. They’re simple & tasty & most importantly fun to eat!

Mixed Berries & Banana Smoothie Bowls

If you follow me on instagram (& you should, it’s fun!) you’ll already know that I’ve been hitting the smoothie bowl train as of late. A smoothie bowl is simply a smoothie served in a bowl eaten with a spoon. The possibilities of ingredients for smoothie bowls are endless.  I like to top them with the same ingredients I use in the the smoothie portion for three reasons: (1) it looks really pretty, (2) it adds texture, (3) it’s a clear indicator of what’s blended up in the smoothie. If you don’t have time to arrange the toppings in neat little rows it will still taste the same. I like taking the extra time to make it look pretty because it makes me zen in the morning when I prepare breakfast. In case you’re wondering, Chris likes these too.

This first smoothie bowl recipe I’m sharing is a good gateway smoothie bowl because it’s sweet & familiar. So if you’re trying to work more fruit & protein into your breakfast routine this is the way to do it.

If you make your own smoothie bowls, I’d love to know what you put in yours. Please comment below!

Savory Dutch Baby: Broccoli Rabe, Garlic & Pecorino Romano Cheese

Tuesday was National Pancake Day. To honor said day I wanted to make some kind of pancake for dinner but I didn’t want a sweet one, I wanted something more ‘dinner-like’, savory. After perusing the web for savory pancakes I found a bunch of savory dutch baby recipes so I made on a whim I made a savory dutch baby with the familiar flavors (to our house) of broccoli rabe, garlic & Pecorino Romano cheese.

It turned out to be somewhere between a pancake & a quiche if that’s possible. The pancake puffs up & gets crispy almost like the crust of a quiche but takes 1/4 of the time to prepare & bake.

I liked it. Chris liked it. I’ll definitely be making this again.

What do you put on or in your pancakes when you eat them for dinner?

Raisin, Coconut & Oat Scones with a Maple Glaze

Scones will always remind me of the coffee house that I worked at in college. We always had them & they always sold out. I would always bring some to my mom when I could - she was (& still is) a huge fan of the scones at Immaculate Consumption. I of course ate them but I never made them.

This past weekend I decided I would finally give it a try. I combined a bunch of recipes to come up with mine which I can say I’m proud of. If you’ve never had a scone it’s like the love child of a biscuit and muffin. They can be sweet or savory. The ones I opted to make were sweet with raisins, coconut & a maple glaze. 

Have a great weekend! I hope you make these for breakfast :)

Apple Dutch Baby

I love pancakes, I do. They do take some time to make as you have to make one individually. If you don't have that time to make a dozen pancakes when you're serving guests or more than two people I suggest a dutch baby pancake. It's basically a giant pancake you bake in the oven & then cut up like a pie to serve. So with the time you save flipping your cakes you can get your kitchen clean (because you really don't need to dirty that many dishes to make a dutch baby) & you can actually relax after brunch.

Have you made a dutch baby? What do you put in yours?

Broccoli Rabe & Cheese Quiche

The first quiche I made was for my french class in 7th grade. I’m shocked I even knew what quiche was at that moment in time. I remember my mom not being too keen about my choice - one because it was time consumptive & two because the ingredients I chose were on the expensive side. I don’ remember exactly what I put in it but I think there was bacon & lots of butter & eggs. I don’t even remember what it tasted like but I remember making it.

The second time I made a quiche was this past September when I made it for my sister-in-law & brother-in-law who just had their second sweet baby. Knowing they wouldn’t have a lot of time to prepare meals let alone heat them up I made them a quiche since it can be eaten at any temperature - warm, cold or room temp. Plus it has protein & veggies in it. And we can’t forget about the crust - the rich buttery delicious crust. It’s equal parts crispy, creamy & delicious.

This past Sunday I made one for dinner with broccoli rabe & peccorino romano cheese & I will make it again. The crust is the most time consumptive part since you have to cook it twice but it’s worth it. If you’re hosting a brunch or dinner or want to bring new parents something hearty to each this is it. You can make it ahead of time & let’s face it - it’s pretty impressive being that it’s of French origin & all. I served ours with a like mixed green salad with chopped cherry tomatoes.

PS: Mom this one is much easier to make & less expensive but tastes every bit expensive - you should make it for Dad!

Savory Egg, Leek, Herb & Goat Cheese Crêpe Squares

I love making crepes. Albeit they take some practice so if you don’t get them on the first try keep trying, you will. Plus, eating the mistakes is a great perk! I made these for brunch this weekend. I’ve also made this version of them for brunch with my girl friends a while back (like last year!). They’re great to make ahead & to serve at room temperature. They also look super posh & make for a completely satisfying breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Banana Bread Oatmeal as Featured on Nat's Next Adventure

Sometimes I’m amazed by the people I’ve crossed paths with over the years. Natalie Thomas Friedman is one of them. Nat is an Emmy-nominated television producer, Huffington Post & Café Mom contributor & former editor & spokesperson for US Weekly (wow! I know!).  (Read about how we met here.)  She lives in New York with her husband &  ADORABLE daughter & is always in search of her next adventure & has just launched her newly designed blog Nat’s Next Adventure! It’s the perfect lifestyle blog if you’re 18 or 80. Check it out! Oh & if you’d like to grab this simple oatmeal recipe head over to Nat’s Friends page - it’s there!!

Thanks again for the feature Nat! Can’t wait to see what other adventures you take us on.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #44 Reheat Pancakes in the Toaster & then 30 Seconds in the Microwave.

If you've ever made too many pancakes (like I did on Saturday), this tip is for you. I don't like to throw food out & find leftovers are a great time saver but sometimes when you're reheating them in the oven they get dried out or get too mushy in the microwave.

To reheat pancakes I've found that the best balance for reheating them is a combo of using the toaster (hopefully your pancakes aren't larger than a piece of bread & if they are cut them in half & work in batches) & then microwaving them for 30 seconds. That way they still have a slightly crispy outside but the inside is still moist.

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Perfectly Fluffy Pumpkin Spiced Pancakes

This weekend the idea was to carb load so Chris could prepare for the Grete’s Great Gallop Sloan Kettering Half Marathon.  Even though I wasn’t running in the half marathon (I was a great cheerleader instead) I’ve never been one to say no to carbs. So we started our rainy Saturday with pumpkin pancakes. I’m not a huge fan of drinking sweet coffees (sorry for the buzzkill pumpkin spiced latte lovers) but I do love to chew things that taste like pumpkin like pumpkin pie, pumpkin loaf & now these pumpkin pancakes & drink regular flavored coffee with them. I jazzed up this recipe I found with some variations on the ingredients & the great tips I talked about here for making the fluffiest pancakes & the result was carb & flavor-tastic!

How are you celebrating with pumpkin this fall?

Better Home Cooking Basics: #41 For Super Fluffy Pancakes, Separate the Eggs & Beat the Whites.

This pancake tip is a breakfast/brunch game changer. (Amanda, listen up this one is for you.) I found it on Say Yes with four other great ways to make the fluffiest pancakes. Ever. Check the others out here.

The key take away from this tip is before you go gangbusters & add your eggs all in, take a minute to separate the yolks from the whites instead. Then in a small bowl with either an electric mixer or just some aggression & elbow grease whip those egg whites into shape until they form stiff white peaks. Then after you’ve mixed all your wet & dry ingredients together gently fold your beaten egg whites in right before you hit the griddle.  Et voila the best, fluffiest pancakes you’ll ever make. Thanks Say Yes for this amazing tip!

Now I all I want to do is remake all of these pancakes with this new tip!

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Greek Yogurt with Fresh Figs, Walnuts & Citrus Honey

Hope you had a great 4th of July! It’s really summer isn’t it? Despite a rainy start to the weekend it was pretty fantastic weather wise.  I feel like I went grocery shopping 100 times in 3 days. Each time I came back with more & more fresh fruit. I just love summer fruit & lack control when it comes to passing it up. One of my favorite treats to get this time of year is fresh figs. If you are saying to yourself - I never had a fresh fig - I highly suggest grabbing some next time you see them at the store. They’re so delicious & you can eat the whole thing! I don’t eat the little nubby stem but the rest of it I eat.  On Saturday morning I mixed up some fresh figs with yogurt & added a little crunch with some walnuts & added sweetness with some lime flavored honey. I will definitely make it again.

Read on for this quick recipe.

Greek Earth Bowl

It’s that time of year again when the temperature rises & I automatically feel like I should be eating some sort of salad for ever meal, yes even breakfast! This earth bowl (a salad with some hearty grains) is one of those dishes that you could eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can eat it (just-cooked farro) hot, room temperature or cold from the fridge. It’s a heartier salad but doesn’t leave you feeling heavy. You can use the veggies & other add-ins I did or you can use what you have on hand.


PS: happy birthday (tomorrow!!! - doh!) to one of my favorite Greek goddesses - Stacy! Love you hot latte ;)

Farro with Tomatoes, Cannellini Beans & Pesto

How was our vacation already more than a month ago? Is it me or does life always seem a bit easier, a bit lighter when it’s spent at the beach? Maybe it’s because I don’t live at the beach so every time I am there life really is, just that, a vacation :)

I’ll come back from my tangent now. So last month Chris & I ate at a cute little spot in the Isle of Palms it also had my maiden name (Pesce) in the name so we had to try it. We walked into Coda del Pesce (which if you’re practicing your Italian means 'tail of the fish') on a Sunday night. When we asked to see the menu the server said they didn’t have one for Sunday nights. Yep, that’s right, Sunday nights were reserved to family styled meals of whatever the chef felt like cooking.  We thought it over for about 3 minutes & knew right then we needed to roll the dice on the 5 course meal we were promised. Isn’t one of the best parts of eating with your family just eating what’s there & not having to make any decisions? Well it is for me.

The smiley server said 5 courses but we definitely had more dishes than that on our table & each one was just as delicious as the last.  One of the first dishes we had was an antipasta dish that was a simple combination of fresh pesto & beans. I’m sure there was something else in there - maybe a potato but the beans & the pesto are what really stood out to us. Chris loved it. I loved it. Weeks after we’ve returned I’m still thinking & talking about it, maybe even drooling a little bit. Taking a nod from this great antipasta dish I made a simple supper with the same kind of cannellini beans & pesto but I added some tomatoes & farro. It’s a great weeknight meal or just a great one if you feel like going meatless.

PS: Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Eileen! I love you!

Crispy Salt-&-Vinegar Potatoes

I love potatoes & my subscription to Bon Appetit magazine. This post is a marriage of the two. I’ve made this recipe twice already - once for dinner & once for breakfast! I really don’t think there’s ever a wrong time of the day to eat potatoes - do you?

Tomato Sauce Poached Eggs with Basil & Kale

I don’t eat a ton of meat - so Chris doesn’t really either because we eat together. I do however always try to have some sort of protein in our meals. Eggs are a great protein & usually really quick to make for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Last week I boasted about my first successful poached egg experience. As I was going through my photos* & I found some of these tomato sauce poached eggs that I actually made a month or two ago - sorry I fibbed a bit on the poaching because I in fact had poached before! I feel like poaching eggs in tomato sauce is a bit more forgiving & might be the gateway poaching method you need to get your feet - err eggs (?) - wet.


*I photograph pretty much everything I make - sometimes these photos make the blog & sometimes they just collect on my hard drive.