April Fool's Day Archives - Noble Pig

Mini Pepperoni Pizza Pancakes

Cathy Pollak — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:15:43 +0000

I am really excited to share with you how I saved dinner one night.

Have you ever promised your kids something for a meal only to find out you don’t have what you need to make it happen?

A while back I had promised to make pizza for dinner and what I thought was pizza dough in the fridge was actually bread dough. Tried that before…not happening again. It was already late, there was no way I was heading back to the store in town nor was there time to make my own dough. We didn’t even have the right bread to make a good substitute for pizza bread or something similar.

As I rummaged through the pantry I came across the pancake mix. Hmmmm. It’s worth a shot. I grated my cheese, mixed up my batter and cooked my sausage.

I have a flat top grill on my stove so I was able to experiment really quickly with what might work to make these taste pizza like and not pancake-esque. I was worried about the texture and it was definitely a problem. The pancakes needed to be crispy, like real pizza. My first couple of attempts did not go well (too mushy) until I tried something different.

These pictures aren’t the greatest but you will get the idea.

I started with about one tablespoon of shredded mozzarella and put that on the griddle first. As you can see it starts to melt right away. I then poured about an 1/8 of a cup of batter right on top of the cheese, and used a spoon to kind of shape it the way I wanted.

I immediately added mini pepperoni and sausage to the top of the pancake, turning it only when there were lots of bubbles, the same as when you cook pancakes. When ready, I flipped it over to cook the other side. As you can see above, the bottom is crispy from the cheese. This is exactly how you want it.

My kids had no idea these were pancakes. These have become a highly requested item in our house.

Here is a behind the scenes look at my kitchen assistant, Sadie. She is literally inches away from every shot, waiting and hoping something falls to the ground. She does quite well with clean up. Sometimes it’s really hard to get a picture as she sandwiches herself between me and the food.

She has never taken an uninvited bite of anything, regardless of how tempting it might be. That just amazes me.

Waiting for a mini pepperoni to fall…of course one did.

Served with a side of pizza sauce, these are an amazing treat. I cut this one with a pizza slicer and made tiny little slices…they are so cute.

Perfect for playdates too, the kids always love them. A great idea for April Fool’s Day as well. Enjoy!!

MORE RECIPES WITH A PIZZA-INSPIRED TWIST

Print Recipe

Mini Pepperoni Pizza Pancakes

Recipe from: Created by Cathy Pollak for NoblePig.com | Serves: Makes 12-15 (4-inch) pancakes

Ingredients

For the batter:

dry pancake mix (enough to make 12-15 pancakes) this is about 1 cup of dry mix and 1-1/3 cups of water
1 pound shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese (make sure to shred yourself ~ large shred), divided
1 Tabelspoon pizza seasoning*

For the toppings:

5 ounces Hormel mini pepperoni
4 ounces mild Italian sausage, cooked and finely chopped
1 cup pizza sauce

*If you cannot find Pizza Seasoning, make your own:

2 Tablespoons oregano
1 Tablespoon basil
1/2 Tablespoon thyme leaves
1/2 Tablespoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon fennel
1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
1/2 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

Directions

Preheat flat top, griddle or pan to 350 degrees F or medium-high heat. Oil the griddle or pan before adding pancake batter. I always oil the pan or my flat top with a paper towel that I douse in oil first. This way there is just enough oil to keep things from not sticking and not being too greasy.
For the batter, mix together dry mix with the water. Add 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese and pizza seasoning. If the batter is really thick add a 1/4 cup water and stir. Add more if needed. You don't want the batter to be overly thick once you add the cheese.
Using remaining cheese, start by placing one tablespoon of cheese on the griddle. It will start to melt right away. Pour 1/8 cup of batter on top of the cheese. Immediately add pepperoni and sausage to the top of the pancake. Turn once there are lots of bubbles, just like when you make regular pancakes. Flip over and cook until done. The bottom side with the cheese will be crispy, this is what you want.
Remove from griddle and sprinkle each pancake with a 1/2 Tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Place pancakes on a tray.
Serve immediately with pizza sauce for dipping.

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April Foolery Cake

Cathy Pollak — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:36:07 +0000

You still have time to pull this one last joke off. It will only take about a minute of your life to throw this together. Okay, maybe a few more minutes than that, but this is really EASY.

Today was your typical Sunday morning…raining and dreary, sleepy-eyed kids under blankets on the couch playing with their electronic devices…..UNTIL….I screamed there was a rattlesnake under the couch (I can be very convincing)!! The kids flew 10 feet in the air running away and tried only TO SAVE THE DOG. They totally left me and their Dad in the dust to fight off this faux, deadly and venomous snake. Whatever.

I, of course, waited until they looked completely freaked out as I was standing on top of a chair screaming to run for their lives, and then I said it….April Fools! Ha-ha-he-he-ho-ho. They were so mad, mostly because I think they forgot about the whole April Fools thing. Got em’. Again. As I do every year.

So, to make it up to them, because they were so mad and scared, I told them I would let them eat cake for breakfast. Suddenly I was popular again. They should know better.

So, I slice them a piece and they dig in with smiles….until they look at me slightly annoyed….”Mom, this is a pancake…with bacon. It’s breakfast in a different form (insert eye rolls).” Ha-ha, well yes it is boys. If you really wanted cake for breakfast, you shouldn’t have left me here for the venomous-rattler to get me. They just stared at me like I was a nut. I love it.

But really, they could hardly be upset with this “cake”. Yes, it’s a pancake, but the brown sugar-bacon topping makes it OMG A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Oh my goodness, with maple syrup on top…WOW…WOW…WOW.

Go ahead and fool your family tonight, tell them you have dessert….that’s actually breakfast!! And quite honestly, this would be perfect to serve a large crowd breakfast, it’s really good.

Print Recipe

April Foolery Cake

Recipe from: Taste of Home | Serves: 8

Ingredients

6 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
2 cups buttermilk pancake mix

1-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a 12" ovenproof skillet (I used cast iron), fry bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Pour grease out of pan, reserving 2 Tablespoons in the pan. Sprinkle bacon evenly back into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bacon.
In a medium bowl, combine pancake mix and water just until incorporated. Pour batter into the skillet on top of bacon and brown sugar.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before flipping over onto a serving tray, it will fall right out of the skillet.
Serve with maple syrup.

The post April Foolery Cake appeared first on Noble Pig.

Bloody Band-Aid Cookies

Cathy Pollak — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:01:01 +0000

Bloody Band-Aid Cookies

It’s that time of year of again…where gross food is welcomed by the little boys that inhabit my house. Nothing brings a smile to their face like something bloody, goopy, poopy or oozy when Halloween is in the air. They love it.

I saw these cookies and thought, my kids need to be welcomed home from school with these somewhat authentic looking bloody band-aids.

Sure enough, they were a hit. And really, these are not even a recipe, I mean there is nothing to their construction, but they got rave reviews. I could have baked all day from scratch and not gotten the fan fare these received. Go figure.

So put these on your Halloween menu…the kids will love the grossness. I mean, remember the Kitty Litter Cake? Their all-time favorite.

Bloody Band-Aid Cookies Recipe

Graham Crackers
White Frosting
Red Decorator’s Gel

Break graham crackers into eight sections.
Smear on white frosting of your choice and one drop of red decorator’s gel is enough (it runs).
Serve on a plate with real Band-Aids. Smiles and grossed out faces to follow.

The post Bloody Band-Aid Cookies appeared first on Noble Pig.

Potted Chocolate-Mint Puddings

Cathy Pollak — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:02:00 +0000

Perfect for all the Spring holidays…St. Patrick’s Day, Easter or April Fool’s Day, these Potted Chocolate Mint Pudding desserts will be the hit of the party.

These mini mint puddings sprout to life with their mint seedling growing out the top and ground-cookie dirt sprinkled on the surface.

What a great way to celebrate Spring with these cleverly disguised desserts. Pour pudding into votive candleholders and serve with wooden “plant marker” spoons. Perfect for April Fool’s Day!

The kids will love these but so will adults. You can easily use your favorite recipe, adding mint extract at the end or try this one, it’s delicious!

MORE ST. PATRICK’S DAY DESSERT RECIPES

Print Recipe

Potted Chocolate Mint Puddings

Recipe from: Cathy Pollak | Serves: 8

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
table salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
1-1/4 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
1 Tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
10 chocolate wafer cookies
garnish with sprigs of mint

Directions

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Combine cream, milk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.
Pour 1 cup cream mixture into sugar mixture and whisk until cornstarch is dissolved. Add remaining cream mixture and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts, about 1 minute.
Remove from heat. Add mint extract and butter, and whisk until butter melts. Quickly divide pudding, whisking as you work to prevent sides from setting up, among eight (4 ounce) glass votive candle holders, leaving 1/2" of space at the top. Refrigerate until set.
Just before serving, pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Top each with 1 Tablespoon ground-cookie "dirt," and garnish with a planted mint sprig. Serve chilled.

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