German Apple Pancake

Cowboys love a German pancake, similar to my Baked Pancake recipe. This one sounds delicious with the addition of apples! And now I know what Number One meant when he said my Baked Pancake is "similar to a German pancake!"

This recipe comes from a magazine called Sojourns. "Sojourns among the peaks, plateaus and canyons of the West." From the winter/spring '08 edition.

German Apple Pancake
Serves 2 to 4.

3 large eggs
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons melted butter (divided use)
4 tablespoons sugar (divided use)
3/4 teaspoons cinnamon (divided use)
pinch of salt
1 to 2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

A wonderful breakfast treat that's easy to do.
Make the batter: Place eggs, half-and-half, flour, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Heat a 10-inch Dutch oven to 450 degrees and brush its bottom and sides with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Place the sliced apples in the Dutch oven over medium heat; sprinkle with remaining sugar and cinnamon. Cook uncovered about 6 minutes or until apples are tender (add a little more butter, if necessary), stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Pour batter over apples, cover and bake about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cut around pancake sides with a knife. Insert a plate into the Dutch oven top side down over the pancake. Using welder's gloves, turn the oven upside down so the pancake falls out onto the plate (you hope! this is one reason to have a well-seasoned Dutch oven!) Sift powdered sugar on top and serve.

Baked Pancake

These are simple, delicious and can be quite eleganty presented. Cowboys love them too! (My cowboy husband said they were "like a German pancake," whatever that means.) One batch will make 4 servings, although they are so tasty you might decide you want two. I got this recipe from a friend in Colorado; it's a great and impressive recipe to serve to guests. It also makes a special family breakfast.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place 2-1/2 Tablespoons butter in 9-inch glass pie pan and melt in oven.

In blender or food processor, combine:
1-1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Process until smooth.

Remove pie pan from oven and increase temperature to 425 degrees. Pour batter into pie pan and return to oven. Bake 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake 8 to 10 minutes longer. Invert on serving platter. (This part is a bit tricky, to be honest. You will most likely need a knife to loosen the edges, place the serving platter upside down on top of the pancake and invert, then use your knife to loosen the bottom as you are hovering the hot pie pan over the serving platter with oven mitts because it never just comes right out. It's possible you may need to assistance of another person until you get the hang of it. That's what I did.)

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cut into four or more wedges and serve with fresh berries and warm maple syrup on the side. Of course a true cowboy will ask for whipped cream, so you should be sure to have some of that handy as well.

Enjoy this delectable breakfast!

Potato-Venison Egg Casserole

I love recipes that can be prepared in advance. It's so much easier when you know you'll have a crowd of hungry cowboys to feed the next day!

This recipe is from an awesome cookbook we have, called The Complete Hunter: Venison Cookery. Every single recipe we have tried in this book, a total of 9 so far, has been excellent! If you or your husband is a hunter, you need this book.

This will make 8 to 10 generous servings. We fed four adults and four hungry kids, with plenty left over!

1 1/2 pounds uncooked fresh venison sausage (or hamburger), crumbled

1 pkg. (2 lbs) frozen Southern-style hash browns (we didn't have these, so we used shredded raw potatoes)

4 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese, divided

2 cups skim milk

6 eggs, slightly beaten

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

Salsa (the book says optional, I say Highly recommended)

Sour Cream (Ditto.)


In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Drain.

In large mixing bowl, combine sausage, hash browns, 3 cups cheese, the milk, eggs, onion, hot pepper sauce and salt. Pour mixture into 13 x 9-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick vegetable oil cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 cup cheese (we used a bit more cheese).

Cover with foil. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Remove foil. Place casserole in oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and top is browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish individual servings with salsa and sour cream.