How to Make Your Skillet Non-Stick

I. did. not. know. this.

Recently, I decided to make omelets for supper. It was one of those nights that wasn't very well planned, and I was scrambling for a supper idea.

As I was scanning the internet, I found this tip. I was skeptical. I didn't really think it would work, but since my skillet is NOT a non-stick pan and I was wanting to make omelets, I decided to give it a try.

It worked! I have since used this trick several times with great success.

Place skillet on stove burner and turn heat to high. Pour a layer of salt over the bottom of the skillet. Allow salt to cook while shaking the pan. Cook until salt browns. Carefully (don't get burned) wipe the salt out of the pan with a paper towel. Your skillet is now non-stick. You can make omelets (and other things) without fear.

Baked Oatmeal

One of our favorite healthy breakfasts around here is baked oatmeal. There are many variations possible with this recipe, but our favorite is banana with chocolate chips. I prefer to use the banana as a substitute for sugar. It makes the oatmeal sweet enough to skip the sugar in the recipe. If you'd like to see the original recipe, you can do so here. The recipe below is the version we enjoy at our house.

Liquid Ingredients:
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs, beaten
1c. milk
2 bananas, mashed

Dry Ingredients:
3 c. quick oats
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/4-1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat liquid ingredients together.

Combine dry ingredients.

Add to liquid ingredients and stir.

Pour into muffin or mini-muffin tray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

In recent days, I have been feeling concerned and a little guilty about the breakfasts we eat around here. I long ago cut out poptarts and cereal to avoid processed foods. I started making homemade breakfasts such as baked oatmeal, french toast, waffles and pancakes. But now, I am concerned that we have way too much bread/flour in our meals.

I found a recipe for pancakes that are sugar and flour free on a friend's blog. I made a few adaptions and even substituted Rice Dream for the milk. So, these pancakes are sugar, flour and milk free. As a compromise with my kiddos, I put in a few semi-sweet chocolate chips. To my relief, they approved of the pancakes and gobbled them up.

Ingredients:
1 c. oatmeal flour *
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 c. Rice Dream (or milk)
2 T. canola oil
1/4c. semi-sweet chocolate chips


Make oatmeal flour by grinding old fashioned or quick oats in your food processor until it is a fine powder.

* I put a handful of whole almonds in the processor with the oats and made an oat/almond flour.

Mix dry ingredient in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix egg, Rice Dream and oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

(You may have to adjust the amount of flour or milk you use to get the batter the consistency you prefer.)

In a heated skillet, pour 1/4 c. batter. Cook until puffed and cooked around the edges then turn. Cook until golden brown.

Serve with a little maple syrup.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

These very moist and extremely tasty cupcakes are a nice combination of tart and sweet. They are easy to transport and eat because they do not have a frosting.


1 white cake mix
1 (3 oz) instant lemon pudding mix
4 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. pink lemonade concentrate
pink or red food color, optional

Glaze:
1 c. frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 c. white sugar


Grease and flour cupcake pans.

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil, 1/2 c. lemonade concentrate, milk and food coloring. Mix until smooth. Pour into the cupcake pan.


Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and prick cupcakes with a toothpick several times. Immediately pour lemonade glaze over top of cake. Let cupcakes stand until almost cool.


originally found recipe at Sugar Baby Aprons

Decidedly Decadent: Baked Banana French Toast

Everybody reads Bakerella, right? If you don't, you MUST go visit her very soon. Her blog is one of my favorite. I am sure to like any recipe she posts.

Recently, she posted a Baked French Toast recipe that intrigued me. And when I made it, I realized that it is just plain DECADENT. My family loved it, and I gobbled it up. But, I won't be making it very often....it is just TOOOOO good.

Here is the recipe (I did make a few modifications based on the ingredients I had on hand in my kitchen and the amount of time I had before serving breakfast):

1 small loaf french bread

4 eggs

3/4 c. heavy cream (I omitted this and used 1 1/4 c. milk)

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

1 T cinnamon

1 t vanilla

1 large banana

6 T brown sugar

1 T butter

Powdered sugar

Maple syrup

Coat six 4 oz. ramekins with non-stick spray. (I used the Demarle Round Tray)

Cut french bread into 18 slices. 

Whisk together eggs, cream, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.

Place sliced bread in bowl to coat.

Place three slices of bread into each dish. 

Cut banana into 12 or more slices. Coat slices with mixture and then dip coated bananas in 2 tablespoons brown sugar and stuff in between bread.

Transfer dishes to a baking sheet. 

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight. (I skipped this step,n because I had some hungry people in my house.)

When ready to bake, mix together remaining 4 T brown sugar and 1 T butter and sprinkle over bread.

Bake at350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy warm with powdered sugar and maple syrup.