When I posted a recipe for pumpkin pancakes many years ago, one of my lovely readers Brittany commented and shared a recipe for pumpkin maple syrup. Several other people mentioned in the comments that they made the syrup and loved it. That syrup has been on my mind ever since and I finally gave it a try last week!

Brittany’s version (click here and check out comment #3) is more pumpkiny and a little thicker, mine is more mapley and a little thinner (although still thicker than straight-up maple syrup). I served pumpkin maple syrup atop pumpkin pancakes, which was delicious! But I think this syrup would be equally as good (if not better!) served with regular pancakes. It is SCRUMPTIOUS STUFF, this syrup. Mmmmmmmm…

Pumpkin Maple Syrup

 

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Prep time

2 mins

Total time

2 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• ¾ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Simply whisk all the ingredients together!
2. Serve with pancakes, waffles or whatever your pumpkin-loving heart wants!

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I have another Crazy Easy Chicken recipe for you today! So far we have Creamy Lemon Pepper Chicken (which I posted last October) and Parmesan-Crusted Chicken. Today we’re going to go with a savory-sweet recipe, which happens to be my favorite flavor combo! (As in, don’t put any chocolate-covered pretzels anywhere near me or they will ALL disappear.)

We only need 3 ingredients for this recipe: chicken, maple syrup and soy sauce. That’s it, you’re done. I love how the saltiness of the soy sauce is a perfect balance to the maple syrup. It’s pretty much divine and so easy to throw together.

This chicken would be great on a salad, in a stir fry or maybe even just on its own with a big pile of creamy garlic mashed potatoes. Yeah, that sounds good to me. Do that.

Savory Maple Chicken

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

With only 3 ingredients, this super easy chicken recipe is great for a weeknight and hits the salty-sweet spot!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 part soy sauce
• 2 parts REAL maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Stab the chicken breasts on both sides a TON with a fork.
3. Mix together the soy sauce and maple syrup (you should be using twice as much maple syrup as soy sauce).
4. Place chicken in a baking dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken, turning the chicken several times to make sure it is coated in the sauce. (The little holes from your fork stabbing will help the chicken to take in some of that yummy sauce.)
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until inside of chicken is no longer pink and the internal temperature reaches 160º F. Don't overcook to keep it moist and tender.
6. I didn't provide measurements because this is a CRAZY EASY recipe and you don't need them! For two chicken breasts, it will probably take about ¼ - ½ cup maple syrup and ⅛ - ¼ cup soy sauce, but that's just a guess. Adjust accordingly as you put the dish together and suit to your own tastes. If you want more sauce, whip up a little more sauce!

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It’s been many years since I declared my undying love for real maple syrup, so I think we should revisit the topic! Before I met Nate, I had only ever eaten fake maple syrup – you know, of the Log Cabin and Aunt Jemima variety. Then I married a boy from New Hampshire and everything changed.

Truly, I haven’t bought a bottle of the fake stuff since we got married. Even in the early years when we had negative money in the bank account, we still found a way to get our hands on pure maple syrup. Good chocolate and good maple syrup are top priorities in my kitchen!

Anna and Cate’s former preschool teacher Miss Ferneyn once gave me a photocopy of a maple balsamic chicken recipe she found in a cookbook or magazine. (Miss Ferneyn and Miss Erika were always giving me great recipes and they have made appearances on the blog before. I sure miss those ladies, and not just for their good food!) I made the recipe and it was AMAZING. And then I lost the photocopied page and haven’t been able to find it no matter how hard I look.  I pestered Miss Ferneyn a few times and she can’t find the recipe either! I finally bit the bullet and tried to figure out the recipe on my own. and we had success! Welcome back to my life, beautiful recipe.

I made this chicken for my family in New Jersey and everyone raved. My sister-in-law has already made it for guests. It’s really really really really really good. Are you convinced yet?

Maple Balsamic Chicken (You need to make this recipe!)

 

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From Jane Maynard, inspired by a recipe buried in my kitchen somewhere

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Poultry

Ingredients

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – cut into thirds width-wise, then halved height-wise
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ½ cup real maple syrup
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided in half
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 5 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• ¼ of an onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix flour, ½ tsp salt and the pepper in a plastic bag. Pound chicken nice and flat then toss in the flour mixture.
2. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in large pan over medium to medium-high heat. Brown chicken in oil then set aside on a plate.
3. Put onions in the pan and sautée over medium heat until translucent, adding a bit of oil to the pan if needed. Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms are cooked and liquid has evaporated. Add broth, syrup, vinegar, ½ tsp salt and browned chicken. Bring sauce to a simmer then reduce heat to medium-low, so sauce is still simmering. Cook about 10 minutes until chicken is fully cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with pasta or mashed potatoes.

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To see other yummy maple syrup recipes, visit the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers ‘Recipe of the Month’ Page. This post was not sponsored, but my recipe will be featured on their site. I’m happy I can help spread the maple syrup love!

Have I convinced you yet to make cornflake or crispy crunch? If not, maybe today’s post will tip the balance!

Years ago I stayed at the Parker Palm Springs, a Jonathan Adler paradise with very delicious food and beautiful grounds. For breakfast one morning I ordered French toast that was coated in…wait for it…I bet you can’t guess…or maybe you can…crisped rice! That French toast was SO GOOD. Okay, so I think you can figure out the rest of this story…when Cora started telling me about cornflake crunch in the Milk Bar cookies, visions of crispy French toast danced in my head.

This week we tried making French toast with both the crispy crunch and the cornflake crunch. The crispy crunch was good, but I LOVED the French toast with cornflake crunch coating. It had a great crisp texture and was very tasty!

So, that’s all I’ve got so far for the cornflake and crispy crunch…but I’m sure I’ll think of more ways to use it! And if you think of other ways too, please share!

Crispy French Toast

 

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From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Breakfast

Ingredients

• Sliced bread of your choosing (French, brioche, whatever!)
• Eggs whisked with about 1 tablespoon of milk per 2 eggs or so (2-3 slices of bread per egg)
• Cornflake crunch (you can use crispy crunch, too, but I liked cornflake better)
• Butter

Instructions

1. Dip bread slices in whisked egg. Dip in cornflake crunch to coat both sides. Dip bread AGAIN in the egg – some of the crunch will fall off, but that’s okay, most of it will stay on and you can just sort of pat it back in place.
2. Cook in a buttered pan over medium-low to medium heat until both sides are browned.
3. Delicious coated in butter and pure maple syrup!

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