I know, I know. All the recipes I’ve been making lately are a little…different. I’ve recently discovered that I seem to have a knack for combining unexpected ingredients. Peach quesadillas? Greek yogurt pancakes?  Admittedly, those combinations sound pretty odd at first, but actually go quite well together.  Today I discovered another not-so-traditional combination that turned out to be amazing.

Risotto with blueberries, thyme, asiago cheese, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  I just love how the blueberries turned the rice a beautiful shade of purple.  I gobbled up this ultra-creamy risotto with a few small pieces of grilled chicken and a cool, crunchy salad.  It was the perfect summer meal and one that I would highly recommend to anyone.

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a go!

Savory Blueberry Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• butter and olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4-5 cups warm chicken broth
• 1 TB chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 freshly grated asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

In a medium pot over medium heat, sauté onions in a bit of butter and olive oil until translucent.  Add the rice and stir for about a minute.  Add the wine and simmer over low-medium heat until the rice has just about absorbed all the wine.  Ladle in the first cup of chicken broth as well the blueberries and thyme into the rice. Stir constantly until nearly all liquid has been absorbed. Keep adding the broth, a cup at a time, until the rice is tender.  After the last cup of liquid has been absorbed, sprinkle in a bit of salt and black pepper as well as the asiago cheese and lemon juice.  Serve piping hot! Makes 4-6 servings.

I’ve discovered the holy grail of pancake recipes.  And trust me, I would never call any recipe the holy grail of anything unless I absolutely, 100%, beyond any shadow of a doubt believed it to be true. And these, my friends, are the holy grail of pancakes: thick, fluffy, and unbelievably delicious.

Can you spot the secret ingredient?

Flour, an egg, baking soda, and a container of Greek yogurt are the only ingredients you’ll need to whip these up in 10 minutes flat.

That’s right— you only need 1 bowl, 4 ingredients, and 10 minutes to make the best  pancakes ever.

I’ve made these Greek yogurt pancakes about a bajillion times and they’re virtually foolproof.  I most often use 0% vanilla Chobani, but have also tried mango and strawberry banana flavored yogurt with fantastically delicious results as well.

Try these! You’ll love ‘em.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Ingredients

• 6 oz of your favorite Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• scant 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions

• Open the yogurt container and stir the yogurt until it’s smooth and creamy.  Crack an egg over the yogurt and stir to combine leaving.  The resulting mixture should be pale yellow in color and have a few lumps here and there.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda.
• Pour yogurt/egg mixture into the bowl with the flour and baking soda.  Stir to combine.  The batter will be extremely thick.
• Spoon the batter onto a sprayed griddle or pan heated to medium-high. I usually make four big pancakes, but you could also make 8 smaller ones.
• Flip the pancakes when they start to bubble a bit on the surface.  Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve with butter, syrup, fruit, Nutella….anything! Enjoy!

For lower-calorie Greek yogurt pancakes, use nonfat yogurt and an egg white instead of the whole egg.  Equally delicious and easy to prepare.