Pancakes

I tried a new recipe for pancakes. Confession alert! They weren't for breakfast. Growing up we always had pancakes (or waffles) for dinner. So, when Brynne asks for pancakes. We have pancakes. I do serve some fruit with it and sometimes I even sneak some squash or sweet potatoes into the batter. SHHHHH!
Anywho, back to the pancakes. I wanted an untraditional recipe. I scoured and I found one and now I have forgotten where I found them. :) So if you'll forgive me for not posting the credit, I'll share the recipe below.
Talk amongst yourselves....share your favorite pancake/waffle/breakfast recipe below.

Crepe Pancakes
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 melted butter
dash of salt and pepper (no, this is not a typo)

Beat eggs until they're frothy. Blend in milk. Mix in both sugar and flour until completely incorporated. Mix in butter and salt and pepper. Let sit while you heat a small skillet over medium heat. The batter will be very thin! Spray the skillet with cooking spray. Pour about a 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet. Swirl the batter to evenly coat the bottom of the skillet. Leave it alone for 2-3 minutes and flip. Let the other side cook for 1-2 minutes and serve. Repeat. Top with strawberries and whipped cream, fruit preserves or just plain syrup.

Enjoy!

Waiving the White Flag-so to speak.

So, I have two kids. Kids are picky. I have tried to raise mine to not be picky. I have come to learn that at 3 and 4 (almost 5) I have failed. I think (hope) I've only failed for a season. I shall continue to push on. However, after many cooking attempts met with "digusting!" from Brynne, I am waiving the proverbial white flag for the time being. I will, for a while, only cook kid friendly recipes. I will, however, continue to sneak vegetables in. Now I am off to find a website with recipes that truly satisfy the "kid friendly" requirement.
Will you share yours?

Favorite Websites

I admit, I get many of my ideas from various food websites. I say, instead of hide it, let's embrace it. Seriously, who has time to completely reinvent the wheel. Maybe redesign it a little, but not completely reinvent it. I often will find a recipe on one of my "go-to" websites and will tweak it a little based on my family's tastes or just my creativity. "They" say you should always try a recipe the way that it was intended the first time around and then tweak it later. I think however, this will sometimes lead to abandonded recipes.
Here are a few of my "go-to" recipe websites

Allrecipes-I love this site because people contribute their own recipes, you can maintain a recipe box on their website of your favorites, and the biggest reason? you can do an ingredient search!

CopyKat Recipes- love this site because you can search for recipes from your favorite restaurants!

FoodNetwork-This one is a given simply because I am constantly watching the channel and it is so convenient to just go to their site and download the recipe from the show I just watched. I swear, someone should invent smell-o-vision and taste-o-vision!

Ok, let's share. Do you have any favorite sites for recipes?

Favorite Appetizers

Sometimes I think appetizers are kind of the underdog in the crowd. Because we're gearing up for the big meal, we often neglect them. I believe we're giving up on some yummy treats! I will sometimes make a meal out of appetizers. At a restaurant this is nice because you get to sample different things and you sometimes spend less money than if you had gotten a whole meal. At home this is fun because they're usually bite size, so the kids think they're getting something fun. You can even include them in the making. I will admit that I have a hard time with including the kids in the kitchen, but that's for another post.
Here are a couple of my favorite appetizers. Feel free to post yours!

Onion Strings
From "The Pioneer Woman"
These are quick and easy and oh so yummy! Know that your seasonings go a long way.

Sausage Balls
I have eaten these since I was a little girl sneaking them out of my grandmother's kitchen before all of the guests arrived for her annual Christmas party. Someone had to make sure they were good enough for the guests.

Spinach Cheese Balls
Ok, so I haven't actually tried these yet, but they look like a yummy variation of the aforementioned sausage balls.

I hope you have a Blessed New Year! Enjoy!

Where's the MSG?

The urge for chinese food overcame me tonight. Poor hubby isn’t really a fan, so we have an agreement. If it’s (chinese food)  for dinner and he needs to eat it, then I have to cook it.

So with Pioneer Woman’s recipe feeding that desire, I embarked on Beef with Snow peas. As Pioneer Woman says, “it’ll make your skirt fly up.” So, I trudged on with her recipe making a few tweaks of my own (added garlic, Chinese five spice and mushrooms). It came out delicious, however, it just didn’t hit the “I want Chinese food, now!” spot. I think because it needs MSG. They say it isn’t good for you. I mean what do “they” know anyway? Who are “they” and why are they the authority on what is good for you and what isn’t? Anywho, check out the recipe it certainly was yummy! In the meantime, I’m off to unearth some MSG.

Cake Mix Cookies

So I wanted to bake tonight. Only had cake mix, but didn’t really want cake. Next best option? Cake Mix cookies! Super easy and versatile and yet super yummy! Here’s the recipe.

1 box cake mix (any flavor)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup mix-ins (chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows, etc)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine ingredients and mix well.

Scoop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased baking pan or stone. (I use a cookie scoop).  Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Told you they were easy.

New Endeavors?!

It dawned on me tonight, that I have a goal that I didn't know before that I had. Cooking and food are two of my passions. I have always wanted to be a creative type. However, it always seems to get swirled in my head like a giant tilt-a-whirl until I am begging to be let off the ride. It seems, though, that maybe I just wasn't pursing the right outlet. Hence, this blog.

I have discovered that I do release creativity through my food. I love creating new recipes-a dash of this, a teeny bit of that- and I love trying new recipes. I also have come to realize that I have a vision which is now transpiring into a "maybe someday" goal. I would like to open my own restaurant. I really don't want it to be the hustle and bustle screaming at each other type that you see on Hell's Kitchen. I want a quaint, off-the-beaten path type of restaurant. Seaside, preferable. Think "anthropologie of cooking".

So, in the meantime, while I pursue a career and raise a family, I will keep it in the back of my mind and on paper here through this blog. I will post random musings, recipes I have created and recipes that I just enjoy, as well as an idea box for that someday goal of mine.

I hope you enjoy.