Morning

This morning was a pancake and hot chocolate kind of morning, but really what morning isn't?!?! Not many at our house considering E wakes up saying "pantate" most mornings. So we made pancakes. And since it has been snowing here, I wake up most mornings saying, "hot chocolate".  :) I used my favorite homemade whole grain oatmeal pancake mix and we had pancakes and hot chocolate in less than 10 minutes! 

E wanted his picture taken

But really, this mix is awesome! It stays good forever if you keep it in the fridge and it has lots of fiber and actually tastes really yummy. All you do is add an egg and some buttermilk to the mix. (I posted the recipe in my "recipes" tab at the top. I love them with a little butter and some pure maple syrup!

I was practicing my picture taking skills (which are very slim) with my mom's camera that she left at my house!

Waffles of Insane Greatness

What a name for waffles, right? Over the last few years I have really come to enjoy breakfast! I used to not be a "breakfast person" but now most days I actually look forward to waking up to make breakfast (most days)!! Now I have always thought of myself as a pancake person, probably because they are so easy to whip up, put on the griddle (all at once) and flip. And then I make waffles and I realize I am actually a waffle person. I love the airy texture of waffles and the slight crispiness you get from a really, really good waffle.

I have had this recipe saved for a while and finally decided to give it a go this morning. And let me tell you, they definitely live up to their name. The outside was slightly crispy and the inside was soft and airy. The only thing that made them better was the fresh strawberries I put on top! Yumm! FYI: My waffle iron makes 4-inch waffles and I was able to make 6 waffles with this recipe.

Waffles of Insane Greatness
Printable Recipe

*Note: this recipe does require the batter to rest for 30 minutes before cooking so plan ahead.

3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Whisk together to blend. In another bowl, beat together the whole milk, buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until incorporated. There will be a few lumps. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat waffle iron. pour batter into waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Cook until crisp and golden. Serve immediately.

Carnitas

I have had a few requests for the carnitas recipe that I posted about a few days ago. But instead of posting it right here, I have posted it under the "recipes" tab below the header. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to find and print. And although I don't want to turn this particular blog into a recipe blog, I have found some wonderful recipes lately that I hope to post soon! So click above if you the recipe.

March's Top Ten

As I was checking a few blogs the other night, I noticed that I hadn't posted the whole month of March. We have done quite a bit this month so I decided to post the top 10 happenings. 

1.FAMILY: March means Spring Break!! So my family travelled out to Utah/Idaho for a little vacation. My sister also flew out from California with her little girl, Lily. It was great to see them and we had such a good time. I love having family visit and now that we have a house to actually have room for people to stay-it was so wonderful! 

Lily turned 1 a few days before they came so we threw her a little birthday party complete with yummy cupcakes and a few presents. She was pretty worn out from our activities so she didn't eat much-just poked at the cupcake a little. Isn't she darling? She was so sweet while she was here-trying to give hugs to Ethan and play with him. Although, he didn't warm up to her hugs until they were leaving!

I posted this pic in family because I sure love this little guy! He is so happy most of the time and is so fun to play with. We took this picture right after his first haircut. Now I know you are saying, "First haircut? He doesn't even have any hair!" Well, as he's gotten older, he's grown  a nice curly patch on the back of his head. Along with that came a rattail and it was hideous-so it needed to be cut off! Now he looks so handsome! (Don't mind my cheesy face.)

2. CREPES & CARAMEL SYRUP: Some of you may know that I L.O.V.E to cook! I am always looking for new recipes to try or different ways to switch up old ones! I have made crepes several times before but was never really in love with the recipe I had. And then I found this one on Our Best Bites! It's so easy and yummy, I made it three times in March. And along with that I found this caramel syrup recipe. Even though I was pretty much eating dessert for breakfast, it was delicious! And on another note, this sauce is incredible on vanilla ice cream!

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

3. STRAWBERRIES: Strawberries have been on sale here in Idaho so I stocked up! And because we love them makes that even better! Ethan has a new found love for strawberries, whether eaten whole or cut up. I love his "pucker" face in this picture! I think I love strawberries so much because they remind me of summer and I'm SOOO ready for summer!

4. CARNITAS: Just the mention of carnitas now and I get hungry! These were A.MAZ.ING! I love some me good mexican food and this recipe lives up to "good mexican food"-maybe even "great mexican food". The meat slowly cooks in a mixture of orange and lime juice and some yummy mexican spices and then is finished off with a quick fry in some olive oil to make it crispy and seal in the incredible flavor. The first time I made this I served this on tortillas with traditional toppings and they were so good. It made a ton, but don't worry, I didn't let it go to waste.  For the next week, I finished it off several different ways and it was excellent every way I tried it! Now you should try it too!

Photo Credit

5. SILHOUETTE SD: This is my new crafty best friend!! This machine can do so much and I have done some very fun projects with this. In March, I used this machine to cut out the invitations for my brother- & sister-in-law's  wedding, which is this coming weekend! We are very excited for Steven & Rachel. I have several more projects in mind to use this machine for and I may even post some of them on here.

6. PIONEER WOMAN SALSA: I don't like chunky salsa and so when I found this recipe I knew I wanted to try it. This salsa has become my new favorite! I don't think that I will ever buy salsa again! It has a little bit of spice to it and all the flavors blend perfectly. It does make a lot but it kept well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Photo Credit

7. MENU PLANNING: I don't have a picture for this one but this one thing has helped tremendously. I have always hated the stress of 5pm and the question of "What am I going to make for dinner?" Since February, I have tried to plan a menu each week and it has saved me the stress of rushing to make dinner, has allowed me to make healthier meals, and has saved us money on our grocery bill. I'm hooked!!

 8. SUNSHINE: We have started to get a little bit of sunshine here and it makes me ready for some warmer weather. Living in Idaho you never know what you are going to get, even in the summertime but one can only hope right?!?!

9. SURVIVOR: There is not much to say about this one but I have always enjoyed watching this show.

10. HOLIDAYS: When I was growing up, my mom always did something fun for us for even the smallest holidays.Now that I have a family of my own, I am excited to follow my mom and celebrate holidays-even the little ones!

Muffins

(Photo from AllRecipes)

Ethan loves muffins! The first time I made them for him that's all he wanted to eat. And now whenever I make them he can't get enough.

After our Christmas trip to Arkansas, we stayed at my grandma's house in Salt Lake. We woke up that morning and were discussing our plan for the day. Ethan was just walking around looking at everything when he brought us back a small box. I looked at it and it was a blueberry muffin box he had found on my grandma's pantry shelf! He had pulled the other boxes onto the ground to get that one. So needless to say, we had muffins for breakfast!

Today I made bran muffins for the first time and  Ethan still gobbled them up. I beginning to think that as long as it is in muffin form he will eat it. My mind is now spinning thinking of all the things I could possibly get him to eat if I just made them into "muffins"! Wish me luck!

Oh and if you are looking for a fantastic recipe for blueberry muffins-this one is our favorite!! Happy muffin making! :)