Things that worked

I am on a roll people! Pinterest RECIPES are all working out great for me. Dan said the other day that Pinterest is great if I stay away from the crafts! Last week we ate at least 1 Pinterest recipe per day and sometimes 2! :) Thought I'd share some good ones

First is pancake mix. Do you know what's in pancake mix? Probably things you wouldnt' feed to your guinea pig or pet rat. Lots of creepy additives (aluminum) and preservatives (sodium benzoate). Now I am not going to get on my high horse and be all "granola" here. Our family eats plenty of foods with preservatives, but when there is an alternative that actually tastes better  and costs less--we are taking that road.

So this recipe is actually Pinterest inspired not exactly copied though. I found a TON of pancake mix recipes on there but none exactly suited our lifestyle (many use buttermilk--I'm not even 100% sure what that is). So I put a few together and added some stuff and WHOAH, it's delicous! Cameron went to town and so did Dan and I. They are MUCH more filling than traditional pancakes made from mix,  because they have milk and eggs in them instead of just water.

DIY Pancake Mix

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 heaped tablespoon salt

Directions

Step 1

In a bowl stir all together. Transfer to a sealed container. Shake well before each use. You are done if you just want the mix. If you are ready to make pancakes, follow the directions below. Ingredients (makes about a dozen pancakes--you can half this if you want less pancakes) 2 cups Easy Homemade Instant Pancake Mix 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups milk 2 eggs 1/4 cup sour cream 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Directions Step 1 In a bowl whisk together all except the pancake mix until well blended. Gently add in the pancake mix and stir just until just blended. Do not over mix--it will be chunky. Step 2 Heat a buttered griddle on medium heat cook pancakes like you normally would. They will bubble up when ready to flip. YUM! No picture, sorry folks, Sunday mornings I am half awake and forgot to take pictures _________________________________________________________________________ Next up---delicous chicken that I found on Pinterest. Dan has been craving fried chicken, and since a. I do not make fried chicken b. fried chicken is terrible for us I thought this might be a good substitute! Baked Parmesan Ranch Chicken Yum Yum Yum. That's all I can really say. I thought I had made enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day, I was wrong. Dan was actually (no joke) picking the crumbs off the pan and eating them long after Cameron and I had left the kitchen. I bought a big ole' box of Corn Flakes at Aldi (that's another obsession, if you havent' shopped there, you are wasting your money--we don't shop there for everything, but many things, like baking and cooking items, are about 30-40% cheaper than at Cub/Target) and I will have them for many many more times of cooking this meal. Actually, I think next time I make this, I may quadruple the recipe for the coating and then just store it for next time, so it can be a quick and easy meal. _____________________________________________________________________-- Lastly is something that I have made twice already and they are gone in the blink of an eye at our house. So for this recipe, I did buy into the fad of "quinoa." First I had to trek to Trader Joe's to find out exactly what quinoa was and where I could find it in that place, but a very nice (however, not knowledgable) man pointed me in the right direction. I have been making Egg Muffins for Dan and I to grab in the morning on our way out the door, but wanteed to try something with more fiber/protein in it as well. So I ran across this recipe for Quinoa Bites. It's actually a gluten free recipe, but you can use regular flour if you are not GF. So this is the picture of what I was aiming to create. Now there is definitely work involved in making these, because you have to boil the quinoa first (like rice) and then blend it all together and bake. But it is so worth it. This is after boiling the quinoa and adding the egg and flour. Here is after adding the parsley and carots. And the finished product. We don't serve these with any dressing/sauce on the side, but they are just as good. The first two times I made these, Dan ate 4-5 while they were cooling on the counter. I find that I am full after only 2 of them and it sustains me (even with the caloric needs of breastfeeding ) until lunch no problem.