Blogtober Day 3- A Favorite Recipe

I have searched high and low for the best DIY pancake mix out there. We have had several fails and a few that were worth hanging onto but these are my all time favorites!

It is getting to that time of year that my kids are craving pancakes every morning. I blame it on the changing of the seasons! They need more carbs in their diet I guess…. You know preparing to hibernate for the winter!

This recipe I found on Pinterest of course! It is from the website momables.com and it is a light fluffy pancake that everyone enjoys. It can also be used as a base recipe and so many things can be added into it. I have tried it with several different types of fruit, tried it as a cinnamon roll pancake (that recipe will come later) and of course the favorite chocolate chip. The way she sets this mix up is she mixes all the dry ingredients into ziploc bags and then writes the wet ingredients needed on the outside of the bag. These then can be easily placed into the freezer for future use!

I like to make the recipe in a triple batch, cook them up and then they can be frozen and just popped into the toaster whenever the kids want them. It might seem like a hassle, but I promise you will be glad you did it! They are just as good toasted as they were when they first get made. I love them and my kids do too! These will for sure be a hit in your house! 🙂 Happy Breakfast!

DIY Pancake Mix 

1. 1 1/2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
2. 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1 tablespoon sugar
4. 1/2 teaspon salt
5. 1 1/4 cup milk
6. 1 egg
7. 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix well to combine. Pour a small amount of mixture onto a hot greased skillet or griddle. Watch for bubbles an then flip. Cook until browned.

YUMMY!

DIY Cold Brew Coffee and Caramel Creamer

I have been drinking caramel macchiatos like they are going out of style. But unfortunately they are pricey and I had to figure out a way to make my own. I obviously don’t own an espresso machine so I had to get creative!

 

I found the cold brew recipe here and decided to double it and make it to my own liking. I ended up using 1 cup of Caramel Drizzle by Folgers, which they discontinued, 😦 and then 1 cup of classic roast bought from our local Aldi’s.

 

Mixing this together with 8 cups of cold water and stirring until every ounce of the coffee is wet. I mixed mine in a bowl and put a lid on it to prevent spilling!

It looks like sludge, especially since I shook it around in the bowl! But it smells AMAZING!!!!!

Then tomorrow morning I will strain it, just like in the article, and jump for joy at the prospect of having cold coffee!

I searched and searched for a recipe that sounded tempting on Pinterest and one that I had all of the ingredients but to no avail, I couldn’t find the right one. So, I made my own taking ideas from other recipes that I seen. I happened to have a glass mason jar hanging around my kitchen so I used this to hold my creamer.

I love caramel creamer and I had caramel extract so it was a solid choice to make my creamer out of! 🙂 I used 2 cups of cold milk (I used whole milk) and 1 1/2 tsp of caramel extract. This may seem like a lot but I love the caramel taste and I wanted it more on the strong side. Then I added 2 TBSP of brown sugar. Shook it up and tasted it. It was perfect for me but you can always alter the recipe! 🙂

Caramel Creamer

• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 1/2 tsp caramel extract (can be any other flavor! I plan on testing some others)
• 2 TBSP brown sugar

Shake it all up and taste it! Add more to your liking. Make sure to date it!

 

Cold Brew Coffee

• 2 cups of your favorite coffee grounds
• 8 cups of cold water

Mix well and store overnight. Store for longer for a stronger taste. Strain all of the grounds out and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!!

In the mood for fall?? These cookies will make your day :)

I have been so in the mood for fall to show up for the past couple weeks! 🙂 We had a 70* day the other day and it was the most magical moment! Unfortunately, it didn’t last but that day and we have 100* days the rest of the week. It just makes me sad lol!

So my youngest and I decided to get baking today and I am in the mood for pumpkin, or apple pie or soups or anything that is fall related. My taste buds are ahead of the season and I was ready to get down to business satisfying them. I was craving some apple crisp, you know the buttery crispy goodness that just screams FALL!!! Yea,  that’s the one. BUT I wanted to do something a smidge different. My kids hate apple crisp, I know what the heck is wrong with their tastebuds?!?!? I’m hoping they grow out of that soon!

We decided to experiment with some Caramel Apple Crisp Cookies! YES! You read that right, how much goodness can you fit in one title?!?! Well here it is! AND OMG THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!!!!!

Caramel Apple Crisp Cookies 

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 350*

• 2 sticks melted butter
• 1 whole cut apple
• 2 1/2 TBSP of milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp of Caramel extract
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 cups whole grain quick oats
• 2 TBSP Cinnamon

 

In a mixing bowl, stir together: the melted butter, apples and milk until the butter is cooled off enough to add eggs. Add eggs, caramel extract and cinnamon. Stir until ingredients are completely mixed. Start to slowly add the white sugar. Followed by the brown sugar. Mixing until no clumps remain.

In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking soda together. Slowly begin to add this mixture into the liquid. Stir in the oats.

Drop rounded tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, onto greased cookie sheet. (they tend to stick, so be careful) Bake for 13-15 minutes or until they turn a golden brown!

*Some of mine fell apart and yours might also. But these are my favorite! Use them on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream for an even yummier treat! Hope you enjoy them as much as I have. If you make them, send me a picture! I love seeing others enjoying a recipe!

I know it is too early to say this but:

HAPPY FALL!!! 😉

#blogtober Day 4~ Fall Food Favorites!

When the weather turns cooler I turn to my favorite soups and all the comfort food I can find! It is the time of year to ruin all that hard work you put in over the summer losing weight! Am I right??? 😉 I call it my preparing for hibernation time of year, kind of like a bear! My hubby thinks I’m crazy but oh well I love food and I’m not a huge fan of exercise. I exercise to eat more food! So I am going to share with you my all time favorite (personal) recipe that I love love love to eat during the cooler months of the year!

So growing up my Grandma always made potato soup. It was always super yummy and she made it look super simple like just potatoes, butter and milk. I have tried that and to no avail (even with adding other seasonings) it doesn’t ever come close to the way I remember hers tasting. I began to improvise (I am a foodie at heart) and came up with my own style of potato soup that we all love! So here it goes:

~Cheesy Potato Soup~

A one pot meal!!

• 5 lb bag of potatoes or more depending on how many you are feeding!
  • Wash (peel if you like), cut and boil until soft
  • Once cooked, drain and mash them with 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• Add 2 cups of milk (add more if you want it more soupy)
• Here is where you can get creative
  • Add any vegetables that you like! I like all veggies so add as many cans of veggies as you like!
• Add 8 oz Cheese (I love cheese!)
• Add seasonings
  • 1 tsp of garlic powder
  • 1 tsp of onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 Tbsp parsley
• Cook until all hot! If you are using frozen veggies it takes a little longer to heat up.
• It’s delicious on its own or with a dollop of sour cream on top (my fav) and definitely with a side of garlic bread!!!

I hope you enjoy!!! It is one of my favorite things to eat and I am happy to share it with you!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme!! It’s amazing!

http://twistedfood.co.uk/monster-chicken-fajita-crunchwrap/

Had this for dinner tonight! AND it was amazing!! Could have subtracted the chips and it would have been great! I felt like the chips were almost a stale texture after being in the oven and it made it less appealing. I also only used green peppers (that’s all I had lol) and I substituted chili powder for the paprika. Also left out the spring onion and the fresh tomato (my hubby doesn’t like them).

Great meal and is definitely big enough for 4 people! My hubby and I ate it and could barely polish off 1/4 of it each. It is huge! It was so yummy though!!

What You’ll Need:

• 6 large tortilla wraps
• 1 small tortilla wrap (or an additional large wrap)
• 4 chicken breasts, sliced
• mixed peppers, 3, sliced
• salt and pepper
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 2 handfuls tortilla chips
• 2 tbsp spring onion, diced
• 2 tbsp fresh tomato, diced
• sour cream and avocado salad, to serve
• 2 cups cheddar, grated

How You Make It:

1. Pop your chicken, peppers, onions, spices and seasoning on a baking tray and roast at 220°C for 2o minutes, mixing occasionally.
2. Bring out and leave to cool slightly.
3. Grease a large cast iron skillet with oil and lay down 5 of your tortillas, overlapping, in a flower formation. Pop your smaller wrap in the centre.
4. Go in with your cheese, half your fajita mix, then a tortilla chip layer (crunch down to flatten). Top with the remaining half of fajita mix, spring onion, tomato then the rest of the cheese. Place a final wrap on top in the centre and fold the rest of the wraps over. Bake for 30 minutes at 190•C.
5. To serve, flip the crunchwrap onto a board.
6. Dig in.

 

There is an awesome video tutorial on the website!!!

Yum-O Peanut Butter Fudge!!

I am a fudge lover, I love to try fudge of all kinds! I will never forget going to a fudge factory as a child every time we went to Branson, Mo. We would set and watch them make the fudge in anticipation of trying some once they were finished! It was my favorite part of our trip. So I am always up for trying new recipes!

 

Here is a yummy recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge:

Unfortunately, there is no link on the Pinterest pin but it is definitely worth trying out! It was delicious. My only suggestion is to add a little more powdered sugar so its a stiffer consistency before it is put in the fridge. It is amazing and my husband said to never make it again! He made himself sick on it! 🙂 It is super yummy!!

 

What is your favorite recipe?? I’d love to swap recipes!! Will be sharing more soon!