Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes (for Mama and Baby)

This morning I really wanted to make pancakes that the Baby and I could eat. She loved the pancakes I made her a couple of weeks ago, but those had breast milk in them, so I didn't get to eat them.

 

 I searched far and wide for pancakes that abide by all the Baby ingredient restrictions, but could not find any. I didn't want any milk or whole eggs in the recipe. I couldn't find the right recipe so I opted to make one up and it turned out great, so I will share.

Serves: Mama and Baby, maybe a little bit for Daddy too
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 egg yolks
3 Tbsp. yogurt (I used vanilla because that is what I had on hand)
water as needed

Directions

Combine all ingredients except water in a blender and pulse a few times to moisten flour. 

Add water 1 Tbsp. at a time and blend, until you reach a batter consistency. Use a spatula to scrape edges of blender and pulse a couple more times.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Reduce heat to medium low. Pour batter by the spoonful onto pan and cook for a couple of minutes each side. Enjoy!!

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs for a juicer meat)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of pepper
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. water

Rice and edamame for serving

Directions

Place chicken in crockpot.

Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a medium bowl. 

 Pour over chicken in crock pot. 

 Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Break chicken into pieces, or shred with forks.

Strain cooking liquid into a skillet and bring to a boil. Whisk together cornstarch and water and add the liquid, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes to allow sauce to thicken. Pour sauce over chicken. Enjoy with rice and edamame.

This teriyaki chicken is delicious and super easy to make. 

Recipe adapted from: http://what2cook.net/2013/03/15/slow-cooker-teriyaki-chicken/

Crispy Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing

Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
4 cups cornflakes, crushed
1/2 cup buttermilk
24 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1/4 reduced fat sour cream
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbled, plus more for serving
2 Tbsp chopped green onions
1 head of iceberg lettuce cut into 4 wedges
1 cup roma tomatoes, chopped

Directions

Heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place cornflakes in a shallow bowl.

Using 1/4 cup buttermilk, brush all sides of chicken breasts, then season with cayenne, salt and pepper. Press chicken into cornflakes. Place chicken on baking sheet.

 Bake until cooked through, 15-20 minutes.

Make the dressing in a medium bowl by combining sour cream, vinegar, and remaining 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Whisk until smooth. Stir in blue cheese and 1 Tbsp. green onions.

Divide lettuce and tomatoes among plates. Spoon dressing over the top, sprinkle with green onions and blue cheese. Serve with chicken.

Enjoy!

This recipe was a huge hit! Everyone loved it. It had so much flavor. I will be making this again.

Recipe adapted from Women's Day June 2013.

The Manor

Hi all, sorry for not posting anything in a while.... Life has been a whirlwind to say the least. This post is to introduce you to our new home: Meadows' Manor.

After 10 long months of searching for a house and having offers rejected, Jake and I finally found the house of our dreams in October 2012. We had placed between 30-40 offers on houses, offers that were well above asking price. It seemed that time and time again we were getting beat out by all cash offers.
This particular house was part of an initiative that would only accept offers from people who planned on residing in the house. Long story short, we placed a very strong offer and we waited. Our offer was accepted, and we waited. This house was bank owned, so the process took quite a bit longer than a standard sale.
I tried to be in control of the situation, but God had to remind me to wait. Finally, on December 31, 2012, our house closed escrow and we were overjoyed. Here are a few photos of this empty shell that we would soon call our home.

 Outdoor fireplace and sink. Woohoo!

 Huge yard for the pups

 Breakfast nook

Inviting kitchen

 A bookshelf, finally!

 Four-car garage, every man's dream

 My very favorite part of this whole house!

 Our half bathroom

  An office that we plan to transform into a bedroom

 Mosaic mirror thing

 Upstairs bathroom

 Loft

 Master bedroom

 Complete with fireplace

 and jacuzzi tub!!

 Walk-in closet

 Another one of the pool

 Love this yard

So we have been slowly but surely been settling in. Here is a recap of the last 6 months...

 The children love their yard and the grass has started to grow back, yay!

 Shiloh really enjoys our new fireplace

 Made a coffee corner

 Filled up my half of the closet

 My talented little sister made us beautiful pillows for our bed

 Filling up that book shelf

 Started painting doors to convert the office into a bedroom

 Got them installed

 Just can't get over the views here

 Family dinner with the boys

 We love our new walk, the views are unbeatable

Started laying out pretty early this year

 Another family dinner

Got these bedside tables for free, sanded them and painted them. They look great with the pillows my sister made for us.

 A family outing

We love to spend time by our pool

 And have campfires

 And enjoy the view on our walk

 So that pretty much sums it up... Those boys in the pictures are friends who stay with us. We have a full house, but things are changing. God has been burdening us with a heart for children. We are taking the initial steps to begin foster care. Being that I am a pediatric nurse, I would like to use my background to take care of kids while providing them with a loving home. We hope to adopt children someday. We have been so blessed and we are hoping to share this wonderful house that God has blessed us with. More to come....