My Favorite Homemade Pancakes

Good morning! 

 

I hope you have a relaxing weekend planned. 

 I want to share a breakfast recipe that you are sure to love!

 

My Favorite Homemade Pancakes

 

 

 

Here's what you'll need...

 

1 Cup of Self Rising Flour

1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

3 Tablespoons of Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Oil

1 Egg

1 Cup of Buttermilk

and 

some Butter for your griddle

 

 

 

You'll need to start with your dry ingredients. 

 

 

 

Mix your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl.

 

 

 

Now, add in your oil, egg and buttermilk. 

 Mix only enough to have a wet pancake batter. Don't over-mix!!

 

 

A few lumps in the batter is a good thing!  

 

Here's how your batter should look...

 

 

Now, you're ready to make your pancakes!

I LOVE my griddle! 

There are a few things that I only cook on the griddle and pancakes is one of those things! 

 

I heat my griddle to a medium-high heat.  

*Not too hot, or your pancakes will burn! 

I take a stick of butter and rub the entire face of the griddle with a good coating of butter.

Your butter should sizzle as you apply a generous amount on the griddle.  

Then, I use a measuring cup to scoop out equal measures of pancake batter onto the hot griddle like this...

 

 When you start to see bubbles "popping", you know that it's time to turn your pancakes!

 You only turn them once :)

 

 

That's it!

 You've just made "My Favorite Homemade Pancakes"!!

You're family will love you for it!!

 

 

Now that we've made homemade pancakes, let's talk syrup!

 

 

We were able to visit Vermont recently and we learned all about how maple syrup is harvested!  

 

I loved learning this and I thought I'd share it with you!

 

We visited The Bragg Family Sugarhouse and Farm in Montpelier, Vermont.

 

 

Maple syrup farmers start by drilling a hole into a mature maple tree.  The tree must be 30-40 years old before it is large enough to harvest sap from it.  This procedure is called "tapping".  Once the hole is made in the tree, they attach a spout into the hole for the sap to exit from the spout and into a bucket that they hang from the spout.  Here's a picture of some of the old fashioned spouts and drills that have been used by the Bragg family in years past...

 

 

The farmer can tap a 10 inch tree only once, while an 18 inch tree can be tapped twice in a year.  A new hole is drilled every year. The freezing temperatures of the area causes the sap inside the tree to freeze inside of the tree.  When the temperatures warm up this causes the sap to thaw and release through the  spout.  Ideal temperatures are 20 degree nights and 40 degree days.  It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to equal 1 gallon of maple syrup!! That's why 100% Real Maple Syrup is more expensive. 

 

 

After the sap is collected from the buckets, the farmer takes it and puts it in a huge trough, where it is heated in order to remove the excess water. Syrup boils at 219 degrees!  The sap looks like water before it's boiled, but once the extra water is removed, it looks like the maple syrup that you and I are used to seeing.  

After sampling the 100% real maple syrup here,  we may never be able to enjoy our regular syrup from the grocery store again! 

 

In our opinion, there's no better tasting syrup than this!  <3

I hope you will enjoy your weekend and these pancakes as much as we do! XO

~ Psalm 119:97 "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." (KJV)

Just A Few Kitchen Tips...

Good Morning!  

I hope today is a beautiful day for you and yours! 

I wanted to take just a minute to share a few handy kitchen tips with you today.

The first tip I have is something that I saw on Pinterest and just had to try for myself!

CROCK POT BAKED POTATOES

Here's what you will need...

Baking Potatoes

Olive Oil

Garlic Salt 

Sea Salt 

Aluminum Foil

and a Crock Pot :)

Now, I love a baked potato and I especially LOVE a restaurant style baked potato, so that's what I'm showing you how to prepare in your crock pot today.

First, you will need to wash your potatoes and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Next, you should go ahead and tear your foil off into squares each large enough to cover  your potatoes.

Now, place one washed potato on a piece of foil and coat your  potato with a brushing of olive oil.

Sprinkle your oiled potato all over with garlic salt  and sea salt. 

(I go a little easier on the garlic salt than I do on the sea salt.)

I just love cooking with sea salt!  

Now, it's time to wrap your potato up.

Place your wrapped potatoes inside your crock pot and close the lid!

I cooked my potatoes on high for about 30 minutes, then turned them on LOW for 4 and 1/2 hours.

I recommend you cook 3 to 4 large potatoes on low for 4 to 6 hours, depending on your crock pot, of course, and how hot it gets.  

You know your crock pot better than I do! ;)

The finished product...

YUM!!

You can top your potatoes with 

Butter

Sour Cream

Bacon

Cheese

Ranch Dressing 

Chili

Chives

The list could go on and on and on...

My personal favorite: Butter, Salt, Pepper and a Dollop of Sour Cream <3

I'm a simple girl.

This tip really worked!! If you are a working Mom, I would think this tip should help you save some time in preparing dinner for your family!

 Give it a try!

Next tip...

PREPARING, COOKING AND PEELING HARD BOILED EGGS

 

This tip was inspired by my sweet sister-in-law, Candace, who hates to prepare deviled eggs because the shell is so hard to peel away from the egg. I think she said something like, 

"Deviled eggs might really be from the devil" Ha!! ;)

Well, I learned of a way that makes peeling the shell away a much easier task!

Here's what you'll need...

Eggs

Baking Soda

Salt

and 

Water

Start by putting your raw eggs in a pot and just covering them over the tops with water.

Now, before you start to boil them, you need to add these helpful ingredients...

Baking Soda

and Salt

 I'm not sure what it is about the Baking Soda and Salt combo, but I do know that for me, it works! 

There was no measuring done, just "eyeball" it. 

 (A couple of tablespoons of soda to a tablespoon of salt, I'm guessing)

Now, turn your eggs on medium-high heat and allow them to come to a full rolling boil. 

Boil for about 7 minutes...

Then, remove from the heat and cover. 

Let the eggs simmer in the covered pot for about 10 minutes.

Rinse the eggs with cold water.

Then, cover the eggs with cold water and some ice.

After about 10 minutes, remove your eggs from the ice water and place on a towel to air dry for a minute or two.

Now, here goes nothing...

I peel my hard boiled eggs under running water.

Be gentle
and

drum roll please...

TA-DA!!

A smoothly peeled hard boiled egg! ;)

 I think the Baking Soda really helps!  

Speaking of Baking Soda...

  Everybody knows that baking soda helps keep your fridge and freezer fresh from odors, but

did you also know that

Baking soda

: can be added to your pancake or waffle recipes to make them lighter and softer?

 : can be added to your laundry detergent to help your detergent freshen and work harder?

: can be used to remove crayon marks from walls with a damp sponge?

: can be used as an all-purpose cleaner by adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda to

1 teaspoon of Borax

2 teaspoons of distilled white vinegar or lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid

and 

2 cups of hot water?

I learned those things and many more ways  that Baking Soda can be used in this little booklet that my precious friend, Sherrie Stephens gave to me!

Okay, just a few more tips left to share

JUICING A LEMON BY HAND

When getting the juice from a lemon without a special tool...

Roll your lemon with the palm of your hand on the counter top to get the juices flowing and then cut your lemon in half.

Always squeeze your lemon with the cut side up, so that the seeds will fall into the lemon hull, not your bowl!

I think that's a cool tip!

Also, when you finish juicing your lemon, slice it up and use it to freshen up your garbage disposal. This helps with the odor and removal of impurities on your disposal blade.

The last two tips for today...

MAKING A WEEKLY MENU

After being married for over 25 years now, you can imagine how many dinners I have made for my family! My husband is a pretty picky eater, and likes what he likes, but he does get tired of the same old thing being served over and over again each week.  Let's face it, we all do! 

So...

 I came up with a plan to make a weekly menu for he and Austin to request their weekly choices.

 Daddy likes some things that Austin doesn't care for and Austin likes some things that Daddy doesn't care for, so when Daddy isn't home, I serve Austin's very favorites like Chicken Pot Pie, Potato Soup and Meatloaf. 

For the rest of the time, I decided to ask them what meals they would like to put on the menu and they gave me these meal requests. Then, I give  Daddy 4 choices (because he's the Daddy) ;) and Austin gets 2 choices each week.  

So far, this has worked very well for us! 

It makes shopping for dinners much easier and they get to choose what's for dinner each week!

* If you have more people in your family to feed, especially children, you could give each child 1 weekly choice and let them help you prepare the meal they chose!

I always loved my babies helping me in the kitchen! <3

and the last tip...

SCRUBBING DISHES

This is the best little dish scrubber!  

When visiting with my Ashley recently, I was helping her do the dishes and she had one. 

 I fell in love with it and had to get my own!

The top opens up for you to put your dish washing liquid inside and then you push the top circle down to squirt out detergent onto your dishes! 

The bristles scratch away any stuck-on food and so far, the bristles are holding up very well!

You can find these at Dollar General, department stores and kitchen stores! 

I hope some of today's tips are helpful to you! 

Enjoy your day!! <3

~ Proverbs 22:6~ 

  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (KJV)

Sharing Some Of My Favorite Things...

Hi there! I hope all of you are having a very happy start to this spring season! 

As soon as I start to see the first signs that spring is on it's way, I dig out 

 my Easter decorations  and start by decorating this little Easter tree that my 3  babies and I always decorated every year since they were little. 

Such sweet memories of decorating the Easter tree, dying eggs and hanging plastic eggs outside on our trees in the front yard! I wouldn't trade those memories for anything in the world!! 

Austin and I still dye eggs and after he leaves my nest, no doubt, you will find me dying them alone until I get some new little hands in my kitchen to help me!! <3

 I thrive on such traditions!!

They make my heart happy <3

Speaking of things that make me have a happy heart,  let me share a few of my favorite things with you...

~ My Dishes~

I am madly in love with collecting beautiful dishes!! 

Each one of my collections is special to me, I don't think I can pick a favorite. 

I'll show you what I mean... 

~My Wedding China~

1989

This was my very first dish collection! I chose this pattern when I was newly engaged to Anthony.  I couldn't wait to make my first little "Home Sweet Home" and  serve suppers on my beautiful dishes. I couldn't cook a thing back then, so in the beginning, these plates  had some pretty bad tasting meals on them! Thankfully, I finally did learn to cook and was able to serve some of my family's favorites on them in the years to come.  


Years later, when my babies were little, I was given this set of special China that once belonged to a sweet lady in my home congregation.  

When I was a younger bride, money was very tight. I came home to my little humble but happy home and on my front porch was a huge basket full of these dishes all wrapped up in tissue paper with a sweet note.  She was  passing them from her home, to mine. <3   
I couldn't believe my special gift!! 

It turned out that my mother had a matching set of these and decided to give me her collection as well, so this turned out to be my largest and most used set of dishes because I have more of them. A bigger crowd can be served on these.  I love the story behind these classic black and white dishes! 

What a special gift!  
Thank you to Mrs. Angie Hall and my sweet Mama! 


~My Depression Glass Collection~
"Pink Dogwood"

I LOVE these dishes and the story of Depression Glass!  

These were originally my mother-in-law's collection. She decided that she wanted to sell them and when Anthony heard they were up for sale, he bought them for me so that I could add them to my collections! <3

In case you don't know the story of Depression Glass, let me fill you in...

During the Great Depression in the late 1920's-1930's, it was a rare thing for housewives to actually shop for China or tableware.  They were barely surviving during this time, so things like buying dishes was unheard of!  
Manufacturers found a way to produce cheaply made glassware for very little costs and decided to have promotional giveaways in which housewives could purchase a box of Quaker Oats or laundry soap and open up the box to find a piece of yellow, pink, blue or green glassware.  Then, she might go have her car filled with gasoline and the attendant would give her another piece of glassware to add to her collection.  The giveaways were promotional items given  to encourage women to eventually go out and purchase the remainder of their sets. 

So... my Depression Glass really has  some history behind it! 
I would love to know who all owned it before me!  It's so much fun to look for pieces and to imagine the dinners once served from these plates over the last 85 years or so!! 


~My Everyday Dishes~
RED...

I got these for a super bargain!
I used coupons and Kohl's cash along with them being on sale and  paid just under $7.00 TOTAL  for the set of 8 plates!! 

If you didn't know this about me already, I will tell you, 
 I love couponing and bargains!! 


Speaking of  bargains, my latest addition to my dish collection...

I found these blue jewels at a yard sale last weekend for $26!! 
The set included 15 plates, one small bowl and 6 cups and saucers!

~ <3 ~

I'm in love with these!! 

I realize that I may have a bit of an obsession with dishes.  

Just a tiny one... ;)

As soon as I got home from the yard sales, I washed these beautiful dishes and couldn't wait to "play" with them by setting a springtime table just for fun! 

I decided to use only white and blue for this table setting. 
I don't own a white tablecloth large enough for my dining room table, so I ironed a white flat bed sheet that I only use for a tablecloth.  Then, I added my new blue dishes, using the small  bowl filled with eggs from my fridge as a centerpiece.  By the way... these tea glasses were also a yard sale purchase along with the silver flatware.  On our work travels, years ago, we stopped at a yard sale in Kentucky and found the silver in the original wooden case for $12.00!! 

I told you, I am a bargain hunter! ;)

I thought it turned out to be a very simple, but pretty spring table setting.

Whenever I set a table for "sit down company", I always use this book from Southern Living called "Cooking For Company" to help me remember the proper way to set out my silverware.

Here on page 3 is this simple instruction sheet that I follow...

I never remember which fork is for salad!  (It's the smaller one) ;)

Here's a sample of a little less formal version of a proper place setting...

One more favorite of mine, that I always use, is cloth napkins!  

They are washable, softer, more durable and less expensive than paper ones.

They are for sure near the top of my favorites list!

 

If you don't yard sale or antique, I highly recommend you give it a try!  

You might just find some of your favorites out there for a very good price!

Happy Hunting!!



~ <3~

Psalms 34:3 "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." (KJV)