quinoa pancakes

Do you ever toss left over quinoa, cous cous, or rice into a tupperware and into the fridge, after dinner, only to find it shoved in the back a week later and think, man what a waste?  That happens almost every time around here.  I usually pack it up because I hate to throw it out, but we rarely find ourselves pining for quinoa two nights in a row.  And then it gets forgotten.

In a random "pancake" search on Pinterest, I stumbled across a recipe for quinoa pancakes.  Quinoa is a super grain, so why not start off the day with some baked into a pancake?  I was skeptical, but they looked and smelled really good as they were cooking.

The recipe made 11 3.5"(ish) pancakes.  About 79 calories per pancake.  2 pancakes, paired with 2 of yesterday's sweet potato hash browns (and a cup of coffee), was a pretty tasty way to start off the day.

These pancakes are not your typical pancake.  They are more dense and savory, compared to your light, fluffy, sweet buttermilk ones.  So a little sugar free syrup and the sweetness of the sweet potato hash browns gave it just that bit of sweetness that these needed to start the day.  

These would probably be pretty good for dinner with an over-easy egg on top.  And a slice of perfectly cooked bacon.  Mmmm...I think I know what I'm having for dinner.  (Our pantry is pretty bare, so I'm having to make everything stretch until pay day.)

So these are good, but in all honesty, I wouldn't go out of my way to make them.  I prefer my pancakes sweeter and lighter, but this is a really great way to make use of that leftover quinoa.  So, I probably will make these again, I just won't cook a batch of quinoa solely for these pancakes.

By the way, when did my blog turn into a recipe review?  Geesh.

[You can check out my Pinterest pinboard of "tried and true recipes" with a few comments I have added on each of them.  I'm still working on flipping through my recipes to update this board, since this is a newly developed board.]

homemade "goldfish"

Callan loves his goldfish crackers.  Who can blame him.  I sneak a few when he's not looking.  But the bottom of the bag always seems to come so soon.  

So, I figured I'd try whipping up a batch of homemade "goldfish" using a recipe I found on Pinterest.  Shocker, right?  It's $1.99 for a 6.6 ounce bag from Walmart, where as I already had all of the ingredients already on hand so, essentially, this batch was free, in a way.  I didn't have anything to lose.  Plus, check out all of the ingredients that go into the store bought crackers.  

Here's the ingredient list of the crackers I made:  flour, cheddar cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and water.

So, I didn't have a cute little goldfish cookie cutter laying around, but I do have a teeny bunny cookie cutter I picked for Easter cookies last month.  It's a little bigger than a goldfish, but it worked.  They are 2 bite snack (for a little mouth), compared to the pop-able store bought snacks.

I made the dough in the food processor (it doesn't get any easier than that), popped it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then got to rolling out and cutting my dough.  Phineas and Ferb kept Callan company while I worked.  

Once in the oven, I checked on the crackers after 10 minutes, decided they needed to stay in for about 15, but I do believe that was just a bit too long.  12 minutes seemed just right, although 13 might have been better.  You can make your own call, though.

You can totally see the bake time difference between the batches.

Now, if you think these are going to be just like store-bought goldfish crackers, you're way off.  These remind me more of a cheesy puff-pastry treat, just a little more dense.  They are light and cheesy and really delicious.  They don't have a cracker-like crunch, but they definitely aren't soft like a muffin.  They're somewhere in between.  And they almost seem a bit too sophisticated to give to my 17 month old.  That might just be an excuse for me to keep them to myself, but I made them for him, so I'll just sneak 1 or 2 when he's not looking.  

Check out my little taste tester below trying to reach up and steal a nibble.

Both Callan and I really like these, but they just aren't the same as Pepperidge Farm's goldfish.  So, I'm still on the hunt for a recipe that comes as close to those crunchy, little fishies as possible. That's not saying I won't make these again, though, because they are delicious!

a quiet morning and homemade tortillas

I'm up early this morning.  It's not often I'm up before the sun peeks up over the front of the house.  I love mornings, as long as I wake up feeling well-rested.  There's something special about getting a few chores done and then sitting down with a cup of coffee to enjoy a few quiet moments to myself before my boys roll out of bed.  I'm hoping I have at least another half hour before I hear the pitter-patter of little feet down the hallway.

I'm all about saving a few bucks and trying to make as much homemade, from scratch basics as often as I can.  We're planning a trip down to OKC this weekend to go to the zoo, so I wanted to pack a picnic lunch for us to enjoy is their beautiful picnic area.  I decided to make some wraps, pack a few veggies, a few snacks, and something sweet.  

You can't have a wrap without a tortilla.  I love a delicious, low-calorie, whole wheat tortilla.  Low-calorie and whole wheat are fairly easy to come by, but delicious?  They are usually quite lacking in the flavor department.  Until now.  I came across an incredibly easy homemade tortilla recipe on Pinterest, gave them a whirl (with slight editing), and now have a delicious, low-calorie, whole wheat, inexpensive, homemade, go-to tortilla recipe.

I have only made tortillas one other time before this.  They were really good, but I was a little disappointed in the 130 calories per tortilla.  This recipe has only 87.5 calories per tortilla - a heck of a lot better.  AND this dough was much easier to roll out than the dough from the recipe I used last time.  I call that a win-win. 

I had to try these as soon as I made them, so I made a breakfast burrito for dinner last night.  I wasn't disappointed.  And I really think the addition of the rosemary was perfect.  I don't think I'll ever omit it from this recipe.  These are going to be great for our picnic lunch wraps on Saturday.

So here's my tortilla recipe.  (Original recipe found here). 

Whole Wheat Tortillas

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 c white flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp dry, ground rosemary

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 c water

Combine flours, baking soda, salt, and rosemary in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center of the mixture and add oil and water.  Mix to combine ingredients into a dough - you  may have to get your hands dirty here.  Dough should be moist and just slightly tacky.  Roll into a ball and let rest in the bowl, covered with a towel or plastic wrap, for 15-30 minutes. 

Divide dough into 16 equal sized balls and cover with a towel or plastic wrap.  Preheat pan to medium high heat.  Roll out each dough ball, with a rolling pin, into as good of a circle as you can.  Place uncooked tortilla into pan, cook for about 45 seconds.  The tortilla will begin to form slight bubbles when it's ready to flip.  Flip, and cook for about 30 seconds on the next side.  

If using your tortillas right away, place them, as they come off the pan, into a dish towel to keep them covered, warm, and soft.  They'll keep for a day or two at room temperature, or for a month in the freezer.  To re-heat tortillas, all they need is 10-15 seconds in the microwave.

Makes 16 tortillas, 87.5 calories each.

Enjoy!  Let me know if you give these a try!

Oh, and I didn't get the half hour I was hoping for, but I do have a sleepy boy snuggled up in my lap.

That might be even better.  :)

cookies for breakfast

This morning, well, this afternoon, I'm thankful for the fact that the storms that made their way across the state last night didn't produce any extreme weather in our neck of the woods.  Unfortunately, some towns can't say the same.  The city of Woodward (about an hour and a half to our west) suffered significant tornado damage and lost 5 people in the storm that hit them.  It's always sad to hear of lives lost, but when you hear that some of them were children, it hits you in a different kind of way.  We're thinking about and lifting up those families in prayer today.

As we waited for the storm to approach last night, Travis requested something sweet.  I had nothing on hand, so I scrolled through my sweets pinboard on Pinterest and gave him a few options I could make with what I had in the fridge and pantry.  So at 11 pm last night I was in the kitchen whipping up a half batch of these delicious cream cheese filled, lemon blueberry cookies.

After the storm passed in the wee hours this morning, we finally went to bed around 4 am.  We slept in today, so "breakfast" was at 11:30 am.  And "breakfast" was a few of these cookies with a cup of reheated coffee from a fresh pot I made around 10 pm last night.  No complaints here.

My cookies didn't turn out as pretty as they look on the website I got the recipe from.  Apparently I need a lesson in working with blueberries.  My scones from yesterday morning, and these cookies, are/were quite marbled with purple.  I even used frozen berries in hopes they'd "smush" less while mixing them into the dough.  Have any tips?

Despite the fact that these were extremely messy to make, and aren't as pretty as they had the potential to be, they were deliciously light.  They'd be great for a spring or summer get together.  I'm definitely hanging on to this recipe.

So, all this to say, we are safe and these cookies are delicious.

Even for breakfast with reheated coffee.

And thank you for all of the prayers for our safety last night.

They were greatly appreciated, and answered!

keeping distracted

We've had a busy weekend, weather-wise.  I'm sure you've seen me posting on Facebook about it, or even seen it on the news yourself.  The mid-west is supposed to get rocked this evening with potential tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds.  Needless to say, I'm shaking in my proverbial booties.  Our storm shelter is ready, emergency bags are packed and ready to grab on the way out the door, and we're glued to the weather channel and iPhone weather apps.
So, I've just been trying to keep myself distracted.

This morning, we were supposed to have some friends over for brunch and walk through our neighborhood for a neighborhood yard sale that was scheduled.  We cancelled because of the weather, but I did still make the scones!  I'm about to tell you how delicious they were....they were de-licious!  This was my first time making scones, so I didn't realize how crumbly and dry the dough was until I texted a friend to make sure the consistency I had was the consistency I was looking for in the dough.  End result were scones that didn't necessarily look amazing, but tasted down right yummy.  I may, or may not have, eaten multiple.  But it was brunch - both breakfast AND lunch, so we'll call it good. M'kay?  

Here's the blueberry scones with lemon glaze recipe I used, incase you want to give them a try.  You won't be sorry if you do.  

With all of this crazy weather talk, Travis and I haven't had much sleep.  We were up until 4 am, or so, last night...and woke up a few times after that to keep an eye on the weather apps on our phones.  If only we could have slept this soundly last night...ah, to be a care-free little one.

After Callan woke up from his nap today, I decided to whip up a quick batch of sweet potato muffins to take down into the shelter tonight, if need be.  We have some canned food down there, but I wanted to bake something that had a bit of shelf-life (a few days, at least) that would fill our bellies.  

Here's the recipe I used (sweet potato oatmeal muffins) - minus the optional topping.  They're tasty, but I think I'm still on the hunt for a better recipe.  Do share, if you have one!

I renamed them "shelter muffins".  At least this batch, I did.  Hopefully we get to eat them in the house, and NOT the storm shelter.  

Hopefully this is the last time we have to prep and anticipate scrambling into this shelter....because a new one is in production for us!  My parents are pretty much the awesomest.  AKA, THE most awesome.  We are beyond grateful for the peace of mind and safety that a non-leaking, non-crumbling, clean, secure door shelter will give us in the future.
A million thank you's aren't enough.
But the safety of Callan (and us) will be.

Please keep us in your prayers tonight as the potentially destructive storms make their way through the state.  KOCO is doing a fantastic job keeping viewers updated on the storms, watches, and warnings; we've been glued practically all day.  You can keep an eye on our area by heading over to KOCO's site.

a little pancake love

I love pancakes.  And I love trying out new pancake recipes.  I recently discovered two recipes that have fallen into the pancake rotation around here.  They are both so delicious that I can't decide which one I like better.  

These ricotta pancakes leave me thinking about them for the rest of the day.  No joke.  The entire recipe has only about 987 calories in it, and it makes about 10-12 pancakes (1/4 c. size).  They are so light and fluffy, thanks to the beaten and folded in egg whites.  Really delicious - even cold the following day.  Those little pockets of ricotta that you bite into are truly delightful.  Make these.  You'll be happy you did.

I made these sweet zucchini pancakes this morning.  While they were cooking, I was a little disappointed in how thin/flat they were, but when I tasted them, I was immediately okay with that fact that they weren't a bit fluffier.  I do think that, next time, I will completely omit the 1/2 c. milk (as suggested by one of the commenters of this recipe on the original recipe source).  That will likely produce a thicker, fluffier pancake.  I'm tempted to whip up another batch right now to find out, but self-control, Allison.  Self-control.  Like I said, I love pancakes.  I love that these are as delicious as they are AND you get a bit of veggies right there in your pancake.  Plus these use Greek yogurt - I'm convinced Greek yogurt makes everything better.  :)  This entire pancake recipe only has 690 calories - that's about 77 calories per 1/4 c. pancake.  Good stuff right there.  Even better is that Callan loved them as much as I did!  (He loves the ricotta pancakes, too.  Possibly a bit more than these.)

Do you have a favorite pancake recipe?  Do you have a go-to recipe and never waiver from it?
Be brave, try these.  I'm pretty sure you won't regret it!

Pinterest pet peeves

I love Pinterest as much as the next girl, but I do have a few "pinner" pet peeves that drive me absolutely nutty.  You may get irritated at the same things I do, be guilty of some of these "pinning sins", or maybe you're totally oblivious because you're just a pinner and not a pin do-er.  But I highly doubt that last one is the case.  ;)

So, here's my list of what totally gets under my skin, at least on Pinterest.

Pinning an image of food without a title of what it is.  I see that it is a cupcake, but I want to know right off the bat that it is a "lemon raspberry cupcake with lemon buttercream frosting", I don't need to know that you think it's "mmm" or that it "looks good".  Seriously, help a fellow "pinner" out.

Pinning an image of food that has no recipe link.  I, passionately, despise when I see a food image, I click on it, and it takes me to one of those tumblr sites, or whatever, that is just a running "list" of images with no source or link to a recipe or where to find a recipe.  Drives my bonkers.  

A pinned food image (with no description of what it is, but it looks pretty tasty) that links to foodgawker.com, with the pinned image of the food nowhere to be seen on that page.  For goodness sake, it's not that hard to pin from the original source. 

I guess I'm most annoyed by improper recipe pinning.  I've learned that I need to make sure an image actually takes me to a recipe, and then I pin from the original recipe source.  Lesson learned.

A beautiful image pinned from houzz.com - it never takes you to the pinned image, but to a list of other, unrelated images.  Sometimes I want to see if there are more angles and details to that beautifully accessorized dining room...

Any image that has no source.

I love the style pins that come from polyvore.com.  I really like that you can find where to purchase the articles of clothing, and accessories, and their price tags.  What I don't like, is a pin that looks like it comes from polyvore.com, but doesn't - and you don't get that bonus info on the outfit, or any info at all.

I'm sure there are a few more, but these are the ones that I run into most often.

Pintrest etiquette does exist - and here's a brief list of proper pinning practices that is straight up.

Pinterest, itself, also provides a list of pin etiquette.

So what are your Pinterest related pet-peeves?  Are any of the ones I listed on your list, too?

Love Pinterest, annoyed by careless pinners.