Virtual Running Date No. 26: I have purple fingers thanks to the beets

Good morning, Crushers!

If we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you all about our vegetables. LOTS OF THEM.  I believe I mentioned this last week, but this weekend, I spent a good amount of time tackling these veggies, so I get to say it again. More gnocchi was made with delicata squash (same recipe as last time, but I added a little Parmesan cheese to it).

I also peeled and blanched a huge bag of carrots and a ton of beets. That's why my fingers turned purple. See?

Thankfully, a little scrub with some baking soda and it came off!

If we were on a running date, I'd tell you about how I peeled all the veggies, then put them in boiling water for no longer than 5 minutes. Let them cool a bit before bagging them up to freeze. That, Crushers, is how you blanch.

All the carrots!

We've got the Beets!

I cannot take credit for this. I actually had to call my Kitchen Crush mom and ask how to do it. I always get "shocking" and "blanching" mixed up. The first is taking it from boiling to an ice bath and the other is just to boil it for a short time. Here is how I plan to remember this:

"Shh" is the sound you make when you step out into the cold in winter. Shh = Shocking

Blanch and Boil start with B. It's kind of Dr. Seuss-y.

Anyway, that's all done thankfully!

We were not the only ones with veggies on the brain. When we went running on Saturday morning, we headed past the farmer's market. Too bad we know a million people because our 3-plus-mile run turned into a 2.5 mile run. We had to stop and talk to people. Or, well, we didn't have to, but it's hard to pass up saying hello to your friends.

Speaking of friends, if this were a virtual running date, I would tell you how my friend Kalie is coming to visit from Texas. I can't wait to have her here in town. She is the one that introduced me to 7-Up Biscuits. Maybe we'll have to make some while she's in town with a nice roasted chicken... Yum!

Note to self: learn how to roast a chicken...

Faith-Filled Friday: Where your heart is

Good morning Crushers!

To say that I'm an involved person is an understatement. I am working two jobs (both of which, I enjoy). I am a board member for the Wauwatosa Woman's Club. I am the president of the Goldendale Horseshoe Club (only really matters in summer). I play softball and in the handbell choir at my church. I am in a book club (hated the last book). And I try to post 2-3 times a week on this blog, which means that I have to be cooking on a regular basis. This last one is pretty easy since I love cooking and we have to eat, right?

However, last night after making 3 dinners (two are for next week when my friend Kalie and her mom come to visit from Texas!), I laid down next to my husband and opened a book. (FYI - Steve did help cook!) The first line of the book was one of my favorite passages:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:21

It made me smile because here I was just relaxing at home with the person that I love the most. We weren't doing anything special. He had ESPN on and I had a book. We were all mashed up with our legs crossing over each others. That's where my treasure is. Right at home with our little family.

It was also a really good reminder that for all the busy, busy things I do, my real life is ahead of me in Heaven. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." says Matthew 6:21. Heaven is where my ultimate treasure is. That's a really nice reminder for a very busy week.

But what did I make for those three dinners? I was in a pasta mood. It's always a wonderful thing to feed a crowd! Remember the tortellacci? Or the lasagna? Or the meatballs and angel hair? We kind of love Italian food at our house, and I LOVE Giada de Laurentiis and her book (and show) "Everyday Italian." I consulted this book while making baked eggplant Parmesan last night. Note: that recipe is not in her book, but she has helpful hints about cooking with eggplant in it. I also made noodles with veggies and garlic butter sauce and these butternut squash gnocchi from Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats.

Baked Eggplant and Zucchini Parmesan (original recipe with some help from research)
1 medium eggplant
1 medium zucchini
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 heaping tbsp of Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
2-ish cups marinara sauce
1-2 cups (or two handfuls) of shredded mozzarella cheese

Gear you'll need: two shallow dishes, one 8x8 or 9x13 baking dish, one baking sheet, measuring cups and spoons, a sharp knife.

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry your veggies to make sure that all garden dirt is gone. In one shallow dish whisk the water and egg together. In the other shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Slice the veggies in 1/2 -1 inch thick slices across the veggie. That means we're not making long strips, we're making disc-like shapes.

Coat the veggie slices in the egg wash and then roll them/cover them on all sides with the bread crumb mix. Place on the baking sheet that you've already give a light coating of olive oil to and feel free to let the veggies touch each other since they'll shrink. 

Tip: Put the olive oil in a shallow bowl or pour a little directly on the pan. Use a brush or even some paper towel to rub it all around. Only use half of the olive oil because you'll need the other half later for the baking dish. You could go ahead and brush that on now too because you won't have to do it twice!

 Bake the veggies for 25 minutes and then flip them over and bake for another 20-25 more so that each side gets golden brown. Remove from the baking dish and place the veggies in the baking dish and cover with most of the mozzarella cheese. Pour the marinara sauce on top of that and then sprinkle a bit more cheese over that. If you use the smaller pan, feel free to layer!

I put mine in the freezer for next week, but when you do need to bake it, make sure it's thawed all the way through. When it's ready, bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it's bubbling and cheesy.

Note: Feel free to peel the veggies if you aren't a fan of the skins, but remember that the part of the plant that is the most brightly colored is the most nutrient filled!

Vegas Travel Time

Good morning, Crushers!

For today's post, I'm just going to share a bunch of photos with you from Las Vegas. The wedding was gorgeous, and the weather was perfect and hot. Unfortunately, it took us ALL DAY to get home yesterday. Really. We woke up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight at 6:50 a.m., which never made it much further than taxiing a bit from the gate due to hydraulic/maintenance issues. After getting re-booked on another flight that only got us to Chicago, taking a train, and then waiting until 11:54 p.m. for our bags to show up (that some how made their to Milwaukee without us on a late flight), we are beat. I still managed to make it to work by 7 a.m. today.

We're going to need a lot of mascara today, folks.

Anyway, we made it home safely, and really, what more can you ask for?

Fro-yo! Perfect poolside treat, except that it totally melted!

 

Poolside!

Celebrity chefs everywhere!

Palm trees!

More celebrity chefs!

The Bellagio's fountains

At the wedding. Yes, we matched...

Christine's flowers - gorgeous!

The cake - raspberry filled vanilla cake

No idea why this is fuzzy, but Le Pizza in the Paris hotel was amazing. And huge.

The strip

The Venetian's gondolas

Inside Caesar's palace

Inside Caesar's palace

At the MGM Grand - no confirmed celebrity sightings despite the iHeart Radio concert being there.
I thought I saw some celebrities, but they might have just been really good looking people.

The view from the balcony where Ryan and Christine got married.

VEGAS!

Oh the lights!

I'm happy to say that I only played $20 on slot machines and won $24! That helped pay for our bus tickets home! Ha! We also saw a Cirque du Soleil show, but no photography was allowed (obviously), so no photos of that. Overall, it was a fun weekend, and it was a great wedding.

Faith-filled Friday: Love is...

Dear Crushers,
I love that you read my blog and that some of you even take the time to comment on it. I love it.

I love food, obviously, or I wouldn't be writing this blog. I love the feeling that you get when you serve a meal to someone and you can tell they enjoy it.

I love my family, my friends, my church family, and lot of other people. However, since I am traveling to Las Vegas this weekend with my husband to celebrate the marriage of our friends, Ryan and Christine, this post is going to be a mushy one dedicated to the MR.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

There's a reason that this passage is read a many weddings. It's because that's one of the best definitions of love that I've ever heard next to the love that it's modeled after: John 3:16. We should love others how God loves us. Although we may try and fall short, it should still be our goal. I think that overall Steve and I have this love thing down, I mean, we should. We're married and plan to stay that way for a long time.

Then again, in the love-longevity game, we're novices. My maternal grandparents were married for over 70 years. My paternal grandparents were married just shy of 50 years when my grandma died. Both of Steve's sets of grandparents reached 50 years of marriage. Both of our parents' marriages are over 30 years and still going. They have this love thing down, although not perfectly, it's pretty close.

Here are a few things that we've learned from all those years of marriage we've been blessed to witness:

1. Love is doing the chore that the other person hates.
2. Love is cooking special meals or food that the other person likes.
3. Love is killing large jumping bugs for your wife.
4. Love is letting your wife warm up her freezing feet at night by sticking them next to your toasty feet.
5. Love is wearing a tie when you really don't want to dress up.
6. Love is climbing a mountain on your honeymoon.
7. Love is saving the last bite of ice cream for your wife.
8. Love is bringing your wife Kleenex when she watches Hallmark movies.
9. Love is smiling politely every time you hear your wife tell the same joke and laughing anyway.
10. Love is buying your wife Lucky Charms when she's feeling sick. 
11. Love is holding your wife's hand when she's sad.
12. Love is rearranging furniture in your house for no good reason except that your wife wanted to see how the couch looked over there to the left, no more to the left, no maybe back there.

See? Steve's got this down. I'm a lucky lady. We could not be happier for our friends who are getting married this weekend. We wish them all the joy and love that they can bring to each other. And we know they will because they've got this love thing down. They know what love is.

Roasty-toasty potatoes and pork chops (Wildtree stuff)

Good morning, Crushers!

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you know it's going to take a little more make up than usual to feel and look awake? Yeah, it's one of those mornings.

Source

I should be all rested and relaxed after last night's delicious dinner. Not going to lie, I kind of winged it, and it worked out. WIN!

Last week, Steve bought a big package of boneless pork chops. Before popping the whole package in the freezer, I divided them in two freezer bags and added some Wildtree goodies. One bag has four pork chops and a 1/4 cup of Wildtree Wicked Good Slow Cooker sauce in the freezer, and the other had four pork chops, 2 Tbsp Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil and about 1.5 Tbsp lemon and rosemary blend.

While I was waiting for Steve to get home from a meeting last night, I drizzled four small chopped potatoes in olive oil and some more of the Wildtree seasoning and then added beets because they sounded all good and fall-ish. Mix those veggies up and spread them out on a baking sheet. Then I popped them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until Steve got home. It was about 30 minutes...

Tip: When baking beets, I suggest lining your baking pan with some aluminum foil. Beet juice can really stain things (as I found on on a white towel recently and you can see on the potatoes below), so why make more of a mess than you have to? Clean up is easy too, since all you have to do is toss the aluminum foil!

Anyway, I put the pork chops in a frying pan with no extra oil or anything, and let them sizzle way for 4 minutes on each side. Then I turned it on low to keep it warm until Steve got home.

Here are the pork chops half way through.
The long sprigs of rosemary are from our garden. Time to flip!

We ate a late dinner of pork chops, roasted veggies and applesauce for our sweet. It was so good!

Had to eat all this good stuff before I could get the applesauce out. Yum!

Hope this meal brightens up your morning! It's really cloudy here in Milwaukee. Maybe I'll go put another swipe of mascara on!

Virtual Running Date No. 25: Al's Run and kitchen gear crush

Good morning, Crushers!

I'm not sure what other parts of the country are all experiencing, but most of the Midwest seems to have found fall. I'm not just talking about how stores already have Halloween decorations up and there are pumpkin flavored things everywhere.

Source

The high temperature for today is 62 degrees F. That's a nice brisk jeans and hoodie kind of weather. Or jeans and cute top and scarf weather. I love scarf weather! I also love pumpkin weather. I really need to find my pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe...

Random side note: I have trouble typing the word pumpkin because my fingers automatically want to add a -g to any word that ends in -in. I keep having to backspace after writing pumpking... Argh.

Anyway, if this was a running date, I'd tell you about how the glorious weather was wonderful last Saturday for the Brigg's and Al's Run/Walk for Children's Hospital. As you may or may not know, I spent 12 days as a resident of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin back when I was 10 because I had a horrible staph infection (called osteomyelitis) in some bones in my left foot. Do not ask how I got this because I don't know. I'm pretty sure it's because I tripped and possibly broke the growth joint in my big toe while on vacation in Florida with my family. This is why I was called "The Florida Case". Although my doctor was kind of a jerk, the nurses, other surgeons, staff, and tutors there were fantastic! Especially the nurses on orthopedic floor 5! Love them!

We did the run/walk with a team from work. It was amazing! There was a rumored 13,000 people there. I believe it!

Two of thousands at the start line.

TONS OF PEOPLE!

If this were a running date, I would tell you that the course is mostly flat, if not downhill, and for a 5 mile course, that's important. My favorite part was seeing a family running together and they all had on superhero capes! I wish I had taken a photo at the finish line with the little girls because they were awesome! Here is the conversation we had a half mile from the finish line:

Me: Wow! I love your capes!

Little Runner #1: Thanks! We're Super Runners! Don't you wish you had one?

 Me: Yes! I wish I had thought to make one.

Little Runner #2: They make you go faster.

Oh. My. Word. Too cute!

If this were a running date, I would also tell you that my beloved 3 quart sauce pan is now flaking. Yes, the non-stick coating chipped. Before you all start saying "It'll give you cancer" or "Stainless is the only way to go", let me tell you that I have stopped using the pan (I think I'll just hang it up for decoration). I can also tell you that it was PFOA-free, I never put it in the dishwasher or used a metal utensil with it, and I am really careful about those things. Plus, I manage to burn things in stainless steel pans. Ever try to make an egg over easy in one of those without tons of butter? Yeah? How'd that work out?

Anyway, one of my kitchen crushes, Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats is having a giveaway on  her blog today for a Calphalon Elite Slide Nonstick Fry Pan, and I'm in love with it. Just in case I don't win, I think I'll use a gift card from our wedding to get these lovely pans or perhaps these. Right now, I'm leaning toward the second set.

I was showing this link to my friend Kelly, also an amazing cook, and she said, "Wow, if you got those pans (and got to use a gift card), all you'd need is a cast iron one and you'd never need another pan." Fortunately, Steve bought some cast iron pans for camping back in his bachelorhood. Unfortunately, they were stored in the garage, so I'm going to need to un-rust and re-season them. The aforementioned Kelly sent me some helpful hints on how to do this. I'll let you all know how it works out.

In the meantime, please go enjoy all things pumpkin and perhaps a run in this beautiful weather!

Faith-filled Friday: It's a good day!

Good morning, Crushers!

Do you ever wake up in the morning and think, "Today is going to be a great day." I don't just mean that because it's a Friday, but because it just feels like it's going to be a good day. There are many reasons:

• We recently found out some good news!
• We had two house showings this week!
• We finally got rain last night!
• The sun is shining!
• I got to talk to my little nephew last night on the phone!
• I finally found the match to my favorite shoes that somehow got lost in my closet!

Sometimes it's just a wonderful day and you want to shout it to the rooftops. That's how I feel about Psalm 118. It's one of those chapters of the Bible where the author is saying, "Everything that was going to go wrong, did go wrong, but we overcame them with the help of the Lord." It's kind of like giving God a high-five and yelling, "Boo-yah!"

 "the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad." Ps. 118:23-24

 I hope that you all have a wonderful day today, and rejoice in it!

Hummingbird moths and how I accidentally made chicken schnitzel

Good morning Crushers!

On Tuesday night, Steve and I spent some time cleaning up our garden. We cut down plants that needed to be trimmed back and emptied flower pots. Along our garage is a small patch of purple flowers, commonly known as obedient plants, that are a favorite among bees and butterflies. While we were working, we noticed some new creatures over there. At first I thought they were small hummingbirds.

I ran inside to get my camera, and when I came back out, Steve pointed out that our hummingbird visitors had horns! I looked them up online, and they are Sphinx moths or Hummingbird moths. Can you spot them? They're small and striped.

How cool is that?

Before we went out to the garden, I was in charge of making dinner. We had thawed out some chicken, so I figured I'd try and fry it like I saw a person do on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" with Guy Fieri. It looked simple enough. Pound chicken flat, dredge in flour, coat in whisked eggs, dredge in flour/spice mix and then place in the frying pan. Let cool on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the oil. Serve with veggies and a salad. Easy peasy.

They turned out delicious! When I started to tell Steve how I did it, I realized this was basically like the chicken schnitzel I ate while in Australia (although I used more spices). After a super easy Google search, I realized that I totally made it on accident. Steve liked it so much, he said that this would be a go-to meal for us when having company over. I agreed!

Since I made it on accident, there were no photos taken before we gobbled it all up. Instead, here are a few great links to other people who made chicken schnitzel on purpose and took photos.

The Shiksa in the Kitchen: Chicken Schnitzel

Rachel Ray's Smokey Chicken Schnitzel

Panko-Coated Chicken Schnitzel

Martha Stewart Chicken Schnitzel

Really, you can just do a Google search and it pops up everywhere. Chances are that it's in one of the cookbooks sitting on your shelf too. So easy and really delicious! Enjoy!

Never Forget

Today is the anniversary of the attacks Americans suffered at the hands of terrorists on September 11, 2001. I feel like every generation has that "I'll always remember where I was when..." For my grandparents, that moment was when Pearl Harbor was bombed. For my parents, it was when JFK was shot. For some of my older friends, it was when the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up. For me and people my age, it was when the towers were hit. I don't even want to think about what the next generation will deal with.

I know I'll never forget hearing the news and seeing the second plane. Many people say how they thought that they were watching a movie. Some people couldn't bear to watch the news and some people couldn't break away. Living in Wisconsin, we're removed from New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. in miles, but not in our hearts. Everyone knew someone who lived there, who worked there or who just visited.

I was walking into my second hour AP Literature class when a fellow student, Carl, walked right past the teacher saying that he had to turn on the TV. Just as he turned it on, much to her dismay, the second tower was hit. The whole class fell silent. The teacher stopped scolding Carl, and instead she laid a hand on his shoulder in comfort and disbelief. Not everyone was sure of what they were seeing. However, we quickly learned.

There's no recipe today. There's no kitchen crush to talk about. Yes, regular life goes on, and I will be cooking and preparing a post for tomorrow, but just for today, there's nothing by a day of remembrance, prayer, and thankfulness to all who have gone before and who serve our country today.

Virtual Running Date No. 24: Small victories and dessert

Good morning, Crushers!

Do you ever have a day where you feel like you didn't do much? If we were on a virtual running date today, I would tell you how it's important to count all the small victories when you're having a blah day. For instance, since I'm teaching a class this semester, I have to get to work really early on the non-class days to carpool with Steve and make up my hours. On these days, I want to give myself a high five if my clothes all match and I get makeup on my face before 8 a.m. Never mind that I was putting mascara on at my desk...

This weekend wasn't a terribly busy weekend, and I'm glad. We needed some time to just mellow out. Friday night we stayed home (didn't have to tape a game/scout), ate dinner, and watched TV. I'm pretty sure I didn't move very far from the couch except to do the dishes. High five - the dishes got done!

Saturday we got up and ran part of the Ice Age Trail in the Holy Hill segment to find a boardwalk/bridge that Steve wanted to check out. We didn't realize what treacherous hills and overgrowth would hinder us. High five - I didn't totally wipe out after hitting that rock.

We also got to do a few things around the house, Steve helped my parents take some stuff to the dump and I celebrated the bride-to-be, Jenny, with some friends at her low-key bachelorette party. We went to this Arte Wine and Painting Studio where you can either take classes, use instructions or paint freestyle. High five - I didn't get any paint on my clothes!

It's supposed to be "The Wisdom Tree", but ended up looking more like a candy tree.

Sunday, we went to church where we had the most beautiful Unity Sunday (where we only have one service for everyone in the school gym). The bell choir played (high five - I didn't miss a note except the one I purposely skip), the choirs sang, the Chinese outreach choir sang in Chinese, no one fainted from heat, the microphones worked and over 500 people praised God. HIGH FIVE!

Although the Packers didn't win (Steve says there are 6 plays that either make or break a game), we watched the game, ate Greek burgers stuffed in pita pockets (delish!), and made a dessert with just enough ingredients that neither of us had to go to the grocery store for. High five!

Overall it was a pretty great weekend. We got so much done, even if it was just the little things.

Oatmeal Chocolate Raisin Bars:
(adapted from Chocolate Chip Bars from the Entenmann's Big Book of Baking)
Oat mix:
1 cup flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened to almost melted (about 20 seconds in the microwave)

Filling:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips

Gear you'll need: A big bowl, a 13x9 pan (greased), a big spoon, can opener, measuring cups and spoons

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in the big bowl and pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Using the butter wrapper, grease your baking pan. Take the bowl out of the microwave and add the flour, sugar and oats. Mix until it has the consistency of wet sand and oats. Press all but 1/2 cup of the oat mix into the bottom of the pan using your hands.

Oat Crust

Rinse out the big bowl (why make another bowl dirty?) and mix all of the filling ingredients together. Pour that on top of the oat crust and spread it out. Sprinkle the saved oat mix over that. Bake in the oven for 25-ish minutes (I think mine turned out to be about 28 minutes because I didn't hear the timer go off right away). Let it cool for at least 20-30 minutes before slicing into bars or it'll stick to the knife and make a mess.

Note: the original recipe called for chopped nuts, but we didn't have any, nor are we chopped nuts kind of people. It also says to spread the sweetened condensed milk out before topping with the chocolate chips, but I misread the directions. It turns out fine if you stir everything together!

Enjoy!

Faith-filled Friday: If you can't say something nice...

Good morning, Crushers!

Sorry I've been quiet this week, but it was a BUSY week of classes, practices, school starting for Steve, work and tons of other things. I have never been a person that has trouble filling her time, but I think my expertise is now just showing off. Need to cut back on a few things, me thinks.

Have you ever heard of the term, "Hangry"? It means that you're angry and irritable because you're hungry. I may or may not have experienced this once in a while. I may have said things to people out of "hanger". I usually apologize right away.

This week, despite falling asleep every night by 9 p.m., I feel like someone needs to come up with the word for tired/worn out and angry. Tiggry? Wongry? I can't think of one, but I'm sure someone out there will be super creative. I may have snapped at someone yesterday on the phone when they asked a really dumb question (yes, there are, on occasion, stupid questions).

While it is totally acceptable to feel overwhelmed, tired, energy-less and a bit snippy, it's NOT ok to act on those feelings. You'll never know when you snap on someone if that breaks their day. Even at your lowest point, I beg you to remember that you do not know what is going on in another person's life. You do not know what kind of battles they are fighting. Please remember to choose to speak with kindness!

Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

It's true. One word or phrase spoken out of anger can hurt another person. Words can hurt. I'm not writing this today because someone hurt me. I'm writing this because I'm afraid I was mean to someone else. I'm not a mean person, but they don't know that. They only met me once, via phone, and I snapped at them.

Ugh.

Let's all take some time today to look at our schedules, check our words and use our ears to listen instead of our mouths to say sharp words.

Virtual Running Date No. 23: Steve cooks

Hello Crushers!

If we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you that I'm so full of potato pancakes that I couldn't possibly eat another. Remember that post where I tried to make them and failed miserably? No? Me either!

Anyway, if we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you that Steve is the potato pancake man of the house! He came up with the recipe himself and it was delicious! My parents invited everyone over for a fish fry to eat up all the fish we caught up north. We tried. Oh how we tried. My parents still have fish in their freezer!

I'm hoping this means there will be another fish fry soon...

Anyway, Steve used his Grandma's secret pancake recipe and added about 4 potatoes (grated), 1 tsp thyme, 1 medium onion (diced), salt and pepper to taste and that's it. Oh, he omitted the sugar from the pancakes. I can't tell you the whole recipe, but I bet if you made some Bisquick batter and added the ingredients I mentioned above, you would come up with something pretty close.

Here are the Steve Cooks photos:

On the griddle

The batter

The first couple of complete pancakes ready to go!

The happy chef!

 Isn't he cute?

Anyway, if we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you that we have a new niece! She is adorable. Our newest family member, Natalie, will get spoiled just like all the other little ones. I can't wait! We have one more little family member to welcome, and that's the nephew we have due in October. One from each side of the family! Does anyone know if Toys R' Us has a rewards program? Just kidding...