My one goal yesterday was to get my holiday gift baskets out to family.  I spent a couple hours each night last week making different things – cranberry and nut brittle, Chex Mix, white chocolate and cranberry cookies, and chocolate snowball cookies.

My dining room table looked like an assembly line with plastic containers of baked goods – my goal was to pack up all the boxes, get them shipped and then get my dining room table back in order.  Which is funny because as much as I love my dining room table, the ONLY time we use it is is when company comes over. šŸ™

But then the domino effect happened.  If the dining room was nice and clean, then I may as well get the living room tidied up.  Then the kitchen was a disaster, and then I notice that the outside of the oven needs a good scrubbing, then the kitchen floor, microwave, clean out the refrigerator AND I reorganized our pantry.  (Um, there may have been some bread that were all the colors of the rainbow!)

Before I knew it, 3 hours passed by and my house was clean!  When Hannah left for work she said “I’ll help you clean when I get home.”  So imagine her surprise that it was all done by the time she got home. šŸ˜€

At one point Tony said “are people coming over that I don’t know about?!”  It was nice to get it all done.

One of Hannah’s favorite breakfast foods is pancakes.  She had to work again today, but I asked her if she wanted a bagel sandwich or pancakes, and before I even got the word “panc. . .” out she said “pancakes!”

This is my new favorite basic pancake recipe.  I actually adapted it from America’s Test Kitchen, I altered the milk to flour ratio because their version had too thin of a pancake for my taste.

Sunday Morning Pancakes (makes 12)

  • 127 calories, 3.5 fat, 19 carbs, .6 fiber and 3.7 protein, or 3 PointsPlus each)

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1.5 cups milk (alternatively you could use 1.5 cups buttermilk, but I hardly ever have that on hand)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Mix well.

In a large mason jar, add the milk lemon juice, egg, and butter and shake until its nice and bubbly and the egg is incorporated.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until combined.  Let batter sit a minimum of 15 minutes to let the baking powder do its magic.

Cook each pancake for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown.  I actually make one pancake at a time, so I have my oven set at 225 and just add each pancake to my cookie sheet – they stay warm until ready to serve.

That’s how my batter looks after 15 minutes – love the bubbles!

Tony had his sans fruit:

Hannah had hers with fresh blackberries:

The best part is that these freeze really well – just pop them in your toaster and they will taste the same as the day you made them.

Holiday 2011 Challenge Update!

We are in the home stretch – can’t believe we are a few weeks from January 1!  I had a gain this past week – I didn’t work out, so its my own fault.  I need to get it in gear this week!

Now that my house is clean, I only have one more load of laundry to do and then I have to hit up the store.  I am also going to hit up the gym too – when Tony watches Sunday football, I don’t even think he notices I am gone. šŸ˜€

Enjoy your Sunday!