Three is a magic number

Yes it is, it’s a magic number. (remember, School House Rock?)

Anyways, someone at our house just had a birthday!

Natalie enjoyed blowing her candles out at breakfast, which was good because I forgot my camera, then forgot a memory card, and then she just had us light them again for no reason.

We had a long weekend so everyone had the day off, so she got to celebrate all day long!

We decided it would be fun to take a trip to the zoo.

That wild cat looked an awful lot like Cali.

Just kidding. Natalie really thought that cat would like to come to our house. I read the description and it said something about ferocious. I think it likes the zoo.

We finished off with a ride on the train, and some cotton candy. Two ingredients for pure happiness.

Natalie got some mini princess dolls which she plays with for most of her time.

And some of her own Star Wars toys because her brother is rubbing off on her.

Natalie didn’t take time to make a wish, or eat any cake. But she did keep checking wrapping paper to make sure she had found everything.

Happy birthday to my littlest princess.

healthified oatmeal banana bread

This is one of those recipes that I use all the time.  I love this stuff.

I got the original recipe from myrecipes.com, but I made a few small changes.

Oatmeal Banana Bread

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup applesauce

2 tbsp. canola oil

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)

1 cup regular oats

1/2 cup skim milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour (from white wheat)

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease one 9x5 loaf pan or 3, 5 3/4 x 3 inch pans.

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl; beat well at medium speed. Combine banana, oats, and milk; add to sugar mixture, beating well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir with a whisk.  Add to sugar mixture; beat just until moist.  Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Bake 9x5” loaf for 1 hour 10 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Bake 5 3/4 by 3” pans for 35 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy!

healthy pancake mix

My kids are giving up cold cereal. It could have something to do with the fact that I don’t like to buy cereal if it doesn’t have at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. (Frosted Mini Wheats has 6 grams, it’s not like I’m trying to get them to eat All Bran.) I just eat a bowl of steaming oatmeal every morning, but they aren’t jumping on that bandwagon either.

Anyways, pancakes are a hot request. I have always made our pancakes from scratch, but recently came across this mix which has cut down on my prep time. This is good, because mornings around here aren’t exactly laid-back.

I have some other recipes I probably like better, but when it comes to simple this one is winning out.  Also this is actually a recipe I found for Healthy Bisquick, so you can use this in any recipe that calls for bisquick (like biscuits or any impossible pie recipes.)

Healthy Pancake Mix (or Healthy Bisquick)

recipe from food.com

4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (from white wheat)

2 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup powdered milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1. Mix first four ingredients together

2. Stir in canola oil until it is the texture of fine crumbs

3. Store in Refrigerator (Makes 5 1/2 cups)

 

Easy Pancakes

1 cup Mix

1 egg

1/2-2/3 cup water or milk (add enough to get the consistency you like)

1. Mix together and cook on your skillet or griddle

2. Makes about 8 medium sized pancakes, so adjust the recipe accordingly.

 

Easy Drop Biscuits

2 1/4 cup Mix

2/3 cup milk or water

1. Preheat oven to 450 and grease a baking sheet

2. Mix ingredients until a soft dough forms and then drop large spoonful's of dough onto pan.

3. Bake 8-10 minutues.  Makes about 16 biscuits.