Delicious Buttermilk Pancakes

These are so easy to make! If you have a griddle or even a large pan, you can make these! Perfect for a Saturday morning breakfast, these will please everyone you make them for. Also, they cope well in the fridge and can be microwaved for a snack later. I frequently make these on a Sunday and have pancakes to bring to work on Monday and Tuesday. I hope you enjoy!

• 2 Cups all purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Heat a large griddle to 350-375 F.

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to a large mixing bowl. Stir until evenly incorporated together with a whisk, making a well in the flour.

Add buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter to the well in the middle, stirring with the whisk until are ingredients are just mixed. Batter may be slightly lumpy. Do not over mix.

Spray your griddle with cooking spray and  pour batter onto hot griddle. Let your cakes cook a good 5-7 minutes, until the middle of the pancakes have bubbles on the top. Flip and continue cooking another 5-7 minutes, until cake is cooked all the way through. Do not flip your cakes over and over, as they will not cook. Only flip one time.

Remove from griddle and spread butter on cake and add maple syrup. Serve warm or chill in the fridge for up to 5 days.

I have never frozen these since they are usually gone quite quickly, but I imagine they would freeze just fine.

 

 

Delicious Beer bread Loaf

I present to you My Gran’s Beer Bread. My grandmother always had a particular affinity for her beer and she took to making nice loaves of beer bread in the fall and winter. They are hearty and amazing with soups, chilis, and dips during the cold months. They are also incredibly flexible, with only two real ingredients and you can add whatever flavors you want to them. I chose to make a garlic and onion loaf with a mesquite maple bacon dip. The beer I chose was Sam Adams Octoberfest ale, which really adds a nice fall flavor to the bread.It takes about 60 seconds to make up and 50-55 minutes to bake. Gran’s house always smelled so good with her innovative loaves, ranging from cinnamon loaves with an apple ale to garlic and cheddar loaves to be served alongside her Hunter’s Chili. This recipe reminds me of home, it’s something that I grew up with and something I want to pass on to others. It is also incredibly simple, great for beginners, and a great addition to any get together or party.

Recipe is as Follows

Yields: 1 loaf

• 12 oz beer or carbonated soda (IPA’s and Stouts work well rather than light domestic beers)
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 3 TBSP melted butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter. Add flour to a mixing bowl. If you’re adding any dry spices, add them to the flour now. Mix beer into flour until just combined. Do not overstir, batter will be lumpy. Incorporate any cheeses you might be adding now. Add to prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to top of the loaf prior to placing in the oven if you are utilizing this route. Helps create a softer crust. If the top starts to over brown, place some foil over the top to prevent it from burning. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack before slicing and serving.

For a dip: (the one pictured above)

• 1 C sour cream
• 1 C mayonnaise
• McCormicks Grillmates Molasses Bacon seasoning to taste (about 2 TBSP)
• Dry Minced onion and garlic

The dip is a basic recipe and can be used for literally any flavor you can think of. Just use equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise and add your favorite flavors. Best to make the day before to let the flavors blend together. Can be made 2 hours ahead of time to get some good flavor as well. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better.

 

The Tomato Plant

So recently I decided to transplant my tomato plant and give it a new lease on life. After spoiling it with watering on a schedule, lots of nitrogen, and not trying to burn it in the sun, it has flourished in its new location on the patio. Just check out those before and after photos and see for yourself.

Sunday Gardening- A Love Story

Woke up super early this morning and decided to do some gardening. I had already taken advantage of the beautiful summer weather earlier in May, planting several pots of herbs, petunias, a spike plant, and a tomato plant.

The tomato plant was looking a touch weepy, so I wanted to try transplanting it with some fresh soil and plant food laced throughout. I have never grown tomatoes before and I really feel bad when a plant dies.

I went to Menards in Dilworth, MN and got several new supplies.  A huge pot for my tomato plant, 4 bags of soil, a lattice, some plant food, and several herbs and petunias to plant in my new pots. The herbs in the pallet garden at Menards looked severely sunburnt so I had to dig a phoenix from the ashes to find my herbs. I chose a Thyme, a beautiful and large sage plant, as well as a very nice looking Italian Parsley plant. The parsley will compliment my Italian food so well. My mum gave me several new clay pots so I had all those on hand. Yay MOM!

I was so excited!! And I promised myself I wouldn’t get a beer until I was all finished with my work.

I separated all my flowers out into their new 16″ pots. They looked so lovely once I was done. I even got several compliments from my apartment neighbors.

Everyone got plenty of water to make sure they started their new lives okay. They looked a bit rough in the greenhouse so I wanted to spoil them as much as possible. My patio faces East so it gets very good sun until about 1130, then the plants get a break and some nice shade. Its good to be productive!! I made these pots twins, each with 3 geraniums, 3 small petunias, and one large petunia.  A spike plant was planted in the middle of each. My mother always had very similar arrangements in the gardens at home and it helps remind me of her every time I tend my flowers.

Next came the herbs. I love rosemary so much so when I first got a plant in May, it got its own 12″ pot to grow, grow, grow! I couldn’t resist showcasing it above, my pride and joy. Sorry if it looks a bit snipped at the moment, I just harvested it last night for some chicken I made. I was unable to find some Rosemary at the store so I had to go without but I was excited to plant my new darling near the others. I filled the new pot with fertile soil and delicately planted them, giving them nice cool water and a shady place to start out in. My patio smells so good right now!

Onward to my sad, sad tomato plant. I had acquired the tomato plant from Hornbachers on an impulse buy one Friday afternoon. Its a Roma Tomato plant and it looked wonderful when I bought it. Since its been home, its been getting more and more droopy so it was time for a makeover. See how sad it looks next to my herbs?

Time for a new home in a grand and luscious 24″ pot, complete with a shadier area in the patio. If you notice, I have some of my plants lifted off the ground on bricks. Clever, right? Those were actually leftover from the previous occupant of my abode when I moved in. It helps me have a beautiful garden setting without other stealing the sunshine from each other. And the tomato has been transplanted with a bucket full of new food and soil and I do hope it likes what I did. I will be devastated if it decides to keel over and die on me.

I’m very happy I was able to do something productive today. I’m in no way a gardening expert. I just like to keep busy and take care of stuff. I achieved my goal and was able to have a nice refreshing beer at the end of it all. Here’s a cactus before you go!

 

Quilting

My New Journey

I’m entering a new stage of my life right now. I’m 27 and I feel middle aged and bored already most days. Crippling depression is teaming up with extensive amounts of boredom and lack of motivation to do anything. I am surrounded by wonderful and supportive people but my problem is me. So I made the decision to do something about it.

I’ve never been one to let someone control my life for me. I can take criticism but I usually am bothered by the fact that I failed to do something perfectly. I can give advice but I don’t normally like to follow it unless it follows my game plan for life.

My first step was creating a weekly meal plan for myself to follow. I find myself spending too much money at the grocery store for random trips with no idea what I want to eat. Packing a lunch for work, eating a real breakfast are all things I hope to work into my routine.

Next came a somewhat structured workout plan for myself. Nothing too exciting for me to start with, going for daily walks and trying to reach 10,000+ steps on my Fitbit. I need to start actually using my gym membership and taking advantage of the tools I have at my disposal. I was going to see a personal trainer everyday for about 6 months. twice a week last summer. I managed to be healthy, feel good, and feel happy. Then I stopped taking care of myself and going to the gym and then I slipped down into a hole and I’m finally climbing out.

Lastly, just trying to break my routine of coming home and having a beer or 5 and watching Netflix until bedtime. Don’t get me wrong, I truly did enjoy doing that but I didn’t realize until just recently that has been slowly eating away at me. My motivations went down, I didn’t paint anymore. I wasn’t baking on Sundays anymore. I kept going to bed earlier and earlier and becoming less social. I neglected to see my friends and family when I had the opportunities. Now, I’m just aiming to a goal of having a morning before going to work. Wake up early, go for a walk/run, take a shower, eat breakfast, prepare a lunch.Making a lunch is something I haven’t done in a long time and I’m looking forward to all the fresh ideas I can come up with. No more rolling out of bed and throwing scrubs on and going to work half asleep.

This change can’t be anything but better than what I have been doing. It’s a step in the right direction and I truly look forward to the progress I make. I won’t bombard my blog with updates but occasionally I will post progress. I anticipate I will post mostly about some art projects, gardening, and cooking, as I am truly passionate about those things.

Cheers to your day as well as to mine