Healthy Pancakes (of course blended in my NEW Vitamix)

Tonight I took the easy route and made pancakes for dinner.  Not just any ol' Bisquick pancakes though.....I found these on Pinterest (of course).  

They were SO yummy and SO healthy, and my kids loved them (shocking!), so I had to share.  

Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:

6 egg whites

1 cup rolled oats, dry

1 cup cottage cheese (I used the lowfat kind)

2 tsp sugan

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

In a (Vitamix) blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. I used my new Vitamix and it was perfect for the occasion.  The lovefest continues.  Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed. Makes about 10 pancakes.

Number of Servings: 3

Nutritional Info Per Serving:
181 Calories, 2.7g Fat, 10mg Cholesterol, 361mg Sodium, 20g Carbs, 2.8g Fiberhttps://www.vitamix.com/Home

The little kick of cinnamon is what really makes these so tasty.  We also added a few chocolate chips (per my son's request), which made them even tastier - no syrup needed!   Enjoy!

the little things.....

Happy New Year everyone!  I plan on making 2013 the best year yet.  What does that mean for me?  So many things that we all think of.....having a prosperous business, getting in great shape, being the best Mommy ever, making dinner every night for our family (ok that's not really on my list but might be on yours!), and having an occasional getaway with my husband to remember why we got married in the first place.  Right?  That all sounds perfect.  

And I'll really try to do those things.  But, in the wake of the Newtown school tragedy, I continue to think of the parents of those innocent little children every single day.  It struck me in the days following that the happiness given to us by our children is sometimes taken for granted.  The daily big hugs we get, the "I love you Mommy's", even the quiet laughs I get while listening to my two play & fight in the toy room.  Doing their tiny laundry, wiping off their messy faces, answering every 'but why?' question and dealing with the day to day in the life of a child is something that those Mommys and Daddys are missing greatly right now.  

So I'm sending them my prayers and my strength, and at the same time I'm working on relishing every moment with my two small people.  My Mom said something to me a few months ago when she was visiting: "Look at those cute little coats in the mudroom.  They won't be little for long. You should take a picture of it to remember their small-ness."  

She was right.  I need to be taking pictures and writing notes about my children to remember their tender little ages.  They'll never be 2 and 4 again.  In fact, as my 4.5 year old points out often, he's almost 5.  Here's something I don't want to forget: He is VERY worried about turning 5 because another kid at school told him that when you turn 5, your teeth start to fall out.  He does NOT want his teeth falling out.  Therefore he told me - "Mom, I don't want to turn 5.  We don't need to have a birthday party, because I don't want my teeth to fall out."  How awesome is that?  

Other wonderful things?  He compliments me when I get dressed up.  'Mama, I like your fancy hair.  Mama, that is a pretty dress you have on.  I like your makeup.' How astute for a 4 year old boy!  I keep telling him to keep up the chivalry.  It's pretty awesome.  

As for my daughter, who is clearly 2 going on a sassy 13 year old......She is becoming adept at running the other way when we ask her to come here - and then laughing at us.  She very much enjoys yelling 'NO!' when we ask her to eat her dinner - she then laughs at this too.  She calls out my eye shadow color (when I wear it), my nail polish, and enjoys a good sparkly shirt.  My favorite thing though?  When we're getting her either dressed or un-dressed, and she's clad in only a diaper, she yells "I'm Macon!!!!"  and does a little dance.  That actually means....."I'm naked!"  Hilarious.

ALL of that said, I thought I'd take a few pictures of my happiness around the house.  Just things that as my Mom said, won't be little for long. 

 I'm soaking it in.  Hope you do too.

Tiny shoes

All of our Christmas cards, with TONS of wonderful pictures of everyone else's littles.

My children's joy of the Christmas season - checking their advent calendars daily for a treat!  They continued to look in the days after Christmas to see if anything else would appear.  :-)

The best gift we received this year - a very specially made artwork hanger.  Behind that wood board with my son's name on it, there are clothes pin hangers.  We can use this hanger for any and all artwork that comes home.  This particular piece is clearly what our family looks like in my son's eyes.  He explained to me: "Mommy, look!  You and I have the same color hair (brown) and Daddy and Gemma have the same color hair (blonde!).  As we all DEFINITELY have dark brown hair - I now need to get his eyes tested.  Hahahaha.....  

The little coats

The girly tent in our basement where there are many secret conventions

My evolving photo wall

The hallway in between the kids rooms - complete with a chair for reading that you can't see, and a responsibility chart.  We're not so great at it yet - working on it!!!  (another New Years resolution)

Griffin's lego display in his room - he has spent a lot of time arranging this 'just so.'

A bigger picture of the Lego 'situation' as I'm calling it.  And this is just the first year he asked for Legos - Yikes!

The doll beds in Gemma's room.  These were in my room as a girl, and were handed down to me from my Mom, who also had them in her room as a girl (in the 50's).  How cool is that?

My first baby, Bella.  She's 10 already!

My second baby, Nani.  Nani also serves as a Roomba vacuum.  I almost never need to sweep the floor for crumbs, because Nani takes care of that for us.  She also occasionally jumps onto the kitchen table when we're not looking.  And eats small plastic toys (army guys and the like).  Trust me - I have found some interesting stuff in the backyard.

My littles on Christmas.  So sweet!

And here we all are.  Feeling lucky and blessed to have made such a wonderful little family with my wonderful husband.

My last New Year's resolution?  To garner more energy at night after the kids go to bed to blog more.  Wish me luck as a 9:30 bedtime is par for the course lately!  

Another must-make soup - Ribollita

This time of year I always find myself looking for super healthy and easy soups to make that can last for more than just one meal.  My friend Allison made this soup for me back in September when I was recovering from my surgery, and it is AMAZING.  I loved it so much that last week I asked her if she minded if I blog post about her recipe, and she laughingly admitted that it's not hers.......it's from the Barefoot Contessa!  The recipe gets 5 stars on the Food Network site and rave reviews.  

But of course!  You MUST make this asap, it's so good!  I froze half of it while we were gone for Thanksgiving and thawed it out for lunch today and tomorrow.  

Here's my soup bubbling:

And here is the picture from the Food network:

Ribollita Recipe
 - Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dried white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus extra for serving
• 1/4 pound large diced pancetta or smoked bacon
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
• 1 cup chopped carrots (3 carrots)
• 1 cup chopped celery (3 stalks)
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
• 4 cups coarsely chopped or shredded savoy cabbage, optional
• 4 cups coarsely chopped kale
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 4 cups sourdough bread cubes, crusts removed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by 1-inch and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator.  ** I did not do this for the sake of time  - I simply rinsed and drained the beans in a colander and moved on to the next step.

Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are tender. Set the beans aside to cool in their liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stockpot. Add the pancetta and onions and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes with their puree, the cabbage, if using, the kale, and basil and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.

Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree half of the beans with a little of their liquid. Add to the stockpot, along with the remaining whole beans. Pour the bean cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and add enough chicken stock to make 8 cups. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with Parmesan and drizzled with olive oil.

Star Wars + Hanna Andersson = Super Cool Jams

I don't know how i missed this one - a Star Wars collaboration with Hanna Andersson on jammies!  Genius.  I know Hanna's are not inexpensive - but let me tell you, they are worth the money.

They never pill, they never get crusty (I hate when cheap cotton starts to feel crusty from too many washings), and they don't shrink.

Having a little boy means anything superhero, Star Wars, or Lego related is what it's all about right now.  So when I saw this announcement on my Facebook feed today, I was so excited.

 All of the long johns sets are $42, and the short johns are $36.

Here are all of the long john options - and if you like these, I would get 'em fast!  Good Hanna jams sell quickly, especially during the holidays.

Kohl's Fame

Normally I would not post about this, but I had to share this darling picture today.  My son, who is 4, does some occasional modeling through Ford Modeling Agency.  I hesitate to share this fact because I know there are people who may roll their eyes and think that I'm a crazy stage mom or something.  

But I'm not.  This is just something we do for fun, and the minute it isn't fun for him we won't do it anymore.  For now, the money he makes goes straight into his college fund.  

And the pictures are priceless for his wedding montage someday.  Ha!

Here he is in today's Kohl's ad.......(in the yellow shirt):

In Mom's (very biased) opinion, those girls are going to swoon someday!  

Weekend is here!

Weekend is here.  It's Joe's birthday, a rather big one at age 35, so we're heading downtown in a limo with another couple for a fun night!  No one has to drive, therefore everyone can enjoy themselves!  Ah.......how we all took it for granted in our early 20's living downtown.

First up, I've decided to make us all a St Germain cocktail for the limo ride downtown.  I got this cute recipe from a friend's 40th birthday party.  Not only was the cocktail GREAT, but what a cute idea for a party favor (everyone brought home a cute silver tin bucket with mini versions of the cocktail ingredients inside).

Next, we're headed to Drumbar for drinks.  It's on the rooftop of the Raffaello hotel in the Gold Coast, and has a great view.  The vibe is that of a speakeasy, and the rooftop deck is a great place to be in the summer.  We are supposed to get some mild weather today and tomorrow so if they have heat lamps maybe we'll be having drinks outside!

Finally it's off to Joe's Stone Crab for the birthday dinner.  Enough said there.....MMM!

So in thinking of what to wear tomorrow night (you'd think it was MY birthday, right?), here are a few things I can't get off my mind lately.  All of which would be great for this upcoming holiday season's parties and soirees.

J Crew Crystal Colored Statement Necklace, $138

J Crew Trompe L'Oeil Lace Blouse, $135

Botkier Trigger Frame Bag, $195

Heidi Skirt, Club Monaco, $249

Micaila Dress, Club Monaco, $199

The Best Butternut Squash Recipe EVER!

Ok I MAY have overstated the title of this post.  But while home in Kansas City a few weeks ago, my Mom made a great butternut squash soup.  Waaaaay better than the recipe I made last year.

I took her recipe and tried it out for myself, and yes, it's a keeper.  Thought I should share!


Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

~from the kitchen of Cherrie Lucas

• 3 to 4 lbs butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 apples (any kind, my Mom used McIntosh, I used Honeycrisp)
• 3 T good olive oil
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 to 4 C chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp curry powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut squash, onions and apples into 1 inch cubes.  Place in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, 1tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Divide between two sheet pans and spread in a single layer.  Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until very tender.

Here are is what your veggies will look like after roasting.....and the house will smell SO good!

When veggies are done, put in a food processor, adding some chicken stock, and coarsely puree.  Place in a large pot and add enough stock to make a thick soup.  Add curry, 1tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Serve hot some some yummy bread!