Sunday Breakfast = Pumpkin Pancakes

Good morning!  It’s been a beautiful weekend so far which is such a treat because the forecast originally called for rain.  Has it been lovely in your area? 
This morning was the first in a long time that we didn’t have to set the alarm to get up and be somewhere so I relaxed in bed for a bit deciding on what I wanted to make for breakfast.  I was feeling pancakes, but wanted more than just the plain ole, plain ole.  Looking for inspiration I flipped open Quinoa 365 and found the perfect recipe! 
 
Seeing as this is the first weekend of fall, what could be more perfect than pumpkin pancakes??  I set to work on the batter and proceeded to pump out 18 beautifully golden, fluffy ‘cakes! 

I gotta admit; I was getting a little anxious to eat about halfway through the batter!  HAHA!  Patience is not a strong virtue of mine.  But finally I was down to the last 2 that were destined for my plate.  I knew right off that my toppings of choice would not only include the pecans as suggested in the recipe, but a good glug of this raspberry syrup I picked up last night;
Raspberries, sugar and lemon juice make up the list of ingredients and I just knew that the combo of pumpkin and raspberry would be delicious.  My plating skills are seriously lacking, but here’s what my breakie looked like:
GET IN MY BELLY!!!  These pancakes were just awesome.  AND (!!) I have 16 left to go in the freezer for quick weekday breakfasts.  Cook once, eat twice…..or 8 times, right?!
What is your favourite pancake flavour?  And what do you like to top your flap Jack’s with?
Bye for now!!

Baking Demon

Sunday morning I was like a Tasmanian devil in the kitchen!  I had a 28oz can of pumpkin puree that I wanted to use and found 3 recipes that used every last drop.  First up was Mama Peas pumpkin spice bars.
The only thing I switched up was subbing macadamia nut oil for the canola oil.  I also used a 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips because I didn’t have some of the icing ingredients.
I had to bake the batch longer than what was called for, but they were worth the wait.  I mean, look at the goodness here!
Next was Faith’s pumpkin spice syrup!
My photos do not do it justice.  Again, I simmered it longer than suggested because I wanted a thicker syrup.
I promptly made myself a cup of coffee with the syrup and milk.  To. Die. For.   The last cup of pumpkin went into another one of Faith’s recipes; pumpkin donuts!
Well, mine were “timbits” or “donut holes” because I don’t own a donut tin.  I used my mini muffin pan instead and ended up with 40 yummy bites!
I also subbed macadamia nut oil in this recipe (more on that to come!).
And in place of vanilla bean paste for the glaze I used 1 tsp of the pumpkin spice syrup.  
DS was shoving these in his mouth faster than I could get the glaze on them!  Too bad my hands were sticky or I would’ve taken a picture of him in action!   To say these were a big hit would be an understatement.  By the time I went to bed Sunday night there were 4 of the 40 left.  LOL  And here I was thinking to share with the girls at work!  Yeah, right.  :)   Have you baked up any amazing blogger recipes lately?  Do share!
FOOD!  See the pumpkin spice syrup on the oats?  Mmmmm…. **Now that the time has changed I can take breakfast photos in the sun.  Unfortunately, by the time we eat dinner its dark so now those pictures are blah.  I can’t win!** NEWSFLASH!!  I just saw a commercial over the weekend that Tim Horton’s is now selling oatmeal!!!  BONUS, especially because I really don’t like much of the “food” that they serve there.  But I’m thrilled about the oats.  And that there’s a Timmy’s within walking distance of my house and the office!  YAY!
Don’t forget to enter my CSN Stores giveaway!!  You have until Wednesday at 5pm to enter!!  That’s all I’ve got for today!
Bye for now!!

Thanks & Giving

As I’m sure you know this is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  I think it is the PERFECT time to introduce a new “series” I’d like to do on the blog every Sunday from today until Sunday December 19.  I’ll be calling it simply “Thanks & Giving”.   For the thanks part I’ll be reviewing everything I have to be thankful for in the week previous.  I find I get so busy that I forget to stop and look around me to see and appreciate all that I have.  In doing this I’ll be keeping myself aware of what’s been going on.  I’ll explain the “giving” part at the end of this post because it is something BIG!!!  To start, here are a few things that I am most thankful for, always;
First and foremost I am thankful for my 2 healthy, vibrant, active kids:
 
I am also very thankful to have a strong, healthy body that obeys my every command.

I’m grateful that I am able to workout, ride my bike, move pain free, see, hear, hug my kids.  My body is not perfect, but still amazing!  I am thankful to have a good paying  job with an amazing boss.  I am thankful that I’ve been a homeowner for 11 years and that I can give to my kids all that they need (and want).  I am thankful to have delicious food to put on the table:    
And my Thanksgiving meal at Mom’s…
DS LOVES the turkey leg and devours one every year!
And in the theme of giving; this weekend we went through all our fall/winter clothes and put aside everything that was too small or that we wouldn’t be wearing again.  We filled a HUGE garbage bag and brought it to the community clothing closet:
Last year around this time I participated in Project Feed Me.  Natalie (who doesn’t blog anymore) organized an online food drive that was a huge success.  Basically, every Monday she announced a “food of the week”.  No item was more than a dollar and the idea was that everyone bought 2 each of said item to donate at Christmas time to the local food bank.  I’d like to follow this great idea again this year as part of my “Thanks & Giving” series.  Each Sunday from today until December 19 I’ll introduce a non perishable item on the blog with a photo.  By mid December I’ll have a fantastic stash to bring to my local food bank!!  Would you like to participate? All you have to do is send me a photo of the item of the week that you purchased along with a link to your blog to kristaskravings@gmail.com and I will post it on my site.  If you don’t have a blog just send me a photo and I’ll post that for you. **Note-you don’t have to purchase the same “brand” as me.   What I’d love to happen is to have everyone who participates take a final photo at the end of the drive as well and send it in to me so I can  do one great big post showcasing everyone’s efforts to help the people who aren’t as fortunate as us.  This week’s item will be tuna:
So, who’s in????  Please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think and if you’ll be participating.  But whether or not you decide to join in, PLEASE spread the word along.  The more people this gets to, the better!!  THANKS!!  And just for motivation sake, this is what my stash looked like last year…  
Bye for now!!

House Cleaning

On today’s agenda is some muffins (with a recipe link), a coffee give away, a contest and some eats!  Let’s get started, shall we?
As I mentioned in my last post I had baked some muffins.  Pumpkin Double Chip muffins, to be exact.

(source)
I found the recipe in a Taste of Home magazine that I was flipping through at the library while waiting for DS’s game to start on Sunday.  I knew right away it was a keeper and quickly jotted it down on a scrap of paper.  As usual, I made a few changes so here they are:

1. Took the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 of a cup
2. Used a 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of the 1/3 cup of oil
3. Used a 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters instead of 2 eggs
4. Omitted oat flour entirely and used ALL whole wheat
5. Used 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips in place of the 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
6. Completely omitted the cinnamon sugar topping

Not that I have the original recipe to compare mine to, but these were fantastic!  I ended up with 21 muffins and the fam and I have have been making quick work of them!
Second on the agenda would be my eats.  And I have been consuming some awesome ones!  I seem to be on a real rice kick lately.  You’ll see that in just a minute! This was the last 2 pieces of my multi grain bread turned into eggy French toast.  Mmmm…
Leftovers from dinner above and below!  LOL
Honey Crisp!! Above is the most amazing meal I’ve eaten in awhile!  Caroline’s Coconut Black Beans with Mango.  Try this….it will change your life.  Seriously.  And as Caroline advises DO NOT skip the coconut butter!!  This was served over white basmati rice.  Perfection. This was the fam’s meal tonight.  This morning I put a (frozen) turkey breast in the crock pot with some veggies to make some stock and meat for tonight.  Because meat tends to get tough after being boiled I knew I needed to put it into something on the saucy side.  This pasta dish is quick, easy and creamy enough to perk up dry meat.  Simply prepare 2 Sidekick noodle packs (whatever flavour you like) according to package directions.  Just before the sauce is thickened add a few cups of shredded turkey or chicken meat and 2 cups of frozen peas.  Bring back to temperature and serve.   Kids lurve this!  (The stock is currently cooling in the fridge and will go into the freezer later on).  This is what I whipped up for myself tonight: Leftover peppers and sauce, peas and turkey served over brown basmati rice.  Yum yum!
Do you love coffee?  If so you really should go visit Kelsey for a great giveaway on some organic plain (and flavoured) coffee.  And while there it will totally be worth your time to check out her muffin recipes.  I made some of the espresso chocolate chip muffins and they were da bomb!!
And Nature’s Path is hosting a fabulous getaway contest!!    Do you dream of white sand beaches, luxurious spas or rolling green hills during your 3pm snack time? If so, Nature’s Path can make your daydreams come true with their 3PMmmm Photo Sweepstakes on Facebook. What is a 3PMmmm moment you ask? It’s that delicious time of the day when you take your snack break. It could be hiking, sitting in traffic, post-yoga, walking the dog and picking up kids from school.  All you need to do is share a photo of your 3PMmmm Photo moment to win a grand prize of one of three exciting eco-vacations: a Hawaiian tour, spa resort getaway in Tofino, Canada or a visit to an organic farm in Oregon's Willamette Valley!!! 

There will also be a weekly winner of a prize package full of Nature's Path goodness. 
This is what you have to do is to enter this amazing contest:
1.       “Like” Nature’s Path’s Facebook page
2.       Click on the 3PMmmm Contest tab
3.       Click on the Get Started (or Enter tab at the top)
4.       Share their 3PMmmm moment by uploading a photo of their 3PMmmm moment
5.       Each photo you submit, and the more people you tag, the more entries you get (up to 50 entries per person, per week).
**Please note: This promotion is running now and will end November 14, 2010 at 11:59PM PT. It is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Limit fifty (50) entries per person, per email address, per week during the Promotion Period. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email address. More official rules can be found in the 3PMmmm tab under Rules.**
What are you waiting for?   Go check these cool links for your chance to win!!  But first let me know what dream vacation YOU would choose if you won!!!  Have FUN…
Bye for now!!