Egg Pancake Recipe Swap

Good Day to you!

For this week's recipe swap

- it's an easy-peasy one! 
 PANCAKES!

Basically, it's a "technique" recipe swap - it's all "in how you do it"! LOL

It's my FAVORITE breakfast to fix for fancy occasions!  

My boys got these pancakes on Saturday before they traveled to perform before the piano judge! Threw in some fresh blueberries - yum!

Nothing special about my pancake batter - using the secret ingredient of BISQUICK
- It's in the technique of pouring the batter out in a D.O.N.U.T. shape and adding an egg in the
middle that is SPECIAL!  
Makes for a magical treat of a breakfast in my family! LOL

Bisquick Pancake Recipe
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup Buttermilk
(or add 2 TBLSP lemon juice to 1 cup of plain milk)
2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Eggs
Heat your skillet (or flat griddle) to 350-375 degrees.  Grease with cooking spray.Pour batter on hot griddle in an "O" shape - spray hole with more cooking spray and break an egg into the center.  Cook until the edges are dry; turn.  Cook until golden - serve warm with butter and syrup.

My mom - a.k.a. "The Ging" gave me a recipe for homemade bisquick mix - I'll include it today also!  Thanks, Mom!  When I finish using up my box of Bisquick - I'll mix up a batch of this recipe and compare!

Homemade Bisquick Mix
6 cups All-purpose Flour
3 TBLSP Baking Powder
1 TBLSP Salt
1 cup Vegetable Shortening


Sift flour, baking powder and salt 3 times into a large bowl.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Store mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

Use whenever your recipe calls for Bisquick.

Thanks for stopping by - remember to hug the ones you love the most, until next time...

Monson Music 2012

 In May, the boys participate in the 

National Piano Guild 

of playing 10-15 memorized pieces in front of a judge. 

This is Alex's 10th year and Aric's 6th year.  

Then the next day, Mr. Monson holds his 

Monson Music Recital 

for the public and presents his awards at this time!  We have survived this once again - almost pain-free! LOL!  

Here are some pictures from this event!

Thanks for stopping by - last full week of school!  Hanging in there - hope you are too!  Remember to hug the ones you love the most, until next time...

Awards & Banquets 2012

 "Time flies when you're having fun" 

- so we must be having a BLAST! LOL!  

We are zipping through the last days of this school year!  

Here are some pics from Alex's first high school All Sports Banquet!

 Aric was feeling a little left out - so we let him take home some of the balloons that were decoration! Crazy kid!  So, he had fun scaring the dogs when we got home - argh!  "Never a dull moment"!


Here are some pictures of the CHS Awards Assembly - my mom took these pics - all the teachers sit at the tables and when a student receives a medal or C-award - they walk down the row and get the rewards!

 
Wishing you fun times and good health - thanks for stopping by!  Remember to hug the ones you love the most, until next time...

It's All In The SAUCES...

Today's Recipe Swap is 

three of our families favorite SAUCES!

Guess we are a "dipping" kind of family - because we love our sauces - I'm always mixing up some concoction for us to dip or soak our food into  to consume!

All three of today's sauces have the same base - MAYO!  Gotta have mayonnaise - not "Miracle Whip" - mayonnaise.  I prefer Hellmann's but as long as it's REAL mayonnaise - it's good to go! 


One day, I'll make homemade mayo and see if it's good?!  Do you make your own - love to hear any comments or recipes on mayonnaise.  That can be added to the "Summer List of To Do" - it's filling up quickly!

First recipe is for a simple HONEY MUSTARD sauce - my boys will eat this on ANYTHING -  it's almost replaced ranch on fresh veggies and on salads!  


There is only 4 ingredients to this sauce - I usually "eye ball" the measurements and do the "taste" test - but here's what I have written down on my recipe card in the box!


HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1 TBLSP Yellow Mustard
1 TBLSP Honey
1/2 TBLSP lemon juice

Mix it all together until it's smooth - and begin "dipping"! I just save the rest in the refrigerator.

Next is a sauce that we LOVE on our fish tacos - YUM!  This chinese sauce is AWESOME!  I've almost tossed out Tabasco for this stuff... Sriracha is thicker and adds lots of flavor and heat to -whatever!  You can find it in your ASIAN row of the grocery store! So, here's the second sauce with only 2 ingredients - and this recipe - I just add until the right "SALMON" color happens in the sauce and again the "taste" test!  Warning:  this sauce carries a "punch" - watch out!


SRIRACHA MAYO
Sriracha Sauce
Mayonnaise
Mix together - and store any remaining sauce in the refrigerator. 

 The third sauce has a funny story - I discovered it first as "Guthri Sauce" from when I lived in Alabama... and then I went and ate at Raising Cane's last year - WOW! their sauce reminded me of the "guthri sauce".  We had a big debate... I think it's the same; others do not.  So, I had to make up a batch of this sauce for the boys - love it on chicken strips and french fries!


GUTHRI SAUCE

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup Ketchup
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp Vinegar
Lots of Black Pepper
Mix together well; let sauce sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before serving and after.  


Wishing you a wonderful week ahead - Thanks for stopping by!  Remember to hug the ones you love the most, until next time...

Saturday!

Excited to celebrate 

Cinco de Mayo 

- working in the baseball concession stand - (sarcasm inserted!) LOL!  For a freshman fundraiser, we are helping with the concession stand for the 1-A Bi-District Baseball Play-offs this weekend!
Need some ideas how to celebrate this weekend?  Found this neat website FULL of mexican goodies to fix and enjoy - check it out here!  You'll be glad that you did!

Wishing you a great weekend!  

We've had 99 - 104 degrees for the last couple of days!  Worried about the temps for this summer in June and July...  Next week, looks like relief is headed our way with cooler temperatures.

Watch for the SUPER MOON tonight!  It's prime time will be around midnight!  It'll be the biggest full moon of the year!  So don't forget - grab a chair or blanket and watch the skies tonight for Super Moon!

Thanks for stopping by!  We've only got 4 more Mondays to go (19 school days left) until the summer.  Remember to hug the ones you love the most, until next time...

DIET - a 4 letter word!

 D.I.E.T. 

is a word that makes me "cringe"!  

It's a 4-letter word, duh! 

Since January 1, 2012 - I have been on a "change of eating habits/exercise" program - my goal is my 30th High School reunion in June.


I had visions of being -so much thinner- by June - HA!  I have lost 9 pounds - but it hasn't been easy! ARGH!  Sometimes - down right frustrating!  I have even tried the GMC Diet for a week - OMG!  I lost O.N.E. pound and the week was TERRIBLE!


Have you heard of this diet? - check it out here GMC DIET; it's the diet where you will lose 10-12 lbs in one week (I didn't believe that - but half or even one-fourth of the results would have been nice!)  You eat all fruits one day, then all vegetables one day and weird stuff like that... one day you eat 20 oz of beef and 6 tomatoes; drinking 14 glasses of water!

You can fix this "Wonder Soup" (mainly onions and cabbage) and eat that to your heart's content when hungry... what it fails to tell you, is that this soup gives you so much gas that you will be embarrassed to go into public or ride in a car for any length of time after eating this soup!  "true story!"  I stuck to this diet - "to the letter" - figuring out that "no pain, no gain"!  But - it did not work.
To find something positive of this week - I did lose all cravings for sweets by the end of the week.  I still do not crave sweets!  But for the first 4 days of the diet - I was starving... going to bed hungry was the worst.  And I ate - ate a lot; just without a protein - you were never satisfied or full; constantly thinking about food and what you could not have!  IF I ever did this again... (which will be VERY unlikely) I would make only 1/2 of the recipe of "Wonder Soup".  It tasted O.K. - would have been better with cornbread or crackers or SOMETHING else along with the soup.  I threw out a bunch of soup at the end of the week, because no one would eat it!  My boys did try it and liked it - but one bowl was enough for them!


Exercise is the key - you knew that, didn't you!  I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy eating - so I will exercise and EAT  - within reason. Proportion sizes, healthy selection and "all that" helps also in foods - but I'm giving up the word DIET!  Just keeping myself on a 1200 calorie-a-day meal plan. (myfittnesspal.com)
KV and I are up to walk/run 2 miles - we have incorporated "RUN KEEPER" - it's a free app for your phone that has got us motivated, as well as, informed of our results when exercising!  It tracks our time, speed, mapping out our route, and calories burned!  We've already cut down our 2 mile route by 3 minutes. Definitely, recommend this app to you! Here is a link for RunKeeper!  


Thanks for stopping by today!  Remember to hug the ones you love the most, until next time...

District 4-H Round Up

Yahoo!  


For the last 4 months, we have been training a senior division 4-H team for Consumer Decision Making every Tuesday and Friday at lunch.


With a team of 3 boys and 1 girl - we headed to District competition Wednesday in Vernon, TX.  ("Genius" is Derrick Siebman, Mark Fierro, Harlie Depew and Alex Vannoy; L-R) Our fearless coach was Pam Foster - who had surgery Monday; but has taught us all so much!

Only one team member had been before -  but this kid is a GENIUS and really was a great example, teacher and supporter of the other three.  




They were given 6 classes - making reasons on 2 classes for the competition.  The classes were: watches, printers, TVs, nutritious snack, movie rentals and computers - (reasons on the first two classes).  


Our "genius" placed High Point overall and our team won 2nd place - earning us a place to compete at State 4-H Round Up.  Wise County dominated in all three levels winning each one - we were so happy to be in the top 3 to advance!  Congratulations team - I think you are #1!

Also competing in the "Share the Fun" division of the District 3 4-H Round-Up were both of my boys playing the piano!  


Alex won his senior division and will be going to State Round Up also in "Share the Fun" - he is so excited!  He did a great job.

Aric also participated in the musical part of the "Share the Fun" - on the Junior/Intermediate level.  This kid did AWESOME against 21 other contestants...  all piano except for 2 fiddle players!  He placed 2nd!  We were so proud of his performance and attitude!  


This level in 4-H doesn't advance to State - but he'll be there anyways! Great job, Aric!


Both boys played sections of 3 to 4 songs (that they have memorized for "The Judge") for a total of a 6-minute program. They nicknamed their "performance" music - the Vannoy Medley Mix! Crazy boys... 


Both boys have memorized 10 songs that they will play on the piano and be judged on May 19th by "The Judge"- National Guild  in Quanah, Tx! 

They sure looked very nice in their suits!  Love men in suits!  Course, I never had the chance to dress up little girls in frilly dresses, bows, tights...  grand daughters, right?


Can you see Ging in the background?  She is the "Piano Nazi" - who we owe everything too - she has worked and practiced with the boys until they have their pieces perfect!  She is one proud "granny" there - ! THANK YOU, GING! Hard work paid off today! Yahoooooo!


Thanks for stopping by!  Remember to hug the ones you love the most, until the next time...