Just a random wednesday

Today I decided to do my Bible study instead of baking something during Hannah's nap.  I am in the middle of Beth Moore's study "Paul" and it is sooo good!!!!  This past week I have been baking during her nap and that is usually when I did my study.  So, I decided to do every other day and I'll see how that goes.  I love my Bible study and I love baking.  How do I fit it in with my already very busy days??
Tonight Chad comes home after being gone since last Tuesday!  We are so very excited but it has been a good week.  Usually when he's gone, it's a little easier to slack on the cooking, cleaning and pretty much everything else!  It's so easy to just sit around and miss him!!  But this week, I planned ahead some fun things to do with the girls and it was a really fun week, aside from missing him. 
The first thing was a picnic dinner at a park where the girls could eat and then play.  That was really fun until right before we were to leave, V fell backwards off the teeter totter and really scraped up her back and that fun time was ended by a lot of crying!  I felt so bad but by the time we got home and put some ice on her back, she was pretty happy but sore!
The next thing I planned was a movie night.  She had school off friday and so thursday night we rented the movie 'Marmaduke', put H to bed and her and I stayed up to watch it.  And friday was our big donut making day!!  That deserved a whole post by itself.  :)
We made caramel apples the next day but the caramel got too hard, we put them on foil instead of wax paper and that whole thing pretty much turned out to be a big mess!  Oh well, it was a fun memory of trying to eat them with hard caramel and picking foil out of our teeth!  Painful but fun.  :)
On wednesday nights I usually make pancakes or crepes for dinner- Chad usually isn't home for dinner and I have to rush V off to church so that's a pretty quick easy thing to make.  She LOVES pancakes and crepes for breakfast, lunch or dinner!!  I try and add healthy things to them like blueberries, flaxseed (which she DOESN'T LIKE) or wheat germ.  She loves when I add mini chocolate chips because when she puts peanut butter on top with syrup, she thinks they taste like Reeses Peanut Butter cups. :)  For a side,  I like to sautee apples in cinnamon, a little bit of sugar and thicken them up with cornstarch and water- they are sooo good!
I thought I would share my recipes but I'm sure you have favorites of your own.

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
2 T. oil
1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Blend egg, milk and oil.  (Sometimes I substitute applesauce for the oil and they are really moist!) 
Blend dry ingredients together.
Add to liquids; beat together until well blended.  (batter will be slightly lumpy)
Pour on hot griddle and cook til bubbly, then flip.  Makes about 8 pancakes (1/4 cup of batter)  Enjoy!

Crepes
4 eggs
1 1/3 c. milk
2 T. oil or butter melted
1 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly.  Add all remaining ingredients and beat til smooth.
Heat 7-8" skillet over med-high heat until hot.  Grease pan lightly.
Pour scant 1/4 c. batter in hot pan and immediately tilt pan until batter covers bottom.  Cook til edges start to dry and get brown and center is set.  (about 1 min.)  Turn over to other side for about 15 seconds.  Enjoy!

I like to make my own syrup because I can't stand giving my family syrup with a bunch of "unknown" ingredients!  I know I am giving them pure sugar in my syrup but I guess I'd rather do that then fill them up with something that has a shelf life of a year!!

Homemade Syrup
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 c. water
1/2 t. maple flavor extract or butter extract
Combine sugars in small saucepan.  Add salt and water.  Bring to a boil for 1 min.  Remove from heat and add flavoring.  Cool and serve. I store mine in a glass jar in the refrigerator and just microwave it when they want it warm.    Enjoy!

The first time I made this, I ran out of store bought syrup so I found this recipe on the internet.  I made pancakes one morning and I made this but I didn't tell my family it was homemade.  Victoria asked me why the syrup was different and Chad said it was because it was warm!!  I fooled them!! I told them it was homemade and they said they really liked it!