Oh-My-Goodness-Swallow-Your-Tongue Pancakes

You guys.

I'm kind of a breakfast addict. And, by that, I mean breakfast foods. I can't think of a time when breakfast food is a bad idea. I love it all: eggs, omelettes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, breakfast bakes, muffins...whatever you want to throw at me, I love it.

That being said, most of the breakfast foods that I like aren't super great for you. Lots of sugar, lots of grease. And, since we're dairy free--I'm now running into the dairy issue. Even still, I occasionally get the urge to play around with a new breakfast recipe, instead of sticking to my new-found tried and trues.

Today was one of those mornings. Over the past six months, I've tried several different pancake recipes. I never can get quite happy with them. Something is always missing. I should mention that the one breakfast thing I don't like is syrup. Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Consequently, my pancakes need to be AH-mazing. And, so far, every recipe I've made has fallen flat. When I announced to my kids I was making pancakes this morning, Madelyn looked at me for a moment, then said, "No. No pancake. Eggs. No pancake." That's how flat they've fallen. Even Lilah looked disinterested.

"It's ok," I assured them. "This time, they're going to be amazing. Girls, you're gonna love 'em! Just wait. Give Momma half a chance, huh?" Another long heartbeat of silence. Then, Madelyn gave her customary little shrug, "Okkkkkkkaaaaaaaayyyyy," she said, dragging it out like she does when she doesn't believe you.

Undaunted, I whipped out the ingredients for yet another dairy free pancake recipe and tugged my beloved Kitchen-Aid front and center.

And, ya'll. This. This is the one. This is the dairy-free pancake to beat all pancakes. I will never go back.

They were fluffy. They were delightfully cinnamon-y. They practically begged for a little drizzle of honey and a topping of tart strawberries. They were (relatively) healthy comfort food at it's very best. And, better yet--it called for one third the amount of sugar most recipes I've seen use. ONE THIRD. (I am really preferring to sweeten things more naturally--honey is my fave way. See above: honey drizzle as opposed to syrup. A grand idea.) These pancakes didn't call for you to cook them in leftover bacon grease. (I've seen that on a ton, and why? Why would you do that?? No judgement here if you like that, but I just can't imagine it.)

And, look at them. Just look.

 (One of these days, I may quit taking pictures on paper plates...) But, they're still amazing, even on a rather plain canvas. Here's the link back to the original recipe: http://delightfuldelicacies.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-peasy.html


As always, a couple quick notes:
    First, I used my organic coconut sugar for the tablespoon of sugar. I find it lends more of a--caramel?--taste, which I prefer.
    Secondly, when it calls for a smidge of cinnamon, I went a little happy and put in a tablespoon and a half.
  Third, to butter the griddle, I used dairy free butter.
  And lastly, I mixed my dry ingredients in the Kitchen Aid, used a bowl to mix all the wet ingredients together, and then created a well in the middle of my dry. I then added the wet to the dry and mixed it together until I got the right consistency. That was instead of adding the dry to the wet and whisking it all by hand.

All in all, I've got to give this recipe five stars and then some. It was absolutely delicious. The kids ate theirs with no topping as fast as I could them off the skillet. I waited and topped with a small drizzle of honey and strawberries. Yum.


 These pancakes were so easy! From start to finish, the whole thing was completely done in less than thirty minutes. Give them a shot and tell me what you think!!!

Sesame Chicken and Veg

Uhm, yum.

Seriously, guys, this stuff was delish. Usually, when I cook, the kids like it, but pick and choose what they're feeling. Matt eats it, I eat it, and there's still some left over.

Today, so not the case.

(Granted, we were all starving after an impromptu trip out to the runner's market. And, after an Insanity workout, a smoothie to tide you from breakfast to almost two o'clock--just not going to cut it.)

Anywho, I digress. The point is, I almost didn't make the planned lunch. We almost cheated huge and went out to eat, because it was easier and would at least feel faster. Thankfully, the kids were already crying for a nap in the backseat, so we decided going out would be too risky and instead headed straight home.

This meal--sesame chicken with rice and vegetables--was super, duper easy. The ingredients were simple, the steps were well laid out--from start to finish, it's thirty minutes of cook and prep time. So, all in all, not so bad.

And, I mean, seriously. Just look at it. It's delightful. It's got just a little bit of kick and a hint of tang and...yum. Go make it. Seriously. Like, today.

In fact, here's your link:

http://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/2016/10/honey-sesame-chicken-lunch-bowls.html

That being said, a couple of notes I'd add:

First, this recipe is not laid out to cook for a meal right then. (Obviously, right? It's a meal-prep lunch bowl.) I didn't think about that, though, and so my veggies were just a hair on the cool side. Next time, I'll use two pans and make it at the same time so that everything is hot and fresh.

Secondly, I reserved a little of my sauce and stirred it into our rice for added flavor. You can choose not to, but I think it really made everything go together well.

Lastly, I didn't add salt and used low sodium soy sauce and chicken stock. Trust me, this stuff doesn't need it. (And, of course, we're trying to watch sodium intake.) It's still got quite a bit of salt, and, personally, I think adding salt to any part of it would make it a little like licking a salt lick. Without added salt, it was perfect! (I did put some Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning on the veggies.)

And that's it! Give it a shot! Tell me what you think!

Tuscan Chicken: DO IT

Ok, so another killer recipe.

 Because. Hello? Food.

Like I mentioned before, we've started being dairy free. Honestly, (I know we're only about a week in), I haven't found it just terribly difficult. In fact, Matt told me just yesterday, "I think I had a harder time switching to eating healthier foods, when we first started that, than just cutting out the dairy."

Now, I don't know if we'd still feel that way if we weren't trying new, delicious stuff all the time, but...so far, so good!

The other day, I stumbled on a recipe for Tuscan Chicken. I know that, traditionally, this recipe is fairly heavy on the dairy aspect. In fact, the blogger that I jacked the recipe from started her post with:

              "There are some original recipes that are so laden with dairy, that I wonder if I’m a pure lunatic to even try replacing them."

But, trust me, here, guys. This recipe is a definite win. 

It has sun dried tomatoes, swimming in a (miraculously dairy free) cream sauce, along with spinach, and tasty chicken. Garlic gives it another little boost of flavor, and that SAUCE. Gravy sakes, that sauce is out of this world. 

Madelyn, who I never expected to care much for tomatoes as everything new is a challenge--actually picked them OUT to eat them first. Shocker, I know. 

Lilah didn't have a favorite part, she just dug into everything in front of her with gusto. She loved every bite.

Matt insisted that this recipe be in our usual rotation, almost as soon as the first bite hit his tongue. 

I LOVED it. 

And, it was super easy!! (In fact, it was easier than the side I paired it with--Scalloped Potatoes. Though, those were delish, too!! You honestly never even missed the cheese!) 

Isn't it gorgeous?? And, to think, it tastes even better than it looks!! Quick note: That picture is not mine. That is courtesy of the original author. No copyright infringement intended, all credit where credit is due!  

The only thing I changed with this recipe was that I used low-sodium chicken broth. And, I opted for their optional choice of spinach instead of romaine. Oh, and I used about a fourth of a cup of the sun dried tomatoes instead of a half, on the grounds that they aren't cheap and I have other recipes I want that bottle for!

Here's the recipe:

http://www.allergyawesomeness.com/30-minute-dairy-free-creamy-tuscan-chicken-gf-df-egg-soy-peanut-tree-nut-free-top-8-free/?platform=hootsuite

You guys have got to try this one. Dairy free or not, it doesn't matter. This is straight up gold when it comes to feeding your family something that makes their bellies smile. It's easy and straight forward and delightful--no excuses!! :)

 Let me know what you think after you've given it a shot!!

It's Finally Here!

Guys, this is it.

Today is the day.

Today is the going-all-the-way-dairy-free day.

For the last several weeks, I've tried out some recipes, not used as much milk, as much cheese--basically, we've been nervously dipping our toes in the water, checking it out.

But, today, March the first, is the day that we quit that nonsense and cannonball on in!!

I'm super excited about the switch; I really, wholeheartedly believe that it will be a game changer for us. As I've studied up on it, I've found the health benefits to be amazing and the literature to be absolutely inspiring.

Already, we've found some recipes that we've loved: Ham and Potato Soup with Leeks, for one.

Some recipes that will probably be even better with some modifications: I'm gonna have to put Butternut Mac (As a replacement for Mac and Cheese) pretty firmly in this category.

And some recipes that we will never, ever try again: Creamy Lemon Asparagus Pasta--wow. Matt said whatever we did to that dish caused it to kill flavor. No matter what you added, no matter how much spice, and even with the pretty powerful taste of asparagus, that dish pretty much tasted like straight up wet cardboard. It never developed a flavor at all. Which was sad.

But, I digress.

Wish us luck, and send us your recipes!! (Or jump on the bandwagon with us, and I'd love to hear about it!!)