Pancake Bites!

You can now cross this off my Pinterest list!

Source: theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com via Libby on Pinterest

                                                   

Instead of going out to breakfast this past weekend I decided spur of the moment to make these delish pancake breakfast bites.

In place of using of using a mix I made a whole wheat pancake batter from scratch. Which, to me at least, tastes so much better than any mix and it's SO easy! Added bonus to making your own batter: no preservatives.

Recipe from my Better Home & Gardens cookbook: 

                        Mix together: 

• 1
  cup whole wheat flour
• 1
  tablespoon sugar
• 2
  teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
  
  
  Mix in a separate bowl: 
  
  
• 1
  beaten egg
• 1
  cup milk
• 2
  tablespoons cooking oil
  
  
  Mix the dry ingredients with the wet and voila! 
  
  
  tip: do not over mix the two. you want it to be a little lumpy (esp if you're doing traditional pancakes in a pan). Having a thicker consistency makes fluffier pancakes ;). 
  
  

Spray the cupcake pan with Pam (I have one that has flour added, great for baking). Pour your batter into each section to about 3/4 full each.

As you can see I tried a row with some frozen berries...they were a hit with the little one. 

This picture was really to show you the oven thermometer.  I swear by that thing. My sister got it for me and my cooking has gotten 20x better since (in my book lol). My oven is always about 15-20 degrees too high...makes a BIG difference. Now got get one! 

Now add your precooked bacon, which you chopped into pieces...while taste testing of course, to the top of each pancake bite. Bake at 350 for 12-14 mins. Mine took about 16 mins...just saying. They will be golden on the top and dry in the middle. Enjoy! 

I also used cupcake liners thinking it would be easy clean up but in reality the pancake stuck to it and it was a waste of pancake (a sin, I know!)....no wonder she didn't use them in the original recipe. lesson learned: no cupcake liners, just Pam. 

These are a must for Christmas/New Years morning's to come...and any other excuse we can come up with.

Guess who's counting calories again?! Yep, this girl. 2 pancake bites are about 215 calories. Not too bad for bfast...but make sure you add syrup calories if you're counting too.

If you're counting calories or are looking for a better way to do so, check out myfitnesspal.com . It's a free phone app and website. You can look up any/all foods, track your progress and set goals! It totally keeps me in check and syncs your computer and phone so there is no excuse. If you do check it out or you're already on there, add me: libbs08.

-LL

                 

Pinterest lately?

Still sleepy from that much loved 3 day weekend. I hope everyone else's was great!

Just wanted to share a two pinterest pins I've done lately...quite a bit actually (sources included).

1. Caramel Potatoe's Crockpot BBQ Ribs.

Source: caramelpotatoes.com via Libby on Pinterest

The slight change that I made was that I used about 1 TBL of paprika and no cayenne pepper. I never seem to have cayenne and the paprika adds a delicious kick with that brown sugar rub :). 

I've made these a few times and they are AMAZING every time!! Seriously go try these right now. go. now! 

2. lemon ice blocks 

Source: marthastewart.com via Rachel on Pinterest

will upload of pic of them in use later

I love these! I've done this for two parties now and love them. For the last party I did I added raspberries. It looked cute and even tinted the lemonade to a pink. Which was even better because I couldn't find pink lemonade in the store! lol

It's a simple idea. Wish I thought of it. Cut lemon slices and add whatever your heart desires (next time I'm throwing in basil too!), place each slice in a muffin/cupcake tin, add water, freeze and voila! Large ice cubes with flavor :). 

Love,
LL

Gettin' Healthy: Protein Box

Since getting on my fitness kick again I've been trying to stick to a high protein diet. Not being all crazy about it. Just making sure my carb intake is very VERY low. So pretty much little to no carbs. Not Atkins, more like South Beach (in case you're familiar with either). 

I thought I'd share my protein pack with you all. I love the Sbux protein bistro box, but my wallet does not. Especially since I could easily eat that thing everyday. So here you go, a thrifty and quite easy do-it-at-home protein pack. 

Nice little container was $1. at the Mexican market...woot! 

Package of 8 small creamy peanut butter cups was $2.99. I do like love the Justin's peanut butter packs in the sbux box but they are expensive for just one =\. 

Cut a few slices of low-fat cheese, one apple (or a half if you'd like), 1 small bunch of grapes, hard-boiled egg, toss in an easy to-go peanut butter pack (the one shown in the sbux bow is also available in stores, just suoer pricey) and you're good to go! 

Sbux's box at $4.95 vs. IELM protein box, no more than $1.50

The only item I didn't include was the museli bread.

I eat mine about a 1/2 hour to 45 mins before my workout. I think it gives me an extra boost. And it's also my bfast lol. win/win. 

Next I would normally talk to you about carbs and compare the two, but I'm not counting carbs, just high protein intake...so I'm not even gonna go there ;). Trying to go this route and see where it takes me. If you are still interested in counting carbs (which does work) here are a few sites that I've used in the past. 

myfitnesspal.com

calorieking.com

livestrong.com

It's really not that hard, take a few mins before you turn off the kitchen lights for the night and pack everything for the next morning. I made the eggs in a big batch so it's even quicker to pack for the next week. Don't get me wrong, if I'm stranded and need a boost I will still buy theirs, but this is nice for the everyday, not-stranded situation. 

Here's another nice tid-bit about snacking with protein before a workout (via pinterest) --->

Source: healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com via Libby on Pinterest

Gettin' Healthy: Kale Chips!

Have you had them yet? Well I made them and they were delish! 

I'm finally getting back in to my motivated-eating-healthy-'n-exercising-self...hallelujah! 

These are so easy to make. As easy as 1.2.3 (no really look below) and ever so healthy for you. And if you know me you know I'm a big snacker. I love munchies. After making these I noticed myself eating them up like popcorn, that's when I knew we had a winner.

 FYI, I loooove movie theater popcorn. I think I can eat a large all by myself. Sad, I know. 

1. wash the kale, pat it dry and tear it into chip-size pieces. 

2. drizzle olive oil and garlic salt.

  (I wouldn't add too much of either, wait till they're done to see if they need more salt)

3. place the kale on a non-greased baking sheet and in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20mins. 

I think the next time I make them I'll try some paprika for a kick. 

See, so easy huh? Now go try it! 

I would also like to report that I made it back to the gym today at lunch after a loooong time. Man did it feel good. I'm sure my muscles will pay me back tomorrow hah.

Vayda was not amused 

Lori is still my little food tester ;) haha  

We'll see how long that lasts...

Tuesday Treats {9}

A little about Libby:

I'm a coconut.

Translation: Brown on the outside, white on the inside

If you know me you're well aware. Some people may take that phrase offensive and to each their own. But it's actually me through and through. It's really ironic because I was born in Quito, Ecuador! I was learning to speak both Spanish and English and right before my 3rd birthday (I believe), we moved. We moved to Nairobi, Kenya (more on the moves to come, I promise). For some reason the parentals stopped speaking Spanish and I lost all of the Spanish I had learned up to that point. Now my parents say that I still have it in there somewhere...so this is my journey to find it. I can't think of a better way to "find" it than to learn with my girls :).  I've learned to live with my coco-nutty-ness, but that's all going to change.
 
So, for this Tuesday's Treat I am going to share with you a super simple salsa recipe I got from my wonderful Mother-in-Law and wonderful Tia (in-law as well) :). In Spanish! Learn with me...come on, it will be fun! And if you already know Spanish, feel free to correct my google-translate below hahaha.

Tomato Salsa!

Salsa de Tomate



boil until the skin separates, like shown above.



You may began to cough at this point if you're jalapeno is a good one.
Don't worry, it's not as strong as it smell (not promising though).

Anyone know of a blender giveaway going on? I hate mine.



I served mine on top of some yummy chicken tostadas, MMM.
p.s. that's Mexican Crema, not a deviled egg haha
P.p.s Mexican Crema is AMAZING.



Have anything you want to link up and share?

It can be a favorite blog post, craft, giveaway, anything goes...surprise us! If you do, please add my 'Tuesday Treat' button to the post you are sharing. And don't forget to leave comments on other posts that are shared, I mean who doesn't love comments?! Happy Tuesday!










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Also Linking here:

Tuesday Treats {5}

Hello hello and Happy New Year!!

I hope you all had a wonderful NYE. The hubbs and I spent it inside this year with the girls. We watched a few movies had some cold stone (mmm) and quite frankly it felt like any other night haha. But it was nice to be in and Vayda sure did love yelling happy new year from the balcony haha. 

Do you ever get a late night sweet tooth? Last night I wanted something sweet SO bad. Which leads me to my Tuesday Treat. Have you ever made chocolate cake in a mug?! You must if you haven't, if you have and have different versions, please share! The recipe I followed is from 2 Stews, picture from 2 stews as well. Enjoy!!!

1-2-3 Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2-3 tablespoons sugar (according to desired sweetness)

1 tablespoon flour

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as canola

3 tablespoons egg white or plain Egg Whites in a carton

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

optional:

1 teaspoon chocolate chips

*As a variation, substitute almond extract for the vanilla.

Also, you can change the chocolate chips to any flavor chips you'd like.

In a 1-1 1/2 cup microwave safe mug, blend cocoa, sugar, and flour together. Add milk, oil, egg

white and vanilla. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes, (or until you've sung Happy Birthday 6 times!)

making sure to get all ingredients incorporated. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, if desired. Bake

in microwave for 2 minutes. Check to make sure it is cooked on the bottom by lifting it a little with

a spoon. If it is runny, cook 10 seconds more at a time until done. Do not overcook, as it will be

rubbery. It puffs up and may overflow, but that is OK, it deflates somewhat as it cools. You want

the texture to be moist and slightly undercooked. Let cool until just warm and serve with whipped

cream squirted fresh from the can.

Serves one.

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Have anything you want to link up and share on this lovely Tuesday? It can be a favorite blog post, craft, anything...suprise us! If you do, please add my *new* Tuesday Treat button to the post you are sharing. And don't forget to leave comments on other posts that are shared, I mean who doesn't love comments?! Thanks a million!

Tuesday Treats {4}

Well I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!! We had a great one! We spent Christmas Eve at my parents in LA. We mad tamales and watched the (awful) Charger game. Then we ate a great meal together, opened presents, read the birth of 6lb 8oz baby Jesus (lol) and sang a few carols. We drove back that evening and I wrapped the night away...with a nice little glass 'o wine.

Vayda woke up at about 7am and discovered Santa brought her a big girl bike!! We had so much fun unwrapping our presents and stockings. And did I mention my husband is thee greatest?! He got me a Canon Rebel!! Did you hear? A CANON REBEL!!! Ahhhh I am SO excited to learn this little bad boy!

So after snapping a few candid shots (photos coming soon), I got to making coffee and getting the kitchen ready for a morning of cooking breakfast with my awesome Mother-in-law. We made her famous Christmas breakfast...and quite frankly, it's the only thing the hubbs truly looks forward to Christmas day (so I better get it down pat haha). It's kind of a breakfast casserole. Cooked potatoes with a few onions for taste, bacon pieces and lots of Monterrey Jack cheese. After each item is cooked in a skillet to get crispy (except the cheese) you throw it all in a casserole dish, add the cheese and bake for about 10-15mins. While that was going we made eggs to order and chopped up tamales and fried them....OH-SO-GOOD! Pair that with some fresh oj and you're set!

Ready for the Tuesday Treat?! Jalapeno poppers! These little guys were a hit and so easy!! Found on pinterest (duhh lol) I had to try these out.

All you need is a tube of cressent rolls, a block of cream cheese and jalapenos. On the recipe that I found she added a Tbl spoon of sugar but I liked them better w/o the sugar. To each their own though.

Toss the cream cheese in a bowl and microwave it on high for about 30 secs. Just to get it soft. Dice as many jalapenos as you like. We like things spicy in the Arreguin household lol so I did about 1 cup of diced jalapenos. Throw those little suckers in the cream cheese and mix it all together.

Open the cresent roll can and pinch together two triangles. In the end you should have 4 rectangle and no perforated edges. With the back of your spoon, spread the cream cheese mix onto the center of your rectangles. roll these bad boys up with the long side. You should have 4 long logs now. Cut each log in half (use a super sharp knife), then that log in half etc. You should have 32 small "stumps" or rolls. I used parchment paper or you can place them straight on the baking sheet, but make sure you use cooking spray, they will stick.

Place them with the cream cheese side facing up and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 mins. These will go fast!

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Have anything you want to link up and share on this lovely Tuesday? It can be a favorite blog post, craft, anything...suprise us! If you do, please add my *new* Tuesday Treat button to the post you are sharing. And don't forget to leave comments on other posts that are shared, I mean who doesn't love comments?! Thanks a million!