Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

I have a confession to make...i am addicted to cookies.  Although i am sure it is not a healthy addiction, i must admit it is not one that i am putting all my effort into quitting. And, making cookies every week is practice for when i have school aged kids. Kids need homemade cookies in their lunches. Right? Well, "that's my story and i'm stickin' to it" as they say :-)

So this recipe came about when i realized my poor, lonely cookie jar has been empty for nearly three weeks! The atrocity! So i did an internet search and came upon Food Network Canada's site, I stole this recipe from Chief Michael Smith, one of my favorite Food Network stars. He lives on Prince Edward Island, which is practically next door to me in New Brunswick. On one of his shows, he likes to get his ingredients locally. Because he is somewhat local to me, i can use his recipes with no worries about sourcing the ingredients. This is one of two recipes that i stole this afternoon, the other one will come the next time i need something sweet for a pot luck, since it is something i would not be able to eat all by myself. Well, enough jabbering, on with the recipe!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.


1 stick butter.
1 cup sugar.
1 Tbsp molasses.
1 egg.
1 Tbsp vanilla extract.
1 cup oats.
1 cup flour.
1 tsp baking powder.
1 cup chocolate chips.

Blend butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and blend well. Add molasses and vanilla, mix until well combined. Stir together oats, flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoonful onto prepared sheets. Bake at 375 F for 12 to 15 minutes. Coll slightly on pans before moving to racks.

I was writing an email and left them in the oven maybe a minute to long. Oops. They are a little crispy, but not burnt. The recipe made 32 cookies. I used my new scoop for them, and when i was putting them in the oven i realized the batter was really wet. I thought that they were going to expand because of this, and almost took a few off the pan (i had eight on each) so they would not expand into each other; but i changed my mind at the last minute and they did not expand to much.

And a batter shot. I used the mixer to make the batter, and then folded in the chips by hand. The batter tasted a lot like molasses, but the first cookie i tried did not. The second seemed to have a bit more of the molasses taste. I am personally not crazy about molasses, and if it had any more in the recipe, i probably would not have chosen it.

These are a great cookie, crispy on the outside and soft inside, for now at least. Hopefully they do not go rock hard when they cool, as I find a lot of oatmeal cookies do.

The cookie jar is filled again, which means all is well in my little corner of the world. So if you need me, i'll be in the kitchen. I'll be the one hugging the cookie jar :-)

Cake Pops

This was my first go with cake pops. I have seen them around, but have never really given them much thought until i saw a post yesterday by Cupcake Kelly over at An American Cupcake in London. I looked at them and thought 'that looks neat', so i decided to give them a shot.

Now, i am not going to call my attempt an utter failure, but neither am i calling these the next big thing to come out of my kitchen. At least until i get a lot more practice, and patience, with the dipping part. I started, in my opinion, with the lazy way and ran down to the store for a cake mix and a container of icing. I whipped up the cake at about 8 pm last night and let it cool. Meanwhile, i took to the internet and got a few ideas. There are some pretty neat cake pops out there. Here is my cake, it didn't brown so well but it passed the toothpick test, so i pulled it. Because it was a plain white cake mix, i added a large tsp of vanilla when i was mixing it. 

After letting the cake cool for a few hours, i crumbled it into my large mixing bowl. Here is where i was starting to think wow...this is a lot of cake. I mixed in a bit of leftover cream cheese icing and then most of the full container of the same that i had purchased earlier. This is my bowl of crumbs after scooping out one pan full. 

I used my new cookie scoop to measure them onto cookie sheets, and then rolled them into balls. I got sixty-two, that is a lot of cake balls! By now, i am thinking these folks that sell them for 2 and 3 dollars a pop must be pulling a great profit for the small hassle. It cost me only four dollars for the cake mix and icing, plus about a dollar for the 3 eggs and maybe about 5 for the chocolate. That is 10 dollars. If i make 62 and sell them for two dollars each, that is 114 dollars profit!! Yikes! I am seeing dollar signs, especially since it does not appear that anyone sells them in my city (that i can find on Facebook and Kijiji anyway). By now, it is 11 pm, so i threw my balls in the fridge and went to bed. 

The clock rolls around to 4 am and i wake up...and can't get back to sleep. So at five i crawled out of bed and decide not to waste the time and start dipping. All i had was green chocolate, and a tiny bit of white left over from Christmas. I melted those together over a makeshift double boiler. All the recipes i found for cake pops said to dip the stick into the chocolate and then stick it into the cake, so i did this. I only had about 35 sticks and 62 61 cake balls, so i decided i was going to make the rest into chocolates. 

Finally, i started dipping. I had about 4 fall apart in the chocolate, and none turned out very pretty. I had to alternate between cookie sheets as well, sticking one back in the refrigerator after it got to warm and continuing with the next. I don't know if the chocolate was to thick, but i had it everywhere. I tried to stick them into an upside down egg carton to dry, but the chocolate dripped down the sticks and all over the place. Aside from standing with them over the pot for a full five minutes, there was nothing i could do; i decided to give them a sprinkle of heart shaped candies for something to sit on so they would not get a flat top (didn't work).

These supposedly freeze well, so i think instead of dipping the rest, i might freeze them until i can get more sticks and get some more practice. They turned out edible, but definitely not sell-able. So while i am not going to get rich off of these, at least not yet, it was a good try. Aside from the dipping,  I enjoyed making them, and i know my friends and family will enjoy eating them. That is, if they don't take one look at them and run away  :-) 

As they say, 'if at first you don't succeed, try try again'. So i think i will get some more sticks and take another whack at it. 

Taste of Hawaii Pineapple Crisp

Last Saturday when i was buying groceries, i came upon a sale of pineapples. 1.99 each! I could not believe the price, so even though i have never used fresh pineapple in a recipe, i grabbed one. I also grabbed two mangoes for 99 cents each, but that will be another story. I took it home and the pineapple sat on the counter until Tuesday. Finally i decided it needed to be cut and stored, so i did an internet search and went with a method that seemed easiest for me; knives seem to dislike me, thankfully i have never cut myself any more than what a tissue and band-aid couldn't handle; but still i have cut myself a lot. So i peeled and chopped the pineapple, and stuck the pieces still on their core into an empty ice cream container. This afternoon while at work i remembered about it and asked my cubical neighbor what i should do with the fruit. She said I should try Upside down cake (something we had been discussing last week as a good dish to bring to an April Fool's potluck).

I knew i had a recipe for an upside down cake in a new baking book i had just bought. I checked the recipe and it turns out to be for apples, peaches or pears. I really did not want to experiment to much on a recipe i have never tried, and this one took a mixture of brown sugar, butter and other things with the apples before the cake. I was afraid with the pineapple it would be to sweet to keep all this in, but i was equally afraid to just omit it. I have apples in the refrigerator, so i will try it at a later date. So i grabbed another book off the shelf (i have a lot), this one called 'The All-American Dessert Book'. I checked the index, no pineapple upside down cake (but they did have peach). I searched just pineapple and found this dessert. I thought and thought, almost changing my mind, but i am glad i decided to go with it. Here is the professional picture.

Taste of Hawaii Pineapple Crisp.


1+2/4 cups flour.
1 cup packed brown sugar.
Generous 1/4 tsp salt.
12 Tbsp (1+1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (divided)
5+1/2 cups fresh pineapple OR three 15 oz cans tidbits, well drained.
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest.
1/2 tsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger root (optional).
1+1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
1/2 cup shredded or flaked sweetened coconut.
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts, preferable unsalted (optional)
Vanilla ice cream for serving.

Preheat oven to 400 F, position rack to center of the oven. Grease a 9 inch square or 7 by 11 inch baking dish, or coat with non-stick spray.

In medium bowl, throughly stir together flour, brown sugar and salt. Sprinkle all but 2 Tbsp of the melted butter over this. Stir until topping is well blended and forms clumps.

In a large bowl, throughly stir together pineapple, 2/3 cup of above mixture, lemon zest, ginger root (if using) and remaining butter. Spread this filling evenly into baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

Stir coconut and macadamia nuts (if using) into remaining topping. Spread evenly over pineapple, breaking any large clumps with fingers. Bake 20 to 30 minutes longer, or until topping is well browned. Let cool to barely warm, then serve with scoops of ice cream.

The crisp is best fresh but will keep covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Let come to room temperature or reheat in low oven to barely warm before serving.

First off, i must say i used Becel, and I skipped both the ginger and nuts. I have never liked macadamia nuts, and i did not have ginger root on hand. I basically chose this recipe because it said they were optional. This is very sweet, i only had a small serving (it looks big above, but this is a tea saucer), and since i only have mint ice cream, i skipped it. I will have to get some vanilla sometime tomorrow.

I also didn't tightly pack the brown sugar, thankfully or else it would be much sweeter. I find it easier to just loosely pack it no matter what the recipe states. It saves me a bit of sugar and calories and i have not had any recipe issues as of yet. After the first few stirs, i found it easier to use my hands to mix the topping. It came together quite nicely that way.

This is the filling going into the oven. I left the pineapple chunkier than what comes from a can, and I almost sliced my thumb when cutting it up into the pieces. Thankfully, i missed. This recipe made my house smell divine! I pulled it out at about a quarter to ten, so i am sure my neighbors across the hall are impressed with the smells going through the building this late at night :-)

And now, i have to pack up the rest into the refrigerator and off to bed. it is almost 11 and i have been up since 7:15. It was a rushed morning today, i had a meeting at eight, and had meant to get up at 6:30 (i only live a ten minute walk from work, so mornings don't have to be to early). I guess i accidentally set the alarm clock for pm instead of am. I hit the ground running and was out the door in 25 minutes!

Hope the week is going good for everyone, and no more time mistakes for me, don't have to get up until nine tomorrow.

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Yesterday afternoon, i wanted to make something chocolaty to go with my shepherd's pie, so i decided on pudding. Usually i keep a box in the cupboard, but i checked and was out of luck, and it was after five, to late to run to the store. Last week, i had been looking for vanilla pudding recipes for a potluck, i eventually went in another direction, but remembered the recipe i found looked simple. So, i did another internet search for chocolate pudding, and found this one on all recipes. I have mentioned before that i like all recipes because you can pump in how many you are serving and it will change the amounts of ingredients, no math involved on my part. The recipe was for four servings, and i only wanted two, so i used their fancy recipe calculator and cut it in half. This is the original recipe that serves four:

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding. 



1/2 cup white sugar.
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.
1/4 cup cornstarch.
1/8 teaspoon salt.
2 + 3/4 cups milk.
2 tablespoons margarine or butter.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

I made two mistakes. One was i did not constantly stir it. I walked away for two minutes, and a layer of chocolate ended up settling. It still tasted chocolaty, but it had a slight burnt undertone. Also, a lot of pudding recipes state to put a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. You can see this skin on the above picture. it is the darker middle (my guest thought it was the best part). The half recipe filled two 1 cup ramekins about 3/4 full with this little bit left over, about a quarter cup.

I whisked together the dry ingredients and then added the milk, whisked it in good an then turned on the heat. The secret to non-lumpy gravy is mixing the flour with cold, not hot, water; so i figured it would be the same with pudding. I made sure everything was well incorporated before putting the heat to it.

It took between 5 and 10 minutes to get to this stage, with the thick scum at the bottom because i had stepped away. I let it cool for a few minutes before putting it into the bowls. Thankfully, the pot only needed a soak for a but, then the scum scraped right off with a rubber spatula. I think the pudding could have set up a bit firmer, it was set, but still a bit jiggly, it reminded me of Jell-o the way it moved when i tipped the dish. I learned my lesson for the next time...if it says stir constantly, it means stir constantly!!!

Shepherd's Pie

Happy First day of Spring!! It was beautiful all day, i had the windows open half the day, and  I spent most of it in the kitchen. I started by cleaning the refrigerator, and then went onto all the top cupboards, the counters in and behind everything, then the drawers and finally the bottom cupboards. All i have to do now is sweep and mop, and clean the top of the refrigerator.

I also had company for dinner tonight, and when i asked for requests i got Shepherd's Pie, so that is what i made in my brand new Dutch oven. I have never really made Shepherd's Pie (except for with sweet potatoes), so i started with an internet search. I poked through a few recipes and then just decided to throw one together on my own.

I started with about a pound of hamburger, i fried it up, drained it and sprinkled it with some Italian spice; i also boiled some carrots, but only until they were half done because i did not want them to turn to mush; and i thawed some frozen peas by running them under hot water.

I got these carrots in the City Market, they were yellow, orange and red (the red peeled/boiled off). Next, i made a batch of mashed potatoes, only this time i added chopped garlic and Becel instead of garlic butter, and i used a lot of Old Cheddar, as the request was for cheesy Shepherd's Pie.

Finally, i made a gravy out of about 2/3 of a cup of beef broth, 1+1/2 Tbs flour and a sprinkle of Italian spice, to tie it together with the meat. I whisked them together and let it simmer until it thickened.

Yummy. Now time to layer it. Into my beautiful purple pot went the beef and gravy. 

And then the veggies.

On top of these, i sprinkled some more cheese, and then i spread the potatoes on thick. 

Finally, i threw it into the oven at about 375 F for about 30 minutes, until i could stick a knife through it and it came out hot. 

I served it with some of Mom's homemade Bread & Butter pickles and steamed asparagus. I found the method on a website called Start Cooking. As per their suggestion, i sprinkled some lemon juice over it.Wow, was it ever sour!

So if today is any indication of what the rest of Spring is to be like, bring it on!! Tonight was also the final game of the Seadogs regular season, and they won 7-2, Yay! So, with this win, they are the first team in the QMJHL history to win every regulation time home game in a season(the only loses they suffered were from overtime shootouts), and they tied for the most wins in a season. Yay Seadogs!! 

Happy Spring!!

Mashed Taties

The brownies i made last night disappeared at the potluck today...i am taking that as a sign of deliciousness :-) so tonight, i decided to make something closer to the Emerald Isle, mashed potatoes. They are not for dinner tonight, but rather for lunch tomorrow. Lately, i have been trying a new diet of sorts, to kick me out of my weight loss plateau. Instead of eating a light lunch, snacking in the afternoon and eating a heavy dinner; i have been trying to take a heavier lunch to work with me, full of carbs, and then having a lighter dinner with fewer carbs. Thus far i have been able to skip the afternoon snack. Monday, i took some Chili out of the freezer, that night i made a big bowl of macaroni with garlic bread for Tuesday; yesterday i had some chicken wraps and a half cup of rice, and today pot luck. So tomorrow, i decided mashed potatoes and chicken. I threw a chicken breast in the oven with some orange sesame salad dressing, it soaks in and makes for orangey chicken. As for the potatoes, these are my steps to perfect cheesy mashed potatoes.

Start with potatoes (duh!) Peel them, chop them (remove the eyes), and boil the heck out of them until they are soft. Drain. These two big potatoes made enough for three to have a small serving (see picture at the bottom), or maybe two to have a nice sized serving.

Mash them. I like mine a little lumpy, so i don't mash them a lot. You can mash them until they don't exist if you want. Great for taking out frustrations. :-)

Add about 1/4 cup milk, a Tbsp garlic butter and a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Mix it up and add a good sprinkle of grated cheddar, and maybe some mozzarella as well. I used prepackaged double cheddar tonight. Stir again and serve!

This is two servings, there was still about the same amount in the pot.  I got this bowl tonight for three dollars while I was out getting some new cutting boards, i ended up with some really nice bamboo ones, this bowl and a 12.99 dutch oven. I can't wait to break that in, it is something i have wanted for a long time. I considered buying some mini dutch ovens because they were so darn cute, but i went with the big one instead.

Hope everyone had a lucky St. Patrick's Day!!

Double Chocolate Mint Brownies

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, and so we are having a potluck at work. I was originally planning on making homemade vanilla pudding, but i changed my mind when i saw this recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook this morning. I just had to steal the recipe and try it. There are three layers to this brownie, two made with chocolaty goodness, and a third of delicious mint.

Double Chocolate Mint Brownies.


Layer One: Brownie.


1/2 cup butter.
1 cup brown sugar.
1/4 cup cocoa.
1/2 tsp vanilla.
2 eggs.
3/4 cup flour.
1/2 tsp baking powder.
1/2 cup chopped nuts.

In medium saucepan, melt butter; remove from heat. Add sugar, cocoa and vanilla; beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined. Add flour and baking powder, stir until smooth. Fold in nuts.
Bake in 9 by 9 inch pan at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes, until center is just set. Check with toothpick, some should stick, indicating it is perfectly moist! Do not over bake! Cool completely.

Layer Two: Mint.


2 Tbsp butter, softened.
1 cup icing sugar.
1-2 tsp cream.
1/2 tsp mint extract.
1-2 drops green food coloring (optional).

Combine all ingredients, being sure to add only 1 tsp cream, adding second only if necessary. Beat until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies and chill.

Layer 3: Chocolate Glaze.


3 oz (squares) semi sweet or milk chocolate.
1 Tbsp butter.

Melt together in microwave, stirring until smooth. Spread over mint layer. Chill at least 30 minutes, until set, before cutting.

I waited the 30 minutes, but i think i should have waited an extra 10 or so, as you can see by my fingerprints on the top. I also gave them a smattering of clover sprinkles, to give them a bit more St.Patrick's Day appeal. I skipped the nuts and only had to use one and a half tsp milk in the center layer. I used milk because i did not want to purchase an entire container of cream for a couple teaspoons.

These are good as they look, but i could not really taste the bottom chocolate. It might be because i used to much mint, it kind of overpowers. The batter was quite chocolaty! After baking it, i let it set in the pan for 10 minutes, then i put it on a rack for ten more and finally into the fridge for 30 minutes. I wanted it to cool fast because i didn't get started until after six; i only had about 4 hours, i didn't want to waste all that time waiting for things to cool and set.

They didn't quite raise, either...my baking powder has gone lumpy i gave it a good shake to break it up, but i think i may need to freshen it up with a new container.

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day to those who are Irish. I live in 'Canada's most Irish city', so we usually have lots of festivities! Actually, one of my all time favorite quotes is an Irish Blessing.

May the Road rise up to meet you,

May the Wind be always at your back,

May the Sun shine warm upon your face,

The Rain fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the Palm of His hand. 

M&M Ice Cream Pie

I won a blog draw last week! Moogie over at Moogie & Pap sent me a home made apron, a new cookie & cupcake book, and this huge bag of M&Ms. I honestly do not recall ever seeing one this big before (but my Dad said they are around). My 4 year old nephew K was amazed by the size as well, he has never seen a bag of M&Ms this big.

Since we were visiting Nannie and Grampy this weekend, we decided to share the wealth. We gave Grampy and Auntie Naomi each a sandwich baggie of M&Ms, and Nanny fell in love with the homemade apron, so we passed it onto her. I forgot to get a picture of her in it! Next time.We also thought Sunday afternoon is a great time to spend in the kitchen, so we decided to invent our own recipe and make M&M Ice cream pies!

While we were out getting an ingredient for a potluck this week, we stopped at Dairy Queen and got a container of ice cream. They fill these with the remnants in the machine and sell them for 2.99 each. We made a graham cracker crust from a recipe on the All Recipes website. We put it into 4 mini pie tins and 2 star shaped pie tins.

Graham Cracker Crust


1 +1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs.
1/4 cup sugar.
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted.

Combine and press into pie pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 F until browned. Cool completely before filling.

While we waited for them to cool, we played Mario Party 8. Meanwhile, the ice cream sat in the fridge, softening up. We put it into a bowl and mixed in about 3/4 cup of the M&Ms.

And then dumped it into the pre-made crusts.I also drizzled them with chocolate, to make them look a bit fancier :-)

Finally, i threw them into the freezer for an hour while i made a yummy home cooked meal of chicken nuggets and fries. And some boiled carrots...gotta have a veggie! Finally, the time for slicing arrived! Yummy!

This turned out delicious, and it made lots! I think if i do it again, i will make a full sized one. Of course, this only used up a bit of that huge bag of M&Ms...i may have to throw them into the freezer too!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!!

Chicken Potpie Empanadas

I found this recipe a few days ago on a blog i follow, Apples and Twinkies, they looked very good, so i stole it. I like stealing recipes. Since i am working late tonight, i decided to make this and bring one for dinner; i also just ate another for lunch.  I had a few pastry issues and i changed a couple things in it, but otherwise it is a great recipe!

Chicken Potpie Empanadas.



1 Tbsp unsalted butter.
1/2 yellow onion, diced.
1Tbsp flour.
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth.
1 10 oz box frozen peas and carrots.
1 3to 4 Lb  rotisserie chicken, meat shredded.
kosher salt and black pepper.
2 refrigerated 9-inch pie crusts.


Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Slowly stir in the broth. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and carrots, chicken, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Cut each piecrust in half. Spoon the chicken mixture over one side of each half-circle, leaving a half inch border. Using your fingers, wet the border with water. Fold the crust over the chicken. Press to seal. Make 3 slits in the top of each.
Bake at 400 F for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden.

So now for my switch-ups and screw-ups. They are a bit bland because i forgot the salt and pepper. Oops. Because pastry has an ongoing hatred of me, and i did not get out to buy the refrigerated kind, I used a packaged mix. I won't be using that brand again. It was sticky, i had to use oodles of flour, and it is crumbly because of that. All i had to add was water, and i added the 4 Tbsp as per instructions, but it was to much. It stuck to the board, the rolling pin and everything else. I had flour everywhere! Anyway, Pasty still hates me. I have never done anything to it to cause the hatred...I guess when i open my own bakery, i will have to get my big sister to be my pastry chief, as it is something she is great at!

Switch up number one was i used fresh carrots rather than frozen, and this caused oops number two. While i was paying attention to peeling and cutting the carrots, i wasn't to the flour, and it burnt a bit. Not enough to taste bad, but enough to make the sauce darker than it ought to be; the above picture makes it look lighter than it actually is, it looks more like beef gravy than chicken. Just a bad day in the kitchen, i guess. I also used 2 small chicken breasts instead of a full chicken, it was easier and something i had on hand.

This is a delicious. quick meal that i recommend anyone who likes pot-pies to try. It really only took me about 30 minutes start to finish, including thawing and cooking the chicken, so it would be a great hearty meal on one of those nights that you have to get out the door!

Hope everyone is having a great week, it's almost the weekend!

Homemade pancakes

Happy Pancake Day (for real this time) or, Happy Shrove Tuesday, or Happy Mardi Gras! My calendar may have fooled me last month, but not this time. And since i am working the late shift today i can not cook pancakes for dinner, so i decided to have them for breakfast. I got this recipe from All Recipes. I like their website because you can change the number of servings and it gives you new numbers...i was never a math student, i can easily double a recipe, but halving it sometimes is more difficult. The original recipe serves eight, i used half of that since it is only me and i do not want a repeat of last month's 4 day pancakes; here is the full recipe.

Homemade Pancakes


1+1/2 cup flour.
3+1/2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp salt.
3 Tbsp sugar.
1+1/4 cup milk.
1 egg.
3 Tbsp melted butter.

In large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In another, whisk together wet. Add wet to dry and mix well. On hot skillet, drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls, fry until bubbly and edges firm up. Flip and cook other side. Serve with syrup.

I got three medium sized, but thick, pancakes. I also poked a few frozen blueberries into them. Not so fancy this time, i just used store bought syrup. I am not crazy about real maple syrup (and i am supposed to be Canadian), and i didn't have time or berries to whip up another batch of berry syrup.

The only thing i did not halve in the recipe was the egg...it told me to, but really? Not the easiest thing to do, and what would you do with the other half? These pancakes turned out great, and i think the recipe would go into the waffle iron just as well. Now that Mardi Gras is here, it is a downhill slide to Easter, and Spring!! The sun is finally shining today, to. All the rain of the weekend took away the snow, so it can't be long now!!