lazy dinner

A couple of nights ago, I was feeling a little under the weather. Nothing serious, just kind of blah.

Yet, my family still wanted to eat dinner. Isn't that the way it always is?!

I decided on a quick and easy "dinner" that my family loves. German pancakes.

Recipes have a lot of history behind them don't they? Maybe not all of them, but some.

When I was first married, Ben and I were hanging out at his parents house. I am not sure how it came about but his Mom made us these puff pancakes and called them German Pancakes. After baking, we topped them with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

This was my first time having them...and yummo! I loved them. The buttery, salty, sweetness.  Because I loved them, and so does my husband, he wrote the recipe down for me. He never does this. It is so cute to have a recipe that he wrote out. I love it!

I have seen these called many different things, Hills & Valleys, German pancakes, Puff pancakes....so whatever you want to call it, this is our recipe:

6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp. butter

Pre-heat your oven to 450*.

Beat the eggs until they are frothy. Set aside for a moment and place your butter in your 13x9 dish. (We have also made these in pie plates for a circle shaped pancake/puff). I use a cube of butter, slice it at the 5 TBSP. mark. Then I cut into pats of butter  putting  one in each corner of the pan and one in the middle. Does that make sense? You want to melt the butter while you mix up the rest of the batter. Once you have mixed all the other ingredients in with the eggs, pour it into the dish and bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.

My kids favorite way to eat these are with lemon juice squirted on the puff and than adding powdered sugar. However, I also like raspberry jam with powdered sugar. Have some fruit on the side and bacon/sausage and you have yourself a meal!

Breakfast & a Giveaway

As a Mom, I always make sure that my kiddos eat something for breakfast.

 I have said it before, and will tell them a million times, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." My kids know that I am pretty liberal about what they can eat for breakfast. I would rather have them eat a pb & j than have them go to school with a rumbly tumbly.

Of course they have their favorites...muffins, doughnuts, cereal, waffles, pancakes etc.

Due to how fast & easy, and of course  how cheap it is after using coupons, cereal is one of our go to meals. And yes on occasion we have had cereal for dinner also!


Now it is time for a confession: I am rrrrrreally bad about eating breakfast. Mornings are busy. I am locating shoes, making breakfast & lunches, signing reading logs, checking emails...we all know what it is like. So I rarely have the chance to sit down and eat something. Normally my breakfast consists of a diet Dr. Pepper...without actually eating anything until around 10ish. Bad I know.

How cute is that box?!

So when I had the chance to try out a sample of the newest, Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, I was all for it!

I had tried the cereal before, but was interested in trying it with more of the "bunches" which are my favorite part! Well, I have to say...it was totally yummy! I really liked having more "bunches" and the "Just Bunches" I am sure will find their way into my shopping cart!

It was totally yummy, filling and...healthy to boot! With only 6 grams of sugar and 10 grams of whole grains per serving, you can feel great about giving it to your family! I used skim milk and had a yogurt and a banana also!

The folks at Post have given me 3 coupons for a free box of cereal! I will be choosing 3 winners instead of just giving one person 3 coupons. You know share the wealth a bit (:

 1st entry (mandatory): leave me a comment telling me what your favorite breakfast is!
2nd entry: Follow this blog (if you already knew, just say it)
3rd entry: follow MarthaWannabe on facebook
4th entry: like Honey Bunches of Oats on facebook
5th entry: leave a comment on the HBOats facebook page and tell them that I sent you there, using my blog address

That is FIVE ways to get a free box of cereal (: Giveaway ends on May 20th...sometime in the evening!


**Disclosure policy: Post provided me with a free sample of their Honey Bunches of Oats-Honey Roasted so I could review them. However, all opinions are my own!**

Menu Plan Monday

I know it is late but...I still wanted to add my menu for this week. We are having a crazy busy week and so I will be using my crockpot a lot...and trying really hard to avoid the drive thru!

Monday:
pizza

Tuesday:
B-fast: triple chocolate chunk muffins & bananas
D: honey ham, potatoes, rolls

Wednesday:
B: scrambeled eggs w/ chopped ham
D: ham sandwiches & homemade chicken noodle soup

Thursday:
B: waffles & fruit
D: teriyaki chicken, brown rice & brocoli

Friday:
B: smoothies
D:leftovers

Saturday:
B: Breakfast with Santa at church
D: spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, salad

Sunday:
B: kids choice
D: chili mac, corn bread, green beans

For hundreds of dinner ideas from, low cost, low cal, gluten free...you can find them all at Org Junkie!

***While you are here, please enter my giveaway! Currently only one person is entered! ): You can find it here

breakFAST smoothie

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Then why is it so hard to fit it in? I am always looking for things that are quick. Or breakFAST. Get it? Ha ha!

Some of my kids are not breakfast eaters, saying, "I'm just not hungry" while other of my kids eat breakfast as soon as their head is off the pillow.

We came up with this quick smoothie and it is now Ivan's favorite. He can even drink it on his way to school if necessary. It provides fruit, dairy and protein (from the Ovaltine).

We have also used Carnation Instant Breakfast in place of the Ovaltine!

Do you have any favorite recipes that are fast and get you out of the door?

frittata!

My kids love and adore scrambeled eggs with ham chopped in it. However, they do not, absolutely do not, like fritattas! Crazy kiddos.

Ben loves eggs and so he and I usually have a frittata while the kids just have the scrambeled eggs.

So how do you make it?

-use as many eggs as desired
-put in a bowl and whisk together
-add your ingredients

We like:
ham/bacon/sausage
cheese
tomatoes
spinach
peppers
onions
...and whatever is in the fridge that we want to use up (:

-pour into baking dish (I do grease mine)
-bake at 350 for 25-30 min

I like to serve it with bisquits, fruit and juice. A yummy breakfast that is easy to make!

Muffin mania

(same nephew, different son getting the last drop!)

(My son and nephew licking a batter bowl clean!)

Muffins are pretty much a staple at my house. And not just for breakfast either! Harmony is the only one that likes nuts and so I have to omit them a lot :(
Here are our favorites though:

chocolate chip (of course!!)
bannana (sometimes I sneak walnuts in)
strawberry
bannana streusel (Ethan's ultimate favorite!)
blueberry
cinnamon streusel
chocolate made with pumpkin puree& a cake mix
spice/carrot made with pumpkin puree & a cake mix
Lemon poppy seed

What about you? What are your favorite kind of muffins?