Welcome! Our New Front Door....

Today we went to ProBuild to pick out our front door for the house. No, it looks nothing like the one in the photo here...but isn't it pretty!?

I don't have a picture of it, since we chose it from looking at a catalog.

Our door will have 2 panels, one on top and one on the bottom. The top panel has a curve on the top. (Similar to this white one, but we will be painting it black, I think)

It will have a transom and sidelights, too. So...it should look something like this.

picked out the faucets

Well.... I have been busy picking out our bathroom fixtures. We are buying them from Mountaineer Wholesale Supply in Charleston. They use Delta faucets... so I got a catalog and I've been looking online. It took a long time, but I finally decided to go with the Lahara series. Here is a photo of what we are getting. This photo has the Roman tub, the showers & tubs, and the faucets. I haven't selected the kitchen faucet yet because they don't have a Lahara kitchen collection. :(

I drove over to the lot yesterday to see if I could hold my siding samples up to the brick....but the brick wasn't there yet. What was there was a bunch of block. They are going to be using that to do the foundation.

Please Vote for WHS!!

http://bit.ly/9YKEqF

Please click the link above. It should take you to a page where you can vote for WHS (or any school of your choice) to win $500,000! You have 20 votes and you can only vote for one school 5 times...so please share some of your votes with Winfield High School in Winfield, WV! I want a new classroom!!

~pancake love~

I really hope that my last post didn't make me sound like a food snob! I decided that I should share my homemade pancake recipe since it is super cheap and easy.

I know a lot of people who use Bisquick & other mixes to make pancakes (& other baked goods, etc.). Here's an easy rule of thumb to remember about prepackaged mixes: If it says "Just add water" DON'T BUY IT. As a rule, I avoid all prepackaged mixes because they are generally cheaper if you make them yourself plus they are LOADED with trans fats and preservatives. The only kind that *might* be worth buying are the ones where you add your own milk & oil, but you should still check the label for "hydrogenated oil" on the ingredient list.

Look at the Nutrition Facts label of Bisquick Original. Check out the trans fats!! (Also keep in mind 1/3 of a cup would make 2 REALLY SMALL pancakes)

My pancakes are pretty good and they are very healthy. I fed one to my 3 year old nephew without syrup and he gobbled it up! I never make them the same way twice, but here's the basic recipe:

Erin's Multi Grain Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (if you are a health food junky, replace this with more white whole wheat flour)
• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 dash salt (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. sugar (optional)
• 1 cup low-fat or fat free buttermilk
• 1 egg
• drizzle of olive oil
• 1 to 2 scoops of vanilla flavored whey protein powder (optional)
• 1/8 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Place the oats into a blender or a food-processor. Grind until the oats are a flour-like powder.
2. Begin warming a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: ground oat flour, all-purpose flour, flax, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and protein powder. Mix well.
4. Add egg and buttermilk to the dry ingredients.
5. Mix until all flour is incorporated. Let batter rest for a minute until it becomes bubbly.
6. You know how to make pancakes...but the drizzle of olive oil goes into the pan.

I make these A LOT so let me share what I do that makes preparation as easy as Bisquick. I take an old oatmeal container and I mix up enough dry mix to almost fill the whole thing up. I usually use about 8 cups of the flours (oats, white whole wheat, all-purpose, flaxseeds, buckwheat, etc.) I mix in about 3 Tbsp each of baking soda and baking powder, about 1/2 cup of sugar (brown sugar or sugar in the raw would be better), and 1/2 tsp. of salt.

I just keep all of that in my pantry and when I want to make a batch, I measure out a cup of the dry mix and add 1 egg and a little more than a cup of buttermilk. And there you have it.... pancakes as quick as Bisquick! The wet batter will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. (Although is usually separates so you have to stir it up and sometimes you may need to add a little more milk.)

Now to go with those pancakes....Turkey Sausage!! But, what about all those nitrates in sausage? Make your own! Here is a link to a recipe that uses ground turkey to make sausage. I tried it out yesterday and it was pretty good. I'm sure it would have been better if I had given it time for the flavors to mingle before I cooked it.

~Enjoy your (from scratch!) breakfast!