German Pancakes

I absolutly love German pancakes, as a child my grandma would make them for us when we would come over. Both my mother and grandmother were wonderful homemakers, who I learned a lot from- this recipe has such good memories for me- eating German pancakes at Grandma's was an event. Me and my sisters would eagerly watch through the oven window as the pancake would rise and rise, and were always amazed at how big it got. Always such a delicious treat, we regularly have them for special breakfasts. The other night while the kids and Gary were out late, I decided to modify the recipe for a single serving german pancake for my dinner. It turned out wonderfully, so I thought I would share the recipe- for both the idividual size, and the family size.

Garman Pancake- Family size (serves 4)

Preheat oven to 450 F.

1 c. milk

6 eggs

1 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

6 T. butter

In a 9x13 pan ( I have in the past had a glass dish break during this process, so I use a metal pan) melt butter in the oven until hot and sizzling- while it is heating, with a hand beater, blend well milk eggs, flour and salt. When butter is ready, carefully pour batter into hot pan and bake immediately at 450 f. for 25 minutes, or until puffed and browned. Serve immediately with powdered sugar, and syrup, some people like it with lemon juice and butter, I haven't tried that, or fresh applesauce and cinnamon, or even berries with whipped cream. My family loves it with just powdered sugar and butter.

Individual sized german pancake (pictured above):

Same directions but bake in a pie pan, 450 F.

1/3 c. milk

2 eggs

1/3 c. flour

dash of salt

2 T butter

mix like the above recipe,and then bake it in a pie pan, in this case I used a glass pie pan, I new it was sturdy enough to handle the heat, and then addition of cooler batter, you could also use a metal pie pan if you have one. It turned out perfect, and just the right size for a dinner plate, yummy!

Earth Day 2010

We had a great Earth Day this year, we had a great day out in the garden, Sarah helped me get all the annuals planted in the front yard, Gary and Joe worked on the garden fence more. I also got some of the veggies planted, although I think I was too excited and maybe planted them a bit too early this year- the weather was beautiful and sunny, but it is back to rain already, so I may get over to the garden store today to fashion some sort of greenhouse over the plants. I could not find a tree to plant, so we will have to work on that next week. I really want an evergreen for the birds. I have nearly gotten the garden ready to be registered as a backyard habitat, I still have to add bird houses, and nesting boxes, Gary and the kids will take on that project. I had my first hummingbird in the yard this morning, it was so beautiful. Our old property was a registered habitat, but it was a little easier because the property was so large, it had most of the elements in place, I hope to have the yard ready very soon. We just got back from "Greenstock" the high schools environmental club did a good job, and it was fun, I packed a nice picnic, the weather was very cold and rainy so the kids got some Oregonian training in, and luckily there was a covered picnic area. We will head back later for some more music. We watched half of Avatar, the graphics are amazing, the storyline so far has been interesting and engaging, I look forward to seeing how it ends. Hope you all were able to get outside a little for Earth week, I have included some pictures of my garden, and the fence project.

Spring Projects

I am getting very excited for gardening season to start, although I do garden pretty much year round in some way or another, late spring, and summer are always such an exciting time with so much going on in the garden. I mentioned in my last post that Gary was hard at work building me a fence to keep Cordelia (aka my crazy puppy), who loves to dig, out of my veggie garden. Gary along with my son Joseph have done a wonderful job, the fence looks so wonderful, the gate will be put on this week.

Also the kids have both been hard at work on their school work, the end of the year is always filled with lots of projects, and lots of studying. I was able to snap a candid picture of my Sarah hard at work on a history project, as well as some pictures of the guys hard at work on our fence.

We are looking forward to Earth Day 2010 tomorrow, we will be having a vegetarian day, as well as adding a new tree to the garden ( we are hoping to add a blue spruce, but we will see what the garden center has), as well as checking out the new film Avatar. This weekend we will be attending "Greenstock" a local Earth day concert in the park put on by the high school environmental club. Hope you all have a great Earth Day.

Big Fat Cookies!

It has been a busy spring, lots of birthday parties, Easter was wonderful, the kids are busy with church and school activities, and I am still trying to train my crazy puppy Cordelia. Last week I was making a huge triple batch of our families favorite cookies for my son and hubby to take to their monthly father/son church group called Knight's night. Every time I make these cookies I enjoy how easy they are to make as well as how yummy and big they are. My mom made these when I was younger, and I have been making them since the kids were tiny. The recipe was in an old children's cookbook we had growing up, probably Betty Crocker but I can't remember for sure. Thought I would share the recipe, since it is so fun and easy, perfect for beginner bakers.

Big Fat Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F.

1 box yellow moist cake mix (the kind with pudding in the mix)

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

bag of chocolate chips

Mix the cake mix with 2 eggs, and the water. Drop by large heaping tablespoons ( I use a 1/4 c. measuring cup) onto a greased cookie sheet ( I prefer to use parchment paper rather than grease) about 6 to a sheet as they get pretty big. Sprinkle a good amount of chocolate chips on the top of each cookie. Bake 8-10 minutes or until no impression remains after light touch and light golden brown on edges. Makes 16-20 cookies depending on size.

These are always a hit, hope you give them a try!

The Musgrove garden is well underway- Gary and Joseph are working on a fence for my garden to keep a certain puppy out, last week I got some peppers planted as well as some lavender and Basil, can't wait to get the rest planted! I will keep you posted. Enjoy the spring!