In Texas we get cold rain instead of snow, which is not nearly so Winter Wonderland-ish as the white powder. It’s cold, dreary and very, very muddy. The kind of mud that sucks up mud boots of little boys and has my washing machine churning through the heavy duty cycle. Since we’ve been fighting generic winter colds, I’ve been low on energy and creativity.

Enter an easy dinner to make life just a bit simpler.

I warmed tomato soup from a box on the stove and made some grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches. For the first time ever, I didn’t even stand over the stove cooking bacon, but laid it out on foil on a cookie sheet and popped it into the over. This is how restaurants do it…I don’t know why I haven’t done it before. So easy and zero clean up.

It was declared the “Best Dinner Ever,” especially since the boys could dip their sandwiches into their soup, ranking it behind my (in)famous nacho dinners when Dad is gone. Got to remember to keep this one on the back burner.

Good morning, ladies!

This morning, I am thinking about breakfast options, and realizing that our boxes of cereal have gone untouched for the past few days. We have been relying more on oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, and homemade muffins/pancakes/waffles to get us going in the morning, and I would love to expand our repertoire and add some new items. There are some mornings that cereal does the job just fine – I especially like Special K because it has large amounts of protein, but it lacks fiber. However, with a son who doesn’t eat lunch until 12 at school (he leaves the house at 7:30) and some daughters who aren’t big lunch eaters, I feel a great responsibility to feed them a hearty and nutritious breakfast!

If you have a minute, please share you breakfast ideas and recipes – my family will thank you! To get us started, I will share one of my favorite homemade pancake recipes – this recipe uses oatmeal in the batter, making for a nice nutty texture. We often eat ours without syrup because the flavors from the brown sugar and cinnamon are so wonderful. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Pancakes (from the Better Homes and Gardens “Cooking for Two” cookbook – I’ve doubled the recipe and made some modifications)

Heat 1 c. of milk in a microwavable dish until hot – stir in 2/3 a c. of oats (I use old-fashioned), stir, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together 2/3 c. flour, 2 T. brown sugar, 2 t. baking powder, 1/4 t. salt, and 1/2 t. ground cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

In a small bowl stir together 2 beaten eggs, 2 T. cooking oil, and 1 t. vanilla.

Add the oat mixture and egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Let the batter rest for a couple of minutes.

For each pancake, pour about 1/4 c. of batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat about 3 minutes or until pancakes are golden brown. Enjoy!