Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

These pancakes are the easiest, healthiest and tastiest pancakes I have ever had. I found this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago when we were in Florida. Yay for Pinterest!
 Andrew and I started eating a lot of Greek yogurt in Florida, so when I saw this recipe I thought it would be a fun one to try, but I really didn't think it would work (or be good) because there were so few ingredients. I never had the chance to try them in Florida, I was bummed. But Monday was a rain day here so Andrew got to stay home! *Happy me* :) He convinced me to try them, but I was still skeptical. I even had a back up recipe ready just in case these didn't turn out....Needless to say, I didn't have to use that back up recipe because we LOVED these. They are so delicious and actually pretty healthy. Andrew figured out that each batch has about 40 grams of protein. Another reason why he loved them so much, he ate 7! :)

I really didn't change much of this recipe, I just used some different ingredients. I will put what I did in italics next to the original ingredients. :)

Ingredients:
(Makes about 4 medium/large pancakes, I made 2 batches and made them on the more small/medium side)

6 oz container of Greek yogurt, vanilla or your favorite flavor (I used 3/4 cup of plain non-fat Greek yogurt)
1 egg
1/2 cup Flour (I used whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
(To make up for the lack of sweetness from the flavored yogurt, I poured a little bit of maple syrup in to the batter to sweeten it. I'm sure honey or even agave would work as well.)

::In a bowl, mix the yogurt and egg together well. The resulting mixture should be pale yellow in color and have a few lumps here or there.

::Mix flour and baking soda together. Do NOT be generous with your half cup of flour, make sure you measure it out, maybe even do slightly less than a half a cup.

::Slowly pour yogurt and egg mixture in to flour and baking soda.

::Stir together until combined. The batter will be extremely thick, don't worry, it's suppose to be that way. (If you need to sweeten it now would be a good time to do it.)


::Spoon batter on to a sprayed medium/high griddle, flip when bubble appear on top. (I spread mine out a little with my spoon, but don't worry they will melt some as they cook)



::Enjoy.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

And we're back...

After an incredible almost 3 months in Florida, we are back in Nebraska. We are so grateful for the time we had in Florida, spending time with family and friends and the consistency of work schedules allowing us both to stay busy, but also spend more time together than ever. I personally, loved the work I was doing, teaching and coaching volleyball, and I already miss my girls! I know they are going to do great the rest of the season. And I know Andrew really enjoyed his job down there. We were both very sad to leave. 

After my volleyball tournament Sunday afternoon, Andrew and I hopped in the car and drove straight to Nebraska, making it in a record 21 and a half hours! We arrived in Nebraska around 11 am Monday Morning.

So now we are back, and Andrew's busy season is in full swing. With the strangely warm winter Nebraska had {and are still having} irrigation installations have already begun.  Andrew headed to work Monday right after lunch. That amazing man of mine went to work on less than 2 hours of sleep. AND fun fact: after only working half the day on Monday, he has still put in approximately 69 hours this week.  Seriously, he is amazing. And like I said, busy season is in fullll swing!

 I've enjoyed the opportunity to go with him 2 days this week, so I haven't had to be away from him all 69 hours he's been at work. Plus, I get to work alongside my fabulous brother's and sister's in law as well as see my handsome husband all day long and get a crazy workout all the same time. 



Side note-Before our anniversary, I made this super cute little number 1, in anticipation of taking One year anniversary pictures with our awesome photographer and friend, Michele Moreman. So stay tuned for more pictures to come. :)

"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 100:5

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Our First Anniversary

To celebrate our one whole year of marriage, we took a little, 4 day weekend, trip to one of my favorite places in the world, New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Its terrible how often I resort to taking pictures on my phone, rather than lugging my huge {but awesome} camera around. Unfortunately, I was guilty of the aforementioned problem this weekend on our one year anniversary trip. We were just having so much fun, my camera got forgotten. But I did remember it, once... or twice? lol :)

Sunday was our last night, so even though it was the 4th, we decided to start celebrating a little early. We went out to dinner at a fun little beachy restaurant in New Smyrna, called Flip Flops. If you are ever in New Smyrna, check it out, it is so amazing! And it's one of the hidden gems, too! From the outside, it wouldn't appear to be a 5 star restaurant, but the food, is most definitely 5 star quality. It's actually run by a chef that was on some cooking showI don't remember the name of it though. oops. :) 

If you need more persuading, here's what I ordered, try not to drool on your keyboard as you read it: Fresh caught Mahi-Mahi, topped with a coconut lime sauce, salsa, and grilled bananas. Oh was it ever good! I could eat it for every meal! And the fact that the mahi-mahi was fresh from the ocean made it even better.  Oh and that other thing, is a fried potato with parmesan cheese. That was really good, too! :)
ps. That is one of my many phone pictures that I took over the weekend. But i just had to share it. :)
When we came home from dinner, we finished off our celebration by cutting our wedding cake topper. But, this one was NOT a year old! :) One of the perks of getting our cake from the place we did, they make you a brand new cake topper for your one year anniversary, free of charge, technically. haha! :) Have you ever had one of the moments when you, taste something, or smell something that instantly brings you back to a certain memory? Well, when I took a bite of the cake, that happened, and I even said "wow! It tastes like our wedding!"


We got to spend lots of time on the beach, and at the pool on Saturday and Monday soaking up some sun, and enjoying the water. Sunday it actually only got up to about 60 degrees and there was 15-20 mph winds! But, it was sunny! So weird. We spent some time in the hot tub, but that was about the extent of our time outside for the day. 

Another phone picture. Isn't my iPhone amazing!?
I love long walks on the beach. It's one of my favorite things. How cliche, am I?! :) But really, walking along the edge of the water, listening to the waves crash, and feelings the sand under my feet just makes me a happy girl. It is so peaceful and so relaxing. Marriage and beaches are 2 of God's greatest creations. :)


After spending the day on the beach, Monday, we came back home and went out to eat again to celebrate our real anniversary. :) We had such a wonderful weekend, enjoying God's beautiful creation, reflecting back on our first year of marriage, and setting goals for our next year together. 

Thank you, Lord for your gift of marriage, and the man you have given to me to share it with! :)

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
 continue to live your lives in Him, 
 rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
 and overflowing with thankfulness."
Colossians 2:6-7

Monday, March 05, 2012

One Year Down, Forever to go

On my own I’m only half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I pray we never undo.


Happy Anniversary, Andrew. I am SO thankful 
 God gave me you!