Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake Mix

I woke up this morning and wanted pancakes, but was out of my favorite mix!  So I found my motivation, whipped up a batch of mix and thought I'd share it with you (I even remembered to take pictures!).  It's quick, easy, and delicious.  I've slightly modified a recipe I got from a workshop I attended put on by USU.

Put all your ingredients in the biggest bowl you can find.

Mix everything up really well.

It fits perfectly in this 2 quart Rubbermaid plastic container I got at Walmart.

 

As soon as I got it mixed up, I whipped up a batch for breakfast!

Yum!  One batch makes about 15 pancakes.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake Mix
8 cups quick cooking or regular oats
4 cups wheat flour
4 cups white flour (or you can use 8 cups of white flour if you want)
2 cups instant non-fat dry milk
4 Tbs. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs. salt
6 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Mix well and store in air tight container.  If you use the 2 quart container like I do, you'll want to tap the container to so the mix settles.  It may look like it's not all going to fit, but it will!  I taped the mixing directions on my container so I wouldn't have to look it up every time I want to make them. 

Mixing Directions:
In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs.  Beat in 3 Tbs. canola oil.  Alternately stir in 2 cups of mix and 1 cup water.  Cook on lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat.  When the batter shows broken bubbles, turn the pancakes over.  Makes about 15 pancakes (I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter onto the skillet).

Sliverz

There's a new company in Cache Valley called Sliverz. They do wood crafts similar to Wood Creations and Wood Connection. The neat thing about them is that they are doing home parties (like Pampered Chef, but with crafts!). I attended a party a couple weeks ago and had a blast! Of course I didn't take my camera, but here are the pictures of the crafts I made. I only got the bunnies done at the party and started on the flowers. I finished them up at home.


The owl is my absolute favorite!! So, if you live in Northern Utah, feel like doing some wood crafts but don't want to drive an hour or two to get the wood cutouts, then check out Sliverz. They will even do custom cutouts. No, I'm not associated with them and had never heard of them before I went to my friends party, but they have a good thing going. I've even thought about purchasing a scroll saw, printing out some patterns, and putting my husband to work...

Easiest Pizza Recipe Ever

I absolutely LOVE this pizza recipe. There's no planning ahead, no waiting for dough to rise. If you want pizza on the spur of the moment, this is the recipe for you!

Doesn't it look yummy?!!

Easy Pizza Dough

1 Tbs. yeast
1 c. warm water
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. canola oil

Preheat oven to 400. Measure water into bowl and add yeast. Let rest for a couple of minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread dough on pizza pan. Do not let rise. Top with your favorite toppings. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

My family loves this recipe. I use spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce since I always have some. You can use a mix of mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan. Of course, pepperoni is the favorite topping in our home. Try a BBQ chicken pizza. We use BBQ sauce and sliced chicken nuggets. It's actually good. Be creative and enjoy!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Thanks to Pinterest, I've been wanting to make my own homemade vanilla. There are so many different recipes out there! A friend of mine saw my pin on Pinterest and told me the recipe I had pinned was wrong. So, she sent me a link with the FDA approved recipe and let me know where she bought her beans from. I was excited to get started!

What you need:

Vanilla Beans (I used Madagascar Bourbon Grade B from here)
Vodka (I used the cheapest stuff I could find)
Jars

I used 8 oz. of vanilla beans and 8 cups of vodka. You need 1 oz. of vanilla beans per 1 cup of vodka.

Slice your vanilla beans into 1/2" pieces.


I decided to put my vanilla extract into one quart mason jars. So I put 3 cups of vodka and 3 oz. of vanilla beans in two of my jars and the rest in the last jar. Then I shook them up real well!

It will take about 6 months for the vanilla to fully extract from the beans. For the first couple of weeks, you'll want to shake the jars every day. After that shake them once every couple of weeks or whenever you think about it. When it's ready, strain the vanilla beans and you're good to go. I'm going to put my vanilla into 4 oz. jars and give them out as Christmas presents. Of course, I'll keep some for myself.

The vanilla should keep indefinitely from what I've read. Supposedly you can also top off your jar of vanilla with some vodka to make it last longer. Wouldn't that dilute it a little? I'm not sure. Guess I'll have to try it and see.

Here's what it cost me. The vanilla beans were $16.23 (One pound is $32.45 including shipping and I split them with my sister-in-law) and the vodka was $12 for a total of $28.23. That's only 44 cents an ounce!! I dare say that is MUCH CHEAPER than Walmart!! Have fun!!