Pancake Hodgepodge

Rise and shine, it’s pancake time!

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our Wednesday Hodgepodge questions.

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?

This will be an as per usual time during Lent as in… morning devotions, reading through the Bible, Women’s Bible Study, Daily Spurgeon, and Daily Doctrine.  Growing in my love and devotion to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is an everyday thing and includes the 40 days of Lent.

From Spurgeon: ‘God, you see me.”  “May the Lord be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life.”

We have 17 days of travel during Lent this year which is very unusual for us. I will be absent from the Hodgepodge for at least a couple of Wednesdays.

2. Pancakes…are you a fan?

YES! All kinds of pancakes are enjoyed. These are yogurt pancakes. Potato pancakes at the top of this post.

Every time our whole family gets together we enjoy Greg’s Swedish pancakes. It’s a long standing tradition at our house and we always serve them with Little Smokies.

Greg has also made Aebleskivers, Danish spherical pancakes.

Syrup or no syrup?

Yes, please, real maple and fruit syrups.

Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? 

No to chocolate chips or bananas. Yes to blueberries or strawberries and always sour cream!

Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

Yes, in the blintz form, we had them last night for dessert since it was Pancake Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday!

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt ‘spread too thin’. 

I haven’t felt this way recently. I might feel that way after today as we are getting ready for an international trip so I’m getting all our ducks in a row starting now!!

4. What’s your favorite jewel or gemstone?

If I have to pick a favorite, I’ll choose a Ruby.

In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? 

My wardrobe isn’t well planned and is a combination of all of these.

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? 

Being a mom is a very hard responsibility, one of the hardest. Being a grandmother is so much easier.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I finally finished this most difficult puzzle just before Valentine’s Day. The pressure was on to get-er-done since we would be using the dining room table for company on the night before Valentine’s day and then again on the 17th of February. This was one of the hardest puzzles I’ve ever completed because of the very random shapes of the pieces.

See you in the middle of March, Hodgepodgers! I will try to post daily postcards of our journey here on my blog.

A Side of Sour Cream Hodgepodge

It is the last Wednesday Hodgepodge for July so we are more than half way through the year! Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What is a childhood habit or preference you will never outgrow?

Sour cream on pancakes. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Growing up our butter was sour cream. I honestly don’t remember ever having butter on the table in my early years.

2. Did you know July is beans month? What’s your favorite bean? Your favorite recipe that calls for beans? When it comes to chili are you team beans or team no beans?

No, I did not know July was beans month. I would say pinto beans are my favorite bean and have refried beans regularly since Mexican food is way up there on my comfort food list. Something I make with beans that is a favorite is open up all the cans chili. Yes, I am team beans when it comes to chili.

For a quick meal I’ll start with ground turkey, chicken or beef and cook it up with onion and seasonings. Then I start opening up cans from the pantry. Black beans, pinto chili beans, diced tomatoes or Rotel, diced green chilies, sometimes a can of corn, cumin and chili powder. Heat it up and top with grated cheese, fresh tomato, avocado slices, scallions, diced jalapeno, cilantro. Most of the time just enjoy a bowl with saltine crackers and sometimes we’ll enjoy some cornbread along the side. You could turn it into soup by adding some chicken or beef broth.

3. Some historical figures have a tag line after their name, something like ‘the brave’ or ‘the wise’ or ‘the mad’…what would your tag line be? Explain why?

Ellen the Happy Wonderer. That’s the name we came up with for my blog because for the most part I have a happy disposition and I wonder about a lot of things. Blogging has made me wonder even more. I think I could have been a decent detective, too.

4. The way to my heart is______________________________.

If I go deep, it would have to be truth. More and more my heart resonates with the truth. My heart needs to be filtered by the truth because on it’s own it is selfish and wicked. My heart needs refining with the truth that God gives. My heart is now connected to Jesus. He is the way the truth and the life. His truth, the Bible, is the only truth that makes sense and corrects my feelings, thoughts and actions.

If I go ‘lite’ it would be sitting around a table with good food and good friends.

5.  The calendar rolls into August this week, but before we go give us four adjectives that describe your July.

Full. Hot. Celebratory. Smoky.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Quotes of the week:

from Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands ~ Paul David Tripp

“If God isn’t ruling my heart, someone or somethings else will.”

“Lasting change takes place through the pathway of the heart.”

“Change has to penetrate the heart”

from The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

“The Bible was not given just to increase your knowledge but to guide your conduct”

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

See you soon, Hodgepodgers!

Pancake Tuesday

These were a nice change from regular pancakes made with yogurt instead of milk. We enjoyed them with a dollop of plain yogurt and pure maple syrup. Since childhood our family has enjoyed pancakes with sour cream and syrup. If you’ve never tried it you should.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

  1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. In separate bowl whisk together the yogurt, eggs, oil or butter and vanilla.
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients combining well.
  4. Heat pan to medium high to cook the pancakes with a combo of vegetable oil and butter.
  5. Use 1/3 cup measure to proportion the batter and end up with 8 uniform pancakes.
  6. Cook to a golden brown on one side and flip and cook the other side.
  7. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Yield: 8 pancakes

Double the recipe to serve more people.

We did not grow up with the tradition of Pancake Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras or Lent. We have always joyously celebrated Easter ~ Resurrection Sunday.  In fact we never stop celebrating Christ’s resurrection and what His death, burial and resurrection mean to us as Christians.

It is a good day for pancakes.

Yogurt Pancakes

These were a nice change from regular pancakes made with yogurt instead of milk. We enjoyed them with a dollop of plain yogurt and pure maple syrup. Since childhood our family has enjoyed pancakes with sour cream and syrup. If you’ve never tried it you should. With these yogurt pancakes we used yogurt instead of sour cream and we enjoyed them.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

  1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. In separate bowl whisk together the yogurt, eggs, oil or butter and vanilla.
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients combining well.
  4. Heat pan to medium high to cook the pancakes with a combo of vegetable oil and butter.
  5. Use 1/3 cup measure to proportion the batter and end up with 8 uniform pancakes.
  6. Cook to a golden brown on one side and flip and cook the other side.
  7. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Yield: 8 pancakes

Double the recipe to serve more people.