Baking + Birthday

Heyyyy! How was your Saturday?

Today I did a lot of baking for my Uncle Ozzie’s birthday party. I also ate some really good food and had a pretty tiring workout. I didn’t do any homework. Oh well!

Breakfast:

Grilled Cashini Sandwich on Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread

After breakfast I did some blog reading and then got to work.  I had a lot of cleaning to do in preparation for the birthday party.  I swear, cleaning the house lasts longer than the actual party!

Thankfully, once the cleaning was over, I had to do something much more enjoyable: BAKING!

I was the designated “Dessert Chef” because my family knows I am quite the baker.  (Can my head get any bigger?!)

The birthday boy requested a Funfetti cake.  I was so close to making it from boxed cake mix but then I came across Jenna‘s recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream. 

Instead of cupcakes, I doubled the recipe and made a layer cake with 2 8-inch round pans and baked at 350F for 30 minutes.

 I also made some Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies because he loved them so much last time I made them.

I couldn’t wait to dig in.  Talk about a test of self-control!

After the kitchen was cleaned (I make such a mess when I bake!)  I got out of the house and took Fluffy for a walk.  It was beautiful outside today!

70 degrees and sunny!  Spring is here!

Workout:

• 3 mile walk with Fluffy
• 15 min. Abs 101

After my workout, I was ravenous!  I made myself lunch right away.

Lunch:

Tomato, cucumber, avocado, mushroom, roasted pepper, Laughing Cow, and hummus sandwich on Rye

  

I forgot how much I loved avocado.  The sandwich was so good.  I think I’ll post a recipe soon, but I still have a bit of tweaking to do. 

Soon after lunch, the family started coming over.  We talked and caught up for a bit and then got ready for dinner. 

On the menu for tonight was:

• Mom’s Gumbo

• Make-Your-Own Pita Pizzas

• Salad

Can you see Fluffy?!

I decided to skip the gumbo tonight, but I had some pita pizza.  It was so good!

Dinner:

Salad and 1/2 pita pizza with onions, mushrooms, and olives

I made sure to keep dinner light, considering I wanted to make sure I saved enough room for dessert.  I couldn’t wait to dig into the cake!

“Happy Birthday to youuuu…”

Dessert:

Oh.My.Gosh.  The cake was so good!  Well worth the wait!  I got a bunch compliments on it – thanks Jenna!

A sweet end to a wonderful night.

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Questions of the Day:

1. How did you spend your Saturday?
2. What is your favorite cake flavor?

Have a great Sunday! 

Fluffy Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend so far – I sure am!  I meant to post last night, but I came home super late from watching the school play and was too tired.  Oops!

But, don’t worry, I’ll post it today because it’s a really good one.  Better late than never, I suppose.

Slightly adapted from SHAPE Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup plain greek yogurt (regular yogurt would work too)
• 3 tablespoons flour (I recommend 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon all-purpose)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Separate one egg.  Combine the yolk in a small bowl with the yogurt, flour, and vanilla extract.  Stir well with a fork.
2. Separate the second egg.  In a larger bowl, beat two egg whites, sugar, and salt until they are fluffy and hold a soft peak.
3. Melt butter in a small nonstick pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add a quarter of the batter. Cook 2-3 minutes, until brown, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the reverse side. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Yield: 1 large serving (4 pancakes) or 2 smaller servings (2 pancakes each)

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I enjoyed my pancakes plain: no nut butter, no sugar, nothing.  They were just that good on their own.  However, if you’re a syrup person (I’m not) then you can top your ‘cakes with syrup, agave, fresh fruit, chocolate, etc. 

These pancakes are also pretty filling considering they have over 6 grams of protein each!  Approximately 25 grams in the entire recipe.  Yay for protein!

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I definitely think all of you should get up and make these pancakes right away.

Before I sign off I’d like to share a few more things with you.  Remember a couple of days ago when I told you that Katie and I were doing a 3 miler?  Well, it was actually a 2 miler because instead of running the entire way we stopped to get pizza on the way back to school and walked the mile back.  Fail.  However in my defense, who wants to run on a full stomach?!  Not me!

Another thing, remember my Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies?  Well, when I first made them I brought a few over to my uncle’s house and he loved them so much that he requested I make them for his birthday party (later tonight)!  Of course!  I’m in charge of all desserts, but more about that later.

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you put syrup/other toppings on your pancakes or prefer to eat them plain?  I like to add sugar and nut butter, but I also eat them plain 75% of the time.
2. Have you seen the movie, Beastly?  Was it good?  I saw the previews awhile ago and thought it looked cool.  My friends and I are thinking of going to see it.

Have a great weekend!