The best way to start a weekend.

Here I am, the new girl in town.

A few days ago my darling husband made the suggestion that I should start a food blog. After musing about it for a moment, I decided it would be fun. The funny thing about this is when I first started dating him I didn't know how to cook much else besides grilled cheese, macaroni & cheese and tacos. Long story short, I branched out a little. At one point I realized that there has to be a way to eat better, lose weight, and not cut out all of the "good stuff." After doing a fair share of research, experiments and searching, I indeed found the magical path to eating things that are still delicious and lost fifty pounds along the way. Here I will share with you my favorites, some recipes will be the "skinny" version, others will be smaller portion size so you can be naughty every once in a while. (Which is important!)

Weekends for my husband and I are special. They are the one time we allow ourselves to be bad. And by bad, I mean we allow ourselves to be complete fat kids. One of our favorites is breakfast, and to start out my healthy blog I am going to share a pancake recipe just to prove the point that I am indeed human too and still have a place in my heart for breakfast food. (Don't get me started on bacon!) These pancakes have changed my concept of how breakfast should be. If you asked me a few years ago how i'd prepare my pancakes, i'd usually answer Bisquick. This recipe changed my world, and my picky husband's. They are wonderful and fluffy. Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. Perfection.


LC's Buttermilk Pancakes
Slightly adapted from The Food network
Serves two pretty hungry adults.


Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup sugar (splenda works really well too if you want to sub that in)
1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk* (see note below on how to make this with 2% milk)
2 tablespoons melted margarine, and a bit extra to melt in the skillet (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)


*If you do not have buttermilk, there is an easy way to prepare it while you make the dry mix for your batter. I skinny down the recipe by creating buttermilk by using 2% milk. For every cup of milk you are using, you need to add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Combine these two in a glass and allow to sit for five minutes prior to use. I find this is a lot healthier, and more efficient then just buying buttermilk at the store.

      Start by pre-heating your skillet on the stove. I find the sweet spot for the heat is right between 4 and 5, but every stove is different! Put a small amount of butter into the skillet and leave it to do it's thing. Continue by getting out a larger bowl, and placing a sifter on top of it. Measure out your flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar into the sifter, then shake until all of it has passed through. Set aside the dry mixture and take out a smaller bowl and a glass you can heat in the microwave. Place your two tablespoons of butter into your glass and microwave it for about 30 seconds. Let it sit for a minute or two. While it is sitting you can combine your egg with your buttermilk in the small bowl. Make sure they are well combined. Once they are combined, add the butter you melted in the microwave. Mix well. Now you are ready to mix your wet and dry ingredients!

Your batter should look like this. Do not stir it too much, or your pancakes will be flatter then they are supposed to be. Your batter will be a bit lumpy, but that is totally okay. If you find it is a little thick for some reason, add a small splash of milk to thin it out.  Now it's time to cook these bad boys. Add a large spoonful into the center of your pre-heated skillet. Allow the pancake to rest until it has visibly risen and you see numerous bubbles coming up in the center. Once the edges look a little puffed, and there are bubbles in the center, flip! I use a long metal spatula, but you can toss it like a pro if you feel like it! Allow it to cook on the opposite side for a minute or two, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. This should create four fairly good size pancakes.

Yum, yum, yum. Now you can add all manner of things as toppings. I add a small amount of syrup, but I imagine fruit would be fantastic too! I figured i'd invite you guys over for breakfast to start things off! I promise to have "skinnier" items, I just happen to be a glutton too. Enjoy, and thank you for joining me!

-Lauren