German Pancakes - THM S

     I'm not going to go all crazy and turn this into a food blog. Don't worry, I don't enjoy cooking or writing that much. I may however, be posting some recipes from time to time simply to make my life easier. I have a notorious habit of finding a recipe online, revamping it, then losing it. But if I post it here, I'll always be able to find. Also, on the rare occasion someone asks me for a recipe it's as easy as sending a link! 

     We try to eat mostly healthy. By that I mean low-carb, little to no sugar, and heavy on the vegetables. Basically, we follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan for the most part so when you see an S or E, it's referring to that :). 

     German Pancakes is a breakfast food that we all love. Well, we did until this morning when Emily cried because she doesn't like them but thankfully (in this case), her taste buds change multiple times a day. I got the recipe a few years ago at Gwen's Nest.

If you have a spare 6 year old around that spends his free time teasing his sisters, he will work wonderful to measure ingredients. 

Some days he reminds me a LOT of my nephew Dallas.

Blending is especially fun. Note how careful he is to keep a hand on top.

The stick of butter goes in the pan. Don't not read the directions and mix it with everything else. Not that I would ever do that.

The smell is amazing.

This morning we topped it with frozen, chopped strawberries and a little maple syrup.

I don't know why it separated a little but it certainly didn't effect the taste!

And, here is the recipe.

German Pancakes

• 1/2 cup butter (to melt in pan)
• 3 cups oat flour (simple blend oatmeal until fairly fine)
• 12 eggs
• 3/4 cup xylitol 
• 1 tsp stevia
• 4 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup cream or half & half
• 1 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Place butter into a 9x13 pan (I actually use a 12 inch round) and allow to melt in the oven as you mix up the batter. 
3. Blend oatmeal until fine then pour into mixing bowl.
4. In a blender, combine remaining ingredients, and whisk together until well blended.
5. Add oat flour and stir (or blend) until well mixed.
6. Pour batter into hot casserole dish, and swirl with melted butter to blend it in briefly.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. Serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

    This makes plenty for us 1 meal, plus leftovers for the next morning. Just the way I like it! Because I like to save money and calories, I sometimes tweak it a little.
1. Use only half the butter.
2. Use half water for the almond milk
3. Replace the cream with water or kombucha.

Enjoy!

A visitor

Eldon's older sister Judith is unmarried, thus making her the favorite Aunt among our children :). She is currently in Virginia attending college to be a Registered Nurse. On a whim, we suggested she fly to Arizona for her spring break and she did it! We drug her all over, trying to show her as much as possible. The first day she was here we hiked over 6 miles, and the second, over 4. Thankfully, Eldon had to work the next 3 days so we had a bit of a break and instead went to playgrounds and the library. One of those days her and Makayla and Michael walked the 8.5 mile rim trail that goes around the whole town! Once Eldon had his shifts done for the week, we packed up the camper and drove to the Grand Canyon for the last day she was here.

Paria Canyon

An old corral at Lee's Ferry.

The end of Glen Canyon and beginning of the Grand Canyon.

Evening walk to Hanging Garden.

Blue Pools Arch

Eldon and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on the 15th so the 2 of us made plans to go out for dinner one evening after he got off work. Judith consented to take care of the children all night so I surprised him and got a motel for the night. In typical Eldon and Monica style, we got take-out BBQ, looooong hot showers (no running out of hot water at a motel!),watched an episode of ER, and were asleep by 10 and up right after 6. No fancy restaurants or sleeping in for us! We were in a hurry to get home and head to the Grand Canyon though :). The children did fantastic, even Ethan so that was a relief. This is the first time we've left them just for fun and it felt quite odd but I'm glad we finally did it.

The Grand Canyon!

Makayla loves to get as close to the edge as we let her.

And this one, just give her food and drink and she'll be happy!

Aunt Judith!

I told him to smile normal and got this.........

      We hiked a 2 mile round trip trail to Shoshone Point. You won't find it on the maps but Google will take you to the unmarked trailhead. Because it's an not on the NPS maps, it wasn't overrun with tourists like us. There are several look-out points so we dawdled and had a good time. We headed to the marketplace so Judith could get a souvenir and couldn't even find a place to park! The main area of the park was just swarming with folks so we headed back to our camper.

     And, our camper just happened to be parked on Fire Road 688, which is right in the middle of the Pondersosa forest. No hook-ups which = not many people. Just silence and beauty.

Shoshone Trail is actually an old road. Super easy walking!

Home Sweet Home.

Since there was an overabundance of wood laying around, we had a roaring campfire every day.

And roasted marshmallows whenever we wanted.

The next day-it snowed!

Doesn't it look fun?

Hauling wood.

They played in the woods every available second for the remaining 3 days we were there. They didn't even want to go to the Grand Canyon again. So we didn't :)

When we left, we had to drive back through the park so we stopped for some pictures.

We even saw some elk!

Sibling time!

Eldon had five days off in a row the first weekend in March so we promptly made plans to drive 6 hours northeast to Montrose, Colorado. I grew up in this area and my older sister and younger brother still live there so we try to get there as often as possible. One of the many things we love about being mobile is how much more we can see family. My children know their cousins so much better then I ever knew mine!

Most of our time was filled with pretty low-key things like:

*Washing the truck and RV

*Eldon and my BIL changing the front jacks on our RV

*Shopping for groceries and at thrift stores

*A mile long walk with my sister

*A visit to the sale barn 

*Rollerblading and riding scooters

*Making new hideouts in the woods

*Riding dirt bikes

*Painting rocks with fingernail polish

*Playing hard

Nakita is 6 weeks older then Michael, who is 16 months older then Emily so these 3 play for hours! Here they are "selling" painted rocks.

Dirt bikes!

Ethan would ride all day long!

     Saturday was my sister's birthday so we all went to my brother's house Friday night and had cheesecake, smoked pork, roasted veggies, coleslaw, and french fries. It was so yummy, and super easy since we all contributed to the meal. 

     We made plans for the next day to spend an hour at a trampoline park. An hour may not seem long but the adults were whipped until it was all over :). I have very few pictures that aren't a big blur!

You may be able to spot Evan trying to swim his way out of the foam blocks, lol. 

     

Poor Ethan could never jump in very far and still about couldn't get out!

So much energy!

     Monday morning Eldon and Michael helped Brian catch over 4,000 chickens before we packed up and headed home. We were all a bit tired and grumpy but so glad we could fit this visit in!

Awesome hiking trail near Page, AZ

One afternoon when the children did NOT want to go hiking, only rock scrambling, Eldon suggested we just find a place they can run around at. Fantastic idea! We had seen some neat rocks on a road just past the Carl Hayden Visitor Center so we headed out there. They had a blast, racing around and climbing up as high as I would let them without screaming at calling them to come down. Suddenly Emily shouted that she found something really cool, and lo and behold, there was a trail lined with rocks on either side. We followed it for about 1 1/2 miles as it looped around the ridge. As we were driving out the road, we noticed a small parking lot and what looked like an unmarked trailhead.

On our next visit, a few weeks later, we met a couple on the trail. They expressed their delight that we had found the trail. Turns out that last year they took the time to lay the rock trail and are attempting to get the NPS to give it a name and put it out as a hiking trail. However, the NPS is too busy with the major attractions in the area like Horseshoe Bend and Glen Canyon Dam. If you're in Page, definitely check this out! 

To find it, you'll head North on the 89. Less then 1/2 a mile past the Carl Hayden Visitor Center is an unamed road to the left. Here is a link that should get you really close to the trailhead. There is a very small dirt parking lot on the left and an obvious path lined with rocks. 

So much fun climbing rocks!

You'll hike around this rock ridge.

There is many cool geological features on this hike!

"I'm tired mama."

See my 3 oldest way up there?

"This is the Best Hike Ever!"

We saw several little dry pools.

"Can we always do fun hikes like this?"

When you're in the desert,
You look into infinity.......
It makes you feel terribly small,
And in a strange way,
Quite big.
-David Lean

The Nautilus

The last week in February was cold and windy. By cold I mean 30-40 degrees, cloudy, and windy. We hunkered down in the camper and did extra school work, read many books, and watched movies. Visits to Wal-Mart and the Library quickly reminded us that it was indeed wise to stay inside.

Snuggles needed.

 But the on the third day Eldon was off it was sunny and 50 degrees! We did some quick Googling and headed up into Utah on the 89 North for the Nautilus Trailhead. Here is the location of the trailhead. There is no signs,simply park in the small parking lot and head into the wash, towards the 89. 

Lots of opportunity for kids to climb rocks and explore.

      Sadly, we underestimated the chilling power of the wind and by the time we walked the 1/2 mile to the nautilus, we were so cold! Still, it was worth it to see this neat rock formation. Nautilus is a mollusk with a spiral shell, thus the name.

After 1/2 mile  of walking up the sandy wash, you'll see this off to the right.

Entering at the bottom.

From the top, you can see where parts of the "shell" have broken off.

Size perception.

"HELP! It's a tornado!"

     This is a super easy walk that nearly anyone should be able to do!