I realize this is un-seasonal, but we live on a beautiful property with lots of land and trees. We have a few apple trees, and last fall I decided to make a few apple desserts to stash away in the freezer until needed. I made apple strudel, apple crisp kits, and a few apple pies. One pie I took home for Thanksgiving, but the second pie kept getting the shaft until this past week when a dessert I was making for company failed big-time! With no time to make anything else, and with most of my other desserts in the freezer being more suitable to plate and bring somewhere else, I decided the pie needed to be the dessert we would have. 
   So, all that to say....I have no step by step instructions or photos because I only started blogging after I had made these pies! Even before I started blogging, I would generally take photos of things (because I liked to), but I remember just making a bunch of stuff out of apples I didn't want going bad, and not thinking to take any photos. I did take one photo on our iPad to text to my sister though, so, I feel sure you will forgive me.  :)  

Caramel Apple Pie

• Super simple pie crust (doubled to have enough for a top)
• 8 apples, cored, and sliced (I don't remove the skins because I'm lazy and don't have a peeler)
  
• 1/4 Cup lemon juice
  
• 1/2 Cup butter
  
• 3 Tbsp. flour
  
• 1 Tbsp. water
  
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 Cup sugar
  
• 1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  
• A cream or egg wash (either cream brushed on the pie top before baking, or a whisked egg white brushed on top before baking)
• A sprinkling of sugar for the top, if desired (it looks pretty).

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Place one pie crust into your pie plate, don't trim the edges.
2.Toss your apple slices in lemon juice and put 'em into your pie crust 
4. To start the caramel, place a sauce pan on the stove and heat. Once warm, add butter and melt.
5. Add flour to butter and whisk to create a thick sauce
6. Add water, vanilla, the sugars, and spices and whisk to combine.
7. Let boil, then reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes (do the "finger test" to see if it's ready. Basically, you stick your finger into the hot (HOT) sauce, and rub your fingers together to see if the grainy sugar has melted in).
8. Pour caramel over apples in pie crust (carefully, so it doesn't spill out of the pie) and then top pie with second crust. I love the look of a lattice topped pie. For easy instructions, click here. If you don't want to do a lattice, be sure to cut some openings in the top so you can see the caramel bubble (so you know when the pie is done).  
9. Use a brush to paint the cream or egg white over your pie crust, and then sprinkle with sugar (skip this step if you plan on freezing the pie).
10. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven, and the pie on the middle rack. You don't have to do this baking sheet thing if you enjoy caramel bubbling out of your pie, and baked to the bottom of your stove...I dunno, some people might like that? 
11. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 35-45 more minutes. If your apple slices are thicker, it may take a little longer to bake.

* Check on your pie when you have about 15 minutes left of baking time. If the top is starting to get too brown, cover with foil and let it continue to bake until it's finished. 

To Cook From Frozen: Heat oven to 350 degrees F, brush frozen pie with the cream or egg wash, and bake the pie for 50-60 minutes, or until you can see the caramel bubbling. If the crust is getting too brown, but the caramel isn't bubbling, cover the pie in tin foil until it's finished.

   I am not usually a huge fan of baked fruit desserts, but this is a really nice, yummy pie. The apples I used were either McIntosh or Cortlands, but I'm inclined to think they were Cortlands as they do better in baking, and the apples in this pie turned out lovely. McIntosh are better for applesauce or butter because they are sort of a "mushy" apple to start with.  

   Have a great Monday!    

   So, I don't ever buy pre-packaged cookie dough...but gosh, some times it's such a good price I find myself grabbing a tube, "just in case". My usual chocolate chip cookie recipe is simple enough to make, but hey, I had this other stuff and I suddenly knew what I was going to do with it!       

S'More Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 tube pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough (or you can make your own dough, only half the recipe)
• 4 graham crackers, chopped
• 1/4 Cup chocolate chips (approx.)
• 1/4 Cup mini mallows (approx.)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Open cookie dough along the seam
3. Scoop of a 2 tbsp portion into your hand, and flatten.
4. Put a few chunks of graham crumbs, 2 mini mallows, and a few chocolate chips into the centre of flattened cookie.
5. Close cookie up around filling.
6. Place on baking sheet, and bake 11 minutes (not longer!) They will look underdone, that's o.k, they will continue to bake a little after they come out.
7. Cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. 
8. Now eat them! :)    

   Marshmallows can sometimes vanish in baked goods, and that happened in a few of these cookies, but there was still a mallow-y taste/stickiness that was lovely. 

   Well, I hope everyone had a good week, and has a great weekend!    

   We had people come for a visit this week who got to see a small version of our son's meltdowns. He was upset about a video being stopped before all the credits had rolled (that upsets him a lot), and started to fall apart. To help him calm down, he will often grab us, wrap his arms around us, and squeeze as hard as he can (he calls these "squishies"). A variation of the "squishy" is that he will grab my husbands or my arm (or his e.a.), and press his face into the arm, and squeeze hard with his hands. We understand people with autism have sensory problems, and for Caleb, these "squishies" help him somehow. I feel like I could blab on all day about the why, but I would rather let someone else say it. Temple Grandin is a grown, very accomplished woman with autism. She has her Ph.D. in animal science, and has designed one third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the United States. She is currently an associate professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, and lectures frequently at autism conventions and meetings throughout the country. 

   From her book "Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism" she talks about her own personal sensory problems: 
   "From as far back as I can remember, I always hated to be hugged. I wanted to experience the good feeling of being hugged, but it was too overwhelming. It was like a great, all-engulfing tidal wave of stimulation, and I reacted like a wild animal. Being touched triggered flight; it flipped a circuit breaker. I was overloaded and would have to escape, often by jerking away suddenly. 
   Many autistic people crave pressure stimulation even though they cannot tolerate being touched. It is much easier for a person with autism to tolerate touch if he or she initiates it. When touched unexpectedly, we usually withdraw, because our nervous system does not have time to process the sensation".
   My note: our Caleb will literally scream if someone touches him without him knowing they are going to. Then, he has to go and touch that person in the same spot they touched him to end the sensation. Or if Caleb gets hurts, he really looses it. The unexpected pain sets him off, and he will re-enact the accident over and over, making sure the spot that got hurt touches the spot it did when it got hurt in the first place. A funny thing he does now to avoid falling down our stairs {which he did often because he would try to go down them too fast|, is he will now go down all the stairs on his bum, with his legs right out in front of him, and bump down each step. His sisters and other kids who have seen him do it try to do it also, and tell us how much it hurts. But Caleb prefers this pain initiated by him rather than possibly falling down the stairs).
   "When I was six, I would wrap myself up in blankets and get under sofa cushions, because the pressure was relaxing. I would daydream for hours about constructing a device that would apply pressure to my body. After visiting  my Aunt's ranch in Arizona, I got the idea to build such a device, patterned after the cattle squeeze machine. When I watched the cattle being put in the squeeze chute for their vaccinations, I noticed that some of them relaxed when they were pressed between the side panels". (to sum up the rest of her thoughts on this, she had a panic attack, and ran to the squeeze chute, and made her Aunt squeeze her until she felt calm. So, she developed her own human squeeze machine that was more padded, and where she could control the pressure from the side panels).

   "Tom McKEan wrote in his book "Soon Will Come the Light" that he feels low-intensity pain throughout his body which is only relieved by pressure. He finds that very tight pressure worlds best. The amount of pressure desires may be relayed to his or her nervous arousal level. 
   Even though the sense of touch is often compromised by excessive sensitivity, it can sometimes provide the most reliable information about the environment for people with autism. Therese Joliffe, and autistic woman from England, preferred using touch to learn about her environment because it was easier to understand things with her fingers. Her vision and hearing were distorted and provided unreliable information, but touching something gave her a relatively accurate representation of the world. She learned to do things like setting a table by feel. Her method of learning was similar to that of a blind man whose vision was restored when he was an adult. In his essay "To See and Not to See", Dr. Oliver Sacks described how this man had to touch things in order to see them with his eyes. 
   Overly sensitive skin can also be a big problem. Washing my hair and dressing to go to church were two things I hated doing as a child. Shampooing actually hurt my scalp, and scratchy petticoats were like sandpaper scraping away at raw nerve endings. In fact, I couldn't tolerate changes in clothes altogether. When I got accustomed to pants, I could not bear the feeling of bare legs when I wore a skirt. After I became accustomed to wearing shorts in the summer, I couldn't tolerate long pants". 
   My note: Caleb struggled for years to adjust to our confusing weather here in Canada. He might be out of a coat one day {which could make him upset because he was used to it|, only to have the snow come back a few days later, and he would have a meltdown about having to wear a coat again. He didn't wear socks in winter until this year {and he's 9 years old!|. 
*All quotes taken from "Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism", by Temple Grandin, chapter 3, pages 58-62). 

   I hope my using Temple's words isn't too lazy! I have read "Thinking in Pictures" 4 times now, and I find new things interesting in it every time. To hear the words from someone who has autism, to hear her explain how she felt (or still feels) about things that I don't think about as a non-autistic person helps me understand my Caleb better. It gives me new eyes for him, a renewed patience for him (and trust me, my patience is often in need of renewal!).
   Autism and sensory problems are probably one of the most mis-understood aspects of the disorder. I've talked about it before, and will talk about it again too. I do it for you, whoever reads this, but also for myself. To remind myself, because I need to know and remember how my son works, how he feels, and sees the world. If I don't understand him, and help him, and love him, I can't expect anyone else to.    

   I love cabbage rolls, but am generally too lazy to make them. So, what I love to make instead is a cabbage roll soup. All the same stuff goes in, just no pre-steaming of the cabbage, and no effort of assembling many rolls!  

Cabbage Roll Soup

Makes about 12 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, cut up (I like bigger pieces, but cut it as you like)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. (450 g) ground beef, pork, veal or venison (or a combination of all of them. I used a beef/pork mix)
  
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice (14 oz., 398 ml)
  
• 1 can tomato sauce (23 oz., 680 ml)
• 1/2 cup long grain rice 
  
• 4 cups stock (beef, or veggie)
• 1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

Method:

1. In a large pot heat oil on medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant, and onion is translucent.
2. Add ground meat and thyme, and cook (breaking up bigger pieces) until browned. 
3. Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and stock. Stir until ingredients are thoroughly combined and bring soup to a gentle simmer. 
   
4. Add the cabbage and rice. Cover soup and let simmer on medium heat until rice is fully cooked, about 15 minutes.
5.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

   I hope you make this soup and enjoy your lazy cabbage rolls! :)  

  So, this has nothing to do with "Fast Food" as you would think (McDonald's, etc.), but it has something to do with having food that is handy, and accessible. 
   Let me talk about produce purchased at the grocery store or farmers market is great; it is a great first step to eating right. But for real-z, sometimes after it gets home, it sits there taunting me, mocking me for buying it and being too lazy to prep and eat it. Stupid produce. Lazy Amy-Lyn....

   So, a while back I started making myself prep what I bought. This did a few things for me. It kept the fridge a little tidier (let's be honest, cauliflower is just annoying in the fridge with all it's roundness!), and it gave me no excuses for not eating veg throughout the day, or grabbing it as a running out the door snack.
   It does take some work, but it's all upfront work. It generally takes me 30-45 minutes to get everything washed, cut-up, and into the fridge (depending on how much produce I buy). Seems like a lot of time, but think of the time you save doing it in one lump. If you do it throughout the week, you are re-using and washing a knife and a cutting board. Taking the time to get the produce out, wash it, get it ready. I think that would take more time, personally.  

   As a random tip, we eat a lot of peppers, so I feel like I've got a good handle on cutting them up. So, I will give you my "no waste" pepper cutting secrets below! 

    FYI, sometimes the top ring of the pepper doesn't come off properly, don't fret, simply cut off the bits of pepper from the top so it's not wasted. 
    For things like cauliflower and broccoli, I cut them up, and use the bags the peppers came in (I generally buy the four packs of peppers that come in the bags with little holes in them) to store them. Those bags keep the cauli and broc from getting slimy (as they can get in a sealed, no breathing style bag).  

   As for celery and cucumber, I wash and cup them up, and store them in tupperware and a zippered style plastic bag. The ends of the celery can get dry in the tupperware, so either fill the tupperware they are in with water, or eat it with dry ends (as I do, because dry ends don't bother me!). The cucumber stays lovely in it's plastic bag.

   For something like kale, I cut out the big, thick ribs (not everyone does this, or cares about those, but if I cook the kale, they are really woody, and if I throw the kale into a smoothie, my crappy blender doesn't do a good job of actually blending them in), and cup it up. I then store it in the produce bag I brought it home in from the grocery store.
   Asparagus is happiest and lasts longest in the fridge if it has a little water, and the tops can breath. 

   So, do as you please, but this is how roll when it comes to my veggies! :)  I like having things ready! If I'm hungry, it's just as easy to grab a handful of veg to snack on as anything else, no excuses! And when my kids want t snack, it's ready for them. Next Tuesday I'll bring you some more of my "fast food" tips!  

   So, I usually wake up bright and early in the morning to have some alone, quiet time, and work on a blog post. Tonight (Sunday) I got eating Cadbury Mini Eggs (hype me up), and now it's past mid-night, and I'm thinking I should post this now, and sleep in (ish-as much as children allow!)! Heck-yes! 
   I wanted to attempt a banana upside-down cake for some reason. I wanted to make banana bread, but put a brown sugar/butter/banana thing in the bottom of the pan, then the banana bread batter, bake it, flip it, cool....but then I though, "who the heck wants banana bread?" (don't get me wrong, I like it, but I didn't really want it...), then I thought, bananas and chocolate...oh snap! Add caramel and it should be divine. So, with my brain in upside-down cake mode, I started this in a skillet, baked it in the oven, and turned 'er out. Gosh, it was good. And, worth a mention, gluten free. Double snap! Boy, I'm tired....

    Pictured above, warming the butter, cream, and brown sugar to a delightful caramel. 

    Adding the bananas, nuts, and brownie batter to the caramel. Oh baby. 

   Check that out! :)  A perfect brownie, oozing caramel, and caramelized bananas....yummy! 

    If you think bananas in this is strange, just know that I don't generally like baked fruit, but this, oh this....it's so good....But, if you're still unsure, just make the caramel, and add the brownies and bake it. That'll be de-lish too!   
    Any plans for March Break? Give me some fun ideas if you have any! :)  

   I wanted to attempt a pan of Rice Krispie Squares, but felt they needed to be jazzed up, just a bit. Well, they got jazzy, and they were yummy too. How could they not be, really?  

Peanut Butter & Nutella Rice Krispie Roll

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 1/4 Cup chocolate chips
• 4 Cups mini marshmallows, or about 40 regular sized
  
• 1/4 cup butter

• 5 1/2 cups Rice Krispie cereal
  

Method:

1. Line a large cookie with foil or parchment paper; spray lightly with non stick cooking spray, or rub a thin layer of butter onto the bottom and sides.
2. On the stove or in the microwave, heat the peanut butter, Nutella & chocolate chips until mixable. Stir to combine, and set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a large microwave safe bowl, heat butter and marshmallows for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. (this step can be done of the stovetop too)
4. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until coated.
5. Pour cereal mixture into prepared pan and press into pan. If the mixture is sticking to your hands, rub a little butter onto your hands, or butter a spatula and use that instead. You want it to be about an inch thick, so don't speed it out more than that thickness, even if it doesn't fill the whole pan. 
   
6. Spread the peanut butter and Nutella mixture out onto the "squares" within 1-inch of the edges.
7. Starting with the longest side, roll up (jelly roll fashion), peeling foil or parchment away from the cereal mixture as you go.
8. Wrap roll tightly in plastic wrap.
9. Store in refrigerator, seam side down, about 1 hour until firm.
10. Cut into 1-inch slices.

   Rolling this bad-boy up was a little tricky, but just taking my time, and using the parchment as stability made it work out. It started to loose it's roundness a bit (as you can see in that bottom right-hand photo), so when I rolled it up tightly in plastic wrap to put into the fridge, I re-shaped it into (more of) a round shape. 

   Well, have a great weekend!  

   I think every parent wants to keep their child safe, to know they are being treated rightly, and to help them feel secure in this crazy world. To be their advocate until they can become their own. The same is true of parents of children with autism, but ever since we knew Caleb had autism, it's been a battle of knowing when and where we needed to disclose this diagnosis, and be his advocate. 
   Sharing when it is not necessary can alienate Caleb, but not sharing can lead to mis-understanding and harm to Caleb and sometimes others (both physically and emotionally). We want what is best for him, and that means something different in each situation he is in. 

   Sometimes I give a snarky person at the grocery store "the old what for" (as it were) for saying something rude and degrading to my child who cannot speak up for himself. But true advocacy isn't about getting up in peoples' faces about things they don't know or understand, but about creating a mutual understanding about differences to benefit everyone involved in the situation. 
   An example of when it would not be necessary to disclose a diagnosis would be like something I read in a compilation book from different authors called "Ask & Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum". My paraphrased version of Ruth Elaine Joyner Hane's story is of a grocery store clerk who the author knows (somehow) has sensory problems, and problems deciphering sounds in a noisy environment. At the check-out if the clerk doesn't hear what a costumer is saying, she simply apologizes with, "I'm sorry, I have trouble hearing in a noisy area". She didn't have to go any further than that to help the customer know she wasn't trying to be rude, she just didn't hear them 

   Some situations require telling someone about Caleb's autism because it will help them have a little more patience, and also more understanding of his reactions to events. Sunday school, for example, where Caleb is in direct contact with other kids, a noisy room (with awful buzzing florescent lights), and the requirement to sit quietly at times means that they needed to know so he can have the best chance of doing his best. Telling the leaders has improved Caleb's Sunday church experience immensely, and he has a good Sunday as a result (when church used to be "off" his whole day was "off"). They knew he had autism, but they needed to know what his struggles were, what he wasn't capable of, but mostly what he was capable of. Another (obvious) example of when to disclose, and be an advocate is at school. For the most part, Caleb's school experience has been excellent, and we have had  a lot of success. But there were a few times when beyond the disclosure, I needed to step in and be an advocate to protect my son from being hurt. 
   When Caleb was in grade 2 (it was his second year at the school), I felt the need to go in and talk with his class about him (he wasn't there). These kids would be the ones (for the most part) going to grade 8, and possibly beyond with him. I knew they knew he was different, I thought they maybe knew it was autism, but I wanted to talk with them.
   I told them about brains. I told them about their "toaster brains". Wires, a heating element, buttons, etc. Then I told them about Caleb's "hair dryer brain". Wires, a heating element, buttons-it was the same, but it was different. It did a different job, it might be able to toast bread, but with some serious effort. They thought this idea was funny, but they understood it. He goes to school with some great kids.....at the end of my talk, when I asked if there were any questions, one little boy says: "Um, Caleb's Mom?", Me: "Yes?". Boy: "Uhh....did you know Caleb can shoot the basket ball at the grade eight net (it's higher, I guess) and get it in most times?". Me: "What? Really?....no, I didn't know that..." (feeling proud). A little girl: "Um, I like it when Caleb is excited because he shows it with his whole body!". Me: "That doesn't scare you?" (Caleb can be loopy-loo when he gets really excited!), girl: "No, I love it, I wish I did it". Me: (trying not to cry....)
   I went in to teach, and be Caleb's advocate, but those kids showed me they were going to be that for him too. But, it made me glad to see that myself, to see that these kids had learned on their ow (from taking the time to get to know Caleb) that he was different, but he was the same. They just needed to look out for him a bit.     

   A time when we didn't disclose Caleb's autism was once in a restaurant that has a park "attached" to the porch seating (it's actually pretty cool, and a great idea so that when your child is finished eating, they can play at this park while the adults finish and chat. It's all fenced in too). Caleb was around 5 years old, he could talk, but not too much, and he had finished eating so we let him go to the park. There was another little boy there who seemed "different". Not "Caleb different"....but "European different". This adorable little boy had on tight, shorty-shorts. He had a well fitted t-shirt, and bleach blond hair, bowl-cut style. From where we were sitting we could hear the two boys' "conversation". It was a hilarious mix of this sweet little boy with a thick accent trying to talk to Caleb, who wasn't saying much at all, and what random (really random) things he would yell out, the little boy would just say something like, "Ohhhh.....I don't think I know that English word yet?".
    The best part came at the end when we went to leave. I asked the little boy where he was from, and he told me Finland. He told me in choppy english why he was in Canada, and then he said the best thing ever. "Your boy is very kind". Me: "Why?". Boy: "He didn't make fun of my accent, and he didn't try to correct all my bad english". (my heart melting....). Then he asked, "Is he from Canada? Does he speak english, or is he just learning like me?". Me: "He is from Canada, but he is just learning english, like you". Boy: "I think that's why we made good friends!". 
   If I had tried to explain to a foreign boy what was wrong with my son when I first let him go and play, the other boy wouldn't have offered Caleb such a true, and open playing time. He might have been worried, and shut Caleb out.   

   At the end of the day (and at the end of Caleb's life) I just want Caleb to know that he can count on me (and there are many others too) to help and guide him. To let him feel like he can be himself, and be safe from people who don't understand him, and help them to understand him. Sometimes that means stepping in, and sometimes that means staying out. 

   This recipe came together as a last minute, I need to feed some people, but all the stores are closed kind of meal! I had some ground venison already thawing out, a few potatoes, some leftover soup that could act as a "gravy/sauce" in a casserole, some cheese....yup, it all sounded good, and I was ready to experiment! It was a tasty experiment!     

Meat and Potato Casserole

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. lean ground beef or venison 
  
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 tsp each of any of these: garlic powder, paprika, or go more savoury with rosemary (these are optional). 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups thinly sliced potatoes (about 5 potatoes) 
  
• 1 1/2 cups cream of mushroom soup (I had leftover homemade soup in the fridge), or 1 can of cream of mushroom soup (which might make it not gluten free) 
  
• 1/2 Cup stock (any kind)
  
• 1/4 Cup milk or cream
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease an 11 x 7 glass baking dish. 
2. In medium frying pan, cook the onions and ground meat until done, add the seasonings (if you choose any), and some pepper. Drain the grease. 
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the soup, stock, milk, salt and pepper.
4. Layer into the baking dish half of the potatoes, then pour some soup over them. Then sprinkle in half the meat, then the cheese. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes, soup, meat and then the cheese.
5. Cover with lightly greased (on it's underside so the cheese doesn't stick to it) aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the potatoes are tender.
   

      I made the mistake of adding salt as I cooked the meat the first time, but I had also used stock made from bouillon cubes (instead of homemade stock), and it was too salty. I made this again (I wouldn't give you a recipe that was no good!) and used homemade stock, and added just a pinch of salt, and it was perfect. So, if you use bouillon, don't add any extra salt, if you use homemade stock (that doesn't have as much salt) add some as needed (taste the soup, stock, cream mixture before using it). 
​

   This meal was a yummy, middle of the long winter comfort food, and I will make it again before this winter is finished - which might not be forever!      

   Pancake Day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday, is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The term Shrove Tuesday comes from the word shrive, meaning to "confess". Eating pancakes on this day came from using eggs and butter in the batter - as they were ingredients that weren't allowed during Lent, so they needed to use them all up.
   Truth is, we love pancakes in this house, and if there is another reason to eat them for dinner, I'm all over it! 

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Blend)
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk (add 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to milk, let it sit a few minutes until it begins to curdle)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil 
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup chocolate chips (or blueberries) (having an add-in is optional)

Method: 

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to thoroughly blend. Leave no lumps of baking powder or soda behind! 
   
2. Mix buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla in a separate mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. 
3. Stir milk mixture into dry ingredients and whisk until batter is smooth. If batter looks too thick, add more milk, a little at a time. 
4. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Lightly brush the skillet will olive oil or coconut oil. Once the pan is hot, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup for each pancake, and pour batter into heated skillet and cook until bubbles form on the topnd the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook second side until golden. For larger pancakes, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to measure batter for each pancake.

    I like to eat my pancakes by putting a bit of peanut butter on first, then my syrup. I also love making mine into Bacon Fritters! Do you have a favourite way of eating pancakes? Whatever you're style, have a good Shrove Tuesday!