And today I ate cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to LEE!!!

A year ago today at 5:35 pm Lee was born. He was little - 5.47 pounds but he sure was sweet. I am so thankful that he is my son. This year has been so much fun. I have loved every stage and every new thing he learns and does. I pray more than anything that Lee will know the Lord in a real way - that he will choose Him as his Savior, Redeemer and Friend. And that he will know there is nothing else that can fill the void in his heart but the love, forgiveness, hope, grace and redemption that comes from Jesus. Thank you Lord for my sweet baby boy. He is such a blessing to Whit and me.

These are some (a lot!) of my favorite pictures from this year.

Not really sure what to do with this hair today!

Muffins & Pancakes

I just experimented with two more recipes from Deceptively Delicious {by Jessica Seinfeld}. I tried the Applesauce Muffins with carrots & Pancakes with sweet potato. I am going to freeze them to have on hand but I had to try a taste and they are both really good. You'll have to try these too!

Applesauce Muffins

Ingredients:

nonstick cooking spray

TOPPING:

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons trans fat free soft tub margarine, melted

BATTER:

1 and a 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (she said all purpose but I used wheat and it still tasted good!)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree (I used carrot)

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray.

To make the topping, stir together oats, sugar, & cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the margarine.

To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix. In a second bowl mix the applesauce, milk, carrots or squash, sugar, oil & egg with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring just until moistened. Do not over mix -- it is supposed to be a little lumpy.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups and sprinkle with topping. Bake for 17-20 minutes. (She said it would make 12 muffins but mine made 16)

Enjoy!

Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup sweet potato puree

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup pancake mix

non-stick cooking spray

1 tablespoon canola oil

pure maple syrup, for serving

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix the water, sweet potato puree & cinnamon. Add the pancake mix and stir just to combine -- the batter should be lumpy.

Coat a griddle or large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, and spoon the batter onto the griddle or pan.

Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancakes and the batter is set, 2-3 minutes. Then use spatula to flip the pancakes and cook them until golden brown on the other side, 2-3 minutes.

(Be sure to spray more non-stick cooking spray every time you add another pancake to cook!)

Yummy!

love this laugh and lee finally has a tooth

Deceptively Delicious Banana Bread

Ava, John Parker, Webb, Rhodes and Lee

These little cuties came over today to play and we all had so much fun.

I made banana bread and it was really good. The recipe is from the cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld "Deceptively Delicious." It is the first thing I have made out of here but am excited to try more. I promise you can't even taste the cauliflower and all the kids loved it and so did the mamas : ) Also, I'm doing Weight Watchers and I figured out that if you cut 8 slices it is 5 points per slice -- kind of high but a great treat and healthy too!

Deceptively Delicious Banana Bread

Ingredients:

Nonstick Cooking Spray

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large egg whites

1 & 1/2 cups banana puree (3 bananas)

1/2 cup cauliflower puree

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl mix the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, salt & cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl mix the sugar & oil with a wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in the egg whites, banana & cauliflower purees, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture & mix just until combined.

Spray loaf pan with cooking spray (either one large loaf pan or two mini loaf pans). Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes for the large loaf, 20-25 for the mini loaves.

Let cool, serve and enjoy!

Today in our mailbox I got a little surprise from my friend (and awesome photographer!) Carrie. She took these pictures when she came over one day after Lee was just born. Can you believe how little bitty he was? I have been a little teary lately looking through old pictures of him that I need to print off to put in an album. Almost a whole year. This little bitty boy and now bigger little boy is such a blessing to me.