Walnut, Pear, Gorgonzola Salad

Up until a few years ago, I did not like salads. Part of the problem was that I thought of salads as iceberg lettuce with croutons, which I didn't like, and tomatoes, which I couldn't stand. Oh, and I wanted to be extra healthy so I wouldn't use any dressing. Talk about unsatisfying!

But then I started experimenting with salads that sounded interesting at restaurants. I was surprised to find that not only did I like salads, I craved them sometimes, if they had the right ingredients. I was also surprised at how filling salads can be.

So over the years I have learned to create salad combinations that I find delicious and filling while still adding a nutritional punch to your diet. This is one of my go to favorites. It fills me up while leaving me feeling energized and fulfilled. If you've never been a fan of salads, I urge you to start branching out. You might be surprised at what you discover.

Ingredients:
2 Cups Romaine Lettuce
2 T. Chopped Walnuts
2 T. Gorgonzola Cheese
1/2 Cup Chopped Pear
2 T. Craisins
2 T. Ken's Steak House Balsamic Vinaigrette

Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

As I've mentioned before, I am a sucker for pancakes. I usually try to make something a little different, but sometimes, I just want a good old-fashioned blueberry pancake. This is my go to recipe. Not a lot of sugar or oil and you can cook them with fat-free cooking spray. I love the flavor of these so much I eat them by hand, no butter or syrup. Enjoy!

First, heat your skillet to 375 degrees. You know it's ready when you can sprinkle water droplets on it and they sizzle.
Whisk together the egg, milk, brown sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder and salt until smooth. Gently stir in both flours until just blended - don't over stir. There are two ways to add blueberries to your pancakes, you and pour the batter onto the skillet and place them individually within each pancake before flipping them over, or you can gently stir them into the overall batter. It is faster to stir them into the batter but I prefer the placement method when I have time. Otherwise, my pancakes turn an unusual blue color rather than being tan with blueberries. But the choice is yours. For the ones in the picture, I went the fast route and stirred them in - thus the blue color.

Pour pancake batter onto the skillet in 1/3 cup increments. Flip the pancakes over when you see bubbles surfacing all over the batter.

Ingredients:
1 large egg
3/4 cup white flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup milk
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. vegetable oil
3 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries

Why I Gave Up Cooking

Before

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't published any new recipes on my blog in quite some time. Maybe you thought I got too busy, maybe you thought I got bored with it, or maybe you were just thankful I found better things to do with my time. But the truth is, I stopped posting new recipes and content because I gave up cooking.

Yes, every time I went to make something I had an overwhelming feeling of defeat and couldn't figure out what to cook. So we have been eating a lot of Pei Wei, pizza, and foods from "tweener" restaurants. You know, the kind where there is no drive through, but you don't have to pay extra for a server either. Just good food fast.

Then last night it hit me, I wasn't cooking not because I didn't want to, but because I couldn't find what I needed when I needed it, and my pantry was the main culprit. How could I possibly come up with things to make when I didn't even know what I had? Something had to be done.

So last night, with the help of Eden who stacked everything I gave her into the tallest towers she could make, I pulled everything out, threw out the bad, and put back the good. The result is an organized, workable pantry that easily shows me what I have to work with. It took me a little over two hours, and thankfully I didn't have much that was expired, but I got rid of a lot of unnecessary packaging and piles of grocery bags!

After
 

My pantry is still overloaded with too much food, but at least I have a better handle on what I have. Last night brought about three new resolutions for me. First, I am finally going to put to use the stack of reusable grocery bags I have in my closet. It will both help the environment and keep my pantry in order. I removed a completely full grocery back full of plastic bags from the pantry, plus another giant paper bag full of them and never know what to do with them once I have them.

Second, I am challenging myself to see how long I can go off of my pantry before I have to purchase more food from the store. I will reserve the ability to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, along with perishable items like milk and eggs, but other than that, I am going to cook with what I have until I get my pantry to an even more pleasant organized space.

Finally, I am going to post more regularly, at least once per week and twice per week if I can. So be prepared for some recipes based off of non-perishable items I have in my pantry for the next several weeks. It is going to be a fun, cost-saving challenge.