Quick and easy Pancakes

A special thanks to Mary and Amy for reminding me of this one. They were helping me pack my kitchen last week when we came across my one of my favorite breakfast tools. I must admit, a dollar store ketchup bottle doesn't look like much, but when it comes to making pretty pancakes in a hurry, it gets the job done.

When I found this idea, I had 3 kids under 4. The kids had a hard time cutting their own pancakes and I found cutting them too time consuming. I tried making smaller pancakes the traditional way, but the end result was a bunch of lumpy blobs. Then I found this simple solution.

I bought a plastic ketchup bottle from my local dollar store and cut the tip down to create a bigger opening. I filled the bottle with pancake batter and then used it to create small, quarter-size pancakes (we call them silver dollars at our house). They cook quickly and were just the right size for my kids.

It wasn't long before I realized I could also use it to create fun shapes with the pancakes bottle too. On Saturdays, birthdays, or just when I'm feeling like being a fun Mom, I take requests and create all kinds of crazy pancakes for my kids. Flowers, dinosaurs, letters…anything their creative little brains can come up with.

When you're finished, just put the cap on your bottle and toss it in your fridge. You'll be set to make next batch whenever you need it. Just pull it out of the fridge and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to bring it back to room temperature. Easy and inexpensive…just thought I'd pass it on.

Want to try it? Here's a few tips…
1. Make sure your batter is free of lumps (I add extra milk to mine to thin it out a little)
2. Cook your pancakes on medium-low heat to give you more time to create
3. To add a little dimension to your designs (if you're feeling especially artistic), pour the darker portions first. For example, if you want to make a flower, pour the petals first and wait a few seconds before adding the center. The petals will have a little more time to cook so they'll turn out a little darker than the center.
4. Raid your kid's toys. I found that my daughter's mini metal spatula from her kitchen set is the perfect size for flipping the silver dollars.

If you have any easy or creative food tricks that your family loves, please post them in the comments area. I'm always looking for new ways to keep my family guessing. Thanks.

Lazy Susans: Keys to a functional fridge

I hate to clean my fridge. Next to scrubbing my kid's bathroom, it's my least favorite job. It's not that it's particularly difficult, it's just time consuming. Pulling out and replacing all the contents takes almost as long as the actual cleaning itself. I used to use small plastic baskets to hold bottles and jars, but they looked bulky and forced me to pull out the whole basket to find what I needed. Then my mother-in-law passed along this helpful tip.

Pick up a few inexpensive 'lazy susans' from your local super store. I found mine on the clearance shelf at WalMart for $2 each. Place them on your fridge shelves to hold misc. small items. The rotating base makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for…no more knocking everything over to get to that big jar of applesauce in the back. It also speeds up the cleaning process significantly. Now when a spill hits, I just pick up the lazy susan, wipe the shelf with a Clorox wipe and set it back down again. Simple, cheap and functional. Just thought I'd pass it on.

Lucky Leprechaun Day - Fun Family Tradition

A few days ago my 4 year-old daughter ran into the kitchen of our new house begging me for a ziploc bag. When I asked her why, she enthusiastically declared that she had discovered a huge patch of clovers under our deck and needed to harvest them for Lucky Leprechaun Day.

My kids have been counting down to St. Patrick's Day for weeks now. They look forward to leprechaun visits the way other kids look forward to Easter baskets and tooth fairy quarters. Although it started completely by accident, it's been one of my kid's favorite family traditions. So, naturally, I thought I'd post it here.

Just so you know, I did post this idea about a year ago. However, my blog was so new then that I doubt I had many readers. I thought I'd post it again for those of you that joined a little later in the year.

St. Patrick's day was always a little dull at our house. We usually do the green pancakes and such, but I wanted something a little more fun for my kids to look forward to in March.

Several years ago, my oldest daughter fell asleep on an old green Mardi Gras necklace. When she woke up on St. Patrick's Day, she had a strange green marking on her belly. She was too little to understand that the paint from the necklace had transferred to skin, so I told her that a lucky leprechaun must have snuck into her room late at night and left her his good luck mark. I told her the mark was very special because it promised an entire year of good luck. She believed me whole-heartedly. In fact, whenever she was nervous or scared during the following year I reminded her of the mark and she'd get a sudden burst of courage.

We had so much fun with it that year, that we made it a St. Patrick's Day tradition. Each year, on St. Patrick's eve, they put freshly picked clovers in front of their door. After they've gone to sleep, I sneak into their rooms and draw a tiny green clover with permanent marker somewhere on their body. When they wake up on St. Patrick's Day, they search all over to find their mark, and then rush in to our room to tell us just how lucky they're going to be that year. They love that the 'lucky leprechaun ink' lasts for several days which gives them plenty of time to show off their good luck to all their friends.

I know it seems simple and perhaps a bit silly, but the way I figure it is this: I've only got a few short years where my kids eyes will sparkle at the thought of fairies, fantasy, and flying reindeer . Why not add one more magical creature to the list? Considering it only costs me the price of a marker and about 5 minutes of my time, I think it's well worth it. Just thought I'd pass it on.

If any of you have other St. Patrick's Day traditions you'd like to add, please feel free to add it to the comments section. I'm always looking for new ways to make these smaller holidays a little more momentous.