These Are My Confessions (And Pumpin Pancakes!!)

Tonight my darling husband is on his own for dinner because I'm not feeling very hungry.   I alerted him to this fact, and he found this information very curious, if not downright shocking.  He was like, "Whaaa...how...what do you MEAN?"  I've decided I'm not going to take it personally that the man almost dropped dead on the spot from shock when he learns that I'm not hungry.  Its not like its the first time this has happened in the 5 years we've know each other or anything!!  Its at least the third.  Geez.


Anyway, after he picked his jaw off the ground and found his words again, he asked why I didn't have an appetite for dinner.  I confessed that I went to Mexican with my friend Tina for lunch and I MAY have eaten almost an entire basket of chips in addition to my chicken fajitas (but I didn't eat the tortillas!  So that saves....carbs?).  I felt pretty ill afterwards, and I kind of still do.  So when I got back to my desk, I started adding up all the calories in my head and decided I would be having dry green leaves for dinner.  That isn't going to be nearly as delicious as, say.... the cheddar apple sausage meatballs (OMG, with ranch roasted potatoes and asparagus with goat cheese!!!) that we WERE going to have for dinner tonight, but it must be done.  And my husband?  He can either have dry green leaves or fend for himself.  Totally his choice, but if he interprets fending for himself as ordering something delicious (he mentioned Chipotle), he'll have to eat it in the bathroom so I won't be tempted to tackle him and forcefully trade dinners with him.


You know what would be the reasonable way to handle over-eating at lunch (instead of depriving my spouse)?  That would be, oh you know, exercising.  But today is my day off from spin class (because the Wednesday instructor is a major toolbag and makes me want to stab both eyes out with a butter knife every time I hear his voice), and working out on your day off is just not an option.  So instead, while I was sitting at my desk, adding up calories in my head, I found myself wiggling my foot really fast, at first subconsciously and then totally on purpose!  I was like, "surely if I do this for the next 3 hours until its time to go home, that would be like GOING to spin class without actually GOING!  Genius".  I know this is completely irrational and wiggling your foot doesn't count as exercise in the least, but I'm feeling skinner already.  I confess that I will probably be doing a lot of foot wiggling every Wednesday from now on.  You know, in place of an hour-long spin class. 




And since leaves are not very photogenic (and I'm pretty sure no one wants the recipe), today's post is from the other day when I made breakfast for dinner.  I used a different camera for this one (Nikon D200 instead of Sony Alpha A350)....can you tell the difference?  I think the pictures look better, but since we've already established that I'm often delusional, getting a second opinion probably wouldn't hurt.


I added pumpkin puree to the pancake mix and added some candied walnuts in there as well.  I thought they were amazing, and my husband agreed (even though he was put out about having to consume sugar-free syrup, oh the horror!!!).  I paired this with oven-baked bacon and fruit salad.  The bacon took way longer to get crispy than the interwebs told me it would, which annoyed me because it threw off my timing.  Oh well.  This meal was delicious, and I DID attend spin class on the day I ate this, so no foot wiggling necessary.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Source: Loosely adapted from Pennies on a Platter

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used Bisquick pancake mix.  I know, its shameful)

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder (I left this out since I used the mix)

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash of ground ginger

Dash of ground cloves

1 cup milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or melted butter

1/2 cup walnuts

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices and stir with a whisk to combine (or if you use mix, prepare pancake mix per package instructions)

Mix together the milk, pumpkin puree, egg and oil or butter in a liquid measuring cup.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together just until combine. (Or just add the pumpkin and walnuts if you used pancake mix)

Heat a greased skillet or griddle over medium heat.  Once the skillet is hot, add a 1/3 cup scoop of batter to the pan.  Let cool until bubbles begin to form on the top surface.  Carefully flip with a spatula and cook the second side until golden brown, a couple minutes more.  Repeat with the rest of the batter until it has all been cooked, re-greasing the pan as needed.  Serve with cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, and/or whipped cream.