One little tradition that Michael and I have started this year is called
"Sunday Nights". Sometimes this little tradition ends up taking place
on a Monday night or sometimes even a Friday or Saturday night. But
nevertheless, it all started happening on Sunday nights; hence the name. Our
"Sunday Night" is basically the easiest and cheapest date idea in the
history of date nights. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE dressing up in heels,
spending $50+ on dinner for two by candlelight and ending the evening with a
romantic walk by the river lights. We do spend many date nights out, but let's
face it; date nights can't always consist of that. Our Sunday Nights started
almost a year ago when we started binge watching the series, Once Upon A
Time. If you have never heard of this series, you must go rent it; it is a
very magical watch. I started this saga and instantly loved it. Michael after
catching the ending of one, forbid me to watch anymore "without him".
From then on we began watching them together; one here, one there. Next thing
we knew, we were counting down the hours until Elias went to bed so we could
watch the next episode. After that, snacks started appearing during our viewing
hours; barbecue chips for Michael and gluten free pretzels for me. Chomp chomp.
Then it morphed into a few Saturday morning viewings; complete with
breakfast. Michael and I are not big television watchers; we watch TV
together in the evenings maybe one or two nights a week. But that all changed
when Once Upon A Time drew us in; we were hooked. It was fun and some of the
episodes were suspenseful so we would shut the drapes for fear wolves or evil
queens were watching us from the outside. Hehe. Around season 4, our high
naturally faded and we went back to our once or twice a week viewing. Our main
binge watching night landed on Sunday evenings which led to sleepy Monday
mornings. But we loved it and looked forward to it every week. Remember the
Saturday morning, breakfast binge watching? Well we incorporated that in too.
We'd make pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon and fruit salad while Elias ate his
dinner. Then we would sing Elias off to sleepy land and I would rush to my
China cabinet and pull out all my candles. We would be shutting the drapes,
lighting the candles and pulling out the cozy blankets all while waiting
for Netflix to load. Talk about marathon training right there, folks!
"Don't push play yet!" we would shout to each other as we brought in
our breakfast feast and arranged it on our coffee table. No one was allowed to
take a bite until the opening scene of the episode. Cuddling by candlelight
with bellies full of pure bliss was absolutely the best way to end the weekend.
Week after week, this was our special date night; our time we looked forward to
all week. We laughed and snuggled and ate and whispered; never wanting the
episode to end. But sadly, like all television shows, it came to an end. {For
now that is, season 7 airs in October. :D} So what did we do? Continued our
tradition of course! We are currently not on a series right now, but that
doesn't stop us! We pick movies or cartoons, or sometimes a few funny TV
sitcoms. It is one of our favorite things to do and we love doing it together! All
that to say, how does someone who is gluten free eat pancakes you ask? Funny
you should ask, I make gluten-free pancakes! Today, not only and I am
sharing one of my favorite date nights, I am also sharing my all time favorite
Gluten-Free Banana Pancake recipe! These are so yummy and addictive! One Sunday
night I was out of bananas and actually ran 1/4 of a mile to my neighbor’s
house to borrow a banana. ;)
May these pancakes bring you much joy!
Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes
Ingredients:
~2 Large Eggs
~1 Banana
~1/2 Cup Oats
~1/4 Cup Apple Sauce
~1 tsp Vanilla
~1 tsp Cinnamon
Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Cook about 4
minutes per side. Makes about 6-7 pancakes. Enjoy!
Meet Me In The Treehouse
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
The Blueberry Hazelnut Pie.
This Week: The Pie Project.
If you have been reading, last week, I decided to begin my "pie a week" project. If anyone has not heard of “The Pie Project” by Phoebe Wood and Kirsten Jenkins, please go check it out! Amazing! And to kick start this new adventure, I made not one but, two pies. The first was Rhubarb, Strawberry, Thyme and Balsamic pie and the second was a gluten free {yay! Something I could actually eat!} Blueberry, Hazelnut Crust Pie. They both turned out amazing; although, the blueberry was a little tricky and challenging.
The day {Friday} had started out with me chatting on the phone to my friend
and cleaning the house. Michael and I were planning a day shopping and a visit
with some friends on Saturday, so I had to prepare Friday afternoon. Which
meant everything needed to work out; no time for mistakes; but this is Kelle we
are talking about. ;) So to begin, I
made the Strawberry Rhubarb first and used my shallow pie dish. This was poor
planning on my part because I needed a shallow dish for the Blueberry. The
Strawberry Rhubarb came out perfectly and looked heavenly! That balsamic and
thyme smell! The Hazelnut crust called for a little more hazelnuts than I had
on hand, so I substituted with pecans; is that bad?? The recipe called for it
to be baked while the blueberry filling was cooking. Bubbling and bursting, the
blueberries cooked over the stove until it thickened and looked like jam. This
is where the first mistake came; I went to place it into my cooked pie crust
baked in my deep dish. The filling only filled half; it looked quite sad.
"Maybe it will rise." "Maybe that's how it's supposed to
be." I thought to myself. Winging it, I threw it into the oven and hope
for the best; my second mistake. Thirty minutes later, it did not rise; don't
ask me what I was thinking. Frantically, I looked at the clock and sighed.
There was no way I had time to remake everything. Luckily for me I happen to
live with Michael. If there is anything he taught me over the past few years of
being married to him, it is to think outside the box and create a solution with
things I have around me. Meringue! It's answer to any problem, of course. I
pulled out my recipe and went to town. Eggs whites and sugar cooking over the
stove, whipping to perfection and it tasted oh so glorious! I layered it over
my small, sad looking pie and fluffed it up with my knife a little. “I’m a
genius!” I sang to myself. Now, into the broiler it went; just for a little
extra detail. I watched it like a hawk; opening the stove and peaking. We shall
pause this story to remind you of my little Elias. He was a perfect angel all
day; until the blueberry incident. Resuming, I peaked at it once more.
"Ahhh, a few more seconds!" At this very crucial moment, Elias
started to grab the stove knob and turn the flame on. "No no!" I said
to Elias. He looked at me, paused, and touched it again; turning it on.
"No no." I bent down and scolded. Elias shrieked and I picked him up
and took him to the other room. "Why does the house smell like
s'mores?" Then I shrieked, "The Pieeeeeeeeee!!!!" Squealing, I
ran into the kitchen. I flung open the oven and pulled out a very black
meringue pie. "No, No, Nooooo!" Pulling myself together, I wasted no
time. I carefully removed the meringue and simply began again. Cracking the
eggs very carefully, I began to separate them into the sugar mixture. Nearing
the fourth egg, I peered over to the stove and there was my dear Elias; smiling
and reaching for the knob again. "No, no Elias," I said. I looked
back into my bowl. Sadly, the fourth egg had slipped out of the shell as I
turned away. The yoke broke; intertwining with the rest of the whites. "No,
no, noooooooo!" I tried as hard as I could to separate it. Hopeful, I
cooked it and whipped it. Twenty minutes later, the eggs still had not thickened;
they were a thin liquid splashing around in the bowl. I gave up. 
After putting
Elias to bed I cleaned up the kitchen and, taking a breath, started again. There
was no way I saw going to bring this pie anywhere looking like that. I had run
out of sugar in my jar, so I grabbed a bag from above and started to transport
it. At this time, Michael had come home from work and was sitting at the table
eating some snacks. Unfortunately, the bag slipped from my fingers and sugar
came pouring out everywhere. "Ugghhhh!!" I responded. "That's
it, I quite! It's over! No meringue! I'm done!" Michael chuckled; not
knowing what I had been through. Being the hero that he always is, Michael hugged
me, cleaned the sugar up and encouraged me to keep going. After Elias woke up,
Michael took him outside and told me to try again. So, eight eggs, tons of
sugar and a whole afternoon later, I took out the ingredients again. Carefully
measuring and separating, I made my meringue for the third time and broiled it
to perfection. The pie was finally beautiful and and complete. Plus it tasted
amazing!
My moral of the story; sometimes being a Mom means sacrifice. Friday, my sacrifice was my beautiful meringue, burnt to a crisp. But the outcome; my dear Elias learned not to touch the burners. At least I hope he learned. Until next time. :)
If you have been reading, last week, I decided to begin my "pie a week" project. If anyone has not heard of “The Pie Project” by Phoebe Wood and Kirsten Jenkins, please go check it out! Amazing! And to kick start this new adventure, I made not one but, two pies. The first was Rhubarb, Strawberry, Thyme and Balsamic pie and the second was a gluten free {yay! Something I could actually eat!} Blueberry, Hazelnut Crust Pie. They both turned out amazing; although, the blueberry was a little tricky and challenging.
The day {Friday} had started out with me chatting on the phone to my friend
and cleaning the house. Michael and I were planning a day shopping and a visit
with some friends on Saturday, so I had to prepare Friday afternoon. Which
meant everything needed to work out; no time for mistakes; but this is Kelle we
are talking about. ;) So to begin, I
made the Strawberry Rhubarb first and used my shallow pie dish. This was poor
planning on my part because I needed a shallow dish for the Blueberry. The
Strawberry Rhubarb came out perfectly and looked heavenly! That balsamic and
thyme smell! The Hazelnut crust called for a little more hazelnuts than I had
on hand, so I substituted with pecans; is that bad?? The recipe called for it
to be baked while the blueberry filling was cooking. Bubbling and bursting, the
blueberries cooked over the stove until it thickened and looked like jam. This
is where the first mistake came; I went to place it into my cooked pie crust
baked in my deep dish. The filling only filled half; it looked quite sad.
"Maybe it will rise." "Maybe that's how it's supposed to
be." I thought to myself. Winging it, I threw it into the oven and hope
for the best; my second mistake. Thirty minutes later, it did not rise; don't
ask me what I was thinking. Frantically, I looked at the clock and sighed.
There was no way I had time to remake everything. Luckily for me I happen to
live with Michael. If there is anything he taught me over the past few years of
being married to him, it is to think outside the box and create a solution with
things I have around me. Meringue! It's answer to any problem, of course. I
pulled out my recipe and went to town. Eggs whites and sugar cooking over the
stove, whipping to perfection and it tasted oh so glorious! I layered it over
my small, sad looking pie and fluffed it up with my knife a little. “I’m a
genius!” I sang to myself. Now, into the broiler it went; just for a little
extra detail. I watched it like a hawk; opening the stove and peaking. We shall
pause this story to remind you of my little Elias. He was a perfect angel all
day; until the blueberry incident. Resuming, I peaked at it once more.
"Ahhh, a few more seconds!" At this very crucial moment, Elias
started to grab the stove knob and turn the flame on. "No no!" I said
to Elias. He looked at me, paused, and touched it again; turning it on.
"No no." I bent down and scolded. Elias shrieked and I picked him up
and took him to the other room. "Why does the house smell like
s'mores?" Then I shrieked, "The Pieeeeeeeeee!!!!" Squealing, I
ran into the kitchen. I flung open the oven and pulled out a very black
meringue pie. "No, No, Nooooo!" Pulling myself together, I wasted no
time. I carefully removed the meringue and simply began again. Cracking the
eggs very carefully, I began to separate them into the sugar mixture. Nearing
the fourth egg, I peered over to the stove and there was my dear Elias; smiling
and reaching for the knob again. "No, no Elias," I said. I looked
back into my bowl. Sadly, the fourth egg had slipped out of the shell as I
turned away. The yoke broke; intertwining with the rest of the whites. "No,
no, noooooooo!" I tried as hard as I could to separate it. Hopeful, I
cooked it and whipped it. Twenty minutes later, the eggs still had not thickened;
they were a thin liquid splashing around in the bowl. I gave up. 
After putting
Elias to bed I cleaned up the kitchen and, taking a breath, started again. There
was no way I saw going to bring this pie anywhere looking like that. I had run
out of sugar in my jar, so I grabbed a bag from above and started to transport
it. At this time, Michael had come home from work and was sitting at the table
eating some snacks. Unfortunately, the bag slipped from my fingers and sugar
came pouring out everywhere. "Ugghhhh!!" I responded. "That's
it, I quite! It's over! No meringue! I'm done!" Michael chuckled; not
knowing what I had been through. Being the hero that he always is, Michael hugged
me, cleaned the sugar up and encouraged me to keep going. After Elias woke up,
Michael took him outside and told me to try again. So, eight eggs, tons of
sugar and a whole afternoon later, I took out the ingredients again. Carefully
measuring and separating, I made my meringue for the third time and broiled it
to perfection. The pie was finally beautiful and and complete. Plus it tasted
amazing!My moral of the story; sometimes being a Mom means sacrifice. Friday, my sacrifice was my beautiful meringue, burnt to a crisp. But the outcome; my dear Elias learned not to touch the burners. At least I hope he learned. Until next time. :)
Thursday, May 11, 2017
The Cheval Mirror.
I wrote this Tuesday but Elias kept trying to push the power button on my computer and I thought finishing it when he went down for a nap would be better. So Thursday evening it is.
Below is a story of my recent find!
I was out with my friend at an antique store and saw an absolutely beautiful cheval mirror! Like really beautiful. I have been looking for a mirror to put in our bedroom for awhile and just haven't found one that I've liked. I'm really picky when it comes to furniture and clothes and colors and food and....I'm pretty much picky with everything. So after falling in love with it and learning everything was half price, I frantically searched for a price tag. Unfortunately we couldn't find one. I went to the main desk and asked about it. Sadly, it was not for sale; of course. I went home with it still on my mind and did a little searching. Surprisingly, I found one for sale on Facebook Market for $25! Can we all just take a minute and appreciate how wonderful Facebook Market is! I have found and sold many things on there. It's like an online garage sale! So anyway! I messaged the owner and it was indeed available! $25 later and it was all mine! I took it home and Michael brought it up to our bedroom. Pure bliss. Standing back and looking at the room, I decided the dresser needed a little nudge. "Michael, push it a little bit that way." "No, a little too much." "Oooo, just a little more!" It looked so cute! Michael walked out of the room and I thought, "Would it look good on the other side?" Excited, I didn't want to wait for Michael to come back so I gave the dresser a little nudge. Not realizing how heavy it was, I struggled and the candle sitting on the dresser fell and broke. Glass shattered all over the dresser and in the carpet.
Oops. Michael came back in, "Go get the vacuum," He chuckled. I ran down
and returned with the vacuum. "I should have waited, I should have
waited!" was all that came out of my mouth. Rushing because I wanted to
see how my mirror looked, I took the attachment and sucked up the glass
pieces on the dresser. Suddenly, everything happened all at once. First
went my bracelet that was laying there. Then went my diamond
necklace. I gasped. "Ohhhhhh no." I shut the vacuum off and looked back
at Michael. "What happened?" He asked; not looking surprised. "My
necklace! It's gone!!" was all I managed to get out. Michael giggled.
"Stop laughing!!" I said. "Please can you get it out!?" After a little
digging and a mini heart-attack, Michael managed to get my jewelry out. I
will never live this down. All that for my cheval mirror. And it turns
out I ended up leaving it on the side it was originally on.Anddddd I decided I didn't like the cherry wood color, so I painted it white. Why? Because of course everything is better white. It just goes with everything. Am I right??
Also, stay tuned; my newest idea yet. I have decided to work my way through a cook book. Not just any cook book, a book all about pies. The Pie Project. 60 homemade pies. My goal is to make one at least once a week. Starting tomorrow. :)
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