Fluffy Pancakes and Cinnamon French Toast

Did you miss the events from this weekend?

Go Knights!

Saturday was one of those days I wish I could re-live because it was so fun!

Sunday was a recovery day full of lots of relaxation. I made a big pancake breakfast for me, my family, Ryan and Ross to enjoy.

Sunday Breakfast Spread

Along with big, fluffy pancakes we enjoyed a bowl of fresh strawberries and blueberries and mandarin oranges.

Fluffy 'Cakes

Fresh Fruit

Mandarin Oranges

We had a wide variety of syrups available so everyone got to use their preferred syrup. We also topped our pancakes with whipped cream for an extra treat!

Sugary Sweet

We enjoyed our breakfast and hung out at the table for a while after we were finished. Aren’t leisurely Sunday breakfasts the best?

For lunch we enjoyed more hot dogs and hamburgers that were leftover from the pre-tailgate party the day before. I ate a lot of homemade pasta salad which is possibly the easiest side to make in the world.

Italian Pasta Salad

I made this salad in an attempt to imitate the pasta salad my friend Kristen’s mom would make all the time when we were growing up. It’s so tasty!

Easy Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes tri-colored pasta
• 1 can black olives, sliced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 1 bottle light Italian dressing

Directions:

Prepare the pasta as instructed on the box and refrigerate until cold. Top with Italian dressing, olives, tomatoes and cucumber. Toss until the pasta is coated and the vegetables are evenly dispersed.

Christmas Cards

During the afternoon my sister and I addressed lots and lots of our family’s  Christmas cards to send to loved ones to spread some holiday cheer.

Family Christmas Card

Does your family send out holiday cards?

I love looking at everyone’s holiday cards! I told Ryan he better be ready for us to send out our first one next year! 😀

Since I was clearly in the Christmas spirit, I made a cup of hot chocolate to share with Ryan while I addressed more cards. Ryan  drank the vast majority and I ate most of the fluff on top. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cocoa mix I used so I’ll have to make another cup soon so I can really satisfy my desire for a good cup of hot cocoa!

Hot Cocoa

Today

Today I woke up and it was freezing! I could actually see my breath on the way into the gym this morning (I know all you northerners are hating me because you’ve probably been experiencing this for the past three months now).

Apparently the cold scares Floridians because the gym was practically empty. I had a good workout though! I took a BodyPump class before doing 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical. Sadie and I enjoyed a chilly walk together afterward. Her poor lil’ body was shaking!

After such a cold walk, I wanted a hot breakfast!

I made French toast strips using Joseph’s lavash bread and lots of cinnamon.

Lavash Cinnamon French Toast Strips

With a hot cup of tea and some syrup, this breakfast hit the spot!

What’s your favorite breakfast on a cold day?

Lovin’ on the Squash

Yep, I’m still lovin’ on spaghetti squash. Don’t get me wrong, I adore noodles, but this tasty squash is a phenomenal substitute for spaghetti and when I want to eat A LOT it’s a better option for me than buckets full o’ pasta.

I prepared the squash just like I did last time, and forked out the “spaghetti” strands to serve as my “pasta” base.

I placed the squash in a bowl and topped it with steamed broccoli and cauliflower florets, MorningStar Farms veggie crumbles and fresh mushrooms.

Veggie Topped Squash

I then topped my veggified bowl with tomato basil marinara sauce and swirled it around until it looked totally unappetizing to most, but awesomely delicious to me!

Nasty? I Think Not.

Of course no decent pasta dish is complete without ridiculous amounts of Parmesan cheese.

Parm Cheese For Me Please

This dinner was tasty!

After dinner I was craving something sweet and decided to fix myself a sweet cup of hot chocolate to enjoy while I blog.

Hot Cocoa

(Note: J. Crew catalogs make fantastic coasters.)

I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday night! Hump Day’s almost here. 🙂