Quiet Christmas in Texas

It was a quiet Christmas this year.  Usually, it can be a little stressful with meal planning and getting a turkey ready.  This year it was just us.  Meal planning took on a different meaning this year.  Luckily, I wasn't making the big meal for a crowd.  I'm not ready for that yet.  But yikes, what would I make?

We had Kim over on Christmas Eve and ate dinner at home.  

Mashed potatoes are always on the menu but I wanted to keep things compliant for us but enjoyable to the palate, too.  Kim requested chicken breast and it's funny because I have not cooked any meat since mid October.  I told Kevin I wasn't sure what to do with it anymore.  haha

It was a joint effort getting it fixed.  We had a laugh later because she didn't know that the mashed potatoes did not have milk or butter in them.  She asked if we were eating 'bad' things since it was Christmas.  Nope, stayed on the track pretty darn close.  

We had mashed potatoes/gravy, wild rice veggie casserole and sweet potato quinoa salad.  Kim's other request was stove top stuffing.  She didn't notice the butter was missing in that either.

For me, it was delicious food without the miserable feeling afterwards.  I normally feel bloated and blah.  This was a first for a holiday meal.  I had no weight gain after the holiday weekend was over.  Yay!

I will include the pictures of the wild rice casserole and quinoa salad.  Recipe another time because I want to tweak a couple things.  It was good but it could be better.  I love broccoli but it just didn't go well with the wild rice casserole.  Otherwise, it has potential to be turned into a soup, I think.  

• Wild rice veggie casserole (top)

• Sweet potato quinoa salad (bottom)

I woke up Christmas morning before Kevin.  I was in the mood for pancakes for some reason.  I made my hot tea, grabbed a shower and googled no oil vegan pancakes.  I found a couple different recipes but not exactly what I had on hand. As usual, I did my own thing and it worked!  I used to make homemade pancakes when the boys were little.  This was just as simple as the recipe I would use back then.  I love simple.I will share my recipe below for the new version of pancakes.  I topped with banana and raspberries(cooked down, added chia seeds)  I fixed potatoes that I baked in the oven.  Cube potatoes, season and toss on parchment paper.   Think I did 375 degrees but I'll go 425 next time.  I think it gets them a little crisper on the outside.  

No oil pancakes 

1 cup spelt flour (you could use wheat)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup oat milk (I used 2/3 c oat milk +          1/3 c water)

1 tbsp natural sweetener (Agave is what I used;honey or maple syrup would work)

Optional 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pure vanilla (I used alcohol free vanilla)

1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. 

2. Add wet ingredients until it is just mixed. 

3. Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes for fluffier pancakes then cook. 

4. Top with fresh fruit and enjoy!