No egg banana pancakes

I had some very ripe bananas that needed to be used today. Mashed banana is a great substitute for eggs. This recipe makes about 2 dozen 4-inch pancakes.

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons agave nectar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 mashed ripe bananas
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Stir until blended but slightly lumpy. Pour about 1/4 cup of mixture onto lightly greased griddle. Cook each side until golden brown. Enjoy!

Great for freezing or refrigerating for later consumption.

Tomorrow is Tax Day - Debt free goal, Day 1

Yes, today is the day before tax day.  I saved my taxes for today, thank goodness I had all the information I needed.  But, looking at my records made me ponder.  There must be a way to spend less on interest.  The amount we pay yearly makes my eyes pop. So, starting today my goal is to go debt free.

I have researched and read blogs regarding going debt free.  The most useful plan, the plan that would be easiest to follow for us, would be Ramsey's snowball payments.  The idea is to list all your debts and start paying off the lowest balance first.  Then, once that is paid off, add the payment amount onto the next smallest balance.

Our family has 5 debts to get rid of.  I hope to rid the first when we get our tax refund back to get the ball rolling.  I just sit and day dream of the day of not owing debt.  Saving 40% of our income and using the remaining 60% on monthly expenses.  This will give us a chance to save for college funds for our 4 children and add on to our retirement plans we have already started.

Whole wheat waffles

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon nectar or honey
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon extract (any flavor: orange, vanilla, lemon, etc)

Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients until smooth.  Pour half cup into waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Makes about 8.

Double the batch and freeze or refrigerate for later use. Warm in toaster oven when ready to eat.

La Grande, OR

There were not many choice hotel options in La Grande so we had to stay at another Rodeway Inn. The room was extremely small but at least it was clean and the service was very friendly. The breakfast actually had many healthy options. Just ask the front desk person for a tray to take food back to your room since there is only enough seating for 2 in the breakfast area. They also had a small outdoor pool.

We went out to eat at Mt Emily's brewery in downtown La Grande. We ordered the pesto pizza and it was amazing.

Summer Skibowl

If you have never been to the Skibowl in the summer, you should make the trip. There are plenty to do for little ones and the more adventurous. We had our little ones with us so we went on a giant slide down the ski hill, a roller slide, pony rides, kiddy go-karts, chair lift, kiddy canoe ride, and an indoor two story playground to get out of the sun. For the more adventurous there was bungee jumping, zip line, mountain bike rentals, go-karts, and those blow up balls that you stand inside like a gerbil. Fun for all ages and enough things to do to stay there all day.

Rodeway Inn

Last night was our first night of the road trip to SLC spent at Rodeway Inn in Portland, OR. We expected it to he less than what we normally expect but.... The pool was out of order. The breakfast juice machine was out of order. We didn't get the baby crib until after 9pm. And, on the otherwise of the thin walls was a moaning competition. Thank goodness I was the only one to hear that last night. On the plus side there wad about a 5x5 area for the kids to play in before and after bed. Now off we go to Mt. Hood the on to La Grande, OR.

Painting, again!

A full day of painting yesterday. We painted with the kids during the day. Then, that night my sister stopped over and we went a little crazy with the nail polish. This morning I had to paint my toes to match.