Groundhog day-repost

Groundhog day will be here on Wed. Feb. 2!  Do you celebrate this wacky holiday?  I love a reason to celebrate and make fun food, so the following 2 posts are re-posts from last year.  I'm not so ahead of the game this year and haven't decided what will be happening in my kitchen this year.  Plus I'm on this crazy detox thing and my food choices are limited.  I may post about that later, but for now... happy groundhog day!

p.s.  not the best pics here, but you get the idea.  I think I've actually improved, so that's a good thing.  :D

Think Spring!  I have never celebrated, much less thought about, Groundhog day.  But, having young children and being the middle of winter, I thought we could use a celebration.  We're half way thru winter!  That's great if you're a warm weather person like me!  Don't get me wrong, I love all 4 seasons and have really grown to appreciate winter.  Big chunky snowflakes falling down, while I sit in front of the fire... pure comfort.  Or "cozy-ing up" as my kids say to read books.  God has really helped me to see His beauty in the winter.  I don't do much in the way of winter sports, so the season does get a bit long for me.  My friend Cindy posted something about groundhog day on her blog, and that is where my inspiration came from this year.  To see her post, click here. 

We started the day with these fun pancakes.

I found this recipe at gourmet mom on the go.  You will also find the hot cocoa recipe here. 

Actually, it's more like putting it all together, not the actual recipes.  Mine were a basic pancake recipe with green food coloring added.  I would recommend a whole wheat or whole grain pancake to make this a little healthier.  Underneath the pancake is an apple w/peanut butter... that was our protein for the morning! 

I hope this will be helpful for next year if you need a little pick me up in the winter.  Or, you could still do it this week.  Hey, people celebrate Christmas for a whole month!  Enjoy!!

Is'nt he cute?  Okay, his eye looks a little bloodshot, maybe he's just tired of winter.  :-) 

I made my own hot cocoa.  I will share the recipe, but I'm warning you, it is pretty rich.  My daughter usually wants it, but won't finish it.  Is there such thing as too much chocolate?  I'm just not sure.  This recipe comes from Real Simple Magazine

2 cups cocoa powder

3/4 cups sugar (personally I think it needs more sugar)

8 oz mini chocolate chips

blend together and store in an airtight container. When you make it, use 1/4 cup cocoa mix to 8 oz very warm milk.  I think it blends best when you whisk it together on the stove. 

For the cute groundhog and his shadow, you can find the instructions here.  I used an oreo cookie, because it's what I had.