Happy Mother's Day to me!

For Mother's Day, I usually get breakfast in bed and it's great. Yesterday they brought in a tray of pancakes shaped into the word "MOM." It was really cute, and very yummy. Nobody else had eaten breakfast yet, so after a few minutes of looking at cards and such, they headed back downstairs to eat their breakfast while I ate mine. At first, I thought maybe being left alone to eat wasn't the most family-friendly tradition to have on mother's day. Then, I heard what was going on downstairs. Ryan started fussing because he wasn't getting fed fast enough. Someone started whining that the syrup was gone. Nate was trying to reassure them that he could make more syrup, it would just take a few minutes. More whining because it was taking too long. Ryan still wasn't getting fed quick enough. And I decided I was really enjoying my pancakes and milk in solitude.

A couple of months ago I got a Kitchenaid for my mother's day present, so Nate and the girls made me this chocolate cake with my mixer for my present yesterday. Yummy! They did such a good job, and I stayed within 1500 calories even with eating a really good-sized piece. I saved some calories by just sprinkling a little powdered sugar on top instead of putting icing on it. But here is my trusty delicious and easy chocolate cake recipe. I like it much better than a mix. It's very moist and just delicious. I had Nate make a few modifications to it yesterday to make it a touch less unhealthy.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 c. whole wheat & 1 cup white)
2 cups sugar (I substituted in 1 cup of brown sugar b/c that's supposed to be a little better, right?)
1/2 c. baking cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup oil (I used 1 c. applesauce but could kind of taste it, so next time I'm going to try 1 c. pureed black beans b/c they don't change the taste or texture)
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup water +3 T. dry milk + 1 T. vinegar, let it sit for 5 minutes)
2 eggs
1 cup hot water

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Stir in oil, buttermilk and eggs. Add water and stir until combined. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan. Bake @350 for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

I usually use this great buttercream frosting for it: 1/2 c. softened butter, 4 c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4-1/3 c. milk. Cream butter. Beat in sugar & vanilla. Add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.

With the changes I made one serving (1/12 of the cake, which is a good slice) only has: 2 g. fat, 55 carbs, 5 protein, and 242 calories. I could have cut that slice in half and then had some fat-free ice cream on the side. Speaking of which, Breyer's Double-churned fat-free ice cream is not missing any of the flavor. Good stuff!

It was a great Mother's Day. I love being a mother. Thank you so much, Nate, for all of the service you gave me. (It must be pretty hard being Mr. Mom because he went to bed at 9 pm.)