bugs bunny would be proud

Have you ever bought a giant bag of carrots at Sam's Club (or Costco, etc.) and gotten home and realized, holy wow. That's a lot of carrots.
Well, I have. And unless you have horses, or a lot of children (clarification: animals do not ever count as children), or you're intimate friends with a frenzied carrot-eating rabbit named Bugs, you've gotta be creative and fast!
I'm here to bring you a tried, tested and approved recipe for that mound of carrots that is threatening to go bad in your refrigerator.

Fact: fresh veggies are great for you.
Don't give up on buying them just because frozen veggies are easier/cheaper/etc. Buying in bulk is a GREAT and cost-effective idea, and stores like Sam's Club give you that option. All you really need is to research how best to store your items for longetivy and how to use them up in your daily lunch and dinner recipes!

(Disclaimer: we do not own a Sam's Club membership. We piggy-backed on the membership of some friends or ours, so I'm really just a lot of talk, because this is the first time I've done this....)

Dinner Pancakes

Guest-Starring Carrots in the Lead Role

Don't be scared of this idea, like my husband was.
I saw a recipe on Pinterest from 5dollardinners.com, which you can find here.
The recipe is for a batch of whole wheat carrot pancakes, with a maple cream cheese glaze.
(My mouth just watered).
But I decided to throw caution to the wind, and go for a whole new idea -- a savory dinner twist!
Instead of going in the sweet breakfast/dessert direction, I decided to go for a filling, spicy main course.

Although, I'll admit, I couldn't shake the IHOP feel, so I added some scrambled eggs on the side. :)

Ingredients: 

-1 cup flour (whole wheat, if you've got it!)

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-3/4 cup milk (add more/less to vary the thickness of your pancakes)

-1 egg

-1 tablespoon butter, melted

-1/2-3/4 cup grated carrots

-1/4 onion, finely chopped

-1 fresh avocado, cut into thin slices

-fresh ground pepper

-chili powder

(as much as you'd like, for the pepper and chili powder! i usually go big, or go home)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and chili powder.

2. Whisk in the milk, egg, and butter. Fold in the grated carrots.

3. Cook pancakes on a hot, greased skillet. Repeat until all the batter is used.

Try not to be too upset by this oddly shaped first attempt!

4. Take your avocado and dice it up into thin slices to add as a yummy topping to your fresh pancakes!

5. Serve and enjoy! Sides are endless -- go breakfasty with some eggs and sausage, and/or slices of apples or oranges.

In my opinion, the thinner/crispier the better for these guys.
These have a wonderful sweet flavor from the carrots, and a fantastic texture. Adding the chili powder and onion and topping it with avocado savorizes it up a bit (new chef word?).

In any case, this meal left me feeling happy, healthy, and I think even a little wise.
Spice things up a bit, and try this recipe with your own dinnery additions!
Good luck!

In love,
Cait