Apple Crisp Pancakes

I'm going to warn you now- make sure you have about 30 minutes free after you read this so you can make these. You will thank me later :)

See these? These are apple crisp pancakes. You won't be able to have just 2, promise. The texture of these pancakes are what makes them unique. See that crust on top? That's the crisp part- oats mixed with apples & spices- that was cooked into the pancake. Dude. As I said, it's the texture that really makes these pancakes stand apart. They're delicious to boot and since you're eating apples, you can convince yourself it is a reasonably healthy breakfast, right? We'll keep that between you and me!

Anyway, on to the recipe.

Apple Crisp Pancakes, adapted from here
Ingredients:
Pancakes:
2 cups Bisquick mix (or similar baking mix)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup peeled & diced apple (I used 1 Fuji apple because it was in my fridge but I imagine any kind would work; recipe recommends Granny Smith)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats (either old-fashioned or quick-cooking)
2 tbsp + 2 tsp cold butter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg


Directions:
-Heat griddle to 350. Spray with non-stick spray if needed.

-In medium bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, & nutmeg. Cut in butter using pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

-In large bowl, stir all pancake ingredients until well blended.

-For each pancake, pour 1/4 cupful batter onto hot griddle. Sprinkle each pancake evenly with 1 heaping tbsp of streusel mixture.

-Cook 2-3 minutes or until bubbly on top & dry around edges. Flip & cook for 1-1.5 minutes or until lightly golden brown around edges.

I think our batch had about 11 pancakes total. We had leftover streusel topping, so you may want to half that portion of the recipe. Feel free to top it with maple syrup, etc, but we didn't feel it needed it!

Matt pouring batter & Lindsey applying the topping!

Cooking away

Yum!

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! :)

Graduate School Details

Look! Two posts in one week! Something must be in the air, right?

Anyway, I received a request for more details about my graduate school. This is a topic I could talk about at length as it does consume a large majority of my time, but I will limit it here to a few things. If you want to know more- ask!

Program details
I am enrolled as a Ph.D. student at a local university's criminology program. I had just graduated with my B.S. when I was accepted, so I am earning my master's degree along the way. My degree plan works as thus:

• Year 1 & 2- master's level coursework & complete thesis
• Year 3 & 4- complete doctorate level coursework; study & (hopefully) pass comprehensive exams
• Year 5- dissertate & graduate

I am in my second year of my program, so theoretically I should have my master's at the end of this spring. Due to a scheduling choice, I took a PhD level course out of order and thus need one more master's level (or tier 1) class before earning my master's in December. I am not planning on attending the graduation ceremony for that, so no Mom- no need to plan a trip :)

What do you do with a Criminology Ph.D.?

It's not as glamorous as one might think. No, it is not CSI and I am not planing on going to law school. This degree, like any Ph.D., is a research degree, meaning I will be qualified to do just that. Thus far, research has been my favorite part of graduate school so working for a research agency, the government (local, state, or federal), or a law enforcement agency would be cool. Entering academia & becoming a professor is by far the expected thing, and while I have not ruled that out, I am not sold on that for many reasons.

I definitely get asked what I'm going to do with this degree and depending on the day I may give you different answers. But in all honesty- I don't know. I could see myself becoming a professor, but the number of factors that play into that realistically happening are crazy (for instance the fact that my husband can't just move anywhere). Like me getting into this program, it will definitely be a God thing. Two years in and I'm still not sure, but I know God has a plan for where he wants me to be.

So, there you have it. Some information about grad school. If you want to know more, feel free to ask. Other possible topics include:

-Comprehensive exams

-What research entails in CRIM

-My personal issues with academia

-What being a teaching assistant (TA) is like

-Faculty/Grad student relations

-Professional conferences 

And because no post is complete without a picture, one of my recent favorites from PhD comics...

source

Quick update!

Howdy everyone! This post is especially for my beloved mother & aunt, who wanted to know if I would ever post an update. I have been meaning to, so they provided me the boost to post! Thank you Mom & Paula! :)

This is the last day of my spring break and it has been a very eventful one. I was able to do some good school work, but we also had my sister-in-law visit, adventured down to the West End in Dallas to see a museum and eat lunch, and we bought Matt a car! I will post a detailed update later of some of those events, but below is some quick photographic evidence.

I hope you are all doing well. Any specifics you want to know? Anything about grad school? Grading undergraduate papers? Buying our first car? The recipe for these delicious apple crisp pancakes?

Amazing apple crisp pancakes! Seriously... so much amazing texture & flavor

We did not buy this, but it is a 2 lb chocolate bunny!

Lindsey & me with beaters from making oreo cheesecake cookies.

This is me paper-writing. Matt wanted to document our standard weekend activity

And playing the Game of Life with Matt & Lindsey