Creamy Maple Syrup

There are so many ways to be "healthy" these days and sometimes all the conflicting advice leaves me confused.  Should I be limiting my carbs?  Eat low-fat?  What about sodium?  And less meat?  It's kind of impossible to do all of these things at the same time.  Well I've come up with my own idea of what's healthy. I've decided that eating a healthy balance of a variety of foods is the best way to go.  Lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains and not a lot of meat and sweets seems reasonable.  And make a lot of things from scratch.  I just figure that whatever I can make homemade is better than the stuff you buy with all the additives and preservatives, etc.  So I'm trying to do that whenever I can.

One thing we go through a lot of in my family is syrup.  We like our pancakes, waffles and french toast, that's for sure!  So I've been making homemade syrup lately.  One batch will usually last the whole week for us.  Homemade syrup is runnier than the store-bought kind but it tastes better and a little bit goes a long way.  It's super easy to make too--I can whip up a batch while cooking the pancakes or waffles to go with it!

This is my favorite every-day syrup recipe I've found so far.  I also love the Buttermilk Syrup, but that stuff has to be saved for special occasions since it's so decadent!

CREAMY MAPLE SYRUP
(slightly adapted from The Essential Food Storage Cookbook)

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 t. maple flavoring
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. butter

Bring sugar, water, and powdered milk to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add maple flavoring, vanilla and butter, stirring to combine and to melt butter.