Thursday, June 11, 2009

Making Breakfast...


One of the side-effects of me joining the gym with Superman and working out with him at dark o'clock is that I am making breakfast for everyone before Superman leaves for work. This is a huge departure for this family. While Buttercup isn't sure she likes waking up for breakfast, Valiant is an early bird like his father and he's loving it. Charming is willing to make the sacrifice as he's discovered the realities of fending for yourself.

Yesterday, I made pancakes from scratch. Now, you have to understand something. Six years ago, when a friend of mine mentioned that she had nothing in her refrigerator so she pulled out the flour and made pancakes, I had her rolling on the flour when I inquired how one could make pancakes without pancake mix. Sadly, I was completely serious and that, my bloggy friends, was the beginning of my journey. I had to learn how to cook, if for no other reason than to spare my children the embarrassment of making such a faux pas. I've come a long way since then, but every time I think of pancakes, I am reminded of how little I knew.

So, in case one of you out there doesn't know, this is how I make pancakes these days (although I'm dying to try a new recipe for buttermilk pancakes I saw on Hatch...I have no loyalty to my recipes!).

Erin's Pancakes
adapted from a recipe Karen gave me
Makes 6 - 8 pancakes
(When Charming is home, I triple this recipe. When it is just the two little ones and me, I leave it alone.)

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (for thicker batter, use less milk)
1 T. sugar
2 T. vegetable oil
1 T. vanilla
1 T. cooking oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Combine all. Cook on heated, lightly greased griddle. (I heat my electric griddle to 350.) Serve warm.

I use a squirt bottle to pour out my dough...it is easy to regulate the flow of the batter and it keeps in the refrigerator overnight. Any extra pancakes I have left over, I put on wax paper on a cookie sheet, then I freeze them, then I put them in a plastic bag and store them in the freezer. The kids can pull them out and microwave them for a quick breakfast.

11 comments:

Andrea @ Hatch :) said...

I have to ask. What is the difference between cooking oil and vegetable oil? How do the pancakes turn out when reheated? Are they soggy at all? Good idea to freeze the leftovers. I've never had any :)

Anonymous said...

I agree with buttercup, I hate waking up early

Anonymous said...

Oooh! I love pancakes!! Someday I would love to know how to make them.

Buttercup said...

Yum,Pancakes!!!

Valiant said...

They were great and you didn't really need to soak them in syrup and butter to give them flavor.

DarcyLee said...

I love the squirt bottle idea. We love whole wheat pancakes at our house but I especially love blueberry ones.

Unknown said...

Mmmmm mmmm Pancakes! Yummy. A squirt bottle seems like a very good idea.

Unknown said...

you are so SMRT smart!

Clark said...

I love these pancakes. They are so much better than anthing you get in a restraurant or out of a box. the whole house smells wonderful for hours after they come off of the grill.

More Than Words said...

LOLOLOLOL ERin! That was too cute!!

I like your recipe! I'll have to write this down and make it for my kids. They LOVE pancakes and I'm almost out of Bisquick!! LOL~!

Erin said...

Phew! Alicia proves I'm not the only one! Andrea, I used Canola Oil. I don't think there is any difference, I think that is just how my friend wrote it. P.S. Once you figure out the optimal amount on your microwave, they come out fine. They are NOT just like fresh, but they are good and fast...I didn't notice them being soggy.