Squash Pancakes

Pancakes once were a regular feature in our home and I still like to make them as much as I can. The fantastic thing about pancakes and a picky eater in the house (mine is 4) is that you can hide a lot of different fruits and veggies in the batter. This time, the veggie was squash. My kids loved them. My picky eater ate 3 or 4 of them the first morning. They are fantastic re-heated the next day too. I used some previously cooked butternut squash in the batter, making the batter more squash than anything else.

1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnimon
2 cups squash (guestimate) - previously cooked and mashed well

Mix everything together.  Heat the griddle or frying pan.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Pour 1/4 batter at a time onto the griddle.  (you can also add Mickey Mouse ears with a little extra batter for fun).  Let cook through on one side before flipping to cook onto the other.  Serve with butter and syrup.

Making Pancakes Better

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know that our family loves pancakes.  I decided to spruce up the regular Saturday morning pancakes a couple of times this past month.  The first surprise my kids were delighted with.  I remember having Mickey Mouse pancakes as a kid and loving them.  They are really east to do.  Pour the larger centre first and the two smaller ears.  My youngest called them "Toodles!"  (which you'll know if your own is a fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).  The letters I've been wanting to try my hand at for a while.  I filled an icing dispenser with pancake mix and did the writing.  Everyone got their own letter (1st initial).  They were cute (and yummy) and the kids loved them!

The next big of sprucing up I did was for a box mix.  I'm not big on box mixed pancakes (I prefer mine from scratch).  But we had some in the house that needed eating up.  I made them better by:
-grating a peeled apple into the mix
-adding a little vanilla
-adding a little cinnamon
They were so good!  It reminded me of eating churros in Disneyland.

They were also my daughter's first pancakes - I think she liked them!

For more pancake fun check out this guy: Jim's Pancakes

IHOP Country Griddle Cakes

non-stick spray
1 1/4 c flour
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1/3 c instant cream of wheat (dry)
1 egg
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 c veg. oil
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Cook as you would any other pancake.

Pancakes

A friend of mine was searching for tips to make good pancakes on Facebook last week. I sent her my tips and links for my pancake recipes when I realised that I have never posted my basic pancake recipe on here. How could that be? I'm always making pancakes. So here's my recipe, it comes from Betty Crocker's Red Cookbook (adapted a little).

1 large egg
1 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour (I almost always use whole wheat)
3/4 cup milk (I usually up this to a full cup of milk, it depends how thin or thick you like your pancakes)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp veg. oil
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
(not called for but I usually add a tsp of vanilla extract too)

Beat egg until fluffy. Add rest of remaining ingredients and mix with a whisk (don't over mix). Heat griddle or pan over low-medium heat (or 375* on griddle). Grease with non-stick spray or margarine/butter. For each pancake pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the heated pan. Cook until they are bubbly on top, then flip to cook the other side. Serve with margarine/butter and syrup.

Oatmeal and Yogurt Pancakes

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that Saturdays are usually pancake day in my house. All sorts of pancakes. You'll also know that I've promised you a few recipes to use up yogurt. This recipe does not disappoint. They are honestly some of the best pancakes I've had in a long time. I found the original on Recipezaar.com and tweaked it for myself. (Yes, Recipezaar is my new internet discovery).

1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup milk
1 cup milk (approximately)
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg whites

In one bowl, pour 1/2 cup of milk over the oatmeal to soak. While the oatmeal is soaking, combine the rest of the ingredients together and mix well. Add the soaked outmeal and mix in. Make pancakes on a pre-heated frying pan or griddle, cooking on one side until the pancake looks half cooked through and then flip over to cook the other side.

Peach Topping for Pancakes

Those who have been following my blog for a while will know that my family never gets tired of pancakes. I usually make pancakes on Saturday morning for PJ and cartoon time with my boys. This week I had some fresh peaches in the fridge that needed to be eaten up and I remembered playing with a banana/pineapple topping a few years back that I thought would go well with the peaches. It did and it's super-easy!

2 fresh peaches, sliced into 8 pieces
a few spoonfuls of brown sugar
a few spoonfuls of margarine

Melt the margarine in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the brown sugar and peaches and mix well. Cover to let everything simmer together while your pancakes are cooking.

Puffed Pancake

Of all the regular dishes I make, this one is one of my husband's favorites. I think of it as a 'special' breakfast food, so I don't make it a lot. Usually it comes out for Christmas morning, or for when company comes to visit. This morning we shared it with good friends of ours who are visiting from Ontario.
This was one of my favorite breakfasts when I was a kid. My mom had found it in the Vancouver Canuck's Cookbook (circa 1982 or '83). She topped hers with strawberries and whipped cream, and we knew it simply as Strawberry Puffed Pancake. I've made a few variations over the years, so I simply title it as Puffed Pancake. This recipe can be halved if you are serving to a smaller number.

2 tbsp butter/margarine
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt (keep salt at 1/4 tsp if you halve it)

Heat oven to 400*. Put the butter in a large rectanglar cake pan (or lasagna pan) and let it melt. In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs. Add the flour, milk and salt and whisk until combined together (don't overmix it - lumpy is better in this case!)
Take the baking pan out and pour batter in. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Have everyone in the kitchen ready for when you take it out of the oven for the 'ooh ahh' moment. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings. We used mixed berry topping and whipped cream this morning. Everyone else enjoyed sausages (which I finally made properly) as a side.



Alternate:

Apple Puffed Pancake
Slice 2 baking apples thinly. After the butter is melted, sprinkle pan with brown sugar and cinnimon. Layer the apples on the bottom before pouring the batter over.

Peach Puffed Pancake
As above with the apples, only use peach slices instead.

Berry Topping
Fill a medium bowl with mixed frozen berries (2 cups). Heat in the microwave for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup sugar. Mix well.

Pumpkin Pancakes

By now you've probably figured out that we eat pancakes a lot. In fact last weekend when I made eggs instead of pancakes my oldest was so thrown off that I made some Bisquick ones mid-week for him. (normally, I'd just serve him up some frozen waffles instead, but we were out). Anyways, I have fond memories of friends of my parents visiting from the States when I was a kid for the Abbotsford Airshow. Abbotsford, BC is the town I grew up in. Every summer they have a big international airshow and we'd often get visitors at that time of year. These friends of theirs were retired and had a converted motorhome. It was via them that I first had pumpkin pancakes and I loved them. I'm sure if I asked my mom, she'd have that recipe around somewhere, but this one is one I adapted from serveral I found online. I like them because they are tasty and my son will eat them without knowing that he has consumed some fruit and veggies.
3 eggs
1 & 2/3 C milk
3/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
1/4 cup applesauce
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C wheat flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat your pan or griddle to low medium heat. In a large bowl whisk eggs well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix batter together. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter by 1/4 portions. Cook until tops bubble and turn and cook other side. Serve with butter and syrup. Makes at least 15 pancakes.

my son that knows the pancakes have pumpkin in them and loves them
my son that doesn't know these pancakes are giving him extra veggies and fruit and loves them

Banana Whole Wheat Pancakes

Good morning to you! This is a Saturday morning staple around our house. It's what Saturdays were made for, a lazy day to stay in your PJ's and linger over the breakfast table. It's also a great way for my youngest (who doesn't eat fresh fruit) to get some fruit into him. This recipe makes a lot, so what you can do is make it all at once and keep the rest in the fridge for easy breakast over the next couple of days. Or save some of the batter to make fresh over the next couple of days. I prefer to make it all at once. It's also great if you are having company for breakfast.

2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar (brown or white)
1/4 cup applesauce
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 mashed bananas*

Heat your griddle or pan while you are mixing up the batter. Use a large bowl. Whisk eggs until fluffy. Add rest of the ingredients except bananas and whisk well. Fold in the mashed bananas. Spray non-stick cooking spray or melt a little margarine in the pan to prevent sticking. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into your griddle (375*) or pan (over low medium heat). Cook on one side until the sides look dry. Flip and cook other side. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

*Banana tip - freeze your ripe bananas right in their peels. These are great for recipes that call for banana in baking. To thaw, put bananas (peel and all) in a small bowl and heat in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Tear peel apart and the banana slides right in to the bowl. Mash and use in whatever you need.