It should be cheap, easy, and tasty (not necessarily in that order). Breakfast on a school morning for three kids and a late hubby: something Spot can feed to herself (having to spoon-feed the baby is another reason to boycott jar babyfood), and Dick can take on a paper towel out the door. Even better if it’s easily adaptable to kids and adults and customizable within the kid range too so each kid feels special, like this is “their” food.
I’m talking pancakes and syrup. From a mix, no less, but you have to make the mix.
Pancake Mix (from Mom’s Make-a-Mix Cookbook via sister Marcy whose OCD’s (including recipe organization) come in very handy every time I want to find something.)
10 cups flour (you can do any combination of white and wheat flour; you can even add wheat germ or other healthy stuff)
2 1/2 cups instant nonfat dry milk (if you don’t have powdered milk, you can just always make it up with milk and buttermilk with no problems. But the more dairy the merrier, right?)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking powder
2 TB saltMix well & store in airtight container.
To make 12 3-inch pancakes
1 1/2 cups Pancake Mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4-1 cup milk or water (depending on if you’re running low on milk, which I never am, of course)
3 TB oilCook pancakes on high heat griddle. (I don’t know why pancake recipes call for high heat. I like to use just barely over medium; that way when I get distracted by a dirty diaper or a hair emergency (she’s only 6 for crying out loud — just shoot me when she hits 12) or the need to stuff my face with an already-done pancake, there’s a better chance that they won’t burn.)
Of course there’s all that stuff about having your wet ingredients at room temperature and mixing delicately and using the batter right away. Whatever. If you’re awake early enough to set your ingredients out to come to room temperature, you need better reading material on your nightstand.
Serve with homemade syrup. Good kid syrup is a bit watery so they think they’re getting a lot but aren’t really going into a sugar coma (it’s morning, right; we gotta pace ourselves). Adult syrup should be indulgent and yummy enough to make even butter seem almost unnecessary (but not quite — more dairy, remember?).
Kid Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp MapleineBring to a boil, let simmer for a few minutes.
Connie’s Buttermilk Syrup for Grown-ups (I don’t know who Connie is, but I got this recipe from Marcy, too, about six times)
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda (don’t forget this; some chemical reaction thing makes this really important)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp MapleineBring first four ingredients to a boil in LARGE saucepan for 1-2 minutes; remove from heat and add flavorings.
There you go. Guaranteed to keep everybody happy.
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Ha! You’ve conformed to my way of doing those recipes (less sugar in the syrup, less buttermilk in the pancakes)–sincerest form of flattery!
Hey, post a vegetable curry recipe so I can duplicate it, pretty please! I’m too scared to just try it. You know, the cauliflower, chicken, whatever else stuff over rice.
LOL I buy the premade pancakes and nuke them!
Tara–if you were here we could go to IHOP for all-you-can-eat pancakes. wouldn’t that be good? (unless you had your baby in the restaurant, of course)
Marie–one of the (many) things i miss about florida is publix’s b1g1 deals. i used to get eggo waffles and love those!
Marcy–try this from allrecipes: Michelle’s Coconut Chicken Curry (note that if you accidentally use sweetened coconut milk it doesn’t quite work out). And consider the following review from doclelav:
ooh, my mouth is watering!
I made it last night. It was very good, though I didn’t have lime. I would put in less cauliflower and would add potatoes and maybe cashews and golden raisins.
Oh, I like those syrup recipes… I’ll be bookmarking this post.
Where do you get Mapleine?
Beth@TheNaturalMommys last blog post..If You Would, Please
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Well, now…I am a Krusteaz fan for pc batter. I heartily recommend it. Best hotcakes anywhere and all you add is water. You cannot make a lighter, tastier cake. Try it – you will love the time saved. As for the buttermilk syrup….it sounds divine…I can’t wait to serve it. I have graduating sizes of star and heart shaped cutters. I’ll try making a platter of them etching names or initials in just before I flip them.