Current Pins

What do your latest pins say about you?

 

3. Loving charcoal colored walls. I've been contemplating this for a wall in our living room to sort of detract from our slate fireplace. Our home is definitely a cozy one and our living space is limited. Why the builders put a huge slate fire place in the living room is beyond me but it's here to stay and I need to find a way to work around it.

5. I've been really interested in making more of my own baked goods and these crackers look simply awesome.

6. This lasagna soup recipe was really really good, especially on a chilly winter day served with good home made french bread. I halved the recipe & used a half jar of spagetti sauce instead of diced tomatoes since we were out. Love being able to improvise a recipe with good results.

7. Purging A TON OF NEEDLESS STUFF lately and loving it.

14. The combination of a tidy workspace and beautiful natural light has me redecorating my office again.

You can find the links to these pins on my Pinterest board.

XOT

 

Instant Pancake Mix

You really can't beat a good stack of pancakes on the weekends. I've used this recipe for years now and have adapted it to fit our needs. It comes from Alton Brown and is really the best recipe I've used for buttermilk pancakes. I like the fact that I can make the mix and store it in a container for up to 3 batches. Probably less if you need to make more than a dozen pancakes. I'm a bit of a pancake snob but when you eat them almost weekly, you want a good tasting cake.

So you start with your mix:

6 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon kosher salt (do not use table salt) 2 tablespoons sugar

Put all of these dry ingrediants into a lidded container and shake really really well. He says it's good for 3 months but it never last that long in our household.

To make a batch of pancakes, you need...

2 eggs 2 cups buttermilk 4 tablespoons melted butter (+ more for the griddle) 2 cups dry mix

Add the dry mix in a separate bowl, put aside.

Mix the wet ingrediants...

In the original recipes, you had to seperate the eggs. I don't do that. I melt the butter in a bowl (make sure it's not too hot). Then I crack the eggs and whisk it right away so they don't scramble. Pour in the buttermilk (my store doesn't carry buttermilk anymore so I just use 2 cups whole milk with a heaping tablespoon of white vinegar. I let it sit on the counter for a bit before adding it to the wet mix. I actually like using this rather than buttermilk.) Mix well.

Pour the wet into the dry. Very important....DO NOT OVERMIX. You will get a dense, tough pancake and those are not tasty. Just run your whisk through it a few times just to get the dry ingrediants incorporated and don't worry if you see flecks of flour.

Now let it sit for 5-10 minutes and prepare your griddle.

I have an electric griddle that has seen better days but it still works so it stays. Preheat to 350 degrees. Once it's warmed up, I run a stick of butter over it, then wipe of the excess with a paper towel.

Now we're ready to cook. Laddle the mix onto the griddle. I didn't think to time how long they take to cook but once you see airbubbles on the cakes, they're ready to flip. You'll see them puff up to perfection as well.

They won't take long after you flip them. Serve right away or put cooked cakes in a warm oven until the whole batch is done. It's nice to sit down and enjoy a good homemade breakfast together. One of those simple moments that yeilds the greatest joy. Of course a side of bacon or sausage makes it that much better. We also prefer maple syrup which I found to be way more affordable when purchased at Costco.

Hope you try and enjoy this recipe as much as we do. :) xot