One of the bonuses of my sister Renatta going to school in St. Louis means we get to have the occasional sleepover. The times she's not too busy being a cool college kid, I can usually lure her over with the promise of whatever the latest baked good I have on hand is. A few weeks ago it was the promise of puppy chow, a surefire convincer!
When we went to bed that night, she mentioned (hinted!) that she'd realllly been craving pancakes. I had to let her down, informing her that we didn't have any milk and she was going to have to wait until next time for a pancake breakfast. That is, until I woke up way too early the next morning and set about googling pancake recipes without milk, only to find Smitten Kitchen had some sour cream pancakes that didn't include a drop of milk. I've made sour cream pancakes before, but those included milk. 

It turned out to be a winning morning. The pancakes were perfect--tangy and light and perfect with chocolate chips. Renatta was happy because her craving was fulfilled. Ryan was happy because he walked downstairs to find a warm breakfast ready for him. And I was happy because I love feeding people (corny, but true!)!

One Year Ago: Favorite Spring Dishes
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Bird's Nest Cookies
Three Years Ago: Lucky Charms Treats

Sour Cream Pancakes
from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
-7 tbsp all-purpose flour
-1 tbsp sugar
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup sour cream
-2 large eggs
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat.
2. Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the sour cream and stir just until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the sour cream mixture and stir just until combined.
4. Grease skillet with cooking spray or butter. Pour 1/4 cups of batter onto the hot skillet and cook for 2 minutes, until bubbles begin to appear on the surface. Flip and continue cooking on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter. 

After our mind-blowing brunch at Half & Half for our 2012: Eat and Repeat challenge, it was a toss-up as to which of the two entrees I was going to recreate—the Clara Cakes or the Veggie Hash with Eggs. In the end, I settled on the Clara Cakes, only because it was so different (and indulgent!) than any pancake recipe I’d ever had—at a restaurant or in my home. The Veggie Hash is still on its way, and is probably necessary after cleaning my plate of a large stack of these!

It had been far too long since we'd made pancakes in our household. Because we're out the door at 6:35 am every day and eat breakfast at our desks, pancakes are always a weekend (or breakfast for dinner!) option. Lately we've been opting for eggs on the weekends, mostly because we can't get enough of sweet potato hash. On Memorial Day we took advantage of the extra time on a Monday and made a special breakfast.

I was a little wary about these pancakes as I mixed the batter together. It started fizzing and was very bubbly and airy, unlike most pancake batters I make. Though the pancakes remained puffy, I realized there was no need to worry once we both dug in. The pancakes were thick but not heavy, despite the fact that I used mostly whole wheat flour (ran out of white). These are definitely the type of pancakes you want to pair with fruit--if not strawberries than blueberries or blackberries perhaps. I don't think the lemon flavor would pair well with maple syrup.

What's your favorite kind of pancake? I think it's time we bring back pancakes on the weekends!

One Year Ago: Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup
adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod
*makes approximately eight 3-inch pancakes

Ingredients:
for the pancakes-
-1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup all-purpose and 3/4 cup whole wheat)
-3 tbsp granulated sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 cup ricotta cheese
-1 egg
-2 egg whites
-1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
-2-3 tsp grated lemon zest
-1 tbsp canola oil

for the strawberry syrup-
-1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
-1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
-1 tbsp cornstarch
-splash of water

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. Gently add this mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine. Don't overmix.
3. To make the strawberry syrup, combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat until warmed through, stirring occasionally and mashing to desired consistency.
4. Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat, spraying with cooking spray. Drop batter onto prepared skillet, cooking each side for approximately two minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and serve pancakes warm with strawberry sauce.

I told you that I returned home from vacation last month full of inspiration, at least in terms of food! In my Charleston Restaurant post, I raved about some sweet potato pancakes I had for breakfast one morning. Though mouth-watering, they were the equivalent of dessert for breakfast and I was eager to try a healthier version at home. Lo and behold, when I searched online for sweet potato pancake recipes, I came across one on Food Network's site that claimed to be the same recipe that Joseph's in Charleston, where I had my original taste of the pancakes, uses.

I'm not convinced this is actually their recipe...I modified it to make it slightly healthier, but even the recipe as posted didn't seem sinful enough. I'm pretty sure they bathed their pancakes in butter before plating them :) (don't worry, I skipped that step). I opted out of the honey pecan butter, as we were still coming down from our vacation sugar high the morning I made these (if you want to make it though, you can find the recipe here)! However, I couldn't resist sprinkling them with powdered sugar as they did at Joseph's.

Ryan and I both loved these. They were pretty fluffy pancakes, thanks to lots of baking powder. With only 2 tbsp of brown sugar they weren't overly sweet and I definitely wasn't left with that disgustingly full and heavy feeling like I was in Charleston!

P.S. Thanks for your sandwich help yesterday! Be sure to check yesterday's comments for some good sandwich ideas...and leave a comment if you haven't yet!

One Year Ago: Cornflake Scotcheroos

Sweet Potato Pancakes
adapted from Joseph's, as seen on Food Network
*makes approximately 16 3-inch pancakes


Ingredients:
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-4 tsp baking powder
-2 tbsp brown sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon
-pinch of nutmeg
-2 cups low-fat buttermilk
-2 eggs
-3 small sweet potatoes, cooked until tender, peeled and mashed
-maple syrup & powdered sugar for serving, if desired

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, beat sweet potatoes until smooth. Add remaining ingredients (flour through eggs) and beat on low, just until combined and smooth.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and cook pancakes in batches, flipping when bubbles form on the surface. Serve immediately with maple syrup and powdered sugar.

What's a girl to do when she's bought cake mix to make cake batter ice cream and still has tons of the mix left? Why, make more ice cream of course! Been there, done that. My waistline was begging for something else. And of course, since whole wheat flour = healthy, adding some cake mix to it and eating it for breakfast makes the "cake" part of the breakfast healthy, right? Whatever, these are too good to waste time worrying about if they're healthy or not.

With added sprinkles in the batter, these are downright cheery...perfect for a birthday, a holiday, or a random Sunday afternoon, in our case. The cake flavor is subtle, but definitely gives the pancakes a special something. I'm realizing now that I still had whipped cream in the fridge left over from the ice cream cake. I'm kicking myself for not topping these with whipped cream.

Next time...because I still have some cake mix left...


One Year Ago: Irish Soda Bread

Cake Batter Pancakes
slightly adapted from How Sweet Eats
*makes approximately 12 pancakes


Ingredients:
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup whole wheat flour (could eliminate and use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour)
-2/3 cup cake mix (I used funfetti)
-1 tbsp sugar
-3/4 tsp baking powder
-pinch of salt
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1-2 cups milk
-sprinkles

Directions:
1. Mix flours, cake mix, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, 1 cup of milk, and vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. If batter seems too thick, slowly add more milk (up to one cup more) until batter is fairly thin and resembles pancake batter.
2. Fold sprinkles into batter and spoon batter onto heated skillet, cooking until lightly browned. Flip and cook other side until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and serve warm with syrup.

Red velvet is never something I would have associated with breakfast. Cupcakes? Yes. Whoopie pies? Definitely. But never pancakes. Long-time readers of this blog know of my pancake obsession, so it's probably no surprise that I couldn't wait to try these. These were probably the most decadent pancakes I've ever made, perfect for a leisurely post-church brunch while we watched a few episodes of Mad Men. Well, napped through, if you're me. We'll blame it on the pancakes.

These weren't my favorite pancakes, not so much because of the taste, but because of my difficulty making them. First I forget the sugar (those first few pancakes were BLECH! These need sugar!), and then I had the hardest time flipping these. I often proclaim my preference for super thin pancakes, but these were so thin that they squashed when I went at them with a spatula.

Despite my problems, these were a fun variation on pancakes. I actually don't think I've ever had red velvet anything before, so I don't have anything to compare them to. Now, I'm excited to make red velvet cupcakes sometime soon--I've heard cream cheese frosting is involved...


One Year Ago: Sweet Potato Apple Casserole


Red Velvet Pancakes
adapted by How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups minus 1 1/2 tbsp milk
-1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-2 tbsp cocoa powder
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-3/4 tsp baking soda
-2 tbsp red food coloring
-2-3 tbsps mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and vinegar. Set aside to curdle.
2. In a separate bowl, mix flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Using a spoon, make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk and the food coloring. Gently mix, just until combined.
3. On a skillet or griddle, over medium heat, pour 1/4 cup of batter at a time and cook, flipping when it begins to bubble. (*can add chocolate chips to the pancakes while cooking, or top cooked pancakes with chocolate chips)
4. Serve immediately with desired toppings (syrup for us, though Greek yogurt would also be a fun topper. Jessica served hers with cream cheese frosting!)

This post is linked to Eat at Home.

Happy Birthday to my stud of a brother, Quinn! (not that he reads this blog, but I figured I'd say it anyways for what it's worth ;)) Love you boy!

A few weeks ago, Jennifer from Dupont and Teflon contacted me and invited me to review a Flip It Pan. I had seen the pan on Baked Bree and was intrigued to give it a try for myself. When the pan arrived, I checked out the directions and added omelets to the menu. While the Flip It Pan is mainly used to make the perfect pancake, it has many other uses, including omelets, french toast, and crepes. We set out to make our omelets one night and, in typical Natalie fashion, I forgot to grease the pan as recommended. Mistake #1. Mistake #2 was failing to read the part of the directions that warned to keep the heat much lower if using a gas stove. Double oops. As a result, the first omelet came out a little browned and undercooked in the middle. Still edible, I enjoyed my omelet while Ryan gave #2 a go. His omelet came out much more attractively and he dug in.

Our first experience with the Flip It pan was so-so. However, we chalk it up to user error (read: mistake #1 and #2). The pan is definitely nice when you are only making one omelet and don't want to worry about fighting your omelet with a spatula and accidentally destroying your omelet (or is that just me?!). It takes longer to cook in the Flip It Pan than in a regular skillet, but the resulting shape is perfect. The pan also comes with an insert that impresses a shape on whatever you're making. Who doesn't love a flag imprint on their meal?! :)

Because the Flip It pan is primarily used for pancakes, I decided to give those a shot as well. I whipped up some trusty Trader Joe's pancake mix and preheated my pan. This time I remembered to grease the pan...but failed to remember the heat tip. I know, I know! Thankfully, a crisped edge pancake never hurt anyone, and Ryan still ate his pancake.

Again, the pan takes a little longer to make a pancake in than on a standard skillet where you can make several at once. However, the perfect shape and fluffy texture might be worth the extra minutes. Thanks Teflon for letting me try the pan--next up I plan to attempt french toast in there...and I WILL keep the heat on low!

Interested in a Flip It Pan of your own? Maybe you can teach me a few tricks! Leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite pancake or omelet recipe and I'll enter you in the giveaway to win your own Flip It. For a second entry, tweet about this contest and leave a comment that you did so. Enter by midnight on Saturday (9/4) and I'll pick a random winner Sunday and announce it in my post on Monday!

Extra: Want another way to win a Flip It or some Teflon cookware? Teflon was included on "The Balancing Act" on Lifetime TV. It has already aired, but is being re-aired on September 3. The prize package and sweepstakes can be found here: http://www.thebalancingact.com/sweepstakes 


One Year Ago: Overnight Egg Casserole and Raisin Bran Muffins

Because of my extreme love for pancakes, I've subjected Ryan to many different types of pancakes. While he doesn't have quite the same pancake obsession I do, he willingly puts up with eating pancakes more often than the average person. In my defense, since I've developed a similarly unquenchable love for cooking, pancakes have been on the menu less frequently than they used to be. However, I'm never one to turn down an intriguing pancake recipe. Sour cream pancakes? Why not!?

Sadly, Ryan missed out on these pancakes while I served them to our weekly community group on a very fun "breakfast for dinner" night. They were really light and fairly flat (just how I prefer my pancakes), with great flavor that is surely attributed to the sour cream. I mixed blueberries in some, mini chocolate chips in others, and kept some plain. Wins all around, though the blueberry were probably my favorite! Served with pure maple syrup straight from Wisconsin (thanks again Maggie!), these were gobbled right up...much to Ryan's disappointment, who came home on the hunt for leftovers!

Sour Cream Pancakes
recipe originally from here
**I doubled the below recipe, 1 recipe probably serves 3 or 4 eaters


Ingredients:
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 cup milk
-1/2 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
-1 egg
-2 tbsp sugar
-2 tbsp butter, melted
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat until well-mixed. Stir in desired mix-ins (if using different kinds, as I did, just add to each individual pancake).
2. Heat griddle and grease. Pour 1/4 cup batter and cook until bubbles form. Flip and cook until light brown. Serve warm.

Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes

I've made several different kinds of pancakes and posted them on the blog, and you may have noticed that they always have some crazy variation (cranberry almond, carrot cake, gingerbread, and a few others). Normally, I don't really like plain pancakes. Why eat plain pancakes when you can spice them up with fruit or nuts or, even better, chocolate?! However, when we were in a time crunch for dinner one night, I handed Ryan my Cooking Light magazine and asked him to whip these up. Ryan saves the day! Or rather, Cooking Light saves the day!

I was so impressed by these pancakes, especially for being "plain". I actually commented to Ryan that I'd never seen such beautiful pancakes. The batter browned perfectly and each pancake cooked evenly, typically quite a feat on our skillet! While they were primarily made of whole-wheat flour, they didn't have that heaviness whole-wheat flour often has, likely due to the buttermilk. I can't wait to make these again...although probably with some blueberries or something, just because we can! ;)

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

****UPDATE YOUR GOOGLE READERS...I'm now blogging from my own domain...www.thesweetslife.com!!

Because Ryan and I planned to be gone over Christmas (and are STILL gone as you read this), we tried to avoid grocery shopping and instead wanted to use up the food we had already. This proved to be a little challenging the last few days, when we were essentially out of fruit, vegetables, eggs, etc. I wanted to make a "special" breakfast our last morning at home, and discovered that we had mostly everything for these gingerbread pancakes! I modified the recipe a bit, based on what we had on hand, and these turned out delicious. Ryan topped his with candied pecans, maple syrup, and whipped cream...while I opted to top mine with Stoneyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt (and later whipped cream--YUM). FYI--I'll be posting a review of the Stoneyfield Greek Yogurt in the next few days.

I wanted to send my sister off on her flight back to Ohio with a satisfied tummy, so I offered her the choice between waffles and pancakes. She opted for pancakes, so I looked on my favorite allrecipes.com for an easy pancake recipe. As I've mentioned before, I love ALL forms of pancakes, and I'm always eager to try new recipes and variations (I'm really craving some good buttermilk pancakes. Must buy buttermilk asap!). I made a few changes to the recipe (incorporated whole wheat flour, eliminated the oil, used less sugar, etc), so click the link if you're interested in the original. These turned out to be very good--especially with the addition of the peanut butter/milk chocolate chips. Those were definitely the best part; I can't wait to use the rest of the chips in some cookies!

Whew that's quite a mouthful! People that know me know of my obsession with pancakes. While I love all breakfast foods, pancakes probably remain at the top. My usual go-to pancake is banana chocolate chip, mostly because it's like eating dessert for your meal! However, awhile ago, Ryan made cranberry almond pancakes that we both loved. Recently, I started craving pancakes again (never mind the fact that I had them a week ago) and found a recipe for cinnamon oat pancakes on the blog Cooking with Christine. I decided to use this as my base and add almonds and cranberries to it, hence the super long title!