Pancakes For Dinner

This isn't necessarily a FOOD BLOG, although I do plan to write entries about food and include recipes that I think are too great not to share. This blog isn't a PANCAKE BLOG either, although I do plan on sharing some really great pancake recipes with you weekly. Pancakes For Dinner is instead a symbol of the type of mom I am.
 
I'll be honest, for some reason or another, cooking hasn't really ever been my thing. Whether it's because I never really spent time with my mom in the kitchen when I was younger, or because I was a picky eater growing up, or that I married a Chef (now turned catering supervisor), for some reason I never really "learned how to cook." 
Quite frankly, I never really wanted to. Now that I'm a mom of 3 and my husband works a lot of late nights, much to my dismay, I've become more and more the family Chef, and because I am picky about what my kids eat, frozen Dinners are no longer an acceptable staple of my, and certainly not my kid's diet.  
I'm sure my Mother would be mortified to see me eat a Frozen Dinner.  Before I went to college, when I lived at home, we never had anything to eat that wasn't made from scratch. We ate meatloaf, and crockpot meals, spaghetti and meatballs, pork chops and casseroles, and most definitely always the homemade kind of mac and cheese. I had never eaten stovetop stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, or anything Chef Boyardee. I didn't even know that cheese came in a can.
When I went to college and lived in my own apartment and then when I lived in an apartment with my soon to be husband, if he didn't make me a homemade meal and if it couldn't be made in the microwave, I didn't eat it. 
So as life went on, I happily continued my laziness in the kitchen. That is, until I had kids. I'm not Super Mom by any means, but I am picky when it comes to my kids and when they started eating food, i started out making all their baby food from real foods in the blender.   Completely homemade. Gasp. Surprised? When it comes to my kids, I don't like foods with a ton of additives and try to stay away from added dies and definitely no artificial sugar. So bye bye frozen meals, and now, more and more I have to make homemade meals for my kids.   I'm not going to lie, I sometimes make my kids box Mac & Cheese, or Neon Noodles as my Mother would call them.  Like I said, I'm not Super Mom, and yes, I know it's a contradiction to the whole dye thing.. but sometimes it's just easier.  That being said, I am always trying to find kid friendly recipes that are both mostly healthy and not do require that I'm going to be stuck in the kitchen for extensive periods of time. 
With 3 kids I know it's important to ensure good things go into their bodies, but let's face it, it definitely isn't always easy. On the nights that I'm doing it alone and my husband is working late, you can usually look into my house and see: my older son doing homework that needs my assistance.. I'm trying to dig for a number 2 pencil that I could have sworn was in the bottom of the junk drawer, while my 3 year old daughter is pulling out the Twister game that she wants to play while knocking over the already leaning stack of games out of her closet, begging me to play. 

We just played Chutes and Ladders 3 times. 

Baby's screaming because he got woken up from his nap, I'm trying to blot up the spilled milk off the carpet, the phones ringing, the sinks full of dishes and there's barely enough room to get a pot of water from the faucet. Kids are starting to say they're hungry. Oh crap, now the baby's getting into the board games. Bingo chips are everywhere. And sometimes I just gotta say, "screw it kiddos, it's Pancakes For Dinner." 
OK, I don't really say, "screw it," out loud in front of the kids, but I'm thinking it for sure! 
Sometimes it's the kind of night where it's going to be Pancake mix from the box, throw on the water & cut up some banana slices on the side and that's it. Other nights it's that with some sausage on the side. On nights where I'm feeling a bit more adventurous, I'll add fun things like puréed vegetables (my secret weapon), make fun shapes or really go crazy and add things like ricotta cheese. For my first recipe I'm going to go all pancake exotic on you and share one that's a little fancy.  Bonus: It's healthy and chock full of stuff which makes it a complete meal with protein and vegetables.  Enjoy! 
This Recipe Comes from Jessica Seinfeld's cook book: Deceptively Delicious.

Pink Pancakes

Prep time: 10 Minutes, Total Time: 13-15 minutes, Serves 4

The Ingredients
Yes, I am using canned beets in this one.. of course fresh from the ground would be better, but let's face it: if I had time to roast and peel and cut beets for an hour, then we wouldn't be having pancakes for dinner.. am I right?!

Ingredient List:

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup beet puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pancake mix
1/4 grated apple
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
Pure Maple Syrup or fruit, for serving

1) In a blender or food processor, combine the water, ricotta cheese, beet puree, vanilla and cinnamon and blend, add the pancake mix and apple, and stir until just combined.  Do not overmix- the batter will be a little lumpy.

2) Coat a griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the oil.  Spoon the batter onto the griddle or skillet, using about 1/4 cup for each pancake.  Cook the pancakes until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, 1 to 2 minutes.  Then flip the pancakes with a spatula and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes.  Serve warm, with syrup or fruit.



My Secret Weapon
This time I just threw the Beets in the Magic Bullet and Pureed, which took seconds
If you want to do the stuff from the ground:  Leave them whole (trim stems to 1 inch) and unpeeled, wrap in aluminum foil and roast at 400 degrees for about 1 hour (they're done when they can be pierced with tip of a sharp knife).  After peeling, place in a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes.  Be prepared to have red fingers.

Blend away, super easy!

I thought my kids were going to detect the apple pieces and not be happy, but you couldn't even tell they were in there.

They're super pink alright.. Perfect for valentine's day!

the recipe made 10 pancakes total.  It fed me and my 3 kids with 1 to spare.

My kids would say, "voilà"

My 2 older children's servings, I cut up some bananas and served on the side.

This is what I ate.. surprisingly very delicious!  Try it!