By Colleen Lindstrom

This is nothing too new or exciting, many families across the nation do this. It is a phenomenon called “breakfast for dinner.” It is most widely used when the process of menu planning gets, shall we say, boring. Or when you are in a pinch and looking to “throw dinner together” using ingredients that you have on hand.

At the Lindstrom home, our favorite breakfast for dinner arrangement is pancakes and sausage.  This seems to satisfy all the tastes, and we frequently get creative by adding to our pancakes. I have looked for years to find the perfect pancake. I have never been keen on using mixes. It really is just as easy to dump the ingredients together to make your pancakes from scratch, and because you probably already have the ingredients on hand, it’s likely cheaper. If you are the type that likes a light and feathery pancake (think Perkins consistency), then this is the recipe for you. It comes from an ancient Betty Crocker cookbook that has been passed down in my family. I know the recipe by heart these days.

Betty Crocker (and Colleen’s) Feathery Pancakes

In one bowl combine:
1 egg beaten
1 C milk
2 Tbs oil (canola, vegetable, etc.)

Whisk together

Slowly add:
1 C flour
2 Tbs baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt (I usually just use a pinch – and have sometimes forgotten it altogether. It really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference either way.)

Whisk or stir until lumps are mostly gone.
Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to drop batter onto a skillet heated on medium high.
When bubbles form on top of pancake, flip to other side until cooked through.

Voila!

If you’re looking to add some fruits and vegetables to your breakfast for dinner, try adding some pureed sweet potatoes or pumpkin. Adding blueberries is a no brainer, but you could try other fruits like bananas, strawberries, or even raspberries.

I have found that this is a really great way to get the kids involved in making dinner.  We measure and count together, everyone can take a turn mixing, and each person can customize his or her own meal (by adding what they’d like to their pancake).  As a culture we are talking more and more about the importance of the family dinner, what if we were looking more and more toward not just eating the family dinner together, but making it together.  Pancakes for dinner is a really great start…