Every so often, I must admit to giving into my weakness and escaping to the IHOP for Breakfast. Today, since I didn't really have a particular recipe in mind, I thought we could have a Pancake Day. I usually do these on Saturday mornings, when the whole family is in town, so that there's lots of Hungry eaters around. Each of these Pancake recipes will make around a Dozen Pancakes, so if you have more or less folks, be sure to adjust accordingly.

First of all, if you like Harvest Grain N' Nut pancakes like I do, then I have just the recipe for you. Nutty, moist and tasty pancakes! This is the best pancake recipe I've ever tried, and believe me, I've tried plenty.

Grain and Nut Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups buttermilk

2 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 egg

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until fine. In a large bowl, combine ground oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, oil, egg, and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix wet ingredients into dry with a few swift strokes. Stir in nuts, if desired.
3. Lightly oil a skillet or griddle, and preheat it to medium heat. Ladle 1/3 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet; cook the pancakes for 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until brown.

Next, the blueberries in these whole wheat pancakes are so sweet and moist that they don't even need butter when eaten while hot! This is one of our favorite Saturday breakfasts, healthy for me; yummy for the rest of the family.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon and 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2-1/2 egg
• 2-1/3 cups and 1 tablespoon milk, plus more if necessary
• 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons and 1-1/4 teaspoons artificial sweetener
• 1 cup and 3 tablespoons blueberries

Directions

1. Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. Beat together the egg, milk, salt and artificial sweetener in a bowl. Stir in flour until just moistened, add blueberries, and stir to incorporate.
2. Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and spray with cooking spray. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn, and continue cooking until golden brown.

Last, but certainly not least, here's a basic whole-grain pancake to get you going in the morning. I also like to change it up a bit by adding 1/2 cup applesauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon instead of the banana.

Whole Wheat, Oatmeal, and Banana Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked rolled oats

2 cups whole wheat flour

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup dry milk powder

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 egg

4 cups milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 banana, mashed

Directions

1. Place the rolled oats into the jar of a blender and blend until the texture resembles coarse flour. Whisk together the blended oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, dry milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk together the egg, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Let the batter stand for 5 minutes.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Finally, if your Family and/or guests just have to have Eggs for Breakfast, try these little Mini Quiches to fill those hungry tummies. This quiche recipe can be made in a large pie pan, a regular muffin pan, or mini muffin pan. They taste great, and you can add more ingredients to suit your tastes such as mushrooms or spinach. This Recipe makes 24 of the Minis, so everyone should be able to have a couple or more.

Easy Mini Quiches

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk baking mix
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cups shredded American cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 mini muffin pans. In a large skillet over medium heat, fry bacon and onion together for about 5 minutes, or until bacon is crisp. Drain and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the baking mix, parsley, shredded cheese, bacon and onion. Spoon into greased muffin cups.
3. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops are lightly browned. Allow mini quiches to cool in the pan before carefully removing with a small knife or spatula.

Hope You Have A Wonderful Family Morning,

Phil

Hi Myrna,

So glad you liked the Pancakes my Friend. I love the Harvest Nut & Grain the best, but I am also quite partial to the Oatmeal. Speaking of Oatmeal, here's one that I fixed just this past weekend, and it not only has Oatmeal, it also includes what I call my "Orange" vegetable-Sweet Taters! Also, if you want some great Vermont Maple Syrup, without all the calories, I always get Vermont Sugar Free® Syrup, only $3.99 at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.

Louisiana Sweet Potato Pancakes

Hi Myrna,

You're at least the second person that I've found in my life that just doesn't like Maple Syrup. I love honey as well, as long as it's Natural, and I know that the Honey Bees haven't been fed Sugar Water to make the Honey sweeter. Most of my Honey comes from a couple of Friends who are lifelong Beekeepers, and have tables set up out at our local Farmer's Market every weekend. If I have to get any elsewhere for whatever reason, I shop online at Bee Natural Honey.

My Friends from Minnesota fix a casserole dish with chicken, mushrooms and wild rice, then bound together in a casserole with cream of mushroom soup. In tonight's dinner, I forgo the sodium-rich canned soup and make a light, creamy sauce that gets it's depth of flavor from dry sherry and Parmesan cheese.

Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 leeks, chopped and rinsed
• 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup dry sherry (see Note)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups frozen French-cut green beans
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preparation

1. Combine water and rice in a small heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, place chicken in a large skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a clean cutting board and let cool.
3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until their liquid has been released and has evaporated, 12 to 14 minutes. Add sherry, increase heat to high and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Add milk; bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Stir in Parmesan, sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch (or similar 3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
5. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Spread the rice in an even layer in the prepared baking dish. Top with the chicken, then green beans. Pour the sauce over the top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with almonds.
6. Bake the casserole until it is bubbling and the almonds are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Have A Blessed St Patrick's Day My Friend,

Phil