Saturday, November 20, 2010

EASIER-THAN-IT-LOOKS Recipe: PUMPKIN PANCAKES

It's the Holidays! How you do the Holidays depends on how you were raised, and the traditions you've developed over the years. These delicious, easy to make pumpkin pancakes are a great seasonal breakfast treat. And it's healthy. But more on the pancakes later. Yes, these pancakes will be a great addition to your family holiday traditions. However, for too many families there's a family tradition that can be eliminated,: The DRAMA! We don't need it.

Individuals and families develop a lot of emotional and relational baggage in the course of a lifetime. However families can provide a lot of emotional support, and provide strength to family members (and family friends). Love and happiness should be the plan at this time of the year (and all year!), especially when people don't live nearby or you don't see them often enough. Unfortunately, people bring their baggage. We fall into old family habits that create tension, and stress during a time that we're supposed to be taking a break from that. We need to be celebrating. Focus on enjoying each other this holiday season. And enjoy some tasty, nutritious, easy Pumpkin Pancakes.


PUMPKIN PANCAKES
Ingredients:
2 cups of your favorite dry pancake mix (whole wheat mix worked well)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
Optional Ingredients: (I didn't find the need to use these additional ingredients below. The pumpkin was sweet enough, with a strong flavor without these.)
3 Tbsp dark-brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Add the ingredients to a large bowl. Stir until mostly smooth.
2. Heat a large lightly oiled frying pan or griddle. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approx 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form in the batter and the edges begin to brown. Then flip them and cook until the other sides are lightly browned.
3. Serve with your favorite pure maple or Agave syrup.
(this recipe was adapted from MEN'S HEALTH Magazine, Oct. 2010)
Enjoy these pumpkin pancakes this holiday season, and enjoy each other!

The "bacon" in the picture is made of soy (put out by Morningstar Farms), tasty too!