Oatmeal Pancake Mix

I love pancakes for breakfast. Lucky for me, so do my boys. Growing up we ate pancakes after church for lunch most of the time. I loved it. I know for many families the Sunday meal would be a roast and potatoes or something like that. In our house it was usually pancakes or scrambled eggs. A great meal either way. Our pancakes were made from a Bisquick mix and my dad was the one manning the griddle.

I still love Bisquick pancakes, but being as cheap as I am I have learned to make my own pancakes without a store bought mix. What I like best about making my own pancakes (besides saving a little money) is I can use whole wheat flour. It's an inexpensive way for me to sneak some extra fiber into the boys, and they don't seem to notice or care because it's covered in syrup and tastes great.

While perusing my top recipe blog (www.melskitchencafe.com) I found a recipe for oatmeal pancakes. I knew I had to try the recipe right away because it uses oats, which I have lots of in my pantry, plus oats are something I had never considered in a pancake to get even more fiber in there.

Easy and yummy. I only made half of what the recipe calls for because it makes 10 cups worth of pancake mix and this was a trial run. Next time I'll make the full batch and store it in my fridge.

Here's the recipe:

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats (mix in blender first)
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.