Tips and Tricks for Domestic Sanity - Cabinets Pt. 1

I have a secret.  I post my two favorite baking recipes inside my kitchen cabinets.  Awhile ago, Darling said, "you're amazing, who just decides to make biscuits for dinner and 15 minutes later there are hot, buttery biscuits on the table?"  Sigh - now you know why I call him "Darling."  How could I not?

I digress.

The secret to my success with getting biscuits on the table is several years ago I wrote out the recipe (and it's doubled and tripled self) on a piece of paper and stuck it on the inside of cabinet door.  Now, when I want biscuits, I open the cabinet to the glasses and voila, there it is.  I did the same with my tweaked pancake recipe.  The base recipe is on the inside of the cabinet and I adjust the flour/grains every time I make it, based on what I have available.

So there.  My secret's out.  Use it for your own good.  Recipes you love that make your family happy should go where you can find them easily.  And who cares what the inside of your cabinets looks like?  If anyone knows you well enough to come into your home and look for her own glass, she should know you well enough to not care about your "notes to self."

The evidence:

Pancakes, en masse

Pancakes. Mmmmm... Pancakes work as an excellent go-to dinner when the kids and I need a quick and easy meal when Darling's working late. I make a canister's worth of pancake mix and scoop out enough for a meal (and leftovers).


This recipe layout is set up for one meal or for assembling extra mix for later.


What You Need:

Dry Mix
Ingredients - (batch x10 in parentheses)

3/4 Cup Flour (7 Cups)
1/3 Cup Quick Oats (3 Cups)
2 Tbsp Ground Flax seed (1 Cup)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder (3 Tbsp)
1 tsp Baking Soda (3 1/2 Tbsp)
1/4 Cup Sugar (2 1/2 Cup)
1/2 tsp Salt (5 tsp)



Mix it all up in a very large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Pour into a large, airtight canister.

Wet Ingredients for one batch (double, triple, quadruple as needed):

1 1/4 Cup milk
1/4 Cup oil
1 egg
1 1/2 Cup dry mix


What You Use:
Measuring cups
large mixing bowl
wisk
griddle or skillet


What You Do:
1. Mix together dry mix. Pour into a large, airtight container.
2. Measure out dry mix into a mixing bowl.
3. Add wet ingredients.*
4. Mix just until incorporated. White streaks are okay. Let mixture sit for a few minutes.
5. Preheat griddle or skillet until hot enough to make pancakes. 325 degrees F on my electric griddle is best for pancakes.
6. When griddle or skillet is hot, pour on 1/4 Cup of batter. When bubbles have appeared and don't go away, it's ready to flip. Let bake until bottom is golden brown and delicious.
7. Slap tasty hot pancakes on a plate, smother with butter and syrup and enjoy!
8. If you've made extra pancake batter, use it all to make pancakes. Pancakes will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. To reheat, microwave on a safe plate for 30 seconds at a time. They can also be reheated in a toaster.

*If you like thinner pancakes, add more milk. If you like thicker, fluffier pancakes, decrease the milk.

Final thoughts: I play with the flour amount. Sometimes I use a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour or I reduce the flax seed and add some bran. Once you've made this recipe a couple times, feel free to make it your own. As long as the amounts of dry ingredients are the same, you can exchange your ratio of flours, oats, and bran. Experimenting is how the best things come about!