I know – pretty basic – it is on the box.  But sometimes the box is not there – wonder why??? And the batter can be frozen – instant breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 2 c Bisquick
• 1 egg
• 1 2/3 c milk

Directions:

1. Beat ingredients together with rotary beater until smooth.  (For thinner pancakes, add more milk, for thicker pancakes add more Bisquick.)
2. Grease griddle, if necessary.  (The griddle is the right temperature when a few drops of water sprinkled on it”skitter” around.)
3. Pour or spoon onto griddle (Go for fun shapes!)
4. Turn pancakes when bubbles appear and before they break.

Serves:  Makes about 18 4 inch pancakes.

Source:  Bisquick Cookbook

Add-Ins:

1. Strawberry Banana—chopped strawberries and mashed banana
2. Peanut Butter (or nut-free spread) and Jelly
3. Banana Nut (Walnut)—mashed banana and chopped walnuts
4. Apple Cinnamon—applesauce (and/or tiny chopped apples) and cinnamon
5. Mixed Berry—chopped strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc. (can use frozen)
6. Lemon Blueberry—lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberries
7. Pumpkin—pureed pumpkin and pumpkin spices
8. Cinnabun —brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla
9. Chocolate Chip Pancakes—mini chocolate chips
10. Coconut Pancakes—coconut milk, topped with coconut flakes
11. Chocolate Pancakes—cocoa powder
12. Yogurt/Greek Yogurt Pancakes—add in favorite yogurt
13. Orange Cranberry—orange zest, orange juice, and chopped cranberries (dried or fresh)
14. Honey Pancakes—drizzle honey in batter
15. Raspberry White Chocolate Chip—raspberries and white chocolate chips
16. Bacon Pancakes—cooked bacon
17. Carrot Cake Pancakes—finely shredded carrot, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla
18. Nutty Pancakes—a mix of chopped nuts
19. Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes—oats and dried raisins
20. Mint Chocolate Chip—mint extract and chocolate chips
21. Buttermilk Pancakes—substitute buttermilk for milk
22. Pineapple Pancakes—crushed pineapple
23. Coffee Lovers—espresso powder
24. Gingerbread Pancakes—ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses
25. Maple Cinnamon Pancakes—pure maple syrup and cinnamon
26. Banana Split—mashed bananas, mini chocolate chips, and chopped cherries
27. Zucchini Pancakes—sneak in shredded zucchini
28. Chocolate Peanut Butter—cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and peanut butter
29. Nutella Pancakes—Nutella
30. Snickerdoodle Pancakes—brown sugar and cinnamon
31. Macadamia Nut—chopped macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips
32. Eggnog—eggnog instead of milk
33. Lemon Poppyseed—lemon zest, lemon juice, and poppyseeds
34. Creamy ricotta can play both sweet or savory when it comes to pancakes. Add a dollop to the batter for extra light, fluffy cakes, or top finished pancakes with a spoonful of cheese, a drizzle of honey, and freshly ground black pepper.
35. Add dried or fresh, grated ginger to your batter, along with winter spices like cardamom and cinnamon, for a warming kick.
36. Instead of serving links on the side, stir cooked, chopped pieces or thin slices into the batter.
37. Swirl creamy or crunchy peanut butter into your batter…and serve with a topping of jelly!
38. Add cooked, chopped pieces of bacon to the batter, or pour batter over whole slices of cooked bacon in the skillet.
39. Add shredded carrots, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to batter for a healthy take on carrot cake (and of course, cream cheese would be a great topping).
40. Add a splash of OJ to your pancake batter for a citrusy kick, or mix in a spoonful of zest.
41. Almost any pancake can benefit from the addition of chocolate chips…and there’s no reason to stop there. Chocolate sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and cocoa powder all make great mix-ins or toppers.
42. If you’re already a connoisseur of chocolate chip pancakes, add a handful of butterscotch chips to mix up your sweet pancake routine.
43. Substitute yogurt (regular,Greek, plain or flavored) for the milk or buttermilk in your favorite pancake recipe. If the batter seems too thick, thin with a splash of water.
44. A handful of corn kernels (frozen or fresh) makes for a surprisingly sweet pop in pancakes—both savory and sweet versions. You can also try subbing in cornmeal for part of the flour.
45. Don’t stop at fresh or frozen fruit—dried fruit, like raisins, make great pancake mix-ins too.Blueberries are expected, but not their fruity counterparts like peaches. Use fresh, frozen, or canned varieties.
46. If all you want is a little twist, add a few banana slices to a half cooked pancake on the griddle…easy, classic, and delicious.
47. Add a sprinkle of cheese to the batter and serve with maple syrup or a more savory topping, like a fried egg.
48. Fresh or frozen raspberries make a bright addition to any pancake.
49. Add a handful of chopped spinach to pancake batter and serve with a savory sauce (like mayo or yogurt spiked with spices). For festive all-green pancakes, blend the batter and spinach in a blender first.
50. Almonds in any form—chopped, extract, flour, amaretto syrup—make regular pancakes seem elegant. Just add a small amount to the batter.
51. Go autumnal with thinly sliced pears—pour batter into the griddle, top with pears, and then flip.
52. Toss a little cocoa powder in the batter with a little chopped chilli or chilli powder! Drizzle with chocolate and see who can handle the heat!
53. Top with a spoonful of orange marmalade and melted dark chocolate for a Jaffa Cake pancake.
54. Add cocoa powder and red food coloring – and transferred them into red velvet pancakes.
55. Replacing the milk with an equal amount of the Dr. Pepper will produce dark and bubbly pancakes. You’ll be able to detect a hint of the flavours on the plain pancake, but just wait until you team it with sugar or ice cream.
56. Added fine sea salt to caramel ice cream topping for a salted caramel pancake.
57. Add some sour cream and a tad of sugar to the batter. For variety: brown sugar instead.

Source:  MOMables, Readers Digest, Good to Know, Chow Hound  (We love the internet!)

So it is 12 o’clock New Years Eve and we get invited to a bachelor’s apartment for breakfast and the Rose  Parade (in color on his new 1963 TV!).  He shopped at the only store open on the way home – the gas station – and this is what we got.  Actually rather good, we have made it many times since.

Ingredients:

• 4 English muffins
• 8 eggs
• 8 slices of ham (or Canadian Bacon)
• 8 slices of tomato
• 1 can cheese soup
• 1/2# cheddar cheese, grated
• flour
• salt
• pepper
• butter

Directions:

1. Hard boil the eggs.  (Bring to boil covered, turn off heat and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes. No more exploding eggs because you forgot all about them.)
2. Peel and keep warm in hot water.
3. Heat undiluted soup.
4. Add cheese.
5. Stir until smooth.
6. Toast muffin halves with butter.
7. Brown ham.
8. Remove from pan, keeping drippings in pan.
9. Dip tomato slices in flour, salt and pepper.
10. Brown in pan drippings.
11. Assemble:  Top muffin half with ham, tomato, and sliced hard boiled egg.  Top with cheese sauce.

Serves:  4

Source:  Larry Rose

A really old “lady luncheon” dish – but still good for a brunch.  You make it the day before.

Ingredients:

• 1½ loaves unsliced white bread (see notes)
• ¾ lbs butter
• ¾ lbs American cheese
• 6 eggs
• 4½ c milk

Instructions:

1. Cut crust from bread.
2. Cut bread into three layers.
3. Melt butter and cheese together.
4. Beat eggs.
5. Add milk.
6. Place first layer in 9×13 pan.
7. Pour 1/3 milk on first layer.
8. Spread 1/4 cheese on second layer.
9. Place on first layer, cheese side down.
10. Add 1/3 milk.
11. Spread top layer with ¼ cheese.
12. Place on second layer, cheese side down .
13. Add rest of milk.
14. Spread top and sides with rest of cheese.
15. Refrigerate over night.
16. Preheat oven to 350°
17. Set dish in pan of water and bake about 1 hr until golden brown.
18. Slice to serve.

Serves: 8

Source: Emma Kleerup, Kenilworth Church Circle Cookbook

Notes: Okay, unsliced bread is a challenge to find these days.  you can use sandwich bread (or even better, sourdough bread) and just fill the 9×13 pan, spread with cheese, more bread, more cheese, more bread, more cheese.  Pour milk over all of it and refrigerate.

Aunt Emma served this with a mushroom sauce.  It is really good with salsa and sour cream too.