Meatless Monday: Macaroni n Cheese Pancakes

Wednesdays in our house are pretty busy.  The kids are at two different camps and then after camp my daughter has gymnastics class.  Last Wednesday there was a special reptile show at the library that I had signed us up to go to at 7 p.m.  I knew that we'd be really crunched for time between coming home from gymnastics and getting ready for the show.  My daughter was home with me last Wednesday so I ended up making these pancakes for us for lunch and then they were already made for dinner for my son.  The kids loved these, but really, how couldn't they?  Pancakes plus mac & cheese?!!  Those are two of their favorite foods!  They ate these up and also had them for breakfast a couple of days too.  While this isn't "gourmet" food, it's nice every once in awhile knowing that I'm making a meal that I know the kids will enjoy!

Mac n Cheese Pancakes
recipe from Every Day With Rachael Ray April, 2012

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups cooked macaroni (1 1/4 cups dried), preferably elbows, drained and cooled
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
Maple syrup, for serving

Directions:
1.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2.In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined (the batter will be a bit lumpy). Using a spoon, fold in the macaroni and cheddar.

3.Preheat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and lightly grease. Using a 1/4-cup measure and working in batches of 4, scoop the batter onto the griddle to make pancakes. Cook until the undersides are golden-brown and bubbles start to form on the top, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes. repeat with the remaining pancake batter. Serve with maple syrup.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.