Momville.com

   As it turns out, there are lots of yummy add-ins for waffles and pancakes. Somehow that never even occurred to me until about a year ago. And to think, all this time I’ve just been eating plain old waffles! Not any more. Please add your own ideas as a comment to this blog post.

Directions:

These turn out equally well with either homemade batter, box mix, or multi-grain pancake mix.

1. Make your pancake or waffle batter as you normally would.

2. Mash up and add any wet ingredients that you are going to use as an add-in (such as bananas)

3. Let your kids stir that in.

4. Stir in half of your dry add-in (such as nuts).

5. Put your batter in the pan or waffle iron, as desired.

6. Quickly sprinkle in a little more of your dry add-in ingredient in the places that are missing some.

7. Cook until done and enjoy!

NOTE: These freeze extremely well so save yourself some time in the future by making a double batch. Let them cool and them place them in a zipping freezer bag. Write on the bag what kind of pancakes / waffles you put in there. For morning breakfasts during the week, just pull out what you want to eat, place on a paper plate and pop in the microwave to heat. It usually takes less than 45 seconds to heat them for 1 person’s plate. Breakfast isn’t going to get any faster than that!

Add-in Ideas:

These are all really great waffle and pancake additions. Sometimes I will split the batter and make 2 different kinds on the same morning. Enjoy and don’t forget to post your own ideas as a comment!

Banana & Walnut Pancakes – Mash 1 banana with fork. Put in batter. Sprinkle in some walnuts. Sprinkle in more after you have the better in the pan.

Pecan Pancakes – Sprinkle in large pieces of pecans.

Cinnamon & Pecan – Sprinkle in ground cinnamon and pecan pieces.

Apple & Cinnamon – Grate up some granny smith (or other sour apple) with your box grater. Sprinkle just a bit of sugar over them and toss.  Then put about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of this into your batter depending on how much of an apple taste you would like. Sprinkle in cinnamon to taste.

Blueberry Waffles – This is really great with fresh blueberries as the taste comes out a little stronger. Frozen blueberries still turn out pretty well though. (I don’t defrost them first.) Pour in about 1/4 cup of blueberries into batter. Sprinkle in a few more immediately after putting in waffle iron or pan if you have any large empty spots.

Chocolate Chip Waffles – Pour your batter and then sprinkle in semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Strawberry Pancakes – Mash up some strawberries and put in batter. Cook as usual. After they are done, slice extra strawberries and place on top. Either top with a little whipped cream, pure maple syrup or nothing!

Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

   Ok ladies, you might as well print this one out to keep stashed somewhere in case you ever need it. It was a spur of the moment creation that turned out fantastic!

   I made meatballs for the first time and had way too many leftover. The kids weren’t interested in a spaghetti re-run so I came up with this instead. We called them “Captain’s Sandwiches” after perhaps the captains on a ship carrying Sponge Bob. In any case, my 6 and 3 year old kids had clean plates within 5 minutes. “Two thumbs up“, my son said with a big smile. ‘Nuff said!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes (max)

Ingredients:

Leftover meatballs and some leftover spaghetti sauce, if meatballs are dry

Slices of heavy bread (I used 12 grain bread)

Grated cheddar cheese (you could also use sliced american cheese, if that’s all you have)

Optional Ingredients:

I mixed in a little bit of leftover Rice-A-Roni to finish it up (which was tasty)

Next time, I’d like to try smothering the whole thing in mushrooms, peppers, and onions that have been sauteed. (Then, put the cheese on top of that.) Lots of added veggies would help to up your intake for the day.

Directions:

Turn your oven on the broiler setting, so it’s starts to heat up. Get out your meatballs and cut them down into small bitesize pieces. Place slices of bread onto a cookie sheet. (An adult female will probably eat two of these, so number your slices according to that.) Place meatball pieces on bread. You’ll need to top with a little bit of leftover spaghetti sauce if your meatballs don’t have any left and are a little dry. Layer on veggies or rice, if using. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place in oven under broiler and watch carefully. Mine were done in less than 5 minutes!

Enjoy!

Super fast. Super easy. Everyone in my family will eat it. Enough said.

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken soup

egg noodles of your choice

Ms. Dash (original blend)

Directions:

Put soup in medium pot and add water. Stir until well combined. Add as many egg noodles as this watery mixture will hold. You want all of the noodles to be submerged in the water. Add a few shakes of Ms. Dash seasoning blend to season to your liking. Stir occasionally to make sure the noodles will cook evenly. When noodles are soft, your chicken noodle stuff is done. We usually eat this with a piece of bread. You can also serve with peas, either on the side or mix them in with this. You could also chop up a little leftover chicken and mix it in during the last few minutes of cooking. Fast and yummy. Enjoy!