Honey Cornmeal Pancakes and Snow

Holy Snow Storm!

I’m sure you’ve heard by now (or experienced it yourself), but New England got DUMPED on early this morning, and through the day.  By 9AM there was easily 18”-20” on our driveway and that doesn’t include the much higher mounds created by the plows.

For only the second time EVER, my office closed due to the weather…I was shocked and excited!!  SNOW DAY!  Brian stayed home too, the roads were awful.

(me in full on snow gear out in the back yard)

Before diving into some shoveling action, we took Bromley out to do his business.  The snow was clearly over his head but he still loves to try to jump through it.  Eventually we carried him to the plowed road. 

(he loves sticking his face in it!)

We realized that shoveling this heavy snow was going to be quite the undertaking so an energizing breakfast was much needed.

Ever since I received this amazing box from Chobani, I’ve had this idea for pancakes and was dying to create them!

The cornmeal adds its own sweetness, and along with the honey makes for a delicious pancake which ends up a tad sweeter than a classic pancake.  I usually go for “less sweet” foods, and these are by no means too sweet…they are awesome, and you don’t even need as much maple syrup!  (can’t believe I just said that)    It’s like cornbread meets pancake. 

Honey Cornmeal Oat Pancakes
(adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

• 3/4 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup old fashion rolled oats
• 2 T sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• dash of cinnamon if you like

In another bowl, whisk together:

• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 6 oz. container Honey flavored Greek Yogurt (like Chobani)
• 2 T canola oil
• 1 T honey
• 1 cup skim milk

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.  Now I like to let the batter sit for about 10 min.  This helps the cornmeal and oats soften up a bit.  If the batter thickens up too much, add more milk 1T at a time.  The batter should be on the thin side.

Heat a non-stick pan/griddle over medium heat, and pour about 1/4 cup of batter on to pan.  My pan only held 2 4” pancakes at a time.  Cook until bubbles form on the edges, flip, and continue until pancakes are golden brown.  At first my pancakes weren’t cooking all the way through, so I had to turn the heat down to med/med-low.

Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

Funny I usually do NOT like butter on pancakes (waffles, French toast) but the cornmeal sweetness is perfect with a little melty salted butter on top. 

But I can’t forget the chocolate chips.

And this guy…my love.  

Ok, then it was time to shovel.

I’ve read that shoveling snow burns 400 calories/hour.  Well if that’s the case, I burned a CRAP TON of calories today!!  It took us almost 3 hours total (with a break in the middle) and we still only did about 2/3 of the driveway…only up past our cars, and a path to the door.  Man, it was deep and heavy! Brian then went out one more time this afternoon, to get the rest. 

I needed a substantial lunch…

I made a monster salad with:

• Mixed greens
• shredded carrot
• cucumber
• shredded sharp cheddar and a few pieces of dill havarti
• tossed with lemon juice + olive oil

 

I also baked up 2 Bell and Evans chicken tenders that I picked up at the store a few weeks ago to try.  It was a good protein addition, and I made up a little ranch dipping sauce on the side.

I didn’t measure but the ranch included:

• non-fat Greek yogurt (such as Chobani)
• light mayo
• salt
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• dried parley
• splash of white vinegar

Came out really good actually!

Also on the side was a small sweet ‘tader…always a good move. 

You know what else is critical on a snow day…

Hot cocoa with LOTS of mini marshmallows!  Mmmm, they all melted together and then I ate them with a spoon of course.

Even though half of my day was spent shoveling, it was still a nice break in the work week.  Back to the grind tomorrow!   

Random, but what are your favorite homemade salad dressings???  I was trying to make up something different today but didn’t like anything I tried so I went to my trusty lemon juice and olive oil.