Time Saving Pancake Muffins (ok...being honest...sanity saving pancake muffins..)

My children love pancakes....In fact I can make the pancakes out of pretty much anything. As long as they look and taste pancake-like, it's a win. I have one son in particular that pancakes are his food of choice....

He also has a very narrow palate of foods that he WILL eat (thank you SPD...), so when I make pancakes, I stuff them with as much nutrition as I can!!

A few years back, I got to a point with this child where he would literally only eat three things.... eggs, french fries, and pancakes. Sometimes a chicken nugget or two, but let's not get all crazy with ourselves here... it was more like one chicken nugget every two weeks.

Sigh....

I'm quite sure I don't need to tell you that making batches of pancakes day in and day out was making me a bit insane..... Every time I realized where I was, it was in front of my griddle AGAIN flipping pancakes.

Pancakes ruled my life.

Ruled. My. Life.

And in being the "there has got to be a better way to do this" person that I am, I decided to try the pancakes in a different form. I don't live under a rock, I know that pancake muffins are very well known now...but I did this BEFORE Pinterest folks... That's right. My own brain, out of desperation to escape the monotony of flipping pancakes, said to put them in a muffin pan. So I did. And my life was irrevocably changed for the better. He loved them, the other children loved them, AND they were portable! Pretty much the perfect food in my tired mama book... Praise God!

Today, I am sharing with you the process that I have used since that day for many, many years. Are you ready? Let's go....

First, make your batter. My batter is made from whatever flours I have in the house. And (gasp) I will used a boxed pancake mix too if I have it on hand... (crunchy mama's, just omit that confession from your minds..;)) Then I add ground flax seed (good omega 3 source for calm nervous systems and good for pretty much everything else), unflavored protein powder (if I have it), mini chocolate chips (or cinnamon if I am out of those), sunflower lecithin (good for those growing brains, and I will leave a link below for where you can purchase it if you are interested), whole milk, and eggs if I'm not using a box mix. Sometimes I will add eggs even if it is a box mix. Depends on the day and what Joel needs...(or, if as I am making the batter, I forget that I am using a box mix, then add the eggs anyway...just sayin...)

And yes.... that IS a lot of batter... but..ya know... five kids and all... ;)

As you can see in the above photo, I like to use an ice cram scoop to get the batter into the lined muffin tins. I used to use a 1/4 measuring cup, but it got messy and drippy really fast...and to be honest, the less clean up I have to do the better. Can I get an amen???

Here is my sweet little scoop helper....

And my other sweet little scoop helper... actually she is more of my quality control tester... ;)

All filled and ready to go!

Into the oven that has been preheated to 350* for 25 minutes... when they are done they'll be lightly browned and gone very quickly! Try as I may, they don't even get to really cool down (I set a timer for 10 minutes that the children know they have to wait until it beeps to grab a muffin... I know...mean mom making them wait. haha ;))

This has saved me so much time and is very helpful for weekends on the go. Sunday's are something that I have always struggled with as far as having a good balance with getting out the door for church in the morning, as well as fitting in breakfast, lunch, and dinner because I am usually tired before the weekend even starts...And let's get real, I am getting 5 people outside of myself ready to leave the house. That in itself is enough... ;) Crock pot meals and pancake muffins are my saving go to meals!

My hubby was awesome this weekend in taking us out for lunch after church... he told me that he wanted me to be able to just relax and enjoy a meal that I did not have to cook! It was the best thing he could have done for me and I was so thankful! Well, that's it for now... I will have more posts about time saving meals that I have used for years, as well as holiday favorites in the months to come!!

Abundant blessings over your day, may the Lord bless you and keep, and may He cause His face to shine upon you!

Lot's of love from my home to yours, Michelle :)

Sunflower Lecithin link....

https://store.trimhealthymama.com/product/simply-sunflower-lecithin-16oz-bag/

As a side note, this is a very big bag for how much you actually use. In a bigger pancake recipe, I only use 1-1 1/2 tsps. In a single recipe (for one person) I only use 1/8 - 1/4 tsp. A little goes a long way. While I no longer follow THM as an eating plan, their products are of superior quality and their prices can't be beat for the amount of product that you receive. Their protein powders are the only whey protein powders that I have been able to use without digestive issues.... Check out their store!

P.S. I am not endorsed by them in any way... just love their products!!