Blueberry Pancakes

One thing that I have learned, cooking as a single girl, is that I can't do everything the way my mother does. My mom is a wonderful cook and baker, and always fed us well, but let's face it: I don't have the army to feed... one person cannot eat all that food, and sometimes it seems kind of silly to make something from scratch, when you're going to have way too much and there's a reasonable alternative. 

I learned very quickly that I like wheat pancake mix (I have not gone whole wheat yet... I tried it and I just didn't like it). This mix is one I get from Hy-Vee or Dillons and all you have to do is add water. Simple. Perfection. Sometimes I make them just the regular way, but I love to add fruit to my pancakes (usually it's frozen fruit). I have learned that blueberries and raspberries do really well. Strawberries seem to have a few issues... sometimes they don't get warm and the batter around them doesn't always cook. I think that cutting the strawberries up into small pieces would probably help the cause. I always thaw the berries a little bit in water before adding them to the already-mixed batter, and then just cook them. 

I realize that this isn't a real "recipe," but it does serve my other purpose which is to throw ideas out there for people who need quick and easy and more reasonable amounts of food in their recipes. Breakfast is always a good, quick meal at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

One thing I will tell you is that most pancake mixes I have found will make more than I can eat by myself. I have sometimes cut the recipe in half, but mostly now (since I've been doing it for a while), I mix a little of the mix and water together until I know it's the right consistency. It's a good idea to make it once or twice as called for on the box so you know what that consistency is supposed to be. 

So, to make the pancakes:
*prepare the batter as directed on the box

*thaw some fruit (or use fresh fruit - or for those chocolate-lovers out there, pull out the chocolate chips)

*mix the fruit into the batter

*pour, flip, and enjoy :)