HIC Cakes!

We're a family of 6 - my husband, myself, and our 4 children. Our food budget is just slightly over $500 a month. I don't consider this super, super low, but it does mean that in order to make sure we have enough good food to eat around here, I have to watch what I spend. Unfortunately (and fortunately, I suppose), I'm picky about what we eat. Sometimes, albiet rarely, I'll let us all have treats that contain ingredients on my 'Oh, hell no!' list. What ingredients are those you ask? This isn't an exaustive list, but some include:

*High Fructose Corn Syrup

*Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

*Artificial Flavorings

*Artificial Sweeteners (including things like Splenda, and other 'real sugar!' *rolls eyes* substitutes)

*Dyes

*Synthetic preservatives

*Non-organic fruits and veggies on the dirty dozen list

Hey, sometimes I want that snickers bar, or that box of cereal (even though the packaging contains BHA), but in general I try to keep our diet free of those sorts of things. I'm not a fanatic about it, though. This isn't really the point of this post though - I'm just trying to show you that keeping this crap out of our diet isn't exactly conducive to keeping your grocery bill down. I refuse to pay an arm and a leg for most of the pre-made stuff that is 'organic' or 'all-natural!'. I prefer to either make stuff from scratch or find products that aren't touting their 'we're awesome!' benefits, but that still don't contain the things I listed above (and there are A LOT, you just have to look!).

Anyway, my husband loves to make pancakes on Sunday. He prefers the Krusteaz 'Just add water!' mix... I prefer my made from scratch stuff. I'm fairly certain the Krusteaz stuff meets my oh-hell-no requirements, but honestly, I think it tastes like crap. And making it from scratch saves a few pennies (refer to my post yesterday about shipping if you want to see how fanatical I can get about a few pennies...). There are times I really don't want to make pancake mix on Sunday for my darling husband to cook, though. I want to sit, drink my coffee, possibly go to church, and just be (in general) a lazy lump on the couch.

Here is my comprise (so I don't have to listen to him whine): I made him a mix that all he has to add is water, 2 eggs, and (if he feels like it), vanilla. We all like the recipe, and it's HIC (He Isn't a Chef) Husband tested and approved. This recipe feels our whole clan, making about 20 6-inch pancakes (about the size of a dessert plate). The only thing you'll notice on the recipe is that the water content is "2 1/2 - 3 cups" - Mike likes his pancakes thinner, I like mine fluffier. I'm the 2 1/2, he is the 3.

I make the dry ingredients, put them in a gallon sized Ziploc baggie, and put the label on the front. When the mixed is used up, I replenish. Easy peasy. Keep in mind that when I have the time, I still do *my* favorite pancake mix, that is a little more fuss than this one - the HIC mix isn't the absolute best pancake you've ever tasted - but I still think it's a helluva lot better than the Krusteaz mix!

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H*I*C Pancake Mix, Family Size

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup dry non-fat powdered milk

2 ½ - 3 cups water
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
butter for cooking

The dry ingredients are mixed together and stored (up to half of the flour can be replaced with whole wheat flour, if you prefer).

To start, set a pan on the stove over low-medium heat.

When you’re ready to make some HIC cakes, put the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk all wet ingredients (not the butter!) together and then add to the dry ingredients. A fork works well – do not over mix! Lumps should remain.

Swipe the heated pan with the stick of butter. Using a ladle or measuring cup (I usually use a ½ cup measuring cup, not quite all the way full), add your mix to the pan. When bubbles start to form almost to the center of the pancake, flip them over and cook for the same amount of time as you did the first side.

Repeat until mix is gone. ENJOY!

Makes about 20 6-inch pancakes

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I ship things a lot for various reasons, and so I always have 2-per-sheet adhesive shipping labels handy. I print this recipe on a label and stick it on the Ziploc bag. I can't seem to upload the document to google docs without it screwing around with the formatting. If you'd like me to e-mail you this recipe formatted for shipping labels (there are two per sheet, but you can erase one of them if you only need to print out one), just leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you!

Here is what it ends up looking like (and yes, that IS pink :swoon: - you can change the color if you prefer):