Snowy Saturday Warm-Up

Almost 2 years ago, I was approached by a marketing firm representing General Mills, who asked me to do a series of posts about Cheerios.  Why not, right?  I knew I liked Cheerios, I knew I'd get some cool free stuff from them in return as well as some cool free stuff for one of my readers, and I knew it wouldn't require much effort on my part.  Win/win. 

I did the series, but in the process, learned something.  Not only were Cheerios tasty, but they are remarkably nutritious.  If you have never looked at the nutrition label on the side of a box of  plain Cheerios, go do it now!  Lots of fiber and vitamins, something I'd certainly like to see more of in our diets here in this household. 

As a result of that epiphany, I decided to try to think of a way to hide Cheerios in something delicious that Samantha loves, since she's not a terribly adventurous eater and won't eat Cheerios on their own.  While making pancakes one morning, I thought Why not try substituting some of the flour with Cheerios?  And blueberries are also extremely nutritious and I had a large quantity of fresh ones I'd just picked at a farm in New Jersey, but with Samantha not really liking them on their own, I figured I could hide them in pancakes easily, too. 

So, after some trial and error over the last year and a half, I have now perfected the recipe for Cheerios/Blueberry pancakes.  I have posted this recipe a few times in the past, but it's just so good, I have to share it again.  This morning, a cold, snow-covered Saturday morning on which we will be reluctantly removing all of the warm, sparkly, comforting vestiges of Christmas in a matter of hours, I made the pancakes for Samantha, along with a side of turkey bacon.  You can pretty much use any of your favorite pancake recipes, but just substitute half of the flour with crushed Cheerios.  Below is the one I like.  Leftovers can be refrigerated and microwaved later.

Enjoy!

3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. crushed Cheerios (put Cheerios in a zip lock bag and roll them out with a rolling pin until they turn to powder. You can also sift them, to make them extra fine after rolling to keep the pancake from being too dense, but it's not necessary if you don't have a sifter)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbs sugar (don't really need that much)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1 egg
2-3 tbs. oil
1 handful of fresh/frozen (thawed) blueberries, crushed if you prefer (Samantha doesn't like them if she can see them so I mush them up really well before adding to the batter, which turns a pretty shade of purple when I do)

Mix all of the ingredients into a medium bowl with a whisk, drop onto griddle or frying pan by the 1/4 cup (or more for larger pancakes). When they begin to bubble on the sides, turn them over for another minute.  Serve with syrup. 

Voila!