Homemade Pancake Mix 4 College Cooking

This is my son’s third year of college, but the first time he has lived in an apartment.  Now that he has a kitchen, he is on a reduced meal plan and makes his own breakfast most days.  I know he loves omelettes and has perfected his technique in making those just the way he likes them.  But I know he also loves pancakes, and they are such a comfort food.  

I’ve always made pancakes from scratch at our house, and over the years tweaked my recipe so it includes healthy whole-grains.  I knew he wouldn’t be likely to purchase all the ingredients, so on a whim I bought a large glass container and decided to make a homemade mix based on my own recipe.  Apparently it was a good idea, as it elicited a facebook-post thank you.

This is a recipe to make before you head off to college - or one to ask your parent to mix up and send in a care package.  I used flax meal in the mix I sent Jack, but at home I alternate flax meal and oat bran.  Flax adds a nutty flavor, while the oats add a sweetness and some texture.  If you prefer not to add either, just use 4C of the two flours.  

(Courtesy of and Recipe by Guest Blogger Hallie Bandy)

Homemade Pancake Mix

Equipment:
AirTight Container
Large Mixing Bowl
Non-stick skillet

Ingredients:
1C Cornstarch
3.75 C all-purpose flour
3.75 C whole wheat flour
.5 C flax meal or oat bran
4.5 tsp salt
3 Tb + .75 tsp baking powder
4.5 tsp salt
1 Tbls sugar (I added this / optional from original recipe)

Wet Ingredients Needed:
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Egg
2 Tbls melted butter

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Whisk all the dry ingredients together and put into an airtight container. 

3. Make sure to label and include instructions (below) with the mix. 

4. To Make Pancakes:
---Whisk together the wet ingredients
---1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk, 2 Tbls of melted butter
---Add 1 cup of dry pancake mix

5. I think this mix will last the entire semester, but I could be wrong.

College Menu Planning 4 Low Income

One of the best ways anyone can stick to a low income budget, such as a tight college budget, is to plan ahead. How do you stretch your dollars when you have none to little income? Why does it matter? I'm in college…YOLO, right?

Let's say, you randomly spend $200 a week for hungry, impulse-prone, thoughtless grocery shopping, plus eating out, plus weekend tailgating, and/or buying beer--this will add $9600 to your student debt and college loans (or credit cards)--UGH!--for one year--UGH!UGH!UGH! Multiply by four years, provided you graduate on time, and you have now increased your financial burden by $38400--OUCH!!!

Hopefully the debt you are accumulating is paying for more than food and parties; and, remember, the interest you'll pay back on this loan is more than interest on a car loan or getting a mortgage! YIKES!!  Yes, it SUCKS! 

And, it doesn't stop there! Once you graduate and get a job, your loan repayments kick in and tug at your hard earned money,i.e. car payment, rent, insurance, utilities, cell phone, water / garbage--all on you--parents have nothing to do with it! 

Be smart right now! Buy what you need and eat what you buy! Leave no waste behind when it comes to your college budget!

Yes, this isn't fair, but this is reality!

I may not have all the solutions, but start practicing thoughtful spending and budgeting in all aspects of independent living--plan your menu, find a decent grocery store, use a few coupon apps, buy in bulk, buy only what you will truly eat, and scour the stores for sales. Most importantly, STICK TO YOUR MENU and Grocery List…even if college debt cannot be wiped out completely by frugal shopping, at least it won't be exacerbated.

Thoughts To Consider

1. Learn some basic cooking skills.

2. Set 30 minutes aside on Friday or Saturday to plan your week. 

3. Goal: use everything you buy at the grocery store--maximize each purchase!

4. Learn to estimate prices at different stores and know their SALE days.

5. Stick to your menu and grocery plan.

6. Take a look at the examples below.  Feel free to use the menu, modify it, throw it out--just make one.

7. Every so often I will lay-out different menu ideas to fit low-income living.

(The menus assume that you have at least some basic cooking skills, basic pantry items and staples, either accumulated or brought from home--things most people and kitchens always have on hand!) 

The Menu This Week
Approximate grocery total outside of Chicago: $65-$70
Total: 28 meals 
Cost: $2.35-2.50 / meal

Sunday: 

• Pancakes (Bisquick Mix) with jam, syrup, powdered sugar / 8 oz milk
• Make additional Pocket Pancakes to freeze for later.
• Pasta Bake with Penne / Arugula Salad with lemon, olive oil, vinegar, parmesan
• Freeze 2/3 in 2 separate containers for later.
• Turkey Tacos (for tacos or taco salad or tortillas) / Roasted Broccoli 1/3
• Freeze 2/3 in 2 separate containers for later.
• Cut up carrots and celery for the rest of the week.
• Celery with PB for snack / 8 oz milk

Monday:

• 1/2 cup oatmeal + 1/2 cup milk with cinnamon sugar / Fruit
• PB & J Sandwich / Carrot sticks / Apple
• 1/3 Burger with bun, cheese, condiments / Oven-Fries 
• Freeze one remaining burger patty / Sear one additional patty for lunch tomorrow.
• Popcorn with parmesan

Tuesday:

• 2 eggs over-easy / 2 pieces of toast with butter and/or jam / 8 oz milk
• 1/3 burger with bun, cheese, condiments (get at cafeteria) / Carrots / Yoghurt
• Leftover Pasta Bake / Salad with olive oil, lemon, parm
• Apple with PB / 8 oz milk

Wednesday:

• 1/2 cup oatmeal + 1/2 cup milk with cinnamon sugar / Fruit
• Baked potato with 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• Quesadillas with cheese and seared red peppers / onions / Celery Sticks
• Make extra quesadillas for lunch tomorrow / cut a few extra red pepper sticks
• Popcorn with parmesan

Thursday:

• Microwave Pancake Pockets / 8 oz milk
• Quesadillas Leftovers / Red pepper / carrots / celery
• Thaw one container of Turkey Taco Meat / Chips & Salsa
• Apple with P.B.

Friday:

• 2 egg omelet / 2 pieces toast with butter and/or jam / 8 oz milk
• Grilled PB Sandwich / Chips & Salsa
• Thaw remaining 1/3 hamburger patty for dinner
• 1/3 lb burger, bun, cheese, condiments / Cucumber Salad 
• Save 50% of cucumber salad
• Pocket Pancakes or out-for-the-night (take only cash $10-15)

Saturday:

• Plan next weeks menu and budget
• 1/2 cup oatmeal + 1/2 cup milk with cinnamon sugar / 8 oz milk
• Egg in a Nest / Leftover veggies or fruit
• Thaw remaining turkey taco meat mix
• Tortilla with turkey taco meat burrito / Cucumber Salad
• Popcorn and/or out-for-the-night (take only cash $10-15)

You Did It!!!

• Did you know that the federal assistance program called SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) allots for $4 / person / day in additional dollars, i.e. $28 / week or $112 / month for your food??  $65-$70 per week sounds pretty good after all!
• Even couples making $2000 / month with a rent of $750 / month will not qualify! Are you kidding me? 
• Did the person creating this program ever try living on $4 / day in the 21st century??
• We should all consider ourselves very fortunate if we can afford more--stuff to think about!

Pocket Pancakes 4 College Cooking

This week's post is a great idea in a small packet and perfect for college and off-campus living! With a little time, on a long weekend for example, you can whip up these Pocket Pancakes for carry-out on your way to classes on Monday morning!

College cooking is not always easy with late nights and busy schedules--so, a little prep work goes a long way--especially, if you have a freezer! You can take these pre-made pancakes out of the freezer and re-heat for 2 minutes in the time it takes you to brush your teeth. Ready when you walk out the door. 

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light September magazine, which uses a novel ingredient, Peanut Butter powder, to create a peanut butter-flavored pancake--sounds perfect; except, I found the whole wheat and PB powder combo quite dry and saw-dusty in flavor as well as unrealistic for most college students!  

Unless you are using whole wheat flour regularly…money, flour and taste will go to waste for sure! Great concept nonetheless for leftover pancake batter or for the college student thinking ahead.

(Certainly try the Cooking Light version if you are looking for a somewhat healthier, fiber-laden, less sweet pancakes…it is posted at the end of this blog post!) 

Instead, I focused on revising this whole concept to a cheaper, quicker, and simpler version with Bisquick box mix--an easy option for college cooking. Plus, Bisquick mix is a great staple ingredient for the college pantry--another high-yield grocery item when cooking on a budget!

Pocket Pancakes 4 College Cooking

Equipment:

Mixing Bowl

Large Non-Stick skillet

Baking sheet

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick mix

1 1/3 cup milk

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbls sugar

2 Tbls vegetable oil

2 eggs

pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands and preheat oven to 350F degrees..

2. Combine the Bisquick mix, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and vegetable oil in a bowl with a whisk.

3. Add the milk and eggs and combine well. Batter will seem 'thin', but this is ok.

4. Heat your skillet at MEDIUM heat with 2 tsp of butter per round of making pancakes.

5. Use a 1/4 cup batter for each pancake and wait for bubbles to appear on surface.

6. Once bubbles form, add a dollop of jam, Nutella, honey, or PB to the center of 2 of the pancakes.

7. Flip the "empty" or "plain" pancake on top of the "filled" one.

8. Place pocket pancakes onto baking sheet.

9. Bake @ 350F degrees x 8-10 minutes.

10. Sprinkle with powder sugar and syrup for immediate consumption!

Pocket Pancakes

--Or, if freezing, allow to cool completely. 

--Wrap each pocket individually in Seran wrap and freeze in large freezer bag.
--When ready to eat, remove wrapping, and microwave for 2 minutes prior to eating!

Cooking Light's Multi-Grain Peanut Butter & Jam Stuffed Pancakes

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup peanut butter powder
6 Tbls oats, could use quick-oats (exchanged 3 Tbls cornmeal for 3 Tbls oats)
2 Tbls sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups buttermilk
1 egg

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Add buttermilk and egg.
3. Follow same steps as above with batter and filling.
4. Once pancake pockets are made, bake at 350F degrees x 10 minutes.

Poppyseed Lemon Pancake

The 2014 World Cup has been consuming my time these past two weeks, and I apologize for the silence, but what a game today!

USA vs Portugal! 

Wow! 

Germany better wake up here, right?  

Anyhow, I love Sundays because I get to really cook for breakfast without rushing out the door.  I'm talking:

• Sit down. 
• Savor the food. 
• Sip my coffee. 
• Read.
• Do Whatever

And today, I did just that! 

I made Lemon-Poppyseed Pancakes with Blueberries. 
In part, because I wanted to try something new; but also, because Jon is headed home for a brief visit this coming weekend, and lemon-flavored dishes and breakfast are some of his favorite things--how perfect is that?  Put it all in a pancake. Why not?

These pancakes can stand alone;or, add a few eggs, bacon, sausage, and/or fruit.
I'd say...30 minutes tops to make a simple, but delicious, breakfast for any college student. Leftovers great for snacking later. See what you guys think!

Recipe from Baking With Blondie--check out her site for delicious, consistent recipes!

Equipment:

Griddle or large non-stick skillet

Large spatula

Mixing bowls

Whisk

Grater or zester

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbls butter, melted

1/3 cup poppy seeds

Lemon zest from 4 lemons

Fresh blueberries

Butter

Maple Syrup

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Combine the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest, and poppy seeds in a separate bowl.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a whisk until combined.

5. Heat your skillet with a pat of butter on MED-HIGH.

6. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet. Remember these will enlarge and expand. Make  sure you have enough space.

7. When the edges begin to bubble and bottom is golden brown, flip carefully onto other side.

8. Cook until golden brown. Remove from skillet. Repeat until the batter is gone.

9. Serve with fresh blueberries, warm syrup, and a little dab of butter if you like.

10. Bacon, sausage, fruit, hashbrowns optional.

Sour Cream Pancakes

Weekends deserve a little extra special treatment, like waking up late, hanging out with friends and having good food.  Nonetheless, you don't want to be in the kitchen all day just to have a home-cooked meal.

Start the day off right with this light, simple recipe of Sour Cream Pancakes which has been featured in The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook.  I have reviewed multiple variations, but Ree Drummond's is as easy as they come.  If you are having a bunch of friends stop by, double or triple this recipe.  Each batch makes about 8 pancakes.

Cut up some fresh strawberries or mixed fruit, add maple syrup and butter, or make it decadent with a dollop of Redi-Whip.  Add some bacon or sausage, or scrambled eggs and you have a fantastic brunch before heading out to the game...or studying.

Equipment:

Mixing bowl

Large Non-stick skillet

Spatula

1/4 cup measuring cup

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream

7 Tablespoons of flour

1 Tablespoon of sugar

1 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp of vanilla

Butter, for skillet

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Combine the sour cream, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  Stir until just mixed.

3. Lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla.

4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.

5. Gently mix together until ALMOST smooth.  It's ok to be somewhat "lightly clumpy".

6. Heat your skillet over MEDIUM heat.

7. Add 2 Tablespoons of butter.

8. Use 1/4 cup to place batter into skillet.  A large 12" skillet will hold 4 pancakes.

(If using a smaller skillet, reduce the number.  You do not want the pancakes merging into each other.)

9. Once you see bubbles forming along the edge of the pancake, use a spatula to gently and quickly flip it over.

10. Cook until golden brown and place on a warm plate.

11. Leftovers are great for quick snack with peanut butter or plain.