Whole Grain Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

We've all been there. It's 5 o'clock at night, and you have absolutely no clue what to make for dinner. Thanks to the MSPI diet, take-out isn't that great of an option ... since you're sick and tired of the one or two places you can safely eat at ... not to mention your budget can't take it! And all the hunks o' meat you have on hand are frozen solid, since you forgot to thaw them.

So what's a mom to do? ... Make breakfast!

These pancakes are just plain yummy and are a wonderful change from the usual. They puff up quite thick, yet maintain a slight chewiness from the oatmeal. They're fluffy and dense all wrapped into one. They remind me of oatmeal muffins. Yummy and comforting!

We drizzled honey on the top of our pancakes and served it with a side of Fruit Salad and grilled smoked sausage. The perfect breakfast-for-dinner!

Whole Grain Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
Source: Adapted from Zesty Cook, via Picky Palate

1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 cups hard white whole wheat flour * (see tip)
½ cup peeled and shredded apple
2 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups rice milk
¼ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. honey

Whisk together the oats, flours, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together the rice milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, apple and honey. Pour the wet into the dry mixture and stir briefly, just until combined. Set aside for a few minutes to allow the oats in the batter to soften while you preheat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. (I used an electric griddle and set it at 300 degrees.)

Add a little tiny bit of oil to the pan or coat it with cooking spray. Spoon the batter into the skillet. (The batter will be thick! Perfectly round pancakes likely won't happen!) Allow to cook for a few minutes. Once bubbles form on the outside of the pancake and do not fill in again, flip the pancakes over and cook on the other side. Remove the pancakes to a baking sheet and cover them with a towel while you prepare the remaining batter. (You can put the baking sheet in an oven on the lowest setting, if you like. My oven has a Warm setting, which is around 150-175 degrees.)

Serve with honey, syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit or any other favorite pancake topping.

Tip: You may substitute any combination of flour you have on hand for the hard white whole wheat flour. The original recipe called for 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup regular whole wheat flour. I have recently started using hard white whole wheat and love it!