Greetings Friends! After many well-meaning weeks of being a lazy innocent bystander, I am proud to announce my inaugural participation in sassy blogger Jenn’s party over at her site, Peas and Crayons. It’s called “What I Ate Wednesday,”

…and it is designed (I believe) to indulge our inner voyeur (come on, who hasn’t looked at the food in the cart behind them in the grocery line?) and to give others new ideas for fun meals and snacks. Rather than post about my foods for an entire day (because who wants to look at popcorn and lemonheads anyway?), I’m doing things a bit differently.

Because everyone knows I can’t follow the rules!

So, I give you:

A week in the life of Meri’s Fake Cakes (microwave pancakes)

I started making these about a year ago when I was too lazy to even dirty up a saucepan. You can read about the original recipe here.

Since then, I’ve started using a new mix, Quaker’s Oatmeal Pancake mix, and I like to make a different version pretty much every night. It might not be gourmet, it might not be super healthy, but its easy and fun, and fills mama’s belly! You’ll have to forgive the pictures, as I am working with nighttime lighting (these are an after dinner snack almost exclusively).

Some examples:

with vanilla pudding and cinnamon on top

m&m cookie pancake

covered in sour cherry jam

frozen mixed berries mixed in

The “recipe” here entails measuring out a serving of pancake mix (these are all 1/3 cup), adding 1/3 cup (or the same amount) of water or I guess milk (though I’ve never tried that). Add mix-ins of your choice or extra sweetener if you’re crazy like that, and you’re ready to go. 

Nuke about 60 seconds, more or less.

Seriously, this is the fastest, easiest, tastiest snack with endless options for variation.

Ideas for mix-ins:

-nuts

-fresh fruit (blueberries work really well)

-frozen fruit

-chocolate chips, m&ms, Reeses Pieces

-flavor syrup

-cinnamon

-peanut flour

-pumpkin

Ideas for toppings:

-pudding (vanilla, tapioca, chocolate, pistachio, banana…)

-jam/ jelly

-peanut butter (doesn’t work as well mixed in, better on top)

-chocolate or caramel sauce

-syrup (if you’re boring muah ha ha)

-honey

-cottage cheese (haven’t tried this yet)

Have fun, and let me know how it goes! If you aren’t sure where to start, just start with chocolate chips or frozen fruit, those are my favorites. Pudding is maybe my favorite topping so far.

And as for Munch Madness,  the tally is a bit higher! You were all so excited to comment about my diet soda post, though, that some people forgot to vote!

The winner is… Grapes! Final count at publishing was 21-10. Sorry citrus lovers, but oranges didn’t make the cut!

Tonight’s battle… the final veggie match of the sweet 16…

Spinach vs. Kale!

So come on out, regular voters and new voters- vote for the best, and check back to see tomorrow’s final fruit fight before the semi-finals! 

(on a more serious note, I really appreciate how much participation has been happening with Munch Madness. I know I’m a huge nerd for enjoying this so much, but it would be NO FUN if people weren’t playing along. So Thank You, guys!)

Meri