I’ve admitted it before on my blog and honestly, don’t have to say this outloud because it is very clear to those who know me that I am not “Supermom”. Supermom has never been one of the cape’s hanging in my closet. I have plenty of the “forget to pick your child up from preschool” mom capes and “lock your keys in the car with your kids in it” mom capes, but no supermom capes. Oh, and how could I forget my favorite cape… “Your kid is yelling out curse words in Target” cape. That’s my favorite. Oh yeah.
It is funny to me how something as simple as making a big batch of pancakes, flash freezing them in the freezer, and then heating them up for a hot breakfast for the kids on a busy school morning makes me feel like I could at least have part of the “supermom” cape. I know… it isn’t anything huge, feeding your kids pancakes for breakfast. Sometimes, however, it is that little extra effort that pushes you into the category of actually feeling like you have your act together for once. Days where I feel frazzled to get all 5 of us ready and out the door by the time the school bell rings, having a hot breakfast for them makes me feel a bit like “supermom”. Do you think I can maybe trade the “ooops….I forgot to feed my kids breakfast this morning, here have these smooshed up graham crackers that have been in the diaper bag for six months” cape for an “occasionally when the stars all align I seem to have my act together” cape? Yeah… alright. I didn’t think so.
Big Batch Pancakes
Makes: 30 Pancakes
4 cups all-purpose flour
8 Tbs sugar
8 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 cups milk
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
- Heat your pan or griddle to medium low heat.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients and mix together. Next, add in the liquids and eggs. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the mix onto the griddle by scant 1/3 cup. When bubbles form on top, turn over and cook until golden.
- To flash freeze pancakes allow to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, place pancakes, 6 at a time, on a large cookie sheet. Put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and place in an air tight storage container or freezer bag and put back into freezer until ready to use. Continue until all pancakes have been “flash frozen”. Why flash freeze? Why not skip that step and just stick them in the freezer? Flash freezing each pancake individually allows you to stack them after wards for storage without each pancake sticking to each other. That way, of you want to take out 1 pancake or 5, you can grab them each individually without worrying about breaking and sticking.
I think most moms try too hard to be what TV shows us they should be. I think your beautiful kids are proof that you’re doing just fine.. and you ARE a super mom, just not a super neurotic mom.
I LOVE this! I *really* try to make pancakes before school and freeze the extras. This morning, we had TWO extras. Um, that’s not gonna work. Can you believe it never occurred to me to make a bigger batch?!?
Bookmarking your recipe…and it looks like I’ll be making it tomorrow!
That picture is just gorgeous!
Bwaahahahahaaaa! I’m right there with ya babe. I haven’t made freeze ahead pancakes yet so you’re one up on me. Better grab my cape!
Do you reheat them in the microwave, toaster or on a griddle? I’ve thought about doing this (because I’m lucky if I can get a PopTart on the table in the morning), but didn’t know how to reheat them.
I’m not going to lie. I don’t have kids. But I do have a very busy schedule and something of a sweet tooth. So this big batch may have to go and feed me and the husband for a couple of weeks. What a great idea. Thanks!
LOL, I had a good time reading your Target episode here….I commend you for being TRUTHFUL and HONEST about the whole motherhood journey! This is a great recipe and idea, sometimes my son will ask for pancakes on a random Thursday when I’m just trying to get them out the door. Thanks for the great tip!
Agree w/Amber Kristen – you ARE a super mom – just not a super neurotic mom which is what your kids will remember when they get older! And I also make an entire batch of pancakes, then freeze – even though I don’t have kids still at home, I do have a Professor to get out the door pretty early in the mornings – having a stash in the freezer is terrific!
I’m crying laughing at the graham crackers. So been there, done that! And yep, makes you feel like crud on a cracker.
Don’t sweat the super powers you don’t have and embrace the ones you do. And howsabout you pass me a plate of those pancakes?
The more I get to know moms and since becoming a mom I firmly believe there is no such thing as a supermom – those we see as such are usually women we don’t know very well. I do believe there are some women that find being a mother more natural than others though.
PS those pancakes look delicious!
It’s so nice to hear from other moms who struggle in the morning… I was apparently wearing my “meanest mother in the world” cape this morning, at least according to my 7yo. Maybe she just needed some pancakes for breakfast. =)
Great post and I’m sure all of us can relate to it. Well, except for the dads, but you see my point.
We do the same thing with breakfast. My hubby is the pancake maker and makes HUGE batches every two weeks. It starts the kids’ days off with something wholesome and filling, and makes my life a lot easier.
Hahahahha…I literally have tears in my eyes. I am right there with you on the graham crackers only mine was a pack of Nab Peanut Butter Crackers. Oh my goodness do I need a new cape
I have frozen pancakes once or twice but not in a while. Thanks for the reminder.
In my very humble opinion…you are a super mom. Your kids get fed, right? Have clothes on? Know where you’ll be when they get home? Get homemade pancakes mixed up with the occasional pack of crackers?
Trust me, many kids would feel that is ‘super’ so how about you wear the ‘I May not always feel it but I’m a super mom’ cape today?
You have four kids? That puts you in the super mom category by me. I see other moms who seem to have something or other perfect – perfectly clean closets, perfect clothes, clean houses, perfect schedules. I’m just not cut from that cloth. But I do love my daughter…perfectly! And she would love these pancakes! How perfect is that!
Aww cute post! To be fair though, my mom did all sorts of crazy things when we were kids and all of us still turned out okay. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. so really, just think of it as endurance training for your kids
These pancakes look awesome. The perfect fuel for mom-induced boot camp!
Oh this is SO me! Most Sunday mornings before church are the worst! We are racing around, and it’s usually 5 seconds before we walk out the door that I realize I didn’t feed the kids. So, sippy cups of milk and a banana each are what we end up doing. Pancakes would be a complete upgrade!
those look delicious! I like how thick they are. yum
I LOVE this post Kristen!!!……..and I was so proud of myself last year when I made a big batch of pumpkin pancakes and I froze them (instead of tossing) and boy did we enjoy having those almost more…….no work, just yummy in my belly! haha!!
Wear those capes proud girl!!
I love how big this batch is! Perfect for freezing or a really hungry family:) I can’t wait to see you this week!
So sorry to hear about your freezer! The good news is – pancakes are the perfect food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, early snack, afternoon snack, midnight snack…
You wear that Supermom cape, woman. I think a mom automatically qualifies as super. And I totally agree; a hot breakfast on a weekday morning is one of those things that creates a really special culture in your family. Totally worth the effort, flash-freezing or not.
Brill-iant!! Totally brilliant. ‘Big batch’ of anything catches my attention these days, but making a home made meal, freezing and having it ready for chaotic days tops my list of ‘must reads’. Thanks for the tip and idea. (wonder if it works as well with bisquick pancakes, because I make no other – ha, ha. I will give it a go and see!)
You know, we never did this. My dad always made pancakes or waffles on Saturday and then honey buns (oh my how horrid!) on Sunday. However, I think freezing them is a great idea! I made waffles with my new thrift store $5 Krups waffle maker and froze the leftovers. It was so nice to be able to just pull one out the other day when I got home from call and just needed something quick. yes!!!
Freezing these is an awesome idea! I like when you send your kid to the bus stop with a baggie full of cheerios!! You’re thinking, “Just won the greatest mom award there!”.
Kid #1 often requests pancakes…I’ll have to try this one!
P.S. During pregnancy with Kid #2, my prego-brain tried to pick up Kid #1 from preschool an hour early. Embarrassing? You betcha!
I love your photo! This is such a time saver even for those that don’t have small children and they are so much better than frozen pancakes purchased from the grocery store.
These look amazing! I want some now with my coffee!!
Hey, thanks for the link love. That post tickles me because there every day I get a lot of searches for “Can I freeze pancakes.”
Yep.
I’m glad it works well for you.
You don’t even have to be a mom to love this; just be a pancake lover. Done it before, and it works awesomely!
What a super idea! Wish I had known about it when my kids were little!!
Regardless of what you say, I still think you are supermom!! I really need to get a batch of these in the freezer…
Pancakes are my favourite weekend thing. Stacking them high is the only way to go. These look so delicious!
You are superwoman with this giant stack of pancakes! Gosh, I want to be your kid. My kids want you to be their mom. Love your idea of doing the quick cook & the quick freeze. This is the only way to do frozen pancakes. Girl, you rock!! xo
I want to frame that top photo!! It’s brilliant – and fairly accurate as to how many pancakes we go through in a week around here.
I’m adding this to my weekend link love. Thanks for the inspiration for those weekday mornings!
Maybe not SuperMom ©™, but a super mom nonetheless.
I love that picture!! And I love that if I make 30 pancakes, we might have enough leftover to freeze! Other SuperMom capes..”My child is wearing 2 different shoes & they both happen to be for the left foot.” cape or “Why didn’t you tell me that you had homework before we were walking out the door??” cape. It would be great to have my kids toast their own pre-frozen pancakes so I could finish drinking my coffee while it’s hot.
How about a “this woman deserves a month at a spa on Nantucket island” cape? I am utterly amazed by all that you do. I don’t think I could do it. And the pancakes…you can freeze pancakes? Incredible photos…taken by an incredible woman.
so your freezer’s full of pancakes and your closet’s full of capes. awesome.
I am going to try this! Thanks so much! It would be a major timesaver. I have been substituting all of the flour in recipes with whole wheat flour for about 6 months, and every recipe has been fine. So, I will do that here. Just wanted to share!
The subsequent time I read a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I imply, I do know it was my choice to learn, however I truly thought youd have something fascinating to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about one thing that you possibly can fix if you werent too busy searching for attention..
Lovely, I eat such batch at least twice a year after a nice workout in the gym…
I don’t like pancakes too much, but once or twice a year I get the strong craving to eat as much as I can with tons of syrup and milk.
:DDDD
Tomorrow is the day
I recommended this post/recipe on stumbleupon!! Love it!
We are a family of 4 kids as well and I appreciate these pancakes because they will feed the entire family and still have a few left over! Now that I’ve made this recipe as is about 3 times I’m starting to experiment with different ratios of whole wheat and AP flour. I usually use almond milk (only 3 -3 1/2 cups as 4 made my batter too thin) I’m also trying to adjust the oil content. These are GREAT pancakes but I personally notice the oil in them so going to try subbing some butter (or maybe applesauce) and see if it gives it a less “greasy” feel. Again, everyone LOVES this recipe the times I’ve made it as written..just getting comfortable and branching out.
Thanks for creating a wonderful go-to recipe I can experiment with and feel like a real chef! haha <3 mamas gotta help each other out and stick together…comparison is the thief of joy. I wonder if we'd all feel adequate if we quit getting our "standard" from everyone around us and just embraced where God has us in the now and who He has made us t be -the strengths, weaknesses, warts and all!