Welcome

...one woman's decision impacts her family's diet....how long can they last without a trip through the drive-thru?

Friday, October 15, 2010

Day 2-Breakfast Sandwiches (using pancakes)


In 2003 McDonald's officially sealed the grip it had on my heart when they introduced the McGriddle. If you don't know what a McGriddle is, or have never had one, I encourage you to take a day off from this experiment and go try one. Actually, on second thought, DO NOT take a day off, just make the recipe below. It's a healthier version of the McGriddle you can make at home, and for a fraction of the cost since the home of the happy meal hasn't added the sandwich to it's breakfast value menu yet. (side note: the breakfast value menu was an amazing idea which just increased the number of fast food trips I made in one week, especially since our local McD's is open 24 hours. Very convenient when I had to work at 4am.)

Anyway, the McGriddle....bacon, egg and American cheese served between two small pancakes injected with maple syrup flavoring. What's really cute is the pancakes are stamped with an imprint of the golden arches. To those of you who haven't had this sandwich before, you might think it sounds a little gross. But to me, it was bacon and egg laying between two little pieces of maple flavored heaven....and hell on my arteries (not to mention wallet).

To give you an idea about how unhealthy this sandwich is, I'm posting the "nutrition" facts:



Ouch.....

Ok, so this morning's recipe is a healthier take on the McGriddle that is super easy to make. If you are a working parent, and don't have time to actually make pancakes from scratch, then use the frozen pancakes you can find in the freezer section of your local market. Since I was strapped for time, I just used Jiffy pancake mix. You can also use any other kind of pancake mix. Just prepare according to the directions, and make the pancakes "silver dollar" size, or about 2 1/2 inches across. You can also use pre-cooked bacon if you are really in a rush!

Breakfast Sandwiches (using pancakes)
serves: 4 (serving size is 1 sandwich)

8 pancakes (prepare according to package or recipe directions. chocolate chip is great, and blueberry too)
4 pieces low sodium bacon
4 slices American cheese (optional)
4 eggs
1/4 cup low fat (2% or lower) milk
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

1) cut bacon in half prior to cooking, and cook according to your personal preference. Do not save bacon fat to cook eggs in. After bacon is cooked, set aside. 2) mix eggs together with milk in bowl using whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind that bacon is salty, so you do not need to flavor eggs using a lot of salt). 3) put a splash of olive oil in skillet, and wipe with paper towel. Heat skillet over medium heat. Slowly pour eggs into hot skillet. When eggs are firm on one side, flip them over to cook fully on other side. Cook eggs completely, and until no liquid remains. 4) remove eggs from heat. Cut into 4 sections. 5) place 1 pancake on plate, fold 1 piece of egg on top of pancake, place bacon in X shape on egg (you should use 2 halves on each sandwich=1 piece of whole bacon), place cheese on top of bacon, and then place second pancake on top. Serve warm.




My husband was the only one who wanted cheese this morning. We substituted cheddar for American and he said it worked well. You can also use skim milk Mozzarella if you are really watching what you eat, and buckwheat or some other healthy form of pancake. I put chocolate chips in the pancakes, it's easy to control how many you put in each one if you add them after you put the batter on the griddle. I just put 4 chocolate chips per pancake, and used semi-sweet dark chocolate chips. This was such an easy breakfast, I will definitely be making it again soon! I would say it's a delicious substitute for the McHeaven I usually crave.

The family reviews:
Dad: "Delicious" (I tried to get more out of him, but he just said that's how he felt about it and if I wanted more details to just make something up myself, which I am not going to do!)

9 year old daughter: "1,000 thumbs up mommy! The pancake was a little crumbly, but it was goooood."

8 year old son: "I took mine apart and ate it separately. Mmmm, it was good. It would taste even better with syrup!"

Baby: we served his separately with no bacon, and he ate 2 helpings of eggs, and then in sign language demanded a drink.

I would say this was a success all around!

1 comment:

  1. I can already tell I'm going to be back. I love watching families make good eating changes. And I'm still learning so much!

    Those breakfast sandwiches look MUCH better than anything I've ever seen at McDonalds! No wonder your family all loved them.

    ReplyDelete

All opinions are appreciated, but please do not use foul language or derogatory remarks when responding to posts or comments by other readers. And please, if you are selling something...hock your wares elsewhere! Thanks!