Cereal Crusted French Toast

I have to admit that I did see this technique done on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I love that show and one day when I was watching an episode I saw that this girl was making cereal crusted french toast using Captain Crunch. I didn't have Captain Crunch, but I did have some Oat Blenders Cereal and it has some sweetness to it, so I thought - why not!?

What you need:
About 2 cups of crushed cereal
4-5 eggs (yolks optional)
Bread (about 4 pieces)
*Please note that this recipe is based on using four pieces of bread and I had egg left over, so I probably could have done six pieces.

Whip your eggs and crush your cereal in different bowls (or plates).

Next take your bread, dip it in the egg mixture, then press each side of the bread in the cereal. You are going to get messy, so be prepared for it.

Next make sure you pan is on medium so you don't burn your cereal. Let cook just like cooking regular french toast, flip, repeat. Simple!

What you get is a great delicious mix of cereal and french toast. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or syrup and you are ready to eat.

I came up with this after deciding I needed something fun for my boys to eat for breakfast. Hope you enjoy! I might try a different cereal next time.

Fluffy Pancakes

Pancakes are a big staple in our house, primarily because Cash and Jeff could live on them if he could. They love pancakes and lately Jeff has been asking me to make them "more fluffy". I was like, "how do you do that?" So what do I do, I google it. I got an idea of what I could do and came up with my own way of making the perfect fluffy pancake.

1 1/2 cup of Betty Crocker's Buttermilk Pancake Mix
3/4 cup of cold milk (it calls for water, but milk is better)
1/8 cup of sugar

Simple right?

First make sure you whisk the milk and the sugar together to create a mix that is frothy.

The best way to do this is buy using a whisk handle that attach's to your hand mixer.

Next you will want to add your pancake mix and start mixing. You can add more mix if you like a little thicker pancake. I usually will just add a little at a time until I get to where I want my batter. Once you are done it should look like this:

Notice the air bubbles! This is extremely essential when making pancakes because this is what is going to help give you "the fluff". Also when you add the sugar to the milk (see above) that is what helps generate "the fluff" as well.

Once you have your batter, make sure you have heated up your pan (start on medium and DO NOT go any higher). Spray you pan once it is hot enough and pour in your batter.

While cooking you are going to see these air bubbles and you will not want to touch them. Once the pancake is a little solid around the edges and starts bubbling more, flip it over! You know you have the right doneness when you have this crisp ring around the edge after you have flipped it over.

You will also want to see these bubbles in the pancake as well.

The other side probably won't look like your first side but if you get it golden brown like the first side then you have done your job. Make sure not to smash the pancake with your spatula because it will probably raise after you have flipped it. Be patient, it will fall to where it needs to be and it will fluff up.

Once you are done, transfer to a plate, add butter and cover with syrup! Voila! The perfect fluffy pancake!

P.S. Don't mind the plate, this was for one of my boys and they love these paper plates!

Enjoy!