Saturday: Real Pancakes, Blackstone Tacos & a Bonfire Under the Stars

Got up this morning and decided to make a fun Saturday breakfast.

I made a fresh batch of bacon, and then I decided to make pancakes.

Which I don’t do very often.

Because there are seven people in this family, and that is a LOT of pancakes.

And I can’t even eat them!

But I was in the mood to make something a little special, so pancakes it was.

Sheet Pan Pancakes Are Not Pancakes

I used to have a griddle that I loved for making pancakes.

Unfortunately, I’ve used that thing so much that the nonstick surface is no longer nonstick.

So today I was stuck using my biggest sauté pan.

Which meant making pancakes in batches.

Lots and lots of batches.

And before someone suggests that I should just make pancakes on a sheet pan in the oven, let me explain something.

Those are not pancakes.

I’m sorry.

They’re just not.

They’re oven cakes.

And listen, oven cakes have their place.

If you’re trying to feed a bunch of kids on a busy morning, I completely understand the appeal of pouring pancake batter onto a sheet pan and baking the whole thing at once.

It’s efficient.

It’s practical.

But it’s not the same thing as a pancake.

I want my pancakes cooked in a hot skillet with plenty of butter and oil.

I want those beautiful golden-brown surfaces.

I want the little crispy edges.

You cannot convince me that a sheet pan in the oven produces the same thing.

So today I stood at my stove and made batch after batch of actual pancakes.

And they were delicious.

My Trick for Chocolate Chip and Blueberry Pancakes

Here’s a little pancake trick I’ve learned over the years.

I like to make one basic pancake batter with just a hint of cinnamon.

Then I customize the individual pancakes as they cook.

Because, of course, everybody wants something different.

Some kids want plain pancakes.

Some want chocolate chips.

Some want blueberries.

And I’m not making three separate bowls of pancake batter.

So I pour my little circles of batter into the hot skillet and add the toppings directly to each pancake.

But here’s the important part.

I cover the mix-ins with a tiny bit of batter before flipping.

If you just sprinkle chocolate chips or frozen blueberries onto the uncooked side and leave them exposed, they end up touching the hot skillet when you flip the pancake.

And then the chocolate can burn.

Or the blueberries can scorch and stick.

So after I add the mix-ins, I take my spoon, which usually has a little leftover batter on it, and gently tap a little batter over the chocolate chips or blueberries.

Just enough to partially bury them.

Then when I flip the pancake, those ingredients are protected by a thin layer of batter instead of sitting directly against the hot pan.

It works beautifully.

And everybody gets exactly the kind of pancake they want.

Without me having to make three different batters.

Lunch Was a Refrigerator Smorgasbord

After our big breakfast, lunch was a little bit of everything.

I made some crispy chicken, but I also pulled out the leftover chili from yesterday.

And I still had some of the turkey breast from Thursday night’s dinner.

So we had turkey sandwiches, chili, crispy chicken and some leftover pasta.

A couple of the kids wanted crispy chicken alongside their turkey.

Others wanted chili.

Just a whole assortment of food from the refrigerator.

And that’s exactly how I like to handle lunch when we have plenty of leftovers.

I don’t need to invent an entirely new meal.

I just need to get the food out, warm up whatever needs warming and let everybody put together something they want to eat.

Especially because I had a much more exciting dinner planned.

A Three-Course Bonfire Dinner

Tonight we decided to have a big bonfire outside.

And I wanted to make an entire evening out of it.

Appetizers around the fire.

Dinner on the Blackstone.

And, of course, s’mores for dessert.

But here’s the thing.

I wanted to actually enjoy being outside with my family.

I didn’t want to spend the entire evening running back and forth between the kitchen and the backyard, looking for ketchup or chopping onions or trying to remember where I put the marshmallows.

So earlier in the afternoon, I started prepping trays.

This is one of my favorite strategies for outdoor meals.

Prep everything in advance, then bring out one tray at a time.

That way, when it’s time to eat, everything is already organized.

Tray One: Hot Dogs and Savory S’mores

For our appetizers, we decided to make hot dogs and savory s’mores.

If you’ve never tried savory s’mores, they’re so much fun.

Instead of roasting marshmallows, you roast things like cheese and pepperoni over the fire.

Then you put them on crackers.

It’s basically a little campfire charcuterie situation.

Earlier in the afternoon, I sliced up some thick pieces of pepperoni and gathered our cheeses.

We had:

• Babybel cheese
• Mozzarella balls
• Slices of cheddar cheese
• Thick-cut pepperoni
• Crackers

I arranged all the refrigerated ingredients on a plate and put it into the refrigerator until we were ready.

Then I prepped another tray with the things that didn’t need to stay cold.

Hot dog buns, crackers and other supplies.

I even moved the ketchup to the front of the refrigerator so I wouldn’t have to hunt for it later.

Because you know what always happens when you’re trying to cook outside?

You get everything set up, and then someone asks where the ketchup is.

Or you realize you forgot the buns.

Or somebody needs a plate.

I was trying to eliminate as much of that as possible.

The hot dogs and savory s’mores were a really fun way to get the evening started.

Tray Two: Mexican Dinner on the Blackstone

For dinner, I decided to make a Mexican-inspired meal on the Blackstone.

Earlier in the afternoon, I sliced up peppers and onions for fajita-style vegetables.

I also found some frozen corn in the freezer.

And if you’ve never cooked corn on a Blackstone, you should try it.

It works really well.

You can spread it out on the hot surface, let some of the kernels brown and get those delicious little roasted edges.

For our protein, I decided to try something new.

Frozen cooked ground beef directly on the Blackstone.

I’ve reheated frozen cooked ground beef on my stove plenty of times.

But I’d never tried doing a big batch on the Blackstone.

And it worked so well that I’ll definitely be doing it again.

How I Reheated Frozen Ground Beef on the Blackstone

I had several packages of cooked ground beef in my freezer.

So I pulled those out and put the frozen beef directly onto the Blackstone.

At first, I just let it start warming and defrosting.

I added some water to help create steam and loosen everything up.

Once the meat had softened enough that I could start breaking it into smaller pieces, I spread it out across the griddle.

Then I added a little oil.

And this is where it got really good.

Because once that excess moisture cooked away, the ground beef started to crisp up against the hot griddle.

All those little pieces developed browned edges.

It was delicious.

Then I added taco seasoning and a little more water.

The taco seasoning I use contains cornstarch, so adding water helps the seasoning distribute evenly and creates a little sauce that coats the beef.

And that was it.

A huge batch of seasoned ground beef, reheated from frozen, with crispy little edges from the Blackstone.

I’m absolutely doing this again.

I love finding another way to use my freezer ground beef because it makes cooking for a crowd so much easier.

Peppers, Onions and Blackstone Corn

While the beef was cooking, I also made the peppers and onions.

I love doing vegetables on the Blackstone because there’s so much room to spread everything out.

Instead of crowding a skillet, you can let the vegetables cook and get a little color.

I also cooked the frozen corn right on the griddle.

And it was fantastic.

We had cheese, salsa, black beans and chips to go with everything.

I had also planned to bring out lettuce and avocados.

Both of which were sitting in my refrigerator.

Both of which I completely forgot.

Oh well.

We had plenty of food, and nobody seemed particularly concerned about the missing avocado.

So we just enjoyed our dinner.

Sometimes you can prep everything in advance and still forget something.

That’s life.

Tray Three: S’mores, Obviously

Of course, we couldn’t have a bonfire without s’mores.

So earlier in the afternoon, I’d already assembled a dessert tray.

Graham crackers.

Chocolate.

Marshmallows.

Everything we needed.

And once dinner was finished, I could just bring out the tray.

No rummaging through the pantry.

No trying to figure out whether we had enough chocolate.

Everything was ready.

I love doing it this way because it means I get to sit outside and enjoy the evening too.

I’m not spending the whole night managing food.

I’m just bringing out the next course when we’re ready for it.

Glow Sticks and Sparklers in October

And then we had one more little surprise.

Glow sticks and sparklers!

I actually bought these back around the Fourth of July.

But here’s the problem with the Fourth of July.

It stays light outside forever.

By the time it’s finally dark enough to really enjoy glow sticks and sparklers, everybody is exhausted and ready for bed.

So we never ended up using them.

But tonight?

Perfect.

It’s October, so the sun sets so much earlier.

We already had the bonfire going.

The kids were outside.

And we finally got to use all those Fourth of July supplies.

It was so much fun.

We had the fire, the glow sticks, the sparklers, the food and everybody hanging out together.

Just a really great family night.