By Jodee Weiland

When my children were little, I used to make old fashioned pancakes made from scratch.  I would mix up my pancake batter and cook it in my Farberware Stainless Steel Electric Skillet. It’s the one that came with the dome lid.

I loved cooking in that skillet because it made it so much easier. I guess one might say it was the equivalent of a crock pot today for young housewives back then in the seventies. I especially liked it for cooking Old Fashioned Banana Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup because you set the temperature and cooked them with little fuss.

Well, old habits die hard, my friends, because I still have my Farberware Stainless Steel Electric Skillet, and perhaps more surprising, I still use it. I guess I will until it dies, or I do, whichever comes first. Keep in mind, I don’t use it as much as I did when I was younger, but I do use it for pancakes still. For other dishes, I regret to say it has been pretty much replaced, but not when it comes to pancakes and only a few other things. By the way, they call my skillet vintage now. I just call it well taken care of and loved. Hey folks, there’s nothing wrong with vintage. I’m vintage and so are some of my best friends!

Old Fashioned Banana Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

2 cups all-purpose flour (whole grain flours may be substituted)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk (room temperature)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh blueberries (optional)
1 fresh banana sliced (optional)

All natural blueberry syrup

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg, and then add the milk, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Gradually add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients while blending together with a mixer or in a blender.  When blended well, add the blueberries and sliced banana, stirring in carefully.

Heat the electric skillet or griddle at 350 to 375 or the manufacturer’s designated temperature.  For a stove top skillet, set the heat to medium heat. Once the skillet is heated, spoon out pancake batter into the skillet to about 4 to 4 and 1/2 inch width and cook.  When the batter bubbles over top surface of the pancakes, and the underside is the preferred brown color, it is time to flip your pancakes and cook the reverse side. This recipe will make 10 to 12 pancakes of this size.

Any leftover pancakes can be cooled and put in the freezer in plastic freezer bags for later use. When used later, simply put the pancakes in the microwave to reheat.

Old Fashioned Banana Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup are the best breakfast and so easy to make from scratch. Homemade is always better than store bought frozen pancakes, and the best part is that you can even make these pancakes ahead and freeze them for later. My family loved homemade pancakes, whether they were made with or without fruit. The fruit can always be added after the pancakes are made as a topping.  Whichever way you decide to make your pancakes, they’re always better homemade!  Enjoy!