We love having pancakes or waffles on the weekends, but because it’s just the two of us, a whole batch is always more than we can eat. We used to freeze or refrigerate our leftovers, but they never reheated well for us.
I recently came up with a solution to this problem that works for me. I took apart an old salad dressing bottle (the cap that controls the flow pops out easily with a butter knife) and put each of the pieces in the dishwasher. When they were clean, I took them out, filled the bottle with my batter (using a funnel) and then reassembled the pieces.
The batter refrigerates beautifully and we now have made-to-order pancakes or waffles. We never make more than we can eat. No more wasted food.
I could also see this being a solution for camping trips when you don’t want to fuss with the possibility of broken eggs, or if you’re having guests and everyone is getting up at different times, you could put a couple of bottles of batter in the fridge and let people make their own breakfast. It would be like a hotel with a breakfast buffet; the make-your-own waffle station is always the busiest.
This could even work if you're always in a rush in the morning, but you want to have hot breakfasts. If you have the batter already prepared, it would take as much time to make a couple of pancakes as it would a piece of toast.
I love it when organizing and thinking through things ahead of time makes my life easier.
I recently came up with a solution to this problem that works for me. I took apart an old salad dressing bottle (the cap that controls the flow pops out easily with a butter knife) and put each of the pieces in the dishwasher. When they were clean, I took them out, filled the bottle with my batter (using a funnel) and then reassembled the pieces.
The batter refrigerates beautifully and we now have made-to-order pancakes or waffles. We never make more than we can eat. No more wasted food.
I could also see this being a solution for camping trips when you don’t want to fuss with the possibility of broken eggs, or if you’re having guests and everyone is getting up at different times, you could put a couple of bottles of batter in the fridge and let people make their own breakfast. It would be like a hotel with a breakfast buffet; the make-your-own waffle station is always the busiest.
This could even work if you're always in a rush in the morning, but you want to have hot breakfasts. If you have the batter already prepared, it would take as much time to make a couple of pancakes as it would a piece of toast.
I love it when organizing and thinking through things ahead of time makes my life easier.
Thats an awesome idea. Next time we finish a bottle of dressing I am going to save it for pancake/ waffle batter. Thanks for the great tip.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great solution. And there's always Batter Blaster. Organic batter in a spray can. Super easy, quick, and tastes good. I tried it and liked it just fine.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat idea! I may have to try that one.. Hubs is always wanting waffles but I hate making the batter.
ReplyDeleteWe have to double our pancake recipe for 32 pancakes when we have pancake breakfasts! lol. But I like this idea for my parents (cause its just the two of them), I'm going to pass it on.
ReplyDeleteI'm posting a lot of frugal hand made gift-giving ideas at my holiday blog. Come check it out: http://www.2008jessetree.blogspot.com
What a super tip! I love repurposing! Now I can't wait until we use up some salad dressing!
ReplyDeleteNice idea.
ReplyDeleteI usually bake up the whole batch and freeze the leftovers. But I really like the idea of making them fresh-- especially for guests. I love the salad dressing bottle idea. So clever!
ReplyDeletegreat idea! I posted on homemade pancake mix which is fast (add water, oil, egg), but your idea is even faster. How long does the batter keep, in your experience?
ReplyDeleteMargo,there is no difference in the batter after a week except that it is perhaps a little thicker. You could easily add a teaspoon of water and shake it up with the batter for easier squirting, but I usually just deal with the batter pouring more slowly. It's not a big deal.
ReplyDelete