(Not that my favorite breakfast was ever from McDonalds this dish just reminds me of the McGriddle--although it's so much better.)
Okay so recently I discovered this ingenious idea of putting precooked crumbled sausage (which I keep in a ziploc bag in my freezer) in my pancake batter. They are so much tastier and better than chocolate chips...plus I love syrup on my breakfast meats. Today I took it to the next level... Adding cheese.
SAUSAGE CAKES WITH CHEESE
The process goes like so... take a bowl of your favorite pancake batter (like my new favorite: Whole Wheat Pancakes). Add a few handfuls of crumbled breakfast sausage (I've used venison and turkey and they are both tasty). Fold in. Spoon onto hot griddle (300-350 degrees F).
Turn with a spatula once bubbles start popping on the surface of the pancakes.
Add some cheese to half of the pancakes (I used Colby Jack because I have it and it's super gooey).
When cheese is all melty and pancakes are fully cooked stack a non-cheesed sausage cake on top of the cheesy one and drizzle with syrup. If you want a less messy version (for the kiddos or for on the go) add the cheese right after removing from griddle and dip into syrup on the side. This is how Caleb prefers to eat his pancakes, although he was a little wary of the cheese concept. You can also just let the hot gooey sandwich set for a minute and eat it by hand when the cheese sets up.
I first tried my maple/molasses syrup but decided that chokecherry syrup was much tastier. I live in the chokecherry capital of the world, so I have my own but a friend of mine sells it. Check out her FB business page Vintage Delights. Her Chokecherry Chocolate syrup is also amazing on almost anything you can think to put it on.
The variations are endless... you could use any breakfast meat (like cubed ham or bacon pieces) any cheese (like medium cheddar or even feta) and top it with anything you like (any flavor of syrup or even a chile sauce or salsa for a southwest kick).
ENJOY!
Tips on making the Pancakes: I whisk the egg, add the milk and vinegar, and then whisk in the warm melted butter (don't add the hot butter straight to the egg or else it will cook it). I've made these enough that I have the batter ready by the time the griddle is hot. The recipe makes enough to feed 2 hungry adults. I usually double the batch and have some for me and my kiddos with quite a few extras to keep in the fridge. My husband is not a big breakfast or pancake fan but he snitches them (since I've been making them with sausage) out of the fridge and eats them cold. If he doesn't devour them for lunch or a late night snack we zap them in the microwave (about 10 seconds/pancake) and have them for breakfast another day.
You could also cook up like 3 batches and freeze them (wait til they're cooled or the steam will cause them to freeze together.) Then you can have a super tasty easy breakfast in a flash any day of the week (no need to buy those pre-packaged over-priced breakfast sandwiches).
