When your kitchen is being remodeled, don’t stress out about what you’ll eat. Our Grilled Pancakes & Bacon will keep your whole family happy and well fed!
Last summer, we remodeled our kitchen. Actually, we’re still finishing bits and pieces of it because as I’m sure you all know, a saved penny only goes so far. So after we spent a lot of saved pennies on Phase 1, we needed to save some more pennies to add the finishing touches. This fall, we’ll be able to do Phase 2 which involves building a much-desired pipe shelf pantry, installing a kid-friendly “breakfast shelf” for the kids’ everyday items, and adding some unique decorations to our very naked walls.
During Phase 1, we ate outside…a lot. But this is why we planned the remodel over the summer. We have young children and we knew that they would not be happy eating taking out for weeks on end, so we had to make sure that they could have some of their favorite foods while our kitchen was out of commission. Plus, our kids can be very picky eaters when they’re hot…and cranky…and unsettled.
So, to make the most out of Kitchen Renovation project, we tried to make as many normal meals for them as possible. Along with tasty recipes like our Grilled Sausages and Grilled Pineapple with Honey, we also managed to make them their favorite breakfast every week: Pancakes & Bacon.
What?
Pancakes and Bacon?
Without a stove or griddle?
How?
Easy – we just made them on the grill!
We put our thinking caps on and bought lots of those tinfoil trays that you find in the supermarket (they’re also great for making ribs!). Each weekend, we would heat up the grill while we enjoyed a hot cup of coffee out on the patio. When the grill was nice and hot, we tossed on some bacon (Okay, I’m lying. We’d toss on LOTS of bacon. Bacon is perfect for stress eating.). Once the bacon was about halfway done, we poured pancake batter onto a second tray and start cooking their flapjacks. After a few minutes, their favorite breakfast was served.
Our neighbors thought we were a bit wonky, which we are, but the pancakes were pretty awesome. They come out much thinner than pancakes made indoors, but truth be told, they remind me of our Grandma’s apple pancakes that way, so I loved every single bite. It’s also important to know that it takes much longer to cook pancakes on the grill than on a traditional stovetop, so don’t wait until your kids are already starving, or you’ll have lots of hangry tears. And if you decide to make the Grilled Pineapple – save the leftovers because they are Heavenly on these pancakes!
GRILLED PANCAKES & BACON
Ingredients:
- Pancake batter – make enough to feed your family; just follow the instructions on the box.
- Fresh fruit – dice up whatever fruit your family likes; in our home, it’s always a combination of strawberries, bananas, red grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon and pineapple.
- Bacon – for the love of all things good and plenty, make enough bacon – no, scratch that – make more than enough bacon because no one will ever leave a bacon piece behind.
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the grill. While you wait, wash, peel and/or dice up your fruit for the fruit salad. To keep our fruit salad cold while we waited for breakfast to be served, we simply filled a bowl with ice cubes and set the smaller fruit salad bowl into it.
Step 2: When the grill is nice and hot, add your bacon to the tray. You’re going to need to move the bacon pieces around a bit, so don’t go too far. The fat will all be contained in the tray, which prevents it from sticking, but if you leave it for too long, you’ll be sorry. Depending upon how thick your bacon is, it should be nice and crispy in about 10-15 minutes. Once the bacon is cooked, move it to some paper towels to drain any remaining fat.
Step 3: When the bacon looks about halfway done, you can start cooking your pancakes. Coat the second tray with a generous amount of non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Place the tray on the barbecue and let it warm up a bit. Once it’s hot, you can start pouring your pancake batter onto the tray. Cook the pancakes just like you would inside – wait until they are bubbling and the edges start turning brown, then flip them over. Finished pancakes can be placed in a tented tinfoil packet to keep warm, or they can be served immediately to bystanders as they come off the grill.
Step 4: Serve up a generous portion of pancakes and bacon to your family. Top pancakes off with some leftover Grilled Pineapple or fresh fruit, drizzle with honey or maple syrup, and enjoy!
Breakfast rules,
Denine