Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate Gravy

Oh, my. I started this post when we celebrated National Pancake Day.

February 5.

We've cut back on celebrating the national days lately. It wasn't intentional. It's just that we were incredibly busy the entire month of December and then dealt with Tyler's sickness the month of January. 

And now February is completely gone too??? Oh, my.

There's no way we could forget Pancake Day, even though we postponed the sharing of it. You see, there really is a good reason why I started writing this post up a month ago, yet never actually published it. Our camera - my camera - died the day of Jake's birthday party. (There's another post I haven't written yet. Sheesh.) We haven't taken it in to be fixed yet. (Remember, busy the month of December, Tyler's sickness in January, and what happened to February?) Anyway, we've been borrowing one of my mom's extra cameras. Hers is a Sony a700. Ours is a Sony a390. They're similar, so I should be able to use it, right? Right. But I can't. Now, I'm not the best picture-taker-er in the first place, but I can usually get a pretty good shot. I'm having a hard time changing the settings on this camera and not even getting a decent picture when it's set on auto. I took pictures of our pancakes that day, but was not at all pleased with them. Is my embarrassment of awful pictures and hurting my pride more important than sharing a super yummy recipe??? I think not.

But, I digress.
  

Last year, we made fruit-flavored syrup to celebrate National Pancake Day. It was incredibly easy to make and was so yummy the kids asked to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! All the ingredients are things that I always keep stocked in my pantry. We've made it multiple times since then, and they have loved every flavor we tried.

This year though, we made my favorite pancake topping: chocolate gravy.

Chocolate gravy.

Oh, it's heavenly. I've said before that I don't care much for pancakes. But top them with chocolate gravy, and I just can't resist!

Don't think it's just for pancakes though. Eat it on waffles. And biscuits. And crepes. And fingers. (Just don't bite!) 

Although, you may want to skip the fingers altogether and just reach for a spoon.

 We got this cute little gravy dish a few years ago. The kids love whenever we use it.

See why???

It really is kinda gross thinking about the rooster vomiting all over our food. But the comedy factor wins every time. 

And the giggles from the kids are priceless.

So, whether or not you have poor picture quality or a thousand excuses or a vomiting-rooster, make some of this delicious gravy soon.

You won't be disappointed.

Chocolate Gravy
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 cups milk

Directions:
Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add cocoa and flour, stirring until a thick paste is formed. Stir in sugar and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.

Tasty Tuesday: Buttermilk Pancakes and Fruit-Flavored Syrup

 
Happy National Pancake Day! (I love when food holidays fall on Tuesdays. It just works out so nicely.)  My family absolutely loves pancakes. I could live without them though. I don't really know why I don't care for them much anymore. I can remember being in high school and being at restaurants with my friends. I used to drink the syrup straight from the little packets. Three? Four of them? Yes, I had a sweet tooth even then. Now, if I eat a single pancake when I make them for the kids, I'll eat it with just plain ol' butter. I don't get it. 

I also don't understand how someone who makes just about everything from scratch (that's me!) can consistently make pancakes from a mix. Maybe it's because I don't really eat them. Maybe because it's so fast and easy to whip up a batch for breakfast during the week. Maybe because the kids don't notice a difference. Whatever the reason, I rarely make them from scratch. I also almost always make them on the griddle instead of in a pan. They're not as crispy and not nearly as pretty, but cook so much faster.

Now that I've finished my pancake confession, let me admit that I've never made syrup either. (Don't worry, I understand if you've lost all respect and stop reading now.) I was planning to make maple syrup but forgot to buy extract. Not a problem. I have a day-by-day calendar with kitcheny tips. A few days ago, there was a recipe for syrup made from a JELLO packet. Fruit-flavored syrup it was.

The hardest part was deciding on a flavor. Orange, strawberry-kiwi, cranberry . . . We settled on black cherry.

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

 Cook until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.

Let cool slightly before serving.

While the syrup is cooking, mix your dry ingredients for the pancakes.

Actually, you first need to combine the milk and vinegar so it can sour (turn to buttermilk.) I forgot to get a picture of that step though. Forgive me?

 Add the remaining wet ingredients to the milk mixture. Pour in the dry ingredients and mix well. 

 Pour 1/4 cup batter into a hot, greased skillet.

Cook until you see bubbles forming on the surface and flip with a spatula to cook other side.

These pancakes are sooo good! Even without butter. Or syrup. Or anything. They still don't make me a pancake-lover, but I do wonder why I rely on the mix so often.

 The kids aren't satisfied with naked pancakes though. They couldn't wait to try the new syrup.

And the verdict??? They loved it! Jake calls it our new "wild syrup" and said over and over again, "This is really yummy!" I guess so, because they ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He kept saying, "But it's National Pancake Day." I created a monster. I figured it wouldn't hurt for them to eat pancakes 3 times a day for 1 day a year. (It does fall only 1 day a year, right???)

And this morning, his request for breakfast? Pancakes with wild syrup. I think it's a winner.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:
3/4 c milk                                                          
1 Tbs white vinegar                                        
1 c flour                                                            
2 Tbs white sugar                                            
1 tsp baking powder                                        
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs butter, melted
 cooking spray

Directions:

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour."
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg, vanilla, and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula and cook until browned on the other side.


Fruit-Flavored Syrup
Ingredients:
1 box (3 oz) fruit-flavored gelatin                         1/2 c sugar
1 c water                                                               2 Tbs cornstarch

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Pour syrup in a pitcher and let cool slightly before serving. Store extra in the refrigerator. Syrup will solidify as it cools; reheat as needed.