Taco Pancakes

I first discovered this recipe in the Birmingham News on May 18th. It's by Stephanie Parker, and I've just got to say that her blog Plain Chicken might be my new favorite food blog! It also helps that she's local so when she talks about great places she likes to go, I have usually at least heard of them and can actually try them! That is so cool to me!

Back to the taco pancakes...

Of course you know me and I can't leave well enough alone, so I wasn't satisfied with simply trying and then sharing Stephanie's recipe. No, I had to go and mess with it! And honestly, I'm so glad that I did! I didn't mess much, but I did make it mine and to me that just makes it better! So without further ado, here is my version of taco pancakes!

1 lb ground beef, cooked with 1/2 small onion, 1 clove garlic, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne to taste (this translates to my "secret formula" for taco meat!) If you want to cheat a little you can use a packet of taco seasoning. If you want to cheat a lot, you can use a tub of pre-made taco meat. No judgements whatever you decide!

Now for the "pancake batter" which is kind of a cornbread base. Actually, this was inspired by Paula Deen's Hoecakes and my cornbread.

1 1/4 c. Self-Rising Flour

3/4 c. Cornmeal

1 Tbsp sugar

3/4 c. buttermilk

1/3 c. water

1/4 c. vegetable oil

Once you have your batter, mix in about half of your meat, about 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I used pepperjack because it's what we had) and some chopped jalapeno or a little extra onion if that's your thing (it isn't mine!) You can add more meat if you want it or save it for other stuff (or double the batter recipe!)

I cooked these two different ways. Jeff preferred them just like a regular pancake. I liked them fried in a little extra vegetable oil so they were crispier, more hush puppy-ish. If you have a big griddle, this would be a super easy meal for a crowd. I just had a pan and two people, and it was still pretty darn easy.

I would recommend leaving off the maple syrup in favor of salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and any other taco toppings you like. We used my homemade salsa I had left and sour cream. I think deep in his heart Jeff would have loved some cheese dip over the top, but he seemed quite satisfied with what we had.

Give it a try, let me know what you think, and if you made any tweaks of your own I want to hear about them!